NATIONAL MUSEUM — BUILDINGS. 233 



fireproofcd and considerabl}' eularg-ed at the time of its rebuilding in 

 1884. In ISTI nearly all the remainder of the building was given 

 over to the purposes of the National Museum. 



At the east end are now the offices of the Secretary and of the 

 parent institution, as well as those for the general administration 

 of the Government branches under the direction of the Institution, 

 the offices of the exchange service and of the international catalogue 

 of scientific literature, and rooms for that part of the Smithsonian 

 librar}^ which is retained at the Institution. In this part of the build- 

 ing are also several rooms used conjointly with the Museum, such as 

 the disbursing office, the quarters of the registrar and the shipping 

 clerk, and apartments for the storage and distribution of documents. 



Immediately inside the principal or northern entrance of the main 

 building is an octagonal vestibule between 17 and 18 feet across, at 

 each side of which is a small room about 15 feet square occupied bj' 

 the watch force and as an office of suj^erintendence. Next follows 

 a long and high hall containing two iron stairwa3's leading to the 

 upper stories. The main lower hall, which measures about 200 feet 

 long b}^ 50 feet wide and 23 feet 8 inches high, might be expected to 

 present exceptional advantages for the exhibition of collections, yet it 

 has several very marked defects. The large windows (14 feet 10 

 inches high by 4 feet 5 inches wide), reaching from about 4 feet 5 

 inches above the floor to within the same distance of the paneled ceil- 

 ing, ati'ord abundant light at the ends, but in the center of the room 

 on both the north and south sides there is a long blank wall necessi- 

 tating artificial lighting over a considerable space. Furthermore, the 

 ceiling of the room is supported by two rows of very heav}'^ orna- 

 mental columns (3 feet 3 inches wide, 8 feet 9 inches apart, and about 

 14 feet distant from the walls) which unite in a series of arches above. 

 Between these cokuuns and the outer walls, at a height of 8 feet from 

 the floor, are four galleries, 15 feet wide, which extend from the ends 

 of the hall to the central dark area, and both these columns and gal- 

 leries are further means of darkening the middle aisle of the room. 



Except at the sides of the entrances, where they are arranged in a 

 large quadrangle illuminated by incandescent electric lamps, the cases 

 forming the main series in this hall extend from pillar to wall and 

 from the floor to the galler}" so as to form successive baj^s or alcoves, 

 each lighted by a single window. In some of the alcoves there are 

 also small square cases, with groups of specimens, and all of the 

 above are used for the exhibition of birds. Extending through the 

 central aisle is a series of unit cases, with sloping and upright tops, 

 for the displa}' and storage of mollusks. 



A passagewa}^ from the middle of the hall leads to a small room, 

 about 25 by 23 feet, forming the main floor of the south tower, the 

 exterior entrance to which has been closed. This room has been 



