The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-04-18
NEW u. S. MUSEUM
GREAT STRUCTURE WILL BE
OPENED SOON.
COLLECTION of Specimens Made by
Roosevelt viii BE Placed In the
$s,50o,ooo Building Now Near
ing Completion.

S3,5o0,00o Building Now Near.
ing Completion.
Washington.--The collection OF nat
ural history specimens now being
made by Ex-President Roosevelt In
Africa will be installed In the new
national museum building in Wash.
ington. They will not be kept to-
gether. however but will be classified
like other specimens and placed
where they properly belong.
The new national museum is rap
idly approaching completion and will
be thrown open to the public about
midwinter 1t contains a greater
area than any other government
building in Washington, except TN
capitol 1t will cost $3,5O0, 900, the
limit authorized by congress In 1909
The building was planned to be the
finest structure of the kind in the
world. It has frontage to the south
on the mall Of sol feet a depth Of
S65 feet and the main portion of the
structure is So feet high. Above this
on the south front towers the payil-
ion to height of 1877 feet inches.
which is surmounted by dome, the
top Of which is 162 feet 2 inches
above the ground level, The four
floors contain an area of 10 acres,
half of which is designed for exhibi.
ton purposes and the remainder for
the storage of scientific specimens
and workrooms and laboratory pur-
poses.
The national museum is exceeded
In size by the British museum, the
several buildings of which have an
aggregate floor space of over %
acres, and by the national museum
at Berlin, which contains ID acres of
floor space, but the Washington
building is said to be the best al.
ranged structure for the purposes OF
natural history museum in the
world. New England contributed
much of the stone used in the build
ing, The walls OF the basement floor
are the famous pink granite from the
quarries at Milford White granite
from Bethel. VT, was used for the
two main stories, cornice and pa.
vilion.
The building is as near fireproof as
1t Is practicable to make II. Every
where possible, stone, brick, cement.
terra Gotta or metal has been used.
This idea is being carried out In the
manufacture Of cases to hold the col
lections. In the basement. for in
stance, there is a vault-like room
measuring 50x160 feet, where the
specimens preserved In alcohol will
be placed 1t has yentilators at the
ceiling and floor which keep a cur
rent of fresh air through the cham
her This will carry off alcoholic
fumes. which might cause combus-
ton.
AS much of the furniture as prac.
ticable is metal This win include
the storage cases, bookcases, filing
devices and other articles. Most of
the furniture will be new, as the
cases in the old national museum
building and the Smithsonian institu-
ton would look out of place in the
great halls Of the new structure
There is an elaborate ventilating sys.
tenn and a heating plant designed
NTH n. vi IN i,lft n
the specimens The arrangements
for lighting the building are excel.
lent. Most of the wall space Of the
exhibition floors Is occupied Ivy win
dows and there is system OF light
ing the exhibition halls on all sides
and from every direction, so that ev
cry specimen can be seen to the ut
most advantage
The building will be occupied by
the natural history collections OF the
national museum aud Smithsonian in.
stitutlon. These include millions of
specimens In the four great branches
Of natural history: anthropology, 20.
ology. botany and geology Some
thousands Of specimens will be placed
on exhibition In the new building.
classified and arranged SO as to IA
ellitate their observation and study
to the greatest extent.
Comparatively few of the speci.
mems In the possession of the muse.
UNI will be shown to the visitor, by
far the greater portion being stored
In fireproof cases on the lowest and
top floors of the building, where they
can be easily reached by scientific
men, students and other persons in,
terested, Under the law the national
museum is the depository Of all speci.
mems collected by government agen.
cies.
No man knows the total number of
these specimens. but it is estimated
as high as 100000.
The removal Of all the natural his
tory collections to tho new building
will leave the ola Sr1IY hsonian huild.