Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-11-22
A Cast-Iron Shot Tower.

A tall c~ast-iron shot tower has recently
been erected in Centre-street New York, and
is the only one of the kind in the world. It
is under the superintendent of J. Mccullough,
who for thirty years, has been celebrated for
the manufacture of shot. The editor Of the
Scientific american furnishes the following
description of the novel structure:
The designer and builder of the tower is
James Bogardus, the original inventor of cast
iron houses-his factoryon the corner of Duane
and Centre streets being the first entire cast.
IRON house-story upon story-ever erected.
The plan of the tower is novel. It's base is %
feet. in diameter, and Is feet deep below the
surface OF the ground-resling upon a hardpan
of sand. The walls of the underground foun.
dation are of solid masonry, four and a half
feet thick. The c~ast-iron tower above is
anchored to huge stones in the wall, each hav-
ing two holes bored through it near the centre,
and eighteen inches apart. These are twenty
III number, and extend eighteen feet down
through the wall. A wrought-iron shaft, two
inches IN diameter and Is feet long, is secured
IN each hole. These shafts terminate above
the stone foundation in holes at the base of the
lower tier OF cast-iron columns, which are
firmly keyed to them. There are ten ~castiron
columns on each tier; each of the lower columns
IS anchored to two of the wrought-iron shafts.
The lower tier OF c~ast-iron columns support the
entire superstructure, and they are of sufficient
strength to sustain a weight of $4,000 tons.
Upon the tops of the first ten ofthe columns
there rests q cornlce made in ten sections
meeting over the centre of a column. Upon
the lines OF ~juncture stand the succeeding tier
OF columns, in the same line with the lower
tier.
All the cornice pieces are bolted together,
making them, as 1t were, one piece, and each
upper column is bolted 10 both the cornice
sections on which it stands, and also to the
column underneath. Upon the second row Of
columns rests another cornice, and upon it a
third row, and so on to the height required,
each ascending tier of columns standing and
bolted on a c%ornice, and supporting a cornice
above. The columns are 10 feet 9 inches long
each, making, with a cornice, Is feet as the
height of each story of the tower. There are
eleven stories composing the entire structure,
which, with the extra top cornice, makes the
whole height of it above the ground ia feet,
with the eighteen feet depth Of we'll 1872 feet
this allows of a sufficient altitude for casting
the largest sized shot.
For the first two stories Of the tower the
spaces are left open the remaining, nine are
filled in with brick, four inches thick. in which
are inserted five windows in each story. This
brickwork is only a panneling, not intended to
add to the strength Of the building, but merely
to shelter the workmen from the weather.
The columns have hanges on them, with cor
responding sections of ~cornice, so that each
PANEL of brickwork is neatly and firmly in
serted and cemented into the cast iron work.
Each PANEL has, therefore, great strength in
ITSELF and does not depend for security upon
another part of the builing.
The outside diameter Of the tower is Il feet
at the ground. 1t tapers at the rate of six
inches to the story. The outside diameter at
the top is l51 feet-the inside diameters are
two feet less.
The total weight Of the iron employed in its
construction is 20S, 300 pounds. It's entire
weight. is less than the l70th part Of what the
first story columns can sustain. Indeed, such
is their strength, that the tower might be con-
tinued with safety until, with The same taper,
it would terminate in a point-over six hun.
dred feet high. We really would like to see
such a tall tower or steeple erected.
The columns and cornices-it will be noticed
from the description given Of their method Of
fastening and combination-are so united as to
render the tower equal in strength to what it
would be we're it a single casting of metal.
This IS the principle on which all Mr.. Bogar-
dus's buildings are erected. Every alternate
column may be broken, and the stability OF
the remainder not endangered.