The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1884-12-22
THE TEXAS CAPITOL.
Description of the Building
Which lie Second to the
National Capi 81.

From the st. Louis Globe.Dcr ~-at.
The foundations of tn, lew Capitol
have reached that stage " Itch justiiles
the selection Of a date for cornerstone
ceremonies. On March .. with all the
pomp which Texas can command, the
great block will be lowered o its place
on the northeast corner. Above the
Lone Star seali cut into tie stone, will
appear the date OF the declaration of
Texan independence, March >, 1896, and
below the date Of the ceremony, March
2, 1885. These are the inscriptions for
the east facing. What else should the
north front OF the stone bear, but Go
lad, "Alamo," and "San Jaointo," with
the date Of each of those struggles so
memorable to Texans? The list of an
niversaries closes fittingly with that of
annexation.
These rising walls mean building
which OF all similar structures in TINS
country will be second in size only to
the National Capitol at Washington.
Its front of 500 feet and depth of 2SS feet
make 1t considerably larger than the
English Parliament or the German
Reichstag buildings. The site is n large
square near the centre of the city, and
was set apart before the annexation for
the Capitol Of the Republic of Texas.
Austin has more hills than Rome. The
elevation selected for the Capitol Is not
the greatest in altitude, but it is the
most suitable, for there is a gradual
slope from IL mile down Congress
Avenue, the main thoroughfare, to the
river. From the foundation walls,
which have just reached sufiit lent
height for the placing of the iron joists
for the first floor, there is obtainable
magnificent view of the surroundings.
Austin. all that lie worth seeing, is in
sight. TO the south. beyond the city,
the Colorado wriggles along amid sandy
wastes bounded by high banks, a typical
Texas stream, pleasant TO look upon in
the dry season, with its room to spread,
capable of great things in times of water
spouts and excessive rain fall. Beyond
the river there Is II gradual upward
trend to the summit of ranges Of lofty
hills, well wooded and green when more
northern forests are russell and gold. In
these hills the backbone of the Ozark
runs out. An about face movement
brings into view, on the Dorth, Univer-
sity Hill, already crowned with one
lulRt tuutullOnul DuT-
poses. On the right and left are more
of Austin's assortment of almost noun
famous submits. Standing now where
will be the ground floor the visitor looks
down upon or sees from level all with
In the range of vision, Commanding Is
hardly adequate to express what this
structure Will be when three and four
stories have risen upon the foundations,
with dome which will have its base
$50 feet from the basement floor and its
apex. surmounted by II lantern and sur
rounded by balconies, $50 feet above the
ground. There is promise of the mas
sive character of the structure in the
foundation walls. These are over six
feet thick, with an extra foot added Tor
the circular wall upon which the dome
will rest. Here is building which will
never show the effects of settling unless
there should be some mighty convul-
sion underneath, for the walls go down
to and rest upon the solid masonry of
the Supreme Architect of the universe.
As the completion Of the foundation
walls closes one chapter in the history
of construction, Mr.. Dickinson, the Sec
rotary Of the Board, furnishes the Globe
Democrat the following figures which
will help to give an impression of the
magnitude of the structure. There
have gone into the walls already 81, 600
cubic feet of concrete work, 10000 feet
of cut stone, 1884, 600 feet of rubble stone
and 10000 feet OF granite.