WASHINGTON.
Situation of the National Capital.--Site Selected by
Washington.--Statues of General Andrew Jackson, Scott,
McPherson, Rawlins.--Lincoln Emancipation Group.--Navy Yard
Bridge.--Capitol Building.--The White House.--Department of
State, War and Navy.--The Treasury Department.--Patent Office.--
Post Office Department.--Agricultural Building.--Army Medical
Museum.--Government Printing Office.--United States Barracks.--
Smithsonian Institute.--National Museum.--The Washington
Monument.--Corcoran Art Gallery.--National Medical College.--
Deaf and Dumb Asylum.--Increase of Population.--Washington's
Future Greatness.
Washington, the Capital of the United States of America, is situated in
the District of Columbia, on the left bank of the Potomac, between the
Anacostia or eastern branch of that river, and about one hundred and
eighty-five miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. At an early period,
indeed, before the clamor of war had fairly ceased, or the proud
standard of England had been driven from its shores, the necessity of a
territory which should be under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress
had engaged the attention of the founders of the new Republic. The
possession of such a territory formed an important feature in the
debates upon the framing of the Constitution, and it was only
forty-eight days after the last act of ratification that the Capital
City was, by solemn enactment of Congress, located on the eastern shore
of the beautiful Potomac.
The site of the Capital was selected by General Washington, the beloved
first President of the Republic, and covers an undulating tract on the
east bank of the river. From the rugged elevations on the borders of
Rock Creek, a crescent-shaped ridge crosses the northern portion of the
city, which is abruptly sundered, as it were, to admit the passage of a
small stream called the Tiber. From this point the ridge ascends,
gradually expanding into the extensive plateau of Capitol Hill,
overlooking the Anacostia on the east. Within this encircling ridge the
surface declines, in gentle slopes and terraces, down to the banks of
the Potomac. From the lower falls of the river at Georgetown, beyond the
outlying spurs of the Blue Ridge, a chain of low wooded hills extend
across the north, which, continuing along the opposite shores of the
Anacostia and Potomac, emerge again in the hills on the Virginia side of
that river, presenting the appearance of a vast amphitheatre, in the
centre of which stands the Capitol.
The mean altitude of the city is about forty feet above the ordinary low
tide of the Potomac; the soil on which it is built is generally a
yellowish-clay intermixed with gravel. In making excavations for wells
and cisterns, near New Jersey avenue, trees were found, in a good state
of preservation, at a depth of from six to forty-eight feet below the
surface.
The Tiber, a little stream, with its tributaries, passes through the
city. Tradition affirms that this stream received its name more than a
century before Washington city was founded, in the belief and with the
prediction that there would arise on its banks, in the future, a Capital
destined to rival in magnificent grandeur that which crowned the banks
of its great historic namesake. The streams forming this river have
their source among the hills to the east, and enter the city in several
directions, the principal branch winding off to the southwest, around
the base of Capitol Hill, across Pennsylvania avenue, to the Botanical
Gardens. Originally its course continued along the Mall and emptied into
the Potomac immediately west of the Washington Monument, but
subsequently it was diverted into the canal, the filling up of which
caused still other changes. The Tiber and its tributaries were utilized
by diverting them into the sewerage system of the central and southern
portions of the city; consequently, although the stream traverses one of
the most populous sections, its course is not visible, the current
flowing beneath heavy brick arches upon which buildings have been
erected, and avenues, streets and parks laid out. In primitive days the
banks of the Tiber were covered with heavy forests, while shad, herring
and other fish, in their season, were taken from its waters, under the
very shadow of the hill upon which the Capitol now stands.
There is no city in the Union which presents to the thoughtful and truly
patriotic American so many objects of interest as does the city of
Washington. First of all, this feeling is intensified by the fact of its
having been located and founded by the great, immortal _Pater PatriA|_
whose illustrious name it has the honor of bearing. A plan of the city
was prepared in 1791, by Peter L'Enfant, a French engineer of fine
education and decided genius, who had served in the Continental army
with such distinction as to attract the attention of General Washington.
He was assisted in the work by the advice and suggestions of Thomas
Jefferson, who, while diplomatic representative of the United States,
had studied the plans of the principal cities visited in Europe, with a
view to the future wants of his country, and was prepared, by the aid of
his personal knowledge of their details, to contribute valuable
information and suggestions.
It is evident that the predominating object in designing a plan for the
city, was first to secure the most eligible situations for the different
public buildings, and to arrange the squares and areas so that the most
extended views might be obtained from every direction. The amplest
arrangements were also made by the founders of Washington for its rapid
growth and expansion, while they evidently designed and anticipated its
being magnificently built up and embellished. The indifference of the
Government and people has permitted these suggestions to remain too long
unheeded; yet it is consoling to those possessing an intelligent
patriotism and proud love of country, to know that the neglected
condition of the Capital of the United States for nearly three-fourths
of a century was not the result of any defect in the design originated
by its noble founders.
Any one who has visited the royal residence of the kings of France, will
immediately recognize the resemblance between the plans of Le Notre for
Versailles, and L'Enfant for Washington City. The grand avenues, de
Sceaux and St. Cloud, diverging from the _Cour Royal_, are reproduced in
Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues, radiating from the east front of the
Capitol. Its broad thoroughfares are among the principal attractions of
Washington, and are the finest possessed by any city in the world. The
avenues, twenty-one in number, radiate from principal centres and
connect different parts of the city; the original number was thirteen,
named for the States constituting the Union at the time the Capital was
laid out. The first in importance is Pennsylvania avenue; its width
varies from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty feet; its
length is four and one-half miles, traversing the finest business
portion of the city, as well as being the most popular and fashionable
thoroughfare for driving. The War and Treasury departments, Washington
Circle, and the President's House, are each located on this superb
street, which, winding up and around Capitol Hill, finds its terminus on
the banks of the Anacostia.
The spaces at the intersection of the more important avenues form what
are called _Circles_. Washington Circle, at the intersection of
Pennsylvania and New Hampshire avenues, contains the equestrian statue
of General Washington, which was ordered by Congress, and cannon donated
for the purpose, in 1853. The great hero is represented at the crisis of
the battle of Princeton; the horse seems shrinking from the storm of
shot and shell and the fiery conflict confronting him; his rider
exhibits that calm equanimity of bearing so eminently his
characteristic. This statue was executed by Clark Mills, at a cost of
fifty thousand dollars.
At the western base of Capitol Hill stands the naval monument, termed in
the resolutions of Congress, the "_Monument of Peace_." It was designed
by Admiral Porter, and erected by subscriptions started by him among the
officers, midshipmen and men of his fleet, immediately after the fall of
Fort Fisher. The height of this monument is forty-four feet; it is built
of Carrara marble and cost $44,000. The surmounting figures represent
History recording the woes narrated by America, who holds a tablet in
her hand on which is inscribed: _They died that their country might
live._ This monument is exceedingly well executed, and was considered,
in Rome, one of the finest ever sent to America.
Lafayette Square, comprising seven acres lying north of the President's
House, is beautifully laid out with rustic seats, graveled walks, and
adorned with a rare variety of trees and shrubbery. In the centre of
this square stands an equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson, by
Clark Mills, originally contracted for by the friends and admirers of
the General composing the Jackson Monument Association, who subscribed
twelve thousand dollars towards its erection. Congress afterward granted
them the brass guns and mortars captured by General Jackson at
Pensacola. In 1850 an additional donation of guns was made; in 1852
another appropriation sufficient to complete the work was granted, and
Congress assumed possession of the monument. The figure of the horse is
weighted and poised without the aid of rods, as in the celebrated
statues of Peter the Great, at St. Petersburg, and Charles I., at
London. This was the first application of the principle, and resulted in
the production of one of the most graceful and astonishingly beautiful
works of its kind in existence. The statue is of colossal size, weighing
fifteen tons, and was erected at a cost of $50,000.
