SI Records
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 81, United States National Museum. Superintendent of Construction for the United States National Museum Building, Records
The National Museum Building Construction Records, 1894 - 1919 (bulk 1903 - 1911), document the process and methods used to construct the National Museum Building that is now known as the National Museum of Natural History. These records primarily refer to the management of the construction aspects of the project, documenting specifications for services and supplies, proposals received as bids to meet these specifications, and contracts that were issued to companies to deliver the supply or service. There is correspondence to and from the Superintendent of Construction, Bernard R. Green, concerning the management of the contracts, orders issued, discussion with inspectors, and companies that were not fulfilling their contracts. A portion of this correspondence and material concerns the process of documenting the failure of two companies, Frank F. Graham and Thompson-Starrett Co., to fulfill their contracts for the project. Additionally, there is accounting and administrative information on the project workers, applications for employment, daily reports, expenses for items, and the receipt of shipments of materials, primarily for cut granite.
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
From December 1904 - December 1906, daily reports were created for services rendered. These reports listed weather conditions, remarks and notes on work planned and completed, materials received and expended, number of workers, and total daily cost of the work. In November 1908, the style of report changed to focus on work progressing on the museum basement and third floor. The style of report changed again on 23 February 1909 to weekly reports, continuing to focus on progress of the museum basement and third floor. The daily reports are ordered chronologically, although there is a significant gap from 1907 through most of 1908.
The specifications were issued to identify the requirements and purpose of needed services and supplies for the construction of the museum. The specifications outline the number of pieces required, sizes, payment schedules, delivery locations, and bidding instructions, for services and supplies, such as ice, bricks, rope, cement, windows, etc. The specifications are organized in chronological order as they were issued. Related correspondence and advertisements have been attached to or filed after the specification to which they refer. Some specifications contain copies of proposals, and General Instructions and Conditions to Govern Bidders and Contractors. Handwritten notes on the specifications may indicate more precise numbers of pieces, the exact purpose of specific supplies, when first and final deliveries were made, notes on finishing ahead of or behind schedule, to which companies the specifications were originally circulated, and to which company the order was given.
Duplication may occur among the Specifications, Proposals, and Contracts series (Series 2-4). The specifications often refer to drawings or blueprints of supplies that are no longer attached to the specifications. Any oversize blueprints or drawings have been removed and placed in Series 5, Blueprints and Drawings, under the appropriate subseries as either relating to the architectural, mechanical, or structural features of the building.
The proposals group together the bids that were received from companies in response to advertisements and specifications for requests for information, goods, or services. Each packet starts with a list of companies to whom specifications were sent, and may include a second list comparing companies who submitted proposals and their bids. The second list may also indicate to which company the contract was awarded. This information is followed by the correspondence and proposal submitted by the winning company, and then the proposals submitted by the other companies. With each proposal you may find advertisements, specifications, General Instructions and Conditions to Govern Bidders and Contractors, letters, and an Affidavit, Acknowledgment and Justification by Guarantee or Surety Company. Some samples of products, photographs, drawings, or blueprints of products may be included. The proposals are organized by number, 1 - 318, and are primarily in chronological order. All of the proposals are labeled as a Proposal or with the code P-2.
Duplication may occur among the Specifications, Proposals, and Contracts series (Series 2-4). Any oversize blueprints or drawings have been removed and placed in Series 5, Blueprints and Drawings, under the appropriate subseries as either relating to the architectural, mechanical, or structural features of the building. One thing to note about these blueprints is that they were received from companies competing to work on the National Museum Building project. This series may contain blueprints and plans from companies that did not receive a contract, and therefore had no effect on how the National Museum Building was ultimately constructed.
Contracts were awarded based on the companies that submitted proposals and they note when the contract was entered into, with whom, and for what purpose. The contract lays out the articles of agreement between the parties of the contract, and all appear to be signed. Also included are correspondence, advertisements and specifications for the service or supply, General Instructions and Conditions to Govern Bidders and Contractors, proposals, and supplemental contracts. Duplication may occur among the Specifications, Proposals, and Contracts series (Series 2-4). The contracts and related material are bound and sealed together.
Contracts were issued for goods and services covering excavation, granite, bricks, sand, windows, electric wiring, plumbing fixtures, fan motors, installing generators, marble work, etc. The contracts are organized by number, 1 - 93, and are primarily in chronological order. The contracts all appear to be labeled as a Contract or with the code C-6. Some of the contracts contain correspondence that is labeled with codes similar to the codes in the Incoming Correspondence series. If this occurs, there is usually a reference in the Incoming Correspondence series stating that this material can be found with a particular contract.
Any oversize blueprints or drawings have been removed and placed in Series 5, Blueprints and Drawings, under the appropriate subseries as either relating to the architectural, mechanical, or structural features of the building.
The blueprints and drawings offer a broad view of the construction of the National Museum building from the structural design, to architectural elements within the building, to the mechanical technology that was used in the construction of the building and which functioned within the building once it was opened to the public. The blueprints and drawings may have been submitted as their own series, or they were pulled from the specifications, proposals, and contracts series (Series 2-4). In some cases, blueprints and drawings have been kept that were received with proposals from companies and contractors who may not have been awarded the contract for a supply, good, service, or for construction. These blueprints and drawings provide contextual information pertaining to proposal selections; design, structural or mechanical differences amongst proposals; different techniques proposed for the construction of the building; technologies available at the time of construction; and the decision-making process in the construction of the National Museum Building. This series also has three subseries: Architectural, Mechanical, and Structural.
