(The letter referred to follows:)

LETTER TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN REFERENCE TO AN ENLARGEMENT OF THE CAPITOL

(By Thomas U. Walter, architect)

Hon. R. M. T. HUNTER, JEFF. DAVIS, and JNO. H. CLARK,

Committee of the Senate on Public Buildings. GENTLEMEN: I respectfully submit the accompanying designs for an enlargement of the United States Capitol at Washington.

Your advertisement of the 30th of September, under which I now have the honor to address you, suggests two methods of enlargement, one by the construction of "additional wings to be placed on the north and south of the present building", and the other by "the erection of a separate and distinct building within the enclosure to the east." Of the two plans proposed I prefer the former, as there can be no doubt that the convenience of the Members of Congress will be promoted by embracing under one roof all the accommodations that may be required.

I have therefore prepared a plan for adding to the present building on the north and south, in accordance with your suggestions; in addition to which, I have ventured to lay before you a different plan, embracing an extension to the east, which you may possibly deem worthy of consideration.

The first design to which I ask your attention is the one made in conformity to your advertisement, the drawings of which are marked I, II, III, and IV; it consists of an addition of 187 feet at each end of the present building, making the entire front 726 feet.

I have made the architecture of the exterior to conform to the present building, and in order to destroy the monotony that would be presented by so extended a facade, I have introduced hexastyle porticoes on the front and rear of each wing, of corresponding proportions to the portico of the center building.

Although the wings are joined to the present building, on the outside, for architectural effect, they are separated in the interior by courtyards of 22 feet in width for purposes of light and air, as shown on plan no. 2.

The Hall of Representatives occupies the south wing, and is approached by a 20-foot passage running through the present Hall, which is lighted from the courtyard as well as from the ceiling; the said courtyard being continued across the top of the passage, above the first story, as represented on plan no. 3. The new Hall contains 358 separate desks for the Members, and in case it may hereafter be required there is ample room to increase the number. The columns in the present Hall to be removed, and used in the new one, as indicated on the plan, and a floor to be constructed in the old hall, at the height of 20 feet above the present floor, so as to separate it into two stories, both of which will be divided into rooms for the accommodation of the committees, clerks, and post office of the House, and for other purposes connected with legislation.

The disposition of the Speaker's chair, the clerks, the seats for Members, the lobbies, retiring rooms, galleries, etc., will be better understood by referring to the drawings nos. 2 and 3, than by any written description.

I have enlarged the accommodations for the Congressional Library to more than double its present capacity, without in any way affecting the stability of the building, or involving any very heavy expense. The committees who are displaced by the alteration may be accommodated in the new committee rooms. The Senate Chamber is located in the north wing, in which are four courtyards for light and air. The approach to this chamber is by a passage similar to that of the House of Representatives; and the rooms are so arranged as to render them easy of access, and to admit of their being well lighted and aired. The galleries of the Senate Chamber are so formed as not to project into the room, nor interfere with its architectural proportions. They are lighted from the courtyard, and from the east and west fronts of the building, as shown on plan no. 4, and are capable of seating 500 persons. The eastern portion of the gallery is designed for the reporters, who have a retiring room adjoining, and the western portion for ladies. The present Senate Chamber to be appropriated to the Supreme Court, with but little alteration.

The Senate Chamber and the Hall of Representatives are both designed with reference to the principles of accoustics. The magniture of these rooms, especially the latter, and the fact that they are to be constructed for speaking

in from every point, render it necessary to avoid all forms that would produce echoes, and at the same time to present reflecting surfaces enough to give power to the voice. In order to accomplish this I have cut off the corners of the rooms, and propose to make the ceilings horizontal, not more than 30 feet in height, and to divide them into square panels with heavy projecting moldings ornamented at their intersections with boldly carved pendants, the panels thus formed to be filled in with ornamental glass, through which the light is to be transmitted from skylights in the roof.

I have no doubt that these rooms may be so formed, on established acoustic principles, as to be entirely free from echoes, no matter in what part of the room the speaking may take place, and at the same time be easy to speak and hear in.

The defect in the present Hall of Representatives is unquestionably caused by the great height of the ceiling, its smoothness, and the curvilinear form of the ceiling and the entablature which supports it. All such forms should be avoided in rooms where the speaking is to take place at various points. Curves may sometimes be used with good effect, when the speaking is confined to one point, as in theaters, but never under other circumstances.

