USA > Washington > Standard history of the city of Washington from a study of the original sources > Part 39
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The Chancellors of the Institution have been the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Secretaries of the Institution. The first Secretary was Professor Joseph Henry, who served until May 13, 1878. He was succeeded by his assistant, Professor Spencer Fulton Baird who served until his death, August 19, 1887. Professor Baird was succeeded by his assistant, Professor Samuel P. Langley, who served until his death in 1906, and was succeeded by Professor Charles D. Walcott, the present Secretary.
The original National Museum building was begun in 1879, as a consequence of the crowded condition of the Smithsonian Institution building, and was completed in 1881. It is a one-
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story brick building just east of the Smithsonian building, cover- ing slightly more than two acres of ground.
In 1883 the need for additional space induced the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to apply to Congress for a third building, but, notwithstanding the continued repeti- tion of this request, nothing was done until 1902, when Con- gress authorized the prepartaion of plans. All the important museum buildings of Europe and America were visited for ideas to be embodied in the new structure. The architects were Messrs. Hornblower and Marshall of Washington. The construc. tion of a building with granite fronts to cost not exceeding $3,500,000, under the supervision of Bernard R. Green, Superin- tendent of Buildings and Grounds of the Library of Congress, was authorized by the Sundry Civil Act for the year ending June 30, 1904.
Ground was broken on June 15, 1904, by Secretary Langley of the Smithsonian Institution ; the cornerstone was laid October 15, 1906; and the building was completed June 20, 1911. The portico is of the Roman Corinthian order, and the capitols of the two rows of columns supporting the entablature are patterned after those of the Temple of Jupiter Stator at Rome.
The erection of the George Washington Memorial Hall with a seating capacity of 6,000, was authorized by Act of Congress of March 4, 1913, to be begun upon the raising of a building fund of $1,000,000, and an endowment fund of $500,000. The building will be administered by the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and will be located on the site of the old Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Depot at Sixth and B Streets, northwest. The plans of Tracy and Swartwont of New York were accepted in competition on May 4, 1914.
The Carnegie Institution of Washington was founded by Mr. Andrew Carnegie, January 28, 1902, with an endowment of ten million dollars to which on December 10, 1907, he added two million dollars, and on January 19, 1911, another ten mil- lions, making in all to the present time twenty-two million dol- lars. The Institution was first incorporated on January 4, 1902, under the laws of the District of Columbia, as the Carnegie
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Institution. It was reincorporated by Act of Congress of April 28, 1904, as the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
The Executive Offices of the Institution are contained in the handsome three-story Ionic building of Bedford limestone at Sixteenth and P Streets, northwest, and are under the direc- tion of Professor Robert S. Woodward. To the present time ten departments of investigation have been organized, with numerous experiment stations, plants and reservations through- out the country, including the non-magnetic auxiliary brig "Carnegie."
The National Geographic Society was established January 27, 1888, by a small band of explorers and scientists, "for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge." In 1899 the Society entered upon the project of popularizing geograph- ical research through the columns of its magazine. In 1902 the heirs of Hon. Gardner Greene Hubbard built Hubbard Memorial Hall at the corner of Sixteenth and M Streets, north- west, as a home for the Society and a memorial to its first President. This is now used for the accommodation of the board rooms and library. The administration building adjoin- ing was constructed by the Society in 1913 on the plans of Arthur B. Heaton. It is of Italian Renaissance architecture. The materials are white brick trimmed with white limestone.
The project of establishing a public library was first agitat- ed in the newspapers and by the Board of Trade, the School trustees, and various workingmen's and citizens' organizations in 1894 as a supplement to the public schools. The establish- ment of such a library was authorized by Act of Congress approved June 3, 1896 and was largely the result of the efforts of Mr. Theodore W. Noyes, Chairman of the Committee on Library of the Board of Trade. In 1898 Congress appropriated $6,720 for salaries of a librarian and two assistants and for other expenses. A three-story building at 1326 New York Avenue was rented and 15,000 volumes acquired by private donation were installed. For the purchase of books Mr. Crosby S. Noyes contributed, $1,000, the firm of Woodward and Lothrop $1,000, Charles C. Glover, $250, John R. McLean, $250, and
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many others smaller amounts. James T. Dubois created a fund of $2,000 which he promised to increase to $5,000 to be known as the Henry Pastor Memorial Fund, the interest on which was to be used in the purchase of scientific periodicals. The largest book contribution was the incorporated Washington City Free Library. The cstate of Anthony Pollock contributed fifteen hundred books.
