LOS ANGELES, California, September 5, 2026 — The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents approved Monday to locate the National Museum of the American Latino in an existing building. The move will put the museum inside the National Mall’s Arts and Industries Building. That option allows the museum to avoid a congressional approval process that would have been necessary for a new site.
Why Regents Chose This Path
Museum director Jorge Zamanillo said, “Today is a significant milestone in a dream and decades-long effort.” The location “puts the U.S. Latino story in the very middle of the National Mall and of the American story”, he said. The board’s statement characterized the vote as the end of the museum site-selection process.
Other possible locations are managed by the National Park Service, which would have required congressional legislation. That route was fraught with political peril, since Republicans had retaken control of the House. That legislative obstacle was entirely bypassed by opting to use an existing Smithsonian-owned building.
A Long Road to This Point
The museum received Congressional approval in December 2020 after decades of efforts. In 2022, it opened a temporary exhibition space within the National Museum of American History. Once before, in 2022, the Arts and Industries Building was considered for but ultimately failed to secure a home as the museum.
The earlier decision has been made because there are concerns that the exhibition space of the building can only expand through a sub-ground construction. Advocates had wanted a specially-built facility more in-line with the Mall’s major sightlines. The renewed focus is a candid recognition of the need to get any permanent home it can find.
Political Pressure Behind the Decision
The Trump administration has assailed its funding priorities and programming on a number of occasions. This year, as he wrote his budget, Trump scrapped plans for the Latino museum, substituting a decentralized “Latino Center.” That funding showdown also spurred urgency for a permanent home before another political tussle broke out.
Eduardo Diaz, the museum’s former interim director, called the decision a reasonable compromise. Díaz recounted internal debate over the plan: “‘We don’t want a hand-me-down,’ is how some people put it. In the past, some more conservative critics have charged that the Smithsonian is exploiting a kind of legal “loophole” to escape oversight.
Funding Challenges Ahead
Renovating the Arts and Industries Building will cost about $1 billion. Organizers hope that News50 will receive half those funds from the federal level and raise the other half privately. The private money garnered by the museum now stands at $72 million.
No firm deadline for the retrofit or an opening has been established by officials. How fast construction can start will depend on fundraising. Official institution updates can be reviewed on the Smithsonian Institution portal. This project was one of many projects that you can read about from the Smithsonian Institution who you might remember is currently working to fulfill its mission and current programming.
Latino advocacy groups hailed the move as a long-awaited victory for the community. Details on the venue are available at the National Museum of the American Latino. Critics say the compromise does not go far enough beyond a standalone building. Museum officials say permanent is better than all other options of scale.
Historic preservation experts point out the Arts and Industries Building has its own architectural pedigree. Federal preservation standards are maintained by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Now the new museum, nestled within a big 19th-century building, had its own design and engineering challenges. As fundraising continues, community input will influence how the exhibition itself is designed, officials say.
