34 UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



exceptions, to the length unit of measurement of the wings and 

 ranges, namely 18^ feet from center to center, and this arrange- 

 ment is the same in all stories. These isolated piers stand opposite 

 the piers of the outer and court walls and, therefore, in line to sup- 

 port the girders of the floor above. 



In the east and west wings the piers are mostly arranged in three 

 longitudinal rows, the norttiem row, measuring from centers, being 

 32 feet 1 inch from the court wall, the southern row 32 feet 5 inches 

 from the outer wall, and the middle row midway between the other 

 two. The middle piers are 3 feet square and the lateral ones 3 

 feet by 3 feet 9 inches. Toward the outer ends of these wings the 

 arrangement is modified to form two crossrows of four piers each, 

 the piers in the outermost row being larger than all the others, and 

 especially the northern and southern ones which measure 5 feet 3 

 inches by 4 feet 1| inches. In the north wing, where the piers all 

 measure 3 feet by 3 feet 9 inches, they are disposed in four rows, 

 leaving the center of the floor unincumbered. Measuring from cen- 

 ters, the two inner rows are 29 feet apart and 11 feet 3 inches from 

 the lateral rows, which, in turn, are distant 32 feet 1 inch from the 

 side walls. The single row of piers through the ranges is distant 

 17 feet 6 inches from the court walls, leaving the middle part of 

 the floor free for corridors where partition walls have been con- 

 structed. The piers measure 3 feet by 3 feet 9 inches, except one at 

 the northeast and one at the northwest corner of the ranges which 

 are 5 feet 3 inches square in their greatest dimension. All of these 

 piers are built of hard-burned red brick and capped with granite 

 blocks or templates as bearings for the floor girders, corresponding 

 templates being also inserted in the side walls. They are mostly 

 plastered, which adds about 1-| inches to the dimensions above given, 

 but in the east wing and the middle of the west wing they are simply 

 painted. 



The steel columns in the lobby at the north entrance are of the 

 box type, built up of two 15-inch channels fastened together with 

 iT-inch by f -inch plates. There is a row of four, enclosed in marble, 

 extending east and west through the middle of the room, and two 

 others in the north wall of the lobby, one opposite each of the 

 outer columns of the middle row. 



First story. — The floor of the first story is coextensive with that 

 of the ground story and is of exceptionally heavy construction. The 

 framework consists of box-type steel girders, 2 feet 10 inches deep by 

 2 feet 6 inches wide, running, with few exceptions, at right angles to 

 the outer and court walls and resting upon these walls and the 

 granite-capped brick piers below; and of steel I beams, typically 18 

 inches deep, spanning between the girders. The girders are, as a 

 rule, spaced 18| feet on centers, while the beams are spaced 5 feet 



