The over-all size of the building is 226 feet by 111 feet. It rises to a height of 48 feet on a property 364 feet by 186 feet. Work was started in November 1929. The façades were to harmonize in masses and material with classic Washington. A quiet modern Georgia marble façade, with silver grilles and balconies, was designed, using, as principal decoration, a set of nine bas-reliefs illustrating Shakespeare’s plays and some inscriptions emphasizing its purpose of memorial to a great poet. [Illustration: EXHIBITION HALL--FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY] The sculptural theme is based on the following plays: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Richard the Third, Hamlet, and Henry the Fourth. Their execution was entrusted to John Gregory of New York. They are placed so as to have more importance than the usual frieze--below each window of the exhibition room, at the proper height for the passer-by, and along a marble terrace raised 3 feet above the street level. [Illustration: SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION] SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION The Smithsonian Institution was established by act of Congress in 1846, under the terms of the will of James Smithson, an Englishman, who in 1826 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to found, at Washington, under the name of the “Smithsonian Institution,” an establishment for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” The Institution is legally an establishment, having as its members the President of the United States, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the President’s Cabinet. It is governed by a Board of Regents. The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution is its executive officer and the director of its activities. The building was designed by James Renwick, architect. The regents are empowered to accept gifts without action of Congress, in furtherance of the purpose of the Institution, and to administer trusts in accordance therewith. Throughout its history, the Smithsonian Institution has conducted and encouraged important scientific researches, explorations, and investigations, which have contributed largely to the advancement of knowledge, and thereby accomplishing the “increase of knowledge.” The “diffusion of knowledge” is carried on through several series of publications based on its researches and collections, through its museum and art gallery exhibits, and through an extensive correspondence. The Smithsonian issues 13 series of scientific publications which are distributed free to libraries, learned societies, and educational institutions throughout the world. It also maintains a library of 876,000 volumes, which consists mainly of transactions of learned societies and scientific periodicals.