3D print the Smithsonian Institution Building
A free, printable model of the Castle's red towers and wings, with the green grounds and nearby buildings around it, generated from real map data in your browser.
Free, in your browser. Exports a slicer-ready 3MF.
About the Smithsonian Institution Building
The Smithsonian Institution Building, often called the Smithsonian Castle, or just the Castle, stands in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. It was the first Smithsonian museum building, and it houses the institution's administrative offices. Its walls are Seneca red sandstone from a quarry in Maryland, a material that contrasts with the granite, marble and yellow sandstone of the other major buildings in the city.
James Renwick Jr. designed the Castle. A nationwide design competition run by the building committee in 1846 ended in a unanimous vote for his plan, and construction began in 1847 under general contractor Gilbert Cameron. The exterior was completed in 1852 and the interior in 1855. A structural collapse in 1850 led to fireproof construction, but a fire in 1865 extensively damaged the building's upper floor. Architect Adolf Cluss carried out the renovation that followed.
The style is Gothic Revival with Romanesque motifs. The building has a central section, two ranges and two wings, and the layout could be extended at either end. Four towers hold usable space, while five smaller ones are mostly decorative, though some contain stairs. The main tower on the south side measures 91 feet (28 m) in height and 37 feet (11 m) square. Of the two towers on the north side, the taller is 145 feet (44 m). The Castle became a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
How it prints
Make this print opens the generator on a 600 m square around the landmark. Buildings print at close to true scale, so the landmark grows with the print size.
| Print size | Landmark height | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| 160 mm default | 12 mm | 1:3,750 |
| 200 mm | 15 mm | 1:3,000 |
| 256 mm | 20 mm | 1:2,344 |
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North
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East
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South
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West
- Pointed turrets and spires
- The model has many pointed tower tops and small spires. Full detail keeps them on larger prints; Print friendly adapts the thinnest tips at small sizes. Printing slowly helps the tips cool.
- Fine layers for window rows
- The rows of arched windows and the roof edges show best with 0.12 to 0.16 mm layers. A larger print size also keeps more of that detail.
- Pick the detail for your nozzle
- In the Buildings settings, set Landmark detail to Print friendly to adapt thin parts and small details to the print scale. Full detail keeps every modeled feature, for larger prints or a finer nozzle.
- Colors
- Buildings, roads, water and ground arrive as separate filament slots in the 3MF. The Smithsonian Institution Building takes the building color.
- File format
- You get a 3MF for Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer. Any of them can save it as STL if you need one.
About this model
The Smithsonian Institution Building is one of more than 2,300 landmark models in Mini Skyline. They are made with AI, and each one is checked from four sides in its real surroundings before release. Everything around it is built from OpenStreetMap and Overture map data. If you would rather print the shape from map data, turn off Landmark models in the Buildings settings.
Common questions
Is there a Smithsonian Institution Building STL I can download?
Mini Skyline builds the file for you in your browser and exports 3MF, which every major slicer opens. If you need an STL, open the 3MF in your slicer and export it from there.
How big can I print it?
Any print size from 40 mm across. The Smithsonian Institution Building grows with the print: about 12 mm tall on the default 160 mm print. For a model larger than your printer bed, Project Mode splits the area into tiles.
Is it free?
Yes. Generation runs in your browser, with no account and nothing behind a paywall.
