Evening star., 1901-10-12
Handsomest Of Washington hotels to
Be Opened Tuesday.
A DEscRIPpIot OF THE STRUCTURE
ArchitectuEalk Pleasing and Fitted
Up in Modern Style.
FEATURES OF THE INTERIOR


Hotel is to be opened to the public Tuesday,
October 10. There will be no formal exer-
cises The doors will simply be thrown
open, the register put on the counter and
guests will be welcomed to the newest, the
biggest and most elaborate of Washington's
nosteiries. Workmen are hustling day and
night to prepare the big structure for the
event. furniture is being taken into the
hotei by the carload, carpets are going
down, decorators of all kinds are busily at
work and from basement to roof the scene
Is one of hustling activity. Through the
apparent confusion, however, method can
be seen and everything points to the hotel
being completed by the opening day.
Already the general appearance. of the in
terror can be appreciated. A Star reporter
was shown over the building today. The
corner entrance at Pennsylvania avenue
and 14th street going down stairs leads di
rectly into spacious room, which will be
USED as mems cafe. In this basement also
are the Kitchen, the stewards department,
the bar, barber shop and toilet rooms. The
main floor of the hotel has two entrances,
one from Pennsylvania avenue and one
from l4th street. The Pennsylvania avenue
entrance opens directly into the main lobby.
This Is expansive and beautiful. Six mas
slVe pillars support the ceiling, which is
decorated artistically, the coats of arms of
the different state forming the basis. Three
passenger elevators run from the lobby.
Electric Features.
Striking features of this big room are the
massive and artisticalIy wrought electric
fixtures. The 14th street entrance is for
the use Of ladies. and at the corner is a
ladies' reception room, with all the neces-
sary appurtenances. The front of the main
floor also contains writing room, tele-
graph office and coat and package room.
At the rear of the main floor is a palm
garden. decorated after the Pompeiian
style and containing a fountain. On the
14th street side is the main dining room.
This is d dignified and impressive room, fin
ished in Flemish oak throughout.
Surrounding the main floor proper is a
meZZan1ne story on the 14th street corner,
containing very handsomely furnished
and decorated ladies' room, which overlooks
both the main lobby and the dining room.
The meszanine floor on the opposite side
contains rooms for the manager, bookkeep-
ers and other offices. On the first floor
proper the apartments begin and there is
also large public parior. A striking feat
ure- of the apartment floors of the hotel is
the spacious foyers and wide corridors.
There is nothing cramped, and light and air
are secured in abundance for all rooms.
At the corner the first floor is a handsome
suite of rooms to be known the ''PreSi-
dents suite" Throughout the hotel a very
large proportion of the rooms are provided
with private baths.
The roms are decorated in excellent taste.
The furniture is of the highest character,
the basis throughout being mahogany with
brass bedSteadS. There are few less than
300 bed rooms in the present structure.
On the tenth floor there Is a magnificent
ball roonTaha anNslaborate BANQUET room.
colors. but are extremely impressive in
their architecture.
Fine Architectural Effects.
A good illustration is afforded by the ex-
terror of the building of the truth that eff
fectiveness in an architectural design does
not depend on mere ornamentation. The
color scheme is sober one, the light gray
stone of the lower stories combining with
the brick forming the upper sections so
as to give pleasing tone. There is cor
respondence' between the rather plain lines
and the color scheme, and the effect of
the mass of such a structure in this in
stance is not frittered away While the
size of the building is not emphasized, yet
1t is not disguised. 1t is perhaps difficult
to take in the extent of the structure
1t is necessary, in order to realize the
size, to stop and count the stories and
then also to learn that 1t has a frontage
on Pennsylvania avenue of 140 feet and on
14th street of 1SO feet. Accommodations
equal to that provided by sixty ordinary
dwellings, each having five bed rooms, can
be provided within these walls, and in addi-
tion there is a great abundance of what
are known as public rooms, such par
lOIS, TeCepllOH TOoIUS, UdUQu6t rooms, etc.
1t might have been possible with the
French style of architecture, of which this
building is type, to have covered the
broad expanse of walls with decorative de-
tails. The fact Is that the middle section
or shaft is almost entirely devoid of orna-
mentation.
The main entrance Pennsylvania ave-
nue. is very properly emphasized by four
massive stone columns of the same material
as that used in the walls of the first four
stories. Above the heavy entablature, for
which the columns form an adequate sup
port is balcony protected by railing OF
stone. The window openings of the next
two stories are marked by archtraves and
heads of ornamental design, and then
comes the broad expanse of the middle Sec
ton, and its plainness. combined with the
sturdiness of the base and the lighter treat
ment of the upper section and the roof
makes the effect of the whole most attrae-
tive.
The entire framework of the structure is
steel and the exterior walls merely serve
as a protection from the weather and add
nothing to the strength of the building
There is little In the appearance of the
building to indicate this. as the end and
corner piers are proportioned to give the
effect Of doing work, as if the entire struc-
ture was of masonry. As illustrating the
best type. of modern construction of tall
buildings the new Willard is an interesting
aQQltlOn TO ASt OI SUCH STRUCTURES IN
this city The iron frame is filed in, as far
as the outer walls are concerned with
brick and stone, and the floors are of terra
cetta, resting on iron beams. The roof,
which forms a lofty covering for the upper
story affords an opportunity for the light
er treatment soo essential to the effective
ness of such a structure. Just below the
base of the roof balcony is formed, pro-
tected by a railing and supported by a Sc
rfes OF ornarnent3s corbe1s.
The entrances c'1i Hath street has been
given the sage gsferal treatment as that
on the avenis, The central portion Of the
wall retreats from the building line, and
the bay thus fortified is spanned at the
third story bY, an Ornamental balcony.
The work at. clearing the ground for the
erection of thts building was begun July
q, 1900, by Me caHtractors, the George A.
Fuller CompaAy. Within eighteen days the
old structurex.s whifh was one OF the his
toric hostefriss OF, fhe city. and which COW
cred 25, 900 SQUARE feet, and was i've, six
and seven stories. in height, had entirely
eHnd "a the following fifteen
months the new building was erected.
The building wilt Ibe eventually extended
up 18th street to Geupon the site now occu-
pied by the remaining part Of the old hotel
The manager of the new Willard will
be Mr.. F. S. Hight. formerly of the Wal
dorf-Astoria. and the steward will be T. p
- Fr,