_Scott Square_, lying north of the White House, contains a bronze statue
of General Winfield Scott, made of cannon captured by the General during
his Mexican campaign, and donated by Congress in 1867. The work was
executed by Brown, of New York; with the pedestal, it is twenty-nine
feet high, and cost $20,000. The General is represented in full uniform,
mounted on his war-horse, surveying the field of battle.
The _Circle of Victory_, at the intersection of Massachusetts and
Vermont avenues, contains a bronze equestrian statue of General George
H. Thomas, of the Army of the Cumberland. The statue confronts the
South, in the direction of the General's native hills of Virginia. On
the site of this monument a salute of eight hundred guns was fired in
commemoration of the capture of Petersburg and Richmond on the third of
April, 1865; and, a few days later, five hundred guns were fired from
the same spot in honor of General Lee's surrender and the fall of the
Southern Confederacy.
On East Capitol street, at a distance of about one mile from the
Capitol, is a square comprising six and a half acres, beautifully laid
out and adorned with trees, shrubbery and walks. In this enclosure a
bronze group called _Emancipation_ has been erected; Abraham Lincoln is
represented holding in his right hand the proclamation which gave
freedom to the negroes of the South. A slave kneels at his feet, with
manacles broken, and in the act of rising as they fall from his hands.
This monument is said to have been built exclusively of funds
contributed by the negroes liberated by Lincoln's proclamation of
January first, 1863. The first contribution of five hundred dollars was
made, it is stated, by Charlotte Scott, formerly a slave in Virginia,
out of her first earnings as a freed-woman, and consecrated by her, on
hearing of President Lincoln's death, to aid in building a monument to
his memory. The interesting memorial was unveiled with appropriate
ceremonies, on the anniversary of his assassination, April fourteenth,
1876, the President and his Cabinet, foreign ministers, and a vast
concourse of white and colored citizens being present. Including the
pedestal of Virginia granite, the structure is twenty-two feet in
height, and cost $20,000. It was in this square, now called _Lincoln
Square_, that, according to the founder's original plan of
embellishment, a grand _Historic Column_ was to have been erected, to
serve as an itinerary column, from which all geographical distances
within the boundaries of the United States should be calculated.
_McPherson Square_, on Vermont avenue, contains a bronze equestrian
statue of General James Birdseye McPherson, who was killed near Atlanta,
at the head of the Army of the Tennessee, in 1864. He is represented in
full uniform, with field-glasses in hand, surveying the battle-ground. A
vault was constructed beneath the statue, for the purpose of receiving
his body, but the devoted opposition of the people prevented its removal
from his native place.
Farragut and Rawlins squares contain respectively colossal, but not
equestrian statues of Admiral Farragut and General Rawlins.
Mount Vernon Place, at the intersection of New York and Massachusetts
avenues, is handsomely laid out and planted with trees; in the centre,
occupying an elevated circular space, is a superb fountain of bronze.
There are numerous smaller spaces at the intersection of various streets
and avenues, called triangular reservations, all of which are highly
adorned with trees, shrubs and beautiful small fountains.
The Government Propagating Gardens cover an area of eighty acres on the
banks of the Potomac, south of Washington's Monument. The Botanical
Garden, an instructive place of public resort, lies at the foot of
Capitol Hill, between Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues. North of the
Conservatory is found the Bartholdi Fountain, which is supplied with
water from the aqueduct, its highest stream reaching an altitude of
sixty-five feet. This fountain is the work of Frederic Augustus
Bartholdi, a French sculptor and pupil of Scheffer. It will be
remembered by all who visited the National Centennial Exposition at
Philadelphia, where it was exhibited, and afterward purchased by
Congress for the inadequate sum of six thousand dollars. The lower basin
is twenty-six feet in diameter, and from its centre rises a pedestal
bearing aquatic monsters and fishes spouting water; three female
caryatides, eleven feet high, support a basin thirteen feet in diameter;
a smaller basin above this is upheld by three infant Tritons, the whole
being surmounted by a mural crown. Twelve lamps, arranged around the
lower basin, and lighted by electricity, give the most beautiful effects
of light and water. On the plaza in front of the Treasury Department, is
another fine fountain, in the form of an immense granite urn, the
_tassa_ of which measures sixteen feet in diameter.
Immediately in front of Washington city the Potomac expands into a
broad, lake-like body of water, a mile and a quarter wide and at least
eighteen feet deep. The Anacostia River, at its mouth, is almost the
same width and fully as deep. Improving the navigation of the Potomac
and the construction of a canal to the head waters of the Ohio River,
were enterprises that began with the founding of the National Capital.
In 1872, Congress appointed a board of officers with a view to the
improvement of the channel of the river and water fronts of Washington
and Georgetown, for commercial purposes, as well as the reclamation of
the malaria-infected marshes opposite the city. These improvements will
necessitate the rebuilding of Long Bridge for railroad and ordinary
traveling purposes, and reclaim more than a thousand acres of valuable
land. It is proposed to remove the National Observatory and use the
earth for filling up the marshes.
The _Navy Yard Bridge_ crosses the Anacostia River, at the foot of
Eleventh street, having supplanted the wooden structure built in 1819,
over which Booth made his escape after the assassination of Lincoln.
The various buildings occupied by the Executive and Legislative branches
of the Government are worthy of especial notice. The _Capitol_ is
considered one of the largest and finest edifices of the kind in the
world, and in point of durability of structure and costliness of
material, it certainly has no superior. It stands on the west side of
Capitol Hill, very near the centre of the city, and one mile distant
from the Potomac River. The main or central building is three hundred
and fifty two feet in length, with two wings or extensions, each having
a front of one hundred and forty-three feet on the east and west, and a
depth of two hundred and thirty-nine feet along the north and south
_facades_, exclusive of the porticoes. The entire length of this great
edifice is seven hundred and fifty feet; its greatest depth three
hundred and twenty-four feet; the ground plan covering three and a half
acres.
The central and original Capitol building is of freestone, taken from
the Government quarries at Aquia Creek, forty miles below the city,
which were purchased for that purpose, by the Commissioners, in 1791.
This building is now painted white, to correspond with the extensions,
columns and porticoes of white marble. From the centre rises the great
dome, designed by Walter, to replace the original one removed in 1856,
after the additions to the building had rendered it out of proportion.
The apex is surmounted by a lantern fifty feet high, surrounded by a
peristyle, and crowned by the bronze statue of Freedom executed by
Crawford in 1865. The height from the base line to the crest of this
statue is three hundred and eight feet, making the dome of the Capitol
rank fifth in height with the greatest structures of the kind in Europe.
The great dome is visible from every elevated point in the District for
miles around, and from its windows, as far as the eye can reach, is
extended a panorama of wooded hills, beautiful valleys, with the
majestic cloud-capped spurs of the Blue Ridge raising their lofty heads
in the distance. The eastern facade of the building looks out upon the
extended plain of Capitol Hill, with its background of green hills
reaching far beyond the Anacostia. On the north a broad valley extends,
until it unites with the encircling hills of the city; on the south the
majestic Potomac and Anacostia rivers are seen to meet and mingle their
placid waters; while from the west are beheld the lawns and groves of
the Botanic Garden, the Mall, and handsome grounds of the President's
house, with Georgetown Heights and the glittering domes of the
Observatory in the distance.
