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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION   571
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^[[Feb 15, 1923]]

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MADE BY BAKER-VAWTER CO.
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"The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution are authorized to prepare preliminary plans for a suitable fireproof building with granite fronts for the National Gallery of Art, including the National Portrait Gallery, and the history collection of the United States National Museum, said building to be erected when funds from gifts or bequests are in the possession of the said Regents, in sections or completely, on the north side of the Mall between the Natural History Building, United States National Museum, and Seventh Street, leaving a space between it and the latter of not less than one hundred feet, and a space of not less than one hundred feet between it and Seventh Street, with its south front on a line with the south front of the said Natural History Building."

The Secretary added that it was his hope that the more progressive American people would^[[|]]become interested in the development of the National Gallery of Art and the history collections and in the provision of a suitable building to be erected on the site granted by Congress.

USE OF ARMY MEDICAL MUSEUM BUILDING WHEN VACATED.

The Secretary called attention to the possibility that in the not distance future, the contents of the Army Medical Museum building would be removed to the Walter Reed Hospital Reservation where it is proposed that a building shall be erected for their accommodation.

The Army Medical Museum building was erected in the early eighties under the direction of General Meigs, and is as nearly fireproof as was possible at that time. It is built of brick, steel and wood, with three stories and an attic, and has about 73,000 square feet of space, including the basement.

In 1916 Congress appointed a Public Commission to investigate and ascertain what buildings were needed in the District of Columbia to provide suitable and adequate accommodations, with allowances for future extension, for all the offices, establishments, and public services of the Government in the District of Columbia, the proper location of such buildings, and the probable cost thereof.

In submitting its report the Commission recommended that the square located in the area between 7th and 12th, and B Street, N.W., and B Street,S.W., be set aside for the Institution for museum purposes, as indicated on charts attached to report.
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Transcription Notes:
In fact, the "Army Medical Museum" was not vacated. That brick building and its collections remained on the Mall until the 1960s, when it was razed to build the Hirshhorn Museum (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Medical_Museum_and_Library).