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was a worthy Capitol. If the finished building was inadequate, or poorly built, or ugly, the State had not accomplished its purpose, no matter how scrupulously honest and painstaking its designers may have been. If, on the other hand, the structure was well built, suited to its purpose, and beautiful, the State had got what it wanted-the methods by which the result had been accomplished were another matter, to be searchingly inquired into, if necessary, but having no bearing on the main question.

The first thing to be considered is, then, What kind of a Capitol has Pennsylvania built?

The Capitol Park occupies an oblong seventeen acres in the center of Harrisburg, two blocks from the Susquehanna River, the city's western boundary, and parallel to it. The ground in the Park rises gently from three sides toward the middle of the third, the eastern, side. The slight eminence so formed is the site of the Capitol, which is surrounded on three sides by the tree-covered slopes of the Park, and on the third (fortunately the rear) by an ill-favored dwelling-house district, extending to the main line of the Pennsylvania railway, and showing Harrisburg at its worst. A strong movement to have this slum region cleared out by the State and added to the Park is under way. It needs only this to make the surroundings of the new Capitol worthy of the building itself; for, in comparison, this great structure is far more closely hedged in than either the Providence or the St. Paul buildings, recently erected. If Pennsylvania should thus give her Capitol a dignified approach from the east, travelers on the railway would have opportunity to see the building as favorably as the Connecticut and Rhode Island capitols may be viewed.

The exterior of the Capitol has no especial claims to pre-eminence. Its lines, however, are dignified and substantial, culminating in a dome modeled on that of St. Peter's in Rome. The material of the exterior is Vermont granite, of a gray tone which gives an impression of solidity and strength.

The main entrance, in the center of the western façade, is closed with a

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richly decorated pair of bronze doors. Each leaf of the doors, which weighs a ton and yet is so nicely balanced that it swings noiselessly under the lightest pressure, was cast in a single piece. The process employed was one demanding not only skill and delicacy of manipulation on the part of the founder, but boldness on the part of the designer, for he must stake all on a single throw. It is called the cire perdue "or lost wax process; in it the modeling of the details of the design is done in wax to secure sharpness and fineness of outline. The mold is made over the wax, which, when the casting is done, is driven out by the molten metal, thus destroying the only model of the design. In case of a mistake or an accident in the casting the whole work goes for nothing, and the modeling must be done again from the beginning. The leaves of the doors bear four panels and two medallions. The panels illustrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the mineral and agricultural wealth of the State. The medallions symbolize History and Education.

While the exterior of the Capitol needs no apology, but, on the contrary, worthily fulfills its purpose, it is the interior by which its claims to pre-eminence among American public buildings (if such preeminence is to be successfully maintained) must be supported. There are five features or parts of the building in which interest centers and each of which, taken as a whole, has great beauty and distinction. They are the rotunda and dome, the Senate Chamber, the Chamber of the House of Representatives, the Governor's Suite, and the Supreme Court Room. The rest of the building is divided into offices, committee or meeting rooms, and workrooms, larger or smaller as use requires, the total number of rooms reaching four hundred and seventy-one. All of these are designed and furnished with unusual richness, extending far beyond. the requirements of the mere transaction of business, but giving to the entire building unity of conception and treat

ment.

From the main entrance a vestibule leads into the rotunda. Directly before

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staircase, was to me the most distinguished single feature of the building. The figures of Aspiration on the posts at the foot of the balustrade, already mentioned, give a superb finish to the staircase. When illuminated from within, the balls of crystal float in their upstretched fingers like giant bubbles of imponderable light.

From each side of the rotunda a long corridor leads through the main body of the building to the north and south wings. On either side of the entrances to the rotunda from the main door and

of small tiles, whose smooth unevenness is particularly pleasing to the foot. At intervals are interspersed larger tiles, bearing in quaint designs of strong, simple lines figures and scenes reminiscent of Pennsylvania's history, its animals, birds, and plants, and the life of the people. The spinning-wheel, the emigrant wagon, the turkey gobbler, the bumblebee, the churn, the bear, the loon, the automobile, Indians, and old Dutch settlers are some of the four hundred subjects scattered through the pavement of rotunda and corridors. The

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tiles were made by Henry C. Mercer, at . Doylestown, Pennsylvania, in the manner of the pottery tiles introduced into the State by the early Moravian settlers from their Austrian home. It is interesting to note that one not altogether fanciful purpose of the use of the tiles here is to provide an imperishable record of Pennsylvanian life for future ages, as the hieroglyphs have furnished our records of ancient Egypt.

The impression conveyed by the dome as seen from below is indescribable. Effects of space and height, of nobility of proportion, of richness of decoration, of the soft blending of colors into a pleasing harmony, all combine to give a feeling of majesty and beauty. Especially fine is the effect at night, when thousands of hidden lights emphasize the beauty of line and color, leading the eye to the central opening into the cupola, whose background of blue studded with golden stars gives a faithful counterfeit of the canopy of the heav

ens.

The north and south corridors are lined with pilasters, the lunettes between them above the wainscoting being filled with mural decorations. In the south corridor the paintings are by W. B. Van Ingen, and represent the many religious sects to be found in Pennsylvania. The spaces in the other corridor will be filled

with paintings by J.W. Alexander, representing the changes in the physical characteristics and material resources of the State throughout its history.

From the north and south sides of the rotunda gallery handsome doorways lead through

the appropriate anterooms into the Chambers of the two Houses of the Legislature. Each of these halls has its distinctive color scheme and style of decoration -the Senate green and gold, with its columns and pilasters of the Doric order; the House blue and gold, and Corinthian in style. The House is the more ornate, but the Senate is the more dignified and, to my taste, the more beautiful.

As one enters the

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House the eye is first caught by the wainscoting, which, varying from six to nine feet in height as the floor slopes toward the Speaker's desk, is composed of marble from the French Pyrenees. In color it is a blend of cream and buff, clouded with spots of rose and gray and black. The marble has been cut in leaves, and the adjoining slices opened out like the leaves of a book, and placed side by side. This process produces in each pair of slabs curious and interesting patterns, here a great butterfly, there a turtle, in another place a phantom head. Above the wainscoting rise Corinthian columns in creamy yellow and gold, which support the main beams of the ceiling through the broad ribs of the cove, or half vaulting. The richest part of the decoration is above the line of the columns. The ceiling is divided by immense beams, covered with elaborate carving and gilding, into deep spaces, the central one circular, the others rectangular. The central space is to be filled with a mural painting, representing the twenty-four hours, by Edwin A. Abbey, who will also decorate the mural spaces behind

the Speaker's desk with paintings illustrating the history of the Commonwealth. The other spaces in the ceiling are covered with rich ornamentation in deep blue and gold. From the intersections of the beams hang immense chandeliers. These chandeliers are each eighteen feet in height, and massive creations of elaborately wrought bronze gilt and cut glass. Between the ribs of the cove are round stained-glass windows designed by W. B. Van Ingen. The colors in these windows are deep and brilliant, giving them the appearance of jewels set in the rich gold ornamentation around them. The subjects represented are Education, Abundance, Steel and Iron, Religion, Printing, Liberty, Bridge Building, and the like, each typified by a single figure with appropriate symbols. The furniture of the Chamber is of mahogany, giving a quiet but rich foundation for the ornate decoration above. Like the dome, the House is seen to the best advantage by artificial light. The colors and the gilding are softened and blended, while the lights bring out the wonderful beauty of the chandeliers.

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