I have constructed many rooms for public speaking and examined the most celebrated in this country as well as in Europe, and I have invariably found that circles, high ceilings, and unbroken surfaces, produce echoes, and on the other hand, that rectilinear rooms, with the surfaces well broken up, and the ceilings comparatively low, are always easy to speak and hear in.

I propose to warm the building mainly by means of hot-water pipes enclosed in chambers, into which pure external air is conveyed and warmed and afterward conducted by flues to the several rooms. Recent improvements in the use of hot water for purposes of heat and ventilation have placed the superiority of this plan beyond a doubt. The temperature of the pipes can never reach 200° of Fahrenheit; hence it will be impossible for the air to receive an excess of carbonic acid gas, or suffer a diminution of moisture, as is always the case in the ordinary hot-air furnaces.

The plan of heating the air in chambers, and throwing it into the rooms, greatly promotes ventilation, as every cubic foot of air thus injected displaces a corresponding quantity previously in the room, and at the same time it creates a circulation of the atmosphere, which could not be accomplished by any other process.

In order to equalize the heat throughout the rooms, and prevent it from causing inconvenience to the Members, it will be necessary to make the apertures small and numerous, so as to admit of their being well distributed. The ingress of heat through these apertures will be accelerated by the adoption of a proper system of ventilation, without which no plan of heating can ever be effective or healthy.

There will, probably, on some occasions, be as many as 1,500 persons in the Hall of Representatives, each of whom will render unfit for respiration about 150 cubic feet of air per hour, making 225,000 cubic feet of vitiated air to be removed every hour in order to secure a healthy atmosphere throughout the Hall. This I propose to accomplish by introducing apertures in the ornaments of the ceiling, to open into a foul air chamber between the ceiling and the roof; the air to be removed from this chamber by means of an air shaft to extend above the roof, in which artificial heat will be introduced, so as to cause, at all times, an ascending current of sufficient velocity to free the Hall from all deteriorated air. The Senate Chamber to be ventilated in the same manner. The warm air from the furnaces being brought into the rooms with a rapidity equal to the discharge, it will not have time to become oppressively hot, and will consequently produce an agreeable as well as a healthful atmosphere.

I would further suggest that the same process of ventilation be carried on in summer as in winter. Windows are at all times imperfect ventilators; even when there is a breeze, the air that comes in tends more frequently to cool the carbonic acid gas which has been exhaled from the lungs and cause it to settle, than to carry it off; and, indeed, the times in which the Halls will most need ventilation, are when there is no breeze at all. The apertures from the furnaces may be so constructed as to admit the external air from a proper elevation, during the summer, in the same manner as the heat is admitted in the winter, thus producing, by means of the artificial ventilation above, an upward draft of pure air during the calmest and most oppressive weather.

As the material of which the present building is constructed is weak and friable, and not at all likely to stand the test of time, I respectfully suggest that the exterior of the proposed addition be composed of white marble, and

that the present structure be painted and sanded so as to correspond to it in appearance.

Having thus briefly described the plan I have the honor to lay before you for an extension of the present building to the north and south, I respectfully ask the favor of your attention to another design, in which the two Houses of Congress are brought nearer together, and which may possibly be considered a better architectural composition. This design is marked "V, VI, VII, and VIII", and contemplates an extension of the present building to the eastward.

To carry out this design, I propose to take down the present portico, steps, and basement, and reconstruct them on the eastern front of the addition exactly as they now are, adding four columns on each side, so as to form recessed porticoes flanking the great projecting portico in the center; this would impart to the design a unity of effect without changing the present portico. The front has now the appearance of three distinct buildings without any necessary connection, which is generally acknowledged to be an architectural defect; my object in the present design is not only to preserve the grandeur and beauty of the present portico, but to enhance it by imparting to the front, of which it forms a part, the appearance of a single and complete composition.

The architecture of the present flanks is continued throughout the addition, which gives a massiveness, and an elegance to the structure in consonance with the front, without altering a single feature of the present building.

Such an addition would increase the flanks to 340 feet, and leave the front its present width, which is 352 feet, making the plan of the building very nearly square.

By this design, the great dome would be brought more into the body of the composition, and its gracefulness of effect would be greatly increased.

The proposed addition is placed, on the plan, at the distance of 55 feet from the present building, which would afford ample space for light and air. Archways may be constructed in the basement to admit of a carriage drive through the yards, and which, in reality, would make the buildings separate and distinct, while the architectural effect would be that of a single composition.

By this plan, the Senate Chamber and Hall of Representatives are much nearer together than they are in the present building, and all the accommodations for Congress are brought into convenient proximity to each other.

