The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-08
THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL LII.
BRARY.


ing need for suitable home for the
nations books, the cramped and ILL
lighted rooms of the capital devoted to
the purpose being entirely inadequate.
The need will soon be met, for the new
Congressional Library, occupying
beautiful site opposite the Capitol, will
be completed early in 1897. 1t is an
imposing white granite building, in the
architecture of the Italian Renaissance,
covering three and half acres, and
surmounted by magnificent gilded
dome. Some of the huge granite blocks
weigh eighteen tons each. When fin.
ished it will have space arranged for
nearly two million volumes. leaving
room for about three million more as the
lirbary increases, A subway or tunnel
extends the quarter of mile from the
library to the east front of the Capitol.
Books can be passed through in three
minutes by means of an endless cable.
The sculptor's hand has been lavish
in decorating the building. Elaborate
carvings attract the eye everywhere,
and colossal statues in bronze and gran
lite keep guard over the grand entrances.
Some OF the most interesting carvings
are those upon the keystones of a num-
Der OF the window arches, representing
human heads of various racial types.
Below the roof of the central western
pavilion are four great statues of Atlas,
and above the arch Of each of the three
entrance stairs are relief carvings typi-
flying the arts. The central entrance
door of heavy bronze is to be the work
OF MacMonnies. who impressed his
genius upon the fountain 10 the Court
Of Honor at the Columbian Exposition.
1t is quite an excursion to walk the
length of the spacious corridors on the
ground floor. North and South vie With
each other in furnishing the beautiful
marble wainscoting which extends their
entire length. The eastern and western
corridors are each three hundred and
sixty feet long, the northern and south
ern two hundred and twenty feet. Yer
mont gives red and white Champlain
marble for the south corridor, and a fine
notified blue for the western, while
Georgia contributes black and white
marble for the east corridor, and Tenn
nessee rich dark red for the northern.
The lofty main entrance hall on the
first floor is of italian white marble, and
its magnificent Corinthian columns, it's
arches and balustrades, and thousand
exquisite effects produced by the sculp-
tors chisel, almost make one fancy that,
like the Bohemian girl, one is wander
ing through the marble halls" of a
dream. The corridors are enriched with
marble wainscoting, and the unfinished
fresco paintings bid fair to be a delight
to all beauty-loving eyes.
The octagonal reading room. which is
one hundred feet in diameter, occupies
the rotunda. From the floor to the
lantern is distance of one hundred and
sixty feet. Exquisite marbles adorn the
walls. Magnificent arches, marble bal
ustrades. and majestic Corinthian col
umns produce an effect of almost be-
wildering beauty. Twenty-Five hundred
dollars worth of gold leaf was used in
gliding the capitals of the columns.
Eight colossal statues EN- blematic of
art, science, history, philosophy. poetry,
law, commerce, and religion will sur
mount marble pillars forty feet high.
Each subject will be illustrated by two
bronze statues of heroic size, the men
chosen being representative of an old
and new dispensation. Religion, for
example, will be represented by Moses
and st. Paul, law by Solon and Kent,
and philosophy by Plato and Lord
Bacon.
The concave interior of the dome is
deliberately decorated with figures of
cherubs. flowers, birds, and various
graceful designs, which stand out in
bold relief from daintily tinted back.
grounds. Looking upward one is struck
by the perfect harmony of the varied
forms and colors. Fresco paintings of
allegorical and other subjects will fill
spaces on the walls and in the dome.
Two hundred and fifty readers can be
seated in the reading room at individual
desks. The librarians desk will be cen.
trally located, so as to overlook every
portion of the room. The rapid and me-
thodical carriage of books through the
library is assured by an ingenious sys-
tenn of pneumatic tubes.
Two immense repositories adjoin the
reading room. The iron bookcases are
arranged in nine floors, each seven feet
high, with short flight of stairs leading
to each, so that the librarians can take
with ease any volume from even the
highest shelves. 1t has been estimated
that if all the shelves of the new library
were placed end to end they would
reach forty three miles-a distances as
great as from Washington to Baltimore.
Large plate glass windows opening on
the four beautiful courts light the
shelves in a way that will be appreciat-
ed oy the long-suffering librarians, who,
in the present library quarters. must
needs prowl like troglodytes the dark
alcoves. There seem to be no dark
corners in this most beautiful and con.
yenient of libraries, which possesses