Construction work on Barro Colorado Island

Summary

Three unidentified construction workers at the Canal Zone Biological Area located on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) are reconstructing the main laboratory using concrete blocks for the siding and for posts. The building was raised about 6 inches to make it more convernient for taller people. BCI was created when the Chagras River was dammed to create Gatun Lake as a watershed for the Panama Canal. The mountaintop island was set aside as a preserve for visiting North American naturalists. It was funded by a consortium until 1946 when the Canal Zone Biological Area was transferred to the Smithsonian and later renamed the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Subject

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 50, Box 33, Folder: Gatun Lake

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1939

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Laboratories
• Panama Canal (Panama)
• Research institutes
• Tropical Biology
• Construction workers

Place

• Barro Colorado Nature Monument (Panama)
• Panama
• Barro Colorado Island (Panama)

Form/Genre

• Photographic print
• Group, candid

ID Number

92-15287

Physical description

Color: Black and White; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Group, candid; Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

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