Extent:

6.1 cu. ft. (11 document boxes) (4 3x5 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Black-and-white photographs

Manuscripts

Date:

1890, 1901-1916, 1923

Descriptive Entry:

These records, together with record units 80, 81, and 187 contain full documentation of construction of the 1911 National Museum Building, from internal planning and contracts to construction details and costs. Rathbun prepared a history of the museum construction, which was published as A Descriptive Account of the Building Recently Erected for the Departments of Natural History of the United States National Museum. United States National Museum Bulletin 80, Washington, 1913.

Historical Note:

In 1903 Congress authorized the Board of Regents to begin a new museum building, construction to be under the direction of Bernard R. Green, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds of the Library of Congress. Construction began in June 1904 and ended in 1911. Richard Rathbun, Assistant Secretary, spent much of his time from 1901 to 1911 planning and supervising construction of the new building, including extensive consultation with foreign and domestic museum experts.

Topic:

Smithsonian buildings  Search this

Museums -- Administration  Search this

Architectural design  Search this

Buildings -- Maintenance  Search this

Buildings -- Repair and reconstruction  Search this

Museum buildings  Search this

Actions and defenses  Search this

Genre/Form:

Black-and-white photographs

Manuscripts

Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records

Identifier:

Record Unit 79

See more items in:

National Museum Building Construction Records

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-sia-faru0079