Recovery after the War affected the Geological Survey first, so 
that some of the space lost by the Museum was not immediately 
regained. However, the appointment of Dr. Alcock as Chief Curator 
in 1947 and the holding of the Annual Meeting of the Geological 
Society of America in Ottawa during December of the same year 
stimulated the authorization of a very extensive renovation of the 
building’s interior, as well as other improvements. Transfer elsewhere 
of the Topographical Section of the Geological Survey made space 
in the building available for the botanical and zoological collections. 
An expected removal of the whole Geological Survey in 1950 was 
cancelled. In July 1959, however, the Survey moved to a fine new 
office building on Booth Street, and the National Museum took over 
the vacated space. Concurrently the construction of the Lome 
Building on Elgin Street provided an improved, if temporary, home 
for the National Gallery, and this institution vacated its space in the 
Museum building on January 15, 1960. Thus, after forty-nine years, 
the building originally designed as the home of the National Museum 
of Canada became available for the purpose for which it was built. 
Plans for the utilization of the entire building by the National 
Museum call for eight new exhibition halls on the first and second 
floors, offices and some exhibition space on the third floor, and live 
storage of the study collections on the fourth floor. The basement 
will be used for workshops and laboratories, and for some storage 
of specimens. Much renovation will be required before all of this 
space can be utilized. 
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