Study Weighs Four Sites For Museum

Construction on this site would require major rerouting of traffic off I-395 and a reconfiguration of nearby streets. "Current traffic patterns limit the site and pose some potential problems," the report noted.

One advantage, ironically, is the blandness of the area. "The site offers great latitude in terms of architectural and landscape expression, of all the sites under consideration, given no specific architectural context in the area," the report said.

Its proximity to the fish market is addressed head-on. "The nearby fish market southwest of the site can have a negative impact on the air quality of the site, depending on wind direction and air temperature," the report said.

Because of the complexity of the site and roads that would have to be rerouted, building at Banneker Overlook would cost as much as $1.4 billion. A minimal building could be done for $356 million.

The Liberty Loan site, four blocks south of the Mall, is occupied by a government building put up as a "temporary" structure in 1918 for a World War I bond drive and has a tunnel underneath for a ramp to I-395. An access ramp from Maine Avenue to 14th Street runs through the building. The site is a short walk from the Washington Monument, Tidal Basin and Holocaust Memorial Museum. The existing structure, now used by the Treasury Department, would be torn down.

Largely because of the configuration of roads on three sides, "designers would have a difficult time fitting a museum building of the projected program size on this site," the study said. The engineers also noted that it is within 300 feet of a rail line that carries hazardous chemicals, a situation now the subject of litigation.

The report said a structure with six to eight aboveground levels, facing the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial, could be built but there would be no space around the museum for outdoor activities. A museum on this site could cost as much as $513 million.

The report spells out several disadvantages for the Arts & Industries site, home to a historic building on the Mall next to the Smithsonian Castle. The 143,000-square-foot structure, now closed to the public because of safety issues, is too small, the report said.

Tearing down and replacing it would cost $630 million. Updating the present building and modernizing its museum features would cost $530 million, a conversion that would provide "very little opportunity" for architectural expression, the report stated. Demolishing the building would almost certainly trigger a battle with preservation groups.

The museum, which was authorized by President Bush in 2003, is expected to be completed by 2015.