statues and monuments to tlie memory of the great men of
the Republic. The general system of streets and avenues
would be extended over the reclaimed ground outside of the
Government reservations, 454 a., with the exception of Rail-
road av., now Long Bridge and Potomac av., 200 ft. wide, to
run the entire length inside the bulkhead. The street, 100 ft.
wide inside the bulkheads, on the Anacostia front, called by
the name of that stream, would run from the Arsenal to the
^NTavy-yard.
Bridges. — There are no fine bridges across the Potomac or
Anacostia connecting Washington with the opposite shore.
At the beginning of the present century there were four
bridges: one across the Potomac into Virginia, and three
across the Anacostia ; all owned by private companies. There
are now tlie Long Bridge across the Potomac, which is also
used for a railway, and the Navy Yard and Benning's, or the
Upper Bridge, across the Anacostia. The Baltimore and
Potomac RaDroad Bridge also crosses the Anacostia above
the Navy-yard.
In 1809 a pile bridge, 1 m. long, with a draw on the E. and
W. ends, was in use across the Potomac. The SW. end was
destroyed in 1814, by order of the Government, during the
presence of a foreign enemy. It was restored in 1816. In
1832 the Government purchased it and built a new one, which
was destroyed by ice in 1836. It was restored in 1838. In
1850 it was propesed to build an iron or stone arched bridge,
but after plans were submitted the matter dropped. The
railroad portion of the present Potomac bridge was built in
1872. The entire structure consists of a way for vehicles
and pedestrians and for the track of the Washington and
Alexandria Railroad. Near tlie Washington end is a small
draw over the E . channel. From this point a causeway crosses
BRIDGES. 53
the marshes of the river to the Vh-j^iiiia channel, which is sur-
mounted by a wooden structure, with a draw suflScient to ad-
mit of the passage of the largest vessels. It was by this bridge
that most of the vast armies of the United States marched into
Virginia during the rebellion, 1861-'65.
In 1814 the bridges over the Anacostia were also burned
by order of the Government. In 1819 the Navy Yard Bridge^
which crosses the Anacostia from the foot of 11th st. E. and
terminates at Uniontown, or E. Washington, was built. It
is a dilapidated wooden structure, with a small draw. It is
proposed to erect a new bridge, with stone, abutments and
iron superstructure. A short distance E. of this structure
are yet visible some of the charred timbers of the old bridge
destroyed at the time of the invasion. Above is the bridge of
the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.^ used only for railroad
pm-poses. The bridges within the District are Benning'^s
Bj'idge, a wooden structure J m. above the Nslyj Yard; the
Aqueduct Bridge of the Alexandria Canal at Georgetown, and
" Chain " Bridge at the Little Falls, 4 m. above- The latter
received its name from the original structure, which was a
chain-suspension bridge, built before 1811. The E. portion of
the present bridge, was carried away by the freshet of 1870,
thus sharing the fate of several previous structures. Here
the river is compressed within a narrow channel, and in the
rainy season rises upwards of 40 ft. • In the winter great
damage is also done by the immense ice gorge which forms
here. In 1872 Congress appropriated $100,000 for the erec-
tion of a suitable u'on bridge. In the same year a contract
was awarded, but nothing has since been done. All bridge
across the Potomac, except the Aqueduct Bridge at Georges
town, are now the property of the Government, and free to-
the public.
Communication between Washington and Georgetown
across Eock Creek is maintained by three bridges. The
Pennsylvania-av , Bridge is a fine iron structure, consisting of
an arch of 200 feet, formed by two 48-in. pipes, used to con-
vey the Aqueduct water into the city, and upon which rests
the roadway. The M and P-st. Bridges are also superior
specimens of bridge architecture. The James Creek Canal,
in the SE. parts of the city, is spanned by iron and stone
bridges. In the county stone culverts are used over natural
watercourses.
In tills part of the District there are 39 m. of improved roads.
The old culverts, where showing signs of decay, are being re-
placed by new structures of a similar character. In Union-
town, on the S. bank of the Anacostia opposite the Xa^y-yard,
on the road to the National Insane Asylum, is a very fine brick
culvert, erected in 1873 by the Board of Public Works.
54 TELEGRAPHS.
Street Railways, — Since 1862, when first incorporated, these
popular modes of city conveyance have been greatly extended.
