The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, September 29, 1934, Page 24

td t 4 ‘ ‘ 1 1 ’ ' ! 1 THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE Picture of the new building taken from the hill at the rear. It shows the rear entrance, more used than manner in which the building is set into the crest of the hill. C ONTINUE from page one Beauty and Utility Combine in Capitol place of the structure, but before examining it let us take a look at the steps and plaza themselves. Steps Are of Limestone “They are made of Indiana lime- stone, the same material which dom- inates the face of the structure, and are in four terraces of seven steps each with the intervening platforms nine feet wide. The width of the steps is 82 feet and they are flanked on either side by massive limestone guard walls. The side of each wall contains indirect lighting equipment which adds materially to the beauty of the plaza at night. The plaza itself is 101 feet wide by 60 feet long and also is paved with limestone. Facing it is the great bronze and glass facade which is the chief orna- ment to the building’s exterior. Placed in almost the center of the structure, it not only lets sunlight into the great memorial hall but re- lieves the monotony of the stone facing. At the top of the facade are bronze figures of Indians, hunters and farmers, symbolic of North Da-) kota’s history. One enters the great hall through small revolving doors at the right and left of the big facade and comes fat once upon a place of beauty un- rivalled in North Dakota and rank- ed by some as one of the most beauti- ful rooms in the world. The hall itself is really a giant corridor, but what a corridor. Twen- ty six feet wide, it is three stories high and from its ceiling hang five cylindrical chandeliers, each con- taining 121 electric lights. The chandeliers, made of bronze with blue glass, are of the indirect type and cast a flood of soft light through- out the entire space. The walls are of honed travertine, a kind of marble, except those back of the stairways leading to the ground floor below. These are of black Belgian marble, polished so highly that one easily can see his reflection in them. Breaking the spaces in front of the facade windows and the orna- mental stairway are six huge fluted bronze columns on each side. They reach from the floor to the roof, nearly 50 feet above, and are one of the chief ornaments of the massive hallway. To the right, as one enters, is the elevator lobby and corridor leading into the offices of the secretary of state and the attorney general, while to the left is the legislative lobby, also a thing of beauty and really @ continuation of the memorial hall. Expensive Woods Are Used The legislative lobby is only 25 feet wide and has no chandeliers, indirect lighting being provided by wall fixtures. The lower parts of the walls are beautifully paneled in rosewood, the most expensive used in the building. The upper parts are in curly maple, paneled to bring out the natural beauty. Seats are to be provided along the ‘sides under canopies of ornamental wood, each containing a light fix- ture. The canopies already are in Taken together, the two sections this can be in the late after- with the sun flooding through clear glass and penetrating the entire length of the noble structure. . Only the first three floors of the ‘tuilding are decorative in their mature, the remaining 16 being de- d largely for utility. It is in the firat three floors that the fine mar- ci Tare and expensive woods 2 } bronze fittings are to be Above them, the structure is to any modern office build- size. i@xtensively ornamented is “governor's section in the south- of the tower's main floor. ta of a reception room pan- |each wall and across the ceiling. by 21 feet in dimension with windows | on the south and west sides, the west side facing the entrance plaza. The governor's office itself is 17 and 18 feet in dimension and has teakwood walls and ceilings and mas- sive teakwood doors Shows Woodworker's Art This room, more than any other perhaps, gives illustration of the woodworker's art, for it shows what can be done to bring out the beauty of natural materials. The massive fluted doors of the governor's office are of plain or ungrained teak, cut in the normal way. Fluted panels of this material run up the side of meeting in the center. The remainder of the walls and ceiling are of grained and matched teak. The difference, experts ex- Plain, is in the way the wood is cut. Also in the governor's unit are a room for secretaries or stenograph- ers, 27x18 feet, and a conference room, 37x18 feet. All open off a corridor connecting the reception and conference rooms, and there are also two: vaults and two toilet rooms. The paneling in the corridor is of prima vera, a sort of light ma- hogany with a beautiful grain, while ; the reception room is paneled with Honduras mahogany, the kind the best furniture is made of. On the same floor and occupying | the eastern side of the building is | the secretary of state's office, which has a private entrance leading from the main corridor to the secretary's office as well as a main entrance. The private corridor is of Califor- nia walnut, a highly figured wood used successfully in small rooms but rejected for large ones as too “wild”. The main entrance is of American walnut. The secretary's office itself is 30x17 feet and is paneled in prima vera. A bookcase is built in at one end. One feature of the general office is its large vault. There also are offices for the deputy, record writers and other clerks. On the north side of the main floor is the attorney general's office. 