On 21 September 1850, after all the finishing work inside the building was complete, Nicholas I announced his intention that the Imperial Museum should henceforth by known as the New Hermitage. It is that date that is commemorated on two plaques of red Shoksha quartzite that were installed on the upper landing of the Main Staircase in 1858 on the orders of Emperor Alexander II. One is in Latin and reads IMPERATOR NICOLAUS I EREXIT MDCCCL; the other says the same in Russian: "Built by Emperor Nicholas I in 1850."