Twolmes cross the city E. to W. and two JST. to S., and from
Pennsylvania av. on 15th st., opposite the NE. angle of the
Treasury N., to the Boundary on 14th st. W., and another
from the same point to the E . Boundary. Kew enterprises of
this character are laid out or in course of completion. There
are 45 m. of st. railway in the two cities and District, estimated
on the basis of a single track. [See General Information. 1
Eailroads, — The capital is accessible by railway from all
parts of the United States. Previous to the establishment of
railways, the Government patronized the opening of wagon-
roads and canals to carry all trade centering at the District
into the city. A through road of communication across the
AUeghenies was fostered and carried to completion. In 1828
Congress authorized the railroad company incorporated by
the State of Maryland to build a road from Balthnore to Wash-
ington, to enter the District and city ; Congress merely re-
taining jurisdiction of the soil. This was the first effort to
establish railway communication with the N^ational Capital.
A lateral branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Kailroad into
Washhigton was authorized in 1831. By 1841 there were
two trains, daily, each way, between Washington and Balti-
more — time, 2J hours. The incorporation of the Washing-
ton and Alexandria in 1854, and the lateral branches of the
Baltimore and Potomac in 1867, together with the extensions
of the Baltimore and Ohio, have connected the National Cap-
ital with the railroad systems of the E., K., W., and S. [See
General Information. 1
Telegraphs. — In 1843 Congress appropriated $30,000, to be
expended under the Secretary of the Treasury, for testing the
capacity and usefulness of the system of electro-magnetic tele-
graphs invented by Samuel F. B. Morse, of ISTew York, for the
use of the Government of the United States. In 1845 the line
was completed between Washington and Baltimore . In 1846
Congress ordered that the proceeds of the line be placed in
the Treasury of the United States for the benefit of the Post
Office Department, in the same manner as revenues from post-
ages. From this beginning the present extensive system of
telegraphic communication began. The various lines are how
owned by private corporations. The telegraph is now the
principal means of conveying intelligence respecting the op-
erations of the Government to the people of the country
through the newspapers. [See General Information.']
SECTION III.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS.
HISTORICAL RETROSPECT.
I HE Legislative and Executive branches of the
Government occupy buildings erected expressly
for their accommodation. The co-ordinate, or Judi-
cial branch, is yet without a structure of its own,
though such provision for its accommodation was
originally contemplated. The Capitol is devoted
to the purposes of Congress, and affords limited facilities
for the sessions and business of the Supreme Court of the
United States and Com-t of Claims. The Executive, with
its various departments, occupies a number of buildings.
The public edifices used for these purposes are not only
attractive in architecture, but are immense in proportions,
and practically without limit in dm^ability. They are all
built of the best qualities of granite, marble, or freestone,
with interior finish of brick, iron, and glass. In comparison
with the buildings of other Governments, used strictly for
governmental pm'poses, they are without an equal, and more
frequently without a rival.
The buildings occupied by the executive offices are desig-
nated according to the nature of the executive business trans-
acted in them. For instance, the Treasury Department con-
tains the various offices under the direction of the Secretary of
•the Treasury. There is one exception, however : the building
occupied by the Department of the Interior, which is known
as the Patent Office, it having been erected to serve for the
display of models. Tlie Patent Oflice proper is but a bureau
of the Department of the Interior.
The increase of the Government business and the inad-
equate accommodations afibrded by the public buildings,
commodious as they are, has necessitated, in a number of
cases, the purchase or renting of private buildings in dilTerent
parts of the city. " .
The Department of Justice occupies the upper portion of
55
56 THE CAPITOL.
the Freedmen's Bank building. Winder's building, origi-
nally erected for a hotel, now owned by the Government, is
used by several of the bureaus of the War Department. A
number of the bureaus of the other executive offices are
similarly provided for.
The tirst edifices built for tlie accommodation of the exec-
utive ofhces were the War Office, 450 ft. SW., and tliQ Treas-
my, on a corresponding site SE. of the President's House;
the former before and tlie latter after 1800. Both faced S.
The War Office, now the 'Nayy Department, was later trans-
ferred to tlie new building on the N". In 1818 Congress au-
thorized the erection of two new^ buildings I^. of those then
standing. These were completed during tlie administration
of President Monroe. The four structures were then desig-
nated according to then" location with respect to the Presi-
dent's House; tliat is, the KE., SE., IS'W., and SW. Execu-
tive Buildings — respectively State, Treasury, War, and Navy
Departments. Tlie site of the first two is now occupied by
the Treasury Department. The War and Navy Departments
are still standing, but will shortly be removed, to malve room
for the new State, War, and Navy Department now build-
ing. The first building, designed by George Hadfield, Archi-
tect of the Capitol, formed the models for all. They were
brick, originally 2 stories high, 120 to 160 ft. front, 60 ft. deep,
and 16 ft. high, with a freestone basement and Ionic portico.
