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About The Estacada news. (Estacada, Or.) 1904-1908 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1905)
Mtaf mmsuy Yfci$si£o<Be$ tfe® ¿kspef Sifaicidiif® Is ®A®€Bi i© isJie fffeiJ SWro N the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington stands a large model of the structure exe cuted with a re gard for minute de- tall and accuracy of s c a l e which, makes it a work of art in Its way. An accompanying plac ard announces that It shows the sug gested extensions and Improvements in t h e Capitol, which will bring the building to its final form. Why does this shrine of the republic need alteration? Every American Is familiar with the outlines o f soaring dome and majestic facades. A glimpse of the building arouses dor- Inaut patriotism and affection in the heart of every American. The halls are rich with marbles, sculptures, paint ings and mural decorations worthy o f the finest Old World palace. Changes mean a destruction of many associa tions. A critical study o f the building, however, and a comparison with the model, leads to the conclusion that the alterations will greatly add to the beauty o f the Capitol— alrendy called a miracle of architecture. The build ing Is far from finished. The dome lacks a needful support and the central building— the old Capitol— Is subordin ated to the new wings on either side. I t Is now proposed to correct these faults by erecting an extension to the central structure, so that the eastern front, with Its portico and steps, will be on a line with those of the wings. As for sentimental objections to such a change. It need merely be stated that the adopted plan was made more than a quarter of a century ago, and com pletes the alterations o f which the dome and legislative wings formed parts. rooms, which Is now cut up Into ottlces tor the Supreme Colrt. The arrange ment, quite naturally, gave great dis satisfaction to the Kepresentatlves, for whose accommodation a temporary structure of brick. In the shape o f an ellipse70 by 90 feet, was erected before the next winter within the rising walls of the south wing. The hall of the House, when finally completed, was first occupied In October. 1807. Benjamin H. Latrobe had become Director of Public Works In 1803. He likewise quarreled with Dr. Thornton, and President Jefferson afterward took an active part In the discussion. Most Important among bis modifica tions was an alteration o f tbe shape of the chamber occupied by the House of Representatives from an elliptical room to one with two short sides and curved ends. A C u r io s ity in A c o u s tic s . Thus began one o f tbe most curious of the disputes regarding the Capitol. The acoustics of this old chamber have always been a puzzle. Now the Statu ary Hall, visitors to the structure to day find cause for wonder In the curi ous "whisperings" and the transmis sion o f sound from point to point audible on one stone In the pavement, unheard a few feet distant Dr. Thornton finally suggested the placing of draperies between the row o f mar ble pillars at the north end o f the apartment This served as a temporary remedy. The echoes In the House o f Repre sentatives caused continued discussion between 1830 and 1836, Robert Mills, an architect under Latrobe, thought that the trouble arose from the fact that the walls In the rear of the col umns, which partially surrounded the room, ran at different angles. He suggested a curved wall and s perma nent screen parallel with the colon nade. Bulflnch attributed the faulty acoustics to the unfinished condition of the Interior. Curtains were suspended between the pillars and a flat celling of cloth was hung under the domes in O ccu p ied b y C on g ress. In 18U0 the Federal government the celling. The latter seemed to ab Strickland sug came to Washington The old Senate sorb all the sound. wing was by that time finished, the gested that numerous sunken panels foundations of the rotunda were laid be placed In the dome instead of Ihe and the basement of the House wing painted sections which were and are Mills’ plan o f a circular was In process of construction. On still there. November 17 both Senate and Honse wall and raised floor was finally were called together In the new build adopted. This chamber has been al ing— the former body In the original tered decidedly since then, and It Is, Senate chamlier, the floor of which therefore, curious that the defects are was that of the present basement be still so apparent. neath what Is now the room o f the Su B u rn e d b y th e B r itis h . E rll days were to fall upon the Cap preme Court. Meanwhile, the House, for lack of itol. During the summer of 1814 the better quartern met In a long apart Atlantic seaboard was threatened by meot ever the Senate committee the Republic's enemy, the British. About the middle of August some sixty English ships sailed up the Chesa peake, and General Boss landed 1,000 British soldiers, defeated the Ameri cans at Bladensburg, a few miles from Washington, and on August 34 march ed Into the Infant capital to destroy i t Washington then had about 000 houses, scattered over tnree miles of open country, and bordering on »v e nues which were merely dirt roads. The Invaders found thHt the Capitol consisted of two wings Joined, where the central pavilion was afterward erected, by a wooden passageway, 145 feet long, which Congressmen called "T h e Oven." because It lacked ventila tion and was very hot in the summer time. A pitiful scene of destruction fol lowed. Rockets were discharged into the roof of the Capitol, to Bet It on