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MODERN 
 
 American School Buildings. 
 
 BEING 
 
 A TREATISE UPON, AND DESIGNS 
 
 FOR, THE CONSTRUCTION OF 
 
 SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 BY 
 
 WARREN RICHARD BRIGGS, F.A.I.A. 
 
 Mttb Q<5 fuUspage irilustratioitB. 
 
 FIRST EDITION. 
 FIRST THOUSAND. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 JOHN WILEY & SONS. 
 London : CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited. 
 1899. 
 
tCCONH '^•'^. 
 
 
 42158 
 
 Copyright, 1899, 
 
 BY 
 
 WARREN R. BRIGGS. 
 
 DECEIVED. 
 
 TW 
 
 O CO 
 
 piES 
 
 iV 
 
 ^V / 
 
 ^«ft!POf(^i£^ 
 
 HOBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER, NEW YORK. 
 
 
/ 
 
 i ^7 
 
 //3 
 
 AS A SLIGHT TRIBUTE TO MY WIFE, 
 
 X(33ie :©eacb Srlggs, 
 
 AT ALL TIMES A LOVING HELPMATE, 
 
 THOUGHTFUL ADVISER, AND 
 
 CLEVER AMANUENSIS, 
 
 THIS WORK 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 
 
/ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The preparation of this work has been fragmentary in the 
 extreme; the several subjects have been treated at intervals, 
 usually wide apart, extending over a period of twenty years; 
 they have, as a rule, been taken up at moments when the 
 machinery of the ofhce was practically at a standstill, or 
 when some special problem or incident had brought forcibly 
 to my mind the need of radical reforms. 
 
 The first twelve chapters are here presented for the first 
 time; Chapters XIII and XIV were papers prepared for State 
 Board of Health reports. Chapter XV is composed of the 
 series of papers originally written for ArcJiitecture and Build- 
 ing ; and the last chapter has recently been compiled to com- 
 plete this series. The illustrations and designs, with some 
 minor exceptions, are entirely new. Their collection and 
 arrangement in book form was suggested by the constant 
 demand for those that had been published, which could not 
 be supplied. 
 
 The State Board of Health reports were limited editions, 
 long since exhausted; and, while there are undoubtedly many 
 volumes of Architecture mid Building containing that series 
 of articles in existence, they are, as a rule, to be found only 
 in the libraries of architects and are not accessible either to 
 
VI PREFA CE. 
 
 the public or those who may be especially interested in school 
 buildings. Under these conditions it was deemed advisable 
 to edit in book form not only those that had already 
 appeared, but such other matter as might be pertinent to the 
 subject, with a hope that the interest taken in the original 
 articles may be intensified and increased. 
 
 If the perusal of the pages of this book will tend to im- 
 prove this most important branch of American architecture 
 and result ultimately in better buildings for our children to 
 pursue their studies in, my efforts in their behalf will not have 
 been in vain. 
 
 Bridgeport, Conn., 1899. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. In General • 7 
 
 II. Appropriations 21 
 
 III. Competitions 33 
 
 IV. Specialists 49 
 
 V. Commission* 63 
 
 VI. Superintendence. Ethics 75 
 
 VII. Ready-made Plans 91 
 
 VIII. Entrance-Halls and Staircases 107 
 
 IX. Windows and Lighting 119 
 
 X. Hat-and-Cloak-Rooms — Playrooms 139 
 
 XI. Heating and Ventilation 155 
 
 XII. Sanitary Arrangements 177 
 
 XIII. Hygienic Construction of the Bridgeport High School 
 
 Building .;^ 195 
 
 XIV. Suburban Schoolhouses 223 
 
 XV. Planning and Construction of Schoolhouses 263 
 
 XVI. City School Buildings on Restricted Sites 399 
 
 vii 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PLATE PAGE 
 
 1. Perspective of Twenty-Room Grammar-School Building i 
 
 2. Plans " " " " 3 
 
 3- " " " " " 5 
 
 4. Perspective of Competitive Design for High-School Building at P. 15 
 
 5. Plans " " " " " " " ". 17 
 
 6. " " " " " " " " ". 19 
 
 7. Perspective of Centre School Building, Danbury, Conn 29 
 
 8. Plans " " " " " " 31 
 
 g. Perspective of Orphan Asylum, Bridgeport, Conn 43 
 
 10. Plans " " " " " 45 
 
 II- " " " " " " 47 
 
 12. Perspective of Lincoln School Building, Bridgeport, Conn 57 
 
 13. Plans " " " " " " 59 
 
 14. " " " " " " " • 6r 
 
 15. Perspective of Small High School Building 71 
 
 16. Plans " " " " " 73 
 
 17. Perspective of Six-Room Building 85 
 
 18. Plans " " " 87 
 
 19. 
 
 20. Perspective of Eight-Room ' 
 
 21. Plans " " ' 
 
 22. " " " ' 
 
 lOI 
 
 103 
 
 105 
 
 23. Sketches of Entrance-Halls iii 
 
 24. Perspective of Four-Room Building with Hall 117 
 
 25. Plans " " " " " 123 
 
 26. " " " " " " 125 
 
 27. Sketches showing arrangement of Windows, etc 127 
 
 28. " " Iron Mullions, etc 131 
 
 29. Perspective of Three-Room Building in Brick , 135 
 
 30. Plans " " " " " 137 
 
 31. Sketches of Hat-and-Cloak-Rooms 143 
 
ILL US TEA TIONS. 
 
