The Exhibit

     In the "Pop Culture" section of the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington D.C., you will find a very special exhibit that houses what many fans fondly refer to as the "holy grail" of Indiana Jones props.  There in the Nation's Capital, the original jacket and fedora worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade stands on display for the world to see.  Located in the exhibit along with Indy's hat and jacket is the Lone Ranger's mask along with a ray-gun from Star Trek ( yes, that's Spock in the background).  Just under the displayed sits a plaque sporting a photo of Harrison Ford facing off with a King Cobra in a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark along with the following text:

Harrison Ford wore this fedora and leather jacket in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the 1980s adventure films about an archaeologist who goes on quests for lost treasures.  Indiana Jones's resourceful and ironic heroism endeared him to movie-goers.  

The films sparked a widespread demand for the kind of clothing the hero wore, and Americans have made these symbols of adventure part of they're daily lives.

Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, gift of Harrison Ford and Lucasfilm, Ltd.

    While the display states that the hat and jacket were worn by Harrison Ford in both Raiders and Last Crusade, judging by the jacket's distinct design (with the two buttons on the storm flap) this is was a jacket worn only in Last Crusade.  Give the year in which it was donated (1989) it is safe to say that these were in fact props used only in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

 

The Donation

"Harrison Ford is making sure that generations to come will always remember 'Indiana Jones'. The actor recently donated his classic Stetson hat and battered leather jacket to the Smithsonian Institute." - E! Entertainment Television

 

     The jacket and hat worn by Indiana Jones has become a cultural icon among movie fans.  It's one of the most recognizable costumes ever to be worn by an actor in a film.  In the Summer of 1989, after filming Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford donated the jacket and hat he wore in the film to the National Museum of American History.  Here, his famous leather jacket and brown felt fedora would reside for years to come so that they may be seen and enjoyed by fans and museum-goers for years to come.  The jacket was originally made by Peter Botwright of Wested Leather in Great Britain (who designed and built a total 48 jackets for all three Indiana Jones films) and the hat was made by The Hubert Johnson Hat Shop (the same company that created all of Indy's headgear for the three films.)  The classic look of Indiana Jones has stayed with him throughout his many adventures and has found a new home in Washington D.C.

 

Photo Gallery

           

Locating the Exhibit

     If you're going to be in Washington D.C. any time soon and would like to visit the Indiana Jones exhibit, here's some information to help you find it.  As depicted in the map above, the exhibit is located on the third floor of the National Museum of American History.  If you enter the museum from the front, you will enter on the second floor.  From here you will take the escalader to the third floor, and to your left you will find the Pop Culture section.  It is here you will find the Indiana Jones display along with Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions regarding the Smithsonian exhibit.