Note 23 — Chapter VII · THE HEART OF CHICAGO: OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATING A CONVENIENT AND UNIFIED CITY: MICHIGAN AVENUE AS THE BASE OF A GREAT COMPOSITION: THE WIDENING OF HALSTED STREET: A GROUP-PLAN FOR THE FIELD MUSEUM, THE CRERAR LIBRARY, AND THE ART INSTITUTE: CONGRESS STREET AS THE MAIN AXIS OF THE CITY: THE CIVIC CENTER

The Field Museum of Natural History, established in 1894, at the close of the World’s Columbian Exposition, was made possible by the gift of one million dollars by Marshall Field, who at his death in 1906 bequeathed a further eight million dollars, one-half for the erection of a building, and one-half for endowment. Another half million has been contributed by various individuals; and to the $25,000 annual income aside from the endowment, about $100,000 for maintenance will be raised annually by taxation. On the collections representing anthropology, botany, geology, and zoölogy, over two million dollars has been expended, and the institution (now occupying temporary quarters in Jackson Park) has a staff of directors and curators, a library of 50,000 titles, a well equipped publication bureau, and other appropriate accessories. By a contract between the South Park Commissioners and the trustees of the Field Museum, dated January 31, 1907, the site in Grant Park was set aside for the new building.