Washington’s Headquarters Museum

Washington’s Headquarters Museum. Morristown National Historical Park. , Completed in 1937, the Washington’s Headquarters Museum was one of the first museums planned and constructed by the National Park Service. Noted architect John Russell Pope designed the museum to memorialize General George Washington and to provide the park with an appropriate facility for exhibitions, meetings, lectures, and collections storage. Pope used George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, as his inspiration for the design., A Depression-era project, the building was constructed under the authority of the Public Works Administration at a total cost of $139,000. Construction of the museum began in December 1935 and the building was dedicated on Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1937., The museum has been expanded twice since its opening to accommodate its research library and today it features interactive exhibits and galleries displaying furniture, weapons, documents and a wide variety of objects from the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. The building also includes an auditorium, museum store, research library, curatorial storage and administrative offices., < Sidebar: > , John Russell Pope , John Russell Pope (1874-1937) , Considered one of America’s premier architects in the early 20th century, Pope designed both fine private homes and public buildings. An 1894 graduate of Columbia University, Pope also studied architecture at the American School of Architecture in Rome and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris., Some of Pope’s most noted works include the Jefferson Memorial, the National Archives Building and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, all in Washington DC. Locally, Pope designed the Lord Memorial Fountain in Somerville, and the mansion in Far Hills, New Jersey, that houses the United States Golf Association Museum.