Produced by Paul Marshall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriberâs Notes: Underscores â_â before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_ in the original text. Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals. Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs. Typographical errors have been silently corrected but other variations in spelling and punctuation remain unaltered. THE ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW AND AMERICAN BUILDERSâ JOURNAL. VOL. II.âEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by Samuel Sloan, in the Clerkâs Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. MONTHLY REVIEW. THE LONDON BUILDER AND OURSELVES. In a tolerantly critical notice of the REVIEW recently published in the _Builder_, we find an effort to substantiate a charge formerly made by it, and replied to by us, on the subject of âtrickeryâ in the construction of the exteriors of American buildings. The _Builder_ reiterates the charge and points to Grace Church, New York, in proof of the truth of it. That marble edifice, he avers, has a wooden spire, crocketted, etc., painted in imitation of the material of which the body of the church is constructed. Alas, we must acknowledge the wood. And we will make a clean breast of it, and still farther acknowledge that at the time that Grace Church was built, our land of wooden nutmegs, and other notions, had not an architectural idea beyond the wooden spire, and that our city and country churches, that aspired at all, were forced to do so in the national material of the day. That said sundry spires of wood were _of necessity_, painted, is most true; and furthermore, white-lead being a great favorite with the people generally, [when our manners, customs, and tastes were more immaculate than in these degenerate days of many colors,] that pigment was the ruling fashion. That the color of the marble, of which Grace Churchâs body is constructed, should be similar to that with which said ecclesiastical edificeâs spire was coated, is unfortunate; but, that the resemblance goes to prove any attempt at a _cheat_, we most strenuously deny. Grace Church is of a by-gone taste,âan architectural era which we now look back to in order to see, by contrast, how far we have advanced in architectural construction. Trinity Church, New York, was the first great effort at a stone spire which our Architects ventured to rear. And although hundreds have followed its lead, none in this soaring republic have gone so near to heaven as that yet. But the thing once effected is sure to be improved upon. We are not at all abashed then, to own to the _wooden spire painted to imitate stone_, which crowns the steeple of old Grace Church, New York. And the less annoyance should it give our most sensitive feelings, when we reflect that the dome of the great ST. PAULâS, London, is no less a delusion and a cheat, it being of wood, coated with lead and painted on the outside, having a false dome on the inside, considerably smaller than the external diameter would naturally lead the confiding observer to expect. The body of St. Paulâs is of stone. Why, according to the requirements of the _Builder_, is not the dome, like that of the Pantheon at Rome, likewise of stone? Do we suppose, for an instant, that Sir Christopher Wren was guilty of a deliberate cheat in so constructing it? Certainly not. He used the material which he considered best suited to his purpose and his means. And so we should, in charity, suppose did the Architect of Grace Church, New York. The _Builder_, like too many of our English cousins, who do us the honor of a visit, falls into error in supposing that wood is generally used for ornamentation of exteriors. In none of our larger cities is this the case. And when that critical and usually correct authority says, âEven the Fifth avenue itself is a sham as to much of its seeming stone-work,â it displays a melancholy absence of its uniform discernment, judgment, and sense. The only other constructive material to be found on the fronts of the Fifth Avenue, New York, besides marble, brown stone, or pressed (Philadelphia) brick, is in the gutter, which is either of zinc or galvanized iron, and forms the upper portion of the cornice. Porches and Hall-door frontisces, of every style, are of marble or stone, and never of wood. Pediments and all trimmings around windows are invariably of stone. In fact we are not a little surprised at the apparent want of information on this subject by so well posted an observer as the _Builder_ is acknowledged to be. Some twenty years ago the taunt might lie most truthfully applied to our efforts at architectural construction, but to-day the âtrickâ of painted and sanded wood would be hissed down by our citizens who claim to live in residences the majority of which are greatly superior to residences of the same class in London, as far at least as material is concerned. No, noâcriticism to be useful must be just; and to be just must be founded strictly on truth unbiassed by prejudice. We do not desire in these remarks to throw the slightest doubt on the good intentions of the London _Builder_ in its monitorial check, but our wish is to correct the erroneous information which it has received, and which has led to the mistake under which it evidently labors. We as utterly despise any falsehood in construction as our honestly outspoken contemporary, and will at every opportunity disclose and denounce its adoption in this country in all cases where there is any pretension to architectural design. For a new country like this, it is at least creditable that, even in a small class of dwellings, the architect is, as a general thing, called on to design and frequently to superintendâevery thing is not left to the builder as in London. Yet there is and always will be in this as in all other countries a large class of private buildings outside the pale of