LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL, Washington, D. C., December 5, 1928.

The VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

Washington, D. C.

SIR: I respectfully transmit herewith the annual report of the office of the Architect of the Capitol for the fiscal year ended, June 30, 1928.

Respectfully,

DAVID LYNN, Architect of the Capitol.

III

REPORT OF THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1928

In presenting the annual report for the fiscal year 1928, it seems appropriate at this time to place on record some information in relation to previous reports concerning the Capitol Building. It should be understood that in the days prior to the erection of the Capitol the entire charge of the construction was entrusted to Commissioners for the District of Columbia, men selected by the President to represent him in all matters of detail relating not only to the construction of the Capitol, but also to the construction of the White House and other public buildings needed for the uses of the Government.

The architects employed in those early days seemed to have made but few reports in proportion to the work completed, and these reports were at times made to the Congress or to the commissioners referred to, or at other times to the Secretary of State probably for the purpose of having such reports transmitted to the President under whose charge the entire plan of building operations was conducted. From the compilation known as the Documentary History of the Capitol, House Report No. 646, Fifty-eighth Congress, second session, it is learned that reports were made by Hadfield, Hoban, Latrobe, and Bulfinch, showing the progress of the work entrusted to their charge, and at times setting forth the needs for appropriations to complete certain work as the necessity for the completion fitted in with the entire scheme of the erection of the Capitol Building. These reports were made from time to time to the commissioners previously referred to or to the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, a committee of the Congress, or in answer to some special resolution asking for information upon the progress of the work. They were not made at any regular interval but as the conditions seemed to determine the necessity for the information either to the commissioners or to the Congress. Many of these early reports are only to be found in the documents and papers belonging to the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia now known as the Office of the Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks. A large number of these reports are to be found in the documentary history previously referred to.

Reports of the office of the Architect of the Capitol appear to commence with the fiscal year 1864, such reports being made to the Secretary of the Interior and forwarded in some instances as a separate document and in other instances as a part of the report of the Interior Department to the Congress. From 1864 until 1882 the reports appear to have been dated in November of each year up to 1877 and from that time until 1882 in October of each year. The report of 1882 was particularly for the fiscal year of that date. The reports for the most part are very brief documents containing sometimes 6 or 7 pages, in other instances 9 or 11 pages up to the year

1897, when the report contains a long subreport written by Prof. S. H. Woodbridge on the subject of ventilation. This report comprised 26 pages. Another extensive report was made in the year 1899 which included the subreport relating to the explosion in the Supreme Court section of the Capitol Building, occurring on Sunday, November 6, 1898. This report, which includes many illustrations of the damaged portions of this section of the Capitol as well as a large number of pages devoted entirely to text, includes 47 pages in its entirety. Another extensive report was made in 1902 containing many illustrations relating to the reconstruction of the roof of the Statuary Hall section of the Capitol and the reconstruction of the roof of the Supreme Court section of the Capitol, such sections having been made fireproof by the changing of the old roof to a complete fireproof construction. This report also includes an includes an extended reference to the extension of the Capitol Building and several illustrations relating to the office building for the House of Representatives and in addition a large number of plans and illustrations relating to the reconstruction of the central portion of the Capitol. This report contains 60 pages of text.

Summarized the reports of the Architect of the Capitol in possession of this office as separate documents cover only the years from 1864 to the present time. It has been considered important as a matter of record that this statement should be made in order that those in search of information relating to the Capitol in prior years may understand that such reports are not available in the office of the Architect of the Capitol.

REPAIRS SENATE WING OF THE CAPITOL

Owing to the close of the first session of the Seventieth Congress on May 29, 1928, such extensive repairs and painting as are usually done during a long recess could not be attended to during the recess of the first session of the Seventieth Congress.

There was attended to, however, in the Senate wing of the Capitol the following work of painting described as follows:

On the gallery floor of the Senate wing of the Capitol the washing and cleaning of the painting and touching up of such portions as require slight attention was attended to in the committee room of the Committee on Commerce, the Press Gallery; in the Committee on Printing, two rooms were restored; there were also in the Senate wing on the gallery floor corridors decorated, Senate. library and corridor adjoining restored and the toilet in the Senate document room painted. The necessary touching up was done to the paint work in the dome stairway, and two rooms used as offices painted; one room restored; two office rooms touched up and the ladies' retiring room painted.

On the Senate floor the office of the Secretary was touched up and similar attention given to the office of the Sergeant at Arms; and the committee room of Post Office and Post Roads; Senate lobby was also touched up as well as the Senate cloak room and Senate corridor, and in the Supreme Court section necessary minor repairs such as touching up was attended to in the court room and the room occupied by the reporters painted; the annex to the marshal's office painted, as well as the north corridor and the conference room and