Steam locomotive Jupiter, 1876, featured at new exhibit

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has announced a complete renovation of its transportation hall with an installation of a major new exhibition, "America on the Move," scheduled to open on Nov. 19, 2003. The exhibition will provide a multi-media educational experience on the role transportation played in the nation's development.

"America on the Move" will encompass nearly 26,000 square feet on the first floor of the museum, taking the place of former
exhibitions in the old Road Transportation, Railroad, and Civil
Engineering Halls. The show will have approximately 300 objects.

"Mobility is the defining experience in American life. This
exhibition will allow the Smithsonian for the first time ever to
present its extraordinary transportation collections in an
historical context. "America on the Move" is destined to be one of
our most visited exhibitions and we are thrilled with the support
from Congress and corporations, foundations and associations that
is making this presentation possible," said Brent D. Glass,
director of the museum.

In recognition of General Motors' support, the hall is named the General Motors Hall of Transportation and will include two exhibitions, "America on the Move" and a companion exhibition, "On
the Water: Stories from Maritime America," to open at a later date.

"America on the Move" will transport visitors back in time and
immerse them in the sights, sounds, and sensations of transportation in the U.S. from 1876 to the present. Organized
chronologically, the exhibition will use more than a dozen vignettes to showcase the Smithsonian's popular transportation collections in historic settings. Among the historical moments explored are the coming of the railroad to a California town in 1876, the role of the streetcar and the automobile in creating suburbs outside of cities, and the transformation of a U.S. port with the introduction of containerized shipping in the 1960s.

As they travel through the show, visitors will be able to see large and impressive objects, including a Chicago Transit Authority "L" car, a 92-foot Southern Railway locomotive and an actual piece
of the famed Route 66.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is located in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Click here for more information.

(Source: Smithsonian's National Museum of American History)