USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > Memorial of the city and county hall opening ceremonies, Buffalo, N.Y. > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
WE SHOULD THANK THE GOOD GOD
for the restless energy, the longing for the further and the higher which He has implanted in our nature. No age ever has been, none ever will be, able to declare to a coming one: " I have attained the highest height, and you can go no higher-repose here and be content."
We are justly proud of our rural population, of their intelligence and virtue, of their liberal thrift, of their ready skill, of the ad- vances in their art and science, by which they make their lands teem with plenty. But their children, and their children's children, to the very end of time, will eschew old ways and old routine, strike out new paths to agricultural success, and open new springs of
n
BC CO
Ti an tr ur th
op CO b tra fai like but
29
happiness and wealth. We have great reason to be proud of our young and vigorous city; but the very best of our achievements will pale and fade into forgetfulness in the fresh splendors of our posterity. The passing generation have deserved high commenda- tion, and the coming oue-thank Heaven !- cannot. will not prove a sensuous idler; it will far overpass our goal ; it will lay deep and strong foundations which we have barely planned; it will be wiser, more virtuous and more liberal than we are, and will shed new lustre on our dear city.
Is Buffalo and Erie county to be content for a century, for half a century, with this noble building as the seat of city and county authority and office ? Are they, after their prodigious growth, to suddenly cease growing, and that, too, while the whole country is advancing in prosperity and every city is expanding? What great public building in the United States of America has proved suffi- cient for the requirements of three successive generations? The City Hall of the city of New York when freshly built, was greeted by its people with rapture as a triumph of architecture, and as suf- ficient for the city's uses for many ages. What is the judgment of the present generation, and what is the fate of that squat, dingy, worn mass of marble? The Capitol of the nation, once deemed ample and magnificent, has been almost obliterated by addition and superadded richness. Our own State Capitol, fraught with so many great and precious memories, is doomed. One year ago this very day the corner-stone of the new Capitol was laid, and in a few years not one stone of the old Capitol will be left upon another.
Would that the great tower of this new City and County Hall were completed, so that we could rise
TWO HUNDRED FEET ABOVE OUR PRESENT LEVEL
and stand in the observatory, and look around and ponder on the scene. Let us attempt it in imagination! We barely glance at the collossal statues of Justice, Industry, Commerce and Art, for we see the very things themselves in the Heavens above us and in the land- scape at our feet. Afar off in the south, blue hills end our extremest view and border the rich expanse of plain, dotted with happy villages and towns which curve eastward and far north. The whole coun- try is alive with labor and with the rush of business and of pleas- ure. The roads radiating from the city in all directions are thronged with vehicles of every kind. On the west, and apparently so near that we can chuck a biscuit into it, sleeps Lake Erie, the first, if not the fairest of the great chain of mountain lakes-an opening to a navigation of thousands of miles, a ready access to a country almost as broad as Europe and richer far. It is whitened by not unfrequent sails, and above its green waters float the frequent trains of smoking propellers hurrying to and from our harbor. The fair coast of Canada confronts us smilingly. The mighty Niagara like molten silver gleams northward till its own curvings hide it, but the stationary cloud beyond betrays its presence and marks the
30
position of the great Cataract, and proclaims the fact that commerce by water, beyond Buffalo, is barred by nature. On every hand, in every direction upon the land. you see long trains of cars impelled by locomotives toward and from us. You notice, too, that com- merce, impatient of the least delay, is bridging, the wide, deep, rushing river. The harbor, once so contracted, is now capacious, and saucy little tugs are pulling leviathans hither and thither with admirable dexterity and ease. And there, too, packed with long lines of freighted boats, towed by slow-paced horses, is the Erie canal, the populator and best friend of the great West-the author, and so far as we know, the sure conservator of the fortunes of Buffalo.
In the city at our feet, here and there, quick puffs of steam, and great steady colunins of smoke indicate the positions of our great furnaces and forges, and workshops and factories of innumerous kinds. And then the beauty of the city; but I will not dilate on that. We rest content with stating that the main features of this wondrous picture are the growth of less than fifty years, and that no cause of that growth has ceased to act; that each and every cause of it is now acting, and must act for ages with increasing power. And then we may well remember that the business men and capitalists of Buffalo have enlarged their views. Time was when every one seemed to believe that commerce-meaning thereby the carrying trade-was all in all to Buffalo. Now the great truth that our manufactures are a chief aliment of true commerce is con- ceded, and they are justly regarded as of cardinal importance to our city. Time was when our citizens seemed to value the Erie Canal rather than the commerce of which it is chief conduit. Now, the beneficence of railroads as instruments of commerce is appre- ciated, and we seek by them to add to our resources and extend our trade.
