132 MIDDLEMTSS : KANGRA EARTHQUAKE. 



The Town Hall has suffered more severely than any other building 



in Lahore, and will require a great deal of recoil- 



Effect on bu.id- struction. It is a large substantial rectangular two- 



The Town Hall. storied building of red brick, 114 ft. by 72 ft. and 48 



feet in height, with its longer axis running N. 15° E. 



(see pi. 18). At the north corners were two large but not lofty square 



towers, bearing a very heavy roof structure, including a large central 



dome and four corner turrets, each turret being crowned with a solid 



brick globe. It is to the presence of these two towers that the mischief 



is due, for, while they themselves are badly wrecked and have wrecked 



adjacent staircases and verandahs, the southern portion beyond the 



lateral turrets is quite intact with scarcely a crack over its arch* s. 



The intermediate portion has sustained injury only where it projects 



above the main structure ; a turret and two globes having been lost on 



one side, and two globes on the other. (See pi. 18 and plan pi. 23.) 



An eye-witness describes the fall of the towers as seen from a bun- 

 galow from which the front or northern end of the Town Hall is 

 visible. They appeared first to lurch forward towards the north, 

 recover, and again lurch forward, the upper portion falling. 



At first sight it appears difficult to explain why this building 

 should Have suffered so conspicuously, since there are several large 

 buildings close at. hand, which are either untouched or show slight 

 cracks only. (Cf. New Law Courts, pi. 19, lower fig.) 



It appears reasonable to attribute the destruction to the weighty 

 roofs of the towers and the quite uiadequate support beneath. From 

 calculations based on the dimensions, and specific gravity of the brick, 

 the weight of the central dome, which was practically of solid brick- 

 work, was approximately 38. ton?, that of each turret about 2 tons, and 

 that of each globe about 12. cwt. So that, besides the weight of the 

 actual roof itself and its wide cornice, the brick pillars below had to 

 support at least 48 tons. 



The effect of the earthquake upon the Town Hall can perhaps be 

 explained by assuming that it was struck by two impulses from different 

 directions, one from the N. or N. E. and a less severe one from the 

 E, S. E. or S. E. 



