Bezos fuels Air and Space Museum overhaul

The design process is underway for the new Jeff Bezos-funded building at the Air and Space Museum, which will soon close for major renovation projects. 

Once completed, visitors will come through the transformed north entrance (shown in the above rendering). (Anyone else getting strong Saarinen vibes?) 

What’s happening: Starting on March 28 the entire museum, which has been undergoing various renovations since 2018, will close.

• The west end will reopen this fall with eight new exhibitions, the planetarium, and the museum store and café.
• The east end will start reopening in 2024.
• The Bezos building is scheduled to be completed in 2026, the Washington Business Journal reports.  

Catch up quick: Bezos’ $200 million gift last year was the largest since the institution’s founding gift from James Smithson in 1846.

Zoom out: Bezos, who bought his $23 million house (the former Textile Museum) in Kalorama five years ago, has been cozying up to Washington all while Amazon’s HQ2 is in the works in Arlington. He also recently donated $2.7 million to the DC Public Library Foundation.