Jan

Smithsonian 175: Long May it Wave

On most days, 69 American flags line the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, seven around or atop Smithsonian buildings. After a particularly windy day last month, one of those five flags went missing.

The rigging on the Castle flagpole snapped and both the American and the Smithsonian 175th flags fell (OPS officers quickly retrieved the flags). For the first time since April 30, 1930, we would be unable to fly the American flag above the Castle.

The Castle’s first permanent flag pole was installed in 1884 and was used for “raising national colors on special occasions.” Before that, however, the flag was more conspicuous in its absence from the Castle.

During the Civil War, no flags flew over the Smithsonian as directed by Secretary Joseph Henry. According to Henry’s diary, ‘[n]o flag has been hoisted on the Institution because at the beginning of the war, the government was unable to put [Washington, D.C.] in a state of defense and the public buildings belonging to the [U.S.] government were liable on capture of the city [by the Confederacy] to be destroyed.” The New York Tribune, in contrast, chalked up the failure as evidence of the Smithsonian’s alleged “secesh flavor.”

Original Star-spangled banner — Baltimore seamstress Mary Pickersgill made the giant flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, but Francis Scott Key made it famous, composing, on the morning of September 14, 1814, the lyrics that became the national anthem. (Photo by Hugh Talman, National Museum of American History)

In 1907, quite possibly the most famous flag in American history was “hoisted” at the Castle. The Star-Spangled Banner was loaned to the Smithsonian by its then-owner, Eban Appleton, and unfurled and suspended on the Castle’s East Range before being put on exhibit in the Arts and Industries Building. Six years later, the flag was donated and a team of women, led by Amelia Fowler, conducted an intricate preservation of the icon in what is now the Castle Commons (right).

The Space Shuttle Discovery, atop a modified 747, circles the National Mall April 17, 2012. The Smithsonian Institution Building (the "Castle") is seen in the foreground. (Photo by Chun-Hsi Wong) — Staff watch from the Castle’s flag tower as the Space Shuttle Discovery, atop a modified 747, circles the National Mall April 17, 2012. (Photo by Chun-Hsi Wong)

Smithsonian Facilities is currently working on securing new rigging for the flag pole. The flag should be again flying from its home on the Castle’s aptly named “Flag Tower” soon.