Smithsonian Institution
Detailed Involvements
Events with rich location context
The Smithsonian is named as an alternative source for prints, broadening the pool of cultural artifacts the White House could request; its invocation amplifies the domestic ritual into a matter of institutional coordination.
Implied institutional calm and archival authority, contrasted with the Oval's sudden agitation.
Mentioned as a lending institution and part of the conversation about decorating the Oval with national treasures.
Represents the nation's cultural repository and the ceremonial aspect of the presidency.
Publicly accessible but subject to loan protocol; not directly involved on-screen.
The Smithsonian is cited in tandem with the National Gallery as an alternate source of artwork, reinforcing the breadth of cultural options and the ceremonial tone before the political interruption reasserts itself.
Referenced as a venerable public institution contributing to the Oval's decorum.
Potential lender of artwork; rhetorical function is to normalize presidential aesthetics.
Signals the public, educational face of national institutions contrasted with partisan press machinations.
No direct access in the scene; involvement is conversational and logistical.
The Smithsonian is named as the target of Horgiboum's threatened attack; its invocation raises stakes from campus harassment to a potential attack on a national institution, focusing protective priorities and public reassurance.
Portrayed as publicly open yet implicitly vulnerable — 'open for business' despite the threat.
Target of a direct threat and narrative amplifier of seriousness.
A national symbol whose targeting signals a shift from private embarrassment to public danger.
Publicly accessible in normal operation, though threatened status implies heightened guard and investigative interest.
The Smithsonian is named as the threatened public target of an attempted bombing; its invocation transforms the briefing from interpersonal optics to a national-security concern and reframes protectees' vulnerability in physical, iconic space.
Referenced with alarm and reassurance — agents note it's 'open for business' while acknowledging the serious threat.
Named target that catalyzes heightened protective and investigative measures.
Functions as a civic symbol whose threatened violence escalates political stakes and public scrutiny.
Open to the public but now a focal point for law-enforcement vigilance in the briefing.
Events at This Location
Everything that happens here
In a domestic, slightly comic beat in the Oval, Mrs. Landingham and President Bartlet bicker over which museum prints to hang — a small, human moment that exposes his charm …
In a flashback inside the Oval, a domestic, almost banal moment—Bartlet and Mrs. Landingham picking art while he grumbles about signing opaque executive orders—is ruptured when Leo arrives and C.J. …
In a Secret Service conference room Ron Butterfield briefs agents on a chilling escalation: a detained man threatened to blow up the Smithsonian to force a meeting with Zoey, and …
During a Secret Service briefing about mounting extremist threats to Zoey, C.J. slips in afterward demanding clarity about Zoey's contact with reporter David Arbor. Gina refuses to break protectee confidentiality, …