 PLATE PACK 
 
 32. Perspective of St. Mary's School Building, Derby Conn 14^ 
 
 33. Plans " " " " " " " 151 
 
 34- " ' " " '; " 153 
 
 35.' Perspective of medium-size High-School Building 171 
 
 36. Plans " " " " 173 
 
 37- " " " " " 175 
 
 38. Outbuildings with Windmills 181 
 
 39. Elevations of Original Bridgeport High School Building 187 
 
 40. Plans " " " " " " 189 
 
 41. Perspective of Remodelled Bridgeport High School Building igi 
 
 4J. Plans " " " " " " 193 
 
 43. Sketches of Water-Closets, Ventilation, etc 203 
 
 44. Perspective of One-Room Building 219 
 
 45. Plans " " " 221 
 
 46. Perspective of Two-Room Building 229 
 
 47. Plans " " " 231 
 
 48. Sketches showing Construction 237 
 
 49. Perspective of One-Room Building in Wood 259 
 
 50. Plans " " " " " 261 
 
 51. Perspective " " " " Stone 267 
 
 52. Plans " " " " " 269 
 
 53. Perspective of Two-Room Building in Wood 275 
 
 54. Plans " " " " " 277 
 
 55. Perspective " " " " Stone 2S3 
 
 56. Plans " " " " " 285 
 
 57. Perspective of Three-Room Building in Wood 289 
 
 58. Plans " " " " " 291 
 
 59. Perspective of Four-Room Building in Brick 299 
 
 60. Plans " " " " " 301 
 
 61. " " " " " " 303 
 
 62. Perspective of Eight-Room " " " 311 
 
 63. Plans " " " " " 513 
 
 64. " " " " " " 315 
 
 65. Perspective of Twelve-Room " " " 321 
 
 66. Plans " " " " " 323 
 
 67. " " " " " " 325 
 
 68. Perspecti e of Twelve-Room Building with Hall 329 
 
 69. Plans " " 
 
 70. Perspective of Sixteen-Room 
 
 71. Plans " 
 
 72. Perspective of Seventeen-Room 
 
 73. Plans " " 
 74. 
 
 75. Perspective of Twenty-four-Room Building 359 
 
 76. Plans " " " " 361 
 
 77. " " " " " 363 
 
 331 
 341 
 343 
 349 
 351 
 353 
 
ILL US TRA TIONS. XI 
 
 PLATE PAGE 
 
 78. Perspective of Large High-School Building 369 
 
 79. Plans " " " " 371 
 
 80. " " " " " 373 
 
 81. Perspective of State Normal-School " 379 
 
 82. Plans " " " " 3S1 
 
 83. Sketches of Heating and Ventilating Apparatus 3S7 
 
 84. Perspective of City School Building on loo-ft. Lot 393 
 
 85. Plans " " " " " " " 395 
 
 86. " " " " " " " " 397 
 
 87. Perspective of City School Building 150-ft. Lot 405 
 
 88. Plans " " " " " " 407 
 
 89. " " •* " " " " 409 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 PlR&T'STORa: Pl-AI-t 
 
 TWE/>lTYlK0O/v\CllAMMAa.iCH00L BUILDIAJO. 
 WITH HALL. 
 
 
 !■ ■ ■ I ■ ■ ■'''i ll ■ n 
 
 BAiifcri^ErtT PuArt 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 ^■pEconp Story Plam 
 
 'IVVEA)TYBoOANCl3AMMAfl -SCHOOL DujLtJlAJC; 
 
 WITH HA1_L_ 
 
 E] 
 
 Thico >5toey Plan 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN GENERAL. 
 
 It has been said that more money is expended each year 
 in the United States in the construction and maintenance of 
 public-school buildings than is used for a like purpose in all 
 the other countries of the world combined. While this 
 appears to be an exceedingly broad statement, still it may 
 not be an exaggeration, especially when our vast size and 
 wonderful increase in population during the past decade are 
 taken into consideration; for it can be affirmed with assur- 
 ance that no community of this great nation, be it ever so 
 humble, will long remain without a structure of some kind 
 within which its children can receive at least the rudiments 
 of an education. It is also undisputed that in the West, our 
 greatest field of development, the first substantial public 
 structure evolved from the chaotic mining-camp or land- 
 " boomer's " settlement is the schoolhouse, which thus 
 becomes the pioneer of enlightenment, progress, and knowl- 
 edge. It is likewise true that these indisputable facts are 
 more noticeable in our own than in any other country, for, 
 however ignorant, lawless, or depraved the native American 
 
 7 
 
8 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 parents may be, there is found in them, as a rule, an inborn 
 desire not only to improve the condition of their children, 
 but to have them receive wholesome training. This ten- 
 dency becomes stronger as the ratio of intelligence and 
 prosperity increases, it being recognized intuitively that the 
 surest safeguard that any nation can have is knowledge, 
 and that the best way that it can be imparted to the masses 
 is by the public education of their children. 
 
 That the public system of education has been carried irt 
 our country during the last half-century to a degree of per- 
 fection heretofore unknown to any country of the world nO' 
 one will deny ; and that to-day the United States is far in 
 advance of all other nations in this respect will also be 
 admitted. 
 
 Can it be said, however, with equal assurance that our 
 school buildings have kept pace with our educational 
 systems ? In other words, are they as complete in their 
 design and construction as the educational system is in its. 
 plan and equipment ? This question propounded to the 
 average citizen will be answered without hesitancy in the 
 afifirmative, and to emphasize he will point with pride to the 
 numerous school buildings of more or less architectural merit 
 to be found in his immediate locality. He assumes that 
 because the building cost a certain amount of money and is 
 pretentious, at least in outward appearance, it possesses all 
 the essential qualifications of a good school structure. In 
 these assumptions he is perfectly sincere and impartial, and, 
 so far as his knowledge extends, has given an honest opinion. 
 Perhaps nothing more should be expected, for the difference 
 between that which is good and bad is often so inconspicuous 
 as to be visible only to the trained eye; yet when the differ- 
 
IN GENERAL. O 
 
 ence is once understood it becomes ever after painfully 
 apparent and obnoxious. It may therefore be in the nature 
 of a blessing that the old adage, " Where ignorance is bliss 
 'tis folly to be wise," is so directly applicable to the great 
 mass of public opinions expressed in regard to modern school 
 buildings. 
 
 But leaving all consideration of the exterior architectural 
 merit of the modern school building — going back, in fact, to 
 the fundamental principle, which is tJie uses for zvhich the 
 building is intended — and remembering that the building is 
 to live and work in, not to look at, how then will it stand 
 searching investigation ? The competent critic — and I claim 
 that the average citizen, however much of an oracle he may 
 be, is not in this class — will tell you that, judged by estab- 
 lished and well-known (to the initiated) standards of con- 
 struction and hygienic excellence, not one old building in 
 fifty, nor new building in ten, comes anywhere near fulfilling 
 the requirements. 
 
