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Work on the Germanic Museum is progressing at such a rate that from present indications the building will be ready next fall. The museum was expected to be finished some time this spring, but because of difficulties in obtaining the land where it is being constructed, its completion has been delayed until next fall.
Professor H. L. Warren '83, of the firm of Warren and Smith, is supervising its construction, which is being carried on according to the plans made by the German architect, Bastelmeyer of Saxony. The latter's designs were chosen partly because it was the wish of the German Emperor and partly because of the excellence of his designs for the new central hall of the university buildings at Munich.
The museum was built according to the wish of Mr. Adolphus Busch, of St. Louis, who, with the German Emperor, gave the funds necessary for its construction. An adequate endowment will cover the expenses of the upkeep of the building and collections, and any increase in the collections of the museum will be partially cared for by the special Germanic Museum Fund of $10,000, the proceeds of the Joan of Arc performance, and by the legacy of $50,000 from the estate of one of the museum's benefactors, Mr. Hugo Reisinger.
Its structure is decidedly unusual both in design and in architecture. Through a vestibule, distinctly Modern German in design, one enters a large hall, to be used for the display of Romanesque arts. Beyond this is a small chapel, where the Gothic work will be placed; and in the wing to the left is the hall where the work of the German Renaissance can be displayed against an appropriate background. The intersection of the two wings is surmounted by a massive tower, that dominates the entire group. The rectangle between the two wings is to be developed as a courtyard enclosed by a garden wall, with cloister-like arcades upon two sides. The Romanesque Hall is about seventy feet long, with a high-vaulted ceiling supported by pillars forming alcoves. A cast of the "Golden Gate" of the Freiburg Cathedral at its further end forms the entrance to the Gothic Hall beyond. This arrangement is copied from the crossing and choir of a church. It also gives an appropriate location for a cast of the rood screen of Naunberg Cathedral. The Renaissance hall, easily the largest, is seventy feet long by fifty wide, and has a flat ceiling supported by columns which divide the hall into two parts.
The building will house the large collection of architectural casts, photographs, and books, a considerable portion of which were given by the German Emperor on the occasion of the visit of Prince Harry a few years ago. A recent and unique addition to the reference library consists of a collection of prints illustrative of Goethe's works, the gift of Miss E. C. Holland of Concord.
The following officers of the Germanic Museum Association have been elected: President, Frederick P. Fish; vice-president, Professor H. L. Warren '83; secretary-treasurer, C. S. Houghton '56. Judge J. M. Olmstead has been elected chairman of the board of directors. Professor Kuno Francke is the director of the Museum.
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