As stated elsewhere on this web site, the British are ravenous collectors and catalogers of civilization. They have gone to the ends of the Earth in search of artifacts to document the extent of the Empire, and the limits of human imagination. It all comes together here. The British Museum is perhaps the most important institution of its kind. From Rome to the Far East; from the Americas to the Pacific Rim, the objects are all here. While some museums have humble beginnings, this one did not. Its creation was spurred by a massive private donation in the 1730's of over 71,000 exhibits to the government. These were combined with another collection that the government held, creating a critical mass necessitating a building of its own. Montagu House was bought for this purpose in 1754. Less than 50 years later, the collection outgrew its home, so an addition was built. This was known as the Townley Gallery, and was built between 1804 and 1808. But if you look for it today, you won't see it. It was leveled in 1842, and the Smirke Building erected in its place. It was a few years later that the British Museum's architecture got out of hand. Already a collection of Victorian, French, and Greek Revival styles, its one unifying force was the central plaza from which visitors could grasp the scale of the building. This was compromised when the Reading Room was completed in 1857. While it is understandable that the museum needed space for expansion, there comes a point at which architecture goes from layout to labyrinth. The Reading Room was soon followed by the White Wing, King Edward VII's Galleries, and the special gallery designed to hold the Elgin Marbles. Construction on the Elgin Marbles gallery ended in 1939, but World War II took its toll. There wasn't the money or incentive to build any more large expansions. In fact, fixing the bomb damage prevented the Elgin Marbles gallery from opening until 1962. The first new wing in 40 years opened in 1980. Unfortunately, it was called "The New Wing" and completely fails to honor any worthy Britons. Then, at the turn of the millennium, something interesting happens. The British Museum would recover from the violation caused by Reading Room. The Reading Room had removed a wonderful public space. It was the architect Lord Norman Foster who would restore it. The British Library was given its own museum, and the Reading Room was pared back to its essentials. Then over the entire area which was formerly a great courtyard was erected a delicate glass dome, and the Great Court was created. Strictly speaking, it's more of a roof than a dome, but it arches gracefully over the floor below, and converges on the copper roof of the Reading Room as if it was one dome resting upon another. It is a spectacular sight, but does not interfere with the appreciation of the rest of the building's architecture.

Photograph © London Tourist Board

Photograph © London Tourist Board

Photograph © London Tourist Board