Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Art, Metropolitan Museum of,

New York City, founded by the action of a public meeting held at the Academy of Music in November, 1869. In April, 1870, a charter was obtained from the legislature “for the purpose of establishing a museum and library of art; of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts; of the application of art to manufacture and to practical life; of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects; and to that end of furnishing popular instruction and recreation.” Later the legislature authorized the Park Department to erect a two-story fire-proof building for its use in Central Park, the cost not to exceed $500,000, and also to set apart a tract of eighteen and a half acres in the eastern part of the Park between Eightieth and Eighty-fifth streets. The Museum was formally opened by the President of the United States, March 30, 1880. An addition [221] on the south side and one on the north were made in 1894, increasing the total ground area from 233 by 104 feet to 233 by 344 feet. In 1897 a further exsion was authorized, for which an appropriation of $1,000,000 was made.