The main entrance, from the grand portico into the rotunda is filled by
the celebrated bronze door modeled by Rogers, in Rome, 1858, and cast in
bronze at Munich, by Miller, in 1860. On the panels of this door are
portrayed, in _alto relievo_, the principal events in the life of
Christopher Columbus, and the discovery of America. The key of the arch
is adorned with a fine head of the great navigator; in the four corners
of the casing are statuettes, representing Asia, Africa, Europe and
America, with a border in relief of ancient armor, banners and heraldic
designs emblematic of navigation and conquest. Bordering each leaf on
the door are statuettes, sixteen in number, of his patrons and
contemporaries; the nine panels bear _alto relievo_ illustrations of the
principal events in his life; while between the panels are a series of
heads, representing the historians of the great discoverer and his
followers. Altogether, this justly celebrated bronze door, besides being
wonderful as a work of art, constitutes in itself a small volume of the
most interesting and important events belonging to the history of our
country.
[Illustration: EAST FRONT OF CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON.]
The rotunda into which the door leads is embellished with eight large
historical paintings, by different artists. Four of these were executed
by Trumbell, who served as aid-de-camp to Washington in 1775, and
reproduced in his figures the likenesses of the actors in the scenes
portrayed. In arranging the characters for the "Declaration of
Independence," in which the Congress of 1776 is represented in the act
of signing that great instrument of American liberty, the artist
conferred with Jefferson, the Author of the Declaration, and John Adams,
both of whom were present and signers. The individual costumes, the
furniture, and the hall itself, are represented with scrupulous
fidelity, all of which tends to increase the interest inspired by this
painting.
The _National Library_ was founded by act of Congress in 1800, and the
following year, after the report of John Randolph, of Roanoke, had been
submitted, setting forth the necessity for further legislation on the
subject, a second act was passed, which placed it on a permanent basis.
The number of volumes first contained in the library was three thousand,
but appropriations were annually made by Congress to increase the
number. In 1814 the Capitol was burned by the British, and the library
destroyed; a few months later, Thomas Jefferson offered the Government
his private collection of 6,700 volumes, among which were many rare and
valuable works obtained in Europe, and these were purchased for the sum
of $23,950. In 1866 the Smithsonian Library, containing forty thousand
volumes, was added, and a year later, the _Peter Force_ collection was
purchased by Congress, for $100,000; constant additions have increased
the number, until the library now contains nearly four hundred thousand
bound volumes, and one hundred thousand pamphlets. It is enriched also
by journals, manuscripts, and maps relating to the history and
topography of the country; in respect to the latter, being only
approached by the library in the British Museum. The Library halls
occupy the principal floor of the entire west projection of the Capitol.
In the _Vice President's Room_ hangs the original painting of
Washington, taken from life by Rembrandt Peale, and purchased by the
Government in 1832, for the sum of two thousand dollars.
The _Senate Reception Room_ is a beautiful and brilliant apartment,
about sixty feet in length, with its vaulted and arched ceiling, divided
into four sections, adorned with allegorical frescoes of _Prudence_,
_Justice_, _Temperance_ and _Strength_, executed by Brumidi, in 1856.
The ceiling is heavily gilded throughout; the walls finished in stucco
and gilt, with a base of Scagliola, imitating the marbles of Potomac and
Tennessee. A finely executed fresco, in oil, by Brumidi, adorns the
south wall, representing Washington in consultation with Jefferson and
Hamilton, his Secretaries of State and Treasury.
The _President's Boom_ is an equally magnificent apartment, with groined
arches embellished with numerous allegorical figures in fresco, the
decoration, by Brumidi, being, in general design, the same as in the
private audience chamber of the Vatican at Rome. The work throughout is
very fine, being richly decorated with arabesques on a groundwork of
gilt; the luxurious furniture of the apartment is entirely in keeping
with this high order of artistic finish.
The old _Hall of the House of Representatives_ is a magnificent
apartment, designed and planned after the theatre at Athens, with
fourteen Corinthian columns of variegated marble, forming a circular
colonnade on the north. The bases of these columns are of freestone, the
capitals of Carrara marble, designed and executed in Italy, after those
in the temple of Jupiter Stator, at Rome; the paneled dome overhead is
similar to that of the Pantheon. This venerable apartment was occupied
by the House of Representatives for thirty-two years; its atmosphere
must, in consequence, ever continue redolent with historic associations.
On its walls, in the old days, hung the full-length portraits of
Washington and Lafayette, presented by the latter on his last visit to
this country; and the exact spot is pointed out where stood the desk of
the venerable Ex-President, John Quincy Adams, when that aged patriot
and senator was stricken by death. When, on the completion of the new,
the old Hall was abandoned, in 1857, it was set apart, by Congress, as a
_National Statuary Gallery_, and the President authorized to invite the
different States to contribute statues, in bronze or marble, of such
among their distinguished citizens as they might especially desire to
honor, the number being limited to two from each State. These
contributions have been coming in slowly from year to year, besides
which, many valuable statues and paintings have been purchased and
added, by the Government.
The new _Hall of Representatives_ is said to be the finest in the world;
its length being one hundred and thirty-nine feet, width ninety-three,
and height thirty-six feet, while the galleries will seat twenty-five
hundred persons. The ceiling is of cast-iron, with panels gilded and
filled with stained-glass centres, on which are represented the
coat-of-arms of each of the different States. The walls are adorned with
valuable historical paintings and frescoes.
The _Supreme Court Room_, formerly the old United States Senate Chamber,
is a semicircular apartment, seventy-five feet in diameter; its height
and greatest width being forty-five feet. The ceiling is formed by a
flattened dome, ornamented with square caissons in stucco, with
apertures for the admission of light. Supporting a gallery back of the
Judges' seats extends a row of Ionic columns of Potomac marble, with
capitals of white Italian marble, modeled after those in the Temple of
Minerva. Along the western wall are marble brackets, each supporting the
bust of a deceased Chief Justice.
When occupied by the Senate, the Hall contained desks for sixty-four
Senators. It was in this chamber that the Nation's purest and most
profound statesmen assembled, and the great "Immortal Trio," Clay,
Webster and Calhoun, made those wonderful forensic efforts which gave
their names forever to fame and the admiration of posterity.
The _New Senate Chamber_, first occupied in 1859, is a magnificent
apartment, belonging to the new extension of the Capitol, one hundred
and thirteen feet in length by eighty feet in width, and thirty-six feet
high. The Senators' desks are constructed of mahogany, and arranged in
concentric semicircles around the apartment. The galleries rise and
recede in tiers to the corridors of the second floor, and are capable of
seating twelve thousand people.
Immense iron girders and transverse pieces compose the ceiling, forming
deep panels, each glazed with a symbolic centre piece; the walls are
richly painted, the doors elaborately finished with bronze ornaments.
From the lobby we pass into the _Senate Retiring Room_, handsomely
furnished, and said to be the finest apartment of the kind in the world.
The ceiling is composed of massive blocks of polished white marble,
which form deep panels, resting upon four Corinthian columns, also of
white Italian marble. Highly polished Tennessee marble lines the entire
walls, in the panels of which are placed immense plate glass mirrors,
enhancing the brilliancy and already striking effect of the whole.
