Hirshhorn Museum

Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024, USA

Address:	Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024, USA
Phone:	+1 202-633-1000
Site:	hirshhorn.si.edu
Rating:	4.4
Working:	10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM 10AM–5:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Margie Nguyen

INFINITY MIRRORS at the Hirshhorn Museum Time: Woke up at 6:30am got to DC by 7am (no traffic) Parking: I parked on Jefferson Drive in front of the air and space museum for free (the sign said it was three hours but no meters and I was there for about 5 hours no ticket) Its half a block over from the hirshhorn. Line: website said line starts at 9:30 doors open at 10. I got in line at 8:40 and was around the 40th person there so people had already been lining up. The first person there said they got there at 8am (I was at Starbucks across the street waiting until about 9 to head over had I known we could come earlier I wouldve just came straight there). There was a trailer about 100 could fit in if you stand tightly together in line. They let 10-15 people in at a time to get tickets, you tell them what time you want. I was the 5th group of people to go in and got my tickets a little after 10:30 Tickets: each person can get up 4 tickets. There are 400 same day tickets avail first come first serve (not including online tickets). These are timed tickets with 15 minute increments starting at 10 til 4 museum closes at 5 no tickets during the 12:00 hour. All tickets are free/the museum is free. Tickets were sold out in less than an hour Rules: no flash photography. No bags or backpacks, small purses are ok. No food or drink. Complimentary lockers are avail (highly suggest putting your coats there) Exhibit: the whole 2nd floor is dedicated to the exhibit. There are 5 rooms you walk in and 2 rooms you can only look in. The wait to enter each room is anywhere from a 5-20 min. Groups of 2-4 are allowed in at a time in each room for 20-30 seconds (yes I know that sounds like not enough time, it does go by fast but you can go back in by standing in the back of the line). I had enough time to do a panoramic of each room and a few pics/selfies. We finished in under two hours. Advice: do not come in large groups bc you can only go in 2-4 at a time in a room. If you are driving get there early to find parking. If you are standing in line for same day tickets come no later than 8:30am and bring a book, music, snack, something to keep you occupied. This might not be the best exhibit for kids (theyre going to want to touch everything) or people in wheelchairs (small space). Use he bathroom before the exhibit because its hard to get back in. Try to get tickets for the 11:00 hour because there are no tickets avail during the 12:00 hour so the lines die down theres less people so less waiting. Even though its a straight line through the exhibit you can bounce around and revisit each room. Go to the 4th room first and work your way back to the first. the 5th room is the point of no return/exit. You can stay for as long as you want and check the rest of the museum out, theres a gift shop and cafe too. Online tickets are avail every Monday for the following week but they are impossible to get. The exhibit is open until 5/14/17. The museum is open everyday 10-5 with the last timed tickets at 3:45/4

Tina Smith

In full disclosure, I didnt like this museum on my first visit. But, as a DC resident I have the luxury of proximity and I found myself returning. Ive never before been a connoisseur of modern art, but it has a way of pulling you in and drawing you out of your headspace. And thats the appeal of the Hirschhorn, its completely unexpected and a little bit weird (in a good way). Part of the Smithsonian system the museum is on the smaller size. Security checks are quick. Three floors include exhibits, a gift shop, a place to sit on the third floor and view the mall, bathrooms, but no cafe. They also have an outdoor sculpture garden, fountain and courtyard with seating- a great place to bring a picnic. Currently they have a piece of performance art called Woman in E, thats worth a visit. I can also recommend the museum for small children. (There is nudity on the third floor) A new pilot program, a 10am Tuesday story-time ( Now on Wednesday- check their website for updates) makes the museum even more accessible for my toddler and I. The story time crew meets in the lobby and moves onto a piece of art which the children are asked to talk about. After hearing about a piece through the eyes of a child, theyre read a story which is followed by a craft. This museum requires an open mind. But I guarantee youll leave talking or thinking about an exhibit or work of art. And as a parent there is satisfaction in seeing a small child wonder at an exhibit or get excited about a painting.

Stephen Michael Fox Jr

A fabulous Smithsonian. This is the contemporary and modern art museum of the Smithsonians collective on the National Mall. The building itself is impossible to miss as it stands in stark contrast to the majority of buildings on the Mall. Inside all the galleries are laid out in the circular patter of the building itself. The art inside varies and although not to my particular taste, I found it thought provoking and worthy of a visit. My only negative experience was with the over zealous and rude security staff. I was sitting in the coat check room on the floor using a wall outlet to charge my phone. A female security guard approached me and in a directive rude way told me unplug my phone, that I wasnt allowed to use the wall outlets. Obviously a petty person on a pathetic power trip of some sort. I complied with her instruction and unplugged my phone. I then went to the front desk and told them what had happened, the staff told me the security officer was wrong and called a supervisor guard over and informed him of the situation. I then went right back down stairs directly to the woman, informed her she was wrong and that Ive informed the museum staff and her supervisor and then proceeded to plug my phone back in and continued charging it. Petty people with nominal authority always make for comical encounters.

Carlos Irineu

The Hirshhorn Museum holds one of the best curation of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world. There are bigger collections, there are broader collections, but seeing the works in that amazing architectural space is, for me, a special experience. Ive visited this particular museum about 10 times and I dont live in DC, not even in the US. The Sculpture Garden is a very peaceful place where its good to wander around while contemplating works by Rodin, for example, in a completely different setting as you will see them in Rodins museum in Paris. Also, whereas in Europe every single interesting museum will usually be crowded to the point of being annoyingly impossible to absorb oneself in the art works presented, maybe we can be thankful for the relative "touristic unworthiness" of DC (compared to Paris, London, Berlim etc) as the museums are usually empty. There are some very important sculptures in the permanent collection and theres usually an interesting itinerary exhibition worth coming back as many times as possible.

Isabella hi

disorganized, staff is very rude. their ticket system is horrible. they dont make clear how many tickets are available daily. We were in the line to buy the last student/senior memberships & they said we were lucky to have the last 50 tickets. An hour later they say come back at 2, then they say all memberships are sold out. A lady was extremely rude and demanded to be the last one in, yet they wouldnt allow the last 3 groups behind her. So unfair. If they make an exception for one why cant they make an exception for the last 3 groups who waited just as long? When I asked the guy why that happened, I was given very rude responses and told that hes not required to explain and that its none of my business, and that he doesnt have time to play around with me. I hope this guy Vincent gets fired. You dont treat people like that just because you have to work until 10pm. Never an excuse to treat a prospective customer bad, Im never coming back here.