The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-06-11
WASHINGTON LETTER
rspeciai correspondence.1

from a national as well as local view
point With the library and the office
buildings for the senate and house OF
representatives the area known as the
capitol grounds is incIosed by marble
walls, with the exception of that por-
East Capitol and B streets, northeast
3oubtless at no distant day the gov
eminent will take the squares first
named as the site of a temple Of jus
tice for the accommodation of the SUI
preme court of the United States
Historic Ground.
Should a building be erected there
for the highest judicial body it would
be peculiarly appropriate, for after the
burning of the capitol In 1914 the head
Of the judicial system sat for a number
of years in the building at First and A
streets. The quarters mentioned were
thus occupied from 1916 to 1920. The
old circuit court of the District was
also in this building from 1916 to 1926.
when quarters were provided In the
city hall for the local court, together
with offices for the clerk, the marshal
and other officials
During the civil war it became, under
the name of the old capitol prison, a
noted place, and here not a. few execu-
tons, some by gallows, others by
shooting, occurred. Captain WirZ OF
Andersonville was hanged there. All
4,.-1 ~ Cd ond
instead is block of fine residences,
in one of which the late Justice Field
long resided.
The New Railway Station.
Washington's new Union station,
erected Jointly by the Pennsylvania
and the Baltimore and Ohio under GER
tain concessions granted by the gov
eminent, Is now more than three
fourths completed, and Baltimore and
Ohio trains will run into the new struc-
ture within a short time. ARCHITECTURE
ally the building will be one of the
most magnificent In the city. Its di-
mansions are truly stupendous Alto
gether 16O acres will be occupied by
the new terminal facilities. The north
approach includes a train yard of thir-
ty-three tracks, power plant, express
building, coach yard having capacity
for about 75o cars, engine and repair
yards, with engine house and shop ia
cilities.
Finest Building of Its Kind.
The tunnel under Capitol hill is the
feature of the south approach. The
station site when the work began was
on ground less than twenty-five feet
above the tide of the Potomac. More
than 100000 cubic yards of material
were excavated and deposited to trans
form 1t into an eminence nearly sixty
feet above tide, with gently sloping ap-
proaches. If this material were depos-
tied on an average size city block 1t
would form shaft higher than the
Washington monument. To move all
this material would require about co.
900 standard gauge commercial cars,
which, If coupled together in a single
line, would extend 600 miles, a greater
distance than from Washington to Co
lumbus.
The general waiting room of the new
depot will of itself cover 100 by 220
feet, or two-thirds Of an acre, a greater
area than is occupied by the average
city station The roundhouse, shops
and engine yards will cover fifty-f1ve
acres, the coach yard sixty acres, the
train yard thirty-one acres, the station
proper and a portion of the plaza nine
acres.
Professional opinion has it that 1t
will be the most beautiful station
building in the world.
A Remarkable Structure.
Within few weeks the Connecticut
avenue bridge will be completed and
opened to the public. In fact, there re-
mains unfinished little more than the
decoration of the bridge. The bridge
itself is remarkable structure.
1t is 1.421 feet long, SO feet wide
and consists of FIVE 150-foot arches
and two 82-foot arches. 1t is built Of
unreenforced concrete throughout. The
stone for the concrete work was taken
from quarry about 400 feet from the
site of the bridge, which saved a haul
of $4,000 cubic yards of stone.
Largest Concrete Bridge.
This is the largest concrete bridge in
the world and is unique, in that it is
aot REINFORCED with steel. The bridge
Is apparently trimmed with granite.
These trimmings are made of concrete,
cast in blocks on the ground, and in
stead of using sand for the mortar
stone dust was used, which, when
dressed down, gives an appearance of
granite, The main false work of the
structure, which consisted mostly OF
Georgia pine lumber, cost the District
$4,000 1t required 100000 board
feet of lumber for this work alone. 1t
Is probable that the entire amount of
lumber required to complete the bridge
was in the neighborhood of 100000
board feet
Street Signs.
The commissioners will not be able
to erect signs on the public thorough
fares throughout the city as contem-
plated because of lack of an appropri-
alton. They have appreciated the ne
cessity of such signs as "drive slow"
keep to the right" walk your
horses" etc, particularly so when q
pedestrian meets with an accident due
to careless driving. Several months
ago at the suggestion, Of the superin
tendent of police they asked for sam
pies of signs of various shapes and
sizes. and the Superintendent of police