2f){^ rp:i'()KT ok national museum, ii»03. 



by a deep ivory, tho ceilings being of ti lighter ivory. In the rotunda 

 the colors range from olive ])elow to ivory above, with stencil decora- 

 tions as shoAvn in the plates. This color scheme has not' been extended 

 to the ranges, which have been repainted from time to time in various 

 colors. 



In connection with the original construction of the building, though 

 undci- a special ap])r()priation, a floor of encaustic tiles was laid in the 

 I'otunda, and tioors of marble squares of various colors in the four 

 large halls or naves. The mar])le tiling is surrounded by a frieze of 

 dark-blue slate, of sufficient width to bridge the ducts containing the 

 steam pipes, wires, etc., while around the frieze is a border of parti- 

 colored Portland cement. The floors in all the other halls were con- 

 structed of yellow pine, partly in preparation for the Garfield inaugu- 

 ral ball of March 4, 1S81, out of the local fund for that purpose. 

 These floors were laid upon a concrete base and began to decay after 

 a very few years, requiring frequent and extensive repairs. In 1.S91 

 it became necessary to replace several of them with more substantial 

 material, and this continued down to 1808, when the last of the wooden 

 floors disappeared. The substitutes have l)een cement, granito, and 

 finally terrazzo, the last being the most pleasing and apparcMitl}- the 

 most durable. Other floor changes have consisted in the laying of 

 mosaic pavements in the vestibules of the main entrance and the north- 

 west entrance. In the pavilions and towers the different stories are 

 separated by arches of l^rick and concrete, supported by iron beams, 

 the floor covering being of Florida pine. Thus the building has been 

 rendered essentially fireproof in all parts of its' construction. 



An octagonal fountain basin, 20 feet in diameter, composed of a rim 

 of molded polished granite and cement floor, occupies the middle of 

 the rotunda. From its center rises the original plaster model of the 

 goddess of liberty which, in bronze, surmounts the Dome of the 

 United States Capitol. 



As before stated, the building was constructed with four main 

 entrances, one at the center of each front, but only two of these are 

 now used as such, that on the north side being for the public and that 

 on the east side for the delivery of supplies and specimens. The 

 entrances on the south and west have been closed and, together with 

 the adjacent space, converted into headquarters for the departments 

 of biology and anthropology, respectively. There is also a small 

 entrance on the south side of the northwest pavilion leading directly 

 to the administrative offices. 



The north, or main, entrance has two sets of double doors of l)lack 

 walnut paneled wMth h(>avy plate glass, the large arched space above 

 being filled in with a latticework of walnut set with glass. In front 

 of the entrance is a mosaic platform, bordered by granite coping, and 