legitimate taste; creations ungoverned and ungovernable by rule. But such should never be taken as examples of the existing state of the constructive art of the day; they should rather prove the unfortunate exceptions to the fact of its position. Even these it will be our duty to watch over and try to set right; for we are ardent believers in the influential power of information, and look with assurance to the education of our people generally on this subject of judgment and taste in building as the infallible means of turning to good account the remarkable progress in that constructive art of the American nation, which the observant London _Builder_ notices with the generous well-wishing of a kindly professional brother. THE MANSARD MADNESS. Of all the intellectual qualifications which man is gifted with, there is not one as sensitive as that which enables him to discern between what is intrinsically good, and what is bad or indifferent to his eye. Yet are there none of all manâs mental attributes so frequently and so grossly outraged as is this to which we now allude, called Taste. Custom has much to say in the question of arbitrary rule which taste so imperatively claims. Persistence in any thing will, of necessity, make itself felt and recognized, no matter how odious at first may be the object put before the public eye, and ultimately that object becomes what is commonly called âfashionable.â This apparent unity of the public on one object is variable and will soon change to another, which in its turn will seem to reign by unanimous consent and so on _ad infinitum_. In Architecture this fickle goddess, Fashion, seems to reign as imperatively and as coquettishly as in any or all the affairs of this world of humanity. That which was at first esteemed grotesque and ridiculous, becomes in time tolerable and at last admirable. But the apathy which sameness begets cannot long be borne by the novelty worshippers, and accordingly new forms and shapes remodel the idea of the day, until it ceases to bear a vestige of its first appearance and becomes quite another thing. Of all the prominent features of architecture that which has been least changeable until late years is the âroof.â The outline of that covering has been limited to a very few ideas, some of which resolved themselves into arbitrary rules of government from which the hardiest adventurer was loath to attempt escape. Deviating from the very general style of roof which on the section presents a triangle, sometimes of one pitch, sometimes of another, but almost universally of a fourth of the span, the _truncated_ form was to be found, but so exceedingly sombre was this peculiar roof that it never obtained to any great extent, and indeed it presented on the exterior a very serious obstacle to its adoption by architects in the difficulty of blending it with any design in which spirit, life, or elegance, was a requisite. There are occasionally to be found in Europe, and even in America, examples of these truncated roofs, but it is very questionable whether there are to be met with any admirers of their effect. The principle on which they are constructed has, however, a very great advantage in the acquirement of head-room in the attics, giving an actual story or story and half to the height, without increasing the elevation of the walls. The architects of the middle ages took a hint from this evident advantage, and used the truncated roof on their largest constructions. Its form is that of a pyramid with the upper portion cut off (_trunco_, to cut off, being its derivation.) MANSART, or as he is more commonly called MANSARD, an erratic but ingenious French architect, in the seventeenth century invented the curb roof, so decided an improvement on the truncated that it became known by his name. This roof adorning the palatial edifices of France soon assumed so much decorative beauty in its curb moulding and base cornice, as well as in the dormers and eyelets with which it was so judiciously pierced, that it became a source of artistic fascination in those days in France; and as Germany was indebted to French architects for her most prominent designs, the Mansard roof found its way there, and into some other parts of Europe. But, much as English architects admired, as a whole, any or all of those superb erections of the Gallic Capital, it was a century and a half before it occurred to them to imitate them even in this most desirable roof. Our architects having increased with the demand for finer houses and more showy public buildings, and having parted company with their Greek and Roman idols to which their predecessors had been so long and so faithfully wedded, and acknowledging the necessity for novelty, ardently embraced the newly arising fashion and the Mansard roof arose at every corner in all its glory. At first the compositions which were adorned with this crowning were pleasing to the general view, if not altogether amenable to the strict rules of critical taste. But in due time (and alas that time too surely and severely came) the _pseudo_ French style with its perverted Mansard roof palled upon the public taste for the eccentricities its capricious foster-fathers in their innate stultishness compelled it to display. Some put a Mansard roof upon an Italian building, some on a Norman, and many, oh, how many, on a Romanesque! Some put it on one story erections and made it higher than the walls that held it, in the same proportion that a high crowned hat would hold to a dwarf. Some stuck on towers at the corners of their edifices and terminated them with _Mansard domes_! Some had them inclined to one angle, some to another; some curved them inward, some outward, whilst others went the straight ticket. The dormers too came in for a large share of the thickening fancies and assumed every style or no style at all. The chimney shafts were not neglected. Photos of the Thuilleries were freely bought