The morning news., 1888-10-23
THE NEW CAPITOL.
An Acre and half of Marble Thing
Other Points.

From the atlanta (Gd0 Constitution
The Georgia marble in the state capitol
cost more than the Indiana limestone.
There is over an acre and half of tillng
in the building
There are s., 900 square feet of white mar
BILE tiling on the three floors of the grand
corridors and IL, 600 square feet of the blue-
mottled tiling which borders the white
This makes 10000 square feet, or more than
a. acre and half of Georgia marble.
Then there is the beautiful pink wainscot-
ing all around the corridor on the nrst
floor.
The cost of the Georgia marble in wains-
coting and tiling is $50, ,000-just S2,3Oo
more than the amount sent to Indiana Tor
oolitic limestone.
Besides this there is S5 900 worth of Stone
mountain granite in the building
Then the brick work cost $685. 900, the
foundation cost S45, 5,000 and the saving,
cutting and setting of the stone about $780,
900. All these sums were distributed IN
this state
There are many other items ike these'
going TO show that the Georgia capitol is
much more a homemade affair than some
would have US believe.
Among these other items are several acres
of select yellow pine flooring, the labor or
plastering, plumbing and painting and the
sand and lime of the mortar.
As to the quality of the wood work, Mr..
Schwab, foreman of the Robert Mitchell
Furniture Company, SAYS:
"ln comparing the Georgia capitol with
tho Indiana capitol, just completed at
INDIANAPOLIS at twice the cost, | would say
that while the Indiana building has marble
columns, the wood work is far superior t.
that. 1t IS of finer design, there is more OF
it and it is finer work.
Here you have better variety of wood;
you have red oak i'll the corridors, white
oak in the supreme court room and law
library, Cherry in the state library and
House Of Representative, and red oak in
the Senate chamber. The governors pri-
vate Office is finished in maple and the re-
ception room in cherry. With the native
yellow pine of the committee rooms, you
have five kinds of wood in the finish"
The blinds are all cherry, and they all
fold neatly back into box or recess in the
window frame. To prevent them from
catching in unfolding, special hinge has
been devised to revel SO the fold and bring
the loose edges of the triple fold out of
sight.
The vestlbule doors are the most expensive
feature of the wood work The eight doors
will cost over 81 900, and the heavy double
section bronze hinges will cost S42 for each
door, The openings 2x315 feet, are to be
filed with plate glass quarter to three
eighths of an inch thick.
The doors are of massive red oak inches
thick, and upon this several inches of mold
ings. Outside the molding at the top forms
a fiat gable in keeping with the architecture
of the building Inside there is a heavy
mold across tie top and underneath 1T
beautifully carved wreath.
Mr. Miles thinks he will finish the building
by Christmas. He Is straining every nerve
to reach that point.
The wood work is very near completion.
There is little more of it remaining to be
done except in the house, senate and su-
preme court room, and there it is only to bs
set uD and fitted. The joining and finishing
has all been done.
The marble work is also we'll on toward
completion. An amazing amount of work
has been done in the last ton days, and tho
massive pink marble wainscoting is about
all in place, and the white tiling is nearly
all down.
The plastering was long since finished,
except in the rotunda where it was neces-
sary to leave it until all the materials of the
dome had been hoisted and the derrick and
temporary elevator had been taken down.
The dome, too, is not far from being DONE
By the time the legislature meets She iron
stairs will be completed to the little balcony
at the top of the dome around the base of
the pedestal upon which the statue will
stand.
There under the shadow of the Goddess
of Liberty, the young statesmen may look
out upon Atlanta and draw inspiration
from the grandeur of the surrounding
scene.
The statue which is of hammered copper,
is a seventeen foot image of the great statue
on Bedloes island. 1t is about complete
and will soon be put in place.
There is an interesting thing about the
covering of the dome Everybody saw the
curved iron girders put up and wondered
how the tiles that covered them were made
to stick in their places.
This was provided for by fanges on the
horizontal iron ribs that run arOuId the
girders The ribs are made like railroad
rails, only the flanges are wider, and upon
the fanges rest the tiles.
Hollow though they are, these tiles sup
port pressure Of 1000 pounds TO the square
foot.
The tin sheets now being put on are just
large enough to cover the tiles, and they
are fastened by nails to strips of wood that
were fitted into the flanges of iron ribs
already described.
Why do they divide the tin covering into
such small piecesP Because the contraction
and expansion Of larger pieces would be so
great as TO break the seams. There is enough
play III LD6 seams 10 ullOW LDe contraction
and expansion of the small pieces. Then,
too, the numerous seams of doubled tin act
as so many ribs to strengthen the covering.
There Is another fine point about the con-
traction and expansion. The tin is put on
at q time of year, neither hot nor cold
lukewarm, so to speak-when there is
minimum of contraction and expansion.
In other words, this is the time of year to
tin your capitol domes. Always tin your
domes in October. There are thirty COM
mittee rooms, and the house finance COM
mittee, which is always in session, has the
largest and best located of them all. 1t is
in the southeast corner of the third floor,
whence the financiers can look down on
Stone mountain and the cotton plantations
between, with the Jail and the cemetery
rising up in solemn warning.
The members of the agricultural commit
tee have the other Dig room across the
building on the southwest corner, where
they are treated to view of the most
solidly-built portion Of Atlanta with the
court house and the police headquarters to
suggest food for reflection.
The moving of the paintings at the old
capitol will be no easy task. Mr. Horace
Bradley has written the governor from
New York, suggesting that the pictures are
in a critical condition and much in need of
a touching up. He proposes to do this and
TO superintend the removal of the pictures
to the new capitol. 1t will be remembered
that Mr.. Bradley painted the large portrait
of Senator Ben Hill which hangs in the
hall of the House of Representatives.