Smith designed a museum in Washington D.C. and Samuel Walter Woodward, founder of the Woodward & Lothrop department store chain, financed the construction at 1312 New York Avenue. It was built as an example of the historical and cultural displays that Smith advocated in his "Design and Prospectus". The Halls of the Ancients opened on February 4, 1899, with the entrance based on Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak. Besides Egypt, the museum contained Greek and Roman sections that included furnishings and works of art that were historically accurate reproductions.
