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Culture Watch

For Sale ... The Smithsonian

by Anonymous
Editor's Note: Unhappy staffers at the Smithsonian have leaked the following document, which suggests the institution could raise tens of millions of dollars by selling naming rights to various rooms, halls, and buildings. Lawrence Small, the ex-banker who now runs the Smithsonian, says the document was prepared by underlings"to find ways to raise money in the private sector," as Maureen Dowd reported in the New York Times. He himself admits that"the list is funny in some places." A staffer who leaked the list commented,"A lot of people took this to be a joke. It ain't no joke."

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Unit Naming Opportunities:

Accessibility Program - Contact: Elizabeth Ziebarth

11Recording area in AIB 1239

11Internships for graduate students

Engineering & Operations/Architectural History & Historic Preservation - Contact: Cynthia Field

SIB-"Library"

SIB-Great Hall

SIB-Vestibule

SIB-up to 6 tower rooms

SIB-"Commons"

SIB-private dining rooms

SIB-clock

SIB-towers up to 8

SIB donor room

SIB-tomb room*

SIB-such spaces as may be developed in restoration plan

A&I-8 exhibition halls

A&I-8 galleries

A&I-rotunda

A&I-uncounted, as yet, individual piers

A&I-rotunda balconies

Endowed internship/fellowship ($100,000 - $200,000)

*This room is already named as"Smithson's Crypt." However, a donor could be named as providing upkeep.

Engineering & Operations/Horticulture - Contact: Nancy Bechtol

Conservatory in Enid A. Haupt Garden

Bird Garden at NMNH along Madison Drive

Special Events outdoor patio at NMNH on Constitution Avenue

Renovate Bandstand area of NMAH

Renovate Front Entrance along Madison Drive at NMAH

Name each of the fountains in the Haupt Garden to support renovation

Build a $15 million dollar production greenhouse facility at Suitland

Name the orchid exhibition for 2004 and future exhibits

Support to produce a History of Vegetable Gardens Exhibition in conjunction with a SITES traveling show on that topic

Butterfly Pavilion in A&I or NMNH - $4 million

Build a new production greenhouse facility at Suitland MD - $15 million

Fund traveling shows for our Archives of American Gardens - Garden Legacy Series with SITES ($150,000 each. Next in series is on the history of vegetable gardening.)

Endowed positions - 1 million to 2 million each

Curatorship of the Archives of American Gardens collection

Curatorship of the Orchid Collection

Director, Horticulture Services Division

Endowed student positions ($100,000 to $200,000 each)

Endowed fellowships and internships (10 positions available)

Engineering & Operations/Master Planning - Contact: Harry Rombach

Suitland Collection Center **

Note: The entire Suitland complex could be a single naming opportunity, or it could be broken into pieces as described below

History and Art Center (900,000 gsf)†

American History Wing - Collections Center

Art Wing - Collections Center (includes Anacostia Museum collections storage)

Smithsonian American Art Museum - Collections Center

National Portrait Gallery - Collections Center

National Museum of African Art - Collections Center

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - Collections Center

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - Collections Center

Anacostia Museum - Collections Center

Archives and Libraries Center (460,000 gsf)

Archives Center

Libraries Center

Archives of American Art - Collections Center

Central Film Vault

Human Services Center (110,000 gsf)

Dining Center

Child Care Center

Conference Center

Dormitory for Visiting Researchers and Scholars

Visitors' Center

Natural History and Science Center (a complex of several buildings) (850,000 gsf)

Laboratory Science Building

Mall Relocation Facility (collections storage and support)††

Marine Systems Laboratory

Wet-bay Pod (a new MSC pod)

High-bay Pod (a new MSC pod)

Central Shipping and Receiving Center (125,000 gsf)

Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service - Collections Center††

Folklife Festival Support Facility††

Fumigation Facility (separate building)††

Horticulture Services Center

Parking Structures (425,000 gsf)

Above ground structure††

Under ground structure

**All buildings listed are proposed facilities in the Suitland Master Plan except for the completed portion of Horticulture Services.

†11The History and Art Center can be built in two or more phases.

††11The construction of these buildings will require the demolition of Garber Facility buildings.

11These two locations require coordination with the individual unit:

Conservation Research Center in Front Royal

Smithsonian Environment Research Center in Edgewater, MD

11

SI Archives - Contact: Edie Hedlin

11Endowed Conservator Position

11Endowed Electronic Records Position

SI Libraries - Contact: Nancy Gwinn

20 branch libraries and other spaces (naming cost from $500,000 - $3,000,000 each):

The Imaging Center: $2 million

The Book Conservation Laboratory: $2 million

Anacostia Library: $500,000

Anthropology Library: $1 million

Botany Library: $1 million

Central Reference and Loan Library: $500,000

Cooper-Hewitt Library: $3 million

Horticulture Library: $1 million

Museum Reference Center: $1 million

Museum Support Center: $1 million

Air and Space Library: $3 million

American History Library: $3 million

National Postal Museum Library: $3 million

National Museum of the American Indian Library: $3 million

Natural History Library: $3 million

Minerals Library: $500,000

Systematic Biology Library: $1million

Environmental Research Center Library

Tropical Research Center Library

National Zoo Library

5 endowed positions (naming cost $1,500,000 - 2,000,000 each):

Curatorship of Natural History Rare Books: $2 million

Curatorship of Science and Technology Rare Books: $2 million

Curatorship of Historical Trade Literature: $1.5 million

African Art Bibliographer: $1.5 million

Director, Smithsonian Institution Libraries: $3 million

Multiple endowments

endowment for Excellence Fund (acquisitions, $500,000+)

endowment for Technology Fund (equipment, $250,000 +)

endowed acquisitions funds (10 @ $25,000 - $500,000 each)

endowed preservation funds (10 @ $25,000 - $250,000 each)

endowed program funds (10 @ $100,000 - $250,000 each)

endowed fellowships/internships (5 @ $100,000 - $500,000 each)

endowed funds for digital or new format projects (10 @ $50,000 - $250,000 each)

Exhibits Central/Corporate Sponsorships - Contact: Mike Headley

11Powermatic Corporation

11Rockwell International

11Benjamin Moore Paints

11MBA Design and Display Products Corp.