Renwick used several architectural design books as inspiration for the building's carved details but copied none exactly. The building's planners hoped to instill a desire in American architects to become more than mere imitators of style, advising against "implicit copyings" and "servile reproductions."

Stone Capital Enlargement

Of the hundreds of carved capitals on the Smithsonian Building, only a very few exactly match one another. All shared similar naturalistic design motifs of intertwining leaves, vines, and scrolls.

A Glossary of Terms... Enlargement

This 1838 English dictionary of architectural terms is the first book purchased for the Smithsonian Institution library. The margin note is in Robert Dale Owen's handwriting:

"We want an oriel window in the Norman Style."

-Robert Dale Owen, Chairman of the Smithsonian Building Committee

The south tower in the center of the Smithsonian Building featured an oriel window. This protruding bay window was inspired by the illustration in this book.

Denkmaehler der Deutschen Baukunst Enlargement

The original Smithsonian Building had open walkways, or "cloisters," patterned after those found in medieval colleges. These cloisters were inspired by this illustration from a book on German medieval architecture. In the belief that the Smithsonian would become a teaching institution, the building's planners included cloisters in their early designs.

"The cloisters, or piazzas, connecting the principal building with the extreme wings … will furnish an agreeable promenade for students, professors & visitors, in wet or hot weather."

-Letter from David Dale Owen to his brother, Robert Dale Owen, October 10, 1845

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