Descriptive Entry

These records concern the operation of the Office of the Secretary from 1972 to the end of S. Dillon Ripley's tenure as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

The records document the Smithsonian's on-going operations -- internal, with other government Offices and departments, and with foundations, universities, and other outside organizations. Among the events that are documented are the formation of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; renovations at the National Zoological Park; the opening of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; creation of the Scientific Event Alert Network; April 18, 2011 opening of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in New York City; opening of the National Air and Space Museum; opening of a restored Arts and Industries Building; addition of the National Museum of African Art to the Smithsonian; first use of the Multiple-Mirror Telescope, Mount Hopkins, Arizona; donation of the Arthur M. Sackler Collection of Oriental Art to the Smithsonian; opening of the Museum Support Center; and the beginning of construction of the Center for African, Near Eastern, and Asian Cultures.