The limits of this chapter will not admit of further description of the
numerous apartments gorgeously furnished; the palatial corridors
beautifully designed; magnificent vestibules with fluted columns of
marble; richly gilt paneled ceilings and tinted walls; grand stairways
of marble and bronze, with the statues, busts, paintings and bronzes,
which enrich the Capitol, many of them being masterpieces of art, and
none devoid of merit. A detailed account of all would fill a small
volume; we are compelled, therefore, to reluctantly leave the subject,
and proceed to the description of the Public Buildings.
The _President's House_ is situated in the western part of the city,
distant one and a half miles from the Capitol. A premium of five hundred
dollars was awarded James Hoban, architect, of South Carolina, for the
plan, and the corner stone laid, with Masonic honors, October
thirteenth, 1792. John Adams was the first presidential occupant; he
took possession during the month of November, 1800, after the Government
offices had been removed to Washington. This building was burned by the
British in 1814; the following year Congress authorized its restoration,
committing the work to the original architect, Hoban, by whom it was
completed in 1826, in all its details. It is built of freestone, one
hundred and seventy feet in length, eighty-six in width, with grand
porticoes on the north and south fronts, supported by Ionic columns. The
main entrance is on the north, by a spacious vestibule handsomely
frescoed. The _Blue Room_, in which the President receives, on both
public and private occasions, is an oval-shaped apartment, finished in
blue and gilt, with draperies and furniture of blue damask.
Communicating with this is a second parlor called the _Green Room_, from
the prevailing color of the furniture and hangings. In this apartment
are found the portraits of Presidents Madison, Monroe, Harrison and
Taylor. _The East Room_, which closes the suite, is a truly royal
apartment, magnificently decorated in a style purely Grecian, the
ceiling frescoed in oil, mantles of exquisite wood carving, immense
mirrors in magnificent frames, with the richest furniture, and window
drapery of the costliest lace and damask. A full length portrait of
Washington adorns this apartment, purchased by Congress in 1803. When
the Capitol was burned, in 1814, this painting was rescued from
destruction by Mrs. Madison, who had it removed from the frame and
carried to a place of safety. A portrait of Martha, the wife of
Washington, also hangs in this room, painted by Andrews in 1878.
The numerous other apartments in the President's House exhibit the same
lavish style of adorning, the furniture being constantly changed and
renewed; but the vandal spirit of _change_ has not, as yet, dared to lay
its sacrilegious hand upon or to alter the construction of the house,
which remains the same as when, almost a century ago, it was first
occupied by the elder President Adams. It is not difficult, therefore,
to evoke the spirit of the past while standing among these ancient
apartments, halls and corridors, and behold in fancy the long line of
true statesmen, incorruptible patriots and noble men, who have
successively lived and moved among them, in the early days of the
Republic. And it is to be devoutly hoped that the vanity and caprice of
the rulers who, in these later years, are being cast into high places,
will not prevail in the effort to have this venerable home of the
Presidents, hallowed by the memories of the nation's past, cast aside,
and another building, modern and meaningless, substituted in its stead.
Immediately west of the President's House stands the _Department of
State, War and Navy_, a vast and imposing structure in the Doric style,
combining the massive proportions of the ancient with the elegance of
modern architecture. The Diplomatic Reception Room is a magnificent
apartment, decorated and furnished in the most sumptuous manner, with
ebonized woods and gold brocade, after the Germanized Egyptian style.
The portraits of Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton, by Healy (purchased
by Congress from the widow of Fletcher Webster, 1879), adorn the walls,
and over the mantels are busts, in bronze, of Washington and Lafayette.
In the Diplomatic Ante-room is seen a full-length portrait of the Bey of
Tunis, sent by special envoy in 1865, with a letter of condolence to the
Government, on the death of Lincoln. Above this apartment is the
library, containing a valuable collection of works on diplomacy, and
many objects of interest, including the original draft of the
Declaration of Independence, with the desk on which it was written,
presented to the Government by the heirs of James Coolidge, of
Massachusetts, to whom it was presented by Thomas Jefferson. The
original document, _signed_, is also here, together with the sword of
Washington, purchased by Congress in 1880, and his commission as
Commander-in-Chief; the staff of Franklin; original drafts of the laws
of the United States, the Federal Constitution, and other valuable and
interesting historic documents, from the foundation of the Government.
The entire building contains one hundred and fifty apartments, and cost
five million dollars.
The _Treasury Department_ is situated east of the President's House; it
presents a most classic appearance, with its three stories in the pure
Ionic style of architecture, upon a basement of rustic work, surmounted
by an attic and balustrade. It has four fronts and principal entrances;
the western front, consisting of a colonnade, after the style of the
temple of Minerva, at Athens, is three hundred and thirty-six feet long,
with thirty Ionic columns, and recessed porticoes on either end. This
building contains the vaults in which the current funds and National
Bank bonds of the Government are kept. The Secretary's office is a
beautiful apartment, on the second floor. The walls being formed of
various kinds of highly polished marble. This building contains two
hundred apartments, exclusive of the basement and attic, and cost six
million dollars.
[Illustration: STATE, WAR AND NAVY DEPARTMENTS, WASHINGTON, D. C.]
The _Bureau of Engraving and Printing_, a branch of the Treasury
Department, occupies a separate building, recently erected, at a cost of
three hundred thousand dollars. It is a handsome structure, of pressed
brick, in the Romanesque style, is entirely fireproof, and situated
between the Agricultural Department and the Washington Monument.
The _Patent Office_, an immense building covering two squares, or two
and three-fourths acres of ground (which in the original plan of the
city had been set apart for the erection of a National Mausoleum, or
church), is in the Doric style of architecture, after the Parthenon at
Athens, and impresses all who behold it with the grandeur of its
proportions. The Museum of Models, a collection of inventions, both
native and foreign, patented by the Government, occupies the four
immense halls on the second floor, and contains upwards of one hundred
and fifty-five thousand models, which have accumulated since the fire of
1836. In December, of that year, the old building was destroyed,
containing four thousand models, the accumulation of half a century. But
for this calamity, the progress of mechanical arts in the United States
could be traced back to the foundation of the Government. The south Hall
of the Museum is a magnificent apartment, two hundred and forty-two feet
long, sixty-three feet wide, and thirty feet high, decorated in the
Pompeiian style, the entire structure of the room being in solid
masonry. Among the historical relics contained here, are the uniform of
Washington, worn at the time he resigned his commission, and his sword,
secretary, compass, and sleeping tent, with camp utensils for cooking,
etc. The number and variety of models contained in these four large
halls are almost bewildering, and afford material for hours of study.
The cost of this immense structure was two million, seven hundred
thousand, but the entire sum has been principally liquidated by the
surplus funds received, which annually amount to at least two hundred
thousand dollars.
The _General Post Office_ building is immediately opposite the Patent
Office; it is a most imposing edifice, constructed of white marble, from
the quarries of New York, and was built--the portion fronting on E
street--in 1839. The northern half of the square was afterward purchased
by the Government, and the extension begun in 1855; the building, as now
completed, being three hundred feet in length, by two hundred and four
in depth, with a large courtyard in the centre, entered on the west
front by a carriage way, where the mails are received and sent out.
