Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-02
NEW PRESS CLUB
TOBE READY SEPT. |.
LARGEST Office Structure in
Capital Now Nearing
Completion.

With the main structure of the
building now completed and the fin
fishing work rapidly under way, the
heavy scaffolding in front of the Ma
tional Press Club Building, at Four
teenth and T. streets, will be removed
during the coming week, revealing the
first unbroken view of the expansive
facades of Washington's largest pri-
vate office building. The building
will be completed by September /.
Standing Il stories high and cover
ing approximately an acre of land,
the National Press Building repre-
sents the greatest single private con-
struction project ever launched in the
District. The property, completed,
has been appraised by one firm as
having a valuation of approximately
$11,000,000./
Theater i'm Building.
The building houses a theater SCAT
ing 1000 persons which is larger than
any playhouse now in Washington or
in any city of the United States out
side of New York and Chicago. The
top floor, which rises only on the
Fourteenth and + street sides, as we'll
as portions of the thirteenth floor fac
by the National Press Club, whose
members were promoters of the build.
ing project. The total floor space of
the building amounts of 10000
square feet, exclusive of the club
quarters, the club auditorium and the
corridors. This space is divided into
SS7 rooms.
Designed as the home Of newspaper
correspondents, the building will be
occupied by a large number of pro-
fessional writers. At the present
time. according to a statement by the
management. more than $50 neWspa-
pers, magazines and other publica-
tons are represented in the building.
Illustrating the massive proportions
of the building, it has been estimated
that the amount of electricity which
will go into the building each day
would be sufficient to accommodate
the lighting needs of a city of popu-
lation of 10000.
Seven automatic "fool-proof" rapid
running elevators will serve the build
ing. They Will be banked in the
southwest corner of the building Open
ing on corridors running to both the
Fourteenth and T street entrances to
the building.
Fan VentilatOrs Installed.
To assure fresh air throughout the
building at all times, fan ventilators
have sven installed which will pro-
vide for the changing of 10000 cubic
feet Of air per minute.
BY means of a special safety device
on the 40-foot flag poles which will
be erected on the east and west ends
of the building, the need for the
services of intrepid steeplejacks in
painting the poles or adjusting pen
nants will be eliminated. The poles
will be Of the tipping" variety, the
first Of the kind to be erected in
Washington, and when an occasion
arises they can be tipped over and
laid on the roof of the building.
The theater, which has been leased
for 35 years by Fox Theaters, Inc,
occupies about one-third the total
space of the building. Work now is
in progress assembling a great pipe
organ in the theater which will be
composed of more than 1900 pipes.
1t will be the orchestral type as dis
tinguished from the church pipe or
gan.
Tuning Of the pipe organ will be the
last work done before the formal
opening of the theater early in Sep
TENDER. After every detail of deco
ration which might affect the acous-
tics Is finished, the organ will be
tuned.
The National Press Club plans to
move into its new quarters probably
about December /.