Three Red Lines, a mobile by George Rickey, on the 

 south steps, probably in 1972. Earlier, this sculpture was 

 on the east side of the National Museum oj History and 

 Technology. It is made op lacquered stainless steel and sways 

 in the wind; a gust unportunately drove it to the ground, 

 and two points were bent. The piece now stands on the 

 north side of the Hirshhorn Museum. 



The building was washed at least once more by the 

 firemen before being professionally cleaned during the 

 1950s. As a result of that cleaning and the subsequent 

 gradual darkening of the wings, the wings now match 

 the main building quite well in color, although the lower 

 stories of the wings are getting nmch dirtier than the 

 upper two-thirds. 



The windows in the main building are unsightly. Be- 

 cause they are no longer functional, they have been 

 ignored. The edge of the steel decking that cuts across 

 the window line on the ground floor of the north side 

 is not seen by many people, but tourists walking along 

 the Mall can see the windows that formerly opened into 

 exhibit halls. A few are cracked, some have curtains, 

 and there are several different hues of opaque glass. 

 A covering material is now being tested on the outside 

 of one of the windows to see how it looks and holds 

 up. If the tests go well, the main part of the building 

 will be given a uniform, if blank, appearance in the 

 next few years. 



The most interesting part of the environs of the 

 building is the north side. The building originally had 



Uncle Beazley i Ivn c i atopsj on a fine day in early spring, 

 before the crowds begin. The banners over the portico 

 announce two shows in the Evans Galleiy, The Art of 

 Cameroon and Exploring Microspace. April 1984. 



an iron fence, at least on the B street side, with enor- 

 mous stone gateposts in front of the north door. These 

 disappeared before the end of the 192()s, and the only 

 proof that they ever existed is found in a few old pho- 

 tographs. The National Zoological Park still has similar 

 gateposts. Lieutenant Bell of the police force there i~e- 

 calls being told that the gateposts on Connecticut Av- 

 enue, and those formerly at the Harvard Street en- 

 tiance to the Zoo, came from tlie Museum downtown. 



Outside the Museum 



Directly across B Street from the Museum was the old 

 Centre Market. Although European museums were set 

 in stately parks, the Natural History building had noth- 

 ing tfiat could be described as a formal setting. There 

 were pigs and potatoes, horseradishes and horse-drawn 

 wagons. A few of the old-time independent grocers in 

 Washington got their start at this market. In the early 

 1930s, G. A. Cooper saw a calf run from the market 

 into the foundation of the Internal Revenue Service 

 building. 



Ohio Avenue, which cut diagonally through the mar- 

 ket area, was devoted to adult male entertainment. 

 George P. Merrill, taking this shortcut one day, was 

 shocked to be solicited by a young woman who was one 



Outside the Building 



193 



