The cast zinc sculptural group Columbia Protecting Science and Industry was sculpted by Caspar Buberl. The casts, by M.J. Seelig & Co. of Brooklyn, NY, were completed in 1879. The figure of Columbia is 10-ft 9-in tall and has an arm-span of 8-ft 4-in. The sculptures were placed on the north pediment of the Smithsonian Institution’s second building, the Arts & Industries Building, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. This building was constructed to house the exhibits of the recently concluded 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Kreilick Conservation, LLC was selected to conserve the sculptural group off-site to facilitate the replacement of a cracked plinth. The sculptural elements were removed on February 8th, 2012 and transported to a facility in Swedesboro, NJ for treatment. All existing coatings were removed. Cracks and open seams were closed. Internal stainless steel frames from earlier work were modified to make the sculptures more earthquake and wind-resistant. Large cast aluminum plates were designed to relieve stress by sandwiching the brittle zinc between the new plates and the existing stainless steel frames. A new coating system was selected to be maintainable, and reversible, if necessary. The color, a yellowish-white (Munsell No. 5Y 8.5/1) was based on an earlier analysis of the historic paints. The sculptures were re-installed in May 2013.