Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/30

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12
THE MUSEUM

crete to a depth of sixty metres, or more than one hundred and eighty feet. That the extent of the damage wrought in the Neues Museum is not yet known we may be sure. The building is erected on wooden piles which have stood in water until this unfortunate affair necessitated the pumping out of the ground water from that vicinity. How much damage had the air done to those piles before the water was allowed to flow back again? This is the question that is now occupying the engineers.

To sum up: in selecting the site for a new museum building the following matters must be considered. First, the situation should be as near the civic centre as possible or at least thoroughly accessible from all parts of the city. Second, if outside the centre, it should be on the side of probable future development. Third, the lot must be large enough to allow for growth as well as to protect the museum from undesirable neighbors. Fourth, it must be of such a character that the expense of building foundations and the maintenance costs when built will not be excessive.