Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-08
Not Committed
To Any Design,
Officials Soy.
BY GEORGE


Smithsonian Institution off,
Gals have disclosed that they,
are not committed to any design
for their controversial National
Air Museum, but insist that q
downtown location is the only
suitable one TO rit.
DR.. Leonard Carmichael,
Smithsonian secretary, expressed
these sentiments in a letter e
leased today by Representative
Thompson, Democrat of New
Jersey.
Mr. Thompson has strongly
opposed plans to locate the huge
museum-big enough to hold 100
planes-south of independence
avenue S.W. near existing mu-
scum buildings.
Thinks it Too Vast for City
The Congressman, siding with
criticisms voiced by Douglas Has
kell, editor of Architectural Fo-
rum magazine, feels such a vast
building has no place in down.
town Washington and should be
built in an outlying area.
The Air Museum is not slated
for early construction. But it
has drawn controversy because
a site proposed by Smithsonian
for its eventual construction
conflicts sharply with plans for
redeveloping the Southwest.
Federal planners are conSid-
ering an alternate site accept
able to Smithsonian which would
not conflict with redevelopment.
But it still is located downtown
in the area opposed by MI.
Thompson.
DR.. Carmichael's letter said
the design criticized by the Con-
gresham and Mr.. Haskell was a
"preliminary plan" which rep
resented the thought of private
air industry groups which A.
nanced it.
Whether or not the ultimate
Air Museum will be constructed
as it appears in the present
architectural drawings" he
wrote, will depend upon many
decisions which are still in the
future"
Insists on Downtown Site
AS to the site, however, DR..
Carmichael refused to bulge
from the position that the mu-
seum's chief benefit would be
lost unless it is easily accessible
to persons who visit other
Smithsonian facilities.
He said that in 1948 about
80 locations, most of them in
outlying areas. were considered.
He added:
Finally, the desirability Of
having the building as near the
other important museums as
possible seemed to dictate the
sites that have been so much
discussed recently.
People come from all over
the country for brief visits to
Washington. and we are in
formed that they are often Bit
terly disappointed if they can
not see the major sights of the
city without the unnecessary
loss of time due to local travel"
Argues for Outlying Site
In a separate letter from Mr.
Haskell to d.. Carmichael, also
released by Mr. Thompson, the
editor strongly attacked this
basic Smithsonian thinking.
He contended that in an out
lying area Smithsonian could
plan an even larger building
which would permit a much bet
ter display Of the huge planes
and rockets existing and to be
developed.
Mr.. Haskell argued that in
stead of having to draw visitors
to such a building there are
millions of boys and their IA
theirs you wouldn't be able
to keep away. How much more
fun they would have than you
could ever give them in a single
big hall tightly stuffed with
alf-carcasses of dead planes
that could never again move"
Aside fro mthe location issue,
Mr.. Haskell criticized the de-
sign of the tremendous display
halls proposed.
In his letter DR.. Carmichael
confirmed that the building, as
planned, would be about 80 feet
high. 1t would be about 460
feet deep and more than twice
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