They were subsequently raised and otherwise modified. It
was originally intended to have a passage between them and
the President's House, but this was abandoned. The SE.
building, or Treasury Department, was destroyed by fire in
March, 1833. It then occupied temporary quarters on Penn-
sylvania av. In 1836 the erection of a new Treasury Depart-
ment, more suitable in design and dimensions, was com-
menced on the site of the old. Before the business of the
Government became so great, all the offices were accom-
modated in the four buildings. The Patent Bureau then oc-
cupied rooms in the NE., the Attorney General's Office and
Indian Bureau in the NW., and the General Land Office in
the SE. Executive Buildings.
THE CAPITOL.
The Capitol of the United States {open every day^ except
Sunday) stands on the W. brow of the plateau which forms
the E. portion of the city. It may be reached from the more
populous sections by street cars. Pennsylvania av., from
APPROACHES. 57
Georgetown, leads to one of the gates at the foot of the hill,
below the W. entrance. From the President's House, by
Pennsylvania av., the distance to the Capitol is 1| m., and
the same from the most remote of the principal hotels. The
street cars pass in front of or close by all the hotels.
Street Oars. — Tlie Pennsylvania-av. (marked ''Capitol")
Street Cars^ from tlie W., pass around the Capitol on the S.,
and by a branch track fi'om S. B St., carry visitors to the
SE. angle of the S. Extension, occupied by the House of
Representatives. Strangers should be careful to take a car
for the Capitol. Those marked "Navy Yard" run witliin a
short distance of the same point. Those of the same line for
the Baltimore and Ohio RE. Depot would leave them on the
N. line of tlie grounds, and some distance from the building.
The Metropolitan, or F-st Cars^ by a branch track, land pas-
sengers on the plateau at the NE. angle of the IST. or Senate
Extension. Strangers should be careful to take a car for the
Capitol. The same line of cars to the E. parts of the city on
E. Capitol St. also pass near the same point.
Site. — The Capitol occupies very nearly the centre of the plot
of the city, there being 25 sts. E., 27 sts. \Y., 22 sts. IS^., and 21
sts. S. On a straiglit line, however, di-awn from ISTW. to SE.,
it stands about J m. towards tlie latter point. The great white
Dome which sm-mounts the mighty pile, rismg high in the
air, is visible for miles around — indeed from every elevated
point in the District. From it, as far as the eye can reach,
may be seen rolling hills, broad valleys, and rivers. The E.
fajade of the building looks out upon the expansive plain of
Capitol Hill, witli a background of beautiful elevations,
those on the right being beyond the Anacostia; the X.
across a broad intervening valley to the wooded encircling
hills of the city; the S. down upon the low grounds and
sparsely settled portions of the city, with the broad Potomac
and Aiiacostia mingling their waters in the distance ; the AV.
overlooks the business and official quarters, tlie lawns and
groves of the Botanical Garden, the Mall, and tlie President's
Grounds, and the wooded summit of University Square, with
the shining domes of the Observatory and Georgetown Heights
beyond.
Approaches.— Broad avs. and sts., 11 in number, from 130
to 160 ft. wide, radiate from the Capitol and constitute its ap-
proaches as follows : E. front— to the NE. Maryland av., to
the SE. Pennsylvania av., and to the E. E. Capitol St.; W.
front— to the NW. Pennsylvania av., to the SW. ^laryland
av., and to the "W. lie the Botanical Garden and Mall ; IST.
58
THE GROUNDS.
front — NE. Delaware av., NW. 'New Jersey av., to the N.
N. Capitol St.; S. front — to the SE. ISTew Jersey av., to the
SW. Delaware av., and to the S. S. Capitol st.
The Grounds. — The ^-oimcls surrounding the Capitol are
designated as the E. and W. Parks. They comprise 52 a.,
extending E. and W. from 1st st. E. to 1st st. W., and N.
and S. from B st. N. to B st. S. A circular road from the
W. side winds around the edifice on the N. and S. to the E.
front.
