Evening star., 1949-05-08
EarIy Homes Of the U.S.. Treasury
sy John Clssest Proctor

sy John (sasef Frcefos
os the executive department.
buildings. planned fer tbs FedeEai
Capital, the Treasury Buil6tns
begun IN November. iTss. vas the
only one sufficiently completed sn
1900 70 receive the Secretary Of
the Treasury and the 90 employees
then on the rolls Of that depart
ment.
In SIZE IL did not compare at al
with the present structure. tts
foundation measurements having
width o. but 81 feet and .
length Of lat feet. It was built Of
brick and stone. with two stories
and attic. and contained Is once
rooms on each floor. Leonard
Haroaugh. O builder. received the
contract for the sum OF Sss.sll.
but up 70 the time Of It's destr1lc-
tion in 1914 IL had cost the Gov
ernment s4s s.s5s -.
The plans for the building were
prepared by George Hadneld. An
English architect. who for q time
was employed 70 supervise the
construction work upon the Cap
itol. but because Of the liberty he
took with Or. Thornton's plans he
was relieved. In 1890 his design
for the Courthouse-or City Hall.
as II is sometimes still called by
old Washingtonians-was accept
ed. and besides this he drew the
plans for q number of other local
structures of lesser importance.
Damage by Fire
AS intimated. the Treasury
Building was not . pretentious
sort OF q building. but at that 1t
was greatly in demand when the
Government first made its home
here. and when accommodations
were 90 limited that even the
State Department was forced 70
seek shelter for Its seven employees
and Its once equipment within It's
already crowded rooms. However.
1t vas not destined 70 Be In ex-
istence. for many years. and In
deed came very near being de-
stroyed by FIRE on January 20.
1901. when II was saved by q Are
bucket brigade OF ye olden time,
with number Of prominent pub
lie officials In line.
At this date q fire engine was
kept in the corridor Of the build
ing. for We read that when the
War once was destroyed a few
months before 1t was hurried TO
the scene. but whether II was
burned UP In the FIRE or not the
writer is unable to say. II Is sig
nificant as the nrst FIRE engine In
Washington.
OF course. the British burned
the Treasury Building In It's cap
ture OF Washington, on August "a.
1914. and Admiral Cockburn and
Gen. Ross watched the blaze from
Mrs. Suffers lodging house. then
on the northeast corner OF Fiji
teenth and r streets. And here
the loss Of public property. espe-
cially public documents. was con-
siderable.
Naturally. plans were soon un-
der way to construct O new build
ing, and by 1919 we find an ap-
preparation Of 5000 for covering
the building with slate. which
would indicate that 1t was almost
completed by that time. and as
the building was mainly OF brick.
1t is q safe guess that the same
walls were used In the new build
ing. as was the case In restoring
the Capitol.
However. 1t was not intended
that even this building should re-
main very long. and on the early
morning Of March 30. 1888. 1t was
again thoroughly damaged by FIRE.
or course. Andrew jackson. the
then President. ordered an inves-
tigation. First. he wanted to
know: What started the fire?"
And II that question was answered,
then: WAS 1t accidental and
how did 1t happen?" Third;
What proper exertions were used
to preserve the books. papers and
public property In the building. as
well as to save the building
itself7"
What Started the Blaze
As Is usual. even today. Old
Hickory wanted TO know about
twice as much as any one was able
to tell him. True. there had been
O fire. or as Dickens might have
said. TO begin with there was no
doubt about that" But Just how
/ 1t started and whether 1t was tn
cendiary or accidental. or from
carelessness or negiisence. were
points that stumped the Attorney
General. who conducted the In
vestigation, aided by the other
members Of the cabinet. with
Chief Justice william cranch Of
the Circuit Court Of the District
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