386 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSKUM, 1!)03. 



With i-oi^anl to the fii'cprootino' the t'oUowinj^ inj^y be speoiiilly 

 noted: The outer walls are of brick and granite; all the inner parti- 

 tions of hollow terra-cotta blocks. The ceilings are suppoited by 

 wrought-iron columns, which are covered over with hollow terra-cotta 

 blocks. The joists are of steel, and the dome ceiling is constructed in 

 even arches of hollow terra-cotta blocks. Ther space between these 

 blocks and the joists is filled with concrete. In this concrete are placed 

 the beams, to which the flooring is nailed. This and similar ceiling 

 construction is indeed known and used among us, but is not in such 

 general use as in America. 



For protection against lire, two -i-incli pipes run from the roof to the 

 cellar, where they are connected with a steam pump, and continue out 

 to the street, so that the hose belonging to the city Hre department 

 may be attached to them. In each story there is a branch pipe with 

 hose coupling, hose, and mouthpiece. The hose is wound around a 

 wheel. The roof is Hat and completely covered with glazed ]>ricks. 



In the rooting of lireproof buildings special attention should be paid 

 to protection against iiying cinders, which ma}- extend much farther 

 than is generally supposed. Some years ago a fire broke out in a pri- 

 vate residence on Fifth avenue between Sixty-seventh and Sixty- 





Fn;. 27. — Ceiling ;uid Uoor coiistrui'tion. 



eighth streets, opposite Central Park, in the best part of the city, by 

 which thirteen persons lost their .lives. The sparks flew over two cross 

 streets and ignited the roof of another private residence, resulting in 

 the loss of two additional lives, and yet the houses in this locality all 

 look like solid stone structures. The distance was from 600 to 650 feet. 

 This shows the danger of leaving biuldings containing collections in 

 the middle of the city, as some of them are located in Dresden, without 

 very carefully planned protection against fire, especially in the upper 

 portions. Fire has often been known to cross a street more than 65 

 feet wide. 



In describing the institutions of Chicago I shall return to the sub- 

 ject of fireproof buildings and (|uestions connected with them. 



The heating and ventilating apparatus in the model building of the 

 University Club may also be described somewhat more in detail: 



The exhaust steam of the electric light and power plant suffices for 

 heating the entire })uilding with low-pressure steam. Every radiator 

 has its own supply pipes and return pipes, and the main return pipes run 

 into the cellar below the water level of the l)oiler, in order to afford 