In order to properly appreciate the exterior beauty and
magnitude of the structure, it would be well, before entering,
to pass a short time in the parks which surround it. From the
E. plain of the E. Park the E. fapade appears to best advan-
tage. The massive porticos, with their broad steps and solid
blockings, the gi-eat Dome, towering in dizzy altitude liigh
above, and the extended front of columns, pilasters, entabla-
ture, with architrave, frieze, and cornice, pediment and bal-
ustrade, form a vast and impressive combination of architec-
tural symmetry and design.
THE CAPITOL — EAST FEONT.
The E. Park itself is unostentatiously laid out in walks,
shaded by venerable trees. A small reservoir, of 111,241
galls, capacity, surrounded by an iron railing, receives the
water of Smith's Spring, brought a distance of 1| m., before
it enters the Capitol, and passes out through the marble foun-
THE GROUNDS. 59
tain on the W. terrace. To afford a finer prospect for the
main fagade, it is proposed to slope the E. Park to the ^rade
of 1st St. E., which is 8 ft. below. E. Capitol st. will be
opened through the park to the plateau in front of the E . f a-
gade of the Capitol. The present dense foliage of the park
will be lightened by removing the trees to other parts of the
grounds. The E. Park will then be divided into beautiful
lawns, with shrubbery and parterres, with fountains and in-
terlacing walks. [See Description of the Building^ E. Fagade.]
In the E . Park is the Colossal Statue of George Washington,
by Horatio Greenough, of Massachusetts, ordered by Congress
in 1832 for the Kotunda of the Capitol. It stands in the E.
part of the park, opposite to and facing the central Portico of
the Capitol. It is* of heroic size, and if erect would be 12 ft.
The right hand points to heaven, and the left, advanced,
holds a short sword, the handle turned away. Over the right
arm and lower parts of the body falls a mantle. The seat
upon which the figure rests is ornamented with acanthus
leaves and garlands of flowers. The carving in the back ad-
mits of a view of the back of the statue. A small figure of
Columbus rests against the left arm of the seat, and a corre-
sponding one of an Indian against the right. In basso relievo
on the right of the seat is represented Phaeton in his car, drawn
by fleet steeds, allegorically, the rising sun, and the crest of
the Arms of the United States. On the left are represented
N. and S. America, as the infant Hercules strangling the ser-
pent, and Iphiclus on the ground shrinking from the contest.
The back of the seat bears the inscription, '''' Simulacrum istud
ad magnum Libertatis exemplum 7iec sine ipsa duraturum. Ho
RATius Greenoug-h, Faciebat.'''' (This statue is for a great
example of Liberty, nor without Liberty will the example
endure. Horatio Greenough, >S'cM?ptor.) T\\q pedestalis,
12 ft. high, and of solid blocks of granite. The inscriptions
are : S. face, "Fu-st in Peace;" IST., "First in War;" W.,
facing the Capitol, "First in the hearts of his Countrymen."
A better effect for the statue, and particularly softening its
necessarily coarse lines, would be secured by elevating the
pedestal to a height of at least 25 ft. The statue was made
in Florence, consumed 8 years in completion, weighs about
12 tons, and cost, including work, freight, removals, and
attendant expenses, $44,000; of this, $5,000 was for remov-
ing it from the Navy-yard to the Kotunda, a distance of about
1 m. In May, 1840, a frigate under command of Commo-
modore Hull, by order of Congress, was sent out to bring it
to the United States, but the hatches of the vessel being in-
suflScient to admit its passage into the hold, the ship "Sea,"
60 THE GROUNDS.
a merchantman, was chartered and altered to accommodate
the miwieldy mass.
In the spring of 1841 it arrived at the Navy-yard, and was
immediately transferred to the Capitol. The main door had
to be cut awaj'^ to admit it, and its great weight necessitated
the construction of a pier of solid masonry to strengthen the
pavement of the Rotunda. Here the figure was entirely out
of proportion, and on the plea of bad light, suggested by the
sculptor, in 1842 it was removed to its present site. Here
for many years it stood beneath an unsightly shelter of pine
boards. Edward Everett pronounced the statue one of the
finest works of art of ancient or modern times, and paid a
high tribute to the conception and the work, as "represent-
ing Washington in the aggregate of his qualities." A foreign
writer truly says : "It is a sort of domestic Jupiter. The sub-
lime repose and simplicity of the whole figure, united as it is
witli exceeding energy of expression, is perfectly classical,
without the slightest abstract imitation, so that there is no
mistaking the pure lineage of this statue. He has addressed
his statue of Washington to a distant posterity, and made it
rather a poetical abstract of his whole career, than a chroni-
cler of any one deed or any one leading featm'e of his life."
