The National Music Museum: The Building, Townsley Courtyard, and Tuma's Fountain Sculptures Poster of this view available from the Gift Shop Summertime at the NMM Located on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River basin near where the Lewis & Clark expedition camped in 1804, Vermillion, South Dakota, is a small, typical Midwestern college town of 10,000 people. Not so typical is the National Music Museum, which is the home of some of the most important collections of rare, antique musical instruments to be found in the Western Hemisphere! Visitors to the Museum are welcomed by four bronze figures: a turn-of-the-century immigrant violinst and three children. The grace and charm of the sculpture are accompanied by the peaceful music of the fountain's cascading water in the Townsley Courtyard. With walls of Indiana limestone cut to match the patterns found in the Museum's facade, the courtyard was designed by the architect Donald R. Baltzer to look as if it could have been part of the original building, constructed in 1910. There are benches for restful reflection and a miniature amphitheatre for outdoor performances. The Townsley Courtyard was a gift to the Vermillion community from Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Rawlins of Balboa Island, California, in memory of Mrs. Rawlins' parents, John Boyd Townsley—who graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1900—and his wife, Emeline C. Townsley. The Townsley Courtyard was dedicated on September 26, 1987. The building, originally constructed as a Carnegie library in 1910, is a three-story, 20,000-square-foot structure faced with Indiana limestone. Its restored interior decoration features an interplay of dark oak, marble wainscotting, and terrazzo floors. A year-long, $1-million restoration project, completed in early 1986, provided a sophisticated climate-control system that maintains the critical humidity and temperature levels needed to preserve the musical instruments. Prominent Black Hills sculptor Michael R. Tuma was commissioned by the Museum's Board of Trustees to create the fountain statues, representing the Dakota musical heritage in celebration of the South Dakota Centennial. Summer Sunset Detail of the fountain's immigrant violinist statue. Michael R. Tuma, sculptor. Postcards of these two views available from Gift Shop Historic Photos of the Former Carnegie Library Building, Now the NMM Built in 1910 Mid-20th century Mid-20th century A winter evening in 1987 Go to Virtual Gallery Tour Index National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD   57069 ©National Music Museum, 2000-2007 Most recent update: October 19, 2007 This page was visited 7,640 times between 2000-December 27, 2005 You are the 9,700th visitor to this page since December 27, 2005. The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page