 That earnest efforts have frequently been made to correct 
 existing evils and prevent their being repeated is true, and 
 that there is an abundance of statistics and data at hand 
 which if it were understandingly used would overcome many, 
 if no tall, of the glaring faults so frequently encountered, is 
 also undisputed; but in spite of this and in the face of the 
 teachings of such men as Cohn, Lincoln, Billings, and 
 Windsor, school buildings are constantly being erected all 
 over this broad land of ours that are full of errors in plan- 
 ning, construction, lighting, heating, and ventilation. If 
 you think this is a wild statement, let me refer you to a 
 paper written by Dr. A. G. Young, Secretary of the Maine 
 state Board of Health, published in its Seventh Annual 
 
lO MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Report for the year 1891. He says: "Two years later, or 
 during the fall and winter of 1887-88, the Secretary of this 
 Board personally visited and inspected eighty-four school 
 buildings in twenty-three of the cities and larger villages of 
 the State. The object was to examine a large enough 
 number of the schoolhouses in different parts of the State, 
 so that the results might be considered as fairly representa- 
 tive of the schoolhouses of the State generally, with a like 
 location in cities and villages. The time spent upon each 
 school building ranged from a few minutes, for a hasty sur- 
 vey, to half a day, or a whole day, diligently spent in 
 examining, measuring, and testing, and in making notes. 
 The results were published in full in the Third Annual 
 Report of the Board. The eighty-four buildings examined 
 varied in size from one-room schoolhouses to twelve- and 
 even twenty-four-room buildings, and they contained an 
 aggregate of 284 rooms, excluding recitation-rooms. 
 
 " As regards the lighting and ventilation of these rooms 
 the following shows the conditions found: 
 
 Lighting of rooms satisfactory dy 
 
 Lighting of rooms unsatisfactory 217 
 
 Ventilation satisfactory 16 
 
 Ventilation none or insufficient 268 
 
 " It should be said regarding this classification of results 
 that some of the rooms in which the lighting is classed as 
 satisfactory zvould not be called so if judged in accordance 
 with very exacting rules, and that hardly any, and perhaps 
 none, of the sixteen schoolrooms put down as zvell ventilated 
 came up to the ideal standard. 
 
 " While the window-surface of schoolrooms should be at 
 
IN GENERAL. ' II 
 
 least one fifth as great as the floor-surface, the ratio actually 
 found was often only one eighth, one tenth, one twelfth, or 
 even in a few cases one sixteenth or one seventeenth, — 
 degrees of lighting so insuf^cient that they cannot fail to be 
 injurious to the eyes of the scholars. 
 
 " A very serious fault found in some schoolhouses was 
 the location of some of the windows directly before the eyes 
 of the scholars as they sat at their studies. Even in one 
 twenty-thousand-dollar schoolhouse, passing as an architec- 
 turally fine building, there were found six large windows 
 with a western outlook directly in front of the scholars. 
 The effects upon the eyes of the pupils had been so disas- 
 trous that the school officers were seeking to obviate the 
 difficulty, and they have done so in part by a new arrange- 
 ment of the seats. 
 
 " As regards the ventilation, the best results were found 
 in the main room of the Cony high-school building at 
 Augusta. Determined by Wolpert's air-tester, there were 
 found only Sy^ir parts of carbonic acid in I0,000 parts of 
 air. In this room a large part of the scholars are absent 
 from their seats most of the time in the three recitation- 
 rooms. On the other hand, in many other schoolrooms 12, 
 14, 16, 18, and 20 parts in 10,000 parts of air were found. 
 In one city high school 29 parts of carbonic acid were 
 found; in another city high school 22 parts; in one fine 
 new building, reached just as the school was dismissed at 
 noon, 18 and 20 parts of carbonic acid respectively were 
 found in two of the rooms one hour after the scholars had 
 left the building, the doors and windows being closed, but 
 the ventilating arrangement in operation meanwhile. In 
 some of the rooms no artificial methods of air-testing were 
 
12 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 needed, for upon entering them the close, stuffy, and dis- 
 agreeable smell of polluted air was very unpleasantly per- 
 ceptible to the sense of smell." 
 
 In this connection it will be well to quote: " An excep- 
 tionally valuable statement is made by the engineer of the 
 Walker building, of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
 nology, relative to certain atmospheric determinations in the 
 various rooms of that building during the last nine years, as 
 made and recorded four times daily. According to these 
 data the outer air surrounding the institute shows an ordi- 
 nary proportion of from 3.7 to 4.2 parts of carbonic acid in 
 10,000 parts of air. In the empty rooms the air shows a 
 rise of carbonic acid of about 0.5 part, due to decomposition 
 of the organic matter present in the flues, the floors, and the 
 walls. The air of the building in general, of the halls, read- 
 ing-rooms, etc., which are open and in which people are 
 constantly moving about, is, it appears, maintained at about 
 5 parts as an average of all tests for eight years. The air of 
 most of the lecture-rooms has contained from 6 to 8 parts, 
 rising to 10 or 12 parts for the large and more crowded 
 rooms, according to the state of the weather outside. From 
 this state of things it is argued that students are capable 
 of working well in a clean room with about 7 parts in 
 10,000 of carbonic acid. It is well added that a greater 
 degree or amount than that is sufficient to cause dulness, and 
 anything in excess of 13 parts is declared to be an almost in- 
 superable obstacle to the full acquisition of knowledge by the 
 classes." It will be readily seen from this that the pupils 
 even in the best heated and ventilated schoolrooms found in 
 the State of Maine were pursuing their studies in an impure 
 atmosphere, and that the great majority were confined in 
 
IN GENERAL. I3 
 
 rooms that must have been highly injurious to their 
 health. 
 
 The sanitary conditions were found to be equally bad, 
 and, if necessary, I could quote from numerous other reliable 
 sources to show the correctness of my premises. It is 
 reasonable to assume that the public-school buildings of the 
 State of Maine are a fair sample of the buildings devoted to 
 similar purposes in the surrounding States; accepting this 
 assumption, then surely the statements that I have previously 
 made are in no way an exaggeration. Perhaps it will be 
 claimed that better results in heating and ventilation than 
 those obtained in the main room in the Augusta building are 
 impossible without the use of an elaborate mechanical 
 apparatus. In reply to this it is only necessary to say that 
 I know of schoolrooms, tested as long ago as 1883, in a 
 twenty-room structure where the following results were 
 obtained : 
 
 Room No. 8 55 pupils. 
 
 Air at ingress contained 1.25 parts of carbonic acid in 
 10,000 parts of air. 
 
 Air at breathing-point contained 1.256 parts of carbonic 
 acid in 10,000 parts of air. 
 
 Air at exit contained 2.948 parts of carbonic acid in 
 10,000 parts of air. 
 
 The tests of the air of the room (which was selected at 
 random) were conducted by an experienced analytical chemist 
 at the request of a certain Board of Education which was at 
 that time deeply interested in the heating and ventilating of 
 school buildings. The method of heating employed was 
 indirect steam, and the apparatus entirely automatic and com- 
 paratively inexpensive to construct and to maintain. 
 
