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however, lowering any window sills below the ground level). 
Thus the main floor is reached without conscious climbing, 
while the basement preserves its proper height of story. At 
the ends the basement has entrances at the ground level 
where it is made coincident with the floor level. 
The Lecture theatre to seat 800 persons is placed at the 
western intersection of the wings in the basement where it 
will be nearest the railway station and driveway and have the 
advantage of outside windows for light and ventilation. It 
is planned in an original way in an effort to avoid some usual 
defects. This theatre has six large exits to the open air di- 
rect and is also accessible from the general basement. All 
these doors are level with the ground outside without steps, 
so that an alarm can have no disastrous effects. The aisles 
widen as their duty increases, and they discharge upgrade. 
There are no columns; the floor overhead will be suspended 
from girders of double capacity in the second tier. Ful 
height and good acoustics are secured by sinking the pit of 
the theatre below the normal basement level. 
The central hall is repeated in the basement, and an exhi- 
bition hall extends on either side with very good daylight. 
The north windows are made of extraordinary size. There 
are several store rooms, etc., provided. Toilet rooms for both 
sexes are placed in the front and rear respectively of the base- 
ment where good daylight and ventilation are secured. The 
first and second stories are devoted to museum purposes and 
have each a combined area of about 19,000 sq. ft. The offices 
and board room are provided opposite the main entrance in 
the first story beyond the stairs. The central hall in each 
story is given to some architectural distinction by a circular 
colonnade; the space thus separated is available tor certain 
exceptional exhibits of bold or bulky character without injur- 
ing the hall’s utility as a focus of communication. 
The main staircase, of ample proportions, easy and safe for 
the regulation of crowds, is opposite the entrance. It has a 
very large hallway landing where a few exhibits will serve to 
break the passage upward and where very large windows 
