History
The National Postal Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, was established in 1990 through an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service. The museum opened to the public on July 30, 1993 in the historic City Post Office building adjacent to Union Station near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The museum presently occupies 75,000 square feet, with 23,000 square feet devoted to exhibition space. The museum also houses a 6,000 square foot research library, a United States Postal Service philatelic retail store, and a museum gift shop. In 2013 the museum will be expanded by 12,000 square feet of new exhibit space housed in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery.
Specialties
Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, with the world's largest museum collection of stamps and postal artifacts, is dedicated to creating visitor experiences that educate, excite, entertain and inspire.