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Hall of Musical Instruments

The Hall of Musical Instruments, or HMI, is “home base” for the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, acting as its primary rehearsal location, the venue for most SCMS concerts involving keyboard instruments from the Smithsonian collection, and workshop space for SCMS educational activities involving visiting student and scholars. Located on the west end of the third floor of the National Museum of American History, its broad windows command an impressive view of the National Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Flexible seating insures that each audience member enjoys an intimate listening experience.

Constitution Ave. NW between 12^th and 14^th Streets
Washington, D.C. 20500
Map & Directions

METRO:
Federal Triangle or Smithsonian (Orange/Blue line)
Metro Center (Red line)

Street parking may be available.

Renwick Gallery

The Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery of American Art was designed by the noted architect James Renwick Jr. (who also designed the Smithsonian's Castle and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City) as Washington DC's first art museum. The building, completed in 1861, is in the French Second Empire Style and the Grand Salon, where the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society performs, is modeled on one of the galleries of the Louvre. The Salon's warm acoustics and soaring forty-foot ceiling make it a perfect venue for chamber music and chamber orchestra performances.

1661 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. (at 17th Street)
Washington, D.C. 20500
Map & Directions

METRO:
Farragut West (Orange/Blue line)
Farragut North (Red line)

Street parking may be available.

Castle Commons

Completed in 1855, the original Smithsonian Institution Building—known familiarly as “The Castle”—was, like the Renwick Gallery, designed by architect James Renwick Jr. The Washington landmark was constructed of red sandstone in the Norman style, a twelvth-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs. The magnificent room known as the Commons, which thrusts its lofty vaulted-ceiling mass out from the west end of the Castle’s central core, was the original library for the Smithsonian Institution, one of the major American research libraries in the nineteenth century.

1000 Jefferson Drive SW (on the south side of the National Mall)
Washington, D.C. 20560
Map & Directions

METRO:
Smithsonian (Orange/Blue line)
L’Enfant Plaza (Yellow/Green line)

Street parking may be available.

Warner Bros. Theater

The newly-renovated Warner Bros. Theater, formerly known as the Carmichael Auditorium, is just inside the first-floor Constitution Avenue doors of the National Museum of American History. Comfortable theatrical seating, clear sight lines, and clean sound make this space a good alternate for SCMS concerts at American History during the multi-year period during which the Hall of Musical Instruments will be closed while the Museum's West Wing is rebuilt.

Constitution Ave. NW between 12^th and 14^th Streets
Washington, D.C. 20500
Map & Directions

METRO:
Federal Triangle or Smithsonian (Orange/Blue line)
Metro Center (Red line)

Street parking may be available.