Looking south from the Carnegie Library,now home of the Historical Society of Washington,DC.
The view is from 801 K St.,NW along 8th St to the G St (north) facade of the Smithsonian’s Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. Carnegie Library and Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum occupy squares set aside on L’Enfant’s plan of Washington for civic or religious buildings.
A few years ago the open courtyard of the Smithsonian building was covered by an undulating glass and metal ribbed cover designed by Norman Foster.
The canopy turned an outdoor space for eating lunch or relaxing at the tables that was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter into a tranquil escape from the noise and traffic of the downtown streets.
Architecture,public art, and history 