1890-91.

The growth of the Institute received a temporary check during the year 1890-91. On September 12th a serious fire in the Institute Building rendered it unfit for immediate use. But through the generous hospitality of other institutions in the city it was possible to carry on the work elsewhere. The Young Men's Christian Association, the Union for Christian Work, the Packer Collegiate Institute, the Brooklyn Library, the Polytechnic Institute, the Brooklyn Heights Seminary, the Church of the Saviour, the Adelphi Academy, and the Brooklyn Art Association each contributed the use of rooms for the lectures and the work of the Departments. And, notwithstanding the fact that the work was distributed at various points, the Institute's progress was of a permanent and substantial character. Three hundred and twelve new members were added. The membership of each of the twenty Departments was enlarged. The number of lectures and meetings was increased to three hundred and ten, as against two hundred and thirty in the previous year. The attendance on the lectures was augmented, reaching a total of 46,000. The Geographical Department brought together a collection of geographical appliances, consisting of maps, globes, charts, reliefs, models, atlases, treatises, text-books and other publications, valued at $6,000. The Geographical Collection was exhibited in Brooklyn for four weeks, and in Boston for three weeks. The Boston Exhibition was visited by about 16,000 people, and the Brooklyn Exhibition by upwards of 27,000 people. Subscriptions towards the Endowment Fund of the proposed Museum were made to the amount of $51,500, and by act of legislation the city was authorized to expend $300,000 in the erection of a portion of the proposed Museum of Arts and Sciences on Prospect Heights.

1891-2

During the fourth year of active work after the reorganization of the Institute, six hundred and thirty-two new

members were recorded, of whom about one-third were teachers in our public and private schools; the Architectural Department established a school for junior architects and draughtsmen. The Department of Painting aided in the establishment of the Brooklyn Art School. The Depart. ment of Geography exhibited its collection in New York City for four weeks for the benefit of the teachers and citizens of New York and vicinity. The Department of Music was established during the autumn by the members of the musical profession, with a membership of one hundred and seventeen. The Department of Pedagogy was organized in March with two hundred and six members from the teaching profession. The Photographic Department was provided with an excellent suite of rooms fitted up at an expense of about $1,000. Two Summer Schools of Art were established, one of them at the seashore and the other in the mountains. The Departments of Architecture, Microscopy and Photography gave large and excellent exhibitions that were free to the public. The number of lectures and meetings by the Departments was increased from three hundred and twelve in the previous year to four hundred and five. The total attendance on the lectures, meetings and exhibitions was increased from ninety-nine thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand. Subscriptions to the Endowment Fund were received amounting to $16,000. The real estate belonging to the old Brooklyn Institute in Washington street was sold to the Trustees of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, and the net proceeds of the sale, amounting to $72,000, were invested in city bonds. The old Brooklyn Institute was consolidated with the new Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, transferring thereto its property and estate, amounting to $139,286.00, in invested funds, together with collections, library and other property valued at $42,450. The Mayor and Park Commissioner selected as the site for the proposed Museum Buildings the East Side lands, bounded by the Eastern Parkway,

Washington avenue, the south side of old President street and the Prospect Hill Reservoir.

1892-3.

During the fifth year the growth of the educational work of the Institute was greater than that of any preceding season. Nine hundred and forty new members were added to the roll; the number of lectures, addresses, concerts and exhibitions open to all the members was 482, as against 405 the previous year. The number of lectures and class exercises open to members and others by the payment of a moderate fee was 1,397, as against 1,134 the previous year; the number of concerts was increased from 8 to 15. The average daily attendance on all the exercises of the Institute for the eight months of active work was 936, and the total attendance for the year 190,900. The annual income was increased from $18,934.20 in the previous year to $31,641.51. Institute Extension Courses of lectures were given in the eastern section of the city. The School of Political Science was established with four classes and ninety-six pupils. The Brooklyn Art School was transferred to new and larger quarters in the Ovington Studio Building, and the number of pupils was increased from ninety-four to one hundred and twenty-eight. The Department of Architecture, acting through its Advisory Board, devised a scheme of competition for the best plan and design for the proposed Museum of Arts and Sciences, which was approved by the Board of Trustees, and adopted by the Mayor and Park Commissioner; and a competition for the best plan and design for a Museum Building was completed with most satisfactory results.

1893-4.

During the sixth year of educational work under the new constitution nine hundred and seventy-nine new members were enrolled. The total number of members was increased from 2,622 to 3,457. The total number of lectures, confer

ences, class exercises, and Department meetings increased from 1,879 to 2,212. The Department of Domestic Science was organized with a membership of forty-two. The annual income was increased from $31,641.51 in 1892-3 to $40, 169.35. The average daily attendance on the exercises of the Institute was 1,177. The Mayor and Park Commissioner leased to the Institute eleven and nine-tenths acres of land for a period of one hundred years, at one dollar per year, as a site for the Museum Building The Legislature of the State of New York authorized the expenditure of $50,000 in grading the Institute Park lands, including the Museum site. The Department of Parks of the City of Brooklyn leased at a nominal rental the Bedford Park Building to the Institute for temporary Museum purposes. The Departments of Geography, Zoology, Botany, Geology, Mineralogy and Chemistry arranged their collections in the Bedford Park Building for public exhibition; and the State Legislature increased the rate of interest on the Museum of Art and Science Bonds to not exceeding four per cent. to enable the city to sell the bonds and to erect the first section of the Museum Building.

1894-95.

During the seventh year of work under the new constitution, the growth in the annual income and in the attendance on the meetings of the Institute was in a measure checked by the general financial depression under which the country suffered, and also by the serious interruption of public travel caused by the strikes on the surface railways of the city. The number of members, however, was increased from 3.457 to 3,764. The total number of lectures, conferences, class exercises and Department meetings was 2,621, as against 2,212 in the previous year. The Department of Law was organized with a membership of one hundred and twenty-three. The Department of Entomology was reorganized with an increased membership. The annual receipts increased from $40,169.35 to $44,756. 13 The Temporary Museum Building in Bedford

Park was opened to the public on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, and was visited by several thousand citizens. A fund of $1,500.00 was raised to aid Prof. WILLIAM H. GOODYEAR in making a series of surveys and photographs of Medieval Architecture in Italy. The site of the Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences was surveyed, and the elevation of the base line of the building was fixed at 175 feet above sea level. The working plans and specifications for the northern portions of the Museum were completed, and the Museum Commission advertised for contracts for the erection of the northwest section of the Museum Building.

1895-6.

The year 1895-6 was one of the most eventful in the history of the Institute. The site for the Museum Building was graded during the months of September and October. The contract for the erection of the northwest section of the Museum Building was given by the Mayor and Park Commissioner on September 1st to Messrs. P. J. CARLIN & Co. for $254,675.00. Ground was broken with appropriate ceremonies by the Hon. FRANK SQUIER, Park Commissioner, for the foundations of the building, on September 14th. The cornerstone of the structure was laid by Mayor CHARLES A. SCHIEREN on December 14th, in the presence of a large gathering of citizens, and the construction was carried to the third floor of the building. The educational work was characterized by an increase in the attendance from 215,150 to 268,580. The number of lectures, class exercises and other educational gatherings was increased from 2,567 to 3,069. The net increase in the membership was from 3,764 to 4,168. The Department of Music gave a series of Philharmonic Concerts in conjunction with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Society by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The receipts applicable to the payment of running expenses were increased from $44,756 13 to $66,199.73. The Endowment Fund received from the estate of the late JOSEPH T. PERKINS the