§71. Designation of site

The area bounded by Seventh Street, Constitution Avenue, Fourth Street, and North Mall Drive, Northwest, in the District of Columbia, is appropriated to the Smithsonian Institution as a site for a National Gallery of Art. The Smithsonian Institution is authorized to permit the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust (hereinafter referred to as the donor) to construct on said site for the Smithsonian Institution a building to be designated the National Gallery of Art, and to remove any existing structure and landscape the grounds within said area. The adjoining area bounded by Fourth Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Third Street, and North Mall Drive, Northwest, in the District of Columbia, is reserved as a site for future additions to the National Gallery of Art. The project shall be in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Commission of Fine Arts.

(Mar. 24, 1937, ch. 50, §1, 50 Stat. 51 .)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Pub. L. 106–385, Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1463 , provided that:

"SECTION 1. RENAMING OF NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART.

"(a) In General.-The National Museum of American Art, as designated under section 1 of Public Law 96–441 (20 U.S.C. 71 note), shall be known as the 'Smithsonian American Art Museum'.

"(b) References in Law.-Any reference in any law, regulation, document, or paper to the National Museum of American Art shall be considered to be a reference to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

"SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

"Section 1 shall take effect on the day after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 27, 2000]."

Pub. L. 96–441, §§1, 3, 4, Oct. 13, 1980, 94 Stat. 1884 , provided: "That the bureau of the Smithsonian Institution designated as the National Collection of Fine Arts by section 6(c) of the joint resolution entitled 'Joint Resolution providing for the construction and maintenance of a National Gallery of Art', approved March 24, 1937 (20 U.S.C. 71 note), shall be known as the 'National Museum of American Art'.

"Sec. 3. Any reference in any law, regulation, document, or paper to the National Collection of Fine Arts or the Museum of History and Technology shall on and after the effective date of this Act [Oct. 13, 1980] be considered to be a reference to the National Museum of American Art and the National Museum of American History, respectively.

"Sec. 4. This Act shall take effect on the day after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 13, 1980]."

Act Mar. 24, 1937, ch. 50, 50 Stat. 51 , sections 1 to 5 of which are incorporated as sections 71, 72 to 74, and 75 of this title, provided in section 6(c) that: "The existing bureau of the Smithsonian Institution now designated as a national gallery of art shall hereafter be known as the National Collection of Fine Arts."

General Post Office Building; Transfer to Smithsonian Institution for Use as Art Galleries; Relocation of United States International Trade Commission

Pub. L. 98–523, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2433 , provided: "That at such time as it is declared to be excess property pursuant to section 2(d) of this Act, the Administrator of General Services (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 'Administrator') is authorized to transfer to the Smithsonian Institution, in accordance with section 202 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 483) [now 40 U.S.C. 521–527, 529], without reimbursement, and for use by the Smithsonian Institution for certain art galleries and related functions, the General Post Office Building with any attached underground structures and the site of such building, located between Seventh and Eighth Streets Northwest and E and F Streets Northwest, in the District of Columbia.

"Sec. 2. (a) The Administrator, at the earliest practicable date, shall relocate all operations of the United States International Trade Commission (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 'Commission') to a building in downtown Washington, District of Columbia. The Administrator's determination as to such relocation shall be based on studies and investigations in which the Chairman of the Commission shall have full opportunity to consult and cooperate with the Administrator. Such consultation shall include opportunity for the Chairman to participate jointly with the Administrator in surveys of available buildings and to submit views and recommendations to the Administrator with respect to space suitable for the Commission's operations. The Administrator shall advise the Chairman in writing of the building to which the operations of the Commission are to be relocated. The Administrator's determination of such relocation shall not take effect for a period of at least sixty days after the date such determination is made and the Chairman is advised of the building to which the operations of the Commission are to be relocated. In the event the Chairman disagrees with the Administrator's determination of such relocation, the Chairman, within thirty days after the Chairman is advised of the building to which the operations of the Commission are to be relocated, may make a written request for review of such determination to the Administrator, and the Administrator shall conduct a formal review of such determination.

"(b) The Administrator and the Chairman shall each report separately in writing to the Committees on Environment and Public Works, Finance, Rules and Administration, and Governmental Affairs [now Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs] of the Senate and to the Committees on Public Works and Transportation, Ways and Means, House Administration, and Government Operations [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives not later than sixty days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 19, 1984] and every thirty days thereafter on the status of the relocation required by this section.

"(c) During the period in which the Commission and the United States Postal Service continue to occupy the General Post Office Building referred to in the first section of this Act, the Administrator shall maintain such building in order to prevent its deterioration and to assure that conditions therein are safe and the building is presentable and suitable to the normal operations of the Commission and such Service.

"(d) Upon accomplishment of the relocation required by subsection (a) of this section, the Administrator shall declare the property referred to in the first section of this Act to be excess property as defined in section 3 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 472) [now 40 U.S.C. 102].

"Sec. 3. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution $40,000,000 for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1984, for renovation and repair, after the transfer made under the first section of this Act, of the General Post Office Building referred to in such section. Any portion of the sums appropriated under this section may be transferred to the General Services Administration which, in consultation with the Smithsonian Institution, is authorized to enter into contracts and take such other action, to the extent of the sums so transferred to it, as may be necessary to carry out such renovation and repair. No contract for such renovation or repair shall be advertised or entered into before the end of the period of thirty days of continuous session of Congress beginning on the date the Smithsonian Institution submits to the Committees on Public Works and Transportation and House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Rules and Administration of the Senate the plans and advanced engineering and design for such renovation and repair. For purposes of this section, continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of any period of time in which Congress is in continuous session."