up, and bits and scraps of DâLorme were hooked in, to make up an original idea worthy of these smoky towers. âEvery dog will have his day,â is a fine old sensible remark of some long-headed lover of the canine species, and applies alike to animals, men, and things. That it particularly applies to that much abused thing called the Mansard roof is certain, as the very name is now more appropriately _the absurd roof_. Fashion begins to look coldly upon her recent favorite, which in truth âhas been made to play such fantastic tricks before high Heaven, as make the angles weep;â and it is doomed. A few years hence, and we will all look back in amused wonder at the creations of to-day, crowned with the tortured conception of MANSARD. HYDRAULIC CEMENT. The rapid hardening under water of the cement which from that property derives its name of âHydraulic Cement,â has been, and indeed is still, a subject of discussion as to the true theory of such action. We find in the June number of the _Chemical News_ a paragraph which must prove very interesting to manufacturers as well as to all who use and take an interest in that most useful of building materials to which the Architect and the Engineer are so deeply indebted. âIn order to test the truth of the different hypotheses made concerning this subject, A. Schulatschenko, seeing the impossibility of separating, from a mixture of silicates, each special combination thereof, repeated Fuchâs experiment, by separating the silica from 100 parts of pure soluble silicate of potassa, and, after mixing it with fifty parts of lime, and placing the mass under water, when it hardened rapidly. A similar mixture was submitted to a very high temperature, and in this case, also, a cement was made. As a third experiment, a similar mixture was heated till it was fused; after having been cooled and pulverized, the fused mass did not harden any more under water. Hence it follows that hardening does take place in cement made by the wet as well as dry process, and that the so-called over-burned cement is inactive, in consequence of its particles having suffered a physical change.â [Illustration: IRON STORE-FRONTS, No. V. BY WM. J. FRYER, JR., WITH MESSRS. J. J. JACKSON & BROS., NEW YORK.] NATIVE COLORED MARBLES. In the preceding number we have spoken in general terms of this beautiful acquisition to our art materials, and indeed we feel that we cannot esteem this new American discovery too highly; for even in Europe such stone is extremely scarce at the present day, and it is fortunate that the location in which the quarries exist is open to the Old World to freely supply the wants of its artists, as well as our own. The beautiful Lake Champlain affords excellent commercial facilities, the Chambly Canal and Sorel River improvements opening a free navigation both with the great chain of lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Champlain Canal connecting it with the Erie Canal and Hudson River, giving it uninterrupted communication with New York State and its Empire City, from the latter end of March to the middle of December. The quarry is situated in a great lode projecting up in the bosom or bay of Lake Champlain, forming an island of several acres outcropping on each shore, and giving evidence that the deposit extends and really forms, at this point, the bed of the lake, its supply being thought to be inexhaustible. The marble occurs in beds and strata varying in thickness from one to six feet, and will split across the bed or grain; blocks of any required size being readily obtained. Its closeness of texture and hardness render it susceptible of a very high polish, and it will resist in a remarkable degree all atmospheric changes. It is hard to deface with acids or scratches, and this one fact should attach to it much additional value. Its variegation in color, as shown by the specimens taken from its outcroppings, give promise of a much richer development as the bed of the quarry is approached; and must equal in beauty and durability the highly prized oriental marble of ancient and modern times. The facilities, already alluded to, of its transportation to all the markets for such material in the country and to the seaboard, whence it can be shipped to any part of the world, must tend to bring it into general use here and elsewhere, that colored marbles are required for building and ornamental purposes. We are much indebted to a gentleman of Philadelphia, whose taste and liberal enterprise have so opportunely brought to our knowledge this most remarkable deposit of one of Natureâs most beautiful hidden treasures, which must, at no distant day, add vastly and more cheaply to the art material of our country. * * * * * THE palace in course of construction at Ismalia, for the reception of the Empress Eugenie during her stay in Egypt, will be 180 feet wide and 120 deep. The estimate cost is 700,000fr. According to the contract it is to be finished by the 1st of October, for every dayâs delay the architect will be subject to a fine of 300fr per day, and if finished before he will receive a bonus of 300fr per day. The building will be square; in the centre there is to be a dome covered with Persian blinds. On the ground floor there will be the ball, reception, and refreshment rooms. An idea can be formed of the importance of this structure and of the work necessary to complete it within the required time, as it will contain no less than 17,400 cubic feet of masonry. * * * * * TO REMOVE WRITING INKâTo remove writing ink from paper, without scratchingâapply with a camelâs hair brush pencil a solution of two drachms of muriate of tin in four drachms of water; after the writing has disappeared, pass the paper through the water and dry. DESCRIPTIONS. IRON STORE FRONTS, No. 5. BY W. J. FRYER, JR., NEW YORK. The elevation, shown in the accompanying page illustration, shows an iron front of five stories, having a pedimented centre