14 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 If such results have been obtained in one building, they 
 certainly can be duplicated in another with more or less 
 modifications, and there is absolutely no excuse for the exist- 
 ence of such schoolrooms as, according to Dr. Young's 
 paper, comprise the great majority in the State of Maine. 
 
 It will be naturally asked why, when the results like those 
 just cited are obtainable, they are not always insisted upon 
 and the standard of excellence raised in every department of 
 schoolhouse construction to the highest obtainable point. 
 
 The answers to this and pertinent questions are many and 
 far-reaching, and it is my purpose in this work to point out 
 some of them and suggest practical remedies, I shall con- 
 sider, first, the methods usually employed to secure the 
 necessary funds for the school building; second, the popular 
 way of selecting the architect (incidentally discussing this 
 phase of the question from several points of view); and 
 finally, describing and illustrating faults of planning, con- 
 struction, lighting, sanitation, heating, and ventilation that 
 are commonly encountered. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 ^%. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. . I/ 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 19 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 APPROPRIATIONS. 
 
 One of the primary causes of unsatisfactory buildings is 
 the lack of sufficient funds to properly erect and fully equip' 
 structures of the required size. It is safe to say that in the 
 great majority of cases the attempt is made to build a build- 
 ing of a certain size for an amount of money totally inade- 
 quate. This fault does not, as a rule, lie with the local 
 Board of Education or building committee that may have the 
 matter directly in charge, but primarily with the town or city 
 meeting where the appropriation for the proposed structure 
 has been made. The usual course pursued is something as 
 follows: It has been decided, after considerable agitation, 
 that a certain small city is in need of a new high-school 
 building, and a public meeting is called for the purpose of 
 appointing a committee and to appropriate the necessary 
 funds. No very definite ideas of the size of the building or 
 the accommodations that it must necessarily contain have 
 been formulated, and it is more than probable that a site has 
 not been selected. A few who are directly connected or 
 interested in the school have rather a vague idea that a 
 certain number of pupils must be provided for, and that any 
 one of half a dozen sites that may be suggested will be 
 acceptable. Beyond this there is absolutely no data to guide 
 
22 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the meeting either in selecting the site or in determining the 
 amount of money necessary to erect a building suitable to 
 the future needs of the city. The meeting is called to order, 
 its object and purpose stated, and a committee composed of 
 good representative men, in whom the community will place 
 the utmost confidence, is quickly selected. 
 
 It is now moved by some level-headed business man that 
 an appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars be made 
 for the purpose of purchasing a site and erecting thereon a 
 building suitable for the use of the high school. A motion 
 of this kind, while strictly legitimate and based upon the 
 soundest business principles, almost invariably precipitates 
 discussion and creates an unreasonable and unwarranted 
 opposition that is both unfortunate and disastrous. A 
 golden opportunity is afforded the local oracle, who usually 
 poses as a reformer and loves to denounce in unmeasured 
 terms any scheme of improvement that may require the use 
 of the city's money. Men of this class are not, as a rule, 
 taxpayers, but they are still very much in evidence and by 
 glib talk and noisy bluster succeed in stirring up so much 
 opposition to the original motion that it is lost and a motion 
 appropriating fifty thousand dollars is substituted and passed. 
 The champions of economy are jubilant; they have won a 
 signal victory, and the people's treasury will not be depleted! 
 
 Let us see, however, before passing judgment, what the 
 ultimate result of the action of the meeting will be. The 
 committee goes to work conscientiously and purchases for 
 twenty thousand dollars a site that is satisfactory to the 
 majority. Then with the superintendent of schools and 
 perhaps the principal it visits existing structures in neighbor- 
 ing cities and, after many meetings and much labor, formu- 
 
APPROPRIATIONS. 23 
 
 lates a program of the requirements of the school as they 
 understand them. This is submitted to local, and in some 
 cases to outside, architects with an invitation to present 
 ■designs for the proposed building in competition, — it being 
 expressly stipulated that the completed structure, including 
 the necessary furniture, shall not exceed in cost the sum of 
 thirty thousand dollars. 
 
 What an absurdity such a program is and how unreason- 
 able it is to expect any architect to live up to its provisions! 
 The committee when it issued the program, and the architects 
 when they received it, knew — if they knew anything — that 
 it would be absolutely impossible to erect and equip the 
 simplest kind of a building, containing rooms of the number 
 and size required, for the price so arbitrarily stipulated. The 
 committee, however, should not be severely censured, as it 
 has only carried out its instructions to the best of its ability. 
 In fact it could pursue no other course, for at the outset the 
 action of the meeting prescribed its duties and practically 
 tied its hands. 
 
 The invited architects, on the other hand, are in no way 
 bound to accept the invitation, and a few conscientious men 
 will probably decline, and frankly state their reasons for so 
 •doing. But will the majority enter a protest, or go to the 
 committee in a body and say: " Gentlemen, it is simply im- 
 possible for us to prepare designs for your new building, 
 according to the program which you have sent us, that will 
 come anywhere near the price that you name "? As a rule, 
 a very different course is pursued: the competitors proceed 
 to get up the best-looking design that they are capable of 
 producing, paying little or no attention to the cost, and at 
 the same time institute as complete a system of social and 
 
24 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 political wire-pulling for the design that they are to present 
 as lies in their power. 
 
 The designs are sent in, the committee is besieged by 
 the competitors and their friends, and, after more or less 
 deliberation and without obtaining professional counsel or 
 advice, they, with their profound knowledge of architectural 
 merit, select one of the designs, and the successful com- 
 petitor is instructed to prepare working drawings and specifi- 
 cations and obtain estimates for the erection of the building. 
 When this has been done it is found that the lowest reliable 
 figure amounts to more than twice the sum at the disposal of 
 the committee. A consultation between the committee and 
 the architect follows, which results in the latter's receiving 
 instructions to revise his design and cut it down to the lowest 
 limit consistent with the requirements and sound construc- 
 tion. This after some delay is accomplished, but still the 
 price of the building, fully equipped, is far in excess of thirty 
 thousand dollars, and so the matter hangs fire, the committee 
 being criticised for not attending to its duties, while the 
 people are clamoring that the work upon the new building 
 shall be commenced. At last the committee is reluctantly 
 forced to call another town meeting to secure, if possible, an 
 additional appropriation. This meeting is far from har- 
 monious, much ill feeling being manifested on all sides. The 
 committee is condemned for selecting so expensive a design, 
 and the architect still more for presenting a design which he 
 must have known could not be erected for the amount speci- 
 fied. Other competitors, or their friends, contend that their 
 designs could be executed much more cheaply; collusion and 
 fraud, if not openly charged, are strongly hinted, a pro- 
 tracted and heated controversy ensues which is generally 
 
APPROPRIA TIONS. 
 
