178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1962 



The puma house came in for its share of the maintenance program. 

 The west half of the inside wooden dens was removed and rebuilt. 

 Outside, concrete paving and copings were repaired or replaced. 



The downstairs office rooms in the east wing of the administration 

 building, more than 100 years old, were refurbished following the re- 

 placement of the wood floor which had yielded to the onslaught of time 

 and termites. Asphalt tile over the new concrete, an acoustical tile 

 ceiling, and repainted walls and woodwork were included in the 

 project. At the request of the division of political history of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, a window pane from one of the upstairs 

 rooms was removed and taken to the Institution. Visitors to the 

 house had scratched political slogans on the glass with diamonds: 

 "Down with Hickory's enemies"; "Huzzah for Old Hickory"; "Old 

 Hickory Forever." One was dated 1827. 



The large second-floor room at the reptile house was redone and 

 made suitable for use as an auditorium. 



The rewiring of the small mammal house was completed. A new 

 main electrical distributing panel and a separate panel for the motors 

 operating the ventilating system and heating controls were included 

 in the rewiring. 



A welcome improvement to the Park was the development of a 

 large picnic area south of and adjoining the restaurant. 



The grounds department continued to plant and service trees. A 

 snow fence was put up in certain areas to deter visitors from trampling 

 on newly planted shrubbery. Logs were used to terrace banks and 

 protect them from erosion. It was the work of this department to 

 remove excess soil and debris after construction jobs were done. The 

 department continued to provide perches, hollow logs, and forage for 

 the animals. 



Agencies which provided the Zoo with plants in exchange for com- 

 post included the U.S. Plant Introduction Center, the D.C. Water 

 Department, the National Arboretum, Walter Eeed Hospital, the U.S. 

 Botanical Gardens, and the Bureau of Naval Weapons. 



PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 



A master plan for the development and growth of the National 

 Zoological Park was submitted by the architectural and engineering 

 firm of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall on September 11, 1961. 

 This plan was accepted in principle by the director and by the Board 

 of Eegents of the Smithsonian Institution. It also received the en- 

 dorsement of the National Capital Planning Commission and the 

 Fine Arts Commission. 



Plans and specifications for the first phase of the reconstruction 

 are now being prepared. Work under this phase will consist of a 