On January 12, 1899, Mr. Andrew Carnegie and Mr. B. H. Warner, Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Library, met by accident at the White House. The needs of the Library were mentioned by Mr. Warner, whereupon Mr. Carnegie offered to donate $250,000 for a building if a suitable site could be obtained and if Congress would appropriate for the maintenance of the institution. Shortly after he increased the donation to $350,000.
On March 3, 1899, President Mckinley signed an act of Congress setting aside Mount Vernon Square as the site for the building. Under this act the construction of the building was entrusted to a commission composed of the District Com- missioners, the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Library. The design of Messrs. Ackerman and Ross of New York was chosen and on June 21, 1900, the contract for the foundation was signed. The cornerstone was laid on April 24, 1901. The royal- ties on the book stacks, amounting to $530 were donated by Mr. Bernard R. Green, the Superintendent of Construction, by whom the stacks were patented. On December 13, 1902, the completed building was accepted by the Commission. It was formally dedicated to the public with elaborate ceremonies on January 7, 1903. ;
The original building of the Corcoran Gallery of Art at the northeast corner of Seventeenthi Street and Pennsylvania Avenue was designed by Mr. James Renwick and begun in 1859. In 1861 it was occupied by the Quartermaster General's Depart- ment of the Army which remained in it until 1869. On May 10, 1869, its owner, Mr. William Wilson Corcoran, deeded the ground, building and contents, and an endowment fund to a
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board of nine trustees "to be used solely for the purposes of encouraging American genius in the production and preserva- tion of works pertaining to the fine arts and kindred objects," with the condition that it should be open free to visitors at least two days each week.
The institution was incorporated and exempted from taxa- tion by Act of Congress of May 24, 1870. The building was reconstructed in 1871 and Mr. Corcoran's private art collection placed in it. The picture galleries, Octagon Room and Hall of Bronzes were opened privately on January 19, 1874, and the entire building thrown open to the public in the following December.
Owing to the demand for additional space and the impossi- bility of acquiring the necessary ground adjoining the old building the trustees on April 3, 1891, determined upon the purchase of a part of square 171 on 17th Street, between E Street and New York Avenue, northwest, which was subsequent- ly acquired.
On January 9, 1892, the erection of a gallery on the new site was decided upon and Mr. Ernest Flagg of New York was selected as the architect. Ground was broken on June 26, 1893, and the cornerstone laid May 10, 1894. The building was com- pleted January 8, 1897, and formally opened on the evening of February 22 of the same year, nearly three thousand invited guests, including President and Mrs. Cleveland, being present. The building fronts 259 feet on Seventeenth Street and is 133 feet deep. It is constructed of Georgia marble with a basement of Milford pink granite and is on the Neo-Grecian style of architecture. The bronze lions at the entrance were cast from moulds made over the famous lions by Canova which guard the tomb of Clement XIII in St. Peter's, Rome.
The Memorial Continental Hall which occupies the 17th Street frontage of the block between C and D Streets, north- west, facing the White Lot from the west, was erected by the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, in memory of the patriots of the American Revolution, both men and women. The purchase of the site was decided upon by
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the Memorial Continental Hall Committee on June 4, 1902, and the ground soon after acquired at a net cost of $50,266.17. On June 4, 1903, the Committee employed Mr. Edward Pearce Casey of New York City, to be the architect of the proposed building, and on January 8, 1904, Mr. Casey's plans and prelim- inary sketches were accepted.
