SAAM

SAAM
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

Whenever an art museum is renovated there is reason for celebration. And nowhere is this truer than at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery. Prior to its multi-year face-lift, SAAM/NPG was definitely a backwater of DC museums.

Since the renovation, it's a freaking hive of activity and visitors. Before, when I went there, it was like going to the library, now it's like going to a shopping mall! How wonderful is that?

The final stage is complete. Like so many of the block-sized structures in DC, the actual building wraps itself around an inner courtyard. With the renovation, that courtyard is covered in a geodesic canopy reminiscent of those at the British Museum and The Walters Collection, both in London. It's a weatherproof enclave with planters containing full grown trees and ferns, a cafe, and two extremely shallow reflecting pools that you can as easy walk across as discover your image in.

Visiting DC? Go to SAAM/NPG and experience it for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.