28x19 feet, with two built-in book- cases, and finished in English oak. Connecting with it is a corridor along which are offices for five as- sistants. This unit also contains a law library which is 18 feet and six inches wide and 30 feet long, for use by the attorney general and his assistants. Court on Third Floor ‘The supreme court is on the third of the decorative floors, occupy- | ing all of its floor space. Its bright spots are the court- room, done in rosewood, a confer- ence room in walnut and the chief justice’s chamber in Honduras ma- hogany. The rooms of the other Justices are finished in plaster, like ordinary office rooms. There are ‘hree smaller rooms for secretaries to the judges. The clerk’s office is in walnut. Of special interest to attorneys is the law library, largest in the state and comprising two big rooms, one above the other. A mezzanine floor with another section of stacks can be added to the lower room. The library now contains about 25,000 books. It has room for as many more, A small elevator corridor opens on the second floor and from its west- ern end one can look down into the main hall below. It is the finest spot in the building to get a general view of this feature. Office Spaces Similar Above the third floor the layout of office space is different only because of the needs of the various departments. The section is 95 feet square above the fifth floor. Ex- tensions to the east at the second and fourth floors make it slightly larger up to that point, this feature of the architecture being intended to im- Braye the appearance of the build- ing. Of the area on each business floor, @ space 38 feet square and located in the exact middle is used for eleva- tors, elevator lobby, toilets and other services, The elevator lobbies them- selves are 12x36 feet in dimension. An analysis of the items hidden in the walls, as will be shown later, dis- | f Square. closes this area to be truly the heart of the building. Partitions may be placed in any Part of the typical floors outside that square in the center. The largest single room in any of the finished floors is in the highway department, where scores of clerks and stenog- raphers work side by side. The floors used by the Federal Emergency Re- lief administration are unfinished and here one may walk around the entire building without encountering a partition, In each elevator lobby there is a drinking fountain, serving ice water, a clock, operated by electricity from a master clock in the basement, a rubbish chute, mail chute and toilets | for men and women. Enclosed in this square, also is the smokestack for the boilers in the basement, the elevator and ventilat- ing shafts and the shafts containing some of the electrical wiring. Plenty of Fire Protection Two different sets of stairways are Provided in the tower section. One, open to the puble and to employes, is on the north side of the central The other, on the south side, is for emergency use only and the doors can be opened only from the outside. Thus people can get into it anywhere but can get out only at the bottom of the tower. This exit is intended for use in case of fire, al- though the entire building is theoret- ically fireproof. There is nothing to burn in the walls above the third or last ornamental floor and the doors, doorframes, windows, window- casings, etc., are of steel. In the stairways themselves the only wood- en thing is the top stringer on the railing. Most of the wire services go up through spaces paralleling the stair- wells and access may be had to them on each floor. The steel conduits which carry them are “stopped” at each floor, that is, the concrete floor is solidly built around them. This is to prevent the fire hazard which might arise from a draft sweeping upward through an open well The rubbish chute, the only per- pendicular space in the building with the exception of the smoke stack, the mail chute, and the ventilators, is lined with steel and has two steel doors on each floor. On the top floor an automatic sprinkler, oper- ated by a thermostat, is designed to flood the rubbish chute with water in the event the temperature rises sharply. Fire hose is contained in a closet in each stairway, connected with pipes leading from a pump in the basement. The minute one of these hose is placed in operation the pump swings into action. Mechanical Gadgets Interesting As is true of all modern buildings, some of the most interesting things are hidden from view of the casual Spectator. These are mechanical contrivances in the basement and on the extreme top floor. Of major interest to all who visit the capitol is the elevators, two on one side of the elevator