National Museum of African American History and Culture has 'a home'
Steve Dufour
http://www.washingtontimes.com
National Museum of African American History and Culture has 'a home'
By Robert Redding Jr.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published January 31, 2006
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The Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents yesterday announced that
a new museum dedicated to black history will be built near the
Washington Monument within the next 10 years.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture will
occupy a 5-acre plot across the street from the National Museum of
American History on Constitution Avenue Northwest in the District.
"We believe that we picked the best possible site," said Roger W.
Sant, chairman of the regents' executive committee, noting the proposed
museum's proximity to one of the Mall's most recognized landmarks. "The
Mall is a scenic place for all Americans ... and we think that it would
be appropriate to be there."
Mr. Sant promised that the design process for the museum -- whose
estimated cost is between $300 million and $350 million -- would be
sensitive to its location on the increasingly crowded Mall.
The anticipated 350,000-square-foot museum complex would stand
about 800 feet from the Washington Monument -- the length of about 22/3
football fields.
"I thought this was an important site," said Lonnie G. Bunch,
director of the new museum. "The selection of the site ensures that the
history will be available for all those that visit the Mall."
Sixteen of the Board of Regents' 17 members -- led by Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr. as chancellor -- yesterday voiced approval for the
nearby Washington Monument acreage over three other proposed sites for
the black-history museum. Vice President Dick Cheney, who also belongs
to the board, did not attend the vote.
Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small said officials will begin
working on architectural plans with the National Capitol Planning
Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation.
"This helps to make the museum concrete," Mr. Bunch said. "To have
a home really realizes that this is on the way."
Yet Smithsonian officials said there may be some local opposition
to the site because it is on land that already is used frequently for
Mall events and recreation. And depending on its height, the museum
could obscure the view of the Washington Monument.
The black-history complex would be the 19th museum that the
Smithsonian has built, the most recent of which is the National Museum
of the American Indian. Opened in September 2004, the American-Indian
museum cost a little more than $220 million.
Half of the expected $300 million cost of the black-history museum
is to be provided by private contributions and the other half by the
federal government.
President Bush authorized the museum as a part of the Smithsonian
in December 2003.
The complex -- which will be comparable in size to the
American-Indian museum -- will become the only national museum devoted
exclusively to the documentation of black life, art, history and
culture.
"The museum's collections will cover topics as varied as slavery,
post-Civil War Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance and the civil
rights movement," according to the Smithsonian's Web site (www.si.edu).
·This article is based in part on wire service reports.
Arthur Stone
B1ackwater
wrote:
>The Washington Times
>http://www.washingtontimes.com
>National Museum of African American History and Culture has 'a home'
>By Robert Redding Jr.
>THE WASHINGTON TIMES
>Published January 31, 2006
>
>The Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents yesterday announced that
>a new museum dedicated to black history will be built near the
>Washington Monument within the next 10 years.
Seperate but equal ???
What's the matter, 'black' stuff not WORTHY of being
seen next to "white" stuff in the other museums ? Too
many 'funny-smelling' black folks wandering the halls,
lookin' at the white women, using the water fountains ?
Someone needs to look into this.