 -3 
 
 ended by the granting of a small additional amount — far too 
 little to erect even the modified design or any building suited 
 to the school's requirements. 
 
 The committee again consult the architect, towards 
 whom, by this time, they have not the kindliest feelings, or 
 much confidence in any statements he may make. The plans 
 are again revised, rooms are reduced far below the standard 
 size, halls are contracted, staircases narrowed, ceilings 
 lowered, windows omitted, walls and piers lightened to very 
 near the danger limit, and this or that left out, until finally 
 figures are obtained within the specified limit and the build- 
 ing is erected. But is this the structure that the original 
 program called for, or is it what the committee desired, the 
 school required, and the people expected ? Certainly not. 
 The pruning process to which the design has been subjected 
 has eliminated not only whatever artistic merit it may have 
 originally possessed, but that which is still more vital to the 
 successful working of the school and the health and comfort 
 of its occupants — those elements of scientific and hygienic 
 construction that were incorporated in it. The building 
 stands completed, a monument of municipal blundering — a 
 reflection on all those who have had to do with it, and an 
 ignoble example of the pernicious results of the methods 
 usually employed in obtaining an appropriation. 
 
 Where now is the triumph of the local reformers, and 
 where is the economy that was so loudly heralded ? The 
 building is condemned on all sides, and the very men who 
 defeated the original motion are the most outspoken in their 
 condemnation. Do you think that I have overdrawn the 
 picture in my statement of the ordinary methods of pro- 
 cedure, or mutilated facts in regard to the results obtained ? 
 
26 MODERM AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 If you do, investigate a little and you will find scores of 
 examples that will prove the correctness of my statements^ 
 Better still, ask some of the gentlemen who may have had 
 the misfortune to serve on such a committee, and I am sure 
 that they will answer that not one half of the obstacles and 
 trials they were called upon to face and surmount have 
 been named. Is it any wonder that buildings constructed 
 under such a system as this, whose functions seem to hamper 
 and impede from the start, when weighed in the scale of true 
 excellence are found wanting ? It cannot be otherwise, and 
 there must be a radical change in the way appropriations are 
 made before there can be any marked improvement. 
 
 The remedies for the evils depicted are so simple and 
 effective that it seems almost incredible that they are not 
 better known and universally adopted. 
 
 In the first place, appoint your committee at a meeting 
 convened for this purpose, instruct it, if you will, to purchase 
 a suitable site, and give it full power to select an architect 
 and obtain the necessary plans and estimates for the proposed 
 building, and stop right there ; say nothing about the amount 
 to be expended. Do not hamper the committee in any way, 
 but let it find out what the requirements of the school are 
 and what kind of a building is best suited to them and the 
 site. Let the committee choose as its architect one who has 
 had wide experience in the planning and construction of 
 school buildings, a man in whom the utmost confidence can 
 be placed as to his ability and integrity — there are such men 
 and their services can be obtained. Above all, let no local 
 pride nor personal friendship influence the committee in this 
 selection; let it remember that this is not a personal but a 
 public matter, to be governed accordingly. 
 
APPROPRIA TIONS. ' 2/ 
 
 When the architect has been engaged let him meet with 
 the committee, the superintendent and principal of the 
 school, and thoroughly discuss the requirements of the new 
 building. You will find his suggestions and advice of incal- 
 culable value to all. When he has obtained their ideas, let 
 him prepare his preliminary sketches. When he has finished 
 these, carefully study and thoroughly discuss them with him, 
 and when they have been revised and made satisfactory to 
 all, let him prepare his working plans and specifications and 
 obtain reliable estimates for what the building can be con- 
 structed. 
 
 When the figures are obtained and you know just what 
 amount is needed to purchase the selected site and erect a 
 building perfectly equipped, which will in every way meet the 
 requirements of the school, the^i, mid 7tot before, call a meet- 
 ing and boldly ask for an appropriation large enough to cover 
 the total expense to be incurred. This is simply a proppsi- 
 tion based on true business principles, and nine times out of 
 ten, when this course is pursued and the matter put properly 
 before the meeting by representative men who, by the 
 experience they already have had, are well qualified to speak 
 intelligently on the matter and answer effectively any argu- 
 ments or opposition that may be promulgated by the 
 "reform" element, the amount asked for will be granted 
 with little or no opposition. 
 
 The structure can then be commenced without delay, the 
 work pushed rapidly to completion, and when finished the 
 building will be perfectly adapted to the school's require- 
 ments, a credit to all those directly connected with it, and a 
 source of pride to the community in which it stands. 
 
 Should it happen to be the tenth time and the meeting 
 
28 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 refuse, for some reason, to grant the amount asked for, or 
 cut it down, then let the committee resign in a body and 
 wash its hands of the whole affair. Let others, if they 
 choose, adopt the methods first mentioned and obtain the 
 results there faithfully described. But if you want good and 
 improved buildings, erected upon the best known and most 
 scientific principles, — in which your children can improve 
 their minds without injuring their health, — stand for the 
 right principles, and by so doing obtain the respect and last- 
 ing gratitude of your fellow men. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 
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 f*'*''"%isSii 
 
 m. 
 
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 SfeiltelillllillilEI! 
 
 
 
 £5^ 
 '-'Si 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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CHAPTER III. 
 
 COMPETITIONS. 
 
 The almost universal method of obtaining designs for 
 schools or other public buildings cannot be too strongly con- 
 demned. I refer to the unrestricted or open competition. 
 No surer way can be devised to prevent the first men of the 
 profession from submitting designs than this; therefore the 
 primary object of the competition, which is to obtain the best 
 talent, is defeated at the very outset by the course ordinarily 
 pursued. 
 
 When it has been determined to erect a building it is not 
 unusual to insert in the local papers an advertisement inviting 
 architects to submit competitive designs for a structure of 
 more or less importance. It is stated that the edifice shall 
 not exceed in cost a certain sum, and that further informa- 
 tion may be obtained upon application to the chairman of the 
 building committee. No fixed compensation is offered to the 
 successful competitor, nor are they assured that the designs 
 handed in will be judged intelligently according to the archi- 
 tectural merit they may possess. 
 
