-In the first photo, from about 1900, the original building of the Worcester Art Museum is shown just a few years after the cornerstone was set in 1897. Designed by Worcester architect Steven Earle, this facade greeted visitors up until the early 1930's when the Renaissance Court building was constructed directly in front of this edifice. Several years after that the glass roof was damaged in a 1938 hurricane, and was removed to facilitate the addition of the fourth floor. Today, only the northwest and southeast corners of the original building are visible (look for the large arch with a big photo of "Sally" on Lancaster Street, and by the loading dock area on Tuckerman Street), with the rest having been obscured by various additions in 1920, 1933, 1940, 1970 and 1983.
-The second "Then and Now" composition compares an older incarnation of the Rose Gallery area on the fourth floor (as Special Exhibition space) with the way it appeared earlier this month (New renovations began on this gallery last week). The fountain will remain in the Rose Gallery, far from it's original location on the first floor, in what is now the Egyptian Gallery. If you look at the floor in the center of that room, under the pedestal with the "Head of Mentuhotep III", you'll see a patch of carpet (the same dimensions as the fountain) that covers the old plumbing.
-The sketch depicts a profile view of the aforementioned Ancient Egyptian "Head of Mentuhotep III" (2010-1998 B.C.)
-When the Worcester Art Museum was first built in 1897, a series of eight carved stone medallions chiseled with the names of famous artists ran along the roofline. Today, only three of these medallions are still visible (and only from higher up, viewed through a window).
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| 1897 Building. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| 4th Floor Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Mentuhotep III. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| 1897 Medallions. Worcester Art Museum |
