residents alike throughout the nineteenth century. Above the presiding officer's desk at the rostrum was the press gallery. Here, reporters are able to observe and cover the proceedings of the Senate. Early usage Because of the chamber's theater-like qualities and size, numerous requests were made and fulfilled to use the chamber for functions other than that of legislation. In 1863, the chamber was used for a presentation of a narrative poem ("The Sleeping Sentinel") about a Union Army soldier, William Scott, who had fallen asleep at his post and was sentenced to be shot. Among the audience for the performance was the then-President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who had actually pardoned the sentinel months earlier. Senators grew tired of the competition for the chamber's usage, however, and allowed the final non-legislative usage of the chamber, a lecture on post-Civil War reconstruction, before enacting a rule dictating that the chamber would not be used for any purpose other than that of the United States Senate. In 1923, practicing physician and former commissioner of the New York City Board of Health Royal Copeland began his first term in the Senate. He quickly noted the poor quality of the air in the chamber, arguing that the premature deaths of thirty-four serving senators over the previous twelve years were caused by the overly hot and poorly humidified air, which he blamed for the spread of common illnesses during the winter and the general discomfort of the chamber during the summer. In June 1924, the Senate voted to adopt a measure by Copeland to improve the "living conditions of the Senate Chamber." Carrere & Hastings, the architectural firm that had designed the Russell Senate Office Building, submitted a plan for improvements, to include removing interior walls and lowering the ceiling, that was subsequently approved by the Senate on May 11, 1928. On May 16, however, Copeland requested the indefinite postponement of his proposal in light of a new ventilation system that received the endorsement of experts in public health. The "manufactured weather" ventilation system, the Senate's first air conditioning system, was designed by Carrier Corporation and completed in 1929. Modern design and use 1949–50 reconstruction In 1949–50, the Senate Chamber underwent a reconstruction that involved the removal of the skylight and a redesign of the room's walls. In place of the chamber's original cast-iron pilasters, newer red Levanto marble pilasters were installed. The