Does the Hirshhorn Have Windows? The Museum Debates the New York Times

In a story posted Thursday at Washington City Paper Christina Cauterucci collects the Hirshhorn’s artful response to the question of whether the museum does have windows or not.

Continuing with the circular theme, Washington City Paper has much, much more on how to count Hirshhorn windows today.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Alexandra Lange (langealexandra) on Jun 12, 2015 at 7:49am PDT

In an October 2014 profile of Melissa Chiu, the then-new director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the New York Times made a wobbly claim. Paraphrasing Chiu, Times staffer Graham Bowley wrote that “the shows that work best in the Hirshhorn are those that embrace the distinctive curved spaces of its round, nearly windowless building.”

Windowless, eh? Not so fast. The interior ring of the Hirshhorn is almost entirely made of glass, bathing the circular corridors in natural light, and the Lerner Room, lined in colorful Sol LeWitt wall drawings, offers a magnificent panoramic view of the Mall. At the time of the October article, architecture writer Alexandra Lange wrote the Times to request a correction. The editors wouldn’t budge. Yesterday morning, Lange reupped her complaint.