lobby and one on the other, with room for a fourth. They are of the latest, high- speed type, operating at a maximum. of 700 feet a minute. Special de- vices permit them to start and stop without the jerking motion common to the early high-speed lifts of this type. All of the machinery for their operation is on the extreme top floor, really a 20th floor since it was designed to make a penthouse un- necessary. The operator pushes au- tomatic controls in the elevator car and these operate electrical mech- anisms on what looks a great deal like the switchboard connections in a modern telephone office. If they failed to work the operator would be lost, since the cars are complete- jy enclosed and the only way to tell the elevator’s position in the shaft jis by means of the lights which go on and off as each floor is reach- ed ‘and passed. How necessary these elevators are in a tall building is indicated by the Perpendicular distances run. That first placed in service had traveled 49,563 miles on September 24. An- | other had run 39,147 miles and the third 38,574 miles. On the 20th floor, also are located the generators which produce elec- ni 9 %- It looks like a bridge being buried in the ground, but it isn’t. It is merely one of the huge concrete and reinforced steel foundations for the tower section of the new capitol. , SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1934 __ tricity for the motors, the water cooling machine, two big water tanks, which provide pressure throughout the building, and a part of the heat control system. Heat Control Is Marvel The latter is one of the marvels of the building. The engineer, sitting in his office in the basement, can tell the approximate temperature of each room in the building by glanc- ing at a panel devised for that pur- Pose. This is connected by electric- ity with a master thermostat, six feet high, located on the roof, and with eight other zone thermostats, four on the 13th floor and four in the legislative wing. The roof thermostat gives the out- side temperature and is the master control. As the temperature re- corded by it drops, electrical contacts are made with the valves on the 19th floor and more steam is permitted to flow into the heating system. If, as sometimes happens because of the wind direction, one part of the building becomes cold, the 13th floor thermostat controlling that zone automatically signals to the mech- anical sentinel in the basement and the valves in that zone are opened up until the desired temperature is reached. The amazing thing about it is that it is all automatic. The en- gineer can, if he wishes, make ad- justments from the central control station by hand, but he doesn’t need to. The electrical impulses take care of that. The steam, which goes first to the room under the roof and then comes downward to the radiators, is gen- erated by three boilers in the base- ment. They are operated by me- chanical stokers and burn lignite coal. This arrangement is of the latest and most efficient design, all coal being weighed before it is brought to the boilers. On an aver- age cold day at this season between five and six tons are burned. On a cold winter day it is estimated about 20 tons will be required. Basement 36 Feet Deep The boilers are set in the deepest Part of the basement, 36 feet below the ground level, and are surround- ed by the maze of pumps and other equipment. There are, for example, two pumps which send the water to tanks on the 20th floor, a pump to lift some of the sewage up to the level of the city sewer system, and the fire pressure pumps, along with the necessary motors, Electrical current is brought into the building by an underground con- duit, as are telephone wires. The power lines run first into a trans- former vault, located under the en- trance plaza, and thence into a switchboard in the basement. From here, power and lighting current may be turned on or off in any part of the building. A notable section of this switchboard is an emergency Panel in its center. This can be made to supply power, via separate wires, to the elevator motors and to light the elevator lobbies and the exit lights. An interesting gadget is one which can be used to control the flood lights, located on the 18th floor, so as to light the top of the buiding. It can be set to turn these lights on and off at any given time on any day during the year and can be ad- Justed to turn them on at dusk and off at daylight throughout the year. Once it is set, it needs no further attention. The flood lights are used very little now as a matter of econ- omy. Plenty of Storage Vaults In the basement also are located the storage vaults for the various state departments, all fireproof with metal doors. Here, also, is master clock which keeps all clocks throughout the building exactly on time by means of electrical connec- tions, together with rooms for the custodian, the janitors and the scrub- women. One large room, which it had been intended to use for another Purpose, serves as a carpenter shop. Housed here, too, is the mechan- ical ventilating apparatus for the first three floors and the restaur- | ant. These provide filtered