The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-06-12
AMERICAS GREATEST LIBRARY
MR.. THOMAS GOLD ALVORD TELLS OF
THE NATIONS BOOKS AND OF THE
SUPERB BUILDING IN WHICH THEY
ARE STORED.

was built under the management Of
General Casey. chief of the engineers
Of the army. and its total cost. includ-
ing grounds, was IS. 3e0.000 Or $4,000
less than the appropriation made by
congress. 1t was moreover built with
in the time set by law. The capitol of
the state of New York at Albany is
being built by private contractors. 1t
has cost nearly So. 900. 900. was begun
owe 20 years ago and is not yet fin
ished. As an edifce the capitol does
not compare with the library in archi-
lecture. construction or adornment.
The splendid and monumental IL
brary building is an ingenious struc-
ture-the largest, costliest and safest
s~torehouse of books in existence. Its
exterior walls 40 feet long by
$40 feet deep belong to a
great r~ectangle enclosing three
and three-auarter acres. They sur
round a space divided into our
courts having at the intersection an
octagon which serves as the main read
ing room. This is conspicuous from
~ AtCiioh w ~ 8oiuSii oOii SAh
high above the walls Of the rectangle.
Above all is a torch with a gilded
flame, emblematic of the torch of
learning. Its apex is 1875 feet from the
ground. The total cost of the dome
and torch was about $4,000. Connect
ing the rotunda or reading room with
the curtains Gas the long corridors on
| 49, So.,th and nDrth ~ oo1lodl
enormous book stacks nine stories
high. ZACH having a capacity Of $780,
900 volumes. The great size of the
building can be appreciated by those
who have not seen 1t when they are
told that in building it there were used
409. 900 cubic feet of granite. 500, 900 en-
ameled bricks. $4,000. 900 red bricks,
$500 o n of steel N iron and 1900
barrels Of cement. The floor space
covers eight acres and the windows
number 2.165. 1t took eight years to
build this library.
The walls of the library are Of New
Hampshire granite almost as brilliant
as marble. The three stories rise "a
feet and the building being in the style
of the Italian Renaissance is simple
but imposing in effect. This is added
to by the magnificent facades. the
whole being treated with great elabor-
alton of ornameptal detail. The walls
without are richly carved. ethnologi-
cal heads ornamenting the keystone
pavilion windows. These carvings
form interesting studies, for they are
the typical heads of every known race
| of man. The west entrance or pavil-
ion is the most ornate as well as the
largest. The approaches are extern
sive; flights of granite steps ascend
from either side of a central landing
laid with red Missouri stone. Under
meath is a porte cochere in front of the
doors leading to the basement The
retaining wall of the central landing is
the background of a splendid fountain
by Roland Hinton Perry, comprising a
group of three enormous allegorical
figures in bronze. The chief figure is
| Neptune enthroned in a grotto of the
sea, with Nymphs on sea horses on
either side. In the portico above are
busts of Demosthenes. Emerson, Irv-
ing, Goethe. Franklin. Macauley. Haw-
| thorne, Scott and Dante. The main
entrance has three deep arches and
| three massive bronz doors rich in
| %sculptural ornament in relief. Each is
IA feet high. seven and a half wide and
the total weight is 1000 pounds.
The main entrance hall or foyer
! strikes every n with its great size.
grand marble staircases, many lofty
| columns, beautiful carvings n rich
decorations. The arrangement is in
fact simple, u the workmanship is
wonderful. The eye scars past beauty
after beauty to the soft and delicate
! shades of the glass roof, wanders over
| painting and sculpture. down the mo-
sale corridors which stretch like
on either side. fingers upo the arches
of heavy piers that seem like wands
| carved by fairy hands and seek to rest
| upon the tesselated floor studded with
brass and bronze. thoroughly delight
ed by the richness, elegance. modesty
and good taste of all. Beyond is the
main reading room, with its feast for
| the mind. 1t is ~octagonal. 100 feet in
diameter and 125 feet from the floor to
the dome. At each of the angles are
columns Of Numidian marble in two
shades contrasting softly with brown
Tennessee marble pillars crowned by
golden Corinthian capitals. The arches
| are filed with semi-circular windows
| decorated with the United States seal
and eagles in the centers and the coat
of arms of the states on either side.
Eight colossal figures representing
science. law. poetry. philosophy. art,
history. commerce and religion stan
above the columns. Around the gal
lery are bronze statues of heroic size
Of Plato. Lord Bacon, Herodotus. Gib-
hon Homer. Shakespeare. Michael An