The sculptor himself says: "It is the birth of my thought. I
have sacrificed to it the flower of my days and the freshness
of my strength ; its every lineament has been moistened with
the sweat of my toil and the tears of my exile. I would not
barter away its association with my name for tlie proudest
fortune avarice ever dreamed of. In giving it up to the na-
tion that has done me the honor to order it at my hands, I
respectfully claim for it tliat protection which it is the boast
of civilization to afford to art, and which a generous enemy
has more than once been seen to extend even to tlie monu-
ments of its own defeat." At other hands this statue has
fared less generously. It has been criticised and ridiculed to
an extent far beyond that bestowed upon any other work of
art at the capital. Francis Colburn Adams, in his Essay on
Art in the District of Columbia, characterizes it as a contra-
diction, observing that Mr. Greenough was a man of genius,
capable of doing something really good, but his mind ran to
exaggeration ; that in this instance he departed from the or-
dinary rules of art, and set out to indulge his fancy and give
to tlie world a statue of Washington such as it had never seen
before, a Washington so different from the accepted ideal of
the people, and so at variance with what they conceived to be
correct taste, as to bring down upon it, in his opinion, very
general condemnation.
A short walk by the terraced drives on the IS", and S. of the
THE GROUNDS. 61
building, on the way having an opportunity to examine the
two end fa9ades, (see Description^) brings the visitor to tlie W.
Park, by wliich the Capitol is reached from the official and
business parts of the city. This park is laid out in paved and
graveled walks, fountains, and parterres, with overshadow-
ing trees, many of which are as old as the Capitol itself.
From its W. limit, opposite the centre of which is the Botani-
cal Garden, it gradually ascends till it reaches the foot of a
broad flight of steps, leading to the top of the Jirsi terrace, on
which is a graveled road around the two wings of the building
to the E. Park. Directly in front is an oval reservoir or ba-
sin of 78,827 galls, capacity, supplied from the E. reservoir,
and a simple marble fountain near by, erected in 1834, stand-
ing beneath the central arch of the vaulted passage leading
under the upper terrace into the sub-basement of the edilice.
In 1814, in the centre of this basin stood the N'aval Monu-
ment, executed in Italy, and dedicated to the memory of the
officers who fell during the siege of Tripoli in 1804. This
monument is now in the grounds of the United States Naval
Academj^ at Annapolis, Maryland. A double flight of steps
lead to the top of the second terrace.
Seated originally on the declivity of a hill, the W. facade
of the Capitol presented a story below the general level of
that on the E. In order to remedy this defect, and at the
same time to provide accommodations for fuel, a semi-cir-
cular range of casemates was constructed, opening towards
the main building, and with the convex side facing the W.
These Avere covered with earth and sodded, so as to form a
beautiful green glacis. With the addition of the two wings
of the building, the terrace was also extended so as to em-
brace the entire length of the W. front. The terre-plein is
paved with well-dressed Seneca stone, strengthened b}' an
outer casing of granite. Tiiis change of the natural config-
uration of the slope of the hill, giving a uniform level to all
sides, greatlj^ enhances the beauty of the vast edifice which
rises upon its summit. In 1828, to accommodate the building
to this improvement, the entrance door on the W. front was
cut througli, and is reached by a broad platform of stone,
erected over the space between the inner side of the case-
mated terrace and the building.
The configuration of the immediate eminence upon which
the Capitol stands has been materially changed and beauti-
fied by the hand of art. The original slopes have been mod-
ified by cutting and filling, so as to bring them, by terraces,
slopes, and drives, falling in pleasing descents, to the level
of the divergent avenues. The iron railing, in 1873, was
removed to give place to an enlarged line of enclosure, em-
62 GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
bracing the acquisitions of additional ground. Outside of
this runs a paved footwallv, witli heavy granite curbing, with
handsome lamp-posts, on the line of the thoroughfare. The
boundary streets are also paved and lighted.
General Description. — The Capitol of the United States,
as now completed, is unquestionably the finest and largest
building of the kind on the face of the earth, and does credit
to the skill of the architects and the taste of the nation.
In durability of structure and costliness of material it is also
superior to any other. The great edifices of the Old World