The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-03-29
Glass Houses.

. Perhaps not one builder or con
. tractor in ten, if told that the com
, mon grades OF glass made at glas
!, factories in this city have q crushing
strength nearly four times as grea
as that credited by experienced en-
gineers to the strongest quality o
granite, would accept the statemen
as true. Yet it is fact, and being
so, the query is as to why glass has
not received more attention from
architects as structural material
A reporter had talk with several
prominent glass manufacturers on
the subject, and in answer to an in
terrogatory as to whether blocks ol
glass could be made liz suitable
lengths and sizes and so annealed
as to be utilized in the construction
of a building in place of stone, they
said it could be done. Said one OF
these gentlemen
This question has been consider
ed by myself a number OF times, and
although | do not want to advocate
the absolute abolition of brick and
stone, yet in the erection of art gal
leries, memorial buildings, etc, a
structure composed of blocks of
glass in prismatic colors would be a
unique. beautiful and lasting struct.
ure. With the numerous inventions
which have come into use of late
wears in connection with the pro-
duction of glass, the cost has been
gradually going down, while the
quality of the fabric is steadily be-
coming better.
"One objection which would be
raised to the durability of a glass
house, in the literal sense of the
words, might be that the blocks
would not take a bind, or adhere to-
gether with common mortar. The
objection cali be readily set aside by
the use of good cement, and when
completed the structure will stand
for ages, barring extraordinary accl-
dents. As to the cost of glass
house, it can be kept down to a
small percentage above the price of
our cut granite. In building with
stone you have to pay the stone
masons, and when it comes to elab-
crate examples of carving in CO.
rinthian pillars, collars, caDitals, etc,
why the work is rather costly as
compared with glass, when the lat
ter can be moulded into any shape
or form, and the work accomplished
in much less time. | am convinced
that the time will come when we
shall see such a building erected.
Scarcely a day passes but what the
sphere of glass as an article OF use
becomes widened. In parts OF Ger
many and on one line III ENGLAND
glass ties are being used @. railroads,
and thus far have given = 'isias ton,
combining all the requisites OF wood
en- ties with the virtue OF being sus-
ceptible to usage at least twenty-five
per cent. longer than wood. Then
by the Bastra process glass articles
are now being made for common
use which can be thrown on the
floor and will rebound like rubber
ball. Progress is also being made
toward rendering glass, which has
ever been characterized as the brit
tie fabric, ductile, and to-day threads
of glass can be made that can be
tied in knots and woven into cloth.
Were one disposed to give play to
fancy and fuse it into fact, a house
entirely composed of glass could be
built with walls and roof and floors
fashioned from melted sand. Car
pets of glass could cover the floors.
The most ultra asthete, sitting on
glass chairs or reclining ON glass
couches arrayed in glass garments,
eating and drinking from glass dish
es, such one could realize that the
age of glass had come. Yet nearly
all of this fifty years ago would have
been classeo with the then impossi-
BILE telephone and eletric light, and
this statement would have likely
found its way into the Catalogue
Expurgatoros.' "-PittbDrgh Dis
patch.