Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-21
CHICAGo,s NEW COURT HOUSE.
Some Facts About the Building Rising
on the site of the Old.

on tnG SNNC u tht OAh"
with ceremonies BETTING the event the
cornerstone of the fifth court house built
by Cook county in Chicago will be laid by
Vice President Fairbanks this afternoon.
The new building is rising on the site of
the old at Washington and Clark streets.
The claim is made that it will be the
largest court house In the world and the
first one In this country designed as an
office building especially to meet the re-
quirements of the county government.
Hitherto the city and county government
occupied Jointly the building on Clark
street erected after the great fire of 1871.
and regarded in its day a splendid monu-
ment to the new Chicago But 1t outlived
Its usefulness long ago Two years ago
the county decided on new modern build
ing. The county's half of the joint court
house was torn down and the new one
started. leaving the city's half of the old
building to serve as a darkened background
for the modern structure.
Instead OF the usual public building with
domes and porticos the new court house is
arranged to Mt exterior elevations 1t is
dignifed in design impressive in proper
lions, classic in composition and will cost
with furnishings s5,00O,0Oo.
area OF fourteen acres and one mile Of cor
ridor space. The floor space of the old
building was FIVE acres, The Offices of the
county collector and recorder alone will
have 10000 square feet OF floor space. or
10000 each. There will be eleven stories,
with Easements and sub-basements in ad-
dition. The lowest floor. where the boilers
will rest, will be thirty-elght feet below
street level, and the highest point of the
roof will be 21s feet above ground. The
boiler stack will be feet inches in
diameter and 275 feet and inches long. 1t
will weigh seventy-fve tons.
The general design of the building will
be on the lines of giant letter "E." There
will be two large courts to the west. The
long side Of the "E" will be on Clark street
and the ends on Randolph and Washington
streets. The center part OF the steel and
granite letter will contain the elevators,
stairs, main foyer and in brief will be the
great artery Of ingress and exit. The cor
ridors will run north and south in the main
section and east and west in the wings.
The rooms and halls are to be light and
airy. The area OF glass is to be unusually
large-greater, indeed. than that in most
of the downtown office buildings
The three double doors IN the main en-
trance will be separated one from the
other by piers. At the right and left of
the entrance and between the doors are
to be four carved, figured panels in high
relief. the work of Herman A. MacNeil,
sculptor, OF New York and Bell and Her
mant. Chicago sculptors. Justice" will
be depicted In the panel at the right OF the
entrance. and at the left will be great
panel symbolizing Law" On a shield
between the figures will be carved the senl
of Cook county. Two panels are to be
over the piers between the doors and one
will represent Labor on Land" and the
second Labor on Sea."
The three main doorways will be twenty
feet high and twelve feet six inches In
width. There also are TO be entrances on
Washington and Randolph streets, but the
Clark street approach and lobby will be the
most pretentious. The caller. as he goes
into the building from Clark street. will
find. himself In an immense vestIbule
finished in marble and bronze, with mar
bic and stone paneled floor and curved cell
ing OF ornamental glass and bronze The