A Major Milestone 



By 1968 a major milestone had been passed: a grand 

 total ol 5 1 ,966,09 1 by the end of that fiscal year. It had 

 taken forty-five years for the first 25 million visitors to 

 have come into the building, but only thirteen years for 

 the second 25 million. America had become a nation 

 in motion. 



In only twelve more years the total doubled again. 

 By the close of fiscal year 1980, the grand total of 

 visitors to have entered the Natural History Building 

 was 104,207,166. In the midst of the general increase 

 in numbers each year, one can see in the sharp decline 

 of fiscal year 1974 the effect of the oil embargo. At- 

 tendance could reach 200 million by the end of the 

 century, if present rates persist. 



The figures alone do not tell the whole story, for they 

 have to be taken in the context of visits to the entire 

 Smithsonian complex. One might assume that from 

 1920 through 1960 the Natural History Building was 

 the place to visit, but this was not so. flie Arts and 

 Industries Building consistently outdrew Natural His- 

 tory, with three visitors on the south side of the Mall 

 for every two that came across to see the animals and 

 the minerals. Three reasons are generally given for this. 

 First, the installation of the Lindbergh airplane in 1928 

 had an enormous impact; everyone wanted to see it. 

 Second, as interest in this phase of aviation waned, the 

 interest in World War II aviation grew. Third, the First 

 Ladies' gowns in Arts and Industries were the largest 

 single draw in the Smithsonian. 



During the 1950s, visits to Natural History did pull 

 ahead, but with the opening of the Museum of History 

 and l echnology early in 1964, attendance in the Mu- 

 seum of Natural History stagnated. Although visitors 

 continued to pour in, there was a feeling that Natural 

 History was no longer the drawing card of the Smith- 

 sonian. When the National Air and Space Museum 

 opened in 1976, the pattern changed again. The num- 

 ber of visitors to the Smithsonian increased dramati- 

 cally, for people flocked to Air and Space, and continue 

 to fill that building to overfiowing most of the time. 

 The National Museum of Natural History is still num- 

 ber two in attendance, having edged ahead of the Na- 

 tional Musetim of American History (History and Tech- 

 nology). There has been no serious attempt to tabulate 

 numbers of foreign visitors, but they are slowly in- 

 creasing every year. Of the cassette tours recorded in 

 Spanish, German, French, and Japanese, Spanish is 

 requested more often than all the others combined. 



Mall Door Is Busiest 



The guards report that the Mall door is about twice as 

 busy as the Constitution Avenue door. This is a pattern 

 of long standing; most tourists visit more than one mu- 

 seum, and the easiest way to do it is by moving along 

 the Mall. In the early days many visitors probably went 

 to the Castle, Arts and Industries, and the National 



Graph oj attendance J ro7n the opening of the United States 

 National Museum in 1881. The effect of the Great 

 Depression is evident at the end of the line. Smithsonian 

 Archives RM 157, box 16. 



Museum within a few hours and were counted in each 

 building. Today there are more museums than can be 

 covered in so short a time; the museums compete for 

 the visitor's time, and the visitor must choose. Thus the 

 great increases of the last decade may reflect some in- 

 crease in interest in natural history, rather than just a 

 general increase in tourism. 



In the 1920s August was the busiest month, as a 

 popular time for a family's major vacation of the year. 

 August continues to be busy, but in the last two decades 

 it has been beaten out by April. "T. S. Eliot notwith- 

 standing, April this year was anything but cruel to SI 

 museums, shops, and theaters," read an article in The 

 Torch. "Always the first quarter's busiest month, April 

 1984 has outdone itself . . . [with] a 15 percent increase 

 over April 1983. ... As usual, the crowds were largest 

 during the week preceding Easter."" The writer of this 

 prose must never have spent time at one of the doors. 

 While it is marvelous to see people coming in droves 

 to explore the Museum, the noise level, after a few days' 

 close contact, suggests a thundering herd of buffalo. 



The abundance of tourists in April may be attrib- 

 utable in part to the growing custom of a senior trip 

 for high school students across the country, as well as 

 to the Cherry Blossom Festival. April is the most pop- 

 ular month, but all of the summer is busy, as is a good 

 part of the fall. For some unknown reason, the busiest 

 day of the year since 1978 has been the day after 



174 



The Museum 



