The Washington critic., 1888-01-14


tion Is built OF freestone, rebuilt in 1854;
the other parts were cOmmenoedhn 1855 and
built Of granite. The Cash Room In this
building Is q beautiful apartment in. the
north wing, the entrance 70 which Is from
tho north porch. The vaults are under the
Cash Room and can be seen on written
permit, given by therreasurer OF the uni
ted States, whose office Is IN the northeast
angle on the first floor. This permit must
be shown the cashier. who will detail
guides to take the visitor into the great
BSG chests @ Of the 10 SS SSqntS s Ths old oass sSts
by the northeast corner of the Treasury.
The Rogues' Gallery and Museum of the Sc
oret Service Bureau are on the second hoor
and open to the public, and this and the
vanlts. including the new steel vaults for
the storage of silver dollars, are the points
Of most interest. About $500 people are em
ployed In this building.
Department or Justice.
Immediately north of the Treasury Building
and lust across the street Is the Department
OF Justice. This building was originally
erected as the Frecdman's Bank. The square
In which II is erected is historic one; on
the same street, at the cast corner, stands
Riggs Bank which was built for tho accom-.
mediation of the Washington branch of the
old United States Bank. The greater part
Of II Is now occupied by. the clerks OF the
Surgeon. Generals ONCE, Around The corner
TO the wesiis the Commlssary Generals
Office, formerly the old Washington Club
House, In front of which Philip Barton
Key was shot by Sickles. The tree, under
which the dead mans body lay, Is still stand
ing, althoughits bark had been completely
removed by relic hunters. At the northwest
corner OF the square, aboye the Commits
sary- Generals 0fiice. is the house made fa'
nous by the ownership OF Commodore De.
catur, and whore dolly" Madison lived and
reigned so long a social queen after her
husbands term as President expired. sixty
people are employed In the Department OF
Justice.
War, NAVY and state Departments,
This edifce. once named by Washington
journalist the "rriune Building" occupies
the west side Of the Presidents reservation,
Immediately west of the White House, The
state Department occupies the south part,
the Navy Is located north of the state,
while the War Department occupies the
entire northern half. II is new and very
room In the whole building is conceded to
be the library of the State Department, with
south front, from whose windows the eye
mac TO Mt. Vernon and tar over tho Yir
glnia hills. The building IS In the Italian
Renaissance II Is 567feet long and 343 feet
wide. Its greatest height is .12S feet, and the
In the breeze higher up than any other flag
In the city, not excepting those above the
Senate and House OF Representatives. The
cost of the building was FIVE millions of dol
lars, about three times as much as the
White House. he old Winder Building,
across Seventeenth street from the west
front of this building, Is occupied by q part
of the War Department, and in :, 1t is the
Ordnance Museum, containing relies of the
late war. especially interesting to- soldiers.
One hundred people are employed here un-
der the Secretary of state, 800 under the
Secretary of War and 800 under the Secre-
tary of the Navy.
Corcornn Art Gallery.
The Corcoran Art Gallery is at the corner OF
Pennsylvania avenue and Seventeenth st
opposite the War, Navy and state Depart,
q Ia nrrnu uAaxfd NhtR daud md
Saturdays free; on other days Except Sun
days. a small admission fee is charged. This
gallery, although. not to be compared with
the great Old World galleries, is nevertheless
country as the United States. II contains
among other original objects Powers great
statue OF the "Greek Slave"
The weather Bureau.
The Signal Service, or Weather Bureau, is
about one hundred yards west OF the state,
War and Navy Departments, on u street. IL
Is one Of the most interesting placesin Wash
ington to visit. The observers In charge,
when at leisure, always take pleasure, in
showing Visitors how they manufacture
weather" ,.a o.. r-... -,,-, 90.
,Dayy Burns Cottage. sriS
one Of the curiositIes OF washington Is old
,Davy Burns Cottage, ION Seventeenth street,
near the river. 1t may be- reached by tho
drive south Of the Presidents House or by
the Metropolitan or Avenue line of cars.
Next door to 1t is General Van Ness once
stately mansion, where he brought his bride,
Marcia Burns, one of tho original helresses
of Washington.
The Naval Observatory.
To the West of the Washington Monument,
on the highest elevation that borders the
north bank Of the river, between st. kliza-
beth's Heights and Georgetown College,
stands the Naval Observatory The hill ON
which It stands Is famous for having been
dock, and the latter's army, when on their
march TO the fatal field, where the English
General fell a victim to his self.conceit and
vanity. Tradition also points out this hill as
the decisive battle ground between the
District Indians and the mysterious Susque-
hannas. This observatory contains thelargest
refracting telescopeln In the world, nextto the
new equatorial inst built for the Lick
Observatory. BY its aid that most In terest'
ing. n not greatest, astronomical discover
Of the country was made, the moons OF
Mars. The entrance to the observatory Is at
Il and Twenty third streets northwest. The
herdio cabs go to Twenty-second and q
street.
The Agricultural Department.
This building Is situated east of the Monu
ment. II Is inolosed by the most beautiful
and glowing flower garden In the country
and the grounds contain the most complete
arboretum probably In the United States
Attached to this Department are the Exper
mental Gardens, whose Offices are imme-
diately west of the main building. The Belt
Line cars go right western wing Is the libra
ry and the second past the grounds. Or
the first floor OF the floor of the centre OF The
building devoted TO an extensive agricultu
raj museum.
| The Printing and Engraving Bureau
| The great money mill OF the Government Il
located at the corner of Fourteenth and
streets southwest, southeast from the Monu
ment and southwest from the Agrlcultur,
and Is opened to visitors on Saturdays only
Here are engraved and printed the pape
money, bonds, postage and reyenuestamps
etc, used by the Government.
The ismithsOnian.
Across Twelfth street, Immediately east from
the Agricultural Department,are the Smith
i sonian Institution and the Smithsonian
| Grounds. The former is a specimen of th
most graceful architecture in the city, ant
the latter form the most beautiful landscap
garden In the country. These grounds 0
themselves are worth visit to Washington
to see. They contain the, memorial urn Il
the artist who designed the park, Andrew
j, Downing, and the bronze statue. OF Pro
fessor Henry. the first secretary OF the In
stitution. The latter Is at the northwes
cornerof the building; the'Downipg Url
isin the centre Of the grounds, two hundret
yards north Of the east wing. The smitl
teresting objects connected with science
The building was finished 30 years ago at
cost of nearly a half million OF dollars. Thi
sum was beQueathed by James Smithson
inent for the increase and diffusion OF knowi
edge among men. The current expense
are betrayed by the interest on.the origlna
donation. The Museum Is open from till
| and is reached by the Seventh Street, tn
Ninth Street and the Bolt Line of stree
| cars.
The National Museum.
The National Museum Is In tho iSmithsonia
grounds,a few yards east Of the Smithsonia
building. 1t contains thousands OF the mos
inr terestng ouriosities, samples of the lift
customs and history Of all nations IL
open daily to the public from 8 u, m to
p. M tf
Medical Museum.
The Army and Navy Medical Museum Is o
the corner OF Seventh and d streets south
west, adjoining the NationalMus Th
| ,tstaI tl,ta raau and d