Behind the fences of the Smithsonian's African American museum (Video)
It is fair to say that Charlie Yetter works in construction. It would be more precise to say he’s a senior project manager at McKissack & McKissack. But ask Yetter what he does for a living, and his answer might surprise you.
“When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I’m working on probably the most significant project, and the most recognizable project, in Washington, D.C. And it is,” Yetter said. “Not only does it have historic value, but it has all kinds of design construction challenges that have just been tremendous to be involved in.”
Yetter is working on the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, a $500 million project whose scale can hardly be discerned by passers-by watching the construction cranes operate from behind fences on the National Mall.
The project made national news a few weeks ago, when construction crews arranged to shut down part of Constitution Avenue to cart in two permanent exhibits that will be part of the museum. The exhibits, a 77-ton segregation-era railway car and a guard tower from The Angola prison in Louisiana, were so big that they had to be installed before the museum’s walls or roof goes up.
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/12/behind-the-fences-of-the-smithsonians.html?page=all
