Smithsonian Castle

I must have been on the backside of the castle because the courtyard definitely didn’t look like this [link removed] from where I was.

This is a red building amongst many white ones; thus it really stood out. And, when you walk into the north entrance of the building you immediately find James Smithson’s crypt. James Smithson is the eclectic collector who started the Smithsonian (which is often referred to as America’s attic).

The castle itself was completed in 1855 and is a good example of Romanesque architecture. It’s architect, James Renwick Jr., is a well known Gothic designer whose other buildings include St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Saint Bartholomew’s Church in New York, All Saints’ Roman Catholic Church in Harlem and the New York Public Library.