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I recently paid a visit to what has become one of Washington's newest and hottest tourist attractions. The museum, located near FBI headquarters is actually housed in five buildings structurally connected to each other. The buildings themselves have a Whisked to the third floor in a stainless steel elevator (with visions of James Bond, legs spread apart to avoid being sent to the sharks!) you begin your tour assuming a new identity and then enter a briefing room for an introductory film about spying. Your next stop is orientation with the stuff most people associate with spying the gadgets. Here you can wander through interactive displays that trace everything from the development of the electronic bug to disguises created by the CIA. Most of the 600 or so artifacts have been acquired from the collection of H. Keith Melton, an author and technical adviser to intelligence services who owns the world's largest collection of real-life spy gear. Other items have been donated from members of the intelligence community. Of course for the James Bond fan, the must see gadget is a full-scale Aston Martin DB5 made up to look like the gadget-laden version from Goldfinger and Thunderball. But one can't help be drawn to the real-life gadgets that defined a generation of East/West spy versus spy.
Sitting in the downstairs Spy Caf the museum's director of public relations explains why visitors see the tools of the trade first. "People want to see the stuff they thought was only in the movies," says Jennifer Saxon. "The surprise for them is that after they see them they go through the history sections of the museum and see there is so much more to the museum that just the gadgets." When you ve had your share of gadgets your tour takes your through history of spying, sort of a secret tour of world history. The various galleries explore spying from biblical times through two World Wars and of course the epic cold war battles between the CIA and KGB. You'll walk through a mock up of the tunnels dug under the Berlin Wall among the various interactive displays. Bond fans will be happy to know that 007 has his place in the gallery detailing fictional spies. Items like the James Bond Electric Drawing Set and Gilbert figures highlight Bondmania that swept the globe in the 60's. By the time you reach the last exhibits detailing the exploits of notorious CIA and FBI turncoat agents Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen you will have been entertained and hopefully educated about why nations spy on each other. "We hope people are more savvy after they leave about what's going on in the world," says Saxon. That's exactly what the museum's founder wanted when he began planning for the International Spy Museum Milton Maltz, Chairman of the Malrite Company and the founder of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, began an interest in intelligence while working at the National Security Agency for the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Maltz has worked to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the museum by attracting some heavy-hitters in the world of intelligence to sit on the museum s board of directors. Among the members are former CIA Directors William Webster and Admiral Stansfield Turner and former KGB General Oleg Danilovich Kalugin. Matlz even recruited former CIA Officer E. Peter Earnest to run the museum as Executive Director.
So how does the intelligence community view the museum? Jennifer Saxon explains, "We went out of our way to tell them (intelligence community) we were here. Many intelligence community members tell us they are very interested in what we have here and that it can only be a positive so that the public has a better idea of what they do."
Of course no museum is complete without the gift shop. In addition to a wide array of books and souvenirs for spies of all ages, there are numerous Bond-related items for sale. If you visit the museum, plan on spending at least a couple of hours to truly soak in the history, the exhibits and the gadgets. If you're like me, you'll come away remembering the one unique item that even Q branch couldn't have thought of. Tops on my list is the Doo-Doo Transmitter. A cleverly disguised homing device hidden inside a piece of real looking doggie poop, proving at the International Spy Museum, all is not what it seems. For more information on the International Spy Museum go to www.spymuseum.org or call 202.EYE.SPY.U (202-393-7798) ©2005-2007 Fraser Engerman |
rich history. One of them, the Atlas Building, housed the former headquarters of the fourth district of the U.S. Communist Part from 1941 to 1948.
Here you'll see a Lipstick Pistol, also known as the The Kiss of Death used by KGB operatives during the cold war. Then there's the KGB issued Coat with Buttonhole Camera and MI9 Escape Boots designed for British pilots to escape and evade capture during World War Two. Another highlight is one of the Enigma Cipher Machines the Allies used to break German codes during the war.
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