Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10

TNHE block in front OF the Capitol
where the Supreme Court Build
ing will be erected has had the
4 buildings on it demolished,
Only one has escaped and the
wreckerS will rae this one. The build
ing that has been left is the old Brick
Capitol where Congress met from 1915
to 1919. BY special arrangements its
time has been extended until after the
anniversary of the burning OF the
Capitol by the British, which made
necessary the emergency Capitol.
The site of the Supreme Court Build
ing was chosen by the late Chief Justice
Taft 1t was hoped that he would live
to lay the corner stone, and several
months before his death work was
rushed to have that hope realized. 1t
was Chief Justice Taft who did most
toward breaking down the opposition to
moving the Supreme Court from under
the dome of the Capitol into home of
its own.
Will Face Capitol.
For the location of the Court one Of
the most beautiful sites in the city has
been selected. 1t will be convenient to
/ the Capitol, the Library of Congress.
the Senate and House Office Buildings
and the Union Station, as we'll as being
encircled by two street car lines and on
the main thoroughfare that leads from
Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.
The Court building will face the Sen
ate wing of the Capitol, and will meas
ure 385 feet east and west and 304 feet
north and south. Corinthian style of
architecture has been chosen as most
fitting for the Nations Supreme Court,
and also because it will harmonic with
the Capitol and other buildings of this
81
for the building will be marked by dig
nifty and simplicity secured by fine pro-
portion and sparing use of appropriate
design.
A fitting setting for the buildings will
be terrace in keeping with the classic
design of the structure. Wide stone
steps, balusters, fountains and shrub
berry will harmonic in severe yet beau
tiful detail.
The Supreme Court room will occupy
the main axis of the plan in the central
a story above the terrace level. Its
Importance will be emphasized by its
height above surrounding rooms and
halls. The chamber will be about "a
feet square, measured from wall to wall,
and about 80 feet from the floor to the
ceiling, affording about so per cent
more floor space than that of the pres
ent room where the Supreme Court
meets, and 1t will accommodate about
800 attorneys and visitors.
The chamber will be lighted by win
dows on both sides opening between
colonnades to the courtyard, as we'll
as by artificial light. This natural
lighting will be so placed that it will
give a cross lighting, not facing either
the justices or the lawyers in the court.
The ventilation and acoustics of the
chamber will be as perfect as modern
science can make them.
Library on Second Floor.
The central portion of the structure
on the east side will be four stories
high above the terrace, and will be
only three stories high on the west
front, making possible a continuous
roof line. The rectangular building
will inclose four open courts. The
main floor, besides containing the
Supreme Court room, will have rooms
for each of the justices, conference
rooms, robing room, a private lunch
room with kitchen adjoining, offices
for the press, the Attorney General
and the Solicitor General.
The second floor will contain libraf-
les, stock rooms, manuscript divisions,
document storage rooms, special read
ing rooms and working space for
librarians. The third floor will consist
only of the upper part of the central
section of the building. In this sec
ton will be placed a large reading
room with open shelves and a stack
room with a special law library accom-
modating approximately $4,000 vol
umes. Here will also be placed cata-
loguing rooms and offices for assistant
librarians.
The ground floor will contain filing
rooms, stack rooms, storage rooms for
records and archives, quarters for mes
sengers, porters, electricians, telephone
and telegraph operators and custodians