 For a fifty-thousand-dollar building the munificent sum of 
 two hundred dollars will be paid for the design that is placed 
 first, it being stipulated that upon its selection and the pay-' 
 ment of the prize to its author it shall become the property 
 
 33 
 
34 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 of the city, and it is not agreed that the successful architect 
 will even be employed to execute the work. It would seem 
 that conditions of this kind would prevent any sane man from 
 competing; for, in the first place, he has no reason to believe 
 that his design, however meritorious it may be, will even be 
 understood — much less appreciated and judged intelligently; 
 and, in the second, if it should be placed first, and he 
 should receive the paltry premium, what claim has he against 
 the city ? Absolutely none, for it is proposed, and he in 
 competing accepted, certain conditions which, having been 
 fulfilled by the payment of the prize, leave him without 
 redress, and the city is at liberty to use the design that it 
 has acquired as it may think best. 
 
 In spite of these facts being well known by the profes- 
 sion, committees have no difficulty in obtaining an almost 
 unlimited number of competitors. It is needless to say that 
 these men are not reputable practitioners nor men of high 
 standing in the profession ; but what does the average com- 
 mitteeman know about that, or, if he should know, what does 
 he care? He is not going to trouble himself about the ethics 
 of the architectural world nor investigate the professional 
 standing and talents of the various competitors. His city 
 has a certain amount of money to expend for a school build- 
 ing, and the architect who will do the work the cheapest — 
 that is, give him the most for his money — is the man he will 
 advocate and vote for. To the majority of laymen the selec- 
 tion of an architect is purely a commercial transaction. The 
 artistic and scientific elements do not, in their minds, enter 
 into the question at all; or, if they do, it is in so small a 
 degree as to be entirely overwhelmed by its mercenary 
 aspect. From his point of view he must not be too severely 
 
COMPETITIONS. ' 35 
 
 censured; his actions are based upon the best of motives. 
 He believes if he can buy the required service cheaply, he is 
 working for the best interests of his city, and that he will be 
 commended for his efforts to be economical with the public 
 funds which have been entrusted to his care. He does not 
 understand nor appreciate that cheap labor, no matter at 
 what price obtained, is sure to be the most expensive in the 
 long run. 
 
 In some competitive programs issued by committees, 
 there is a clause inserted in which the architects are requested, 
 when they submit their designs, to state what will be their 
 lowest terms for full professional services; in other words, a 
 double competition is instituted — one architectural and the 
 other financial. It usually results that the financial side is 
 by far the most powerful element in the ultimate decision. 
 Nothing can be more obnoxious or better calculated to drive 
 the best men from the field than such a proposition as this. 
 What practitioner of high standing and wide experience 
 would for a moment think of complying with such require- 
 ments ? Just think of inviting a score or more of reputable 
 doctors to name a price for what they would cure you if you 
 were ill. Or, if you were in trouble, would you expect 
 eminent lawyers to submit figures naming the price for which 
 they would defend you? Far from it: quacks in one instance 
 and shysters in the other might; and if they did, you would 
 brand them as such as quickly as anybody and have nothing 
 to do with them. Why not, then, pass the same unbiased 
 judgment upon the architects? It is just such a class in their 
 profession who pursue such tactics, and they should be 
 judged accordingly. I do not mean to infer that it is not 
 done continually by men in all the professions who try to 
 
36 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 pose as respectable practitioners, but what I do maintain^ 
 without fear of contradiction, is that such men are not 
 reputable in the true sense of the word, and that they, by 
 their actions, impose upon the people at large, prevent men 
 of ability from competing, and deprive the community of 
 receiving the benefit of the best talent. For it ultimately 
 results in placing the designing and construction of buildings 
 in the hands of men of inferior ability with but one conse- 
 quence, the completed structure is not so good as it might 
 have been, as it does not represent the highest standard of 
 excellence obtainable. 
 
 When the other conditions of a competition are favorable, 
 fear of favoritism many times prevents desirable men from 
 entering, and this fear is usually well grounded. It is no 
 exaggeration to say that fully one half of the ordinary com- 
 petitions instituted are practically decided before the invita- 
 tions are issued; that is to say, some one man or firm is 
 known to have the " inside track " and will be the choice of 
 the majority of the committee. It is no unusual thing to be 
 informed, upon inquiring if there is likely to be any preference 
 shown in the selection of an architect, that " all things being 
 equal, we certainly should be in favor of employing Messrs. 
 So-and-so, our local firm." I think that I can truly say that 
 my brethren who have had much experience in such matters 
 find almost invariably that " all things are very nearly 
 equal." Innumerable cases can be cited where men of 
 inferior ability and no experience have been selected to 
 execute important commissions when they have had for com- 
 petitors men of wide experience and brilliant achievements — 
 the selection not having been made upon the merit of the 
 
COMPE TIT IONS. 3 7 
 
 design, but solely for the reason that one man had the local 
 "pull." 
 
 Experience has time and again demonstrated that satis- 
 factory results cannot be obtained from the open competitiouo 
 If this could be impressed upon committees and they would 
 act accordingly, their duties would be lighter and our build- 
 ings better. 
 
 If competitions must be held, let them be limited, not 
 only in the number of competitors, but as to their profes- 
 sional ability as well. Let only those of the highest standing 
 be invited, and pay them all a sum sufficient to cover the 
 actual expense of preparing the preliminary designs sub- 
 mitted. There can be no greater injustice than that of 
 asking architects to prepare competitive designs for buildings 
 which they have to spend weeks and sometimes months upon, 
 without compensation. The preparation of such designs 
 often necessitates an expenditure of hundreds of dollars 
 without counting the time of the architect as anything. If 
 successful, the usual commission is small enough without 
 deducting the cost of the original sketches; but if unsuccess- 
 ful, and only one in many can succeed, the expense incurred 
 and labor expended are simply thrown away. 
 
 To a layman who does not comprehend these facts, the 
 preparation of a design seems a very trivial affair. A few 
 sheets on which are depicted with more or less skill and 
 fidelity a structure that may be built, has to him no intrinsic 
 value. But to the architect who has created it, it represents 
 just as much in value as a certain amount of merchandise 
 does to the manufacturer, and should, if justice is to be 
 done, be paid for in the same way. 
 
 Another measure that should be insisted upon in the 
 
38 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 limited competition is that all the drawings submitted shall 
 be equal in number, executed at the same scale, and rendered 
 in the same way. The committee should also pledge itself 
 to employ a distinguished, disinterested architect to assist it 
 in the preparation of the program and agree that he shall 
 examine and pass judgment upon the designs when they are 
 sent in, his decision being binding upon the committee. 
 
