Seven Smithsonian buildings in Washington, DC, have abruptly shut their doors today (6 August) after a mechanical failure. The seven institutions affected are all located along the southern edge of the National Mall: the National Museum of the American Indian, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Museum of Asian Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Castle, Arts and Industries Building and the S. Dillon Ripley Center.
“The buildings were closed after an outage at the General Service Administration's Heating Operations and Transmission Division plant disrupted the chilled water supply needed to support the Smithsonian's cooling systems and humidity controls in South Mall museums,” a spokesperson for the Smithsonian Institution said in a statement. “Once GSA resolves this issue, the Smithsonian will return to normal operations.”
The statement did not include information on when that might be.