Center has grown steadily, and when schools are in 

 session it is in almost constant use. At least three local 

 scientific societies hold monthly meetings in the Center. 



Over the past twenty years, the side of the Museum 

 dedicated to the public has more than held its own. 

 Likewise, there has been considerable improvement from 

 the scientist's point of view. The collections are in far 

 better condition than at any other time in the history 

 of the Museum. The amotmt of support help is at an 

 all-time high. Funding for research has always been a 

 problem, but in addition to federal and Smithsonian 

 funds, the Museum receives modest amounts from pri- 

 vate endowments for certain types of research or 

 collection-building 



Modifications to the Building 



The Museum l)uilding has been the site of almost con- 

 tinuous modification. The wings are increasingly being 

 split up into tinv cubicles, some by temporary walls and 

 some with cinderblock. The office ceilings in the wings 

 and the main building were torn up to add smoke de- 

 tectors. Then they were torn up again to add a sprinkler 

 system. The main building is being tidied up with false 

 ceilings to cover various wires, air ducts, and miscel- 

 laneous relics of improvement. Asbestos in the attics 



has to be removed, and unfortunately some of the rel- 

 atively new air-conditioning piping was coated with as- 

 bestos. For the last five years, a significant hazard has 

 been the danger of walking into stepladders scattered 

 throughout the halls. 



One place of great activity during the spring of 1984 

 was the northeast corner of the main building on the 

 third floor. Secretary Ripley had established research 

 offices there upon his arrival in Washington; after his 

 retirement on September 17, 1984, this became his 

 headquarters.'^ The area was rebuilt and repainted in 

 an incredibly short time. 



Down the hall from the former Secretary, on the east 

 north range. Secretary Adams has an area reserved for 

 his archeological research.'" Some skeletons had to be 

 displaced to reconstruct office walls where they once 

 had stood two decades before. 



There is one loose end: the enigmatic "Museum of 

 Man." The name appears on a plaque at each entrance 

 to the building, yet this is the only sign of it. During 

 the days of the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology, 

 a museum concentrating on man as distinct from nat- 

 ural history was discussed. It had both proponents and 

 opponents, but the issue, so far, remains to be 

 resolved. □ 



126 



The Exhibits 