The cornerstone of the building was laid on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 19, 1904. The following April, the 14th Continental Congress was held in the central portion of the building. The Memorial portico was dedicated by the 16th Continental Congress on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 17, 1907. The entire building was completed and much of the mahogany furniture donated by the various States installed in time for the holding of the 19th Continental Congress, April 18-23, 1910. The total cost of the building was somewhat over $500,000.
The building is designed upon the general style of the homesteads of Revolutionary times and is constructed of Ver- mont marble. The south portico and all the interior furnishings and decorations of the buildings are the gifts of various individ- uals, societies and States.
The building for the Pan-American Union is located on the block between B and C Streets on 17th Street, northwest, facing the White Lot from the west and is the result of a gift of $750,000 by Mr. Andrew Carnegie, to which the twenty-one American Republics added the sum of $250,000, which was used in the purchase of the site. The square upon which this building and its grounds are located was formerly the site of the residence of David Burnes, one of the original proprietors of the land occupied by the City of Washington, and of the Van Ness mansion, built by Mr. Burnes' son-in-law, John P. Van Ness.
The designs for the building were the joint product of Mr. Albert Kelsey of Philadelphia, and Mr. Paul P. Crèt, Professor of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, a native of France and a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Paris.
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The colossal groups on either side of the entrance represent- ing North and South America are respectively the work of Gutzon Borglun and Isidore Konti. These sculptors are also respectively the designers of the historic bronze panels in low relief representing General Washington bidding farewell to his Generals and the meeting of San Martin and Bolivar. The Eagle and the Condor are the work of Solon Borgun and the panel in the concourse above the portico arches is the work of Konti.
The laying of the foundation for the building commenced on April 13, 1908. On May 11, 1908, elaborate public ceremonies in connection with the laying of the cornerstone were held. The dedication of the building occurred on April 26, 1910, and was participated in by President Taft, Secretary of State, Knox, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Ambassador Francisco Leon De la Barra, the Mexican Ambassador, who spoke on behalf of the Latin- American Republics, Senator Elihu Root, Cardinal Gibbons, Bishop Harding, Mr. Albert Kelsey, the architect, and Director General Barrett of the Pan-American Union.
The row of semi-public buildings on 17th Street will be completed by the so-called Red Cross building to be located on the block facing 17th Street between E and F Streets, filling in the present gap between the Memorial Continental Hall and the Corcoran Art Gallery. This building was provided for by Act of Congress approved October 22, 1913, appropriating $400,- 000 on condition that at least $300,000 additional should be raised by private subscription. It is intended to commemorate the services and sacrifices of the women of the United States, north and south, for the sick and wounded in war.
The ground breaking for the towering classic temple of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry at the southeast corner of 16th and S Streets, northwest, took place on May 31, 1911, the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Council for the Southern jurisdiction of the United States, the mother council of the world, at Charleston, South Carolina, May 31, 1801. The informal ceremony was presided over by Hon. James D. Richardson, the Grand Com- mander of the Order.
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The design of this structure, by John Russell Pope of New York, and Elliott Woods, the Superintendent of the Capitol, is strikingly similar to the commonly accepted restoration of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassus, one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.
Early in the 19th century Professor Hassler constructed at New Jersey Avenue and C Street, southeast, a small brick building with iron doors and windows, intended to be fireproof, for the storage of engraved plates and other records and prop- erty of the Coast Survey. This was occupied until 1874.
On August 2, 1832, the Survey occupied a building on the west side of New Jersey Avenue, south of the present building, built by Thomas Law about 1800, and a house adjoining it on the north. These are now included in the Hotel Varnum.
In 1871 the Survey moved into the present Richards build- ing, a brick structure on the east side of New Jersey Avenue just south of the Butler Building and extending through to South Capitol Street. This building was purchased for the Survey on September 21, 1891, for $155,000.
On April 10, 1891, the three Cape Ann granite buildings on B Street, South Capitol Street and New Jersey Avenue, erected by General Benj. F. Butler in 1873-4, were purchased by the Treasury Department for $275,000. The one fronting on B Street, which had at one time been occupied by President Arthur as the Presidential residence and office was assigned to the Marine Hospital Service, now the Public Health Service. The other two were assigned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey. A brick structure to the rear of the Survey is occupied by it for chart printing purposes.
