Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
A concrete cylinder raised on four massive legs, halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument — the building makes its argument before you step inside.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Washington offline.
The Smithsonian's dedicated museum of modern and contemporary art, built from a collection so vast it once had institutions in Italy, Israel, Canada, and New York competing for it. The focus is squarely on post-WWII work, with particular weight on the last 50 years.
What to look for
- The cylindrical building itself — an open drum elevated on four legs, designed by Gordon Bunshaft
- The large fountain that occupies the central courtyard inside the building's hollow core
- The building's dual position: on the east-west Mall axis between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, and on the perpendicular L'Enfant axis running north toward the National Portrait Gallery
Part of the Smithsonian Institution and located on the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the US Capitol.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Washington, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Washington pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Washington
- White HouseBritish forces torched it in 1814. It has been the U.S. president's home and office ever since.
- The PentagonDesigned and built in 16 months during World War II — 17.5 miles of corridors, a five-acre central courtyard, and a 9/11 memorial at the exact point of impact.
- United States CapitolEvery street address in Washington DC radiates outward from this building — it is literally the zero point of the city.
- Washington MonumentThe faint color seam partway up the shaft marks where construction stopped for 23 years.
- Smithsonian InstitutionBritish scientist James Smithson left a bequest that became 157 million objects, 21 museums, and a zoo — almost all free to walk into.
- Arlington National CemeteryThe ground holding 400,000 graves was seized from Robert E. Lee's own family over an unpaid tax bill in 1864.