The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-02-16
New Structure Erected to Pro-
vide Proper Office Facilities
for Department.
"BUILT FROM INSIDE OUT,
Lines Beautiful Without Outside
Decorations Being Impedi-
ment to Workers.

1t is the biggest building In Wash
ington, except the Capitol, and II 10
regarded as one of the most artistic,
from the standpoint of modern con-
struction ideas, but the bureau chiefs
who are at work In 1t point with es-
pectal pride to the fact that ''its was
built from the inside out"
Never heard of putting ND a build
ing from the "outside inT" Just the
same, 1t IL claimed, that is the favor
lite architectural method in Wash
ington's public buildings. 1t Is ex-
emplified, architects state. In the
Treasury, beautiful to look at be-
cause Of the great columns, but these
columns cut off the light. There In
the State, War and Navy building. cut
up by protruding windows, and adorn-
ed by many angles. Or the Smith
sonian building, one OF the finest
specimens OF Gothic architecture In
the Capital. but poorly adapted within
for the work to be done there.
Contains Auditorium
The new Interior Department
building, to be finished May i. occupy
ing the block bound by Z. F., Eight
zenith and Nineteenth streets. Is 401
feet 10 inches long, and 800 feet 2
inches wide; Is z shaped, like the
Munsey building: Is six stories high.
on + street, with q ground floor and
q basement below, has a library in
one Of its open courts and an audi
torium In another seating 319 persons.
But the novel part about 1t, officials
state, is that 1t has been built with
view to having each portion of the
building adapted to the bureau which
Is to occupy that section. Owing to
the size Of the building a new method
has been followed In arranging the
bureaus. They have been distributed
vertically" instead of horizontal
ly," that is, instead of each bureau
occupying floor, each one occupies
a vertical section This was done
because the size Of the building, with
its half a million square feet Of Of
flee room. makes each OF the bureaus
more easy of access by use OF the
eleven elevators than by travelling
about the long corridors.
Properly Planned.
The program OF putting up a struc-
ture '.from the inside out" was begun
when Congress provided that the Of
fice OF the municipal architect Of the
Treasury should cooperate with the
Secretary of the Interior, the director
OF the Geological Survey, and other
Interior Department officials, in
planning the building. Later, q build
ing committee was formed, with
George Otis Smith, director Of the
survey, as its chairman, and this COM
mittee included a representative Of
every office and bureau which will be
housed there In the building will be
the office of the Secretary, on the top
floor, the Geological Survey, the In
dian Office, the Land Office. the
Bureau of Mines, the Reclamation
Service, and the Bureau OF National
Parks.
The next step was taken by the
committee in deciding upon a room
unit" This standardized the size of
the rooms, and the unit measurement
was IA by 20 feet. This does not
mean that there are not many rooms
larger and q few smaller than this,
but these other rooms are in proper
ton to this unit size. Windows were
placed in reference to the rooms, in
stead Of the old method OF adjusting
ably no other building in Washington
except the new Bureau OF Engraving
and Printing has so large q proper
tion OF window space.
HaS Architectural Beauty.
Getting finally to the outside, beau
ty Of architecture was not neglected.
and the structure has the approval of
the Fine Arts Commission Though
1t has all the features OF a great Of
fee building, adapted primarily to the
uses to which 1t is to be put, the
structure also possesses, architects
say, the distinctive characteristics of
q public building. Its surface 10 In
diana limestone.
One other public building record
has been chalked up by the structure.
Its erection was authorized March 4,
1913, ground was broken in the sum-
mer of 1915, and we have with us,
May 1, all ready for occupancy, one
Of Washington's finest, largest, and
most commodious public buildingsI
There are three wings facing on F
street, an entrance on each Of the three
wings facing on 4 street, and private
entrance, for the use OF the Secretary
Of the Interior, on Eighteenth street.
near L street.
Floors and corridors of the first story
on the F street front will be of marble.
Other corridors and floors will be ce-
ment. Six inclosed stairways are pro-
vided. OF the eleven elevators eight are
passenger and three are combination
freight and passenger.
The offices Of the Secretary will be in
the east wing Of the fifth and sixth
stories and part Of the ground floor. The
First Assistant Secretary will be at the
north end Of the sameF floor.
To House Library.
The Geological Survey will be in the
center wing. OF the entire building. Its
10000 scientific volumes. and the scienti-
M -.
in the three-story library In the west
court. The survey has the biggest map
making establishment in the world, and
this will be provided for in large, we'll
lighted rooms, with every modern eQui-
ment for the work.
On the sixth floor Of the wing on Nine
teenth street will be the Reclamation
Service. On the seventh floor OF the
same wing will be located the Land
Office.
The Indian Bureau will be in the
Eighteenth street wing on the third
and fourth floors. The Bureau of
Mines will be on the second, first, and
part of the ground floor OF the same
wing.
The auditorium is for meetings in
with the work OF the de-
partment The Interior Department
is unique in that most of its offices
have a large force OF field workers,
and the big building will be the head
quarters for hundreds of experts who