The Anacostia Neighborhood Museum also known as the "Smithsonian Institution" was established in 1967. It was built out of the Old Carver movie theater. Secretary S. Dillon Ripley idea was to build an experimental store front museum. The Carver Theater was taken over by the Smithsonian Institution in hope to convert the theater into a museum with help of local citizens.
The Anacostia Musuem was designed and opened in September of 1967 as a resolvement of the incread animosity and frustration in blacks. The assasinations of historic civil rights leaders, Malcom X, and historic black communities, The Watts, and Due to Riots such as the Newark and Detroit Riots also played a distinct role in the opening of the museum. The museum is the respitory of artifacts, document, and the experiences of residents of Anacostia. It is in fact a landmark and not only is located in the Anacostia but it also is a museum which preserves the African American experience in Washington, DC as well as across the nation.
