Smithsonian Board To Pick From Four Sites

In the bill authorizing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Congress instructed the Smithsonian Board of Regents to choose among four sites. The locations are:

· The Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building , on the Mall between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum. A historic landmark, the Victorian structure was the Smithsonian's first building constructed to be a museum. It displayed signature artifacts such as Star-Spangled Banner until the other Smithsonian museums began to fill the Mall. Because of its deteriorating condition, it was closed to the public in 2004, but its 3.5 acres form a prominent spot on the Mall and offer views of nearby landmarks.

· The Monument site , at 14th Street NW and Constitution Avenue. This five-acre plot has never been occupied by a permanent structure. It is only 800 feet from the Washington Monument, a destination for many tourists. Its east side faces the National Museum of American History, and it's within walking distance of the White House, the National Museum of Natural History and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

· The Liberty Loan site, near the north end of the 14th Street Bridge and four blocks from the Mall. Not far from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the site has been occupied by a Treasury Department building since the 1920s. The 2.5-acre location has an access ramp extending through it from Maine Avenue to 14th Street and has views of the Tidal Basin, the Washington Channel, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.

· The Banneker Overlook site. Facing the Southwest waterfront and marking the end of the L'Enfant Promenade, this steeply pitched site is at the far end of 10th Street SW. Since 1971, a portion of the almost eight acres has been used as a park named for Benjamin Banneker, the self-taught black mathematician who helped survey the city in 1791. The overlook is about a half-mile from the Mall. Surrounded by office buildings, a hotel and highways, it has views of the Potomac River, Tidal Basin, Washington Channel and the Jefferson Memorial.