Chapter 3 



Building 

 The Building 



WHEN CONSTRUCTION BEGAN , On June 14, 1904, 

 "the lateness of the season precluded the holding 

 of a formal ceremony on the occasion, but the first 

 spadeful of earth was turned by Secretary Langley in 

 the presence of the superintendent of construction, the 

 architects, and the employees of the Museum and In- 

 stitution.'" Langley said a few words, a board fence was 

 erected, and the digging started. The remark about the 

 lateness of the season is a reflection of the era when 

 Congress departed for the summer. What is perhaps 

 more interesting was that it was considered still "too 

 early to discuss the details of the plans."-' There were 

 not many major museum buildings in the country, and 

 in spite of their examination of foreign buildings, the 

 architects really did not have a grasp of what was needed, 

 or how best to put the parts together. 



Clearly the plans were not engraved on stone; they 

 shifted repeatedly and sometimes wildly. Plans of 1902 

 show a nearly flat roof having a great skylight over the 

 rotunda. Part of the roof was modified to a mansard 

 style, covering pavilions on the east and west ends of 

 the structure. As late as 1904, the auditorium was placed 

 in the foyer, not under the rotunda. The south entrance 

 was designed as an exedra — a semicircular entryway 

 befitting a palace. The entire south facade was to be 

 adorned with statuary. The formerly flat roof suddenly 

 sprouted a dome in the style of the French Second 

 Empire. 



In its time the Museum was the largest building in 

 the city apart from the Capital, covering nearly four 

 acres. Completing the excavations and having the mas- 

 sive concrete foundatic^ns in by November 9, 1904, was 

 an excellent start. The contracts for the granite were 

 let during these first several months. Early in the winter, 

 "the scheme of correcting any possible mistake of line 

 and effect as practiced at the Union Station by erection 

 of a wooden fascimile of a section was tried at the Mu- 



Northwest corner of the building before complct/oii of the 

 ground floor, looking south toward the Castle on November 

 22, 1905. The office at this corner is now occupied by the 

 Travel Seririce. 



seum. A complete bay, or window, from basement to 

 attic was constructed, and it proved so serviceable that 

 a complete change was made in the elevation of the 

 structure. It was discovered that a certain lack of height 

 prevented a convergence of lines. The question was 

 answered by raising the foundation three feet.'" I his 

 alteration "also permits the transfer of the lecture room 

 to the rotunda basement, removing it from the center 

 wing, which will become available for exhibition pur- 

 poses."' Denizens of museums are supposedly attracted 

 to the basements, which by tradition are expected to 

 be dark and cramped. At least now it is clear why the 

 Museum basement, or ground floor, has such a high 

 ceiling. It is another tribute to the strength of the build- 

 ing that the architects could add extra height without 

 any concern. 



Laying the First Stone 



The first stone was laid August 21, 1905 — a large block 

 near the north entrance, on the east side. The northern 

 side of the building site required less excavation than 

 the Mall side, so apparently it was easier to start there. 

 The cornerstone is on the northeast corner of the Con- 

 stitution Avenue entrance. Things were moving well 

 on the construction except that, as Rathbun noted in 

 1906, "the failure of one of the cjuarries to furnish stone 

 within the time agreed upon has been the cause of some 

 delay and had retarded the completion of the building 

 until about two years hence.'" 



The top of the building caused major problems. 

 Hornblower and Marshall, not content with their dome 

 of 1904, envisioned in 1905 an even more elaborate 

 one surmounted by a great winged statue. The con- 

 struction superintendent, Bernard L. Green, who was 

 also the superintendent of buildings and grounds of 

 the Library of Congress, was sympathetic toward a dome 

 but consulted another architect, who greatly modified 

 the Hornblower and Marshall concept. In one of his 

 last major decisions, Langley got rid of the elaborate 

 dome and the statuary. Thus the neoclassical building 

 came to be surmounted by a simple Roman-style dome. 



By October 190(i the Washington Post was writing. 



29 