I would not undervalue the past, but it seems clear to me that it was not equal to the present power, in energy, in judgment. We have been blessed by Providence. Corn will soon be scattered, and wine and oil be poured upon our selected corner-stone, as emblems of His blessings. Our history seems to show that our material prosperity is largely dependent upon the things themselves. At the outset of her career, corn flowed through Buffalo westward to sus- tain the crowds of emigrants; but, in a few years, the tide of cereals was reversed, and Buffalo enriched by it. Of late years the wine has become a favorite object of culture and covers our shores and islands; and the wine that gladdens and refreshes the heart of man must find here a central market. We must be content to rely upon the Mediterranean for the oil of the olive; but Buffalo can draw to her that more precious and abundant oil which God stored for us, in the beginning, in the depths of the rocks; and we must not rest until this, too, is achieved.
I fear that I am detaining you too long; but I cannot close with- out reminding you again that only the spiritual is immortal, and that the house eternal in the heavens is not made with hands, but
th
th
31
by the exercise of virtue. This building is now to be consecrated to Justice, and to official fidelity and honor. It will be indirectly devoted to God's worship, a temple for the illustration of these virtues. If they be wanting, His favor will be withdrawn, and the temple will be worse than vacant. May justice never be delayed or bartered here ; may honor and honesty and unwearying vigilance guard here our people's rights and interests. The place is holy. My soul is sick with the long delay of punishment, the probable immunity of corrupt judges and plunderers of the public. I pray that the people may watch over these buildings, and if sellers of justice and public cheats should establish here their tables and their trades, who could blame a justly indignant people for scourging them out with knotted chords? May God grant that the corner- stone which will now be proven square, level, and plumb, remain 'so forever ; and that all the work which shall be done in this build- ing may stand at the last day the tests of the unerring square, and level, and plumb.
Then followed the Masonic ceremonies, Grand Master Chris- topher G. Fox officiating.
INSCRIPTION ON THE PLATE.
The following is the inscription on the plate deposited under the corner-stone :
The Corner-stone of this City and County Hall, erected by the City of Buffalo and County of Erie, was laid in Masonic form by the M. W. Christopher G. Fox, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, on the day of the Festival of St. John the Baptist, A. L. 5872, A. D. 1872.
His Excellency, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States. His Excellency, John T. Hoffman, Governor of the State of New York.
His Honor, Alexander Brush, Mayor of the City of Buffalo.
The Commissioners of the Building, James M. Smith, Chairman; Dennis Bowen, Albert P. Laning, Allen Potter, Jasper B. Youngs, James Adams, George S. Wardwell, John Nice and Philip Becker.
Architect-Andrew J. Warner.
Superintendent-Samuel H. Fields.
Clerk-Frederick Masten.
DEPOSITED IN THE BOX.
The following is a list of the articles deposited in the box under the corner-stone.
1. Gold, silver, nickel and copper coins of the United States, of the latest coinage.
32
2. DAILY NEWSPAPERS.
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, June 22d.
Evening Courier and Republic, June 22d.
Buffalo Evening Post, June 22d.
Daily Buffalo Demokrat, June 22d.
Daily Buffalo Volksfreund, June 22d.
Buffalo Telegraph (Sunday edition), June 23d.
Buffalo Daily Courier, June 24th.
Buffalo Express, June 24th.
3. BOUND VOLUMES.
The New York Civil List, 1871.
Manual for use of the Legislature of the State of New" York, 1872.
Charter and Ordinances of the City of Buffalo (last edition), 1867. Buffalo City Directory, 1871.
City Comptroller's Report, 1871.
4. PAMPHLETS.
Report of the Superintendent of Education of the City of Buffalo, 1871.
Statistics of the Trade and Commerce of Buffalo, 1871.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Erie County, 1871. Revised Charter of the City of Buffalo, 1872.
Third Annual Report of the Buffalo City Water Works, 1871.
Second Inaugural Message of Hon. Alexander Brush, Mayor of Buffalo, 1872.
Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Fire Depart- ment, 1871.
Thirty-sixth Annual Report of the Executive Committee of the Young Men's Association, 1872.
