The Washington herald., 1910-07-07

GEN. S. B.
Of the Board Of Commissioners when the
building was erected
Buildings White Marble.
Most of the buildings of the home are
Of white MARBLE all Of the quarters for
the officers Of the home are. and so is
the principal building for inmates. II is
a stately and beautiful structure, begun
in 1852 and finished in 1891. It is OF
Norman-Gothic design. with q tall clock
tower, that stands up boldly above the
tree tops and can be seen from a great
distance. In this building is the mess
hall, the kitchens. billiard rooms. and
the library. Right back of this building
is Stanley Hall. the private theater
where during the seasons theatrical
shows are given for the benefit Of the
inmates-all without cost 10 them.
But the principal building, paradox
ically. is the principal building no longer
for there has just been completed. at a
cost OF considerably more than 100000,
new structure of great beauty and
utility. It is not yet named. but If
precedent IS followed it will probably be
named in nlSm0ry Of Gen. Hawkins. the
late governor of the home.
The new building will be finished within
six or seven days, and then the home
more inmates than it has now. IN all
Washington there is no hotel so thor
oughly equipped as the new building Of
the Soldiers Home In design. outward
ly, II is not unlike the new Municipal
Building but it is even more beautiful
than that It is Of pure white marble
and bronze. At the front are highly pol
ished Italian marble pillars; at the en-
trance way the marble is the Vermont
variety, and in the big mess hall. where
1000 men can be seated for dinner, the
frieze is of Tennessee marble The kitch-
ems are Garganturian. Here eggs are
boiled or fried by hundred: a modern
bake shop turns out 500 loaves of bread
a day, beside cakes and puddings. When
eggs are TO be beaten 10 make a dish
the work is done by an electric g-beater
that whips 200 of them into shape at once.
The building has its own cooling plant
and electric lighting plant; elevators,
fans. and everything necessary for com
forts
Have Comfortable Home
Three upper floors are the dormitories
where a thousand men may sleep. Hard
wood floors throughout each window
screened; each room provided with a fan:
the room are. restful and inviting. Each
man has a separate locker for his clothes;
table by his bedside; his own chair,
The beds are white enameled iron. with
wire springs. And when it comes to bath
rooms-on each floor there are two sets,
all in the latest design OF modern plumb
ing-hip baths, shower baths. ordinary
baths-so multitudinous that they seem
to invite. if not to insist. on cleanliness.
And from these upper windows the view in
every direction is sheer delight. for the
Soldiers Home Is set, as it were, on
hill, and in the valley far beneath. set
of against the delicate background of the
blue hills beyond, lies Washington. the
fair; the tall shaft OF its Monument
prominent, but not more so than the
stately dome of the Capitol, Indian
crowned. which, from this distance, looks
all the more majestic, The men are to
move into the new building within a few
days.
Life out at the Soldiers Home is very
beautiful. 1t is so restful and peaceful
in every way. And it is not enjoyed only
by the old soldiers by any means Among
its other equipment the Soldiers Home
has an excellent band, which plays most
fine afternoons an elaborate and high
class programme. From nearabouts the
people flock in and gather about the
band stand. Petworth citizens particu-
iarly are much in evidence, though many
people come from away down town. The
air Of restfulness and peace is empha-
sized out here. too, by the delightful con-
trasts. About the grounds and elsewhere
are many old guns with the cobweb
woven about the lannon's throat" and
near by neat little piles of those cannon
balls that have bowled their last death
dance. The trees about the place are Of
great variety of both native and foreign
species, and they are all we'll kept and
trim, and just at this time Of year show
all their bravery Of beautiful green. The
birds know and love the place. and in
the shadows OF the naples. where the
grass is freshly trimmed, you can see
on the lawns countless robins and the
English thrush, many blackbirds, while
in the branches of the shrubbery you
can catch the brilliant plumage of the
oriole and cardinal, and when the band
pauses hear the liquid notes Of the gros-
beak or the steady tapping OF the wood
peeker. And the place is rife with squir-
rels far tanner than any in the other city
parks. They have little or no fear of the
veterans who doze their days away upon
the benches, but impudently seamper up
their legs and sit In the laps OF the old