tenders are being called, have now been completed. The buildings will
occupy the site of the Old Gaol at the corner of Beaufort and James
streets, and will have a frontage of 250ft. to Beaufort-street, and 331ft.
to James-street The main facade will stand back some 66ft. from James-
street. The building will be approached from both James and Beaufort
streets by gracefully curved carriage drives, which lead up to an imposing
flight of steps, and so to the main centre entrance through a wide-
spanning arch 30ft. high and 28ft. wide. Beyond this is the first striking
feature of the interior, the vestibule, which is characterised by
indications of the most recent school of architecture with ladies’ and
gentlemen’s lavatories, cloak rooms and attendance rooms. The museum
proper will be entered from right and left of vestibule, and on the ground
floor will comprise two rooms 130ft. by 38ft. wide, and 20ft. high. These
rooms have apsidal ends and sides sub-divided into commodious well-lighted
alcoves. In the half basement rooms under left wing provision will be made
for taxidermist, entomologist, carpenters’ and joiners’ shop, painters’
room, spirit room, and storage room. The half basement under right wing
will have spaces allotted for geological, mineralogical, timber and other
exhibits. The portion of basement under main entrance will be fitted up
for caretaker’s quarters. None of these latter features, though an
important integer in the structure, afford features for special
descriptions.

The first-floor rooms will be approached from a vestibule on a landing of
a broad flight of stairs leading to the upper vestibule and curator’s
rooms. Rooms with excellent adaptation for display of exhibits are
provided for specimens end open from right and left of vestibule. These
rooms have ornamental, open, timbered roof, and carved and panelled
ceilings. Facing the main entrance on the ground floor is a wide and
richly ornamented archway, giving entrance to a series of vestibules, each
38 x 38 x 24 ft. high, which afford an excellent internal vista, provided
with artistically disposed niches for statuary and lighted with domical
skylight. The library is a spacious, well-lighted, and well-equipped
apartment, 130 x 103 x 40 ft., and is entered from vestibules on the left,
and lighted from Limbo-street in the front, and from areas 25ft. wide on
the north and south side of room. The library has a wide, ornamental,
timbered roof with large skylight. Accommodation is provided for news-
room, magazine room, reference library, ladies’ reading rooms, and
librarian’s rooms ; an enclosed apartment with desk and visitors’ book is
placed at entrance for assistant-librarian. Access will be gained by four
staircases to the gallery and spaces allotted for readers of special
subjects. All the fitting will be modelled on the latest and most-approved
principles.

On the right and left of the statuary vestibules are the art galleries,
which are entered through wide, swinging doors. Each gallery affords wide
hanging space, being 139 x 28 x 24 ft. high, well-lighted with the top
lights from the south and north, as also from areas 25ft. wide on same side.

Communicating lobbies, with niches for statuary, occur between each
gallery and statuary vestibule, and are provided so as to give free access
from room to room, and are well lighted from areas.

Ventilation is a feature to which special attention has been given. Fresh
air will be admitted to all rooms and galleries by vertical flues
discharging inside at a height of 6ft. above each floor level, and the
foul air is withdrawn by suction shafts through ceiling and so out from
louvered dormers in roof. All the rooms will be fitted with hot-air pipes
and coils.

The construction generally will be of fire-proof materials, walls of
brick, floors of concrete carried upon steel girders throughout, with
concrete foundations. All external walls have cavities to prevent wet from
penetrating to inner walls, a consideration of the utmost importance in
such a building.

The style of architecture adopted is the Romanesque, which lends itself to
a fine blending of the picturesque and utilitarian. The sky lines of front
and sides are well broken with gables and domes, the whole being well
grouped together and having a bold appearance.

The central entrance arcade is 63ft. wide and 65ft. high, and surmounted
with a dome, the ball of which is 100ft. above ground level. The entrance
arch, which is approached by bold bluestone stops, with stone pedestal and
balustrades, is deeply recessed and moulded, the Royal Arms and other
carved enrichments being prominently displayed upon the front. Over this
entrance is the inscription “Art Gallery,” in bold ornate lettering, on
carved panels.

The gables to each wing, right and left, are similarly treated, and have
octagonal turrets at angles, and in the centre of each gable is a screen
with ornamented openings in front of the centre windows, which latter are
fitted with leadlights. The carved frieze over the entrance doorway bears
the word “Museum.” The first floors will be lighted with a row of lead-
lighted windows, continued round the apsidal ends, with bold, overhanging
eaves and brackets.

A piazza 12ft. wide runs round the principal facades on the ground-floor,
the floor being covered with mosaic tiling, and the whole piazza is
enclosed by bold arcading.

The materials for the front and basement are of square dressed random-
coursed rock-faced colonial stone. Round the three principal facades the
superstructure is picked out in red brick, with dressings of clean-
chiselled Rottnest stone, the roof being covered with galvanised iron
specially adapted.

The portion of the Museum buildings at present to be erected is the wing
facing James-street and next Beaufort-street, which will be used as the
library until further extension.

The whole of these designs for Observatory and Museum have, of course,
been carried out under the direct supervision of Mr. Geo. T. Poole,
Assistant Engineer-in-Chief.