MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Celebrating 25 Years HIS ISSUE OF BLUEPRINTS GOES TO PRESS In October 1985, after several years 25 years almost to the day after an act of renovations to the former Pension Tof the U.S. Congress formally estab- Building, which had been designated by lished the National Building Museum in Congress to house the new, private institu- December 1980 (though at the time, the tion, the National Building Museum offi- entity was still known as the Committee cially opened to the public. There were for a National Museum of the Building four inaugural exhibitions: one called Arts). That milestone represented the end Building a National Image: Architectural of a long campaign by an ambitious and Drawings for the American Democracy, intrepid group of individuals who worked another about the Brooklyn Bridge, anoth- tirelessly toward the creation of such er about master metalworker Samuel an organization. At the same time, it Yellin, and finally one about the Museum's Chase W. Rynd was a momentous beginning, marking own historic landmark structure. The the birth of an entirely new kind of diverse subject matter of these initial cultural institution. shows reflected very well the range of As stated in the very first issue of issues that the Museum was committed Blueprints, published in the summer of to addressing. Early education programs, 1981, “The ultimate goal of the Museum's including the first Construction Watch program is to encourage the public to Tours, hands-on activities for children, take part in the ongoing debate over what and lectures by architectural photogra- relationship our society should establish phers, historians, and others, augmented between the built and natural environ- the breadth of the Museum’s offerings. ments.” Such a goal implied a vision for Since those auspicious beginnings, an organization that was simultaneously the Museum has presented nearly 170 scholarly and accessible to a broad audi- exhibitions and thousands of education ence, serving as both an intellectual “home” programs, and has welcomed more than for the design and building industries four million visitors. And now, thanks to the and a very public forum for discussion and Internet, each year more than one million exchange of information. It also suggested people all over the world follow our activi- an unprecedented interdisciplinary ties by exploring online exhibitions, reading approach to the institution’s organization, summaries of public programs, and even mission, and programming, since the viewing video clips of important lectures. examination of all aspects of the “built and The National Building Museum has unques- natural environments” would inevitably tionably become a vital, influential, and involve an astonishingly broad spectrum valuable institution. We proudly celebrate of specific fields and topics. As I look back how far we have come in 25 years, and look on the Museum’s history so far, I think forward to greater success in the future. the institution has done a remarkably good job of remaining true to these fundamental goals, and in the process, has greatly advanced the general level of understand- ing of, and appreciation for, the value of Executive Director good design and planning. National Building Museum blueprints 1 FEATURE Revealed The National Building Museum’s Collection On December 3, the National Building Blueprints: The National Building Museum’s Museum opened Cityscapes collection actually predates the opening of the Museum. What were the first items in the Revealed: Highlights from collection and how did they come to be given the Collection, the to the Museum? first exhibition in the The first recorded items in institution’s history Dana Twersky: the collection are papers given by Louise dedicated solely Mendelsohn [the widow of architect Erich to its own hold- Mendelsohn] documenting her efforts to ings, which com- organize a museum of architecture. The prise more than papers were donated and accessioned— 110,000 items. meaning that they were formally accepted into the collection—in 1977, when the Conceived as part Museum existed as an organization called of the celebration the Committee for a National Museum of the of the Museum’s 25th Building Arts. The second items accessioned anniversary, the exhibition were the elevator grilles from the Manhattan presents a cross-section of two- Building in Chicago, donated by Manhattan and three-dimensional artifacts that shed Associates in 1981. Two of the grilles are on display in Cityscapes Revealed. light on the American urban landscape. Correspondence in the early accession The show will be on view for approximately files indicates that donations were actively above / An original terra cotta rosette two years in first floor galleries. (Boston Terra Cotta Company, 1884) solicited by Isabel and Bates Lowry [the that was removed many years ago Museum’s first “documentation center from the cornice of the Pension The exhibition was organized by curator Building, now the National Building head” and