The Architectural subseries is divided by building element. All of these blueprints and drawings relate to an architectural component of the building such as window design, ornamental work on stairs, or fireproofing components of the building.
The Mechanical subseries is first divided into two groups: mechanical devices which were built into the building, such as elevators and wiring; and mechanical devices used in the construction of the building, ranging from electric hoists to wagon scales.
The Structural subseries consists of plans and layouts of the museum floors, as well as views of the building from the outside.
The incoming correspondence is addressed to Bernard R. Green, Superintendent of Construction, and concerns matters such as specifications, bills, sketches, enclosed drawings or blueprints, employment, specific contracts, wages, granite, dimensions, deliveries, equipments, etc. The outside of the letters often has a sentence that indicates the content of the letter.
Each item of incoming correspondence has been labeled with a code, such as A-43 or B-20. When correspondence was received it was filed under its appropriate letter in the alphabet, but correspondence from the same sender was grouped together. This group of correspondence from one sender was given a code based on the first letter of a corporate name or the first letter of an individual's last name, and then a number indicating the group number. For example, all correspondence from the Alberger Condenser Co. is grouped under the code A-43. Since the groups are not organized in alphabetical order within each letter it is believed that the numbers were assigned based on when the correspondence was first received by a company or an individual. For example, A-1 is the American Stoker Co., first letter received on March 12, 1903, and A-2 is the American Bridge Co., first letter received on March 25, 1903. If the American Bridge Co. letter had been received first it is possible that it could have been A-1. A master list of the codes does not appear to exist. In addition to the codes, each piece of correspondence is given another number that indicates its position within its group, based on the date it was received. The correspondence is primarily in chronological order within each group.
Blueprints or drawings will be found attached to some individual pieces of correspondence.
The applications are letters stating application for employment. They are often labeled on the outside with the name of the applicant, address, occupation, who they were recommended by, training information, and if the letter refers to any other names. All the applications were addressed to Bernard R. Green, Superintendent of Construction, and typically state the position in which the applicant is interested, their experience, names of references, and letters from these references may be included. Sometimes the application is simply a letter from a reference. Applicants were interested in the following types of positions: clerk, civil engineer, watchman, inspector on granite work, laborer, sculptor, rigger, bricklayer, plumber's apprentice, carpenter, hoisting engineer, carver, painter, etc. The applications are labeled as such and are organized in numerical order from 1-166 as they were received, and they are primarily in chronological order.
The accounting records date from 1907 - 1911, and include monthly labor reports, a ledger, a monthly time book, and an order book. The records indicate the cost of supplies and labor during a portion of the construction period, as well as names of specific laborers working on the project. However, there is no consistent run of ledgers documenting expenses by day, and the information concerning payroll does not cover the entire date span of this series. This information also does not cover the entire period of construction on the National Museum, but gives a glimpse at the types of expenses involved in the construction of the museum, and to whom these expenses were paid.
The outgoing correspondence contains letters that were sent by Bernard R. Green, Superintendent of Construction, to individuals, inspectors, companies, and Mr. Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The letters concern matters such as architectural plans, business processes, Articles of agreement with architects Joseph C. Hornblower and James R. Marshall, financial matters, proposals, contracts awarded and not awarded, photographing construction, committees, modifications to plans, inspectors, granite, damaged stones, few drawings, etc. The outgoing correspondence is housed within bound volumes, primarily in chronological order. All of the letters are on very fine carbon paper. At the beginning of each book is an alphabetical listing of correspondents within the book including an indication of the page number of the correspondence.
The Thompson-Starrett Co. and Frank F. Graham records include correspondence, invoices, and hearing information related to the Thompson-Starrett and Frank F. Graham contracts. Frank F. Graham was awarded a contract to supply the National Museum with cut granite, while the Thompson-Starrett Co. supplied the granite to Frank F. Graham. Delays in supplying the granite and in cutting caused both companies to default on the deadlines of their contracts. As a result, they were each sued for breach of contract. Much of the correspondence in this series relates to documenting the process of receiving stones, shipping stones, cutting stones, deadlines, and delays. There is a great deal of correspondence and documentation on the process of working with these two companies. Two of the primary correspondents were William Pirie, who inspected the Frank F. Graham progress and stones, and James A. Bailey, who inspected the Thompson-Starrett Co.
The Construction Administration series dates from 1903 - 1910, and consists of materials and correspondence concerning the management and construction of the National Museum. Included in this series are order books for supplies and services; invoices, receipts, and records of materials received; indexes for companies and people involved in the project; and ledgers concerning the stones received. There is no consistent run of correspondence or ledgers to document decisions made or the construction process, but this series offers a glimpse as to the management process for the project. This series also has two subseries: Shipping Records and Contract 25.
The Shipping Records subseries primarily includes invoices and schedules documenting the number of pieces of granite that were cut, shipped, by whom, and the date they were shipped.
The Contract 25 subseries relates to a contract that is missing from the Contracts series. This information documents granite and lumber that was received in accordance with fulfilling this contract.