Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-15
SOME STARTLING FACTS.
THE NEW CITY HALL APPARENTLY z
GOING TO PIECES.
Wooden Girders Too Weak to Bear Their
Burdens Plans to Brace Up the De-
fective Work--A Serious Matter.

1t is evident that some one is to blame
for the faulty construction of the new
city hall building, which has recently
been developed in the numerous cracks
appearing in almost every room of the
structure. The contractor will claim
that the building was put up strictly ac-
cording to the specifications on which
he bid; the architect says that he did
the best he could with the money
allowed by the council, and the mem
bers OF the old board of city fathers
think that they were sufficiently liberal
to insure the erection of building that
would be an honor to the city. "a
The city hall is what is called slow
burning building; that is, it is supposed
to be as nearly fire-proof as it is possible
to make such building, but the start
ling fact has been developed that the tiles,
of which all the partitions of the build
ing are constructed, rest on wooden
girders, which are not only not strong
enough to support the weight Of the
heavy partitions, but are entirely out OF
place in building with any pretensions
to being fire-proof.
These wooden girders are the cause OF
all the trouble in the Broadway pile.
They consist of three pieces OF timber,
each 2x16 inches, and some are as long
as 2S feet, without a support. These
timbers were green when they were
placed in the building, and their natural
shrinkage and sagging has allowed the
center OF the walls of nearly every room
to settle down, leaving large arch
shaped crack.
The extra expense which would have
been incurred had steel beams been
placed in the building instead of wood
en- girders would not have been more
than $4,000 at the utmost, and the folly
of the present form OF construction
seems stupendous when it is considered
what an enormous expense would be in
cure if an attempt were made at this
late day to repair this grave error.
Superintendent of Buildings Much
more has prepared set of speciiica-
tions for the repair Of the building,
which contemplate the bracing up OF
these sagging girders with brick or iron
piers from the basement. 1t is pro-
posed to place seven of these piers in
the cellar to support the first-story par
titions, and two iron piers with brick
foundations to extend to the second
story through the city clerks Office to
hold up the walls above that large room.
There are serious cracks on the third
floor also, in the partition between the
school superintendent room and the
board OF education's quarters, but it be-
ing impracticable to bring support that
far from the basement, truss will be
placed in the roof and iron rods ex-
tended downward to the third floor
These repairs will hold the building to-
gether till more cracks appear, when
more patching up will probablybe neces
sary.
The shrinkage of the wooden girders
has also caused other trouble of less
serious character about the city hall.
The floors have been pulled away from
the baseboards in many places, leaving
great gaps of half an inch in width. The
marble wainscoting is separated from
the tiled floor, and the ornamental pill
lars at the base of the great stairway
have dissolved connection with the
cross pieces above. around the great
well, whose support they are designed
to represent. The loosening of the tiled
floors and the splitting Of the pressed
brick veneering on the outside of the
building are independent of the greater
defects in the construction of the city
hall, but they are also subject to ex-
planation, and great deal Of explana-
tion is needed.
Mr.. Muchmore's specifications will
probably come before the council Mon
day, and there will then be occasion for
some pertinent questions.