, 1870-03-18
FRIDAY, MARCH Is, 1870.
CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE,


fAAoA1' Aanoa te' low
=,------ ------.-----~--
cH1cAGo ARcHITEcruRE.
When We stated that the cracks and |
.;-, .,a s..,,,.s .ha e.>,,+;-, -.
cfeS7cts ana nsSu1es, me spo't1se desaa-
'''s's 1'o''a = p.'Ano , .e'eA ~ A'e4usne'y
met N oo1 eaee'eo OnAo'ns1 were perhaps
preneo1sa'ea ps our a1cn1teessa-tna1 they
were probably referred 10 when their con-
Tracts sloEe OF Wha1oSof may be neees-
sa1y iof the full eompleuon OF tins building,
according to the true intent, meaning, and
sr'Tt "f 'hese plans and specifications,
sfat1fr 1t o< the'fs" drann Or specified or
zof. ETC.. etc, we little Thought that this
assertion would be officially verified over
the signature Of the President OF the
Chicago Chapter, American Institute Of
Architects, and his most distinguished col
leagues. reinforced by our excellent City
Engineer We presume, however, that
Mr.. Cheshroush signed that paper beliov-
ing, in tie simplicity Of his heart, that
statement, in TIE TRIBUNE, particularly
il confirmed hy the words Of three Of our
oldest architects, must BE- true, even if he
is fain 10 confess that ts There is q vast DIFF
ference between an architect and an engi-
necr." We refer our readers to Section !
of ,ha. report.
~. Tia: the walls OF the building hare settled,
noTi, I'll liz - smorat Of set,Iemeut mnch, Il aay.
eEeaser than in other buildings OF the size
We CONSIDER sa,s worthy Oh taA. sna'ns
light IL tie ofeh"eetus4 pfoiess'on' ~.
feesSn1n- "nle seaung enae 7e'sie'''en1 oi
Wills II sometn1og "n'cn oS'cn0 !" e.ety
building they omi. tne se'y '"Pof'au
TACT tha' !ne am A'au enu " ~ sooa ao4.-
stfuc'ors is no. TO nauca 10 p.e"e't ee.,
el1ne, as 10 P.ooace a''9o'" nes.s - ~
tho paris "' inc s'foesuse' 81 oiA' ne te.l,-
uEe ros't'on OF tne 'asious fAis " Us
puue''lG to"ato eacn o.eef feHp's 10
same inc occurrence OCT u esaeNs oeA.s
an n,p"ssap'1''S' AAa' ''aS = posetD'' -
proved py numerous ouun'nss aS
EoaEy- not neaS1et' &oan ne
Court House. LIE 1h1busE ouuo-
ing one OF these Anolnef may DC
seen In the same glance with the Court
House We mean the Aerchnns 1nsut-
anee Company Building. ihere hfe ses-
e1d piers on the Lasaile street front OF
that building which are as heavily loaded as
the heaviest OF the Court house. Others
are lighter. a careful computation OF the
weights to be borne by the different piers
and walls, and careful adjustment OF the
widths OF the different foundations to these
weights. has resulted in absolutely uniform
settling OF the different parts The con-
hactora Of TINT building are not depior1ng
the bud character OF Chicago soil, for the
SIMPLE reason that they TOOK the necessary
precautions Tor preventing the results
whicn follow the careless builder on every
soil Like those, there are numerous other
buildings in this city which prove TINT Ghi-
cago soil is good soil to build On If you only
know how. We only mention these, be
cause VIC write n the one, and the other Is
50 convenient toE comparison with the
west wing. Mr' Van osaei Is And
enough to ten ua TINT LEE !RnusH baud
ing VIII crack whenever samalaf nold1ne
Is erected on .fe south sue OF II rms
1o1eae1 con1ee21on " "na1 We eaao aoou
tne tine 'nIent ana meaning Oh tne spec
inca.'ons' nc are muca :oonsea O., 70 nlt
1of Inc sagseesion. We VII enaeasot
see 10 II LIE. us prophecy Is no' iu1ni,eo-
An e.a'a'nh.'on' "n1ea PROMISES 70
uofo"gh' mas peen ofoereo os commute
OF Inc noafo OF SUPERVISORS mo INC cna,
ecsef OF the new eoutl House. we vi
state, IN advance OF such PROFESSIONAL ea
summation, what, 1rom a common sens
point OF view, seem 10 oe INC aeieets IN Ii
foundations OF th1s structure. f!Fst. tner
no attempt Toward pfopofuonlng N
bearing surface OF the foundatons to tn
weight they hare to support This cause
Unequal settling, greater in the portions il
which the foundations are narrow in propo'
tion to the superintendent weight, than i
those which are wide.
Second. In many places, the tenche
which received the bottom bed OF concret
wero wider than the concrete, which va
confined to its proper width by boards
With tbs greatest care, it is impossible +
prevent portions of slow-setting and defecs
ivc cement from going into work Of thi
kind This makes portions Of the founda
A4lt4fE tsCfIET b1lu S1t1lQUE 1QUQ OLQS1E
We're Ill, however, firmly packed into
trench cut in thard.pan," this would nj
do auy harm. "a the softa, portions coul
not escare. But where thersre on1r confne
by an inch hoard, the inevitable cons
ouence ~ the loading f,f- tho fonnd.tion
that the softer portions are crushed unit
they fill the trench. while those which a,
hard retain their shape. This WIS probab
the cause Of some Of the settlements
which occurred during the progress Of Il
work.
. Third The columns in the interior Of Il
building were too far apart, the girdors re.
ing on them TOO Light, and the wills plac
on these gi1ders rldiculously heas
The "sagging" of the girders
the middle WIS an inevitable I
suit. This, OF course, cans
the pastision walls to break away from t
outside ones FINALLY, portions OF the OF
s'ds walls were needlessly thick Besides
reckless wusse Of money, there was rec
tess waste Of precious materlal, which, ;
the CONSCIENCE Of the truly economic
ouaaes. sppeata reckless disregard OF +
oouney oASsHe naa gwen nR Il seems u
Iobbing future generations to put in
useless piles the costly naser
Of which they arc to Pu
their homes Besides, this inordinate this
nees Of wall would have required foun'
ton so much wider than the rest, that
ing 30 much precious material in;