The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-05-26
Work was begun on the outer foundation,

Safe, spittoons, mats, ,&o-....--.......-.. 1921
Expenses Commisslcners, Se............ 2l2 IS
Total slOs, ,eo2 ~
! Work was begun on the outer foundation,
/ on a sub-contract, by Mr.. John Rhinehart. of
I Tyrone, Blair county, in midsummer of 1890.
1 The stone quarried on the premises of Mr..
4 Griffith J. Lloyd of Cambria township, and
I finished in rough axler style, was all, or near
! ly all, satisfactorily laid before the end Of
autumn.
! The building is of the French renaissance
/ order of architecture with the general form
( of parallelogram, ard is 120 feet front on
/ Centre street by depth of 80 feet toward
/ the east. From the ground to the caves of
! the roof is as feet and to the top of the stat
/ ne of the GODDESS of Justice surmountiu the
/ tower 165 feet. The outer walls are OF Phil
! adelphia pressed brick, manufactured by
! MeSsrs. II. & q Evans, to the number OF
/ 80 900; the brick for the inner walls were
manufactured here bv Contractor Shenk, and
/ number about 720. 900. Both outer and inner
/ brick were laid by the day, under the SUPER
} intendence of Mr. Charles Marks, of Erie,
who from the beginning of 1881 till the COM
pletiOn of the contract acted as the efficient
foreman for the contractor. The outside,
above and around the windows and corners,
is trimmed with Ohio cut stone, of a gray
color. procured at the Sandusky quarries.
. MI. Thomas Norton, of Buffalo, New York
. secured the su0-contract for preparing this
/ stone, but, unfortunately dying in the early
| part of 1891, the work was completed by Mr..
! Shenk through Mr.. Marks
lie niatn entrance Is toward Jile WcSl
( where seven steps Of cut stone running three
ways lead to the vestihule. Close by are two
metal pedestalsf for lamps. The lamps, two
. In number, are received but not yet swung in
/ position. Two double doors guard the ap
( prOach to the vestibule and two double doors
to the corridor within. Three upright COL
| umnS of cut stone occupy a conspicuous
/ place at this entrance one on either side of
the doors and one in the centre. The column
I to the north is supported by cutstone base
( in which on the last day of May, 1881, in a
! hollow enclosure was deposited number of
I papers, documents, currency, coins, &c. 1t
! is tee ncally denominated the corner
/ stone" OF the edifce. A passa ge-wSy or en-
/ try leads from the north to the south, access
( to which is gained by the ascent of flight of
steps nine in number at either end. The
/ tower is adorned with Gothic designs at once
/ unique and elegant. A deep-toned bell of
! 1000 pounds weight, cast by the McShane
/ firm of Baltimore, has habitation here, and
! fOur-faced clock made in Boston, strikes
! the hours close by. Four pavilons, 22X21
/ feet at the base and slOped to 1OX20 feet at
| the top, occupy positions at either end of the
main roof, assisting the tower to give grace
/ and symmetry to the structure. The gal
/ vaniZed iron work noticeable here and else
/ where on the building done by the Phil
adelphia Metal and Roofing Company. The
main roofing is of slate laid by Messrs. ES-
ans & Cummings. Pittsburgh, while the con-
StUuctiOn of the tin-wOTk at all points was
/ looked to by Mr.. Marks.
The main corridor leading from the vesti-
of the first story is Is feet in height. 1t runs
eastward to the centre of the corridor run
ming north and south, which is u feet in
width The floors Of the corridors, as well
as of the vaults i'm the adjacent Offices, are
/ composed of marble tiles, 12-inch blocks, al
ternate white and black These were fur
nished by the Vermont Marble Company. Ir
the centre of the corridor from north to south
/ and immediately in front of the main en-
/ trance is slab of marble, imbedded in the
wall, bearing the following names and fig
ures: Erected 1881. Architect, NJ f. Beebe;
Contractor, Henry Shenk Commissioners,
John Campbell. Samuel W. Davis. George
GuTley; Clerk, E. R. DUNCAN: Counsel, A.
