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5 unusual facts about Old Patent Office Building


Old Patent Office Building

United States patent law required inventors to submit scale models of their inventions, which were retained by the Patent Office and required housing.

Once home to many early government departments, today the structure houses two museums of the Smithsonian Institution, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.

During the Civil War, the building was turned into military barracks, hospital, and morgue.

The building houses two Smithsonian Institution museums: the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the capital city, the site of the Patent Office Building, halfway between the Capitol and the President's House, was set aside for a monumental structure.



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