The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-08-06
JUSTICE MCCLELLAN PRESENTS SUPREME COURT
SIDE OF THE CAPITOL EXTENSION CONTROVERSY

the buildings not only in fiat lines, but
also in lights and shadows, and by figures,
and foreground and background and sky
and other illustrative accessories. But
my views, themselves perhaps the product
of my ignorance, were not concurred in
by the executive officers. They or some
of them, and one of them especially said
In effect that ornamental or ornamented
drawings, with lights and shadows. etc.
and drawings in fact but those of the
plain fiat line character, could be made
vary beautiful by architects, very Sc
ductive and deceptive, and that instead
OF helping to correct conclusion upon
real merits. they were calculated to cover
defects which fiat lines could not and
to mislead and deceive the Judgment.
Upon these considerations, the executive
officers were led to adopt the rules I
have quoted, excluding from considera-
ton all but plain fat line drawings.
The executive officers having settled
these and all other material terms of the
programme of competition. at this meet
ing of May 4, requested DR.. Owen and
myself. to reduce the programme to writ
ing. This we did. and on May presented
the formal written programme drawn in
strict accordance with their views. The
writing was read over to them in full.
and they unanimously adopted it. The
whole of Il in every material sense was
tho work OF the executive officers. Not
one Judge voted on single one of its
provisions.
Upon this programme. its rules and sug-
gostions the architects were required
and supposed to prepare their plans.
Seven sets of plans were prepared and
submitted to the commission composed
OF the judges and the executive officers.
In passing upon them the two great OBJ
jects to be attained were. first. the erec-
tion of a building-the only building in
tended to be erected at this Unexplained
and contrived to conserve in the highest
degree possible the work of the supreme
court Of its judges and officers, and OF
the lawyers of the state and for the
housing and protection of the library, and
its convenient use by the court, the
judges the bar and the people, and. sec
ond to give to the building, taken In
connection with the proposed future north
wing, such exterior lines, proportions and
dimensions, and such connections with
the present building, as should In the
first leave the present capitol to dominate
the whole and yet lose none of its arch
itecturai individuality or beauty. nor ne
cesstate any change in its structure
except possibly by charging It's DOME"
and. in the second place, to give to the
whole mass of buildings such correctness
of lines and proportions as would, with
| out impinging upon the architectural iden-
tity and individual symmetry and beauty
of the present building, present satisfy
ing and pleasing perspective.
In this statement of the problems before
us, I have advsedly given first place to
considerations going to the utility of the
proposed structure; and In so doing
follow at once established principles of
architecture and the dictates of common
sense. Nor am l actuated to this by any
| necessary to Justify exterior faults In the
plan we have adopted by reference to
| interior requirements, for their is no such
| necessity. To the contrary, | shall en-
deavor to show that both exterlorly and
interiorly and as well from the viewpoint
of beauty as from the adaptation to its
uses. the structure we propose thorough
ly meets and secures the objects and
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Continued on Nineteenth PaQel