The building occupied by the Institution and bearing its name is an ornate structure of Seneca brown stone, occupying a prominent position in the “Mall” which extends from the Capitol to the Washington monument. This building was begun in 1847 and completed in 1855. It is hybrid in character, combining features selected from both Gothic and Romanesque style, and is more admired by the public than by connoisseurs in architecture. It is doubtful if a building more unsuited to the purposes for which it was designed was ever constructed. The diversion of the funds of the Smithsonian bequest to this building was one of Professor Henry’s greatest griefs, and before the close of his life by careful economy of the annual income, he had succeeded in restoring the entire sum, amounting to about $450,000 to the permanent endowment fund, beside increasing this fund nearly $150,000 over and above the original bequest. The eastern wing of the building, for so many years the hospitable home of the secretary, has been reconstructed internally, and the offices of the Institution are all established within its walls. The remainder of the building is occupied by laboratories and exhibition halls connected with the National Museum. Another building has recently been built east of the Smithsonian for the reception of a portion of the national collections. This was put up by congressional appropriation, and Congress has at last recognized the justice of the claim, so many years urged upon them by the secretary, that the Smithson money should not be used to provide shelter for the government cabinets, and has assumed the care of the Smithsonian building and votes money for its repairs and maintenance. Few people who visit Washington make the proper discrimination between the Smithsonian Institution proper, and the establishments under its custody. What they see is the National Museum. The relations of the Museum to the Institution will be discussed more fully in a separate article, but it is necessary to state just here that it is not the property of the Institution, but rather its ward—its management being intrusted by law to the Institution which is provided with funds for its maintenance by annual congressional grants. In early days the Smithsonian supported collections of its own, but these were not primarily for public exhibition, but for the uses of scientific investigators. Professor Henry always maintained that not one cent of the Smithson fund could with propriety be applied to the support of the National Museum, and his view is now the accepted one.