director, respectively, and also Museum. Gift in memory of John D. Chrysanthe Broikos, who worked closely wife and husband] in order to build up Fleetwood Jr.; Pension Building Collection; Collection of the National with registrar Cecelia Gibson. Following the collection. Building Museum. is an interview with Chrysanthe and Dana Since that time we have received 170 donations including photographic opposite right / A copper acroterion Twersky, the Museum’s senior registrar, (an ornamental element typically used prints, architectural drawings, documents, to adorn the edge of a roof), from an offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of unknown building, c. 1900. Museum assorted ephemera, and three-dimensional purchase; Collection of the National Cityscapes Revealed and the collection objects having to do with the building arts. Building Museum. that inspired it. 2 blueprints REVEALED: THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM’S COLLECTION BP: How were the specific items in Cityscapes BP: There are various sub-collections within Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights Revealed selected? the overall Museum collection. The Pension from the Collection is made possible by Building Collection, for instance, obviously National Architectural Trust; Baltimore– Chrysanthe Broikos: My goal was to let the helps to tell the story of the Museum’s historic Washington Brick Distributor Council; Lt. objects select, and speak for, themselves. I home. Does it also tell us anything broader Col. and Mrs. William Karl Konze; Samuel started by focusing on the large architectural about life in late 19th-century Washington? H. Kress Foundation; Sheet Metal Workers’ fragments that had been salvaged from sig- International Association; Gladding, Yes, I think it does. For example, it nificant buildings and donated to our collec- CB: McBean; Mrs. John W. Hechinger, Sr.; includes information on topics as varied tion. Given the size of our galleries and the International Masonry Institute; as the working conditions and rules of scale of the pieces, I thought we could create International Union of Bricklayers and conduct for employees in the building to dramatic vistas and showcase some of our Allied Craftworkers; Linda B. and Jonathan the Victorian decorations favored for the most important artifacts. Once the team S. Lyons; Turner Construction Corporation; inaugural balls held here. In the future, determined which of these pieces could be Honorable Robert W. and Louisa C. as we move forward with new ways of advantageously displayed, I had the begin- Duemling; Brick Industry Association; interpreting the building, we hope to nings of the exhibition’s urban theme. Marshall B. Coyne Foundation; Jessica explore many of those rich avenues. I also thought it was important to and Henry Townsend; Sara Ann Bounds; The items I selected for the exhibi- highlight some of the individual collections Design Ways & Means-Perry Cofield, AIA; tion, however, are strictly architectural. that have never been exhibited before. William L. Hopkins and Richard B. I used this as an opportunity to address So, relatively speaking, I have included Anderson; F. Joseph Moravec; Restore some of the questions first-time visitors quite a few pieces from both the Ernest L. Media, LLC; Karen and Langley Shook; have about the building and to show the Brothers Interior Design Collection and the and other generous contributors. Northwestern Terra Cotta Collection, since architectural fragments we have. For neither has been the subject of a full exhibi- example, we have two of the original terra tion here. The S.H. Kress & Co. Collection cotta rosettes that were designed for the and the Wurts Brothers Photography cornice, but due to weathering problems Collection are not as widely represented had to be removed shortly after they since both have been featured previously. were installed. At the time of building’s Because the range of built structures renovation, we did not have either represented in the collection is so vast, rosette. Now we could consider settling on an urban theme also helped replicating these originals narrow my research. You do have to draw and restoring Montgomery the line somewhere. So I did not select Meigs’ original vision. items relating to farms, suburbia, or trans- portation networks, for example; I concen- trated on built works typical in a city. BP: What inspired the exhibition title? CB: Even though the exhibition is a survey of the collection, I thought it was impor- tant to define the urban thread that I had teased out, especially because I had been envisioning the exhibition as a kind of walking tour of the city and our collec- tions. Words such as “cityscapes,” “streetscapes,” and “downtown” seemed to touch on the idea I was hoping to evoke. I hope even the keenest observers of the city—and I assume that encompasses a great many of our members—will learn or discover something new, so that’s where the “revealed” comes in. I also like “revealed” because this is the first time many of these pieces will be on display.