Loss of a large Ainrricaii chn on llw west side of the north 

 entrance, May 19S-i. 



of his students at George Washington University. Once 

 when Edward Henderson was walking on Pennsylvania 

 Avenue, a very proper lady called out, "Young man, if 

 you are a Christian, don't go down that street!" 



In the early 19(3()s, there were not many plantings 

 around the new wings. Shortly after Secretary Ripley 

 arrived in Washington, he asked Richard Cowan to find 

 specimens of the dawn redwood {Metasequoia glyptostro- 

 boides). This is a redwood tree originally described from 

 a fossil and thought to be extinct, until a few living trees 

 were discovered in China in 1941. Later the species was 

 introduced into cultivation. Cowan found some trees 

 in a Department of Agriculture nursery and had six 

 planted — three each on the northeast and northwest 

 corners of the Museum grounds. They were originally 

 about seven feet high, and some are now approaching 

 fifty feet. In the fall they shed their needle-covered 

 branchlets, and the bare limbs in winter look much like 

 those of the native bald cypress. 



Between the main building and the wings are large 

 southern magnolias (Magnolia grandiflor a) , and near the 

 north corners of both the main building and the wings 



lli'^'^cis sliuitling up a trunk of Araut anoxvlon before 

 raising it to the east plinth. On March 15, 1985, the 

 United States Navy Band played on the steps while the 

 specimens on the plinths were formally unveiled to celebrate 

 the seventy fiftli anniversary of the building. 



are handsome specimens of American holly trees (Ilex 

 opaca). A line of beautiful, pink-flowering crabapple 

 trees (Crataegus mains) borders both the east and west 

 parking lots; most of them were planted in the 1970s. 

 On the south side of the Museum, the steep slope be- 

 tween the Mall and the parking lot is lined with azaleas, 

 two species of dogwood (Comas), and magnolias. At the 

 top of the slope are some oak (Qjuercus) and some syca- 

 more maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) trees. In 1984 a few 

 young gingko trees (Gingko Biloba) were planted adja- 

 cent to the east and west driveways into the basement. 



The Museum's nice surroundings are a recent de- 

 velopment, and stem from the hiring in 1972 of the 

 Smithsonian's first horticulturist, James Buckler. On 

 the east and west sides of the wings, katsura-trees (Cer- 

 cidiphyllum japonicum) were planted, and the flower beds 

 beneath them are used for spring bulbs and summer 

 annuals. In April and May when the dogwoods and 

 crabapples flower, the grounds are at their best. The 



194 



The Museum 



