The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-03-25
OUT-BABELING BABEL
The Worlds Fair Tower 10 Be
. Monster.
Ne Asrhitsesass1 Structure I'm the HIS
sssy - Mas WIN - -

- ANNIVERSARIES SNRo<*1S1 y" -"
sssy - Mns WIN - -
A ersst feotuee q ~ Chicago Coirm-
bfsn sxposf1icn al 1852 vili b. tower eal-
cu'sSsd % surpass shat 81 ~ Eifsei almost
q . mountafn dos . moIehiiL IL Is not
70 b. suppooed that IL metropolis by the
lakes wozId be willing TO End itself out
dons In any point By efssse Europe.
Therefore, II = tower ID TO Be had
IL must necessarily dwarf anything
Of the sort attempted b. man.
OF course, there u no record
~ 10 the height Of the tower of Babel
CsrsainIy. however. IL did not compare
With that Of tbe French sngjneer-it being
Q physicai imposGhiiity 70 pile mp stones
q ths top Of one another In any such
naunsr - that by which laddsr-liks
framework Of iron may b uplifted into
the SKY. Probably II the truth we're
known The Babel afTair did not
reach An altitude Of SO feet--h il
rot nearly 20 high. Five hundred
and AfSy feet. mind you, vas the utmost
attitude attained BY building Of human
construction up % issS A. ID. Then NJ
EsfEkI, by mechanical coutrivsnce
climbed up TO no fees above the ground.
and bic achievement vas regarded ~ the
most wonderful modern illustration OF
the evolution OF man - . climb
ing animal from bis original afbof-
cal condition. Now. II 1000 feet Of
vertical erection vas marvel IL follows
that every additional foot was super
sddsd mirscIe--just - every inch over and
shove ok fsst makes man gigantic. But
Chicago viii not b content 70 sarpass any
previous exploit by small margin of
superiority: IL must insist upon astonish-
ing the world with something never before
approached.
The tower Of the Chicago Worlds fair
will b l 500 feet In height---<o0 feet higher
than the one which astonished the people
u the earth 1T the French EXPOSE
ton. To realize in some small meas
urs what . difference In altitude
this ID, you have only to place the plans
at the txo In vertical projection side by
side Positively, the topmost point Of the
Tour d 'Eif5sl hardly seems TO reach much
shove the middle Of the proposed Chicago
monument 70 civilization. Visitors to the
Paris show al came away more
wildly impressed with the tower than
with anything else they saw. You
can imagine then, what sensation will be
created by this monstrous work, which Is
70 b, In comparison 10 the colossal struc-
ture by the Seine, - man Q feet odd
inches In height IL to another whose
stature h only fest nothing.
Nor u this stupsndous project merely
constdsred - . thing that 10 likely 10 bs
pat through. Already il II - good - de-
tsrmined upon. and the Ph@nix Iron
Works has offered estimates for the con-
struction Of the tower. pronouncing the
plan for Il sntirely practicable. Ii will cost
81 SOC, 900. or 10000 more than the Eiffel
tower. Al the base it will be q circle 400
feet In diameter. diminishing TO 27s feet in
diameter at the top. Around IL from base
10 summit viii wind . roadway 10 feet in
width in spiral fashion. on which
cars viii be run st one-minute
hsadway by . system newly in
vented. The whole distance from bottom
to top win b 81 miies by car line. Also
there viii be another road upward run
ming bstween the curves OF the spiral
already described, for . driveway. by
which carriages may bs comfortably
driven up Sixteen hundred feet Is
big climb; bat Il viii not actually seem
80. because The grade win only be little
more than forty feet Of assent In every 800
feet or 80 Of iourney--that making one
circuit OF the tower at the bottom and a
little more 1t the top. This method of
ascending will BE- indefinitely preferable 10
the elevator plan OF the EifYel tower. for
several reasons Al every circuit of the
mighty structure the views will change
With the elevation, and there viii be no
such thing ~ the elevator sea-sickness,
which caused majority OF the visitors to
the Tour d'Elffel TO 60 no farther than the
first landing.
IL viii b acknowledged in the year 1892
that Chicago has the tailest thing on earth
by oil odds. Suggestion has been made TO
the effect that 10 might be better
20 make the tower 1.49s feet high
one foot for every year in the date at
which Columbus discovered America
bat this would imply . painful sacrifice
Of altitude for q motive not altogether
sufnesent Chicago Is desirous OF max
Ing Columbus ~ famous rs possible, but
presumably not ct too great cost in ad.
vertising value. And did ever q town
have such . chance 10 advertise itself t.
the world ~ has Chicago nows Nations
abroad viii look upon IL as the great
American city whom they know that the
discovery Of America Il 20 be celebrated
there. A for the tower, It's model viii
be less picturesque than that of NJ.
EifIei: but size Is the main point
that makes . structure OF the sort i'm
pressivc. You can hardly realise off, hand
what go feet of height means: but when
yon Sc plan OF the tower and notice
that the Washington monument comes
up only 90 little above the 6rst
OF the three landings. notion of
IL begins 10 dawn upon You. IL takes
. pretty tig mountain to elevate It's
summit Loo feet above its base. The
Chicago tswcr will be managed as a pri-
vase enterprise. It's pretiss being per-
mittcd 70 accrue to the concern that
ereess and runs IL under the direction of
the Worlds fair commissioner. In share
IL viii he = simple tvuneased cone. with a
huge observatory ., the TOP. Within the
enormous sky-reaehing framework viii be
hotel Of ten rooms. thester. restaurants.
etc.