A corridor of 40 feet in width, ornamented by a colonnade, extends from the portico to the rotunda, from which the Halls of Congress are approached, and which is well lighted from the yards by 12 large windows, as shown on plan no. 6.

The plans of the Hall of Representatives and the Senate Chamber are so nearly like those of the design heretofore described, that it will be unnecessary. again to advert to them, except to say, that inasmuch as it will not be necessary, in the execution of this plan, to remove the columns in the present Hall of Representatives, I have suffered them to remain, and omitted columns altogether in the new hall. I propose to appropriate the present hall to the use of the Library, to which it is peculiarly adapted, and if properly fitted up it would make a grand, imposing, and convenient room for such a purpose, and may be approached from the new building as well as the rotunda. The present Library to be divided into committee rooms, as shown on the plans.

The remarks which were made in a former part of this communication on acoustics, heat, and ventilation, in reference to the design for an extension of the Capitol to the north and south, apply equally well to the plan I am now describing, it will therefore only be necessary for me to ask you to consider what has already been said on these subjects as parts of the plan for an extension to the eastward.

In the adoption of this, or any other plan for an enlargement of the Capitol, it is essential to the beauty and durability of the structure, that its exterior be composed, if possible, of an imperishable material. I would therefore strongly recommend that white marble be used for facing all the new work, and that the old work be painted to imitate it.

I may venture further to suggest, that it would by no means be impracticable to remove all the facing of the present building, and substitute marble, without interfering at all with the stability of the structure. If, therefore, the work is commenced by facing the new part with marble, the day will no doubt come when we shall have a marble Capitol, upon which time can work but little change.

I have estimated the cost of executing both designs, according to the drawings herewith submitted, and find that the plan for an extension to the north and south, marked 1, 2, 3, and 4, will cost the sum of $2,175,000; and the one for an extension to the eastward, marked 5, 6, 7, and 8, will cost $2,250,000, including every expense, except furniture. The general finish to be similar to that of the present building; all the rooms, except the two Halls of Congress, to be vaulted with bricks in the most permanent and durable manner, and rendered perfectly fire-proof, and all the new work of the exterior to be faced with marble, and the old work to be painted and sanded to correspond with it. In conclusion, I would respectfully say, that it would afford me pleasure to serve the Government in the capacity of Architect of the proposed improvement; and in the event of my receiving such an appointment, I would make Washington my permanent place of residence, in order that my time might be wholly devoted to the work.

I have the honor to be, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,

PHILADELPHIA, November 21, 1850.

THOMAS U. WALTER, Architect.

Mr. CAEMMERER. It is of exceedingly great interest, and shows, I think, 56 rooms would be added to the Capitol.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you made a study of these plans, Mr. Caemmerer?

Mr. CAEMMERER. Not in detail.

The CHAIRMAN. Generally speaking, what are your views about the legislation?

Mr. CAEMMERER. I think the proposed change would improve the appearance of the Capitol very much and it would certainly provide much needed room in the Capitol. I believe Congress is justified in making the Capitol as fine and complete as possible. I believe, too, that the central portico is much too small for the rest of the building. The dome was not built in harmony with the central portico, and the central portico as it stands today is subordinate to the porticos of the Senate and House wings. As Mr. Walter states, the front has now the appearance of three distinct buildings, instead of a complete composition.

The CHAIRMAN. Anything further?

Mr. CAEMMERER. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lynn, do you have anything?

Mr. SWARTWOUT. May I say one word?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, indeed.

Mr. SWARTWOUT. It just occurred to me, and I spoke to Mr. Lynn about it, the present condition of the old original stonework, about which so much has been spoken-that stone in the first place is covered with 22 coats of paint, but it will have to be replaced. It has been replaced in a good many places and it will be in the future. I have used that stone, a lot of it, and I like it for certain things, but I would not think of putting it in cornices because it would not stand up. There will only be a question of time when there will not be any of the stonework left. So, I think the idea of replacing the original design, well and carefully done as it will be done under Mr. Lynn, with new lasting material, is much better than trying to preserve it with paint.

There

The CHAIRMAN. If no one else cares to speak here we recess. was someone here this morning who wanted to speak, so I suppose we will have to come back here on Thursday. We thank you, gentlemen, for your presence, and we will recess the hearing.

(Whereupon, at 12:10 p. m. the hearing was recessed until 10:30 a. m., Thursday, Feb. 11, 1937.)