Second Annual Report of the Buffalo Park Commissioners, 1872.
5. MANUSCRIPTS.
Sketch of the History of Buffalo, and of the Commission for the erection of the City and County Hall, written in the German language.
Sketch of the History of the City and County Hall, written on parchment, in the English language.
Civil List of the City and County officers for the year 1872, writ- ten on parchment.
BY THE MASONS.
6. The Constitution and the General Regulations of the M. W. Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York.
i
in SU
be ai fo du W
33
7. A Tableau of the Masonic bodies in the County of Erie, June 24, 1872.
8. A list of the officers of the Grand Lodge for the year 1872.
After the conclusion of the prescribed Masonic rites, came a prayer by the Rev. L. J. Fletcher, an artillery salute, the playing of "America " by the band, and the whole closed with the benediction by the Rev. E. R. Bishop, Rector of St. Luke's church.
THE STATUES.
The four granite statues which adorn the tower were procured at the cost of $22,000, as noted above. The first of these-"Justice "- was raised to its place on the fifth day of July, 1875, and the others within a few days after. The positions occupied by the several figures are as follows :
North-east corner-"JUSTICE."
North-west corner-" MECHANIC ARTS."
South-east corner-"AGRICULTURE."
South-west corner-" COMMERCE."
The statues are 16 feet in height, they weigh 14 tons each, and were cut from solid blocks of granite.
HEATING AND VENTILATION.
The heating apparatus, furnished by the Walworth Manufactur- ing Company, is very complete, and in the arrangement many miles of pipes have been used. The details of the system are quite compli- cated, and would scarcely be of interest, but a general idea may be gained from the following :
The building is warmed throughout by steam, on the principle of indirect and direct radiation. Indirectly by placing the radiating surface in the basement, and connecting the same with underground plenums, these being supplied with air taken in and forced through by means of two ten-inch fans, operated by the engines, the capacity being sufficient to send through the building 136,000 cubic feet of air per minute. In summer these same fans take in cold air, and force it through the pipes in all parts of the building. This pro- duces a thorough ventilation in all the rooms, which are furnished with registers for taking off the vitiated air into flues which termi-
34
nate in the attic, from whence it is conducted out through the ven- tilators on the roof. Registers are also placed in the rooms for the purpose of letting off the air in case it should become overheated. As an auxiliary to this method, direct radiators have been placed under the windows in the different rooms, to be used only in ex- treme cold weather. The air is taken through cloth screens, so as to eliminate all particles of dirt and dust. The fans can be used so that, if necessary, the air in all parts of the building can be changed once in twenty minutes. The necessary pipes, &c., were put in by Messrs. Hart, Ball & Hart, as agents for the Walworth Company.
THE METHOD OF LIGHTING
includes chandeliers from two lights up to thirty-six, and of a pat- ent designed expressly for this building. There are also a requisite number of desk-lights, side-lights, &c., in the different apartments. The chandeliers are bronzed, with gold and black ornamentation, and when lighted up they certainly look very handsome. These fix- tures were furnished by Messrs. Mitchell, Vance & Co., for which firm Messrs. Glenny & Co. are agents. There are two large and graceful standards at each of the entrances, for exterior illumination. These standards are each about sixteen feet in height, and are fur- nished with five globe lights, each sixteen inches in diameter, the whole finished in silvered bronze.
APPEARANCE OF THE INTERIOR.
The opinion is generally concurred in by those who have visited the building, that it is one which does not "show for what it is worth " on the outside. And now, that it is open to the public, the prevailing sentiment will be that of astonishment both at the magnitude and elegance of the interior. Unquestionably, a much better idea of the extent of the structure can be obtained from the main floor of the first story than from any outside view. The spa- cious halls, the massive stairways and columns, the marble floors, the finely adorned walls, the handsome black walnut wood-work, must all be seen to be appreciated. One ornamental feature, which may properly be mentioned in this connection, has a peculiarly fine effect. Standing on the main floor and looking up, the spectator will see that the openings under the sky-lights have been filled with beautiful stained glass set in iron frames. This work was done by Messrs. Booth & Reister, of Buffalo.
