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The foundations go to rock level, 150 feet below street grade. The building will stand on 7,000 concrete piles. To clear the site it was necessary to remove concrete foundations poured twenty years ago for the projected George Washington Memorial Building and to reroute sewers and other utility services. 

More than 100 carloads of light pink Tennessee marble already has been quarried for the facing of the structure, and setting of the marble will begin this Summer. The trustees voice the belief that the building, when completed, will be one of the most beautiful in the world. 

The late Mr. Mellon's collection of paintings and other art objects, estimated to be worth $50,000,000, will merely be the nucleus for what it is hoped will become the most important art collection in America. In submitting the gift to Congress for acceptance President Roosevelt characterized the collection as "one of the finest and most valuable in existence, containing only objects of the highest standard of quality."

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