National Museum of Natural History: Overview

Introduction Credits:
Professor Lytton, Pim van den Assum

Introduction Date:
05/14/2007

Introduction Text:
The National Museum of Natural History, located on Constitution Avenue between 9th and 12th Streets, N.W., was designed by Hornblower and Marshall from 1901 to 1911. In 1963, designed an addition was designed by Mills, Petticord and Mills.

This neoclassical Beau-Arts building has a dome influenced by the Roman Pantheon (see also the National Gallery of Art, West Building and the Jefferson Memorial). Its Corinthian portico’s capitals were based on the Temple of Jupiter Stator in Rome (Scott & Lee, p. 108). There is a small collection of classical marble, pottery, metal, glass, etc. objects in the Origins of Western Culture section on the second floor covering the early Aegean and Mycenaean periods through the Roman world.

Document List

The National National Museum, Washington, D. C. (no date)
THE NEW NATIONAL MUSEUM, located directly north of the Smithsonian building, is a massive white granite structure, four stories high, with a frontage of 561 feet, a depth of 365 feet and a height of 82 feet. The building was designed to house the collections and laboratories of natural history, including geology, ethnology and archaeology. There is placed here also the World War Historical collection, embracing extensive collections of arms and military equipment and uniforms.
New National Museum, Washington, D. C. (no date)
The New National Museum, Washington, D.C., is under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution and supported by annual appropriations b Congress. It has a frontage of 561 feet on the Mall opposite the Old National Museum, a depth of 365 feet, a height of 82 feet, and cost $3,500,000. No greater opportunity for scientific research is found anywhere in the world than the combined collections of the Old and New National Museums at Washington. Here one may see any sort of exhibit from a huge meteorite to a few grains of sand, may trace human progress from antediluvian days to twentieth century civilization, may gaze upon skeletons of huge extinct animals, behold a collection of nearly 13,000 different species of birds, or view historic and personal relics of priceless value.