March, 1911 
AMERICAN HOMES AND 
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GARDENS ix 
THE EXHIBITION OF THE ARCHI- 
TECTURAL LEAGUE 
of the Architectural League, of 
New York, is now being held in 
the Fine Arts Building. 
It is undoubtedly one of the largest and 
best displays that the League has made 
in some years, and is one that will appeal 
to all those who are interested in archi- 
tecture, mural painting and sculpture. 
A conspicuous feature of the present 
exhibition is the presentation of a more 
carefully selected, and a larger number 
of designs of domestic architecture than 
has hitherto been given at some of the ex- 
positions. The committee in charge of 
this part of the program is to be con- 
gratulated on its wiser and more compre- 
hensive selections, as shown in the large 
number of creditable and interesting de- 
lineations, among which are the Bryant 
Memorial, by Grosvenor Atterbury; the 
great buildings of the University of Min- 
neapolis, by Cass Gilbert; and the Robert 
Fulton memorial water gate, by H. Van 
Buren McGonigle. A country house of 
distinctive character is the one built for 
James Stillman, Esq., at Pocantico Hills. 
It is original in conception and is the 
work of Messrs. Albro and Linderberg. 
A plan of monumental proportions is the 
one prepared by Grosvenor Atterbury for 
the Sage Foundation Homes Company at 
Forest Hill, L. I. One has no idea of the 
magnitude of this work until he has 
studied very carefully, the proposed 
scheme outlined by Mr. Atterbury. 
One of the most unusual mural paintings 
is the achievement of Barry Faulkner of 
the Academy of Rome. 
It represents a group of heroes of an- 
tiquity, standing in glittering accoutre- 
ments. It is startling in conception, and 
occupies the place of honor assigned to it 
in the gallery. 
The decoration of a swimming tank 
of an athletic club, at Pittsburg, by Al- 
bert Herter, representing youths in the 
pool or emerging from it is, perhaps, of 
more popular interest than any of the 
paintings shown in the collection. 
The fine decorations by Edwin H. 
Blashfield are most excellent, and the de- 
lightful pictures of the Dutch Colonial 
scenes by Howard Pyle, for the embel- 
lishment of the Hudson County Court 
House, are admirable on account of their 
simple and artistic treatments. 
No true Princeton man can fail to re- 
ceive a fervent thrill when he observes 
the two great bronze tigers which have 
been designed by A. Phimister Proctor, 
for the entrance to Nassau Hall at 
Princeton University. 
These superb beasts are the gift of the 
a twenty-sixth annual exhibition 
class of °79, and are, perhaps, the most 
striking examples of sculpture shown in 
the gallery. 
The colossal seated figure, by Charles 
Keck, for the Allegheny County Soldiers’ 
Monument, is one of dignity and repose, 
and there is also some good work in 
sculpture by Daniel C. French and Her- 
bert Adams. 
A GOVERNMENTAL COMPETITION 
N the history of architecture there has 
been no more important competition 
than that recently held by the United 
States Government for the selection of an 
architect for each of the three proposed 
buildings for the Departments of State, 
Justice, and Commerce and Labor. There 
have been one or two competitions, as for 
example the International competition held 
some ten or fifteen years ago for a plan 
for the University of California, where a 
greater expenditure was contemplated, but 
we believe that there has been none in which 
the importance of the buildings, of their 
site, and of the expenditure involved to- 
gether, compared with this. The three 
buildings are to be placed along the east 
side of the “White Lot,” the open park 
which extends between the grounds of the 
White House and of the Washington 
Monument, and will extend from Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue to the Mall. Of the three 
buildings proposed, that for the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor is consider- 
ably the largest. It is to be something over 
five hundred feet in length and about two 
hundred and seventy-five feet in depth. 
This building is to be placed in the center 
of the group, with the Department of Jus- 
tice building to the north and with a front- 
age on Pennsylvania Avenue and the De- 
partment of State to the south with a 
frontage upon the Mall. 
The total appropriation authorized for 
the three buildings is something over eight 
million dollars, divided in the proportion 
of $3,650,000 for the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor, $2,200,000 for the De- 
partment of State, and $1,900,000 for the 
Department of Justice. A special commis- 
sion, composed of the President, the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, and the Secretaries 
of the respective Departments, was created 
by Congress to obtain plans and to carry 
on the construction of the buildings. This 
Commission decided to institute simul- 
taneously three independent, but exclusive, 
competitions—that is to say, no architect 
to be invited to compete for more than one 
building, and the list of competitors to be 
so general as to include nearly all of the 
most prominent architects of the country. 
Indeed, so comprehensive was the list of 
competitors that there remained few to be 
called upon later to serve as jurors in the 
competition. Some sixty architects in all 
were invited to compete, Messrs. D. H. 
Burnham Company, Carrere & Hastings, 
and E. V. Seeler having declined the invi- 
tation, so that there were finally submitted 
nineteen sets of drawings in each competi- 
tion. As each of these sets included six to 
eight sheets of drawings, each of which was 
approximately four by five feet in size, the 
amount of work involved was enormous. 
A large percentage of these drawings came 
from New York, and it is said that Penn- 
sylvania Avenue presented an amusing sight 
upon the arrival of the midnight train upon 
December 30th. As the drawings were too 
large to be conveniently carried, except 
upon the front seat of a taxicab, the trip 
from the Pennsylvania depot to the Treas- 
ury Department must have resembled a 
parade of automobile sandwich men. 
An interesting question developed early 
in the undertaking upon the decision to 
have three independent competitions. There 
were three buildings to be built, which must 
in the end be designed in harmony, and 
some discussion ensued as to the advisabil- 
ity of having the jurors of the three com- 
petitions consult or inspect the drawings 
submitted in the other competitions before 
making a decision in their own. It was 
finally and wisely decided that the com- 
petitions should be for the selection of an 
architect, and that the designers of the 
three buildings should subsequently co- 
operate, and the designs be modified and 
studied together to the fullest extent, in 
order that the three buildings as a group 
should form a harmonious composition. 
The decisions of the juries were an- 
nounced on January 6th, as follows: 
Winner, Commerce and Labor, York & Sawyer: 
State, Arnold Brunner; Justice, Donn Barber. 
First Honorable Mention, Commerce and Labor, 
Tracy, Swartwout & Litchfield; State, J. Gamble 
Rogers; Justice, Cass Gilbert. 
Second Honorable Mention, Commerce and Labor, 
J. H. Friedlander ; State, Warren & Wetmore: 
Justice, Percy Griffin. 
Third Honorable Mention, Commerce and Labor, 
Geo. B. Post and Sons; State, H.V. B.McGon- 
igle; Justice, Parker & Thomas. 
The preliminary drawings are now being 
-exhibited at the Fine Arts Building in New 
York city. It is proposed by the commit- 
tee to hold an exhibition of the 57 sets of 
drawings which were submitted for the 
competition some time in the near future. 
A CORRECTION 
An error was made in the February is- 
sue of AMERICAN HoMEs AND GARDENS 
by announcing that Mr. J. R. Cromwell 
was the architect of Mr. R. R. Colgate’s 
residence at Sharon, Conn. 
Mr. J. William Cromwell, Jr., of New 
York city, was the architect to whom credit 
should have been given. 