Above the basement, on every side of this noble structure, arise
monolithic columns and pilasters, surmounted by handsomely wrought
capitals, upon which rests a paneled cornice. The main entrance is
adorned with Doric columns, and the ceiling, walls and floor finished
with white marble. In the office of the Postmaster-General is a fine
collection of photographs and crayons of those who have filled this
position since the appointment of Samuel Osgood, by Washington, in 1789.
The cost of this building was one million seven hundred thousand
dollars.
The _Agricultural Building_ is a large and handsome structure, built of
pressed brick, in the _renaissance_ style of architecture, with
trimmings of brown stone. Immediately in front of the house is a flower
garden, beautifully laid out, and planted with an almost countless
variety of flowers; the remaining grounds adjacent to the building have
been laid out as an _arboreture_, with walks and drives winding through
forests of trees and shrubs, all of which have been planted according to
the strictest botanical rules. The experimental grounds, occupying ten
acres in the rear of the house, contain artificial lakes, rivers and
swamps, for the cultivation of water and marsh plants. The building is
handsomely finished and the various apartments and offices elegantly
furnished, including a handsome library, thoroughly equipped laboratory,
and an _Agricultural Museum_, which occupies the main building, and is
replete with objects of interest and beauty too numerous to admit of
description. The _Plant Houses_ are immense conservatories, in which the
fruits and flowers of every clime and country may be found _growing_.
The main structure is three hundred and twenty feet long, by thirty
wide, with a projecting wing giving one hundred and fifty feet
additional. On the north bank of the Potomac is the _Naval Observatory_,
one of the principal astronomical establishments in the world. The
Observatory was founded in 1842, the location being selected by
President Tyler. The site had been called "University Square," from the
fact that it had been the cherished intention of Washington, from the
foundation of the city, to urge the erection upon this spot of a
_National University_. The central building of the Observatory was
completed in 1844--a two-story building, with wings, and surmounted by a
dome. The great telescope, purchased in 1873, cost forty-seven thousand
dollars, and is the most powerful instrument in the world, the
refracting glass being twenty-six inches; the focal length thirty-two
and a half feet. The library contains six thousand volumes, a number of
them very rare, dating back to 1482.
The _Army Medical Museum_ was formerly Ford's Theatre, in which
President Lincoln was assassinated on the fourteenth of April, 1865. The
building was purchased a year later, by Congress, remodeled and
converted to its present use. No trace has been left to indicate the
exact location of the murder. The Chemical Laboratory, on the first
floor, was the restaurant in which Booth took his last drink; among the
relics and curiosities is a portion of the vertebrae taken from the neck
of the assassin. The first floor is occupied by the record and pension
division of the Surgeon General's office, and upon the registers are
inscribed the names of three hundred thousand of the _dead_. The Museum
is on the third floor, and contains about sixteen thousand medical,
surgical, and anatomical specimens.
The _Government Printing Office_ is a large four-story building, in
which the printing of the two Houses of Congress and other Departments
is done. In 1794 an appropriation of ten thousand dollars was made, and
sufficed, for "firewood, stationery and printing; the amount required at
the present time to meet the expenses of this department is two million
five hundred thousand dollars per annum, showing the rapid advance of
the country, in extent, population, and the prodigality of its
representatives as well.
The _United States Barracks_, formerly the _Arsenal_, is situated at the
extreme southern point of the city. A Government Penitentiary was
erected on the grounds in 1826; in one of the lower cells was buried
the body of Booth, and afterward those of the other conspirators. The
Penitentiary was taken down in 1869, at which time the family of Booth
was permitted to remove his body to Baltimore, where it was interred in
the family burial lot at Druid Hill, the grave remaining unmarked. In
front of the old buildings, the grounds, since the war, have been
beautifully laid out, and contain a number of cannon captured by the
Government forces in different conflicts. There is a brass gun with a
ball shot into its muzzle at the battle of Gettysburg, and two captured
Blakely guns, one of which bears the inscription: "Presented to the
Sovereign State of South Carolina, by one of her citizens residing
abroad, in commemoration of the twentieth of December, 1860." There are
also British, French, and Mexican cannon, captured from those nations,
some of them dated as far back as 1756.
On the Anacostia, three-fourths of a mile from the Capitol, is the _Navy
Yard_, formally established by act of Congress in 1804, and in those
early days standing unrivaled, as it sent out such famous vessels as the
Wasp, Argus, and Viper; and frigates, carrying 44 guns each, were built
in its shops. But the gradual filling up of the channel in which ships
of the line formerly anchored, and the increased facilities of other
later established stations, have deprived the old yard of its importance
as a naval constructing port, although it is still one of the most
important for the manufacture of supplies. The _Marine Barracks_,
organized in 1798, are but a short distance from the Navy Yard gate; the
building is seven hundred feet in length, with accommodations for two
hundred men. The Barracks were burned by the British in 1814, but were
at once rebuilt.
The _Smithsonian Institute_, by name, is generally familiar, while
comparatively few are acquainted with its origin, the design of its
founder, his antecedents or history, all of which are peculiarly
interesting, and deserving of a more extended notice than our sketch
will permit. James Smithson was an Englishman, the son of the first Duke
of Northumberland, and a grand nephew, on his mother's side, of Charles,
the proud Duke of Somerset. Whether or not any secret romance was
connected with his life, we are not informed; all that is known is, that
he devoted himself to literature and science, was never married, and
died at Genoa, Italy, in 1828, bequeathing his fortune to his nephew,
Henry James Hungerford, during life; at his death to become the property
of the United States; in the language of the will, "To found, at
Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institute, an
establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
The Government accepted the bequest, which was at its disposal as early
as 1836, and the original fund, of upwards of five hundred and fifteen
thousand dollars, was deposited in the Treasury. A little more than ten
years later the Smithsonian Institute was organized, a board of Regents
appointed, and the corner-stone laid, with masonic ceremonies, May the
first, 1847. The building was completed in 1856, the accrued interest
being mere than sufficient to cover all the expenses of its erection,
and leaving a permanent fund of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars
in the Treasury for its future maintenance. In less than a year after
the close of the war the main building was partially destroyed by fire,
together with the papers and reports of the Institute, and the personal
effects of its founder. It was immediately restored, however; but the
Library, comprising a large collection of valuable scientific works, was
removed to the Capitol. It would seem that this immense building, so
generously endowed, could, and should, be made to advance "the increase
and diffusion of knowledge among men," in a more direct and individual
manner, by being devoted to educational purposes. But further than its
use in conducting exchanges between the Government and scientific bodies
at home and abroad, and the care of the National Museum, the Smithsonian
Institute has contributed nothing toward "the advancement of knowledge
among men," and those, generally, of the country whom it was especially
intended to benefit.
The _National Museum_, completed in 1879, is situated a very short
distance east of the Institute, and covers nearly two and a half acres
of ground. It is a handsome structure, of the modernized Romanesque
style of architecture; having four entrances and eight lofty towers; the
principal entrance being approached by granite steps, thirty-seven feet
wide, to a richly tiled platform. Above the inscription plate on the
globe of the nave, is an allegorical group representing Columbia as the
patroness of Science and Industry. The whole is surmounted by a dome;
the windows filled with double glass imported from Belgium; in fine, the
entire building is externally and internally complete, being finished
and furnished in the most costly and elegant manner. The large
collections of the Museum in the Smithsonian Institute, are to be
divided; objects of purely natural history being alone kept in the
Institute, the second floor of which will be devoted to archA|ology,
including the antiquities of the "Stone Age."
