USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 70
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of the" department would need one hundred and thirty-two rooms instead of one hundred and eight. Up to this time, or a little later, there seems to have been no estimate of what the cost of the building would be, and so far as plan is concerned there appears to have been a design to erect a magnificent building without regard to cost. July 6, 1836, Mr. Mills, the architect, submitted a plan to the President which the President approved. The diagram had one entire front, with a center building running back, to correspond in appearance with the State Department building, which, by being altered somewhat in appearance, was to form the north wing. On the south there was a building projected and referred to as the general building of the department.
According to the report of the architect, the style of architec- ture adopted in this building was the Grecian Ionic, with its richest ornamentations. The granite approaches were from Pennsylvania and New York avenues, and the gateways opposite these approaches would show the drive up to the portico, etc. The first appropriation for this building was $100,000. In June, 1838, the plan of the building was exhibited to Congress, and the estimate of its cost was then $500,000. By August, 1839, the building was so far completed that it was occupied by the following officers: The Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasurer, the Register, the First Comptroller, the Attorney-Gen- eral, the Solicitor, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The floors of the corridors of the two principal stories were paved with black and white marble tiles, and the attic corridors were paved with German white and red flagstones, and the basement cor- ridor floor was paved with Seneca freestone. The main corridor running north and south was three hundred and forty feet long, and that running east and west was one hundred and seventy feet long. The grand staircase of white marble, when thrown into connection with the hall studded with massive Doric columns supporting a fretted ceiling, was at once striking and picturesque. There are three main approaches, upon the colonnade level, to the interior of the building, leading to the same number of marble stairways, which lead to differ- ent stories of the building and down to the basement. The building contains one hundred and fifty rooms of different dimensions.
By January, 1842, there had been expended on the building $608,867.84, and $53,000 more was asked for, making $661,867.84. If the entire building were to be completed according to the original plan of the architect under the date of May 26, 1841, the cost would be as follows: South wing would require $265,000; the north wing,
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$245,000, out buildings and grading, $50,000; to finish the building already erected, $40,000; total, $600,000, which added to the amount already expended, the sum was $1,208,867.84. And if the actual cost of the wings should exceed the estimate as much as had the cost of the main building, the entire cost would reach $1,500,000. The committee on public expenditures severely criticised the executive officers of the Government for their extravagant plans, and for their having kept these plans secret as long as possible, so as actually to lead Congress into an extravagant expenditure of the public money.
Notwithstanding the great cost of the building, it was found neces- sary, in 1855, to add extensions, designs for which were furnished by Thomas U. Walter. The building so far had been constructed of Virginia freestone, and the extensions were constructed of Maine granite. These were finished in 1869. The total cost of the building up to this time was nearly $7,000,000, and since then large sums have been expended in alterations and interior decorations. At the present time the building extends four hundred and sixty feet on Fifteenth Street and two hundred and sixty-four feet on Pennsylvania Avenue. There are four façades, those on the north, west, and south having massive porticos with Ionic columns. Each portico has a broad flight of steps descending to a spacious platform. The north side is orna- mented with a fountain, and the superb architectural design of the entire building gives it a majestic appearance. It would seem as though this building were large enough for any business the Treasury Department would ever have to transact, but this is far from being the case, as at present some of the bureaus have to find accommodations elsewhere.
The Patent Office was established by an act of Congress passed April 10, 1790, "to promote the progress of the useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." Under this law the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney - General, or any two of them, were, ou application, to grant patents for an invention, provided they thought it sufficiently useful and important. From the passage of the act until July 31, 1790, these three officials awaited a successful applicant for a patent. Upon that day appeared Samuel Hopkins, who had discovered a new method of making pot and pearl ashes, for which he was granted a patent, the first issued by the Gov- ernment of the United States, and the first of nearly a half million of patents of inventions and discoveries more or less useful. The act of signing that patent to Samuel Hopkins is called by the present Commissioner of Patents "an act of historie grandenr," when the
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wonderful transformations of a century are taken into contemplation. Fifty-seven patents in all were granted under the law of 1790, and in the determination of the question as to the advisability of granting a patent in these cases, so much labor, research, study, and scientific learning were required that it was at length an impossibility for the officers of the Government, having other important duties to perform, to give to this study and research the time necessary to an efficient performance of their duties as patent commissioners. A new law was therefore passed in 1793, making it the duty of the Secretary of State to issue patents, subject to the revision of the Attorney-General. This law prevailed until the great law of 1836 was enacted. Under the law of 1793 there were issued upward of nine thousand patents, no other condition being imposed upon the applicant for a patent than that the fees be paid, the oath to the invention be made, and other unimportant forms be complied with. But under this law there was not, as there had been under the law of 1790, any power to refuse to grant a patent, if the conditions just recited were complied with, and as a consequence, many useless inventions were patented, and, as many were infringements on public and private rights, the evil was increas- ing every day, until 1836, when a new law was passed on the subject of patents.
