Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-09-19


IL ct wide. including rori!cos and
s.tpl, with two w:nCs 12l feet wide.
Tie CAPITOL eXtcno.on Va. began
july i;h, 1871, President tii.mtle
lawn, the corLer-s.One and DALiei
Webster delivering an or&'lpn Oh
the occasion. 1t consists OF two al
di.ioull wings connected with tie
lAr.n i,GiiiinG lv corridors II feet
in length ana % in width. Each of
these is 81! feet in length, including
tie lortic,S ard s,eps. TIE total
length Of the hui!dirE a. II row
stands l. 1Jl Zee; / inch, $ Tie old
luilling Was constructed e.. yellow
sandstone. wnich la, l'l:. .;intod
white 10 make it coIra4pti d with the
wlite marble of wAicl. Il g., nsIon
i built. Tie LOW dcno :: 49, III
ice; above the top 81 Il" tii.ilnS
and 800 feet ( inches above the level
O: tie ,r.uEds. The material of
the dor.e is cast iion and the entne
ropf IS copper.
Tie rotm.da OF the Capitol Is So
feet in diameter .ii ioG feet high to
the canopy wAic!! is % feet III diom-
ettr. TINS caloYy is decorated with
q flesco hy Blum!di representing Il
dedication Of Washington, i'll which
the Father of his Country seems to
be having a jolly time with Freedom
and Victory and thirteen other ali
gelic figures representing the orlSi-
nal States. The walls at the base
Of the rotunda are divided into eight
PANELS occupied by historical paint
ings. likewise executed by foreign
artists.
The Senate Chamber is fraction
over ll3 feet long and 50 feet wide.
It's galleries will accommodate about
Loco persons, ard the floor will
seat IL Senator's. Tie Hall Of Rep
resentatives is 1870 feet long and 93
wide, with gallery accommodations
for l 800 persons and desks for over
300 members. The Library of Con-
gress consists of hall 81 feet long,
81 in width and IS feet high. 1t
has 3175, 900 bound volumes and 49,
GOO pamphlets, the number increas-
ing o: the rate Of Is, 900 volumes and
5000 pamphlets annually. This
library is particularly rich in books
and maps relating to America, and
tho law branch is said to he the
largest and most valuable collection
of the kind in the United States.
The old Senate Chamber is the Su-
preme Court room, and the old Rep
resentatives' Hall the National Hall
of Statuary. This Vom is semi-cir-
cular and is said to have been mod
eled after the remains of Grecian
theater at Athens. The roof is sup
ported by columns of variegated
marble from quarries on the Poto-
mac. On the I'd of July, 1864, this
chamber was designated the Hall of
Statuary, by Congress, and set apart
for statues i'll marble or bronze, no:
exceeding two from each State, of
deceased citizens, renowned, in civic
or military life. This privilege so
far has been accepted to limited
extent. There are various other re-
ception and committee rooms, all
furnished in elegant style, besides
the Easements, where the heating
and ventilatinS apparatus, the Con-
gressional restaurants, the bath
rooms, tho official telegraph and tel
ephone, and other adjuncts are
found. The Crypt is under the 10
tunda, where forty immense columns
support its floor. The Undercroft is
beneath the Crypt, where it was the
original intention to lay the remains
of Washington. A portion of the
bier which held the remains of Lin
coin, Stevens and Chase, is there.
The main poltico of the Capitol is
100 feet in length, and is richly en-
bellished with statuary, mostly exc
cuted by foreign sculptors. Here,
likewise, is the bronze door about
which SO much has been written.
This was designed by Rodgers, an
American artist, but was executed in
bronze by F. Won Muller, of Munich.
Directly in front Of the portico is Il
colossal statue of Washington, 10y
GreenouSh, costing s44, 600. The
Capitol now resembles SOM" ban
quet hall deserted" the seats of the
Legislative halls being removed for q
general renovation, while an army o
workmen are engaged in scrubbins
and painting, preparatory to the as
sembling of Congress. 1t is sale
that this work is incessant, and TIL.
and the other public buildings con
sti.ute perennial source of revenue
for horde Of party followers whose
chief recommendation is that they
can be depended upon in all politi
cal emergencies. A man to find EN-
ployment. even in chipping ston.
for that other "job," the Washing
! ton Monument. must lie in accorC