South of the President's House, and but a short distance from the stone
which marks the centre of the District stands the National Monument to
the Father of his Country, designed by Mills. It was completed on
Saturday, December sixth, 1884, by the setting of its marble cap-stone.
The idea of this National Monument took definite shape in 1833, when the
_Washington National Monument Association_ was organized, composed of
some of the most distinguished men of the country. The design was to
build it by means of popular subscriptions, of individual sums, not to
exceed one dollar each. In 1847 the collections amounted to $87,000, and
with this sum it was determined to begin the work. On the Fourth of
July, 1848 the corner stone of the monument was laid; in 1854, the funds
of the _National Monument Association_ were exhausted. The structure had
then reached a height of one hundred and seventy feet, and during the
succeeding twenty-four years only four feet were added to its altitude.
August twenty-second, 1876, Congress passed an Act, creating a
commission for its completion, and made the necessary appropriation,
which was to be continued annually. Before resuming work on the
monument, it was deemed best to strengthen the foundation by placing
under the shaft an additional mass of concrete, one hundred and
twenty-three feet, three inches beyond the old foundation. The weight of
the mass then worked under was 32,176 tons. The total pressure on the
foundation as it now stands is 80,378 tons.
The monument is a marble obelisk, the marble having been brought from
the quarries of the Beaver Dam Marble Company, Baltimore County,
Maryland. The shaft, from the floor, is 555 feet, 4 inches high, being
thirty feet, five inches higher than the spires of the great cathedral
of Cologne. The present foundation is thirty-six feet, eight inches
deep, making an aggregate height, from the bed of the foundation, of 592
feet, the loftiest work of ancient or modern times. The walls of the
obelisk, at its base, are over fifteen feet thick, and at the 500 feet
mark, where the pyramidal top begins, eighteen inches thick. The total
cost of the monument has been $1,130,000. Within the obelisk is an
elevator and a stairway. On the latter there are nine hundred steps, and
about twenty minutes are required to make the descent.
The _Corcoran Art Gallery_ is one of the most interesting and valued
institutions belonging to the National Capitol, and the last that our
limits will permit being described at length. The building stands on the
corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Seventeenth street, and is constructed
of brick, in the Renaissance style of architecture, finished with
freestone ornaments and a variety of beautiful carving. On the avenue
front are four statues, in Carrara marble, executed by Ezekiel, in Rome,
of _Phidias_, _Raphael_, _Michael Angelo_, and _Albert Durer_,
representing respectively, sculpture, painting, architecture and
engraving. In the vestibules and corridors are casts of ancient _bas
reliefs_, with numerous antique busts and statues in marble. The _Hall
of Bronzes_ contains a very large and interesting collection of bronzes,
armor, ceramic ware, etc. The Hall of _Antique Sculpture_, almost one
hundred feet in length, contains casts of the most celebrated specimens
of ancient sculpture. The _Main Picture Gallery_ is also nearly one
hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, with a collection of paintings
ranking among the first of this country, and more than one hundred and
fifteen in number. The _Octagon Chamber_ contains the original Greek
Slave, by Powers. In the _East Gallery_ is displayed a valuable
collection of portraits of distinguished Americans, painted by the best
native artists; in the _West Gallery_, is a large number of paintings,
historical, landscape and other subjects.
The _Corcoran Art Gallery_ was presented to the city and country by W.
W. Corcoran, Esq., in 1869. This magnificent gift, including the donor's
private collection of paintings and statuary, cost three hundred and
fifty thousand dollars, to which he added an endowment fund of nine
hundred thousand dollars more. Mr. Corcoran has also erected and
elegantly furnished, a large and beautiful building, called the _Louise
Home_, at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars, with an endowment fund
of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. _The Home_, the only
institution of its kind in the entire country, is an asylum for ladies
of education and refinement who have been reduced in fortune. The house
is furnished in a style of subdued elegance, with every luxury and
convenience to be found in the best appointed private residence; while
the ladies are waited upon and treated with the same attention and
respect as if they were each paying an extravagant rate of board. There
are ample accommodations for fifty-five ladies, who must have reached
the age of fifty-years, as a general rule, and who make their
application for admission in writing. There is _no charge_ for
admission, nor expense of any kind, nor _limit_ to the time of remaining
at the _Louise Home_. This beautiful institution, in which charity is
bestowed in so refined and delicate, yet magnificent a manner, has been
erected and endowed by the Founder _in memoriam_ of a beloved wife and
only daughter and child. It is but due to this great philanthropist, to
mention here, that in addition to his gifts named above, the _National
Medical College, of Columbian University_, was his gift, in 1864, and
cost forty thousand dollars. The original grounds of _Oak Hill
Cemetery_, comprising ten acres, were also donated by him, together with
an endowment fund of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars; the
grounds were incorporated by Congress in 1840. It were fortunate for
mankind if the number of such benefactors were greater, and the wisdom
displayed by Mr. Corcoran oftener imitated by the rich, who, if they
_give_, permit their good deeds only "_to live after them_," instead of
planning, and directing with their own hands, the schemes of benevolence
they desire to inaugurate for the benefit of their unfortunate fellow
beings.
There are many places of historical interest that might be described, as
well as numerous Halls, Colleges, Hospitals, etc., but the limits of
this paper will not permit. We shall only refer to the _Government
Hospital for the Insane_, situated at the junction of the Potomac and
Anacostia rivers, and one of the finest and largest institutions of the
kind in the world. It is seven hundred and fifty feet in length by two
hundred deep, containing five hundred single rooms, and accommodations
for more than nine hundred patients. The _Deaf and Dumb Asylum and
College_ are also conspicuous among the Public Institutions, built in
the pointed Gothic style, and costing the Government $350,000.
During the late war Washington was converted into a vast fortress, and
made the base of operations for the entire forces of the Union. The
hills surrounding it were covered with the camps of soldiers, while its
vast streets and avenues hourly echoed the tread of moving troops, and
the heavy crushing roll of artillery. At the close of the contest the
city was found to have risen high upon the wave of revolution; a new
element had been infused into its population, and the march of
improvement had begun. In ten years the number of inhabitants had
increased fifty thousand. With the continuance of peace, and the spirit
of improvement and progress remaining unchecked, it may reasonably be
predicted and confidently anticipated, that the close of the Nineteenth
Century will find the Capital City of this great Republic approaching in
splendor and importance the realization of the proudest hope and dream
of magnificence ever cherished in the hearts of its worthy founders, and
in _itself_ a monument worthy of the immortal name of WASHINGTON.
_TESTIMONIALS._
COMMENDATIONS
OF
Peculiarities of American Cities.
_Buffalo Sunday Times._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is the title of the latest work of
Captain Willard Glazier, whose numerous books show great versatility and
vivacity. The work before us contains sketches of thirty-nine of the
principal cities of the United States and Canada. It is replete with
interest. The pages are not filled with a mass of dry statistics or mere
description, but record the personal observations of the author,
detailed in an easy, familiar style.
_Hamilton (Canada) Tribune._
The "Peculiarities of American Cities" contains a chatty description of
the leading American and Canadian cities. A bright, descriptive style
gives piquancy to the work, which is a gazetteer without seeming to be
so. The Canadian cities described are Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec, and
the accounts given of them are accurate. This being so of our own land,
the probability is strong that the accounts given of the American cities
are so too.
