Buffalo

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Text printed on reverse of stereocard: THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D. C. Derives its name from its founder, Mr. James Smithson, an English gentleman who died at Genoa, in the year 1828, leaving his entire property, amounting to $515,169, for the purpose of "founding at Washington, an establishment, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." This fund came into the possession of the United States Government, September, 1, 1838. The corner-stone of the building was laid May 1, 1847. The Smithsonian Institution is built on a public reservation, known as "The Mall," between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, The grounds extend from 7th Street to 12th Street, comprising 52 acres. The greater portion of this area was laid out under the direction of the late distinguished horticulturalist and landscape gardener, Mr. Downing, to whose memory a Marble Vase, bearing the name of the Downing Vase, has been erected by the United States Pomological Society, at a cost of $2,000. The material used in the construction of the building is a lilac-gray variety of freestone, found near the month of the Se

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