Iht'uking ground for the new National Museum, June 14, Langley. hat in ha)id, is J.D. Hornblower, architect, and 



1904. Secretary Langley hohls the shovel. To the left, behind the hut is Bernard L. Green, superintendent of 



inidivay between him aud the lady witli the umbrella, is construction. 

 Assistant Secretaiy Rathhuu. To the right of Secretary 



letted even in the early 19U()s, for the need to cut each 

 stone to size before setting it in the proper position 

 outside the bricks turned the granite f acing into a major 

 logistic problem. Labor and material were inexpensive, 

 however, and the new Museum did not exceed its pro- 

 jected cost. This was in the tradition of the fnst National 

 Museum building, which had been built for less than 

 was appropriated by the Congress and had opened 

 ahead of schedule. 



New Building Vs. Old 



The dif ferences between the new building and the old 

 were manifold. One gets an idea of what was thought 

 of the old National Museum from George Perkins Mer- 

 rill, head curator of geology and an expert on building 

 stones, who had joined the staff in 1881 : "It was a square 

 squatty affair of red, blue, and yellow brick, exteriorly 

 an architectural horror, interiorly a barren waste. It 



presented one redeeming feature — space; and as it was 

 space that Baird was after, 1 presiuiie it may at first 

 thought have been considered a success. One may here 

 be reminded of the reply made by a high official after 

 being shown through the then newly finished Pension 

 Office building. 'Well,' it was asked, 'have you any crit- 

 icism?' 'Yes,' was the reply, 'it is fireproof."'"^ 



Yet no one except Rathbun seemed excited by the 

 appearance of the new building, which, though hand- 

 some and solid, is hardly dramatic. The British Museum 

 of Natural History building, with its various terra-cotta 

 animals decorating both exterior and interior walls, is 

 far more interesting.* The National Museum's archi- 

 tects and some of the staff had toured European mu- 

 seums before final plans were made, and original plans 

 did include terra-cotta facing. But that idea soon dis- 

 appeared in favor of an exterior whose classic style has 

 remained in harmony with neighboring buildings. To 



24 



The Structure 