The first superintendent of the Patent Office was Dr. W. Thorn- ton, a gentleman of great and varied attainments, who continued to officiate for many years. In 1836 the office was destroyed by fire, and likewise nearly all the records, models, etc., as well as the post office and General Post Office. This was considered, as it really was, an appalling disaster, as, after the smoke of the fire had blown away, there lay in ashes and ruin all of the accumulations of the previous thirty-six years, including the extensive correspondence of Dr. Thorn- ton with the ingenions and scientific men of the United States and Europe, carried on for a period of upward of twenty-three years The Patent Office was then moved into the City Hall, and the new Patent Office building was begun soon afterward, and was completed, except as to the additions made in later years, toward the latter part of 1839. This colossal structure stands on a Government reservation of four acres, extending from Seventh to Ninth streets, and from F to G streets, Northwest, the reservation being the one set apart by Major L'Enfant in his plan of Washington for a great national church. It is four hundred and ten feet from east to west, and two hundred and seventy-five feet from north to south.
The basement story of this building contains one long room
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232 by 62 feet in size; two other rooms 30 by 20 feet; eight rooms each 20 by 22; besides a spacious wing for storage, 86 by 38, a corridor 15 feet wide, and four small rooms 20 by 10 feet in size. The second floor is similarly divided into rooms. The basement is of split granite, except the base of the portico, which is of dressed granite. The super- structure is of freestone. The main building is two hundred and seventy feet long and seventy feet wide. After the wings were added, the façades were two hundred and forty feet. The east wing was added in 1853, and the north and west wings some years later. The east and west wings were constructed of Maryland marble, and the north wing of granite. The building is of the Doric style of architecture. The main entrance is on F Street, through a massive portico of two rows of large columns, designed after the entrance of the Parthenon in Athens, and is precisely of the same dimensions. The portico is reached by a lofty flight of broad granite steps. On the Seventh Street side is another great portico, and there are smaller ones on the other two sides. The entire number of compartments is nearly two hundred, besides the extensive halls of the museum of models. The architects were Robert Mills, who constructed the original portion, Thomas U. Walter, and Edward Clark, who constructed the extensions.
Originally, Congress authorized the erection of a building that should cost $108,000, to be borne by the Patent Office Fund. This sum, however, did not suffice to complete the front, which was only about one-fourth of the edifice according to the original plan, and it fell short of the actual cost of that portion of the building by about $309,550, which was supplied by the public treasury. By authority of an act of Congress passed March 3, 1849, the erection of the wings was carried on. The south front was then erected at a cost of $417,550, the Patent Fund contributing $108,000. For the east wing there was appropriated $250,000, of which the Patent Fund furnished $211,000 and the public treasury $39,000. In 1850 it was estimated that to complete the east wing it would require $200,000 more, which would make the contribution from the publie treasury $239,000, so that when the east wing should be completed, the cost of the entire building would be $867,550, of which the public treasury would con- tribute $548,550 and the Patent Fund the rest.
The Department of Agriculture building is situated in South Washington, just north of B Street Southwest, and opposite Thir- teenth Street. It was erected in 1868, and is three full stories in height above a basement, and has a mansard roof. It is 170 by 61 feet in size, and cost $140,420.
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The Pension building is located on the north portion of Judiciary Square. It is an immense brick structure, 400 by 200 feet in size, and 75 feet high. It covers 1.84 acres of ground, and is fireproof through- out. The noticeable feature of the exterior is the frieze over the first story, consisting of a terra cotta sculptured band three feet wide extending all round the building, representing military and naval subjects. This building required 15,000,000 brick in its construction, and cost $1,000,000. The interior court will accommodate 18,000 persons at an inauguration ball, and will hold 59,000 persons. It is used, of course, for the headquarters of the Pension Department of the Government. General Montgomery C. Meigs was the architect and builder, and modeled it after the Farnese Palace at Florence, Italy.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing stands on the corner of B and Fourteenth streets Southwest. The building was erected in 1878-80, and is 220 by 135 feet in size. Its cost was $300,000. It is used by the Government for the manufacture of paper money and bonds.
