Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-10-30
WHITE HOUSE IMPROVEMENT
The Spirit of 1900 Embodied in
the Restoration.
Old Eireplacss Will Be Used Again
Lighting Designs OF That Period Also
Will b Employed Results Of the
Fire Of 1914 Shown.

veniences for comfort of the mansion of
the present day have been applied to the
White House. 1t Is hard to believe that
the presidential residence of John Adams
and his immediate successors was heated
by f1replaces. lighted ny candles and
whale oil lamps, and that the only bath
Ing facilities consisted of portable tubs
to which a servant conveyed buckets of
hot and cold water. says a Washington
correspondent of the Boston Transcript.
There never has been anything like speak
Ing tubes between the living-rooms of
the White House UP to the present time,
In that and other respects lacking the
conveniences Of the simplest of private
houses. Judging from what the renova-
ton shows. the plumber seems to have
been as much of a discovery of the nine
teenth century as the electrical filter.
The new White House will witness a
restoration of the principal fireplaces,
which had either been covered UP entirely
or built over into smaller size. In most
cases. as in the east room, they have
been used for the heating registers and by
a seeming proprety of descent a stream
of hot air has poured out from the spot
under the mantle where the fireplace
used to be- The only visible heating APP
paratus In the house will be the restored
fireplaces, which will be of their origin
al dimensions. OF these the east room
has four. When the room is in use for
will be kept smouldering there. This will
also be the case in the state dningroom.
The house will he abundantly heated, and
by methods that permit of easy control.
without the wood fires so that their pur-
pose will be purely ornamental. It is OBJ
vious what CRATE fire of the size neces-
sary to-day to heat such rooms as these
would have to burn so flercely as to keep
people away at a considerable radius and
so would he wasteful Of precious space.
No one could sit in the State dining-roon
near a fireplace which was actually heat
Ing it. Thus the fathers of the republic,
while they had in their heating arrange
n>ents the advantage Of picturesqueness.
sacrificed much in real comfort. especial
ly In extreme weather. The dimensions
of the East room frepaces are Az feet
in width, 3l1 feet high and feet deep.
In lighting, gas and gas fixtures have
been practically cleared out. it has long
been evident that the use of electricity in
the type of chandeliers suitable for gas or
oil lighting was an absurdity when cleo
trtcity only was to be employed. This per-
nlts much more tasteful and effective
methods of display. The so-called "sun-
burst" used in some of the rooms of the
temporary office building, has been put
into two or three of the rooms Of the
White House. but as rule it's lighting ap-
planes are similar to the candelabra de-
signs of that period of 1900. and have been
worked out with special reference to the
present methods of lighting The results
| are exceedingly satisfactory.
The telephone arrangements Of the
new building are as complete as mod
ern appliances can provide. There Is a
| private system for the rooms Of the house,
and through the switchboard, connec-
| ton with the outside world, local and
! long distance. 1t will be possible. from
any room in the house, to talk with the
gardener or the steward. or the butler;
| heretofore It has been necessary to send
| a messenger.
The work Of restoration has brought to
| light many OF the results of the fire of
1Sl4 In a number of places the heat had
| been so severe that the brick itself around
doorways had become petrifed, and was
covered over by plaster or woodwork
| There are also burned ends of Turing
| blocks and base blocks 1t was doubtless
| to cover up the traces of the fire that the
| White House was given a coat of white
| paint. ard so derived its present name. al
though upon the latter point there is some
| dispute. The stone of which 1t was made
Is light buff. which would make the
name not wholly inappropriate. without
| paint. During its earlier years the man.
sion was known as the Presidents house
or The Palace" as the carpng anti.
federalists affected to think it. What
would they say now? on LEnfants old
map the two buildings which he particu-
| larly marked We're the Presidents
mouse" ana Congress House." neither OF
which is known by that name now.
1t Is strange almost that the White
House has never been visited by fire since
the conhagraton of the War of 1872. II
is not freproof and even in its restored
form is only partly so. 1t is thought
however. that with the present methods
of heating and lighting, and the ample
corps of servants who would be on hand
l.
slight.
| The magnitude of the White House
changes OF the present summer have beer
little realized by the outside public. AS
an example of rapid work, without hav'
ing left on 1t any of the impress of haste
the restored structure Will be moIumeu
tai. Especially is this notable when 1t Is
considered that so much that has beer
done could not be foreseen at the start
Il was assumed. when the calculations
were first made. that the old heating plant
would answer for the restored building
and the electrical apparatus in large part
Neither Of these expectations has beer
verified. IT. was not possible to tell IL
many cases what needed to be done un
I'll good deal Of tearing away had tdkel
place. This uncertainty, added to th'
necessity of the execution of special de
signs for all the ceilings and columns and
cornices and metal work. in q season wher
=
orders long in advance have been general
is a tribute to the efficiency with which
the restoration has been carried on
All of the interior work of the base
ment. the first story and the second stor,
} had to be removed: all of the floors o
: the first story We're taken out and re
placed by steel beams and nrcprOof con
| Struction; all the floors of tho secon'
story over the Fast room also, gave plac
TO steel construction. The wall between
, the State diningroom and the hall, from
the basement to the roof, was remove
} and steel truss put in to support til
floors and partitions above the new an,
enlarged state dining room. The boiler
We're all placed below ground; this re
quired excavation and retaining walls
; all the piping for hot water and tn
plumbing and the electricity, ha
been replaced. OF the terraces. which ar
the key to the present improvements
one Is wholly new and the other so large
~ rebuilt as to amount to about the san,
thing. Both have been covered with
cement pavement and enclosed by para
pet walls The temporary Office building
has been completed and is to-day read
nlants are wholly distinct from these o
the White House 1t was originally pro
; pose d to supply everything from the mai
building, but as the smaller one promise
to be temporary its removal might up
set somewhat the symmetry of the Whit
House plans
Tho workmen began tearing out the oil
White House in the latter part of June
D certain of its rooms are now ready, Will
most of the others will be by the first O
. December In this time an amount o