Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-27
TO ENLARGE CAPITOL
Tentative Plans Now Being
Prepared
THE STAFF PROCESS
CONGRESS TO BE ASKED FOR AN
APPROPRIATION.
u
Elliott Woods Approves Suggestion Of
Mr.. Fames, President of Insti-
tute of Architects.

tute OF ARCHITECTS.
| 49,
That Congress at its coming session will
be asked to make IA substantial appro-
priation for the construction in STAFF
the cheapest building material known, Of
the proposed enlargement of the United
States Capitol building, for which plans are
now being prepared, appears to be uncer-
tain. The most prominent architects in
the country have confessed themselves I'M
willing to undertake to make alterations to
the Capitol building until they are assured
that the change will add to and not de-
tract from the structural unity and archi-
tectural beauty of the edifice They appear
to be a unit in believing that the construc-
ton of the proposed addition in staff, the
composition used in erecting the buildings
| at the Chicago and st. Louis worlds fairs
and In other similarly temporary structures
would be the safest and most immediate
| manner of determining whether the pro-
posed improvements would in reality be
such. Elliott Woods, the architect of the
| Capitol, heartily approves of the staff plan
| and says that the money expended by Con-
| gress in this manner which would hardly
| amount to more than $100, GOO, would in
reality be an insurance on success"
Mr.. Eames' Interviewed.
| Considerable attention was attracted in
| Washington some days ago by a statement
made by William 8. Games of St. Louis.
president Of the American Institute of
Architects, bearing on this subject. Mr..
Eames said that whatever plans the joint
commission, which Is now considering the
| enlargement of the Capitol, recommends to
| Congress, should be carried out in staff
construction, in order that 1t may be seen
| just how it would look before the actual
work on the permanent structure Is under
| taken.
| IF Congress would appropriate 100000
| such temporary enlargement of the Cap
| itol might be made in all Its details, and
| with exact reproduction of the color effect.
| by contrast with the older stones, which
| such an enlargement would actually pro-
| duce. The assurance that this could give
| of the success OF the plan might prove TO
| be eventually worth millions Of dollars.
1T makes me actually shiver to think of
| the possibility of running the most mag
nificent building in the United States, and
| one of the greatest In the world, by any
mistake. How pitiable 1t would be If 1t
| should ever come to pass. after the govern
| ment had spent millions of dollars in car
! rying out this extension. that the Capitol
| did not look nearly SO well as it did before.
| 1t is not enough to present the proposed
change in a model. The observer is an ex-
| aggerated CULVER among the Lilliputians
| in looking at model With one glance he
| sees what with the real strueture he might
| see only tTO1 dn 6aeVdtlOh HAIL d IHlic
away. Without moving a foot he gets
| what might be seen standing at the base
! of the structure. but because he can see
| so much from one point he looses the limi-
who can at one time see only from one
point Of view.
The STAR Process.
The staff process with which the country
| has been made familiar by the buildings
at the worlds fair offers a remarkable
opportunity for testing architectural plans
at cost which represents very insurance
| upon results. Congress. the public, and
| through the newspaper illustrations the
| public. could look at the Capitol thus en-
larged in staff. and make up its mind as 70
| the value OF the change. This would meet
| no more criticisms than the actual work in
| stone would eventually have, except that
| mistakes in staff could be corrected, while
| If the work were once completed in the old
fashioned way. 1t could never be undone,
except. perhaps, at enormous expense.
Carrere and Hastings. the architects. now
preparing the plans for the joint commits
| sion of the Senate and House. did this with
| section Of the Public Library on 9Th ave-
| nue.. New York. and. 1 believe, with the
| Sd tisfactory results. Here. I do not pro-
| pose section. but rather the construction
| in staff of the whole thing. SO that while
| this material lasts the Capitol would be
| virtually extended, although of course,
nothing would be done with the interior.
Without some such practical test in ad-
| vance of the real work. do not see how
| any one architect would ever dare to make
| himself responsible for a change in the
! east front of the Capitol"
Mr.. Woods Approves.
| Mr.. Woods said today that he heartily APP
! proved of Mr.. Games views with regard to
| the construction of the Capitol addition in
! staff. He doubted, however, whether Con-
gress would see the necessity for this after
| the plans themselves had been passed upon
| by the most distinguished architects in the
| country. Consideration of the subject, how
| ever, might very possibly, he thought, bring
| the joint congressional committee to a real
ization of the Importance of the work to be
| undertaken and the popular indignation and
odium that would follow the discovery that
| the alterations to the building, instead of
| constituting an improvement, had practi-
| cally ruined the magnificent structure, so
| far as it's beauty and structural dignity
| were concerned. In view of these facts it
| is not considered improbable that Congress
I will make the desired appropriation for the
| temporary work. That such an appropria-
| ton will be earnestly requested there is no
| doubt
The original proposition, to make the new
| portion of the Capitol in staff, did not, how
| ever, originate with Mr.. Games. The mem
bers of the firm of Carrere & Hastings were
In washington about month ago, and at
| that time advanced the plan to Mr.. Woods.
| They assured him that the construction of
| the library section in New York, referred
| to by Mr.. Games, had been entirely salts
factory, and they had no doubt that the
adoption of such plan in pursuing the
vastly more important work in connection
with the Capitol building would meet with
| universal approval. Mr.. Woods has been
thinking over the matter since that time.
and expressed considerable qualification that
| an architect of Mr.. Eames standing and
| experience should have made such de-
tailed statement of hisoviews in the matter
Tentative Plans Being Prepared.
Several sets of tentative plans of the pro-
posed Capitol alterations are now being
prepared One plan contemplates the ex-
tension of the middle wing of the building
forward distance Of eighteen feet, or
merely enough to give base to the dome
This particular alterations was contem-
plated at the time thes dome was built, but
was never carried out.i 1t is generally rec
ognized that this charge would add to the
structural unity of the Capitol. Another
plan proposes the extention of the middle
wing "a distance of thirty-two feet. which
would not only provide a base for the dome,
but allow of the construction of fifty addi-
tlnal rooms for the use of Congress while
| Still leaving wiu in