Originally called the National Air Museum when it was formed on August 12, 1946 by an act of Congress, some pieces in the National Air and Space Museum collection date back to 1876.
Construction began in 1914, and the memorial was opened to the public in 1922. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd by the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 .
President Roosevelt asked the Commission of Fine Arts about the possibility of erecting a memorial to Thomas Jefferson. Construction went from 1938-43, & Roosevelt laid the first cornerstone himself.
That's a big rock! Did you know Harry Winston mailed this to the Smithsonian? That post office is now the Postal Museum! Check it out!
