Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-06-18
Buildings and Monuments.

Inc largest ana RraDdest teHlple
Of worship in the world is the St
Peters Cathedral at Rome. II
stands on the site of Nero's circus,
in the northwest part Of the city
and is built in form Of Latin cross.
The total length of the interior is
612l English feet; transept 446g feet;
height Of nave, 1921 feet; diameter
Of cupola, 1873 feet; height Of dome
from pavement to top of cross 44s
feet. The great bell alone without
the hammer or clapper weighs 49,
600 pounds, or over nine and a
quarter tons. The foundation was
laid I'm 1850 A. ID. Forty-three Popes
lived and died during the time the
work was in progress. 1t was dedi-
Gated in the year 1926, but not entire
ly finished until the year 1880. The
cost, in round numbers, Is set down
at $40, 100000.
The Capital building at Washing
ton, ID. c., is the largest building in
the United States. The corner stone
was laid September IS, 1893, by Presi-
dent Washington, assisted by other
Masons. 1t was partially destroyed
by the British in 1914.
The present dome was begun in
1865 and finished In 1868. The flag
Of the United States first floated
from it December II, 1873. The cost
Of the entire building has been some
thing over gl3,OOO,OOO. Its length is
7l5 feet inches; width, 32l feet. 1t
covers 81 acres of ground.
The distance from the ground to
the top of the dome is 3074 feet; di-
ameter of the dome, 1855 feet-rank-
fifth in size with the great domcs Of
the world.
The highest building in the world,
not counting the Eifiel tower and
the Washington monument, is the
Cologne Cathedral. The height
from the pavement to the top of the
cupola IL 81 feet. II Is 5hl feet long,
exactly the same as the height, and
23l feet wide. II was begun August
Is, in the year Of 1913, and was pro-
nounced finished August II, 1880;
over 400 years after the cornerstone
was laid.
The cornerstone for the Wash
ington monument, the highest in
the United States, and until with
in the last few months the highest
IN the world, was laid July 4, 1913.
Robt. f.. Winthrop, then the Speak
nr of the House, delivered the ora
ton. Work progressed steadily for
about six years, until the funds of
the Monumental Society became eX-
hausted. At that time the monu-
nent was about l75 feet high. From
1924 until 1870 nothing to speak of
was done on the building. In the
year last above named Congress vo-
ted an Appropriation of $780, to
the work. From that time
work progressed at II rapid
'ate until December &, 1884, when
he aluminium apex was set at II
height of 800 feet and 81 inches from
he foundation and the work de
,lared finished. The foundation Is
i69 feet square; number of stones ,
lsed above the l30-foot level, 9,l63;
otal weight of stone used In work.
81, l20 tons. n
Liberty" Bartholdi's statue, pre- !
ented to the United States by the
French people in 1885, is the largest
tatue ever built. Its conception is
lue To the great French sculptor
whose name ii bears. 1t is said to
NJ n likeness of his mother. Eight
ears of time We're consumed In the
of this gigantic brazen
mage. Its weight is 1000 pounds,
# which 100000 pounds are copper, l
he remainder iron and steel. The
major part of the iron and steel was
sed In constructing the skeleton
for the inside. The q
electric light held in the I
and of the giantesS is 305 feet above
Ide-water. The hight of the figure
l62! feet; the pedestal ninety one
set, and the foundation tifty-two d
,et and ten inches Forty persons t,
mn find standing room within the ,
lighty head, which is lll feet In
iametcr. \ siN-foot mau standing
n the lower lip could hardly reach :
le eyes. The index finger is eight
At IN length and the nose three
nj three-fourths feet. The Colos-
Is of Rhodes was pigmy COM
'red with this latter,day wonder.
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Tides in the Earth. \
SOME twenty years ago, Herr Falh, a
/ Australian scientist, first sug- Y