182 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1903. 



As to the saitiil)ility for inuseuin purposes of the existing buildings 

 it may be said that the Smithsonian building was erected l)efore 

 nuich was known of museum needs, and it was moreover designed 

 onl}' in part for nuiseum use. Its public halls,* though exhibiting 

 man}' important defects, have as a whole served their purpose well. 

 The acconnnodations for laboratories and the storage of reserve collec- 

 tions are, on the other hand, ver}' poor, being mainly found in base- 

 ment and small tower rooms, inconvenient and badly lighted. 



The Museum 1)uilding, constructed soon after the Centennial Exhi- 

 bition of 1S76, primarily for the extensive collections brought to 

 Washington from that source, was put up hastily and cheaply, and 

 therefore not as substantially as was advisable. It is practically one 

 great exhibition hall, since its partition walls are pierced at frequent 

 intervals with broad and high arched openings. The lighting in the 

 main is not unsatisfactory, though with a different roof construction it 

 could be much improved. Here again, however, fault is to be found 

 with the space available for workrooms and storerooms, since, having 

 practicall}^ no basement, these rooms are confined to the towers and 

 pavilions. 



In planning the new granite building an opportunity is offered for 

 correcting these faults. Good and convenient laboratories and storage 

 rooms have been provided for, and it is intended that the exhi))ition 

 halls shall show a decided improvement over those in the older 

 structures. 



The history of the buildings is briefly as follows: 



In 1840 a society was organized in the city of Washington under the 

 name of the National Institution, afterwards changed to the National 

 Institute, among whose objects was the direction of the Smith- 

 son bequest, then under discussion by Congress, and the bringing 

 together of collections in natural history, ethnology, and such other 

 subjects as fall within the scope of a general museum. Its member- 

 ship included man}^ prominent persons, among them members of the 

 Government and of Congress, which gave to the society a recognized 

 position and secured to its purposes extensive quarters in the building 

 of the Patent Office. Here w'ere assembled the many valuable speci- 

 mens brought home by the famous United States Exploring Expedition 

 around the world, as well as others derived from both Government 

 and private sources, which formed the nucleus of the present national 

 collections, soon to pass under other control. 



Under date of December 6, 1838, the President announced to Con- 

 gress the receipt in this country and the investment of the Smithson 

 bequest, amounting to a little more than half a million dollars, and 

 also invited the attention of that body to the obligation devolving upon 

 the United States to fulfill the objects of that ))equest. During the 

 seven and three-quarters years which ensued to the time of the actual 