ai: for any other, the parking space and also the No, it isn’t the picture of a graveyard. It merely shows the footin; A sharp contrast lem, since examination shows that ultra-dry air has had a damaging effect on some of the fine woodwork in the ornamental parts of the building. The tower has natural ventilation. The present vault section is en- tirely under the tower, but the huge basement under the legislative wing, now unfinished, may be used for this Purpose. This part of the basement ds 12 feet deep. The freight elevator, part of the “hidden” equipment, operates only from the ground floor level at the northeast corner of the building to the floor below. The idea is that material entering the building can be unpacked there and taken to the floors above, if necessary, when the passenger elevators are not needed for routine duty. A separate telephone wire room is Jocated in the basement but there is no central exchange in the building. It is estimated that it is cheaper and more efficient to connect all lines direct to the central station in Bis- marck and besides, in a building where political matters often are discussed over the telephone, it was regarded as unwise to give interested ears too great an opportunity to hear words not intended for them. Al- most everyone in a capitol building is liable to be interested in politics. Home Not Like This Lawmakers coming here next win- ter, regardless of their station in life, Probably will be forced to admit that home was never like this with res- Pect to the luxury and beauty pro- vided for them. If the laws enacted in the two chambers are as sound as the rooms are beautiful, they will be good indeed. The largest of the two semi-cir- cular halls is the house chamber, on the south side of the legislative lob- by, 60 feet deep from the front of the speaker's desk to the south wali and 120 feet from east to west. Its walls are paneled in chestnut, a straw-colored wood, and its ceil- ing is of blue plaster with indirect lighting from serrated wells. These also serve to carry off the foul air and are a part of the ventilating sys- m. Ten feet from the windows is a bronze railing, which sets off the desks of members from the rest of the room, while inside the railing are four semi-circular platforms, each lower than the next, upon which the desks are to be placed. The present membership of the house is 113 but three more desks | could be added without crowding. Air ducts come up through the floor to supply heat and a separate light will be provided for each mem- | those parts of the structure but no means of humidifying it. Consider- | ation now is being given to this prob- | ber’s desk. The floor is covered with rubber tile in contrasting shades of blue. Taken at 20 degrees below zero with the wind blowing 35 miles an hour. Note the torn canvas sidewalls at the top. with the view at the top which On the second floor and looking down upon the house chamber proper is a balcony for spectators. That on the house side will seat 210 spectat- ors without crowding. The one on the senate side will accommodate 186. Senate Chamber Is Smaller Because of the smaller member- ship, the senate chamber is smaller than that for the house, a part of the space on the outer edge of the great circle having been set aside for a lounge, for committee rooms and for other purposes. The wood paneling in the cham- ber is of English oak, with horizontal bronze bands at eight-foot intervals, while back of the presiding officer's desk is a gigantic perpendicular Panel with indirect lighting at the sides. When all of the lights are on, this room is a place of surpassing beauty and some commentators have declared it to be one of the finest in the United States. The floor is of brown and tan rubber tile. The ceiling is a light brown to match the wood paneling. Special offices are provided for the speaker of the house and presi- dent of the senate near their respec- tive chambers and on the senate side is a room for women lawmakers. It is not as large as the lounge for men and, curiously enough, not as well done from the standpoint of or- namentation, but it is comfortable enough and has a private toilet and washroom. On the main floor level are two toilets off each chamber while on the ground level below are house and Senate lounge rooms, each beautiful- ly painted but with plaster walls instead of expensive wood paneling. Also there are washrooms for mem- bers of both houses, that for the lower house being the larger. Altogether 15 committee rooms are Provided, in addition to quarters for such employes as bill clerks, enroll- ing clerks and others. On the sen- ate side, in addition, is a room for newspapermen covering the session. Five of these rooms are on the ground floor level, the others are on the balcony level on the senate side. Have Big Hearing Room In addition there is a large hear- ing room, where legislative matters may be discussed before audiences. Located directly under the house chamber, it will seat approximately 270 persons, with room for plenty of others to stand. | One of the unique arrangements |is that for a broadcasting room, |wherein radio equipment may