frontispiece of three stories in _alto relievo_. The style, though not in strict accordance with rule, is showy, without being objectionably so, and goes far to prove the capabilities of iron as a desirable material in commercial Architecture, where strength, display, and economy may be very well combined. Such an elevation as this, now under consideration, could not be executed in cut stone, so as to produce the same appearance, without incurring a much greater expense, and in the event of a continuous block of such fronts, the balance of economy would be wonderfully in favor of the iron, for the moulds could be duplicated and triplicated with ease, whilst the same composition executed to a like extent in stone would not be a cent cheaper in proportion. Every capital and every truss, and every fillet, should be cut in stone independently of each other, no matter how many were called for. It may be very well to say that stone is the proper material, according to the long-accepted notion of art judgment, and that iron has to be painted to give it even the semblance of that material, being, therefore, but a base imitation at best. All very true. But, nevertheless, iron, even as a painted substitute, possesses advantages over the original material of which it is a copy, rendering it a very acceptable medium in the constructive line, and one which will be sought after by a large class of the community who desire to have this cheap yet practical material, even though it be not that which it represents. As a representative it is in most respects the peer of stone though not it identically. SUBURBAN RESIDENCE IN THE FRENCH STYLE. BY CARL PFEIFFER, ESQ., ARCHITECT, N. Y. This design is of one of those homes of moderate luxury wherein the prosperous man of business may enjoy in reason the fruits of his energetic toil. There is nothing about it to indicate presumptuous display, but rather the contented elegance of a mind at ease, surrounded with unostentatious comfort. [Illustration: FIG. 1.] [Illustration: SUBURBAN RESIDENCE IN THE FRENCH STYLE. CARL PFEIFFER, ESQ., ARCHITECT, NEW YORK.] On the westerly slope of the Palisades, and two miles to the west of the Hudson, this residence was built by one of New Yorkâs retired merchants. It is sixteen miles from Jersey City, in a town of but a few years growth, named âTerrafly,â in Bergen county, and stands on a hill commanding some of the most charming pieces of pastoral scenery, occupying about thirty acres laid out in lawns, walks, gardens, etc., and tastefully ornamented with shrubbery, having a fountain on the lawn in front of the house (as shown.) The approach is from the public road, by a drive through a grove of about ten acres of stately trees, passing by the side of a pretty pond formed by the contributions of several streams and making a considerable sheet of water. About the middle of this pond the sides approach so near to each other as to be spanned by an artistic little stone arched bridge which leads to the garden. From the house one looks on a lovely panorama of inland scenery. The Palisades towards the east, the Ramapo mountains to the northwest; and looking in a southerly direction the numerous suburban villages and elegant villas near New York may be seen. The house is constructed of best Philadelphia pressed brick with water-table, quoins, and general trimmings of native brown stone neatly cut. It stands high on a basement of native quarry building stone and has for its foundation a permanent bed of concrete which likewise forms the basement floors, as well as a durable bedding for the blue flagging of Kitchen and Laundry hearths. [Illustration: FIG. 2.] The arrangement of plan is admirably calculated to conduce to the comfort of the family. It is as follows: Fig. 1 shows the plan of the basement. A, steps and passage leading from Yard. B, Servantâs Dining Room. C, C, C, Coal Cellar and Passages. D, Kitchen. E, Pantry. F. Laundry. G, G, Cellars. H, Water Closet. I, Wash tubs in Laundry. J, Dumb waiter. K, Wash-tray. L, Sink. M, Back stairs. Fig. 2 shows the plan of the principal story. A, Dining Room. B, Drawing Room. C, and D, Parlors connected by sliding doors with the Drawing Room through the hall. E, Principal staircase. F, Back Hall. G, Butlerâs Pantry with dumb waiter, plate closet, wash-trays, etc. H, Back stairs. J, Conservatory. K, Steps leading down to Yard. L, L, L, Verandahs. M, M, PiscinÃ¦. [Illustration: FIG. 3.] Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of the Chamber floor, or second story. A, the Hall. B, C, D, and E, Chambers. F. Boudoir. G, Closet. H, Passage to Boudoir. I, Half landing connected with rear addition. J, Back passage. K, Bath Room. L, M, N, Servantâs Bed Rooms. O, O, O, Clothes Closets. P, Water Closet, _o_, _o_, _o_, _o_, _o_, _o_, Wardrobes in the several Chambers. These occupy the angle enclosed by the slope of the Mansard, thus leaving the walls of the chambers plumb. The roof is flat, and is embellished at the curb with a rich traceried iron balustrade, making a safe and desirable promenade platform. All the accessories that go to make a comfortable home are provided, and the whole forms a model retreat from busy life to Nature and her charms. SUBURBAN RESIDENCE IN THE FRANCO-GOTHIC STYLE. We here give a perspective view of a capacious suburban residence, showing the marked effects of light and shade produced by means of Gothic gables on a building of a square plan. A hipped roof on such a plain form would make a most uninteresting mass of heaviness. The judicious addition of bay windows is always desirable in such compositions; and the hooded gables give a pleasing quaintness to the whole. We present, on next page the principal floor plan, which is somewhat unusual in arrangement, but comfortable, as such form of house is always sure to be. A, The Porch, pierced on each side with open lights. B, the Hall, in the form of an L, and receiving light