Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-09

form noble advancing portico, on the east,
crowned with pediment Of 80 feet span: a re-
ceding loggia Of 100 feet extent, distinguishes
the center Of the west front"
This was the capitol a. it appeared nifty years
ago.
THE INTERIOR
of this building Is seen now almost Is it was
then, with the exception of the furniture and
the dome, which is now Of much more Inn
pressive height. Within the old hall on the
Senate side, where the Supreme Court and the
the american order" columns designed by
Latrobe. One style is of plain, graceful col
umns, with the capitals Of the leaves and flow
ers Of the tobacco plant The other style IL
winding about the column spirally, crowned
with capitol designed of the husks and ears
of corn. half husked. These columns are orig
insl, graceful, and beautiful.
IN THE OLD HALL OF REPRESENTATIVES
are the columns placed there by Latrobe, in
which visitors find such interest tracing figures
and faces formed by the various colored peb-
bles Of which the marble is composed by nat
ural cementing. The material in the old build
ing was chiefly sandstone, the interior columns
even being OF that cheap quality at first. The
stone walls had to be painted outside to pro-
tect them from the effect of the weather. The
old hall, now statuary hall, was made in the
form of an ancient Grecian theater. Its great
est diameter was Sc feet, and the height of the
ceiling 60 feet, and the hall was surrounded by
twenty-four columns of this beautiful Breccia
marble. These columns supported q domed
roof, painted to represent the Pantheon OF
Rome. A massive bronze and gilt chandelier
hung from cupola in the center. The Speak
er's chair was elevated within a canopy Just
under the colossal figure Of liberty by Causici.
The clock that is now over the arched doorway
leading to the rotunda-a marble statue of his
tory, half reclining on winged car rolling
over the globe, recording the events of the ma
tion-was there then, and there were lounges for
members where the statues now stand. This
is the echo hall of to-day.
IN THE NORTH
wing was the Senate chamber, Supreme Court
room, looking INTELLECTUALLY as it does now,
semi-circular in form, 70 feet in greatest diam
eter and 30 feet to the ceiling, and screen Of
Ionic columns supporting the gallery. The ro-
tunda between these two wings was Sc feet in
diameter and Sc feet high. There were then
Two small domes, one on each side of the CEN
trail structure. They were removed when the
present dome was erected a.r.,.'
All this now forms part Of the present mag
nifcent building. The old capitol had been
completed but about twenty years when it be-
came evident that some extension must be
made. A resolution to this end was passed
with this in view in 1913; but nothing come Of
it, and the work was not given start until
Jefferson Davis interested himself in it in 1850
Out OF some correspondence he had on the sub
ject came the action that resulted in the erec-
ton of the two marble halls of Congress and
the towering dome that has replaced that de-
signed by Bulfnch.
THE PRESENT CAPITOL.
There is probably no man living in the
United States who has not seen at least picture
| of the present capitol The life of an American
citizen who dies without seeing the building
itself must be regarded as incomplete. Every
year, indeed every month, thousands of people
make their first pilgrimage to see the capital
city and the capitol building. Yet those
who saw the building two or three years ago can
| hardly appreciate its grandeur, augmented as
| it is by the (nearly completely terrace. There
can be no adequate verbal description of the
editice. The accompanying cut from an en-
| tirely new perspective drawing made expressly
| for The STAR, shows the grand building as no
words can depict it. The magnificent marble
halls, the grand central iron dome, 2S7 feet
gh. constructed by Walter, and
tine white nndsr marble t terraces being
| have spread the building over an immense
area and projected its horizontal outline high
up against the sky. 1t is over $50 feet in length
and covering an area, without the terrace. of
| more than 10000 square feet. The Roman
SOIHHtIidu VI dTCIlttCIuTe Is continued
| throughout, and the immense white marble
| columns on the new wings present an effect
unsurpassed for grace and architectural ele-
gance. The halls of Congress are quadrangles,
the dimensions of the Senate chamber being 11S
| feet inches, by so feet 8 inches and the hall
of the House 139 feet by SO feet. These halls
are surrounded by galleries for spectators, and
| the whole inner structure is again surrounded
by corridors, along the outer walls of which are
| the working and committee rooms. Then the
| building throughout is artistically ornamented
| in marble and with frescoing.
THE TERRACES.
The terrace was begun in 1882. Like the
rest of the capitol, it was worked out piece
meal, the south side being first started. 1t is
now nearly completed. The grand staircase
faces west, standing just between the converg-
| ing extremities of Pennsylvania and MARYLAND
avenues before they vanish under the capitol.
one branch extending toward each approach,
| with asemi-circular space between, within which
is the statue of Marshall, and fountain is to be
| Back of the fountain the half circle is formed
! by two tiers OF white marble arcades. The
lower arcade is merely