Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14

the seven miles of streets which will be
traversed by the procession, on frontaSes
where building operations are in progress,
along the sides of the public squares, in
front of hotels and government buildings
that stand back from the sdewalk-are
signs of whole forests stripped and brought
to London. Every club along the line of
march is putting up scaffolding. There is
Il mammoth timber terrace for the CXclu-
sive use of peers, building on the north
ern side of Trafalgar Square, while in Con-
stitution HILL past which the king will
drive from and to Buckingham Palace, a
stand which, it is said, is the largest ever
built is being constructed.
But perhaps the most remarkable of all
are the tiers of seats being built around the
two old churches that stand in the middle
of the Strand, St. Marys and st. Clement
Danes Both of them are picturesque and
venerable buildings. but that has not pre-
vented them from being utilized by the
stand builders.
The widening of the Strand has cleared
out the buildings that used to surround
the churches so that they command Splen-
did view of the street, and each of them
now is being inclOsed with a mass of scat
folding which is intended to result in an i'm
mense "three-decker' stand capable of
holding several thousand people The top
most tier of seats will reach almost to the
base of the spires, so that the entire bodies
of the churches with the exception of their
roofs will be hidden.
carpenters and the Abbey.
AS for Westminster Abbey itself, the
amount of carpentry work that is being
done around it is a thing that makes folk
who love the old church for it's romance
shudder and gnash their teeth. To begin
with. the western entrance and the ap-
proach thereto are disfigured by a mass of
scaffolding where a strong force of laborers
is at work on the temporary building in
" o king before
their coronation. And, If this were not
enough, operations are just beginning on
the side of the abbey, where an immense
stand, to run along the whole length of the
building. will be placed.
So the timber men and the building con-
tractors of London are rubbing their hands
and chortling as orders come piling in, and
every labOrer who can handle a hammer
and saw has more work than he can at
tend to. Prices in both trades have gone
up to an amazing figure and they are al
most certain to go higher yet as the de-
mand for timber and workmen grows
keener. Pounds upon pounds too, fall
ing into the Golfers of the people who man
ufacture street decorations; and the gor-
geOus ornamentatiOn of the London streets
through which the royal procession is to
pass will be one of the sights of the day.
Every London borough which the coro-
nation route crosses is arranging for deco
rations to cost thousands, and British and
continental firms are working overtime tC
royal borough of Westminster the decora-
tons to be unusually striking. Six
miles of the coronation route lie in this
borough. and the streets composing it will
be lined with Venetian masts swathed in
red cloth and decorated with golden crowns
with garlands and with parti-colored
StreamerS.
In Imitation Marble
| The finest scene of all. however. will be
| just in front of the western entrance to the
| abbey, where whole forest of imitation
marble pillars will be raised. Each one will
| bear the golden figure of a saint while il
| about the center of the column a crown anG
| shield. emblazoned with the royal arms
will be hung. From below these graceful
| garlands will stretch from column tC
| another. Besides these there will be al
1 least four tr.umphal arches, also in imita
| ton marble and also bearing the roya
| arms. besides being decorated with rich
| gilt From the curves formed by the
| arches loops of prairie grass. ornamente(
! with different colored balls, will hang.
Though the business that will be done il
| seats on the grandstands on coronation
| day promises to be startling there will bt
l even a brisker trade in seats in windows