West side of the rotiuida, showing statuary, probably after 

 1930. Note the nioiDited heads in the west stairway. To the 

 left is a statue of an Induni ivith an eagle, titled Indian 

 with Eagle. 



tendenl, and the rules were fairly simple. Each show 

 had one nionlh at most, which included time to install 

 and dism.mtle. Shows that signed up tor space for two 

 years running tended to become annual events. Tiius, 

 shows by local art groups were hung year after year, 

 and often occupied hall the available exhibit space. 



In the early 193Us a colonial room donated by Mrs. 

 G. D. Webster was installed on the east side of the foyer. 

 Every item in the place had a large number in front of 

 it, so that many of the objects were essentially hidden. 

 When Malcolm Watkins arrived in the late 1940s and 

 wanted to make some changes, he was told that he could 

 not, because the donor came in periodically to examine 

 the display. Upon investigation, Watkins found that for 

 some vears the donor's chauffeur had come in to look 

 at it. Still further investigation turned up the fact that 

 Mrs. Webster had died in the early 1940s. Watkins 

 finally was given permission to dust and install smaller 

 numbers. Later the exhibit was dismantled and in- 

 cluded in "Everyday Life in Colonial America." The 

 foyer space it once occupied was the area that later 

 housed the health room and a guard's locker room. 



Before this health room was put in, minor cuts and 

 scrapes were treated by guards who knew first aid; Dr. 

 Hrdlicka or Dr. Stewart was called in the event of a 

 serious problem. Eventually the Smithsonian hired a 



physician and a nurse. They were moved from the foyer 

 to the second floor near the elevator, and then the 

 doctor went to a proper dispensary in the Museum of 

 History and Technology, while the first-aid room and 

 nurse moved to the lobby. The service is available to 

 anyone, but most of the people who go in are Museum 

 employees, not tourists. 



During World War II, the foyer was devoted mainly 

 to shows concerned with the war. These included Brit- 

 ish war posters, photographs of the U.S. Navy in action, 

 and a host of similar items. Some wartime exhibits were 

 prepared in the Museum, beginning with one on the 

 history of firearms, and soon including displays on ex- 

 otic parts of the world where fighting was taking place. 

 An exhibit that drew a particularly large crowd was one 

 that showed survival gear. 



Af ter World War II the foyer reverted mainly to local 

 art shows. A major exception was the four-day autumn 

 show of the Potomac Rose Society, which was presented 

 each year fiom 1932 until the late 1950s. Old-timers 

 still remember the scent of roses that hung on for a 

 day or two after the show closed. 



Noteworthy Foyer Shows 



During the 196()s the character of the shows in the 

 foyer changed. Instead of local art shows, objects, pho- 

 tographs, and drawings were exhibited. The most note- 

 worthy of these new shows was the Dead Sea Scrolls, a 

 landmark exhibit for the Museum. It had taken almost 

 four years for Gus Van Beek to arrange for the ma- 

 terial, and when the display opened there was such 

 incredible public interest that the foyer had to be kept 

 open evenings. During three weeks in the winter of 

 1964, 200,000 people came to see the scrolls, standing 

 in lines all the way to the corner of Ninth Street and 

 Constitution Avenue. The Museum Shop quickly sold 

 out of the book The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There 

 was a mistake in the replacement order, and the shop 

 sold several dozens copies of the Russian novel, Dead 

 Souls before the error was reported. 



In 1967 the centennial of the Alaska Purchase was 

 noted by a large display. The Right of Existence, opened 

 in December 1968, focused on extinct and endangered 

 species. The centennial of John Wesley Powell's trip in 

 1869 down the Colorado River was the subject of an- 

 other major exhibit. Some of these new shows were 

 from inside the Museum, and some were traveling ex- 

 hibits from elsewhere. One of the most successful of 

 the latter was Masada, an exploration of the last Jewish 

 stronghold against the Roman army. 



Just as the central display space of the foyer changed, 

 the side rooms also changed in the late 1960s. The 

 Travel Service moved into part of the area where the 

 fauna of the District of Columbia had been. Most of 

 the area on the east side was decked over and was used 

 for classrooms. Much of it was taken over by the Smith- 

 sonian Office of Education, which remained until the 



182 



The Museum 



