James Renwick's Building Plan Recommended

James Renwick's Building Plan Recommended
view James Renwick's Building Plan Recommended digital asset number 1
SUBJECT:
Renwick, James 1818-1895
Board of Regents
Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.)
Board of Regents Committee on Buildings
Smithsonian Institution Building Competition
DATE:
November 30, 1846
CATEGORY:
Chronology of Smithsonian History
NOTES:
This drawing depicts the central pavilion of the north fac̦ade of the Smithsonian Institution Building. It is done in pencil on paper by architect James Renwick, Jr., as a developmental study in which he appears to be working out relationships between different architectural elements of the Smithsonian Institution Building, 1846. In this Gothic scheme design, the building's north towers are symmetrical and stand on either side of the north entrance. Smithsonian Institution Archives, negative number SIA2012-1142.
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 18, number 329. "Journals of the Proceedings of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1846-76, Reports of Committees, Statistics, Etc." ed. by William J. Rhees. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1879, p. 5-7.
Smithsonian Institution, Report of the Board of Regents to Congress, March 3rd 1847. Accession 09-007, Box 6, Folder "Smithsonian Institution Building Competition 1846."
SUMMARY:
The building committee of the Board of Regents reports on their efforts to select an appropriate plan for a building to accommodate the functions of the Smithsonian. After visiting buildings in a number of cities and reviewing plans submitted by various architects, the committee recommended a plan submitted by architect James Renwick, Jr., in the later Norman, or more strictly Lombard style, as it prevailed in Germany, Normandy, and Southern Europe in the 12th century.
The 27 year-old Renwick is well known for his Gothic churches in New York, such as the Grace Church, Calvary Church, and Church of the Puritans. He submits both a Gothic and a Norman scheme of his design; however, the Regents are more taken with the practicality his Norman scheme.
In their presentation to the Board, the committee predicts that Renwick's design could be constructed and furnished for less than the sum of $242,129. allocated by the U.S. Congress. Renwick's design was not approved until January 28 of the following year.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
TOPIC:
Architecture
Engineering
Architecture--Drawings and plans
Architecture--Design and plans
DATA SOURCE:
Smithsonian Archives - History Div