Chapter 15 



Museum 

 Administration 



GEORGE BROWN GOODE WROTE: "Good administra- 

 tion is not to be had for nothing. As to the qual- 

 ifications of a museum administrator, whetlier it be a 

 museum of science or a museum of art, it is perhaps 

 superfluous to say that he should be the very best at- 

 tainable; a man of ability, enthusiasm, and withal of 

 experience.'" 



The office of the director is on the third floor at the 

 southwest corner of the building, with windows facing 

 the Mall and the Smithsonian Castle to the south, and 

 Twelfth Street and the Museum of American History 

 to the west. The room is spacious and airy, and ac- 

 cording to many old-time Washington hands, it is one 

 of the largest offices in town. For many years this was 

 a fairly austere place, but over the last two decades it 

 has been decorated to suit the tastes of the various 

 occupants. When Porter Kier was director, he added a 

 stuffed rhinoceros to the furniture. 



A major amenity of the director's office was the large 

 adjacent bathroom. During the 1960s, its claw-footed 

 bathtub was replaced by the typical coffee kitchenette 

 of the modern office building. The bathtub was a stark 

 reminder of just how beastly hot Washington was in 

 summer before the days of air conditioning. No high 

 official could work all day and go to an official function 

 at night without a bath, and the streetcars could not 

 get one home and back in time. 



Richard Rathbun 



Richard Rathbun was the first to occupy this office. To 

 recapitulate his career, he began as a geologist, but in 

 1878 became an assistant on Spencer F. Baird's Fish 

 Commission. Later he became, as well, a curator of 

 marine invertebrates, and did both jobs until 1914. A 

 century ago there were few goverimient scientists, and 

 a lot of doubling-up was done to fill all the adminis- 

 trative positions. Rathbun transferred to the Museum 

 full-time when Goode temporarily took over the Fish 

 Comnfiission after Baird's death; later he switched places 

 with Goode again. In 1896, after Goode's death, Rath- 



T. Dale Stewart with a human skull (Homo), 1982. 



bun became an assistant secretary, and was directly in 

 charge of the National Museum from 1900 until his 

 death in 1918. "Out of respect to his memory the flags 

 on the buildings of the Institution were carried at half- 

 mast. . . . Business was suspended and the public ex- 

 hibition halls were closed on the day of funeral."^ Con- 

 sidering his close involvement with the construction of 

 the new National Museum, it is fitting that Rathbun's 

 last published paper was a summary of the buildings 

 of the Institution. 



William de C. Ravenel 



There is little personal information to be gleaned about 

 William de C. Ravenel, who took over in 1918 as Ad- 

 ministrative assistant to the Secretary (rather than As- 

 sistant Secretary) in charge of the United States Na- 

 tional Museum. Paul Garber, historian emeritus of the 

 National Air and Space Museum, describes him only 

 as a pleasant man and a fine boss. While Ravenel did 

 champion natural history's right to its own building, 

 his major contribution to the Institution was the 

 strengthening of the staff and exhibits in the old Na- 

 tional Museum building. When he moved his office to 

 the south side of the Mall after spending less than a 

 decade in the new National Museum, Ravenel made 

 the Arts and Industries Building flourish as much as 

 any part of the Institution flourished during the 1920s. 

 He probably deserves the title of grandfather of the 

 Museum of American History. He retired June 30, 1932, 

 and when he died the following year, a memorial service 

 was held in the auditorium. After Ravenel s retirement. 

 Arts and Industries came close to becoming a "finished 

 museum," mainly because of lack of funding, but crowds 

 flocking to see Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis kept the 

 building lively. 



Alexander Wetmore 



In 1925, when Ravenel moved to Arts and Industries, 

 Alexander Wetmore became Assistant Secretary in 

 charge, and ran the Museum until well after World 

 War II. Wetmore was the first to be titled Director of 

 the United States National Museimi. throughout his 



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