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.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1901-1916, 1923. ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY.
Type:
Archival materials
Note:
This collection division consists of the main correspondence file of Richard Rathbun, as the Smithsonian official charged with overseeing the construction of the
new museum building. The correspondence documents the day-to-day planning and construction of the building. Material of particular interest includes correspondence regarding
the design and construction of foreign museums, and the role of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents and of the United States Congress in the planning and construction of the
building. Correspondents include Bernard Richard Green; the architects Joseph C. Hornblower and John R. Marshall; Samuel P. Langley; Charles D. Walcott, Acting Secretary;
Cyrus Adler; William deC. Ravenel, Administrative Assistant; Frederick William True, Head Curator, Department of Biology; George P. Merrill, Head Curator, Department of Geology;
and James S. Goldsmith, Superintendent of Construction and Labor.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 1 1901. Includes correspondence with Smithsonian Institution curators regarding allocation of space in the proposed building. Material of special interest includes: correspondence with William Harris Ashmead, Division of Insects (02/14/1901) con...
Container:
Box 1 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 2 1902. Includes numerous correspondence concerning descriptions of foreign museums and the construction and maintenance cost of each. Material of special interest includes: transcripts of the hearings before the House of Representatives (03/08/...
Container:
Box 1 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folders 3-4 1903. Includes correspondence with heads of foreign museums regarding the physical structures and finances of their buildings. Includes correspondence between Samuel P. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and John Brooks Hend...
Container:
Box 1 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folders 5-6 1904. Includes correspondence regarding the approval of Prof. S. Homer Woodbridge as mechanical engineer for the proposed building. Includes correspondence regarding the anonymous gift to the Museum of a John Elliott painting. Also included...
Container:
Box 1 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
NOTES, EXTRACTS, AND COMPILATIONS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS, 1901-1910.
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 1 Important extracts from the correspondence. This folder contains typewritten copies of sections of important correspondence presumably contained in collection division 1, mainly concerning revisions and approval of the preliminary plans. Inclu...
Container:
Box 10 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 2 Contracts between Green and Contractors, 1903-1908.Includes extract from contracts for the construction of the National History Building. Includes the recommendations of Superintendent Green and the approval of the Secretary.
Container:
Box 10 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 3 Space Allocations. Includes tables proposing the dimensions of each floor. Includes tables proposing the division of each floor into the offices of the administration and into the departments of anthropology, biology, and geology. Includes tab...
Container:
Box 10 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
Folder 4 Structural Description of MNH by James Millar, September 1910.Architectural description of the new building by an employee of the architects Hornblower and Marshall. Includes precise measurements and detailed descriptions of the building. It i...
Container:
Box 10 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 79, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary in charge of the United States National Museum, National Museum Building Construction Records
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