The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-02-23
New YOrk's Massive Custom Build
ing Finest in World
CONSTRUCTED OF THE FINEST GRANITE
LIsHED BY scULPToRs, ART
lists AND ARCHITECTS.

NEW YORK, Feb. 23.-Uncle Sans
$5000,0 900 custom house, overlooking
New York harbor, will soon be COM
pleted. In this granite palace of the
Italian renaissance, lavishly carved
and embellished by sculptor. artist and
architect, national tolls of something
like s20O,OOO,000 a year will be collect
ed on American commerce. THE fin
est carved granite building in the
world" was the verdict of an eminent
French architect, after he had inspect
ed the imposing facades, stretching
nearly two hundred feet along Bowl
ing Green, and reaching $50 feet in
depth
The exterior walls are built of mas
sive granite blocks backed by several
feet Of brick work and two inches Of
fire-proof terra Gotta, making a will
nine feet thick. In the center of the
building is a covered court, with it's
highly ornamented dome surrounded
by colonades rising to the height of
four stories.
Inside the building two rows of
heavy steel columns run around the en-
tire structure, thirty feet back from
the outer walls. One end of the grid
ers carrying the floors rests upon these
columns and the other end is embedded
in the masonry WALL In this day OF
fire-proof at all, the architects gave
special attention to the form Of con-
struction. 1t was felt that a building
of such Importance should be absolute
ly unburnable. The result Of this spe-
cial study was a decision to fireproof
the entire building with hollow tile
blocks which in their manufacture had
been subjected to a temperature Of 5000
degrees for several weeks. The aver
age building fire develops about 1909
degrees Of heat, SO it can be seen that
there is considerable margin of safe
ty here. Over windows and cornices,
where the architectural effect required
it, especially designed terra Gotta
blocks are placed. All the partitions,
inner wall Innings, and the mansard
roof are constructed of hollow tile
blocks, and the steel frame work is
completely incased in porous terra cot
ia. The partitions are of the same
! material.
From the subcellar, 80 feet below
the street, to the top floor run two fire
| proof starcases, constructed on the
| Gustavino arch system OF marble sup
ported by heavy slabs Of tile.
| In the colonades running around the
building there are A Corinthian COL
umns of Fox Island granite, fifty feet
higt and over five feet in diameter.
Special machinery had to be designed
| to quarry these huge masses Of stone.
Marbles of various hues, iron grill
work. and bronze are used in different
rooms, staircases and corridors.
J Sculptured groups of heroic proper
| tons are placed at the several en-
frances. On the battery side stand
America" and Europe asia" and
Africa" guard the State and White
hall entrances. These groups are the
work of Daniel Chester French. and
represent an outlay by the government
of $4,000 for the sculptor's services
| alone. Twelve figures carved from
| the sixth story. These represent the
great maritime nations Of the past, and
are the work of ST. Gaudens, Elwell
| and other famous sculptors. The man.
| moth group over the main entrance
| typifying the nation, is by Carl Bit
ter.
In some ways not even the finest of
| the government buildings at Washing
| ton can compare with the New York
custom house. Architects prophesy
that long after many of the WeshIng- |
ton buildings have crumbled or burned
up the custom house will stand as a |
monument to the indestructibilty of
the Unprotected steel structure, de-
veloped in perfection too late to be we'll
| represented among the older govern
| ment buildings of the nation.
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM.