298 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1903, 



Tho rotunda at the south, or main, entrance will be about 116 feet 

 scjuarc, and lighted entirely from above. It will connect directly 

 with the three great halls, which are to be similar in character and 

 of the same length and width, about 20J) by 116 feet, all provided 

 with galleries except at the inner ends adjoining the rotunda. The 

 galleries along the sides will be 32 feet wide, leaving an interspace of 

 50 feet width. This central or open part of the main halls will be lis 

 feet long and reach to ceiling lights imder the skylights, a distance 

 of ()() feet, while the galleries and sides of the tirst story will receive 

 their light from the large windows of the fronts and courts. The 

 galleries of the second and third floors are intended to be entirel}' 

 screened off from the central halls and treated as space that can be 

 divided to suit the requirements. The space under the galleries may 

 be treated in the same way or left open, as circumstances may dictate. 



The remainder of the building, consisting of the ranges on the east, 

 west, and north, will be 5,5 feet in interior width and have solid floors, 

 one above the other, their light being entirely obtained from windows. 



The main and second floors will, as before stated, be used Avholly 

 for the public exhi])ition collections, while the upper floor will he 

 divided into laboratories and storage rooms for the reserve collections. 

 The basement will have the same dimensions as the first floor, but 

 under the main halls it will require to l)e lighted artificially. The side 

 areas will bo of sufficient width for teams, which may enter the build- 

 ing at both ends of the south front. One of the south wings of the 

 basement will be utilized for the boilers, power plant, mechanical 

 workshops, etc, ; the other, as well as the ranges, probably for labora- 

 tories and for the storage of specimens in such lines as can best be 

 accommodated there, though some parts of the ranges may ])e availed 

 of for exhibition purposes. 



The northern entrance will be b}^ way of the basement, into a large 

 vestibule with elevators and stairways. There will also be passage- 

 ways leading in all three directions, the central one commimicating 

 directly with a small lecture hall occupying the center of the middle 

 section of the basement. On each side of this hall will be a series of 

 small rooms, some of which can be used for connnittee meetings. 



The net floor area of the building will be about 111,37-1 square feet, 

 or about 9.14 acres, subdivided as follows: Basement and main floor, 

 each about 110,732 square feet; second and third floors, each about 

 88,955 square feet. 



FLOOR SPACE OCCUPIED BY THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



The following is a detailed statement of the space occupied ])v the 

 Museum on January 1, 1901, arranged mainly in explanation of the 

 plans of the two principal existing buildings (Plates 21 and 29). Fig- 

 ures are also given for the outside buildings, but the plans for these 

 are omitted as being unim])()rtant. 