fire, but did not serve this purpose. The timbers o f “T h e Oven" furnished fuel. Books, papers, hangings and fur niture were piled In the center of each legislative chamber, and rockets placed beneath the material to spread the fire. A British officer’s remark, that It was a "pity to bum anything so- beautiful" as the Hall of Representative«, did not save It from destruction. The two wings o f the unfinished Capitol, the "President’s Palace," and the long bridge across the Potomac, formed parts of s conflagration that could be seen in Baltimore, forty miles distant Thus was realized the ruin outlined In the middle picture. Tbe walls and many o f the Interior partitions were used In the new building, which now forms the central pavilion of the struc ture. The sculptures crumbled In the fire, and were replaced. The material was sandstone, snd a coet o f white paint concealed the smoke marks. In this manner the Capitol and Executive Mansion were changed from dull yel low to white buildings, snd the latter earned the name o f “ White House.” During the next thirteen years the. old Capitol was finished. President Madison was authorized by Congress in 1815 to borrow $500,000 for the re building. The legislative wings were reconstructed and occupied In 1819, and the central pavilion In 1827, tbe entire structure costing $3,700,000. La trot«* made minor modifications in the Thornton design. His are the fa mous “ corn columns" beneath the old Senate chamber— a new American or der. He Increased the height o f the dome, but the drawings were never executed. latrob e also changed Dr. Thornton's semi-circular portico to the rectangular projection which now or naments the central structure. Tbe doer of the Senate chamber was i elevated to the main floor, the Supre—w Court moving into the basement — - neath, and the ball of the House as sumed a form which was meant to re semble that of an ancient Greek thea ter. Beneath the center of the rotunda was built a subterranean chamber, called the crypt, in which It was un derstood that the remains of Washing ton were to He. in a stone sarcophagus, exposed to the view of the multitude. His widow was not adverse to the plan, hut his heirs objected to the removal of the coffin from Mount Vernon, and so that project was abandoned. Nev ertheless. a watcher called the keeper of the crypt, was employed by Con gress up to the Civil W ar and a light kept there was not extinguished, it is said, for fifty years. Charles Bulflnch, of Boston, was architect of the Capitol from 1817 to 1829, and completed the building as shown In the picture of 1835. Under his direction, the dome rose higher than In any previous design, the cupolas were added at either end and the familiar western portico and ter race* incorporated into the design. The acoustics of the Hall of Represen tatives still baffled the government, and William Strickland, of Philadel phia. was called into consultation with Bulflnch to supply a remedy. The picture of 1835 marks the sec ond stage in the evolution of the Cap itol. The changes to come gave llie structure substantially its present ap pearance. The Capitol of 1835 covered a little more than an acre and a half ot ground, and wus 351 feet 4 Inches long. In the course of years It became too small. The Congressional Committee on Public Buildings advertised, in De cember, 1850, for plans for an exten sion of the Capitol. From the numer ous designs submitted four were se lected, and tbe premium equally divid ed among the four architects. Tbe committee then employed an architect named Mills to prepare a design for the extension of tbe Capitol, based on the principal feature of the four se lected plane. President Fillmore adopt ed a different design, and the corner stone was laid on July 4, 1851, an ora tion being delivered by Daniel Web ster. Thomas U. Walter, of Philadel phia. was the successful architect. In 1855 the old dome, which was too ’’squatty” to be beautiful on the ex tended facade, was removed and work on the present one begun. During this operation a movement was started In a convention of Ameri can artists at Washington to supervise the decorations In the new wings and dome. The members of the convention recommended the appointment of a committee for the work. As named by President Buchanan, in 1858, thia body comprised Henry K. Brown, a sculptor, of New York; James R. Lambdln. a portrait painter, of Phila delphia. and John F. Kennett, a land scape painter, of New Y’ ork. Although these gentlemen took a hand In the work of supervision, they accomplish ed little, and finally abandoned their duties when Congress declined to pay their bill# for expenses. Thus the building was brought to the condition shown In the picture made In 1861. A comparison of this bird's-eye view with theCapltol of 1835 Illustrates In s comprehensive way the proportions of the wings as compared with the size of the old building In the middle and the contracted dimensions of the roof upon which the prment dome was placed. The statue was raised to the apex of the dome in 1863. The Capitol to-day contains 430 rooms. With the contemplated addi tion It will have 490 rooms— thirty- three more for the Senate and sn equal number for the Honse of Representa tives. When the extension has been made, the edifice. Including the works o f art which it contains, will have cost near ly $20,000,000— more money than Con gress had ever Imagined. In a lump sum, when In the early nineties o f the century before loot it offered $500 and a building tot for the best design for s bouse for the National Legislature,— Philadelphia Lodger,