Evening star., 1936-07-12
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
West Terrace
of the Capitol.
Half q century ago work was in prog.
ress in the construction of the masonry

feSS IN the construction OF the masonry
terrace on the west
west Terrace front of the Capitol.
of the Capitol The II ,su sundry as.,c civil bill
ried provision for continuing this project.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations
struck out this provision in order that
the plans might be changed to provide
windows on the west front of the ter
race wall to light and ventilate the rooms
then proposed to be included in the
construction. The Star of July II. 1886,
prints letter written to Senator Allison,
chairman of the Appropriations Commit
tee, by Mr.. Frederick Law Olmsted,
the landscape architect who made the
original plans for the terrace. protesting
the change. Mr.. Olmsted said with ref
erence to the terrace:
'Tt must not be supposed that this
has been designed with the slightest idea
of amending the original design of the
building. It has not been intended to
make a more important feature of the
cellar part of the building, to bring it
out of the ground or to light it. What
then was the object Of the terrace? The
answer may be given in this way: Here Is
a great and costly building, the greater
part of the cost of which has been di-
rected to the purpose of producing
certain impression on the minds of those
looking toward it. an impression that
should be associated with ideas Of the
strength and majesty of great Nation.
There Is nothing more necessary to a
successful realization of such a purpose
in the building than that 1t should seem
to stand firmly. that its base should seem
to be immovable. There is difficulty in
making as strong an impression in this
respect as is desirable when an extraor-
dinarily massive structure Is placed, as
in the case of the Capitol, hanging upon
the brow of a hill. The object of the
terrace was to more effectually over
come this difficulty. 1t was proposed to
be accomplished by setting strong wall
into the face of the hill in front of the
foundations of the building, that is to
say, ir front of its cellar walls Such an
outer wall it was calculated. would have
the effect upon the eye of dam holding
back whatever on its upper side looked
liable to settle toward the downhill side.
Every dollar thus far spent on the ter
race and on the grounds in connection
with it has been spent on the supposition
that this calculation was soundly made.
II it was soundly made, then it will ap-
pear that the opening Of holes in this
wall would leave the same effect as the
opening of holes in a dam. 1t would
make the building behind it look less
secure in its foundations, less firmly
based on the downhill side.
with reference to the incidental pur-
pose" (of giving light to spaces within
the proposed walD "and more especially
to the requirement of additional COM
mittee rooms. the Committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds was asked to say
how many additional well-lighted and
ventilated rooms were desirable. The
answer was that twenty would be enough.
As the plan stands now, twenty EIGHT
rooms are provided for. Their average
area is IS by IS feet. Each has at least
one window opening upon the area and
the smallest Of these windows measures
by IL feet. There is large door op-
posite the window of each room opening
from q spacious corridor through which
q thorough draft can be carried. The
rooms will be large, lofty, airy and well
lighted"
The terrace wall was built in ac-
cordance with the original plans.