Architect. He was the designer of the Smithsonian Institute Building, also known as the "Castle," in Washington, DC. Born in Bloomingdale, New York,to an engineer and professor of natural philosophy at Columbia College, he entered Columbia College at the age of 12 and graduated in 1836. He received an M.A. three years later. Renwick was not trained as an architect, but instead learned the skills from his father and through a broad cultural education that included architectural history. He received his first commission in 1843 when he won the competition to design Grace Church, and Episcopal Church in New York City, which followed the English Gothic style. In 1846 Renwick won the competition for the design of the Smithsonian Institution Building. It was in the Romanesque style, as requested by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian and was built of red sandstone quarried in Seneca, Maryland. He went on to design what is considered his finest achievement, St. Patrick's Cathedral I New York City. Started in 1858 and opened in May of 1879, the cathedral is a mixture of the German, French and English Gothic influences. Another building that Renwick designed housed the first Corcoran Gallery of Art. Begun in 1859, the building was still under construction when in August 1861, the War Department seized it for use as a warehouse for records and uniforms. The building was not returned to its owner, William Corcoran, until four years after the Civil War. In 1874, Corcoran opened sections of his art gallery to visitors. Designed in the Second Empire style, the building is now home to the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery. Other buildings that Renwick designed include St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City and All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Harlem. He also designed the elaborate mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York City for Herman Ossian Armour, the famous meat packing company magnate.