The morning times., 1895-09-01
BEsT LIGHTED IN TIE WORLD

by 40 tO 100 feet lu depth.
BEST LIGHTED ~ THE WORLD
The outer walls nave frontage Oh four
streets, and dls. with lhc spacious courts
ANA great number OF windows lncariy two
Thousand ln aIII. renders ii the best lighted
library 3D. me world. There are three
floors. comprising basement level with
tHa ground; Irsl story. or library floor
nineteen feet LI-h. and a second story
wH.u rises DO tae height of JwonIy-uine
igol The walls are sNty-uiue feet high
t0 lhcrnaf and the aHeA ot lhe dome ls5
Ieel from the ground
TU roofing I- throughout OF sheet copper,
aud t0e dome is gudeI by thlek coating
OF gold IaaI iwualy-Jlree CaraJs Zine,
costing about $500.
Th. uIrI feature 81 the interior is the
rgadIuEr9am, an nclaE0nal or nearly cir
ca.ar nau. 100 feet boz diameter and l25
fecl mgH lighted Dog eight seuncirclllr
w wudows Umuytwu feet wide. IHIs Is
designed to seat 25O readers furnishing
each desk with four feet 0I room ta work
iu and sufficiently I-olatel from his neigh
hars by lIghI screens or curtains. Tie desk
or Ina superintendent and lis assistants
win Doe centralized within The railing. com
maudmg view Of every part OF the read
ing room.
The interior wals0 30 the read ding room are
enriched utH l-Hr colsred variegated mar
bios. which, while h.galy ornate. are har-
mguiaHs Iu tone and color. The eight mas
slrr pillars which rise forty feet o. the
cuurava ceiling ara 80 dark chocolate Ten
l.ssr- marble ar The base surm0uuted 10y
tv-u Shades of gnter Numiliau marble
and rrnEuaI ny statues 0f Heroicsize. The
walls al rHa reading room are aaorned with
Her Slsua marble. with numerous arches
ANA UaIus.raas rising 10 the height 0i
Tue upper gallery. and presenting TO the
eye a rich and beautiful effect.
OTHEGLIBEA AIIES AND ART GALLERY
The Smithsonian scientific library, very
extensive and valuable, VIII be arranged
uu rHe main floor ana one of the corner
paEuons VIII Doe devoted no the Toner
CuIleeluuof books presented 90 lhe Govern
meug hy a pubue-sputel physician Of
Washington.
I'm the basement viii he located book
hindery. apartments for unbound books,
periodicals aud pamphlets. and rooms Tor
pacsiug and unpacldug books and Tor
storage
The second floor contains an art gallery,
measuring 2l7 hy 30 feet with glass
root I.r thc exhibition of works 1f grahpic
art. of which many hundreds eI thousands
have been acquired by copyright, many
OF Them lhe finest cUgraviugs and afford
iug au instructive exhibit OF the arts OF
design This art Hlu VIII be constantly
open tu visitors. and the students 9f art
iu Washington as wru as the scholars in
pubic schools and other Institutions VIII
enjoy rhg lsucfIl ut classified series of
works OF illustrative arr, or great extent
and value Another han Of equal size VIII
bp used as map room the library
already possessing over 1900 maps,
ana t.e collection constantly growing.
T.e book capacity of the parts OF Tie
Library already finished is about 1900,
600 volumes IL aH The space on each floor
uu, af present l0 Doe used Were fitted up Tor
rnu storage oI books. the building would
hold 4 SOC. 900 volumes. PostcrIty may
buHd auueNes boz the spacious courts TO con
tam orc To- two million volumes more
without any disturbances of the uses OF
architectural symmetry Of the present edi-
fire When is known that THE largest cZ-
ls.ug library, that OF France, numbers
only Two and quarter millions of vol
umeS. If viii Doe seen how extensive lis the
provision for lulgre growlh-csUmated 10
De ample fvr century and hali 20 come
LARGER THAN BRITISH MUSEUM
Tucaraa of jHc library floor ana connect
mg rooms is about lllooo square feet,
FnHe The .gH-auG area o1 the British Mu-
scum building, H London, is little
more tHan 10000 square feet The area
a-rr.H
Navy Departments is $1,000 square feet
Tho total floor space embraced in The
library building. excluding 1He cellar is
80 .6GT square feet, or nearly eight acres.
Tic gueiH OF shelves already in position
or prlyiled Tor placed end ~ end, would
extend forty three miles, on from wash
IuEtou % Baltimore.
In fHe construction af tire building there
were required 400. coo cubic feet OF
granite. $4,000 euameled brick "a
300 600 red brick 5000 tore Of iron
end steel, and 10000 barrels Gf cement
There have been constantly employed upon
tbe work from 100 TO 300 men, besides
o. many more by The contractors al the
uuarres and elsewhere As many az sO,-
BOO brick have been laid ID single day
Some 0f The granite blocks weigh as much
b. ..tfl aH'aAn Af.hI.r AN Ahh- A'hrA''-
pounds 10 a single stone.
TUNNEL TO THE CAPITOL.
Tie tunnel which IS 10 be used 10 carry
book t9 The CangrcsSnleu from the new
library is being dug and a large force OF
men al work u spadlug oul ghe trench
whsch rams from Doe capitol Go lhe building
Dn The next square This trench is six
feet deep and four wide and through
o. win ruu an electric arrangement to
carry the books-4u arrangement somewhat
similar DO the carriages OF the cash" in
GUT big dry goods stores
One end of The tunnel VIII rest ia the
basement OF ue new library and The other
in hP Capitol. So that whena book is wanted
d Is called Tor over q phone and shot back
through the tunnel in few seconds. IN
speaking of the probable use to which the
old library iH the Capitol building viii be
put Librarian Spoll0rd thinks that it viii
D. used as a mere Congressional place for
reference where statistical books can be
stored. while the side aisles could nicely be
turned into about two dozen committee