Hall of Archeology of 

 Europe and Asia {Hall 23), 

 on the second floor oj the 

 north wing, looking north to 

 the elevator doors in the 

 distance; a model of the 

 Parthenon is to the right. 

 The windows on the lejt open 

 onto the west court, and the 

 openings on the right 

 overlook Hall 10. Probably 

 1910-1940. 



guished one, but does have a large closet at one end, 

 an uncommon feature. Most offices had clothes trees 

 or lockers, for the thickness of the Museum's walls pre- 

 cluded the sort of thin partitions used for conventional 

 closets. 



On the ground floor, the mammalogists held sway 

 in both the west north range and the west range. Most 

 of the west range was occupied by mammalogists of the 

 Biological Survey, while the Division of Mammals had 

 the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The Mall 

 side of the west wing was occupied by the invertebrate 

 zoologists, and the Museum fish people had the north 

 side, looking out into the west courtyard. Botany re- 

 mained in the Castle. 



Few New Staff Members 



In spite of the large new quarters, few new members 

 were added to the scientific staff; most of the expansion 

 was from associated agencies. Neil Jucld, in Anthro- 

 pology, was one of the few new junior staff members, 

 and his position probably came about because Holmes 

 was so busy with the National Gallery. Waldo Schmitt, 

 in invertebrate zoology, was another. A native of Wash- 

 ington, D.C., he had been a scientific aide in the Division 

 of Marine Invertebrates before joining several cruises 

 in Bureau of Fisheries vessels. After a year in California, 

 he returned to the Museum as an assistant curator.'" 

 In order to provide a paid position for him, Mary Jane 



Rathbun, the sister of the Assistant Secretary, gave up 

 her staff appointment. Schmitt's devotion to her, through 

 the next thirty years of her career, was less an expres- 

 sion of gratitude than a true scientific love story. Miss 

 Rathbun was the specialist on crabs. 



Compared to the brick building, the new National 

 Museum was a palace. All the offices, which were steam- 

 heated, had windows, giving plenty of daylight to work 

 by. For those on the ground floor, lavatories were in 

 the lobby; there were two on the third floor near the 

 rotunda. It may give some notion of the building's size 

 to point out that from a remote office to the nearest 

 bathroom was close to a 500-foot walk. 



There seems to be a general rule of thumb today 

 that it takes about five years after a major move for an 

 organization to function with its former efficiency. It 

 takes time to settle in and fit new members into the 

 staff, to remember where materials have been moved, 

 to get a grasp of how the library has been rearranged. 

 Yet the disruption of research at the Museum was min- 

 imal. Judging from lists in the annual reports of the 

 published papers of the staff, there was no noticeable 

 slackening of publication as a result of the move and 

 the new exhibits program. Certainly by 1913 the Mu- 

 seum staff was pursuing research at a more active pace 

 than ever. But the tranquility and order that had been 

 earned by hard work were not to last. □ 



New Exhibits, New Offices 



63 



