The National Building Museum Wants to Show You Its Weird Stuff

A new exhibit at the National Building Museum has an intriguingly undercooked concept: It’s just a bunch of cool stuff. Culled from the museum’s collection of more than 500,000 artifacts, the permanent installation, called “Visible Vault,” offers a host of curiosities: architectural models, antique tools, building-related toys, vintage machinery—it’s like wandering through a funky salvage store where every single thing has some kind of story behind it. A panel from an elevator in one of America’s first skyscrapers. A section of the cast-iron facade of a demolished department store. An architectural model of Frank Gehry’s unbuilt proposed renovation of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. An early version of an Erector Set. Salt and pepper shakers from the 1939 World’s Fair. A total of about 2,500 objects are all packed into three galleries on the museum’s second floor.

The exhibit is part of a larger effort to make the collection more accessible. Previously, the museum’s treasure-trove storage area was mostly off-limits to the public, and researchers had to connect directly with the museum to make requests. “Visible Vault” now allows visitors to browse; information about the items can be accessed via a QR code. New objects will rotate in periodically, so the offerings will evolve over time. The museum is also in the process of digitizing its entire collection—much of it is now searchable online.

So how did it choose the 2,500 pieces to display? “More than anything, we wanted to show the breadth of the collection,” says Nancy Bateman, the museum’s senior registrar and director of collections. “Every type of artifact we have is represented in some way in the exhibition.”

One surprising part of “Visible Vault” is a number of materials that turned out to be dangerous—lead paint, asbestos tiles, things that “we joke are artifacts that could kill you,” says Bateman. “We debated about that because we don’t want to offend the companies that made these originally and have pivoted to make them safer, and we certainly don’t want to worry people by putting them on display. But we thought it was an important story to tell: that sometimes mistakes are made, and how they could be corrected.”

Actually, the exhibit proved potentially hazardous in another way. The artifacts and display cases are together quite heavy, and structural engineers worried that the floor in the 19th-century building couldn’t withstand the weight. Support beams and other structural fortifications had to be installed, making the rooms safe to stuff. “It was a challenge,” says Bateman. But, on the bright side, “I learned more about building—which is our goal here.”

Artifacts to Check Out

Cathedral Pinnacle

After the Washington National Cathedral was damaged during the 2011 earthquake, the Building Museum took over ownership and management of its architectural-drawing collection. This piece, which fell during the quake, was part of the donation.

Roll of Armstrong Flooring

The popular linoleum pattern–introduced in the 1930s–covered the floors of countless kitchens. “I call it our most famous artifact,” says Nancy Bateman, “because most people recognize it once they see it.”

Lincoln Logs Set

John Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed this classic toy in 1920. “I love that the box was damaged from generations of children playing with it,” says Bateman. “We had to have a paper conservator piece it back together. We joke the ones that are pristine maybe weren’t good toys.”

Dumb-Waiter System

The National Building Museum is in the former Pension Building, which was completed in 1887. This pulley system once hauled documents to a fourth-floor storage area. A beam is signed by Union Army quartermaster general Montgomery C. Meigs, who designed the building.

This article appears in the February 2025 issue of Washingtonian.

Rob Brunner

Politics and Culture Editor

Rob Brunner grew up in DC and moved back in 2017 to join Washingtonian. Previously, he was an editor and writer at Fast Company and other publications. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase DC.