_Rock Island Union._
Captain Willard Glazier, whose war stories have proved so attractive,
has turned his attention to another field, and proved that he can write
entertainingly while imparting information to his readers of permanent
reference value. His new book is entitled "Peculiarities of American
Cities," and embodies the results of his personal observations and
studies in the leading towns of the country. There are thirty-nine
chapters, and each one is devoted to a different city, and may be said
to be complete in itself. The classification is alphabetical, beginning
with Albany and ending with Washington. The descriptive work has been
well and faithfully done, and the prominent features of each city have
received especial attention. This is the special point of the work--to
show the distinct peculiarities and characteristics of our cities--and
the charm lies in the fact that every city is treated in accordance with
its local color, instead of in a stereotyped manner, as is usually the
case. The book is a valuable one, and should be perused and studied by
old and young.
_Detroit Journal._
Under the title of "Peculiarities of American Cities," Captain Willard
Glazier, the author of half a dozen successful volumes, has lately
produced a very attractive book of nearly six hundred pages. It is
written in a graceful style, as one would describe a trip through the
country from East to West, including visits to the chief cities, and
touching upon their most notable characteristics. The author gives his
readers the salient and significant points, as they strike an observing
man and a skilled writer, and in this he has been very successful.
_Madison State Journal._
Captain Glazier is a noted American traveler. His canoe trip down the
Mississippi and his extended horseback tour through the States made him
quite famous at the time. The volume before us presents the peculiar
features, favorite resorts, and distinguishing characteristics of the
leading cities of America, including Canada. The author launches into
his subject with directness, treating them with perspicuity and in an
easy, flowing, graphic style, presenting a series of most admirable pen
pictures. The book is practically invaluable in households where there
are children and youth.
_Chicago Tribune._
In this work Captain Glazier has entered upon a new field in literature,
and his researches are at once unique and interesting. The first chapter
opens with a visit to Albany, the quaint old Dutch city of the Hudson,
and here at the outset the author discovers "peculiarities" without
limit. Boston is next taken up, and then follow in succession
thirty-seven of the leading cities of the United States and Canada. The
book is a compendium of historical facts concerning the cities referred
to which are not given in any other work with which we are acquainted,
making this volume a valuable addition to any library.
_Saginaw Courier._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is a handsome and attractive volume,
descriptive of the characteristics of many of the cities of North
America, by one who seems to be thoroughly familiar with the subject,
and who has developed an aptness in grasping the peculiarities of modern
city life, as well as the power to graphically portray them. To those
who may never be able to visit the places described, as well as to those
who have seen them, the pen pictures will be both interesting and
entertaining. The author gives his readers the salient and significant
points as they strike an observant critic and a fascinating writer.
_Racine Daily Times._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is a work that will give to the
person who has only money to stay at home an intelligent idea of how the
great cities of the country look, and what their people do to gain a
livelihood, and what objects of interest there are to be seen. Through
the medium of this work one can wander through the streets of far-off
places; he can watch the rush of the multitude and hear the roar of the
industries that help to make our country the great land that it is. He
can gaze upon the palaces of the rich or hurry through scenes where
poverty is most pitiful and vice most hideous. It is a work that ought
to be in every house.
_Alton Democrat._
One of the most entertaining books is "Peculiarities of American Cities"
by Captain Willard Glazier, whose pen has enraptured thousands by
descriptions of battle scenes and heroic adventures. The book is almost
a necessity, as it familiarizes one with scenes in travel and history.
The author has the faculty of making his readers see what he has seen
and feel the impressions which he has felt in the view. The style is
easy and flowing, not complicated and wearisome, The great cities are
described in a way which makes the reader familiar with them--their
history, society, manners, customs, and everything relating to their
past, present, and future. The book will be a companion of many a
leisure hour.
_Buffalo Courier._
The books written by Captain Willard Glazier have had a very wide,
almost a phenomenal circulation; in myriads of volumes they have been
distributed throughout the country. From the time when a very young man,
and just after the war, in which he served, Captain Glazier published
his first book, they have, until the one just out, been all founded on
and descriptive of events and scenes of the Revolution and the
Rebellion. Now, however, he has turned from the beaten path and taken an
altogether different topic, as is clearly explained in the title of his
new work, "Peculiarities of American Cities." There are thirty-nine
chapters, in which as many different cities have their noteworthy
characteristics set forth in a pleasing and very interesting style, with
handsome illustrations.
_Hamilton (Canada) Spectator._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is a work by Captain Willard Glazier,
who has earned some fame as a writer of books describing the incidents
of the War of the Rebellion. The present work is a compilation of facts
concerning thirty-nine of the principal cities of the continent,
including Toronto, Quebec, and Montreal, and the information the work
contains is brought down to recent date. The history, growth in
commerce, progress in art and science, and architectural and physical
characteristics of each city are treated of in a very interesting way.
Few people who have traveled at all but have visited one or more of
these cities, and will read the work with pleasure. Others will find it
intensely interesting because it gives them in detail much they have
often wanted to know of the cities of America.
_New York Herald._
The author talks of cities as he has seen them; describing their
appearance, their public resorts, and the peculiarities which
characterize them and their people. He leads the reader through the
streets, into the public parks, museums, libraries, art galleries,
churches, theatres, etc.; tells him of great business schemes, marts,
and manufactories; sails to suburban pleasure resorts; describes the
many avocations and ways of picking up a living which are peculiar to
large cities and the phases of character in men and women which are to
be found where men most do congregate. The book will prove to be an
interesting and instructive one to those who have not seen the cities it
describes, and interesting to those who have traveled as a review and
comparison of views from an experienced traveler and chronicler.
_Detroit Christian Herald._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" contains brief studies of the
history, general features, and leading enterprises of thirty-nine cities
of the United States and Canada. The author states in the preface that
he has been a resident of one hundred cities, and feels qualified to
write largely from personal observation and comparison. It is not a dry
compendium of facts, but is enlivened by picturesque legends, striking
incidents, and racy anecdotes. Though the author has attempted no
exhaustive description of these prominent centres of interest, he has
shown taste and judgment in selecting the things one would most like to
know, and skill in weaving the facts into an entertaining form.
_Davenport Democrat._
This is the fifth of a readable series of popular books by the
soldier-author, Captain Willard Glazier. Many readers have become
familiar with "Soldiers of the Saddle," "Capture, Prison-pen, and
Escape," "Battles for the Union," and "Heroes of Three Wars," and they
will welcome the volume under notice as one of the most attractive of
the list. Captain Glazier does not compile--he writes what he has seen.
He has a trained eye, a facile pen, and a power of graphic description.
"American Cities" is a work devoted to a pen-portraiture of thirty-nine
cities, and those who have not or cannot visit these cities have in this
book an easy and most fascinating way of acquainting themselves with
their distinguishing characteristics. All readers ought to know
something of our American cities, each of which has features peculiar to
itself.
_Syracuse Herald._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is the title of a new book by Captain
Willard Glazier, author of "Soldiers of the Saddle," "Battles for the
Union," and several other popular works. In its pages the favorite
resorts, peculiar features, and distinguishing characteristics of the
leading cities of America are described. Dry statistics are avoided, the
facts which the general reader most desires being given in the style of
graphic description for which the author is noted. The book not only
contains a great deal of information in regard to America's principal
cities as they exist to-day, but many important events in local history
are cleverly worked in. The _Herald_ feels safe in commending this book
as both instructive and entertaining. It will be read with interest by
those who have "been there," and seen for themselves, as well as by
those who can at most see only in imagination the places treated.
