It may be a bit unusual for a person to go to a museum and pay more attention to the people than the actual work being displayed. But despite this type of eccentricity, it tells us something unique about Whitman's own character since he wrote it anyway. In Leaves of Grass and No Dainty Kid-Glove Business passage, Whitman tells of an account or experience while at the museum but he's also telling us about how observant he is which relates to Leaves of Grass because nearly everything in it is an observation of life in one way or another. At the museum he writes about the faces he sees and names of some famous people as well as middle class working type people like the young ship-builders only adding to the diversity.
It's like when you go to a show, concert, or some kind of big event with lots of people and your eyes and mind pays more attention to these people than to the actual event. Not so much as being curious but rather attracted to something new and being fascinated by it. Whitman was lucky enough to observe such a wide range of people including the all the presidents he names quite casually as if it's not the first time seeing them. It's like how many of us have ever seen the big political fat cats let alone the president and ex presidents at public places? Actually I did see the governator in SF once...
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