V. Barkt r."
The Office of thee County Commissioners
occupies the northwest corner it is 21X26
feet with a private Office 14xI6 feet and a
vault 12X16 feet. The Treasurer'S Office is
southwark, 21x26 feet, with a-private Office,
an iron-lined vault containing an approved
safe for the cOnnty funds. At the southwest
ern corner is an arbitratiOn-room, 21x27 feet.
Across the corridor to the east will be found
the Shertf's office, 21X27 feet, and north of
this the PrOthOnOtarys office, 21X23 feet,
with vault l2X21 feet. The office of the
Register and Recorder adjOns, 21x23 feet,
with vault 12X21 feet. An Office on the
northeastern corner is finished and furnished
but not yet occupied. 1t will likely be occu-
pied by the District Attorney
These rooms are all finished I'm hard wood
so far as the desks are concerned, while the
chairs, tables, etc, furnish forth all neces-
St'iN idClIbFS tOI ltlt TdDlu anu easy ITtDSdc-
ton OF business. Water from the EbensbuTg
Water Works runs through this part of the
building as elsewhere, and, though steam is
the agent employed to keep the atmosphere
comfortable, vet open fire-places Tapped on
the sides with marble and with mantels of
the same material are seen in each room.
! The furniture and trimmings everywhere
such as desks, benches, windO.g- cases. doors, |
&C, were furnished by Messrs. Banschard
4 Son, Erie, Pa.
From the main corridor at the north of this
floor double flight of stairs leads 70 a lobby
/ on the second floor. The lobby is 14x22 feet,
/ with the flooring made of tilirg To the
rlght- proceeding in this direction, is the
: Waitineroom for ladies SO unfortunate as TO
4 be compelled to attend Court-a room 21x23
feet. To the LEFT is the Grand jury room
/ ZlX23 feet In front is the main entrance to
/ the Court Room, which is 60xSO feet. This
room is "a feet inches from floor to ceiling
ne space set apart for the Bar is SO feet
from south to north, whilst the balance of
/ the room is reserved for the general public.
/ The Bench for the Judges is of walnut
Splendldly carved, with reversible and oscil-
! latlng chairs located thereon, and upholster-
ed IN leather. The seating capacity outside
/ the Bar is supposed to be 300 and inside
( giving ample sitting facilities. 200. The ia
ne and desk for the Prothenotarv and the
Register ana Recorder is Immediately in front
OF the Judges bench, and is marvel OF CON
! yenience. To the left is the traverse Jury
DoX, with the witnesses box between This
1 IS radical change from the order which pre-
! FAiiCu III liic Olu OOuTl House, where both
traverse jury box and witness box were to
tne rght. such combination of circum-
STANCES, said His Honor Judge Dean
threw the shadow of the arm on the manu-
( script when one was taking notes of testi
mony." The Bar is laid with Brussels car
pet elaborate texture, while in the audience
part or the room, as well as throughout the
several offices, linOleum deadens the football
Inc windows re furnished with VeDetian
shutters ventilators abut here and there
ana open replaces and hot air distributors
may De seen at the proper places. The seats
TOT the auditorium number 56. and are made
OF ash tipped with walnut An abundance
OF light IS furnished by the windows but at
night an S-foot reflector COMPRISING 81 burn
erS, located twenty three feet from the floor
will do service in stead 0-'
Inc basement contains 80 horse doubIe
ooller, bought from Messrs. E II. Cook q
Co, Rochester, New York. 1t will be run
on the low pressure principle and a single
Doller IS thought to be capable of furnisbinog
an the steam necessary to heat the entire
Dulldlng. Coal ana wood rooms are tn he
round here, as well as the common water
closets. Immediately to the east is the gas
WORKS. The fluid is made by a machine fur
nished by Messrs. Elkins & Co. PhiIadeJpbia
out OF gasoline, of capacity known as a ZOO
ilgnt machine. It is claimed for it that one
ming OF the tank will furnish all the ilIumi-
nation required by ali the rooms and Offices
/ ishment. " 'hi0"-
To the rear of the Court Room in tho car-
/ tire is the Judges retiring room 16vIs fea4
! Adjoining this to the southwest is a room
2lXl9 feet, allotted to the Cambria Rar as =
a