_Indianapolis Educational Weekly._
This book occupies a niche in the literature of the country peculiar to
itself. It describes thirty-nine cities of America, including all the
largest cities and some others which, though not quite so large, are
rapidly growing, and seem destined to occupy positions of importance.
Still other sketches possess peculiar interest for their historical
associations. Of the latter class are the stories of Savannah,
Charleston, and Richmond. It is said that Americans too often rush off
to Europe without knowing that America possesses a Niagara Palls,
Yosemite Valley, and Yellowstone National Park. The same may be said of
our reading. Many books descriptive of European cities and places of
interest are widely circulated and read. And if they are reliable they
should be read. But America might, with profit, be studied more. This
book offers a splendid opportunity to learn something of our American
cities.
_Altoona Times._
The reader will find a great abundance of useful information contained
in a small compass and very pleasantly imparted in Captain Glazier's
"Peculiarities of American Cities." Those who have little time to gather
their information from more extended sources will find this a valuable
work that will supply a vacant place in their library. It is certainly a
book very much in advance of the volumes of like import that from time
to time our people have been solicited to buy.
_Boston Transcript._
Captain Glazier's style is particularly attractive, and the discursive,
anecdotal way in which the author carries his readers over the
continent, from one city to another, is charmingly interesting. He lands
his reader, by the easiest method, in a city; and when he has got him
there, strives to interest and make him happy by causing him to glean
amusement and instruction from all he sees. Every page of the book is
teeming with interest and information. Persons are made conversant with
the chief characteristics and history of cities they may never hope to
visit. The book has apparently been written principally for the purpose
of presenting the truth about the various chief centres of trade in the
country, and the writer has adopted a pleasant conversational style,
more likely to leave the impression desired than all the histories and
arid guide-books ever published. It is a delightful book, full of happy
things.
_Pittsburgh Sunday Globe._
"Peculiarities of American Cities," by Willard Glazier, will be found
disappointing to those who look for an ordinary re-hash of musty data
about leading cities, as, aside from the numerous illustrations, which
are far above the average book illustrations in accuracy, the work will
be found to contain pleasantly written chapters on the industrial and
social features of New York, Pittsburgh, Washington, Montreal, Portland,
Savannah, Boston, Albany, Quebec, Omaha, Chicago, Buffalo, St. Louis,
Hartford, Cleveland, Richmond, Providence, Baltimore, New Orleans, San
Francisco, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, etc. The chapter on Pittsburgh
embraces a summing up of its features as an iron, glass, and oil centre,
while the descriptions of our people and the labor organizations,
banking, and business interests are well-timed and as comprehensive as
the limits of the work will permit. It will make a valuable addition to
any library.
_Fort Wayne Gazette._
The author gives his views concerning the history, character, or
"peculiarities" of some forty prominent American cities. The subject is
an interesting one, familiarizing the reader with what belongs
particularly to his own country. Persons may visit a place frequently,
yet know nothing in regard to its history or the events connected with
it which make the same memorable. Such matters have been carefully
collected by the author and properly arranged into a systematic
narrative. The chapters are exceedingly entertaining aside from the
information they convey. The author has the ability to present what he
wishes to communicate in an admirable way, and is tedious in nothing he
has written. We know of no work on this subject from which so much that
is valuable can be obtained in so concise a form. It is a book that will
never weary or lose in interest, and can be placed in the library among
the valuable works.
_Milwaukee Sentinel._
"Peculiarities of American Cities" is a book rather unique in character,
and may be said to occupy a place somewhere between the regular
guide-book and the volume of travels. As people who stay at home are not
generally given to reading guide-books, and as volumes of travel
embracing the same route as that gone over by our author are not common,
"Peculiarities of American Cities" fills a niche that has hitherto been
vacant, and meets a want not before satisfied. The writer takes up the
most important cities of the United States and Canada in alphabetical
order, beginning with Albany and ending with Washington, and gives a
more or less extended description of each, commencing usually with a
slight historical outline, particularly where it would be of general
interest, as in the case of Boston, but devoting the greater part of his
space to the treatment of their present condition. The natural
advantages of each place are considered, its commerce and manufactures
discussed, its public parks and buildings described, and illustrations
of a number of the latter given.
_New York World._
To become well acquainted with the principal cities of the Union is not
a matter of secondary importance, but should be one of the first duties
of an American citizen. It is at once a source of pleasure and profit to
know the points of interest in the various places; to be able to give an
account of the commercial transactions, the people and customs; and, in
fact, to know about other communities what you find it necessary to
learn of your own. To the great majority of Americans the opportunity is
not given of personally becoming acquainted with the various cities of
import, and the only way we have of knowing the peculiarities of our
sister cities is by the few scraps we read now and then in the
newspapers. The want of some method by which to instruct the people in
this matter has long been manifest, but what to do has often been asked
and remained unanswered. Educators recommend the compilation of
statistics of the various places, and many plans were suggested by which
a knowledge of the subject could be diffused among the masses. It has
finally been solved by Captain Willard Glazier, of whom the country has
heard in civil and military life on many former occasions. Captain
Glazier has traveled over the entire continent since the late war, and
has become well acquainted with the principal cities, and the thought
struck him to write a book on the points of interest he has visited in
the various places. For a number of years he has been at the work, and
finally gives to the public his latest literary effort, which he has
appropriately entitled "Peculiarities of American Cities." The book is
just what is needed in every public and private library in the country,
and will awaken a deep interest in the citizens of each city on which
the work treats. The public cannot fail to be interested in the work,
for it treats on a live subject, and, furthermore, the author's style is
far too pleasing to permit of any lack of interest. Captain Glazier is
the author of a number of books, all of which have become popular, and
we predict for this, his latest effort, the success which it merits.
* * * * *
POPULAR WORKS
OF
Captain Willard Glazier,
THE SOLDIER-AUTHOR.
I. Soldiers of the Saddle.
II. Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape.
III. Battles for the Union.
IV. Heroes of Three Wars.
V. Peculiarities of American Cities.
VI. Down the Great River.
* * * * *
Captain Glazier's works are growing more and more popular every
day. Their delineations of _social_, military _and frontier_ life,
constantly varying scenes, and deeply interesting stories, combine
to place their writer in the front rank of American authors.
* * * * *
SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION.
PERSONS DESIRING AGENCIES FOR ANY OF CAPTAIN GLAZIER'S
BOOKS SHOULD ADDRESS
THE PUBLISHERS.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBERaEuro(TM)S NOTES:
1. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest
paragraph break.
2. Obvious punctuation errors have been corrected.
3. The words "Phoenix" and "Oenone" uses an oe ligature in the original.
4. The following typographical errors have been corrected:
"Bath-on-the Hudson" corrected to "Bath-on-the-Hudson" (page 28)
"facades" corrected to "facades" (page 30)
"scarely" corrected to "scarcely" (page 168)
"Real" corrected to "Real" (page 236)
"Situate" corrected to "Situated" (page 248)
"condemed" corrected to "condemned" (page 261)
"transferrred" corrected to "transferred" (page 261)
"pedestrains" corrected to "pedestrians" (page 312)
"possesesion" corrected to "possession" (page 358)
"establisment" corrected to "establishment" (page 438)
"granduer" corrected to "grandeur" (page 459)
"ignominously" corrected to "ignominiously" (page 464)
"excelence" corrected to "excellence" (page 523)
4. Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
spelling, hyphenation, and ligature usage have been retained.