Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-06

by one of the most stunnir panoramas
imaginable. he gathered by invitation a Sc
leCt company to whom he has endeared
himself both as a neighbor and as a great
scientific man. They came in country
wagons and carriages, driving, some OF
them, scores of miles across the hills to
see close by the tetrahedral tower whose
growth they had watched day by day from
a distance. Hitching their teams to the
fence posts they gathered beneath the fiut-
tering flags of Canada and the United
States which decorated the tripod structure,
and listened; bareheaded, to Mr.. Bell as
he stood with his tall form outlined against
the background of sea and land. and told
them how the idea of the tower originated
as an outgrow:h OF his search for the light
est, strongest possible construct ion for his
kites. He told them how. after trying all
sorts of forms over which to stretch the
silk. he hit upon the tetrahedron, a figure
composed of four equal triang.es. and
how, when he found the surprising @trength
of the delicate wooden cells composing the
kites and the ease with which they could
be combined into any form of structure,
the question arose in his mind of what
would happen If one used strong material.
Tower Is Built.
A lookout tower was needed Why not
make it of iron tetrahedrons?" The idea
seemed feasible, SO, associating with him
a young engineer Mr.. r. W. Baldwin of
Toronto, Mr.. Bel turned the matter over to
him. saying. we want a lookout tower
on the top of the mountain. Take ho.d of
this engineering prObl IN, ! must go on with
my kite experiments.
How Well he succeeded this tower attests.
Mr.. Baldwin gave a brief description of
the unique character of the tower and
then formally turned it over to Mr.. Bell
by giving him The key to the stairway which
leads to the platform at its apex.
bronze tablet bearing the inscription
1907
The Outlook Tower of Benin Bhreash.
The First Iron Structure Built OF Terahedral Cells
T. W. Baldwin Engineer.
was then unveiled by Melville Bell Grosve-
nor, Mr.. Bells Oldest little grandchild, who
also unlocked the staircase door and invited
the guests to Please come up
Is Immensely Strong.
The tower is truly unique in appearance;
a giant widespread tripod with triangular
legs built up of tetrahedral cells formed OF
triangles of half-inch iron pipe. fastened
together by triangular cornerpieces-in fact
everything about 1t is triangular.
II rises eighty feet perpeadicuarly above
the ground. but the wide-spreading sup
ports are eightyfour feet long, and they
span eighty-four feet OF ground. i weighs
less than five tons and, according to the
estimates of Mr. Baldwin IL viii carry with
sa Tety a weight of 5000 pounds and it
was erected entirely without scafolding or
false work.
But as the unique features of the tower
lie even more in the methods of its con-
struction and erection than In its appear
anCe when completed. the guests were in
vted TO an exposition of models and a
stereopticon lecture III the general meeting
room of the estate. Mr.. Bell explained the
principles of the tetrahedron, and showed
by actual trial that eight tetrahedral cells
made OF pine sticks twenty-five cent?
meters long. and so fragile that they could
be snapped easily between the fingers
could support the heaviest man in the audi
ence, who weighed over two hundred
pounds. He exhibited a new kite structure
composed of over one thousand, three hun
dred cells, part of a forty-foot kite now be-
ing made with manhole through it in
which il is proposed to place man and
an engine. The feeling is irresistible as
one looks at this great complex of cells
to talk from city TO city, that they are the
eements-the briCks-out OF which will be
built up the great aerodromes of the future.
But the audience had come to hear how
the tetrahedral tower had been constructed
and what was to be expected from the de-
velopment of the tetrahedral idea In steel
and iron construction, and so Mr.. Baldwin
reviewed the building of the tower by
means of lantern slides.
Many Advantages.
One of the chief objects of this tower is
TO demonstrate that large structures can
be economically built by this new unit
method of tetrahedrons and to attract the