The first structure used as a naval astronomical observatory was erected on Capitol Hill in 1834 under Lieutenant Wilkes of the Navy as a naval depot of charts, and was equipped with a number of astronomical instruments. In this building a series of observations was made from 1838 to 1842 by Lieutenant James M. Gillis of the Navy, which did much to bring about the eventual establishment of a permanent observatory.
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John Quincy Adams, while a member of the House of Rep- resentatives, was an ardent advocate of the project to establish such an observatory, and when the Smithsonian fund became available he repeatedly urged as chairman of the committee on that fund, an appropriation from it for his favorite object. The personal opposition of the friends of President Jackson de- feated Mr. Adams' wishes so far as the Smithsonian fund was concerned, but Congress, under the guise of establishing a depot of charts and instruments for the Navy, initiated the observa- tory by an Act approved August 31, 1842, authorizing the con- struction of buildings to cost not more than $25,000 on a site to be selected by the President.
The site chosen was as area of about seventeen acres on the eminence known as "Observatory Hill" in west Washington, then bounded by the bank of the Potomac River, E Street, 23d and 25th Streets, northwest. It now overlooks the site of the Lincoln Memorial, and its buildings are occupied by the Naval Hospital.
The original buildings were constructed under Lieutenant Gillis who went to Europe and consulted foreign astronomers with regard to plans for them. They were completed in Sep- tember, 1844.
The new Naval Observatory was begun on its present site north of Georgetown in January, 1889, and was officially occu- pied May 15, 1893.
The United States Army Medical Libarary and Museum is located in a three-story brick building at the corner of Seventh and B Streets, southwest. This Library originated with the medical books is the office of the Surgeon General of the Army, which began to attain considerable numbers under Surgeon General Joseph Lovell in 1836. At the outbreak of the Civil War it was greatly enlarged for the use of the army surgeons by Surgeon General William A. Hammond. At the close of the Civil War the results of the medical and surgical experience gained by the Army Medical Corps during that conflict were collated in six enormous volumes under the title of "The Medi- cal and Surgical History of the Civil War." This work was
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the first of its kind and made a great impression, particularly in Europe. Together with the then existing library of the Sur- geon General's office, it formed the nucleus of the present Army Medical Library.
Following the close of the Civil War, Dr. John S. Billings, Colonel, Medical Corps, U. S. A., obtained appropriations from year to year for the purchase of medical publications for this library, and entered upon the work of indexing them. In 1887 the present building, which had been authorized by Congress as the result of the efforts of Dr. Billings, was completed for the accommodation of this library and of the Army Medical Muse- um, which possessed a valuable collection of specimens, particu- larly of gun shot wounds.
The Army Medical Library now has upward of 500,000 vol- umes and pamphlets and 5,000 portraits. It is the largest medi- cal library in the world, and has been the inspiration for numer- ous similar institutions which have been established throughout the United States.
The reservation on Greenleaf's or Arsenal Point has been in use as a military post since 1797, this being one of the reser- vations provided for in the laying out of the city of Washing- ton. It originally contained something over 28 acres, but addi- tional land was acquired by purchase in 1857, and the limits have been extended by filling in the shores until the tract now contains approximately 87 acres. Upon this reservation was erected the old penitentiary building, still standing, in the yard of which took place the execution of the persons convicted conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln. This building was erected under authority of Act of Congress of May 20, 1826, at a cost of $40,000.
The Army War College located on this reservation was au- thorized by Congress in 1899 in response to the urgent recom- mendation of Secretary of War Elihu Root, who based his rec- ommendations upon the report of Brigadier General Emory Upton-famous as the leader of the charge at Spottsylvania Court House on May 10, 1864-who, after the close of the Civil War, had been sent by General Sherman, with two associates,
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around the world to study the armies of Europe and Asia. General Upton's report relating to the reorganization of the Army had for years lain dormant in the archives of the War Department when it was brought to the attention of the country by Secretary Root.
