NATIONAL MTf^EUM Hl'ILDINfiM. 217 



covering, the latter secured in place by wire to iron |iur]incs and pointed iniderneath 

 b}' a coating of cement. 



The inside lining of the walls of the .second story of tiie })nilding, which had l)een 

 much injured by the fire, has ])een removed and its place supplied by a new 9-inch 

 brick wall laid in cement, securely tied, and clamped to the outer stonework. 



The chairman of the committee has given personal attention to the work in its 

 progress and can state from actual knowledge that the plans, material, and work- 

 manship are of a satisfactory character, alike creditable tf> the talents and careful 

 supervision of Mr. Cluss, the architect. 



1867. Jt was statetl in the report presented to tlu- Boanl at its last sessi(in that it 

 was proposed, during the year 18B7, to roof the main building and towers and finish 

 the interior of all the rooms, halls, staircases, and )nain entrance, leaving the large 

 room of the upper story over the museum unfinished until funds could be provided 

 for the purpose and its future use be determined. 



In accordance witli this proposition the ironwork of the roof over the museum 

 was erected early in the spring, and covered with slate, fastened to the iron purlines 

 with wire and jylastered inside witli wall plaster. The iron gutters, as well as the 

 roof, were found perfectly secure from leakage during the hardest summer rains. 

 The severe test of ice and snow during the present winter has-shown the necessity 

 for additions in the arrangements for conducting the water from the roof. Plans for 

 this purpose are now under discussion with the architect for persevering in the orig- 

 inal plan, or adopting some additional security that the late severe season has indi- 

 cated to be advisable. 



The adaptation of new to old work in restoring the building from the destructive 

 effects of the fire by substituting incombustible materials for wooden partitions, 

 floors, and roofs, has been attended, as was foreseen, with much labor and expense, 

 as well as making additional means indispensable for rendering the roof surfaces, 

 valleys, and gutters water-tight in winter, when covered with snow and occasionally 

 ice, as well as the summer rains. Like the public l)uildings generally in this citv 

 (and we may say elsewhere) where Ijattlements extend above the eaves, with gutters 

 behind them upon the roof, or resting upon the walls, much inconvenience, and at 

 times damage, arises from leaks the result of such a system. It is experienced in 

 the Smithsonian building in consequence of the stone battlements capping all its 

 exterior walls. The present architect's original design, approved by the committee, 

 is set forth in his report of the operations of the year annexed hereto. Neither 

 time nor the funds of the Institution would permit his carrying this part of his plan 

 into operation; and until it is done, together with some additions that the late 

 inclement season has pointed out as advisable and necessary, the building is not 

 secure, nor the property within it, from dampness and moisture. 



The introduction of the propo.sed warming apparatus for all the apartments is 

 the next most essential particular to be undertaken, to he commenced whenever the 

 funds of the Institution will justify. 



The security of the several apartments and contents are in a great measure depend- 

 ent upon such an apparatus as a substitute for the stoves temporarily in use, and for 

 which no permanent smoke flues or other arrangements were jirovided. 



All the rooms in the north tower, forming three suites of three in each, with two 

 rooms on the entrance floor, one for the janitor and the other for a reception room 

 for visitors, have been completi'd and are now used and occupied as offices for con- 

 ducting the operations of the Institution. The several apartments in this north 

 tower above these offices have also been completed. The rooms and apartments in 

 the south tower have also been finished and are now occupied. The lower one, or 

 that on the first floor, forms a part of the general museum and is now devoted to the 

 reception of the larger and most weighty articles of ethnology, such as the stone 

 images from Central America and the stone sarcophagus from Syria. 



