The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has begun the first major phase of the renovation of the building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., with the closure of nine galleries.
The exhibitions now closed are on the west side of the museum — “America by Air,” “Sea-Air Operations,” “Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” “Golden Age of Flight,” “World War II Aviation,” “Jet Aviation” and “Legend, Memory and the Great War in the Air.”
Some of the artifacts that are off display with these closures include the Douglas DC-3, Boeing 747 nose, Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII and the Hughes H1 Racer. The reopening of the west-wing galleries is scheduled for 2022.
On the east wing of the museum, “Apollo to the Moon” and “Looking at Earth” closed this past December.
The scope of the project requires the installation of barriers along the exterior perimeter, resulting in sidewalk and street lane closures that will remain in place for the next three years.