Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-11
A MUNICIPAL PALACE.
The Philadelphia City Hall, Upon
winch $l2,ooo,ooo and Fifteen
Years Labor Will Have
Been Expended When
Completed.

transact With them, there Is o gro wing
feeling Of dissatisfaction at the slow
progress made with the work on the
new city hall. A few days ago a we'll
grown youth passing through the
court yard, Asnked by its great prison.
like piles, with msHons working on
top, exclaimed to his father, who was
with him: "Do you think, pap, that
II l live TO be q gray. haired old man
I will see this building finisbedf'
"Well that Is a hard conundrum, my
boy" the fathsr said, buttoning the
boys overcost to protect him from
the chill and dripping moisture OF the
dark, csvern-iike passages through
which they were walking. You will
soon be IL years old and the building
was begun b. fore you were born. 1t
oil depends upon the next generation
of commissioners. II after the
present commission, which has
grown gray in service, has
passed away, Its successor is composed
Of expeditions men, IL is possible that
the place may be finished before the
next centenary" The already some.
what ancient history Of the unfinished
municipal hall of Philadelphia, re-
ferred to In the extravaganza OF this
episode, forms n of the most inter.
eating features that attracts the atten.
tion Of the new generation that has
arisen since its first stone was laid.
As far back as December, 1868, fifteen
years ago, councils passed an ordi.
nance providing for the erection Of
municipal buildings on Independence
square designated the commissioners
to carry 1t into effect. Within q year
plans and drawings were received from
seventeen different architects, from
which number the plan Of John Nc.
Arthur, jr., OF Philadelphia, was
given the first premium, aud he was
appointed architect of the work De-
cember 81, 1869, The intense oppo-
sition that existed to making 1nde-
pendenoe square the site for the build
logs eliminated 10 tho passage by the
state Legislature of an act submitting
to popular vote at q general election
held In October, 1870, whether Wash.
ington square or Penn square should
be selected as the site, leaving indie.
pendenoe tquare out of the question
entirely. Penn square was selected
by q returned majority Of 1896
votes, but failed to give general sat
isfsction, and from time I time tffor.i
were msdo by means of Injunction
from the courts to prevent the build
iugs being placed there. What hap
pened after that Is quite we'll told II
the buildings themselves, as thoy sp
pear, as In the municipal archives.
The commissioners, f%luctuating be-
teen conflicting notions, one Tins
favoriug four separate buildings ant
another time deciding upon having al
four in one, kept up a game of shuttle
cock and bst,ledore with the archi
tect, until a kind of dovetail, Inter
seoting acheme was evolved, which
could be made either one building OF
four, according to fancy, at almost {
moments notice The original desigr
decided upon in November, 1870. wal
for building, but to be on Penn
square, as was supposed when the
drawing was f7st madc, In August
1871, the design wss changed to four
separate buildings, Eight month";
%aiterwsrd, ground having meantime
been broken and the work begun, this
plan saa oapuaod back es~ta 60 ont
bti ding. "Tae architectural plan
and drawings," the commissioners So,
In their official report, having beer
heretofore prepared for the work IN
der the original instructions of thu
commissioners and the excavation
answering n part for either location
the change from the four buildings t.
the intersection involved no delay.
The one building plan for Independ
enos rquare, In short, was made t.
harmonize with the four building plal
for Penn tquare. This was twelv'
years ago. Carrying out the Idea o
the poet that ''csange 10 stamped OF
all there Is below" both the commits
sion and the building over which |
has had supreme control have beel
changing, chameleonlike, their con
stitution and complexion throug
all that time. The building 10 . YER
different structure to-day % It stand
from what It appeared on paper . de-
cade Of years ago. The architect hs
had fifteen years Of experience, tn
|, Ideas OF architecture have MATERIAL
changed, the progress In architecture
: Itself has been extraordinary, and
!. Mr.. Macarthur has grown with tn
: work, he has to q considerable exter
!. modified his original Ideas, sc n I
conform with the new condition.
Simarly the commission has undel
gone changes In all respects sxoeI
that of yielding the prerogative of al
solute power with which 1t was en-
dowed. The president has changed
= the secretary has changed. Dsati
resignation, and political sucoessio
have almost entirely transformed til
original commission, and very few
the persons who were prominently ide
tilted with the prosecution of tn
work at the start are connected with
now. Samuel o. Perkins, the preser
president and only remaining membs
OF the original commission, suoceede
John Rice, who was president In 1877
John Sunderland was succeeded Il
superintendent by William @. Nc
. Pherson In November 1873. The COL
trcct for the marble work was give
to William Struthers & Sons, Octob,
II, 1873, for 90, zoo, OOO, and the 60,
ner stone was laid July A., 1874, wit
great demonstrations, the new Alto,
ney General Benjamin Harris Brew
ter delivering a great Grafton.
No limit was set to the cost of thI
proposed ~sheltering place for tn
municipal officers. The commissio
was authorized to call up council
every year for all the money It wan