Now Playing

Famed architect David Adjaye’s design was chosen for the building.

Museum Tour

by Sarah Crosland | DC magazine | February 13, 2012

Head to the National Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to catch the star-studded groundbreaking ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. You won’t get a glimpse inside until 2015, but we’ve taken a look at the makings of the monumental efforts leading to this moment.

December 2001
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., sponsor the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act with the hopes of securing federal funding for a future museum.

December 2003
President George W. Bush signs the legislation in the Oval Office. The NMAAHC will be a reality—in 12 years.

March 2005
Lonnie Bunch is named founding director, but he has no artifacts, no location and no architect. "In some ways this process has been like going on a cruise while you're building the ship," says Bunch.

January 2006
The Smithsonian Board of Regents selects a 5-acre location on the Mall—literally in the shadow of the Washington Monument—for the new museum.

April 2009
A design competition board, consisting of outside experts and Smithsonian pros, chooses famed architect David Adjaye’s plan, put together by the architectural team Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup.

March 2010
On the 97th anniversary of her death, the museum is given Harriet Tubman’s hymnal, along with 38 other artifacts that once belonged to the famous Underground Railroad operator.

April 2010
NMAAHC opens Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment at the National Museum of American History featuring Michael Jackson’s famed fedora.

August 2011
The Spirit of Tuskegee biplane, used by the Tuskegee Airmen during training in World War II, lands in Washington to add to NMAAHC’s 15,000 acquisitions.

December 2011
After a little persuasion, rock ‘n’ roller Chuck Berry agrees to turn over his favorite candy-apple red Cadillac for display at the museum.

February 2012
The groundbreaking’s invite list includes international figures, such as President Barack Obama, whose campaign and life will be covered in the museum. “We want people to see that the story continues today,” says Bunch.