El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-22
PRESIDENT TAFT
DELEGATES LIBRARY
New York Public Library Is
Masterpiece of Archi-
lecture

lecture.
New York. n. Y. May 22.-The New
York public library, the largest, the
most costly. and one of the most beau
tiful buildings designed for its spe-
cific uses in the world, will be dedi-
Gated to the instruction and the con-
venience of the public on Wednesday
Of this week by president Taft, gov
ernor Dix. mayor Gaynor, and dis
tinguished representation OF the cul-
ture Of the entire nation 1t holds
shelf room for 100000 volumes; it
has floor space of $4,000 feet, as
against $4,000 feet in the Congress
sionaI library at Washington, and it
has cost for erection more than $10,-
OOO. 600, 4 figure which. when all de-
tails have been attended to, may
raise to So, 900, 600. The land on which
It stands-fronting two blocks on Fifth
avenue. between 10th and 42nd street
was valued at $20.000,000
Three foundations. originating in
private beneficence, merge IN the
present public foundation-the Astor
library. incorporated in 1S49; the Len
OK library, incorporated in 1870, asd
the Tilden trust, incorporated in 1887.
The city, empowered By special act OF
legislature. gave the land and betrayed
the cost Of erection Carrere and Hast.
ings were the architects. John Car
rere, one of the moving spirits in the
American renaissance OF the present
generation. was run down by taxicab
and died before he could see his great
est work established as part of the
life Of the community.
Nine years ago next November the
cornerstone was laid by mayor Seth
Low Since then criticism has been
abundant. not always well informed
and often conflicting. In great meas
ure the public has been hampered in
any true appreciation of the building
as whole by the fragmentary and
ragged state OF its approaches. Said
John w Alexander, the painter The
public library reminds me Of beauti-
full woman who hasn't kept her finger
nails clean" All that has now been
done away with The approaches have
been cleared ard the building stands
free to the public gaze, as the archi-
tects planned
TIE dimensions of the building are
Imposing in themselves, but much
as has been written about 1t there is
sinEularly little authoritative critical
comment on its architectural merits or
defects. In exterior dignity. general
opinion holds il nobly adequate. For
interior spaeiousness and unity. 1t is
felt. perbaps TO fall below the Boston
4
beauty. but to exceed any other build
ing of its nature in the world for COM
biI1ed beauty and utility. In general
the style is blend of the Italian and
French Renaissance. and GustaVe
Kobbe has characterized this blend as
Thoroughly harmcnized and made con-
gfuous. not merely conglomerate Ihe
result" he says, sis artistic and olg-
nified."
r,1- f1~a1x- n
marble. Very little Of anything else
has been used inside or out, although
c9Iored marbles both native and for
eign. soft limestone and WOODWORK
have been freely employed as-decora-
tf<e accessories The library stands (
$50 feet long on Fifth avenue, and 2fo |
feet deep Omitting the two interior |
courtyards. carved out of the main
block for light and air. it covers su-
perficial area OF 1I5, GOO square feet.
and has a floor space of $4,000 square /
feet 1t took 500 600 tons of white /
Vermont marble to build it. not count /
ing 10000 cubic feet rejected BECAUSE /
of flaws All the marble was exposed /
TO the elements for a year or more to /
test its qualities of endurance When |
the builder took the contract he bought /
the quarry outright, rooted it over and l
worked it night and day, summer and |
winter
The main entrance opens from Fifth |
avenue upon the rotunda, a room
which, though impressive in its pu-
rity Of outline and dignified simplici-
ty, disappoints some critics as lacking
in spaciousness for the Introductory TO I
q structure of such huge proportions
The architects, on the contrary. felt
the room adequate in itself and every
where bore in mind the needs of liv-
ing organism. They kept the hallway
and corridors severe and simple They
laid the floors in marble and thing TO
withstand the tread OF generations.
They decorated the ceilings richly, but
they made no contracts for mural
paintings. conspicuous contrast from
the example of the Boston and the
Congressional Libraries.
But the browning glory of the edi-f
flee is the great reading room. the
largest in the world. on the top floor
at the rear, surrounding the stock
room. It runs 295 feet in length, n
feet in width and stands so feet high
with ceilings painted 70 stimulate the
cloud-drifted sky. Bisecting it is a
double reed-screen. 81 feet wide and
divided into arches. the purpose of /
which is to serve the delivery staff, to
each member of which one of the arch
es is apportioned. Gustave Kobbe has
described this screen in part as fol-
lows:
Elegant in proportion, simple and
dignified in design. with beautiful
carved Corinthian columns and grace
fully arci1ed doors, it carries the be-
holder back to the old English abbeys |
The material is quartered American
oak"
Woodwork plays a conspicuous part |
in the color scheme Of the whole build
ing. It blends with the marbles and :
the mosaics and reflects the tone of
the gorgeous ceilings. Nearly half a
million square feet of Circassian wal
nut. French walnut and Indiana oak
have been used. but the proportion of
native to foreign wood is as five to !
one
i
PARSONS MAN CATCHES TWO