and in the lobby, is magnificently mounted, supported 

 by only one hind leg and a small pipe. The animal had 

 been a man-eater and had to be destroyed; yet, de- 

 lighted as the Museum was to receive it, public concern 

 for endangered species made the dedication a slightly 

 strained occasion. The mount originally showed the 

 tiger pouncing on a frightened antelope, but the scene 

 upset so many children that the victim was removed. 



The Story of the Rotunda 



What would the Natural History Building be without 

 the dome, its most familiar feature? Hall 1 by Rathbun's 

 number system, the rotunda floor beneath the dome 

 is a favorite meeting place for both visitors and staff; 

 the logical place to begin any tour; literally the heart 

 of the Museum and its exhibits. It is true that this majes- 

 tic space never "worked" until the installation of the 

 elephant. But aesthetic points fade into quibbles before 

 the real story of the rotunda — the fact that the great 

 dome is still standing. 



To catch up with its history, one must go back to the 

 early years of the building. According to Rathbun's 

 architectural description, "the covering of the rotunda 

 consists of an inner and outer dome. . . . the former 

 constituting the ceiling, the latter the roof of this part 

 of the building. Both of these domes rest, indepen- 

 dently of each other, on the brick masonry of the drum 

 which is concealed from view.'""' But trouble surfaced 

 early, and Ravenel, in 1922, wrote about it in detail: 



Shortly after the completion of the Natural 

 History Building, it was noted that the keystone in 

 the east arch of the rotunda was slightly out of 

 place. As years passed the same thing occurred, in 

 a lesser degree, in the west arch, and a slight 

 separation appeared in the joints of the balustrade 

 on the fourth floor, just below the stone arches. 

 These joints were plastered up from time to time, 

 but owing to the inaccessibility of the keystones, no 

 steps were taken either to put them back in place 

 or to fill the exposed openings. The condition of 

 these keystones, although not considered 

 dangerous, distinctly marred the appearance of the 

 rotunda. The location of the east keystone 

 continued to change, however, and it was deemed 

 advisable this year to have a thorough investigation 

 made. As a result of two examinations of the dome 

 and the great piers supporting the dome, it was 

 found that the displacement of the stone arches 

 which span the piers, the opening of the joints on 

 the end of the balustrades under these arches, and 

 in the fourth story floor at the ends of piers have 

 all been brought about by a movement at the end 

 of the piers in a direction away from the center of 

 the rotunda. As there is no indication of 

 movement of the piers in the lower portion of the 

 building, it appears that they have simply leaned 

 outward at the top, doubtless caused by the 

 eccentric application of the weight of the dome. 

 Since the piers are fully braced by a large number 



Public Places 



185 



