IS* 



Iron not ex- 

 pensive if em 

 ploved with 

 skill. 



Roof of iron 

 cheaper than 

 timber. 

 Hollow brick 

 flooring. 



Wood that 

 does not flame 

 advisable. 



Deal may be 

 prepared so as 



to be less in- 

 flammable. 



The private 

 apartments 

 should be 

 heated by 

 steam ; 

 and the boiler 

 should be 

 adapted to 

 work an en- 

 gine for sup- 

 plying and 

 throwing wa- 

 ter. 



Avenues. 



ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEATRES. 



gerous trade in the construction of any part of tlie build- 

 ing. 



It may at first sight appear, that the substitution of 

 iron for timber must be enormously expensive — and it 

 would be enormous, if scientific care were not taken, to 

 calculate the stress and strength of every part of the struc- 

 ture where iron was to be used,and to frame the material to- 

 gether upon mechanical principles of strength and lightness. 



As to the roof, it could no doubt be made lighter and 

 cheaper of iron than of timber at the present price of that 

 material. Cotton mills are frequently floored with hollow 

 bricks, which are light ; and these may be covered with 

 carpetting. 



Many other parts of the theatre might be constructed of 

 iron and copper ; and stucco might be introduced in many 

 places instead of wood. There are kinds of timber that 

 do not flame; these, though not very durable, might be 

 employed for floors and benches. And where deal is abso- 

 lutely necessary, it may be covered or imbued with a wash, 

 that in some degree will retard inflammation. After the 

 wood work that requires painting has received two coats of 

 oil paint, it may be finished with a coat in distemper* 

 which may frequently be renewed at small expense, and 

 without the disagreeable smell of oil paint. 



To heat the green room, dressing rooms, and the with- 

 drawing rooms, steam might be advantageously employed; 

 and the boiler to supply the iteam should be so placed, as 

 to serve at a moment's warning, to work a steam engine of 

 force sufficient to draw water at once from the Thames, and 

 to drive jit with a strong impulse wherever it should be 

 wanted. This steam engine should be strongly enclosed in 

 a building, to which access on every side could be easily 

 obtained. 



2. Some of the theatres at Paris have commodious ave- 

 nues ; but not one theatre in London has been so placed* 

 or so constructed, as to afford tolerable convenience either 

 to the higher or lower class of spectators. 



Private property intervenes so much, that it is scarcely 

 to be expected, that any great improvement can be made 



la 



