Evening star., 1937-03-02
A|R-C0ND|T|ON|NG
WORK AT CAPITOL
WILL BEGIN SOON
Contracts Awarded for I'M
provements-TotaI Ex.
pense 100000.
DIFFICULTIES OF COST
FINALLY SURMOUNTED
New Building Will Be Constructed
in Garfield Park to House
Equipment.

After long delay work is expected to
begin soon on the giant air-condition-
ing plant which is to be installed this
Spring and Summer in the Capitol,
Senate and House Office Buildings, un-
der new contracts amounting to more
than $3,0O0,000
This was learned today from David
Lynn, architect of the Capitol, who re-
Gently let seven different contracts for
the extensive conditioning system
to seven different companies for various
parts Of the work.
With contracts signed, additional de-
tails are being worked out with the
contractors, and it is expected that ex-
cavation will be started soon on some
OF the earliest projects.
The beginning of work on these
seven contracts is the elimination of
years of consideration and some diff
culties over cost which had delayed
construction.
Some Work Completed.
Certain parts of the building previ-
ously had been aforementioned, prin-
cipally the Senate and House CHAM
bers, important committee rooms and
some of the Senate and new House
Office Buildings. but the appropriation
Of S2,550,000 on August II, 1885, was
found to be too small to cover the cost
OF taking care of the rest of the four
buildings, complete, so bids were re-
Jected in September, 1886. Plans were
revised, to cut costs, omitting parts of
the buildings and changing certain
specifications to come within the limit
Bids were opened again in November
last year, but found still to be too high
Contractors granted an extension of
time for acceptance of their new bids
up to March 20, and in the meantime
a deficiency item of S1,6720 900 was
made available in the deficiency bill
signed February 9. The seven con-
tracts were awarded later, and con-
tractors now are making plans to go
ahead.
Already substantial work has been
done inside the four buildings by
previous contract to install the smaller
ducts. These are in place, so that no
construction under the new contracts
now will clutter up the Office rooms
and corridors. The new contracts
will connect the larger ducts with
the smaller ones already in place.
Air-conditioning, 1t was explained
by Mr.. Lynn, provides for "simulta-
neous control of temperature, humid
ity, purity and motion of the air."
New Building Planned.
A new building is to be constructed
adjacent to the Capitol Power Plant
in Garfield Park, to be known as the
Refrigeration Building, to house the
main plant, from which chilled water
is to be forced to the four big build
tngs on Capitol Hill The work is to
be finished in $50 days.
Contract for this new building went
to Harwood-Nebel Construction Co.
Of this city in the sum of $l41,377.
Other contracts in the total, which
amounts to $3,l99,239, were awarded
by Lynn as follows:
Refrigerating apparatus, s642, ,284, to
York Ice Machinery Co., Philadelphia;
chilled water lines, $299, 900, to the
Mechanical Engineering Construction
& Equipment Co.; House Office Build
ing equipment, $575,0O0, Pennsylvania
Engineering Co., Philadelphia; New
House Office Building, 1912 $50, Penn
sylvania Engineering Co.; Senate Office
Building, s521, 300, Reisler Heating Co.,
New York City; United States Capitol
Building, s566,928, Carrier Corp,
Washington.
All these bids were qualified with
certain deductions or additions under
stipulations of the contracts.
The system will carry water chilled
to temperature of Al degrees from
the new building through 30-inch
chilled water lines in a new tunnel,
more than S by feet in dimensions,
with one branch to the New House
Office Building and Old House Office
Building and the other branch to the
Capitol. From the Capitol the chilled
water pipes will go through the tunnel
already existing to the Senate Office
Building.