Preservation Periodical: Volume 4, Issue 2

Volume 4, Issue 1

Clue

These decorative cast iron gates secure a Smithsonian museum's entrance and are visible daily after dusk. What museum facility do they belong to?

Answer

These cast iron gates are located at the south entrance of the National Museum of Natural History. Designed by the building’s architectural firm Hornblower & Marshall, the gates were fabricated by the John Williams Ornamental Bronze and Iron Works in New York City and installed in 1911. There are two gate leaves, each weighing over 5,500 pounds, that slide into wall pockets. For several decades the gates were inoperable; they were fully restored in 2019 and are opened and shut each day to correspond with the Museum’s operating hours.