Two sites have been selected for the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, pending legislative action from Congress. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents narrowed their choices to two optimal sites, as announced Thursday morning:

• South Monument site—undeveloped land across the National Mall from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, on Jefferson Drive SW
• Tidal Basin site—undeveloped land near the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, bordered by Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Maine Avenue SW and Independence Avenue SW

Working with the engineering/architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, the Smithsonian evaluated more than 25 sites before landing on these two options. Neither museum is set in a specific spot: The assignments of each museum will be determined once the Board of Regents officially makes its final designation after Congressional approval, according to a spokesperson via email.

“Both sites are located on the ‘reserve’ – a no-build zone in the National Commemorative Works Act,” Public Affairs Specialist Alex Fairchild said in an email. “We also don’t own either of these sites, so legislative action from Congress is required before our Board of Regents can make a final designation.”

To narrow down the optimal sites, the Board evaluated multiple factors, including location, existing site conditions, transportation, environmental factors, costs, and acquisition potential.

Congress authorized the museums in December 2020, and have required that the Board of Regents designate the two new museums’ sites by the end of this year. The board’s initial longlist included spots on the National Mall, as well as elsewhere in D.C., such as the FBI headquarters, L’Enfant Plaza, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art building. That drew disapproval from the museums’ supporters, who say placing them off the National Mall makes them seem lesser than the many museums crowded on the Mall. By June, the board had narrowed down the sites to four — all of which were on the National Mall.

“Knowing that land on our nation’s mall is so precious, we acknowledge the many years of hard work and study undertaken by so many people, necessary to determine that in accordance with the guiding principles of our National Mall both the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and The National Museum of the American Latino are now poised to take their rightful place on our most important public land,” National Museum of the American Latino Board Chair Henry R. Muñoz, III said in a statement. “Now, our community can focus in a united fashion to support the approval of this site by an act of congress, which must happen this year.”

After a location is selected, Smithsonian will begin fundraising, which, as of June, was expected to take 10 years.

This post has been updated with a statement from National Museum of the American Latino Board Chair Henry R. Muñoz, III.

Previously: 

The Smithsonian Is Finally Getting Two Long-Awaited Museums. But Where Will They Go?