35
1705597
IN THE FURNITURE
of the different offices, an admirable uniformity is preserved. All the furniture-and the fixtures of every kind-being made accord- ing to special plans, this general uniformity is the result. The wood-work, including all the office-desks, chairs, &c., is of black walnut, and what is not walnut-the railings, the finishings of the stairs, &c .- is bronzed. The iron columns throughout are also finished in bronze, and thus all the metal work shows as one quality of metal. In many of the offices are large glass partitions, and the doors are also of glass. It is a gratifying fact that all this fine fur- niture was made in Buffalo, by Messrs. Weller, Brown & Mesmer, Joseph Churchyard, Clarke, Holland & Co., A. Cutler & Son, and A. Raeker. The carpets upon the floors of the General Term Court room and Mayor's office are of the finest quality of Wilton. In all other rooms, the carpeting is of the kind known as American Brussels, of simple pattern, and the colors harmonizing well with the wood- work.
The name of each office or department is inscribed over its door in large gilt letters, traced on the glass, and each office is numbered. Four large tablets upon the walls near the Franklin street entrance give the "directory " of the offices, also in gilt letters. The corridors are all finished with marble wainscoting, that in the lobby being of the Tennessee and Glens Falls varieties, and inlaid with a border of encaustic tile. The floors in the corridor are marble, and in the first story this extends into the different offices to the line of the counters. The walls in the corridors and offices, and the ceilings are beautifully tinted.
THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBER
has been fitted up in the most elegant manner. The central partis exclusively for the members and heads of departments, the seats of the aldermen being arranged in two semi-circles, facing the Presi- dent's desk, which is raised, and looks considerably like a modern pulpit. In front of this is the City Clerk's desk, and on either side are smaller ones, to be used by newspaper reporters. Back of the President's seat is an entablature, projecting from the wall twelve feet, and forming a lobby for the members' entrance. On either side of the business portion of the Chamber is the space allotted to spectators, provided with comfortable settees, and with sufficient capacity for some six hundred persons. Three tastefully-orna-
36
mented committee rooms are located at each end of the Chamber. All the black walnut wood-work is elaborately carved, and orna- mented with gold lines. Altogether, the city fathers are to be con- gratulated upon the elegant and comfortable arrangement of their new apartment.
In the General Term Court room are hung the portraits of about twenty deceased eminent jurists and members of the bar in Buffalo and vicinity. There is also a full-length portrait of the first Mayor of Buffalo, Dr. Ebenezer Johnson, in the Mayor's office.
THE TOWER-CLOCK AND ELECTRIC DIALS.
Among the many features of general interest which the building possesses, not the least is the wonderful system of electric clocks, running in direct connection with the great clock in the tower. There are no less than twenty-eight of these time-pieces, or dials, as they are called, connected with the tower-clock by three electric circuits. By this arrangement absolute uniformity of time is in- sured throughout the building. This system of electric clocks, is believed to be the largest in the country, and since it has been put in operation, has worked in the most satisfactory manner. The tower clock and electric dials were furnished by Messrs. E. Howard & Co., of Boston, and the work of putting them in was under the supervision of Messrs. Joseph Vreeland and J. Hamblet, employees of the firm. It is claimed by them that the tower-clock is the heaviest and most substantial in the country.
ITS SUPERIORITY TO THE CLOCK
in the New York Tribune building consists in the fact that the lat- ter does not strike the hours. The striking apparatus in the City Hall is considered perfect. The hammer weighs one hundred pounds, and the bell-cast by Jones, of Troy-four thousand seven hundred pounds. It is a rather fatiguing experience to climb up the narrow iron winding stairway of the tower to the lofty point where the clock is located, but whoever does so is well repaid, on examining the complicated mechanism. The dials, which look but little larger than the full moon from the streets in the immediate vicinity, are in reality nine feet in diameter. The reflectors by which the light of the gas-jets is concentrated upon the dials, are singularly shaped, with special reference to utilizing all the light. The pendulum is of the kind known as "compensating," and it has
-
37
a two-second movement. It is hung upon very delicate steel springs, and its movements are made with the utmost precision. Instead of the old "dead-beat" escapement, a far more nicely- adjusted combination is used, being the new gravity-escapement, invented by Mr. Dennison, of London, and introduced in this country by Mr. Howard. The gravity-escapement is connected with the pendulum by simple yet delicate mechanism. By this es- capement the motion is communicated to the pendulum. On each side of the pendulum-rod is an iron arm suspended from one end obliquely. As the escapement-wheel turns, small pins on its axes raise the free end of one of these arms by means of levers. As the pendulum reaches the termination of its path, the arm is released, and its weight, pressing against the pendulum, drives it to the other side, where the operation is repeated. The motion is carried to the four dials above by a revolving iron rod. The arrangement for illuminating the dials is very complete, and is regulated by the clock itself. The valve through which the gas reaches the large burners behind each dial is turned by ingenious machinery. A small jet is kept burning all the time, but the amount of gas consumed is very trifling. Screws are so arranged as to turn on the gas at any hour desired. A reverse arrangement automatically turns off the gas at the proper time in the morning.
