No, it doesn't. In fact, it cannot even support its own weight. But it survives, over 190 years later, and is soon to emerge following a seven year, $18.6 million conservation project. That's right -- THE flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814, that inspired the composition of our national anthem by Francis Scott Key, will soon be back on display in the Smithsonian.

Even then, Sept. 14, 1814, the huge garrison flag was frayed at the ends and faded from a year's daily use. Over the next 190 years, it deteriorated to the point that it has become one the country's most fragile cultural treasures.

"The first time I saw it, my stomach just dropped," said Marilyn Zoidis, the Smithsonian's senior curator for the flag. "It was so fragile that it couldn't even support its own weight. I really wondered whether we would ever be able to save it."

Since the project began, a cadre of chemists, conservators and textile experts have labored over the red, white and blue rectangle of wool bunting with cotton stars.

Because of the flag's size and fragility, technicians have to work while lying prone on a gantry that lets them "hover" 4 inches above it. Exhaust ducts dangle like elephant trunks to remove chemical vapors. Increased air pressure keeps dust out. The temperature is maintained at 68 degrees, and the lights are kept low to prevent further deterioration.

Congress has authorized $3 million. The rest of the money, including $10 million from Polo Ralph Lauren and $5 million from the Pew Charitable Trusts, is from private sources.

I remember, as a kid living in the Washington area, seeing that flag every time we visited the museum. While I may have wanted to see the dinosaurs, mummys amd aircraft that fill the various buildings, I always found it a special moment when we went to see the flag. And we did go to see the flag every single time. even then, thirty years ago, the flag was in sorry shape. So I was pleased sevral years ago to hear that this important cultural icon would be safeguarded for future generations.

A small gallery with a 50-foot-long window looking onto the flag conservation lab has become the museum's largest attraction, with 10 million visitors since it opened in 1998.

Most visitors are struck by the sheer size of the banner, so frayed in spots it is almost transparent. Designed to fly from a 90-foot pole, the flag measured 30 by 42 feet. Now it is 30 by 34 feet, reduced by wear and tear at Fort McHenry and by uncounted bits and pieces snipped off as mementos.

The conservation team's inch-by-inch survey found 165 previous repairs, 37 patches, and a spectrum of soiling that included sulfur and nitrogen residue left by exploding British shells and contemporary grime, auto exhaust and mold.

Some parts were strong enough to be gently vacuumed, but most had to be patted clean with dry cosmetic sponges and gently bathed with diluted solvents. Uneven aging has produced at least five shades of red, six kinds of white, and three hues of blue.

Because the flag can't support its own weight, technicians have been attaching it to a synthetic backing.

Like I said, it was in pretty sorry shape, though I would never have imagined it had become that fragile. I wish the last few years would have enabled me to see the conservation effort, but such is life. In the next few years, we will need to make a trip out east to see the results of this effort.

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