from the roof. C, the Drawing Room, with its capacious bay window. D, a Parlor. E, Library and Study. F, Side Hall, with door, under stairs, communicating with passage leading to study; (or, there may be a door opening directly into the study from the side hall.) G, Private Stairs. H, Principal Stairs, under which is a door communicating with the passage to study. I, the Kitchen. J, Pantry. K, the Dining Room, with glass door leading out into the Conservatory L. [Illustration: SUBURBAN RESIDENCE.] Few arrangements of plan can be more complete. Chimnies all in the inner walls retain the whole of the heating within the house in winter. And so thorough is the natural ventilation, by doors and windows, that coolness is secured in the summer time. Executed in stone, either hammered or rough rubble, with cut-stone trimmings, this house would present a pleasing appearance. In pressed brick, with stone trimmings, though not so consonant to surrounds of shrubbery as in stone, it would yet be a neat object and tend much to the embellishment of the outskirts of a city or village. [Illustration] DESIGNS FOR SMALL CHURCHES. There is a great want of suitable designs calculated to meet the tastes and necessities of those communities whose funds are too limited to admit of anything approaching to architectural display. Our object, therefore, in presenting the two which illustrate our remarks, is to show the way to others to do likewise. Churches of large dimension and assuming appearance call forth professional skill, because the expenditure will be commensurate with the expansive ideas of the wealthy for whose benefit such edifices are constructed. But a plainer class of erections, as much wanted, should draw out the efforts of our brethren, if only for the good they may do. There are few architects who are not subject to the often occurring claims on their donative services in behalf of poor congregations, and, we say it with pride, that we have yet to hear of the first instance of those claims not being promptly attended to by even the busiest of our brethren. Although it too frequently happens that their liberality is severely and most thoughtlessly taxed; for there generally is in every community some spirit too restless to cease troubling even those whose time is very limited. In a serial like the ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW there is an opportunity presented to give, from time to time, sketches and instructions, by which the wants of the bodies we allude to may be met. The pastor in the backwoods, and the minister on the prairie, as well as the servant of God who teaches the poor in our crowded cities, and skill are freely given, not to them personally, but to the sacred cause they are supposed to have an interest in. But let that pass. [Illustration: FIG. 1.] The illustrated works on Ecclesiastical Architecture, which come from the press, usually treat of a class of edifices altogether beyond the reach of the congregations whose means are limitedâwill each and all be benefitted by the information given, and a truly good work will thus be done. The two small churches here presented are now in course of construction in this city. The one on the upper part of the page is a Chapel of Ease to the Calvary Presbyterian Church, now building on Locust street, west of Fifteenth street. [Illustration] [Illustration: TWO DESIGNS FOR SMALL GOTHIC CHURCHES.] Its dimensions are fifty-seven feet front by ninety feet deep, outside measurement. It will be two stories high, with gallery. The first story will be sixteen feet from floor to floor. This is to be the Lecture Room. The second story will be twenty-five feet at the walls, and thirty-nine feet to the apex of the ceiling in the centre. The Gallery will be six feet wide along the sides, circular on front, and the ends curved at the rear. Its floor will be level. [Illustration: FIG. 2.] Besides the Lecture Room, the first floor will contain two class rooms and the ladiesâ parlor. Immediately over the Lecture Room, and of the same size, will be the Sunday-school Rooms. And over the ladiesâ parlor there will be the Infant School. On the gallery are three class rooms on the front, two of which are over the Infant School Room, and one over the eastern stairway. There are two class rooms in the rear. The walls will be of rubble masonry. As high as the level of the first floor, and projecting two inches, with a wash, the exterior will be hammer-dressed. Above that, the superstructure will be all laid broken range, pointed off, except the rear wall, which will be rubble with rock face. The whole will be faced with Trenton Brown Stone. All the dressings of the doors, windows, buttress, caps, cornices, pinnacle caps, etc., will be distinguished by a finer class of work. The roof and its dormers will be covered with best Blue Mountain slate, of medium size, varied with green and red color. The interior as well as exterior finish will be Gothic in style, inexpensive yet expressive. FIG. 1. The plan of the Lecture Room is here shown: A, A, the entrances, with stairs in each, leading to School Rooms and continuing to Gallery. B, Ladiesâ Parlor. C, the Lecture Room. D, Platform and desk. E, E, Class-Rooms. F, F, Water-Closets. FIG. 2. This is the arrangement of the Second story, which contains: G, the Infant School Room. H, the School Room. J, J, Class Rooms. K, K, Water Closets. Fig. 3. L, L, L, the Gallery. M, M, M, Class Rooms in front. M, M, Class Rooms in rear. It will be seen that, by means of sliding glass partitions, each floor can be considerably enlarged in accommodation. There are nine class-rooms, and school room for over six hundred children. The galleries will hold two hundred and fifty. The illustration below that of Calvary, is the design of the TRINITY REFORMED CHURCH, now being erected on the east side of Seventh street, south of Oxford street, in this city. It is also Gothic in style, and