Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-27
NEW NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WILL BE OPENED THURSDAY
Most Colossal of All Non-Government
Structures in Capital to Stand as Monu-
ment to Enterprise ofNewspaper Men.

at the east end of the + street side
has been given the richest architec
! tural treatment, with it's grand niche
and heavy marquise. This niche runs
So feet high. starting at the second
| story level and is 26 feet wide and 10
feet decp. Within this great recess
are two Corinthian f1uted columns sup
norting an ornamental frieZe which
! bridges the opening. Superimposeo
unon this ornamental Intel is large
cartouche, and on the face of the key.
! stone of the arch is found the expected
masque.
Lobby Is Large.
The entrance to the theater leads
/ into a grand lobby of considerable pro
| portions The entrance is at the meZ'
| canine level and grand StalrWayS lead
! down into the main floor lobby and
| other stairs up to the balcony. There
are no columns or other supports
| blocking vision OF the stage from the
| balcony and from its topmost seat,
| at the level of the seventh story of
| the Press Building. down 10 the or
| cheStra pit. which is on the basement
| level, a drop of eight stories.
The Press Building occupies plot
almost one acre in size. Comparative
! statistics regarding large construction
projects additionally have proved in
| teresting to the reading public. Here
are some facts about this structure:
1t has required 1900 freight ears to
| haul the material to the building, in
the construction of which 3.o0O.0O0
bricks were used. This number or
bricks, il is estimated, would be sutti-
A-cient to build 81 dwellings, which
| would, placed in rows, stretch over
about eight city blocks.
The building contains more than
5000, 900 cubic feet of space and
weighs 5000 tons. 1t will hold
four times its weight, or 100000 tons.
The amount of concrete used would
pave Is miles of road 16 feet wide.
The building contains more than two
miles of corridor and five miles. of
electric wiring. There are 81 steel
columns, each so feet long, totaling
about a mile and quarter in length,
and 100 concrete columns, each 140
feet long, which weigh from 800 to
500 tons each.
Electricity used daily will be suffi-
cient to light the homes of a city of
approximately 10000 people.
Secretarial Telephone.
There are 1900 windows in the
building and if these were laid side
by side they would cover approx
mately an acre of ground. The seven
elevators in the building are said to
be capable of serving about $4,000
persons daily.
Designed primarily as the home
of Washington newspaper CORE
spondents' offices, the National Press
Building when it opens, according to
reports by officials of the organiZa-
ton, will house approximately lis
newspaper representatives.
A secretarial telephone service is
an unusual feature of the structure.
Arrangements have been made for
the maintenance of n large telephone
operators force and when occupants
of the building leave their offices they
can. by throwing a switch on their
phones, direct all incoming telephone
calls to this room where operators
will act as secretaries during their
absence.
The Press Club quarters of the
building are on the thirteenth and
fourteenth floors of the building OH
the F and Fourteenth street sides. in
which there has been provided an
auditorium with a seating capacity of
about 800 and which is fitted with
stage and balcony. There is also a
commodious lounge with fireplace and
a womans lounge and club quarters,
together with kitchen and dining