Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-11-11
The New Congressional Library.


The New Congressional Library.
The new Congressional Library was
opened to the public last week in Wash
ington. The building is the most mag
nifcent in America. 1t has taken SIX
years to construct the library, and the
cost of the building and the site was
$6,250,0O0. With all the rapid ac-
cumulations of books in this age, the
capacity of the colossal library is so
great that it will meet every possible
demand for more than hundred years
to come.
Although the present number ol
volumes in the library is only sufficient
to FIJI three of the regular stacks, each
stack or building being 65 feet high,
10 feet long and 40 feet wide, the
total accommodation of the stacks in
the library is for over 2,085,00O vol
umes, or, as it is estimated, reckoning
nine volumes to the foot, the capacity
is about 40 miles.
Besides this bookshelving there is
an additional capacity for shelving for
about 100000 volumes, and the
architects have estimated the utmost
capacity of the building for books,
without encroaching upon the pavlI-
ions, corridors, reading-rooms, museum
halls or basement or cellar, to be up
ward Of 100000 volumes, or, as they
put it, somewhat less than 100 miles
of shelving"
The exterior walls of this magnif-
cent structure are Of light gray gran
ite from the quarries at Concord, n.
H., where the stone was cut ready to
be put in place at the building. The
principal ornamental features were cut
in Washington, under the superln-
tendence of Mr.. William Boyd, of Bal
timore, from models prepared by him
for this work.
The keystones of the first story are
embellished by an chronological study
representing thirty-three types Of the
human family, ranging from the intel
ligent European, Saxon and Latin,
down to the lowest and most brutal
Papauan and Australian. Most Of
these were modelled by Mr.. Boyd from
data obtained from various sources,
principally from Prof. o. 7. Mason, of
the chronological department Of the
Smithsonian Institution, the books Of
the congressional library and private
material.
Mr.. Boyd also superintended the
cutting of these masks. They are two
feet in length and proportioned accord
ing to the race they represent. They
are unique in being the only study
of this nature produced in stone, eth
er abroad or at home, and they are
said to be a more complete set than is
contained in the National Museum.
Carrara marble of the highest grade
is the material used for the main stair
case and entrance halls of the library
building. The contract for this work
was given to the Evans Marble Com
pany, of Baltimore.
The interior court walls and dome
are from the Guilford and Watersville
Company's quarry, in Maryland, and
they lost nothing by comparison with
the exterior granite from Concord. The
beautiful red platforms at the ap-
proaches are Seneca stone from Mary
land, prepared in Baltimore by Mr..
George Mann.
Already the Library Building has
become a centre of attraction to all
visitors to Washington and to residents
of the city, and it is probable that not
even the Capitol will arouse more gen.
eral interest. The building shows a
departure in architectural magnif-
cence on the part of the government
and degree of splendor in decorative
art such as no other building in the
country can equal and few elsewhere