The new State, War, and Navy building is situated at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventeenthi Street, west of the Execu- tive Mansion. It was designed by A. B. Mullett, late supervising architect of the Treasury Department. It consists of four buildings harmonizing with each other, and united by connecting wings, which constitute altogether one of the finest buildings, if not the finest building, in the world. From north to south it is five hundred and sixty-seven feet, and from east to west it is three hundred and forty- two feet, thus covering an area of four and nine-twentieths acres. The Department of State occupies the south wing of this building; the Department of the Navy, the east wing; and the Department of War, the north wing. The height of the building is one hundred and forty-five feet, and it contains five hundred and sixty-six rooms and two miles of corridor. The cost of the building was nearly $11,000,000, and it is of what is called the Renaissance style of architecture.
The new Congressional Library building, now in process of erec- tion, occupies the center of a site of ten and a half acres, between First and Second streets East, and East Capitol and B streets South, and is about nine hundred feet east of the south wing of the Capitol. The ground was purchased in 1887 for $585,000. The ground plan of the building is four hundred and seventy feet from north to south and three hundred and sixty-five feet from east to west, thus covering a trifle more than three and three-tenths acres of ground, and being surrounded by an esplanade of somewhat more than six acres. The
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building is constructed of granite and marble, and consists of a cellar and two stories, aggregating sixty-nine feet from the ground. It is in the Renaissance style of architecture. The reading-room in the central rotunda is one hundred feet in diameter, and opens into the book repositories, which radiate from the center, and of which there are nine stories. The capacity of this library is eight million volumes, and the building is estimated to cost $6,000,000.
The Washington Monument is situated on the Government res- ervation bounded by Fourteenth Street West and the Potomac River. The site was designated by Congress in 1848, and is said to have been selected by Washington himself, when he was President of the United States. The monument is a plain obeliscal shaft, rising to a height of 555 feet above its base, and stands upon a mound having an elevation of 17 feet above the general level of the surrounding surface, so that the top of the monument is 572 feet higher than the same general level. The base of this mound extends out from the base of the monument to a distance of 350 to 450 feet, gradually sloping down to the general level. The foundation of the shaft is 126 feet square and 37 feet below the base of the shaft. The shaft is 55 feet square at the base, 30 feet square at the top, and is surmounted by a pyramid 55 feet high. The lower portion of the monument is constructed of blue gneiss, and is faced with large crystal marble, the upper portion being of the same marble eut with granite backing. In the interior lining are set 82 blocks of stone presented by the States and cities of the Union, by various societies, and by foreign countries, all of which are appropriately inscribed, and can be easily read in ascending the monument, this ascension being provided for by an elevator and a staircase around the elevator shaft in the interior. The shaft is lighted by electricity, the only openings being the doorway at the bottom and small windows at the top.
This monument is the highest artificial structure in the world, with the exception of the Eiffel Tower at Paris. It rises many feet above the Capitol, and above any of the cathedral spires in Europe and the East. It is fifteen feet higher than the main tower of the new city hall at Philadelphia, thirty feet higher than the great cathedral at Cologne, and ninety-five feet higher than St. Peter's at Rome. The prospect from the summit of the monument is very fine. It extends from the Allegheny Mountains on the west to the Atlantic Ocean; and covers the city of Washington on the north and east, and extends beyond into Maryland, and south far into Virginia.
The question of a national memorial to the Hero of the Revo-
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lution began to be discussed at an early day, In 1783 the Continental Congress adopted a resolution for the erection of a statue "in honor of George Washington, the illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army during the war which vindicated and seeured their liberty, sovereignty, and independence"; but the resolution was not carried into effect, as it was understood that Washington did not desire a statue to be erected while he was living. In the House of Representatives, December 21, 1799, Mr. Marshall, of Virginia, submitted the following resolution, which passed nemine contradi- cente :
" Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, That a marble monument be erected by the United States at the Capitol in the city of Washington, and that the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it; and that the monument be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his military and political life."
On January 8, 1800, the President sent the following letters to Congress:
" Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :
"In compliance with the request in one of the resolutions of Congress of the 21st of December last, I transmitted a copy of those resolutions, by my secretary, Mr. Shaw, to Mrs. Washington, assuring her of the profound respect Congress will ever bear to her person and character, of their condolence in the late afflicting dispensation of Providence, and entreating her assent to the interment of the remains of General Washington in the manner expressed in the reso- lution. As the sentiments of that virtuous lady, not less beloved by this Nation than she is at present greatly afflicted, can never be so well expressed as in her own words, I transmit to Congress her original letter.
"It would be an attempt of too much delicacy to make any comments upon it, but there can be no doubt that the Nation at large, as well as all branches of the Government, will be highly gratified by an arrangement which will diminish the sacrifices she makes in her individual feelings.
" United States, 8th January, 1800."
"JOHN ADAMS.
Following is Mrs. Washington's letter, referred to by President Adams:
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" MOUNT VERNON, 31st December, 1799.
