The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-12-04
A GIGANTIC MONUMENT.
Remarkable Design of a Pro-
posed Structure.

posed Structure.
TO EXCEED ALL OTHERS IN HEIGHT
Professor Desprade1le of M~assachu-
Splendid Shaft to the ssGlory OF the
American People"-Height CT Mon
ument 1900 Feet-WashinEton Sug-
gested ms the Most Natural site,
The greatest monument the human,
mind has conceived and reduced to an
architectural possibility since the tow
er Of Babel exists in the carefully
worked out plans of Professor Desire
D%espradelle, chief of the architectural
design department of the Massachu-
sets Institute Of Technology, for a
splendid visible symbol to be erected
Ito the glory of the American people,"
At present this remarkable design re-
mains the practical expression of an
architects dream, 'epitomizing," to
quote the designers own statement Of
its ultimate purpose, THE %vastness of
American civilizatio4mn But despite it's
enormous cost, which would reach well
into the millions, the idea of putting it
into permanent steel and stone already
has many enthusiastic supporters.
The height of the proposed monu-
ment is 1900 feet, nearly three times
that of the great pyramids of Egypt
and only a little less than twice that of
the famous Eiffe] tower. The main
shaft combines the heavy simplicity of
the ancient obelisk with a living light
ing by the skillful arrangement of it's
gradually ascending base and the
grouping about it of a number of up
lifted pinnacles an upward striving
toward an inaccessible IDEAL" The
base, which measures 225 feet square
at the bottom of the central shaft, is
girt round with our cherished national
symbols, while on every side the splen-
did structure bears names of our great
est men, figures t%ypifying our resources
and accomplishments, the eagle and
various other insignia, all combined in
remarkable appropriateness.
Planning such a monument is no
mere matter Of making an imaginative
picture. and a few details of the con-
struction may perhaps help the mind
in considering this gigantic creation as
a structural possibility. The volume Of
the main central shaft, which is over
a quarter of a mile in height, is nearly
26,OOO,00O cubic feet, and, consider
ing the weight Of good building stone
to be $50 pounds to the cubic foot.
there would be a pressure Of forty-six
tons to every square foot of earth be-
meath the finished shaft. To build it
solid would therefore make it at once
too heavy and too expensive: on the
other hand, the wind pressure upon its
enormous length would aggregate dur
ing winter gales hundreds Of tons, SO
that to erect it of steel framing with a
mere sheathing of stone, like a modern
Office building, would render it liable
to be broken off or blown yer bodily.
1t was necessary, therefore, to make
another adjustment Of differences. and
the final plan shows a construction
partly followed in galleries, for the
SAKE u 1lSullCSS, duO surprising DOlu
steel and concrete in massive COM
bination, with heavy stonework on the
exterior. The result is a structure
which, according to all architectural
experience, would stand firmly. and
the galleries, it has been further sug-
gested, offer an opportunity for hous-
ing and displaying important national
relics.
The site of the monument would nat
urally be at Washington. 1t has been
estimated that the cost would amount
to between S12,O 900 and $15,OOO,O00,
or about the price of three or four bat.
tie ships, and it's advocates have de-
clared that it would be well worth the
money, not only for it's own beauty.
but as an impressive exhibition of our
wealth and power in the Eyes of other
and nprhanS Some TINA hostile nation.