 This may appear an arbitrary and high-handed measure, 
 but I am sure, from a long and wide experience in such 
 matters, that it is the only fair and equitable course to 
 pursue. I have said before, and repeat here, that the average 
 layman is not a competent critic. A clever draughtsman 
 can, in rendering, cover up faults in such a manner as to 
 completely deceive the untrained eye. He will finish his 
 drawing so skilfully that all good points will be emphasized 
 and the bad ones subordinated. It is only the trained eye 
 that will discover these subterfuges and judge the drawing 
 for what it is really worth. 
 
 Another thing must also be remembered, and that is, that 
 it does not follow because you may have a pretty and attrac- 
 tive picture presented that the building it illustrates is of 
 good design. A conglomeration of several styles thrown 
 together with some skill may produce that which seems to 
 the uneducated eye a very beautiful composition, when it 
 really contains no real artistic merit and would be most un- 
 satisfactory if carried out. An expert will readily discern 
 these things and prevent the committee from being deceived. 
 
 Another reason for employing an expert is that upon 
 almost all committees there will be found men who consider 
 themselves an fait in all matters pertaining to architec- 
 ture and building. It is not uncommon to hear them ex- 
 
COMPETITIONS. 39 
 
 patiate upon the beauties of one building and condemning 
 another with equal vehemence, when if the truth were really 
 known they could not even tell you in what style of architec- 
 ture either was built. 
 
 Such criticism is simply laughed at by the professional 
 man; but it is far different to those who do not understand 
 such matters at all. To them the calibre of these blatant 
 critics is unknown ; what they say has more or less weight, 
 and if they happen to be serving on a committee together 
 they are sure to be influenced by them. When the true 
 expert is called in the oracle retires within his shell and the 
 harm that he might otherwise do is averted. 
 
 If a knotty point of law is to be decided, a severe illness 
 diagnosed, or the stability of an important bridge deter- 
 mined, an eminent lawyer, doctor, or engineer is at once 
 called in. Their criticisms are listened to and followed as 
 closely as possible. Why not then pursue the same course 
 in an architectural competition ? I can see no good reason 
 why it should not be done, while innumerable ones present 
 themselves upon the other side. If committees would seri- 
 ously consider these pertinent points and recognize the great 
 importance of sound professional advice, they would speedily 
 eliminate from the limited competition one of its most 
 objectionable features. 
 
 Better far than any competition, no matter how carefully 
 it may be conducted, is the direct selection of an architect. 
 Choose a man of known eminence in his profession and of 
 special skill in the designing and construction of school 
 buildings. Make the selection impartially and without regard 
 to local pride or political influence, and you will find the 
 results will fully justify your action. 
 
40 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 No better example of the wisdom of such a course can be 
 cited than the results obtained at the recent Columbian 
 Exposition. When Messrs. Burnham & Root were employed 
 as consulting architects by the Exposition officials and were 
 asked to design the principal buildings, their answer was that 
 no one firm could do the work as it should be done. The 
 first thought was to advertise for competitive designs for the 
 proposed structures. To their lasting credit be it said, 
 Messrs. Burnham & Root strenuously objected, and clearly 
 pointed out that such a course would be detrimental to the 
 best interests of the Exposition. They argued that the com- 
 missioners would not only be overwhelmed with worthless 
 designs and pestered beyond measure by the friends of the 
 various competitors, but that much valuable time would be 
 consumed in conducting and deciding such a competition, the 
 results of which would be unsatisfactory, as the very men 
 most desired would not compete. 
 
 They urged the direct selection of the most prominent 
 men in the profession in various parts of the country, and the 
 allotment to each of one of the great buildings which might 
 be considered as best suited to his capabilities. It was stip- 
 ulated that the men thus employed should have the entire 
 construction of the buildings in their hands. Most for- 
 tunately for all concerned, this advice was heeded, and prac- 
 tically such a course followed with results that all the world 
 knows and has commended. To Richard M. Hunt, the 
 father of American architecture, was allotted the Administra- 
 tion Building; to Geo. B. Post, the great Liberal Arts 
 Building; to Peabody & Stearns, Machinery Hall; to McKim, 
 Mead & White, the Agricultural Building; and to the 
 artistic Atwood, a worthy successor to the lamented Root, 
 
COMPE TITIONS. 4 1 
 
 the Art Palace and stately Peristyle. These men, with 
 other giants of the profession, produced at Chicago in an 
 incredibly short time the grandest and most beautiful group 
 of exposition buildings that the world has ever seen — struc- 
 tures so well planned and executed, so thoroughly adapted 
 to the requirements, that it has enabled America to say 
 truthfully that her architects are second to none. 
 
 Will any one pretend to say that such marvellous results 
 as these could have been obtained by an open competition ? 
 Most emphatically, no. If such a course had been adopted, 
 not one of these really great men, whose genius we now 
 admire, would have competed, and their talent and skill 
 would have been lost to the country. 
 
 I believe firmly that the results obtained by the employ- 
 ment of men of recognized talent at Chicago has been of the 
 greatest benefit, not only to the architectural profession, but 
 to all those interested in the artistic development of our 
 country. What could be accomplished by architects when 
 working in harmony with each other under favorable condi- 
 tions, and without undue restraint, was not only a revelation, 
 but a source of pride, to the community at large. 
 
 A remarkable fact to be considered in this connection 
 was that, although architects from all parts of the country were 
 employed and came into close connection with each other, 
 there was no jealousy noticeable; everything moved smoothly 
 and rapidly forward, and, while much friendly criticism was 
 indulged in, it was invariably received with the utmost good 
 nature; no bad feeling was shown; but each and every one 
 seemed to be filled with a desire to do the best he could, 
 and to help his neighbor to do the same. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the data which can be deduced 
 
42 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 from this great object-lesson will be applied by committees 
 having the construction of school buildings in their charge, 
 and that in the near future the once popular competition 
 will be condemned to the obscurity it so richly deserves. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 43 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ' 45 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. . 47 
 
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CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SPECIALISTS. 
 
