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Collections Highlight: The Samuel H. Kress & Company
When Samuel H. Kress launched his first 5-, 10-, and 25-cent stores in 1896, he followed the trail blazed by F. W. Woolworth but carved out his own territory in…
Canstruction 2025: Four Designs That Feed the Imagination
Each fall, the National Building Museum transforms into a showcase of creativity, collaboration, and community impact through Canstruction, a nationwide program dedicated to raising awareness about hunger. During Canstruction, visitors…
Where You Lead: What Gilmore Girls Can Teach Us About Reimagining Our Downtowns
When you think of fall, chances are your mind drifts to a place like Stars Hollow. A crisp morning breeze, a walkable main street, a community so close-knit that a…
2025 Holiday Gift Guide
This season, the National Building Museum Shop has something for everyone on your list, from the budding builder to the design devotee. Our Holiday Gift Guide celebrates unique and thoughtful…
Adopt an Artifact: Washington National Cathedral Collection
For more than a century, the Washington National Cathedral has stood as both a national monument and a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Now, one of its most remarkable artistic legacies has…
Robert Lautman’s Photography Collection: Highlights & Discoveries
Background Robert C. Lautman (1923-2009) was a renowned architectural photographer born in Montana. He discovered his passion for photography in high school while working on the yearbook staff. During World…
Art Deco at 100: The Enduring Influence of Design
As the world marks 100 years since the 1925 Paris Exposition that gave rise to Art Deco, the National Building Museum spoke with Steve Knight from the Art Deco Society…
Adopt an Artifact: Pension Building Hand Fan
Today, visitors to the National Building Museum admire the Pension Building’s grand arches and light-filled halls. But when the building first opened in 1887, it fulfilled a unique and urgent mission. Although the United States had been…
The Call is Coming from Inside the Storage Room: Artifacts in the Collection that Could Kill You
Many peculiar artifacts lurk in the National Building Museum’s permanent collection, from unidentifiable tools to photographs of buildings on fire and drawings of imagined cities. While they all reveal how buildings and cities were historically constructed, some oddities prove particularly interesting. These are the dangerous ones, the ones…