United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- 1900-1910
Scope and Contents:
Aerial view of Mall, looking from west to east toward the U.S. Capitol; Smithsonian castle and Arts and Industries Building (former U.S. National Museum) are included.
Local Numbers:
97-46 (OPPS Neg.)
RSN 11081
General:
Currently stored in box 2.2.3 [104].
NOTE: IMAGE LINK PROBLEM!!!
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Order from SI Neg. No. 97-46. Public domain. Fees for commercial use.
Order from neg. no. 97-46. Public domain. Fees for commercial use.
United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- 1900-1910
Washington (D.C.) -- 1900-1910
Date:
ca. 1900
Scope and Contents:
View of Smithsonian Castle and the Mall, showing U.S. Capitol in background. [Similar to VDF 19824, RSN 20589.]
Local Numbers:
97-44 (OPPS Neg.)
RSN 11091
General:
Currently stored in box 2.2.3 [104].
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Order from SI Neg. no. 97-44. Public domain. Fees for commercial use.
Topic:
Architecture, Victorian -- 1900-1910 -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
This collection consists of records, mostly dated 1816-1830, concerning the founding and operation of the Columbian Institute by Edward Cutbush, Thomas Law, and others.
Records document efforts to raise money for a building, publishing projects, and a botanical garden; and to collect natural history specimens. Also included are minutes of
meetings and committee reports; treasurer's records; and correspondence of French naturalist Francois de Laporte, Count Castelneau de Laporte.
Researchers should also consult the Peter Force Collection in the Library of Congress, which contains various minutes, papers, and correspondence of the Institute.
Historical Note:
The Columbian Institute (1816-1838) was first organized as the Metropolitan Society, with the professed purpose of reducing the United States' dependence on a purely
European cultural heritage. Its principal goal was utilitarian; the society concentrated on encouraging, by correspondence, exchanges, and a program of publication, the diffusion
of information about agriculture, manufacturing, and natural resources. Though initially conceived as a local body, the Society soon decided to expand its operations, and
so, still in 1816, changed its name to the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, under which name it was incorporated by Congress in 1818.
The Institute led a desultory existence. Its first president, Edward Cutbush, a naval surgeon, was energetic; but the Institute was never able to establish itself on a
sound footing. Much of its membership seems to have been only casually interested in the Institute's work. Perhaps for this reason, and certainly because Congress gave no
aid, there was always a dearth of money. Nor did an 1818 reorganization which added the fields of the liberal arts to its interests prove useful. In 1820 the Institute obtained
a plot of land on the Mall and laid out a small botanical garden, virtually its only concrete accomplishment. A few natural history specimens and a small library were collected.
The Institute's charter expired in 1838 and, in 1841, it was absorbed by the National Institute.