Since the clock was first set in motion by Mayor Becker, at four o'clock on the afternoon of February 5th, everything has worked satisfactorily. The clock, which has already become the standard of Buffalo time, is warranted not to vary, and a gentleman con- nected with the firm of Howard & Co. enthusiastically informed the Mayor that it would run with invariable correctness for fifty years, and then an expenditure of fifty dollars would put it in per- fect order again.
FURNISHING MATERIAL.
The following is a complete list of the parties furnishing mate- rial, &c., for the structure.
The granite for the building, including the statues, was furnished by Mark & St. John, from Clark's Island, Maine.
The brick were furnished by Brush Brothers, of Buffalo.
The sand by Chandler J. Wells, of Buffalo.
The doors and sashes in the whole building were made by Weller, Brown & Mesmer, of Buffalo.
The wainscoting was furnished by Joseph Churchyard, of Buffalo.
38
The furniture and most of the work in the first story was fur- nished by Clarke, Holland & Co., of Buffalo. They also furnished the inside shutters.
In the second story by Joseph Churchyard.
In the third story by Weller, Brown & Mesmer.
The marble work has been furnished by John Crawford, of Buffalo.
Mr. Raeker, and A. Cutler & Son, of Buffalo, have also furnished a portion of the furniture.
The lead pipe, paint and oil, by the Cornell Lead Company, of Buffalo.
The carpets by Adam, Meldrum & Anderson, L. H. Chester & Co., and Stewart Elder, of Buffalo ..
The gas fixtures by Mitchell, Vance & Co., of New York.
The bell by Octavius Jones, of Troy.
The clocks by E. Howard & Co., of New York and Boston.
The plumbing by Irlbacker & Davis, of Buffalo.
The gas-fitting by Hart, Ball & Hart, of Buffalo.
The stone walks by C. H. Rathbun, of Buffalo.
The chairs by Weller, Brown & Mesmer; Schlund & Doll, and Mr. Bensler, of Buffalo.
The iron beams by the Union Iron Company, of Buffalo.
The iron columns by Robert Dunbar, of Buffalo.
The iron stairs, window grates and lamp posts by the Howard Iron Works, of Buffalo.
The safes by Hall's Safe and Lock Company, of Cincinnati.
The plate glass by the Star Glass Company, of New Alba- ny, Ind.
The iron finish to the tower by the Niagara Bridge Works, of Buffalo.
The locks and door hinges by Valentine Brothers, of Buffalo.
The Cement by the Akron Cement Company, of Buffalo.
The conductor pipes by L. P. Beyer & Co., of Buffalo.
The lime by Youngs Brothers, of Buffalo.
The foundation stone by Nicholas Uebelhoer, of Buffalo.
The heating apparatus by the Walworth Manufacturing Com- pany, of Boston.
The slating of the roof by John Galt, of Buffalo.
The slating of the tower by McSheffrey & Maxwell, of Buffalo.
The lettering of the glass over the doors by F. B. Scott, of Buffalo.
The lettering of the tablets in the vestibule by J. C. Rother, of Buffalo.
Jewett & Root, of Buffalo, furnished tin for roof.
W. H. H. Newman, of Buffalo, furnished copper for gutters as valleys.
Hurley & Stygall, of Buffalo, did the copper and tin work of gut- ter and roof.
G ti
of
M
bu in
do
39
Scatcherd & Belton, of Buffalo, furnished the black walnut and Georgia pine lumber.
Laycock Brothers, of Buffalo, furnished the Norway pine roofing timber.
Baker Brothers, of Buffalo, furnished the window weights.
E. Y. Kneeland, of Buffalo, furnished the special stair to the tower.
Mr. James F. Rowley has superintended the painting and finish of the inside work.
The foundation walls and a portion of the first story were laid under the superintendence of Thomas F. Reynolds.
The remaining portion of the walls was laid, and the plastering done under the superintendence of John Druar.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.