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auditorium for lectures, films, and other purposes, urgently needed by the Patent Office Building, can be created in the General Post Office Building. Conversion of the building to public use, including weekend and evening education activity, also would add significantly to the emerging cultural and educational corridor along 7th Street that has been encouraged by the progress of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation. The firm of E. Verner Johnson and Associates has been selected to develop a specific program of use for the building and to assess the positive effect this building would have on the use of space in the Patent Office Building itself. A preliminary report by this firm is expected in September 1983 in time for the Board of Regents review.

Transfer legislation, if approved by the Congress, will require further authorization and appropriation of funds to renovate and repair the building. The Board of Regents may be requested at the January 1984 meeting to ask its Congressional members to introduce that legislation early in the next session.

Funds presently estimated in the amount of $35 million will be required for architectural/engineering and construction services to renovate and repair the building for public use. Preserving the historic nature of the building and converting it to public purposes will require a comprehensive program that must meet the special requirements of the museums for fire protection and constant temperature and relative humidity in order to preserve the collections with which they are entrusted, while also providing for the safety and accommodations of visitors. Elements of such a program would include replacing the existing roof; restoring all of the original interior and exterior architectural finishes; replacing the windows with double glazing; modernizing all electrical plumbing