"SIR: While I feel, with the keenest anguish, the late dispensa- tion of Divine Providence, I cannot be insensible to the mournful tributes of respect and veneration which are paid to the memory of my dear deceased husband; and as his best services and most anxious wishes were always devoted to the welfare and happiness of his country, to know that they were truly appreciated and gratefully remembered, affords no inconsiderable consolation.
"Taught by the great example which I have so long had before me, never to oppose my private wishes to the publie welfare, I must consent to the request made by Congress, which you have had the goodness to transmit to me, and in doing this I need not, and I can- not, say what sacrifice of individual feeling I make to a sense of public duty.
" With grateful acknowledgments and unfeigned thanks for the personal respect and evidences of condolence expressed by Congress and yourself, I remain
" Very respectfully, Sir, " Your most obedient and humble servant, " MARTHA WASHINGTON. ·
"To the President of the United States."
Notwithstanding the consent of Mrs. Washington was thus ob- tained to the depositing of the remains of General Washington in the Capitol building, and the early recognition of the duty of the Gov- ernment to appropriately remember the services of the first General and the first President of the Nation, the subject was postponed in the Senate until the next session, and then postponed again from year to year, for about twenty years, nothing being done by Con- gress except to pass resolutions upon the propriety of carrying out the early designs of Congress, and again postpone action. In the meantime, many people throughout the Union felt deeply mortified and chagrined at the neglect of Congress to fittingly express its appreciation of the great services of the first soldier and the first President of the Republic, and as a consequence a popular movement was attempted by which it was hoped to raise the money necessary to carry out the design of erecting a suitable monument to the memory of Washington. The plan was to raise if possible a popular subscription of $1 from each family throughout the United States, and by 1812 about $35,000 was thus raised. It is to be noticed, however, that during all these first years, and first efforts, the design
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was to deposit the remains of General Washington under the monu- ment to be erected to his memory in the Capitol building at Washing- ton, to erect a mausoleum, or to establish a national university. The popular movement here mentioned was in view of such a university, Washington himself having left a portion of his property to be devoted to such an institution.
At length, on the 15th of January, 1824, Mr. Buchanan, of Penn- sylvania, introduced a resolution into the House of Representatives to the effect that a committee be appointed whose duty it should be to inquire in what manner the resolution of Congress of December 21, 1799, relative to the erection of a monument in the Capitol at the city of Washington to commemorate the great events in the military and political life of General Washington, might best be accomplished, and that the committee be permitted to report by bill or otherwise. Mr. Buchanan made an able speech in favor of Congress doing something to show that they honored the memory of the founder of the Nation. There was, however, some opposition even to the performance of this act of justice to the memory of the great Washington, and it is only surprising that the objections to the erection of the proposed monument were not based on constitu- tional grounds. Mr. Carey, of Georgia, made a speech in opposition to the movement, deprecating the practice of erecting monuments of this kind to the memory of illustrious men. He said it was a prin- ciple of vanity which had given existence to the practice. Classical enthusiasm beclouded the judgment, and persuaded us to bring associa- tions derived from the venerable sculpture of ancient times to times of a wholly different character, and to a country in wholly different circumstances. Mr. Trimble opposed "the present consideration of the question," and upon a vote being taken, the subject was laid on the table by a vote of 97 to 67.
February 22, 1830, on motion of Mr. Mitchell, of Maryland, the resolution adopted by Congress in 1799, together with the correspond- ence between President Adams and Mrs. Washington, was referred to a committee, with power to report by bill or otherwise, and on motion of Mr. Clay this committee was composed of one member from each State in the Union. Here the matter rested until 1832, when, on the 13th of February, a joint committee of the two Houses was appointed for the purpose of making preparations to celebrate in an appropriate matter the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of General Washington, and to revive the project, which had so frequently been postponed, of erecting a monument to his memory.
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It was the design to have, as a part of the celebration, an oration on the character of Washington delivered by John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States; but Justice Marshall was compelled to decline the part assigned to him on account of enfeebled health. It was also a part of the design for that celebration to have the body of General Washington removed to the vault in the Capitol prepared years before to receive it, and also to remove the remains of Mrs. Washington to the same vault at the same time; to have the President, James Madison, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, besides most of the high functionaries of the Government, participate in the celebration, and to make it one of the most imposing ceremonies ever witnessed. But the intention of Congress to remove the remains of General and Mrs. Washington at this time was frustrated by the refusal of the proprietor of Mount Vernon to permit them to be removed; but, notwithstanding this failure, Congress by its attempt to remove the remains, redeemed its pledge from discredit; the wisdom of President Washington's maxims of republican policy was revered in the debate on the subject of their removal, and full gratitude for his services in the Revolution- ary War was feelingly and abundantly expressed. The day was however fittingly celebrated in Washington.
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