The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-03
THE ARCADE PILLARS.
Good Work of the Stone Cutters ot
 1928.

1928.
 All the attempts that have yet beau made to turn out on lathe the Sfahlte pillars over fifty-siX fset long ana SIX feet in diameter planned TOT the Ca'he- dral of St. John the Divine. whose SOIL tary arch now looms high over New York from it's lofty site on Morningslde Heights. have been failures. These were to be the largest monoll.hs of modern times. and machinery costing $50,000 was made on purpose to produce them in perfect condition rom the quarriars at Vinalhaven, Me
 The pillars broke on the lalue oe- cause they could not stand the great pressure that was neeIe to make them circular in form. Now the stone cut tars will try to get permission to have tie pillars made in two pieces oI AS rect each.
 This piece of news which was re- gently sent out from Maine made many Providence people take new pride ln the pillars which support the Afcaoe. These massive monuments to the craft of the stone cutters of the early days have stood where they are now since 1928. They are twenty-two feet long and three feet in diameter. They were jacked up and cut by hand Ill Bare Rock lodge quarry, near snake Den' north of the Killingly road in the town of Johnston, not far from the North Providence line. Only one of the pillars cut out was a failure, and that, the 18th. now lies overgroWn with weeds and broken in the ledge. which was eX- hausted with the task of supplying these great monoliths.
 While the work of getting out these pillars was going on, James Olney, who was in charge of the job, went "out West" to the central part of New York; and bought twelve oxen, which he brought home with him to keep on q. farm near the quarry, in readiness to haul the pillars to the city upon their completion A special cart, with large and heavy wheels, was made for the purpose, and in each case it brought tho pillars to the site of the Arcade in safety, and less than day was spent on the way. The one provision that had to be made was to strengthen the bridge at Olneyville. When the twelve OK cart arrived with the pillars a der rick was brought in and deposited on Weybosset bridge, and a windlass was rigged in the cellar which operated a large broom derrick placed in the por- tico.
 This was wonderful piece of mechanism for those days, and many an ancestor of good Rhode Islanders of
 the present day spent hours in watch ing it raise them thirteen-ton stones ana lower them in place. One or two men were all that were needed to move the monliths, and the architect himself put each one in its proper position. In those days the Arcade was a great wonder, but it is doubtful whether it was any more of a wonder hen than it Is now, Indeed, the longer it lasts the stranger it seems to everyone but to those who walk through 1t and un- der it's shadow so many times day that they forget that there is anything to be surprised at in it's Creek looks. Russell Warren and James c. Bucklin were the architects for the building and Mir Bucklin, just before his death gave a few "reminiscences about the old structure which will best show how strange it seemed to the Providence people of the early part of the last century.
 Yes, 'tis a long time indeed, since it was built" he said one day in Mir. George A. Leete & Sons office, the agents for the Butler Duncan Com pany which, with the Arcade Com pany, now owns the building. "Provi- dence has grown and changed out of l all recognition since then. At that time there was scarcely shop, or store, or business block above where the Arcade now stands. All the business of the city was on the East Side along Wa ter street and North and South Main streets, which used to be called Cheap side. But Mir Butler owned a piece of | land here on Westminster street. The land next to 1t was owned by tlfe Dyer brothers, Benjamin and Charles, and, with some other gentlemen, they formed a corporation to build one-half of the Arcade, while MT. Butler built the other half.
 Butler was already very wealthy,
 worth, probably, several millions, and a man of tenacious ideas-hobbies, per- haps. People told him that he was very foolish to put up such building in such place, that business would never come there and he was throw ing his money away. He used to laugh a good deal at little incident that happened when the building was near ly done. He was standing inside look ing around one afternoon when an old man, a stranger, came in and began to look around, too. He turned to MT.
 Butler and asked him, Who is build
 ing this affair." Well said MT.
 Butler 'one-half of it Is built by a