Inside the Army's spectacular hidden treasure room --->

[Petrushka]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/inside-the-armys-spectacular-hidden-treasure-room

[npk]

1. Sad that those paintings by military vets are not on display

They certainly should be.

[Petrushka]

2. I agree!

Or, as someone commented elsewhere, make a DVD of the paintings, etc., so that people all over the world can enjoy them.

[MADem]

29. They could give out the DVD to people making contributions to the museum....! nt

[Petrushka]

31. What a great idea!

Imagine how many more contributions the museum might receive if contributors were gifted with a "free" DVD.

[MADem]

32. PBS does it, and it works!

And the Army has a whole crew of very talented people who will work for whatever their paygrade is, who can capably light and photograph the works they have.

Producing the DVDs would be cheap as all get out, too--maybe they could do categories, since they've got so much stuff....e.g. "The Civil War Collection," "The WW2 Collection--Parts I, II, and III"....for each donation of "X" dollars, you get a DVD!

I'd love to be the curator of that pile...I'd probably spend all my time just looking at stuff, and not doing my work, though!

[a kennedy]

3. This is a shame.......

that these can not be shown to the public...... breathtaking.

[OnlinePoker]

4. They're trying

From the site: However, there are major fundraising hurdles to jump before the museum can be built. The foundation’s president recently told the Washington Post that it has raised $76 million of the $175 million required for the museum and predicts the museum could open in 2018. The plan is to build the museum at Fort Belvoir.

As always, it comes down to money.

[JayhawkSD]

5. "This hat was worn by Ulysses S Grant."

I'm a Navy veteran, and a Southerner, but to be able to see that would be awesome. I think I would hold my breath until I took a couple of steps back.

And before you start with me, no, the North was righteous and I'm glad they won.

[MadrasT]

20. OK seriously...

...I am a Daughter of a Union Veteran, and when I saw Robert E. Lee artifacts in places like Gettysburg and Lexington, I froze and couldn't move or breathe.

Had the same reaction when I saw the coat Stonewall Jackson was wearing when he was shot at Chancellorsville (on display at VMI in Lexington).

I'm glad "we" won too, but the weight of history in things like that is unbelievable.

I would have the same reaction you described if I was standing in front of U.S. Grant's kepi.

[pinboy3niner]

22. I felt the same way seeing Theodore's Teddy Bear, JFK's rocker, Lincoln's desk

They were in storage in the Smithsonian's "attic." and we got to see them on a college field trip in '77. What surprised me was my own emotional reaction on seeing these artifacts. It was a deeply moving experience.

[Aristus]

30. You're not the only one.

Southern-born and raised. Every single one of my ancestors who fought in the Civil War fought for the Confederacy. I'm only two generations removed from the Klan.

But I'm glad the South got righteously stomped. These half-wit "The South will rise again" idiots drive me crazy.

[benld74]

6. THis has nothing on whats insude Warehouse 13!!!!

[Nitram]

18. Get a grip, benld74

The similarity between the inside of the two enourmous warehouses is cool, and that's all.

[Mbrow]

7. Reading the responses,

I'm curious why not have all that at the Smithsonian? But I like the idea about the DVD of the Vet art.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Have you been to the Smithsonian?

Where would they put it?

From what I understand, what is on display at the Smithsonian in all of their combined museums is less than half of their total collection.

All that art and those artifacts need a building of their own.

[SeattleVet]

19. *Much* less than half - more like 2%!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012802985.html

...

"The result is that the Smithsonian's collection has ballooned to 137 million artifacts, works of art and scientific specimens. No matter how you organize it, that's a lot of stuff!

The Smithsonian has so much stuff now, in fact, that less than 2 percent of its collection is on display at any given time. The rest of it usually goes unseen and unknown to the public, a shame, because many of the things in the attic of the nation's attic are just as cool as the things you'd find in any glass case."

...

The rest is stored at the museum and at several other locations. Many years ago the Paul Garber Restoration Facility (where they restore the aircraft, and store some that are not currently on display) used to be open to the public, by appointment. We toured and somewhere around here I have photos of the Enola Gay before any restoration was done (it was pretty much a birdcrap-covered aluminum hulk, with the shadow of the letters 'ENOLA GAY' where most of the paint had fallen off), along with a lot of other almost-never seen artifacts. It would be amazing if they could make more of the collection available electronically!

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. Thanks for that!

I knew the on display portion was smaller than the total, but I didn't bother to look it up and I didn't want to look dopey!


Thanks for the info and link.

[pinboy3niner]

25. Well...

We're gonna need a bigger National Mall.

[MADem]

33. Hee hee hee!!!

They could always build up-up-up....but they'd have to change the rules about how high a building is allowed to be!!!

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. Ya gotta admit, Buzzfeed does a pretty good job with some of their pieces/slideshows.

I really enjoyed that. I had no idea.

Thanks for posting.

[8 track mind]

10. i wonder if

James West and Artimus Gordon's equipment is stored there?

All kidding aside, the painting "2000 yard stare" just scared the shit out of me.....

[Art_from_Ark]

12. Well, they were supposed to be Secret Service,

so I'm guessing "No"

[8 track mind]

14. forgot about that fact LOL! n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

24. You know what, Art? There was a truckstop owner in Reno with a HUGE collection...

of Hollywood weapons - stuff used in TV shows, etc. He had stuff owned by Elvis and John Wayne, etc. "Sierra Sids Union 76 Truckstop" in Sparks, NV.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit if that guy had the stuff from "Wild Wild West"

[warrprayer]

11. incredible

thanks for posting this!

[rug]

13. I bet the cost of housing this would build a museum.

[Plucketeer]

15. Interesting stuff for sure

Meanwhile, our legislators and military brass continue to SQUEEZE our active service folks and veterans. In fact, I'm surprised that our Rethug congress hasn't pushed for liquidation of this collection - "privatization" if you will.

[Boom Sound 416]

16. 'Top People'

Amazing story

[Wounded Bear]

17. Thanks for the link....cross posted to another site...nt

[MadrasT]

21. This is so cool to know about.

And so sad that it can't be accessed by regular folks.

I think I'm going to donate.... maybe do the memorial brick thing... thanks again.

[Packerowner740]

26. That is quite a collection

[loudsue]

27. $175 million? Couldn't the Koch brothers come up with that? It's a drop in the bucket

compared with what they're spending on elections. It's too bad they don't use their wealth for something worthwhile.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. Let's make war no more first.

[Scuba]

34. Amazing. I had no idea. Thanks Petrushka.

[kentauros]

35. Those "highly alarmed doors" didn't seem all that alarmed to me.

Perfect poker faces as far as I could tell.


Now then, it appears that they do have the Ark. Do they also have the Stargate?