Through the efforts of various business firms in 

 Massachusetts, insurance companies, and masters of many 

 coastal vessels, a bill was introduced in the House requesting 

 an appropriation of $52, 000 for the construction of a refuge 

 in the Great Harbor of Woods Hole to permit vessels of 

 20-foot draft to come in and remain in perfect safety in 

 severe storms and to furnish the basins for keeping live 

 fish. The magnitude of the appropriation induced President 

 Chester A. Arthur to defer approval for one year. The 

 refuge was built in 1884 (fig. 16) and proved to be a valuable 

 asset to the station, not only as a safe shelter for small 

 boats, but also as a convenient place to keep live- cars 

 containing fish and invertebrates and conduct observations 

 and experiments. 



Before commencing the construction of the necessary 

 buildings, Baird engaged the services of E. W. Bowditch, 

 a well-known landscape architect and engineer, to make a 

 careful survey of the land and prepare a map (scale of 20 feet 

 to one inch) including the contour lines at one-foot intervals 

 over the entire surface. Plans for the buildings were made 

 by Robert H. Slack, Boston archietct, and the contract for 

 the erection of the first building was given to W. R. Penniman 

 of South Braintree (Boston). 



Drawings made under Baird' s guidance showed his full 

 understanding of the station's needs and his great ability to 

 visualize minute details in planning the laboratory and in 

 designing water tables, chemical benches, and other laboratory 

 furniture. He was assisted in this work by Verrill. 



With the appropriation of $25, 000 by Congress for 

 construction purposes, the first building to be erected was the 

 "quarters" for the personnel. Upon completion the structure 

 became an outstanding landmark of Woods Hole and was always 

 called the "Residence. " Concurrently with the work on the 

 foundation of the residence building, the excavation and 

 dredging for the piers was carried out. In addition to the 

 residence building, the station plans included the laboratory 

 and hatchery building, the pump house with a sea-water 

 reservoir, a coalshed, and a storehouse. 



Construction of the laboratory building, 120 x 40 feet, 

 began in 1884 and was partly finished that same year. Serious 

 difficulties were encountered in laying the foundation, which 

 had to be erected on unstable grounds regularly covered by 

 water at high tide. It was necessary to drive wooden pilings 

 upon which the structure rested. In February 1885, the 

 construction of the laboratory and hatchery was completed by 

 Brightman, a New Bedford contractor, and was accepted by 

 the Commission. For nearly three-quarters of a century the 

 building withstood the violence of Cape Cod storms and 



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