although smaller than that just described, will, nevertheless, be a very convenient and tasteful church, and well suited to the wants of its growing congregation. [Illustration: FIG. 3.] HYATTâS VAULT LIGHTS. Few patents have conferred a greater blessing on society than that of which the accompanying cut is an illustration. The misery which was closely akin to area gratings, as used in âour grandfatherâs day,â may yet be remembered by some not very old readers. Then light had to be admitted from the sidewalk without trespassing on the right of way by encroachment, and the manner in which that object was attained was by the use, invariably, of open iron gratings, which, whilst they admitted the light in _bar sinister_, as our heraldric authorities would say, did not offer any opposition to the falling dirt of the street which resolved itself alternately into dust or mud, according to the relative condition of the weather. The very palpable consequence of such a state of things was, that all areas under sidewalks were an accumulative nuisance which had to be borne if day-light was desirable in underground places. Let us pause for a moment to mentally look back on those days of dirt-clad cellar windows, if it were only to enhance the value to our mind of the present state of things. [Illustration] Hyattâs Patent Vault, and Side-walk lights, are so well known and so universally appreciated North, South, East, and West, now-a-days, that it is doubtful whether we are enlightening a single reader of the REVIEW in thus alluding to them. But, unfortunately there are people so listlessly unobservant in this world of ours, as to walk over them, aye, and walk under them, without perceiving the benefit enjoyed from them. Such people look on all improvements without wonder or admiration, and calmly set them down as matters of courseâthings that were to be, improvementsâthe growth of necessity. The inventive mind that gave them birth is neither thanked nor thought of. But all men are not so stolid. Many will take an interest in the benefaction and the benefactor, and to such the present notice will recall a dutyâthe grateful acknowledgment of a benefit bestowed. [Illustration] The sidewalk lights are powerfully strong as well as perfectly weather-proof and they can be turned out in any required form in single plates to a maximum size of six and a half feet long by two and a half feet wide, or in continuous platforms. They are likewise made to answer an excellent purpose as steps and risers, or even as entire flights of stairs of any desired length. They are three quarter inch thick, hexagonal shaped glass, well secured and presenting a really handsome appearance. In our preceding number we made some observations on a more fitting system of awnings than that now in use. [Illustration] We think there can be very little doubt but this very invention could be well made available for such a purpose, and we sincerely hope that the hint will not be lost sight of. BROWN BROTHERS of Chicago have for the last ten years been active in the manufacture and sale of the patent sidewalk lights, and there is scarcely a city of any pretensions in the Great West that has not awaked up to the use and value of this most beneficial invention, and the pleasing consequence is that the Messrs. B. are now doing an immense business in the manufacture of them, at 226 and 228 Monroe street, Chicago, where the orders of our friends the Architects and Builders who propagate improvements in the growing cities of the irrepressible West, will be attended to, with that promptitude which has hitherto made the name of the firm of BROWN BROTHERS so well known, and their excellent manufacture so fully appreciated. WHITE LEAD BY A NEW PROCESS. The manufacture of this important and useful pigment has been very successfully prosecuted within the past year, by a new process, the invention of Dr. H. Hannen of this city, and is destined to supersede the old method, both as regards economy in preparation and purity of material. The old or Dutch process, requiring some six to eight months for its completion, fit for painterâs use; while by the Hannen patent it can be produced in from ten to fifteen days. The quality of the article is said to be fully equal, if not superior, to that of the lead made by the old method. The process of manufacture, as far as we can learn, is as follows: The best Spanish pig lead is melted in a large iron kettle, holding from fifteen to eighteen hundred weight, and then drawn off by a suitable valve, and allowed to run over a cast-iron wheel or drum, about six inches on the face and three feet in diameter, running at a high speed, and kept cool by a stream of cold water constantly playing on it. The lead, in passing over this wheel, is cast into ribbons about the thickness of paper, it is then taken and placed on lattice shelving in rooms some eight to ten feet square, made almost airtight by a double thickness of boards, and capable of holding some three tons of the metallic lead as it comes from the casting machine in ribbon form, the temperature of the room is then raised by injecting steam to about one hundred degrees, and then sprinkled several times a day with diluted acetic acid, converting it into sub-acetate or sugar of lead. While this operation is going on, carbonic acid gas is forced into the room by means of a blower or pump, which decomposes the acetate and forms a carbonate of lead; this operation of forming an acetate, and then a carbonate, requires from five to six days, until a complete corrosion of the lead is effected; the room is now allowed to cool and the lead to dry, after which it is taken out and sifted through fine wire sieves, which separates all undecomposed lead or other impurities. It is then ready for washing and drying. The finely powdered lead is mixed with water into a thick pasty form and ground in a mill of similar construction to an ordinary