The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-13
Correspondence of the Pittsburgh Daily Gazette.
IMPROVEMENT IN WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, October, IL, 1851

w ASHlNGTON, OIOOeT, X, 1881.
In no city of the Union are so many splendid
works of public improvement in progress as in
Washington. From the foundation of the Gov
ernment the public grounds at the national
capital have been grossly neglected They
were originally of noble extent but have suffer-
ed at various times mutilation and encroach-
ments which have detracted alike from their
area and their symmetry The only attempts
at establishment, leaving visible and perma-
nent traces have been confined until very recent
ly to grading and planting the two small parks
adjoining the Capitol, and overlooked by the
east and west fronts of that structure. These
squares comprising together not more than
forty acres, are so small compared with the inn
posing dimensions of the edfce they surround,
rs to have an air of meanness and scantiness
They are, however, well arranged, and planted
with specimens of American forest trees andno
more beautiful and appropriate ornaments could
have been selected for the purpose But there
lies between the Capitol and the margin of the
broad Potomac space nearly a mile and a
half long, and from quarter to half a mile in
width, reserved for public uses; and this liberal
tract is divided only by the canal from another,
containing perhaps a hundred acres, stretching
between the Presidents house and the river.
The whole of these grounds have been placed
under the care of A. J. Downing, ESQ.,, of New
burg, N. Y, gentleman whose qualifications
for charge of this kind are probably superior
to those of any other citizen of the Republic
Under his direction, the work of designing. en-
closing, planting, and ornamenting the grounds
has been going on for n year, and they now
begin to assume a shape which promises to lead
to something worthy of the grandeur and refine
ment of nation destined ut no great distance
of time to rival in all the attributes of polished
civilization, as it now does in wealth and power,
any of those countries which have been most
celebrated in the worlds history
The enlargement of the Capitol is going on
with rapidity. The additions will consist of
wings upon the north and south ends which
will extend the length of the building to nearly
eight hundred feet The foundations are
brought on all sides almost to the level of the
ground and in some places are above it, The
work is done in the most faithful and substan-
tial manner. The walls are eight feet thick.
The stone. lime, brick, and all other materials,
are the best which can be procured. The APP
preparation for the commencement of this in
teresting national work is 100000. II is sup
posed that five years at least will be required
to complete it, and that its cost will be at least
$3,OOO,OOO. Thomas U. Walter, of Philadel-
phia, is the architect and Samuel Strong, of
New York, the building superintendent
The outside OF the new wings to the Capitol
will consist of the best white marble which the
country affords. There was meyer an instance
of more wretched and short-sighted parsimony
than in using on the fine public buildings here,
the miserable, coarse, and cheap sandstone
which abounds in this neghborhood Every
edifice of any pretenson at the seat of Govern
ment except the Smithsonian Institute and the
General Post Office, is built of it, The cost Of
the paint consumed in preserving this material
from the action Of the weather, is about equal
to the expense of erecting new walls once in
thirty years The Patent Office. with it's
beautiful portco in imitation of the Parthenon,
has received q coat this summer, which assimi.
latcs the brown stone of the body of the build
ing to the marble addition which il now nearly
completed When the entire structure is finish
ed, it will present an imposing front to the
south OF nearly five hundred feet, and will occu-
py quadrangle of about that extent by three
hundred feet. 1t will be perhaps the most
spacious building for public purposes on the
continent
The National Monument also of white mar
BILE, has attained the height of between ninety
and hundred feet 1t was commenced in the
at the rate OF about thirty feet year Il is
much to be apprehended that this enterprise
will fail for want Of funds At the present rate
OF progress however it would require twenty
years to carry the shaft to its destined eleya-
ton, but rs the work was commenced with n
fund of $50, 000 which il now exhausted. il an
pears that the annual collections are not spM.
cient to dciray the cost of building even at that
moderate pace | may add that unless the
temple TO be reared around the base of the
shalt, and which forms a part of the design of
the monument possesses some merit superior
To any d'scernlble in the obelsk now gong up
posterlty will have no particular cause to regret
the failure of this generation to complete the
work
Not the least Of the improvements which are
giving new aspect To the town are the grace
iul and handsome iron bridges which span the
'lnsghtly canal that traverses the city from
east to west They are built by the corpora
ton, but probably paid for by Uncle Sam
Nor are the evidences of the prosperity of the
Federal city, arising from the wealth and thrift
of its citizens less conspicuous than those result.
ing IRON the liberal expenditures of powerful
ana opuent Government. In all quarters, new
buildings on an extensive and even magnificent
scale are in course of construction. The larg-
est OF these is the fine hotel Of the Brothers
Brown, the white marble front Of which, nearly
Three hundred feet long, is a noble ornament 10
Pennsylvania avenue It's five stories in height,
and is ornamented with line Of balustcrA in
the style OF parapet which increases tho pleas
ing effect of the whole Corcoran Riggs, the