Inside The Army’s Spectacular Hidden Treasure Room

[FLPanhandle]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/inside-the-armys-spectacular-hidden-treasure-room#.de4JpvGYd


Remember that ending scene out of Indiana Jones where the Ark of the Covenant is boxed up and wheeled through an endless government warehouse?

Did you know that that place actually exists?


It is called the Center of Military History.
It is located 30 minutes outside Washington, D.C., at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The building itself is very nondescript,but behind a series of highly alarmed doors and long, cement, camera-laden hallways is the highly sophisticated, climate-controlled treasure room where the Army keeps its most precious artifacts.


Behind these giant doors lie the Army’s historic collection of weaponry. Entire lineages of weapons are kept here for research as well as preservation purposes.

Another portion of the warehouse consists of endless rows of gigantic airtight lockers. This is called “3D storage.” Every meaningful artifact that has been worn on a military battlefield is stored here. Including Gen. Ulysses Grant’s Civil War cap. Famous generals’ uniforms and Revolutionary War powder satchels, flags, canteens, and cannons.



But the crown jewel of the collection is the 16,000 pieces of fine art the Army owns. The massive collection consists of donated and commissioned pieces. Much of the art was painted by soldiers who experienced their subjects in real life.

During World War I, the Army began commissioning artists to deploy into the war zone and paint the scenes they observed. This practice has continued to this day. Much of the museum’s collection consists of these commissioned wartime pieces. The collection also keeps hold of valuable donated military art and historical pieces dating back to the Mexican American War.
The art tells the story of America’s wars through a soldier’s unique perspective.








Not a single piece in this massive collection is open to the public. Why is it kept under lock and key in a blackened warehouse? Simple answer: Because there is no museum to house it.

[Sherman A1]

1. Interesting

Thanks for posting.