Today in Smithsonian History: December 15, 1890

The rotunda of the Arts and Industries Building with the “Statue of Freedom,” 1890s. Also in the rotunda are exhibits of military history and Asian art. Smithsonian Institution Archives photo, as featured in the Torch May, 1976 and July, 1979

December 15, 1890 The Statue of Freedom, the plaster figure used to cast the statue atop of the U.S. Capitol, is given to the Smithsonian Institution and placed in the Rotunda of the U.S. National Museum, known now as the Arts and Industries Building. The statue, designed by sculptor Thomas Crawford in Rome, first came to Washington, D.C., in 1858, and was placed in the old hall of the House of Representatives, then in the basement of the Capitol. The statue is moved from the Rotunda in 1967.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

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