Smithsonian Anacostia museum to close for renovations through mid-October

Heads up, D.C. museum enthusiasts: The Anacostia Community Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, will close for more than half a year for a $3.5 million overhaul, beginning on March 15. The museum is expected to reopen in “mid-October,” per a release.

The Smithsonian says the renovation work will improve a myriad of the facility’s features, including its accessibility, parking lot, entrance, lighting, and HVAC system. As part of the project, workers will install barriers along the museum’s perimeter, which in turn will close its sidewalks and driveways. The site will get a new multiuse plaza and a community garden.

Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution

During the refurbishment, the museum will hit the road, bringing its programs to different areas of the city in collaboration with local groups. Its current main exhibit, “A Right to the City,” which addresses how D.C. has changed over the past several decades, will continue in “satellite versions” at public libraries in Shaw, Mount Pleasant, Woodridge, Anacostia, and Southwest. A version in Chinatown is also planned, but a location still has to be determined.

Additional programing will happen in partnership with Martha’s Table, the Textile Museum at George Washington University, and other Smithsonian venues during the closure, explains the release. “A Right to the City” is anticipated to return to the renovated museum in the fall.

Originally founded in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum stands at 1901 Fort Place SE.