American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History. North Asiatic Mammals (Hall); North Asiatic Hall; African Elephants; North Asiatic Mammal Hall; North Asiatic Mammals; Mammals of North Asia; Hall of North Asian Mammals; North Asiatic Mammal Alcove
birth: 1939
death: approximately 1968-1971
Permanent exhibition. Opened 1939 and closed approximately 1968-1971. Located Floor 2, Section 5. North Asiatic Mammals (Hall) at the American Museum of Natural History was created to cover mammals found north of the Himalayas, including Tibet, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Siberia (1, 1939, p. 105) and was a companion hall to the South Asiatic Mammal Hall, now the Hall of Asian Mammals. The hall was on exhibit from 1939, but never completed, and in 1946 it shared a space with the Corner Gallery, which showcased temporary exhibits. The Third (Rainey) Asiatic Expedition (1918-1919), the Morden-Clark Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (1926) and the Morden-Graves Asiatic Expedition (1929-1930) collected material for the hall. Expedition members included William J. Morden, George Coe Graves, Roy Chapman Andrews, George Goodwin, and James L. Clark, who designed the hall (2, 1924, p. 11; 2, 1926, p. 25; 2, 1929, p. 71; 2, 1931, p. 9-10).
The Hall of North Asiatic Mammals included two complete habitat dioramas, the Siberian Tiger and the Giant Panda. An intended third group, the Saiga Antelope was being prepared, but there is no documentation that it was ever completed or exhibited (1, 1953, p. 145). By 1946, the North Asiatic Hall shared a space with the Corner Gallery (1, 1947, p. 113; 2, 1946/47, p. 17). One of the giant panda specimens and both Siberian tigers have been on view in the endangered species exhibit in the Hall of Biodiversity since 1998 (3).