flour mill, from which it is allowed to run into large tubs filled with water, and thoroughly washed and allowed to settle. The last or finishing operation is to place it in large copper pans, heated by steam, when it is dried; from thence taken to the color grinder, where it is mixed in oil ready for the painterâs use. PAINTERS AND ARCHITECTS. There is a presumptuous feeling in the breasts of those who, _par excellence_, assume the style and title of âArtists,â both in the Old and the New World, which it would be well to look into were it not that valuable time might thus be wasted on an exceedingly contemptible subject. We allude to the arrogation of eminence by those autocrats of the easel, who, not content with the undue position conceded to them by the vain and the frivolous who stilt themselves on their recognition of âhigh art,â and affect to govern the very laws of taste itself, go farther in the fulness of their ambition, and seek to ignore ARCHITECTURE as an art. This outrage on common sense is not confined to America, it has been continuously practised, if not boldly promulgated, for over a century in London, by an institution bearing the absurd title of THE ROYAL ACADEMY, originally intended to foster and advance the interests of Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture, yet in forty elections, or rather selections, of Associates, that is, of those ordained to emblazon their names with the R. A., _but four were Architects_! And, notwithstanding the studious efforts made by our profession to elevate our position and draw at least our share of public attention, we find that this Royal Academy and the rest of the aristocratic Dundrearifications, positively prohibit the appearance of architectural designs upon the walls of their National Galleries by crowding every available foot of wall space with easel-work, (we beg pardonââpaintings,â) ephemeral, unnatural, mannerized exudations of the âmodern school,â that barely patronizes Nature as a stupid fact, which to be got round must be obliterated in gaudy coloring. But, shall Architects make bold to criticize these âArtists?â No, PAINTING is a sublime gift, by the magic touch of which the coarse inelegant canvas is made to put forth emanations of the etherial mind, which it were a pity to limit to the paltry boundary of a gilded frame! What is ARCHITECTURE? Where would the art of PAINTING find a shelter, were it not for Architecture? Do the gentlemen of the brush and palette ever look around and above at the walls, the ceilings, or even at the tessellated floor of the rooms where their small framed efforts are on exhibition, and suffer their overweaning vanity to acknowledge that ARCHITECTURE is really something? How many painters can properly depict it? How many? The ignorance which urges the pre-eminence of PAINTING at the expense of ARCHITECTURE is more to be pitied than contemned. And the public patronage lavished on the one and withheld from the other, is superinduced by the ease with which any one can assume to be a critical admirer of an art whose governing rules are imaginary rather than real or substantial. Some see beauty in the fidelity which a painting bears to Nature. Others consider that very fidelity as slavish imitation. And a very general notion obtains amongst painters of âassisting Nature.â Now, ARCHITECTURE stands upon the solid base of TRUTH. Without imitating, it borrows applicable ideas from Nature to be used in carrying out its designs. Nor is it merely the imaginations, limnings, as in the case of PAINTINGS; those designs have to be executed. CONSTRUCTION then comes in as the solid, tangible, work of art, which shall defy the elements and render ARCHITECTURE the protectress of PAINTING, without whose solid enduring defence the more fragile art would speedily decay and become unknown. But, are not the professors and admirers of ARCHITECTURE themselves to blame for the degraded position it holds to-day as an art, here and in Europe? Why is there not more practical enthusiasm, and altogether less contemptible jealousy, and ill-natured feeling, amongst all who claim to have an interest in this the grandest and most over-shadowing of the Arts? If PAINTING must needs hold an exclusive position as regards the public exhibitions of what is most erroneously called the âFine Arts,â why cannot ARCHITECTURE and SCULPTURE assert their dignity, and give the public a chance to patronize them independently? The truth is that Architecture and Painting do not at all agree in sentiment; the one is a mere luxury, and no more; the other is a necessary art, adorned or unadorned. The one can be glanced at and instantly understood; the other demands the effort of the mind to study and to comprehend. In PAINTING, the eye is the arbiter; in ARCHITECTURE, the eye and the mind must form the judgment. It is not what a merely pretty picture is displayed; it isâhow would that design look in execution? Most of people who go to a âFine Art Exhibitionâ are superficial observers. They glance at pictures by the hundred. Such are not the persons from whose judgment ARCHITECTURE can expect even a recognition. They have been bedazzled with the sheen of the gilded frames, and the well laid-on varnish which bedizens the bright pigments of the gaudy glare of Art, which they have just left, and are, of course, impatient of the more staid and methodical elevations or perspectives, now presented in a narrow crowded section to their view. They have not time nor inclination to pause and consider them. They cannot bear to lose the impressions made by the âsweet shaded alley,â the âdancing streamlet,â or the âgreen reflective lake,â with that charming sky that looks so much more like heaven than nature. No, it will not do to exhibit ARCHITECTURE and PAINTING together, and it is time to acknowledge this so often proven fact. The two must be distinct. Let Architects put forth their powers, and show the