Word: architects
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...home for the Supreme Court, which for nearly 70 years had been meeting in dusty discomfort in the original Senate chamber in the Capitol. Chairman of the building committee was Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who easily persuaded his fellow members to appoint white-haired, dignified Cass Gilbert as architect...
...Architect Gilbert had a proud record of achievement. From his drafting boards had come Manhattan's Woolworth Building, the Minnesota Capitol, the New York Customs House, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, the Detroit Public Library-all of them handsome, elaborate, rich in borrowed decoration. On the Supreme Court Building, Chief Justice Taft gave him three orders: "The building must conform in design with the Capitol. It should be enduring. And Mrs. Taft says it should be easy to keep clean...
Following Order No. 1, Architect Gilbert designed a Corinthian temple, flanked by two utilitarian wings for offices, waiting rooms, conference chambers, etc. Following Order No. 2, though the building has a steel frame, its masonry walls are strong enough to support it should every steel beam rust away. Following Order No. 3, the building is almost entirely of marble...
Still anxious to please Mrs. Taft, Architect Gilbert designed a courtroom that to the casual visitor is one of the most impressive chambers in the U. S. A row of Ionic columns surrounds it. Bronze and steel grilles shut off the wing corridors. A handsome sculptured frieze surrounds the walls. The bench itself is a chaste and dignified bar of polished mahogany...
...Architect Gilbert seemed to have designed his building from the viewpoint of visiting tourists rather than from that of the lawyers and Justices who must work there. Marble, though permanent (and easily cleaned, is a chilly substance, reflects innumerable echoes...