Report on the National Air Museum 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities 

 of the National Air Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1956 : 



STATUS OF PROPOSED NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM BUILDING 



At the beginning of the fiscal year the vigorous efforts by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution to obtain a site for the proposed National Air 

 Museum building seemed about to succeed. The preferred site had 

 been chosen after a study of the original "wineglass pattern" plan 

 developed by the National Capital Planning Commission for im- 

 provement of the southwest Washington area. At the offices of that 

 Commission it was agreed that the site on Independence Avenue, be- 

 tween 9th and 12th Streets, was most desirable for the proposed Na- 

 tional Air Museum building. Subsequently, however, the Commission 

 decided to adopt a plan for the development of southwest "Washington 

 proposed by the firm of Webb & Knapp, New York City. That plan 

 eliminated the preferred National Air Museum building site in favor 

 of a 10th Street Mall. No alternate site has yet been assigned, although 

 several are being considered. Especial attention is being given sites 

 close to the other museum buildings in order to provide most con- 

 venient access to the visiting public with limited time in Washington. 



Although the question of a site has not been answered, nevertheless 

 as a result of continuing efforts and cooperation the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution now has a broader appreciation and better knowledge of the 

 requirements for adequate care and housing of the National Aero- 

 nautical Collections. The architectural studies, which were generously 

 financed by the Aircraft Industries Association and the Air Trans- 

 port Association, and ably conducted by the architectural firm of 

 McKim, Mead & White, have provided the Institution with a magni- 

 ficent general internal and external plan of a building, scale drawings 

 of floor plans, perspective renderings, and scale models of a building 

 which is generally adaptable to any level site approximately 1,000 by 

 500 feet. A previous study conducted by the General Services Ad- 

 ministration, Public Buildings Service, produced a plan adaptable to 

 a larger area which would include outdoor exhibits and parking. As 

 the result of the work of the past several years, therefore, the Institu- 

 tion is provided with the principal features which can be adapted to 

 any chosen site. 



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