be |placed. It is located behind the | chestnut paneling of the house cham- | ber to the left of the speaker's desk |and wires connect it to the senate | before this equipment is put in place. is one of the huge foundations side to pick up any programs which might be broadcast there. There are no elevators on the legislative side of the building. Legis- lators entering there can check their coats and hats in a semi-circular large room under the senate cham- ber, then walk to the lounges or the chambers upstairs. Wires have been installed in both houses for automatic voting mach- ines, but such equipment has not been purchased on the ground that dt is too expensive. If it were in place all a legislator would need do to vote would be to push a button on his desk, showing whether he wish- ed to be recorded as voting yes or no. At the same time the governor, sitting in his private office, would be able to look at an illuminated Panel and tell how each member was voting. It may be many years Probably the busiest place in the building is the ground-floor corri- dor and, curiously enough, the single ack door is used much more than the ornamental triple front doors. The latter lead into the building from the driveway which passes un- der the central plaza and about the only ones who enter here are those who come to the building by taxi, those who have someone drive them, vand those who walk. Have Big Parking Space Extensive parking space is provid- ed in the level plot back of the building and most employes park their machines there and come through the back door near the elevatars. Others, parking ‘their cars on the west side, enter through the west door. Fewer persons enter the building through the south doors at the ground level, or through the great plaza above, than through) either of the other doors alone. This| is because practically all of the busi- | ness is transacted in the tower sec-| tion and workers seek easiest ac- cess to the elevators. Although designed for utility rather than as a showplace, the ground floor lobby has some inter- | esting features. Its walls are of| Polished travertine which reflect the wall and panel lights. The western end is two steps lower than the eastern, this being necessary to al- low for the downward slope of the house and senate chambers above it. | Right now it is largely occupied by offices of the federal emergency re- Nef administration, which also has some offices on the main floor and which has several hundred workers on the 16th and 17th floors. At the eastern end of the ground floor lobby is the capitol restaurant |dng and $1 igs for the legislative wing of the building. under the tower section. workers, many of whom remain in the building for lunch. A small Private dining room adjoins the main dining room where there are tables and a large lunch counter. Near the entrances to the ground floor lobby are located the informa- tion desk and telegraph office, and the desk where the guides are Stationed. Visitors desiring guid- ance through the building are asked to register and between 100 and 150 names are added to the book each day. Most of them are those of North Dakotans but every state in the union and some foreign coun- ee already are represented in the t. Some idea of the business trans- acted in the building is indicated by the number of telegraph messages. sent and received daily. The at- tendant estimates that the volume: of business is equal to that done by offices in the average city of 5,000 persons. Curiously enough, although the building was designed to meet the state’s needs for office space for many years and all of the details are not yet finished, complaints of over~ crowding already are heard. The answer is the tremendous influx of workers into the government relief offices. The building was designed to house between 500 and 550 workers but a Tecent checkup showed 325 state em- loyes and 324 relief employes. Since then the number of relief workers has increased so that they now are in the numerical majority. In ad- dition, a number of individuals in various state departments are act- ually on the FERA payroll. What to do when the legislature meets and seeks to occupy the com- ‘mittee rooms and other offices now used by the FERA is troubling of- ficials in charge of the building. Only two floors in the tower section are unused and these may be pressed into service. The floors in the tower now used by the FERA also are un- finished. A new office section of the FERA, however, will be organiz- ed soon and housed in the Liberty Memorial building near the capitol. Statistics covering the building have been given wide circulation, as shave comparisons between it and other capitols. Built at the low Point of building costs, it was con- structed at a cost of 46 cents a cubic foot as compared with $1.10 a cubic foot for Nebraska's $10,000,000 build- @ cubic foot for that at Baton Rouge, La. By separating the tower and legis-. dative wings operating costs were re-. duced, since the assembly wing can where food is served from a clean, modern kitchen to the throng ‘be closed off when not in use, there- by saving heat, it and janitor a say light