The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-02-18

within century, the great European cathe-
drals. as tho impulse which Is doiting our
land with public Libraries. Tho ancient ca
ihstsr' ana the podpYn town hbrprs, ilikc
stshahr ospirit of the ,lrc." ~ Ill n
IL was doubtless the libraries themselves.
rather than tlreir bpiIinss, which; vms,re
fcrred to In this passage, but the alliison to
the cathedrals can but remind us OF the fact
that much OF the finest architectural express
sion OF this time IL going into libraries. Not
only has Boston distinguished itsois by tho
erection OF library calculated to figure as its
chief architectural attraction. but Chicago is
just completing one OF nearly. IL not quite
equal merit. I'm addition TO its New berry Lii
brary, which rs not far below tho same stand
ard. The Carnegie libraries IN Plttsburg and
Allegheny, and the libraries Of Buffalo and
Minneapolis, are fine examples of the same
tendency; and at this moment noteworthy
library buildings are at least planned for In
Fall River. Providence, milwaukee, and st.
Louis Philadelphia has appropriated 81, ,000,-
coo to make beginning ON its Free Library
building, while Now York must soon similarly
make provision for its public library, now 10
| happily inauguratcd. Scores OF smaller places
might be named whose library buildings are
vertable landmarks of taste and culture:
while we have only to refer TO Cornell, Mich.
gan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Princeton land
Columbia universities to indicate the tend.
ency TO exalt the library to place Of preemi
| nence on the university campus.
with the library thus pushing to the front
among our civic anc educational interests, il
seems highly fitting that there is just now
completed at Washington TO contain our Ma
tional Library, tho most extensive and IN
other Respects the most noteworthy, structure
ever erected for snch PURPOSE Standing
near the Capitol, and almost rvaling Il In
size, while SURPRISING II in unity u, design
/ and beauty of finish and decoration, IL seems
| to give due recognition 20 the place which
learning and culture should I'LL at the scat of
| government OF q free ard enlightened people.
| This building has had peculiar history, and
one in which we may well take pride, as indi.
eating what can be done by our government
officials. As early 1872. the need Of new
, building for the Library OF Congress which
was already crowded in its narrow quarters
in the Capitol, was urgently presented 10
Congress by the librarian. Mr.. Ainsworth r. |
Spofford. Some time passed before Congress
could be persuaded that tho library needed
anything more than such additional room as
could be found for it in the Capitol itself; the
addition Of wing TO the Capitol for the pur.
pose was urged by some. After il was finally
u'nouSAEtteu bfftt u new Iullllng lnuSt De
erected some years were spent in deciding
upon location and selecting plan. At last,
in 1896, the present location having been Sc
cured, and the old buildings occupying il pull.
ed down, work was commenced under the |
direction of commission appointed by Con.
gress. In two years, nothing more had been |
done than the laying of portion Of the foun.
dations The money appropriated was rap
idly disappearing, and the work seemed to 20 |
very slowly.
Congress became dissatisfied and in 1888 dis |
solved the commission and ordered that the |
work proceed under the direction Of General |
Casey, chief of engineers, L. =. Army. New
plans Were drawn, greatly improved over tn e |
old ones. and careful estimates made covering |
the whole work. General Casey reported that |
the building would cost 50, 900, 0OO and could /
be built in eight years. The necessary appro- /
priations We're made, Mr.. Bernard Green, a
man CT great experience i'm words of this char.
acter, was put in as superintendent of con.
struction, and the work went forward quietly /
until IL now is completed within the estimate
both as to time.and as to costa real triumph, |
when the extent of the undertaking and the
experimental character Of much OF the work
are taken into account. And so carefully has
the expense been guarded throughout, that il
WaS foNnh ppSsSiDit,uS tne Du1lulng approached
completion, TO go moro largely into interior
decoration than was anticipated in the urg-
nal estimates. As result, the building is
extremely rich.i its interior finish, abound.
ing in marbles Of all the choicest varieties
mosaics and frescoes, and il is so full of day
light in nearly every portion that its beauties
can be perfectly seen in this respect it differs
from most Of our best public edifices
In plan the building is simply cross, with
two long arms and two short ones, set down |
in a hollow square, leaving four large court
yards. In the center of the cross as the oc-
tagonal reading room, occupying a magnif-
cent rotunda. The long arms of the cross
extending northward and southwark from this
reading room, are the great twin book stacks,
each of which is nine stories in height and
will contain 10000 volumes. These stacks are
of steel throughout even the book shelves be.
ing made of light steel bars. the floors cunsist-
ing OF slabs Of marble laid IN the steel frame.
tn, sc floors are somewhat narrower than the
passages in which they are laid, 50 that open
spaces run from top TO bottom Of the building
in front of all the books. .nsuring free circu. |
l'iion Of air. The stacks receive an abund- |
nnce OF daylight from the courtyards and |
seem to be almost an ideal place for the stor-
age of books. Electric book railways, ON tha
Irlf'l'ic vi tHtut5S tnlin carrying small /
racks, connect every part of the stacks with
the delivery desk in the center OF the read
ing room. This room Is arranged like the
readingroom of the British Mu useum, with |
long reading desks, divided into stalls, run.
ming in concentric circles about the librarians |
elevated desk in the middle. Besides tho two
large stacks, there Is a smaller one i'm the cas-.
arm Of the cross, and abundant provision is |
made for the increase OF the library nm Tn 4. |
O0O, 90 volumes, by the large halls contained |
in the outer building surrounding the square
These halls will DC usetl largely for the spec.
ial libraries, several Of them of great import.
hncc, forming portions OF the Congressional
library.
With the occupancy Of this magnificent
building, the library of Congress- should en-.
tor on new career. IL should now become
In name rs IL must In fact, the National II.
brary II long since outgrew its character as
merely q library for the use Of Congress in