The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-22
INDEPENDENCE HALL.
THE FAMOUS STRUCTURE NOW ~
DERGoING REsToR ALTON.
Rooms to be Made to Appear just rs
They Were When the Continental
Congress Assembled In the His
to-ic Structure.

anu QCGI u ill A1llc44IdllS do Lie III IL
place of the nations liberty, is grad
lly-undergoing a restoration to its
condition at the time of the revolution.
/ Carefully, and little by little, bricks.
wood and mortar which have been
added TO the historic building in some
form or other for the convenience of
successive occupants are being torn
away and the scars caused by their re-
movdl skilfully covered over. The work,
by reason of its delicacy, is necessar-
lily slow, and is further retarded by
the slimness of the city's purse, but
there is satisfaction in knowing that
what has been done toward the restor-
alton is accurate.
Several persons whose studies of the
subject cover period of many years
have contributed information by which
the state house and adjoining county
and city buildings can be brought back
to their original appearance, inside and
out Eventually all will be as it was
when Washington, Jefferson. Frank
lin, Hamilton, Jay and their colleagues
were associated in laying the founda
ton of the republic, only instead of the
stirring scenes in which those men
were actors there will be but memo
ries. There will be the council cham
Der, just as it looked when in use by
the continental congress, the court
room, the long banquet hall overhead
and the governors apartments.
For months past the public has seen
workmen engaged in tearing away the
inclosed brick passage ways which
were built during the present century
to connect the wings of the state house
with the city and county buildings.
These modern links have disappeared,
the doorways have been filled in, and
so much has been accomplished toward
effacing the newer features of the row.
Now operations have been transferred
from the exterior to the interior. In
the second story of the state house.
where city councils met from 1854 until
the present year, the partitions have
all been taken out preparatory to re-
storing the original arrangements.
Very recently evidences of what is
going on have appeared in two large
chambers on the lower floor, in which
most public interest centerS, and these
I have been closed to visitors OCCASION
ally in order that the work may be
facilitated. In the east chamber, where
the Declaration of independence was
signed four wooden pillars, put there
to withstand the extra strain when
councils went in above, have been re-
moved. These posts are reputed to
have come from the famous old Chew
mansion, in Germantown, which was
uIlQGISOiIS dllHIdllOIS dDOuI the SAME
time the changes were made in indie
pendence hall, and on account of their
associations they will be carefully pre-
served. In order that the hall may not
suffer in strength by their removal,
steel Orders have been inserted be-
tween The ceiling and the floor above.
and the, building is now more solid
than ever. There were iron posts in
the west chamber, and these also have
been taken away.
RESTORING THE TWO CHAMBERS.
The entire restoration of the two
chambers will now slowly proceed, the
east room, in which the declaration
was signed, receiving the first adten-
t6on. This room was occupied by the
Pennsylvania. assembly in 1875, some
years before the building was finished.
1t was here on June 16, HIS, that
! George Washington accepted his ap
pointment as a general of the couti-
mental army. The assembly moved out
to make room for the continental con-
gTesS, and the declaration was signed
| July 4, 1776. A painting by Trumbull,
which now hangs in the rotunda of the
capitol at Washington, gives an ex-
J cellenr idea Of the arrangements of the
chamber at that tire. The picture has
been carefully studied by Architect T.
Mellon Rogers, who has the alterations
/ III tlldfSt, allu HAS dIQ6u utLH STtGlly-
1t shows that the ceiling and walls, in
stead of being fninshed in the colonial
] c0lors of blue and white, according TO
the prevailing conception OF them,
were of uniform grayish tint through
or.
The panelfng taround the walls is
much the same at the present day as
during the revolution. Just before La
! fayette made his visit TO this country
in 1924, extensive changes were made
! about the room, and the panels were
taken away The fine old chandelier
was removed and thrown into the loft
Other attempts TO nOdernize the apart
ment were made, but the reign of the
I S0-cailed spirit of Improvement was
short After the festivities which were
attendant on Lafayette's visit the
! changes were regretted, and 50 far as
possible the room was restored to its
original condition.
In the east Wan there are two false
doors. which to some extent match the
surrounding panels When they were
! put there is not known, but it was
! some time within the present century.
/ Behind them are traces of old brick
! fireplaces filled in. Enough Of the
arching shows to prove that they were
| of large dimensions, capable of receiv-
| ing the logs commonly used for fuel in
the early colonial days These fire
pldceS can De IcSlOIeQ DGiItClly, De
cause enough of their original structure
remains TO guide the workmen.
MODERN THING COMING UP.
Instead of the modern octagonal
TILES With which the floor is now laid,
the tiling viii be in the square colonial
style when the restoration is complete.
AS nearly as possible all the furnish
irgs of 1875 are to be reproduced. The
Liberty bell will be moved away and
viii probably find a resting place in
the corridor outside. The brass rafting
which ait present guards the relics in
the room from the public is also to go,
and in one sense the chamber will lose
its character as general museum.
The many portraits now on the walls
are to be transferred to another place
for exhibition.
The high ornamental chair on which
the president of the continental con-
gress sat is now in its original posi-
ton, and the table on which the dec
laration was signed is also there. Of
the thirty-two chairs used by the MEM
bers, about half are in the possession
Of the city, the others having become
scattered or destroyed. The represent
atives from each of the thirteen states
had a table for their common use, but
only one of these tables has been pre-
served The deficiency in the number
of tables and chairs will be made up
by others to be fashioned in the same
patterns. They will be placed in con-
centric rows, facing the speakers chair,
just as they were when the continent