Margaret W. Moodcy, 191 U. Aliw Muudey iva.s .secrckny ni 

 l/ir Di'/iarhnfHl of Ctcology, ami probably ///m ivu:, taken in 

 ibc siiulbrasi (oriirr dUirr of the ibnil fbun. 



Clerks on the first floor of the Museum, probably in 1918. 

 The scene is one of the riniges — the exhibits cannot be 

 identijied. 



Regents place at the disposal of this bureau from 

 60,000 to 80,000 additional feet in the exhibition 

 hall . . . which was provided by concentrating the 

 cases in parts of each hall and protecting them by 

 means of partitions, thereby leaving large areas 

 available. . . . 



As the force increased additional space was 

 granted, so that at the close of the fiscal year, the 

 bureau occupied 69,286 square feet in the foyer, 

 auditorium, and ranges on the ground floor; the 

 rotunda, and portions of the exhibition halls on 

 the first floor extending from the center of the 

 north hall aroimd east through the southern 

 section of the west hall, thereby providing 

 accommodations for 3,059 employees. 



On July 16, 1918, at the further request of the 

 President, the Board of Regents closed the natural 

 history building to the public, thereby making 

 available for the Bureau of War Risk Insurance on 

 the ground and two exhibition floors a total of 

 138,600 square feet." 



I his c<inversion to office space was a remarkable in- 

 cident, pi obably unparalleled in the history of Amer- 

 ican museums. The building is large, but the concept 

 of thousands upon thousands of clerks at their desks 

 brings that point home dramatically. 



Museum Reopened 



In late March 1919 the Bureau of War Risk Insurance 

 moved to quarters of its own at the corner of Vermont 

 Avenue and H Street, NW, but its funds were so de- 

 pleted that it was unable to honor its agreemnt to ren- 

 ovate the Natural History Building. The Museum thus 

 had to be reopened unrepaired — the first floor on April 

 1 1 and the second floor on April 22. In the next fiscal 

 year the Museum received sufficient fimds to repair 

 the damaged plaster walls and repaint the exhibit halls. 



For years, a footnote to the annual attendance figure 

 of 132,859 for fiscal 1918-19 indicated that it reflected 

 only the three months the building was open that year — 

 April, May, and June, 1919. Attendance was strikingly 

 heavy, suggesting that visitors had sorely missed the 

 Museum during the long time it was closed. Attendance 

 during the previous fiscal year, 1917—18, represented 

 a great increase over annual figures for the first few 

 years the Museum was open. More than 40 1 ,000 visitors 

 came to the Natural History Building during the twelve 

 months of that year. The relatively heavy attendance, 

 in spite of the fact that some exhibits were closed, showed 

 the swelling of population in wartime Washington and 

 the lack of other entertainment facilities. 



During World War II the Museum remained open 

 and functioned about as normally as any agency did at 

 that time. When there was talk of closing it again, it 

 was successfully argued that the educational and en- 

 tertainment value of the Museum, for people assigned 



66 



The Exhibits 