The grounds and buildings of the College were planned by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White of New York. The cornerstone of the College building was laid Febru- ary 21, 1903, with Masonic ceremonies, the gavel used being that used by President Washington in laying the cornerstone of the Capitol in 1793. The building was completed in 1907. The statue of Frederick the Great of Prussia, which stands at the northwest approach to the building, was presented to the College by Emperor William of Germany and was unveiled November 19, 1904.
In the original plan of the city of Washington provision had been made for the Navy Yard, to which a tract including slightly over 37 acres had been assigned. In addition, the United States on March 17, 1800, purchased of the Commission- ers who laid out the city, two additional squares-Nos. 883 and 884-for the sum of $4,000, the deed being executed by Com- missioners Scott and Thornton. The establishment of the Yard was provided for by Act of Congress of February 25, 1799, in response to the recommendations of Benjamin Stoddert, Secre- tary of the Navy under President Washington, and was due to the French aggressions upon the commerce of this country. The Act referred to authorized the construction of six frigates and appropriated $1,000,000 for the establishment of six navy yards at New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Portsmouth, Nor- folk and Washington respectively.
The Yard was laid out on the plans of Benjamin H. Latrobe under the direction of Captain Thomas Tingey, its first Com- mandant. Under the peace policy of President Jefferson a number of vessels were laid up in ordinary at the Yard in 1802; and the activities of the Yard were for a number of years con- fined to overhauling and repairing. The sloop of war Wasp was built at the Yard in 1805, and the schooner Lynx in 1814.
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On August 24, 1814, the Yard was destroyed by Captain Tingey, under orders from the Secretary of the Navy, in order to pre- vent its stores from falling into the hands of the British. The loss caused by this event was estimated at $417,475, and in- cluded the frigate Columbia and sloop of war Argus, which were under construction at the Yard.
Following the War of 1812, the Yard was the scene of Robert Fulton's experiments with the naval torpedo, which, for want of financial support, were unproductive of practical results.
In March, 1819, the 74-gun ship Columbus was launched at the Yard, and following this the schooner Shark was launched May 17, 1821; the 44-gun Potomac and the schooner Grampus in 1822; the 44-gun Brandywine in June, 1825; the sloop St. Louis in 1828; and the 64-gun frigate Columbia on March 9, 1836. The sloop St. Mary's was launched at the Yard Novem- ber 24, 1844; a small iron steamer, the Water Witch, at about this time; the steamer Union on December 5, 1846; and the Minnesota shortly before the Civil War.
In 1847 Lieutenant John A. Dahlgren was ordered to ord- inance and equipment duty at the Yard. His experiments to ascertain and standardize the ranges of the different classes of naval guns then in use were productive of great improvement in the gunnery of the Navy and resulted in the numerous improve- ments in gun manufacture and design which have made their inventor famous.
On April 21, 1861, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles directed the Commandant of the Yard, Captain Buchanan, to equip for war service the steamers Baltimore, Mount Vernon, Philadelphia and Powhatan. On receipt of this order Captain Buchanan resigned his commission and joined the Confederate service. Commander Dahlgren was at once appointed in his place. Shortly afterwards the 71st New York Volunteers was assigned to the Yard for its protection.
During the early period of the War the Yard was actively engaged in outfitting the Steamers Pawnee, Keystone State, Anacostia, Mt. Vernon, Pocahontas, Powhatan, James Gray and
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Baltimore for keeping the Potomac open to navigation. Throughout the War the Yard was employed in repairing and outfitting the vessels of the Navy but did no construction work. After the War its importance rapidly declined until following the commencement of the rehabilitation of the Navy in the early cighties, Secretary Whitney, by order of August 14, 1886, as- signed the Yard to the control of the Bureau of Ordnance. Gov- ernment Reservations Nos. 326 and 327 lying on the west side of the Yard and containing about two acres of ground were added to it and a railroad track laid on this new portion of the Yard connecting with the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.
Shortly after this the establishment of the new gun manu- facturing plant began. This plant was completed about 1890 and has grown as the needs of the service required. It is now engaged in the manufacture of fourteen-inch guns for the new super-dreadnaughts of the Navy.
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