community what their Art really is, and what it is capable of. People will go expressly to view an exhibition of Architectural designs, combined with Sculpture, and take much pleasure in the visit, because their mind is prepared for the occasion, and will not be distracted by a rival exhibition of quite another effect. To say that the public generally will find no pleasure in the consideration of Architecture is to assert that which is disproved by fact. When the Commissioners, appointed to choose a fitting design for the new Post Office at New York, threw open to a limited number of visitors the inspection of the collection of designs, the rooms were crowded each day of the exhibition, and innumerable applications were made for tickets of admission. Had all the public been allowed the privilege, no doubt it would have been universally accepted. Yet that was but a very uninteresting display compared to one in which the subjects would be manifold, and the scales various. Not to speak of the freedom of display in color, which on the occasion adverted to was necessarily confined to an extreme limit. Why cannot our Architects have an independent exhibition? There is nothing to be gained, but on the contrary every thing to be lost by clinging to the skirts of the _painters_. An effort in this direction could not fail to meet with the warmest support from our monied citizens, who are constantly proving substantially their regard for the progressive welfare of Architecture, by expending vast sums in buildings. And we have no doubt, but that State Legislatures would promptly and liberally aid any such effort to educate the general public in an art so intimately connected with the history of civilization. HONOR TO WASHINGTON. The anniversary of this great nationâs independence never was more fittingly honored than on the Fourth of July last, when, in this city, and in the front of the glorious old Independence Hall, Philadelphia inaugurated her statue of him who was FIRST IN PEACE, FIRST IN WAR AND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN. There is not in the United States a single spot more sacred to the cause of Freedom than that on which stands Independence Hall, where our great fathers of the Revolution so nobly pledged to the cause of mankind their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, and where the truly noble Washington was heard and seen, when the hopes of an embryo nation rested on his integrity. Although the thought well suggests itself that an honor such as that just now paid the great patriotâs memory should long ere this have been credited to Philadelphia, yet it is never too late to do our name justice before the world; and it is appropriate that the rising generation of a closing century should thus mark the establishment of a free government for which he fought and conquered. Thanks to the school children whose contributions thus have given to Philadelphia, what their sires so long neglected, a testimonial worthy of our grateful recollection of the foremost of Americans. On the 13th of December, 1867, a contract was made with our eminent citizen artist, Mr. J. A. BAILEY, and on the 2d of July, 1869, the material for the granite base was delivered on the ground. The following day the statue was duly erected, where it now stands in front of the entrance of that venerated Hall. In the centre of the foundation is placed a box containing the names of children and teachers, Directors and Board of Controllers, Mayor and City Councils, heads of departments, records of the Association, etc., and a copy of the Holy Bible. The base of the statue is of Virginia granite, from the Richmond quarries, and is in four pieces, weighing about twenty tons. The statue is of white marble, 8 feet 6 inches high. The left hand of Washington rests on the hilt of his sword, sheathed in peace; his right hand rests on the Bible, the Bible on the Constitution and American flag which drapes the supporting column on the right of the figure. The weight of the figure is about six tons. The whole height of base and statue is 18 feet 6 inches. On the north front the base will bear the nameâWASHINGTON; on the south, this inscription: ERECTED BY THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. The total cost, including a railing, will be about $6,500. The ceremony of the unveiling was a most impressive one, the children being in the act of singing âHail, Columbia,â when, at a given, signal, the flag covering the noble statue was raised, and from its folds came forth innumerable small flags which flew among the people and were eagerly caught. As the marble image of Washington came into view the cheers of the assembled thousands were only outvied by the cannon in the square, and the national hymn was for the time drowned in the enthusiasm of the event. The President of the Washington Monument Association Mr. GEORGE F. GORDON, in an appropriate address to the Mayor and Select and Common Councils, presented the beautiful monument to the city. It was received by the Mayor, Hon. DANIEL M. FOX, in a suitable reply, and the benediction being pronounced, this most interesting event became part of the brightest of Philadelphiaâs chronicles. * * * * * The munificence of our fellow-townsman, W. W. Corcoran, Esq., has been handsomely acknowledged by the National Academy of Design, at New York, which has transmitted to him congratulatory resolutions with reference to his recent foundation of a gallery of art in this city.â_Washington Chronicle._ NEW SOUTH WALES. Our latest files are to April 21st, inclusive. Sydney was at that time in high spirits over the recent visit of the Prince Captain of H. M. S. _Gallatea_. The most noteworthy action of whom was the laying of the corner-stone of the testimonial to the hardy
{'title': "The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Aug. 1869 by Various", 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}