Washington Monument to reopen to public on Sept. 19

By Valerie Bonk
August 16, 2019 | 2:48 PM

After a three-year closure for renovations, the Washington Monument will reopen to the public Thursday, Sept. 19, the National Park Service announced Friday.

While it was closed, the monument’s elevator control system was modernized and a new security screening facility was built.

Tickets for tours on opening day through Oct. 18 will be available starting 8:30 a.m. at the Washington Monument lodge on 15th Street. It’s first come, first served.

Tickets for tours on Oct. 19 and after can be booked online starting Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. But same-day tickets will also be available at the lodge at a first-come, first-served basis.

The monument will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
September 1, 2026 | 10:36 AM

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.

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