REPORT OP THE ARCHITECTS. XXI 



This deplorable condition of the east wing, continued for a series of 

 years, demanded in the end prompt action, and in March, 1883, an ap- 

 propriation of $50,000 was made by Congress for the fire-proof Recon- 

 struction of the eastern part of the Smithsonian Institution, to which 

 $15,000 were added in July, 1884, for completion and furniture. 



Under these appropriations the old " chemical wing" was stripped of 

 the combustible constructions ; so much of the exterior walls as de- 

 pended upon the wooden frame work was carefully taken down ; all or- 

 namental cut-stone work, consisting of copies from doors, windows, and 

 cornices of div^ers monastic edifices in France and Germany, was laid 

 aside and reset in the walls during the progress of the work. The 

 dark and damp cellar, containing 4,500 square feet of floor space, was 

 drained, and provided with a Portland cement floor upon a concrete 

 foundation, and converted into dry working-rooms in best sanitary con- 

 dition. On the ground floor cheerful offices were arranged on both sides 

 of a broad and level corridor, by which the old museum is reached in a 

 direct line from the east entrance. The formerly useless and anomalous 

 second story was rearranged into two stories of ten feet clear height 

 for offices, with adequate light and air, and covered with a metal roof, 

 fastened in a fire-proof manner upon concreted brick arches. 



Above the ground floor of the east wing there were but six badly 

 lighted and ventilated rooms in a second story. These were replaced 

 by seven well lighted and aired spacious offices, and a similar space 

 was gained in each of two upper stories for offices and document-rooms. 

 This wing is crowned by a pitched mediaeval wrought-iron roof, covered 

 with slate hung to iron pur-lines for the steep portions, and with metal 

 upon hollow terracotta tiles for the flat portions. 



There are arranged above the basement, in all, 36 office rooms, con- 

 taining 12,500 square feet floor space. 



In the progress of the work the exterior walls were strengthened, sub- 

 stantial brick walls were built for the interior partitions, and supports 

 of the fire-proof floors consisting of concreted brick arches sprung 

 between rolled-iron beams. 



All the rooms are provided with extra large gas-pipes and flues end- 

 ing above the roof, so that eventually either of them may be used by the 

 scientists for experiments. There are tubes laid throughout for inter- 

 communication by means of oral annunciators, and piping for clocks. 



Documents may be raised or lowered from the outside of the building 

 to the basement by a hoist, and from there distributed to the archives 

 in the different stories by means of an elevator of cheap construction. 



A compact low-pressure steam-heating apparatus warms the whole 

 section promptly and comfortably at a moderate expense. 



The exterior architecture was simply modified by resetting all the 

 architraves and cornices at such levels as to enable valuable space 

 within the building to be made useful for laboratories, offices, work- 

 rooms, archives, and store-rooms, by enlarging some of the windows as 