 I AM a thorough believer in specialists. The field of 
 architecture is large, and it seems strange that it has not 
 been subdivided. In law there is the patent lawyer, the cor- 
 poration lawyer, the criminal lawyer, etc. ; in medicine there 
 is the surgeon, the dentist, the oculist, the aurist, and the 
 various doctors for the brain, throat, lungs, etc. ; in engineer- 
 ing the civil, mechanical, mining, and electrical engineers. 
 These men rarely leave their chosen path and consequently 
 do better work. It is not uncommon in consulting with one 
 of them to be told that your case is not in his line; that while 
 he might be able to serve you he would prefer to introduce 
 you to some one who was a specialist in the class of work 
 which you wish done. I have never known of anything of this 
 kind occurring in my profession; on the contrary, everything 
 that gets into the architect's net is " fish." It is no unusual 
 thing to find in the office of a busy architect a design for a 
 twenty-story office-building on one board, a suburban cottage 
 on another, a railway station on a third, with possibly a 
 church, a casino, and a schoolhouse sandwiched in between; 
 buildings whose characteristics, requirements, and equipment 
 are entirely different. It is hardly reasonable to assume that 
 any one man can be equally clever in designing them all. 
 
 49 
 
50 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 •Some one branch he is likely to excel in, and if it were con- 
 tinually cultivated he would gradually become perfected and 
 be justly ranked as a specialist. 
 
 It would seem that men endowed with qualifications for 
 certain kinds of work would realize it and devote all their 
 energies to that branch in which they excel; but human 
 nature is perverse, and what others see and know of a man 
 he is loth to believe of himself. Thackeray, while a great 
 novelist, was a ridiculous artist, and yet his vanity was so 
 great that he insisted upon illustrating his writings himself. 
 It is said that among actors there is hardly a good low- 
 comedian who does not consider himself ill-treated when he 
 is assigned parts that are well fitted to his capabilities. His 
 aspirations and conceit lead him to believe that he is well 
 fitted for the leading roles in tragedy or comedy and he is 
 dissatisfied because he is not cast for them. 
 
 It is even so in my profession: men who would shine in 
 some of its walks will not stick to them, but wander off and 
 strive hopelessly for that for which they are entirely unfitted, 
 with results that are disastrous to both client and prac- 
 titioner. It is but natural that one should wish to do all 
 he can, but if there were more esprit du corps among the 
 architects, and if each would keep to his chosen path and 
 help others to keep to theirs, the results would be beneficial 
 to our buildings and to all connected with them. 
 
 This, however, is not the only reason there are so few 
 specialists among architects. Many men who have given a 
 great amount of time and study to perfect themselves in 
 some particular branch and who would like to follow it con- 
 tinuously, are prevented from doing so for the reason that 
 their abilities are not sufficiently recognized, and they are 
 
SPECIALISTS. - 5T 
 
 forced to do other things than those which they can do the 
 best in order to earn their daily bread. It is very poor 
 satisfaction to the expert to know that however clever he 
 may be in a certain line, his cleverness is not appreciated by 
 the public at large. He may stand well among his profes- 
 sional brethren, but they are not the class that employ him 
 except in consultation or in matters under dispute. If he 
 relied entirely upon this class of work for his commissions, 
 he would simply starve. Doctors and lawyers are paid 
 hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars for their 
 opinions; but the architect, if he is recognized as a specialist 
 in any particular line, never receives any such fees — in fact, 
 a charge of fifty dollars per day and travelling expenses is 
 enough to make the average client consider him exorbitant 
 in his prices and decline to employ him. 
 
 It may be claimed that experts in schoolhouse construc- 
 tion are recognized and their abiHties appreciated, but I con- 
 tend to the contrary, nevertheless — that is to say, that while 
 they may be well known, their skill and knowledge are not 
 considered valuable enough by the building public to be 
 made use of and properly paid for. I can refer to innumer- 
 able instances to prove the truth of these assertions. To illus- 
 trate: a certain prosperous town, situated within one hundred 
 miles of New York, proposed to erect a high-school building. 
 When the committee was appointed to take charge of the 
 matter it was immediately besieged by architects from all 
 parts of the country who desired to submit designs. Several 
 were sent in, and with others afterward received were care- 
 fully considered, but none were found satisfactory. At one 
 of the meetings of the committee a member suggested that a 
 well-known specialist in school designing, residing in a dis- 
 
52 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 tant city, be asked to submit a design. The secretary of the 
 committee communicated with him, and after some corre- 
 spondence he sent in a rough sketch of what might be done 
 with the problem as he understood it from the data which had 
 been sent to him. The sketch, while not suited to the site, 
 which he had never seen, was very much liked, and the 
 specialist was invited to visit the town, examine the site, and 
 after consultation with the committee prepare a design. 
 This he agreed to do upon the payment of a fee and travel- 
 ling expenses. His proposition was accepted, the town 
 visited, the site examined, a lengthy consultation held with 
 the committee, and a general scheme of what was to be done 
 mapped out. After the meeting some of the committee 
 accompanied the specialist to his hotel, and one of them said 
 to him, quietly, over a cigar, " I do not know just how this 
 matter will adjust itself: there is an unfortunate element 
 developing itself rapidly which will, I fear, be very hard to 
 counteract. There is a young man, a native of this town, 
 who is employed in the ofifice of a firm of architects in New 
 York; he Is young, having had actually no experience — in 
 fact, you may call him simply a student — but he is a fine 
 fello\V and extremely popular. He is very anxious to design 
 our building, is preparing sketches, and his family and friends 
 are bringing every influence to bear to have him selected as 
 our architect. The best men of our committee do not want 
 to do this, for while they are friendly to the young man and 
 wish to see him succeed in his chosen profession, they do 
 not believe that it would be wise at this time to put the 
 designing of so important a building into such inexperienced 
 hands," The specialist weighed the matter carefully during 
 his return journey, finally deciding to submit a second 
 
SPECIALISTS. ' 53 
 
 sketch. This was received most favorably and was said to 
 have met the requirements of the problem perfectly. Yet 
 when a vote was taken to select an architect, the young 
 native of the town was employed to execute the work. The 
 vote was very close, to be sure, but he had friends enough 
 upon the committee to defeat the experienced man, his only 
 competitor. Here was clearly a case of local popularity and 
 family influence. The questions of merit and capability did 
 not enter into it at all. The desire to help the young man 
 in his profession may have been all right, but to me it seems 
 like zeal applied at the wrong time and at a cost to the com- 
 munity. Do not understand that I am one who wishes to 
 bear too severely upon the young aspirant for fame or who 
 believes in keeping back true talent, but I contend that there 
 are plenty of legitimate channels of progress through which 
 the talented beginner may obtain eminence in good time. I 
 do not believe, however, that a course which enables one 
 totally untried to spring with a bound into that which is 
 popularly supposed to be a prominent position in the archi- 
 tectural profession is either legitimate or beneficial. Under 
 such conditions as these, is it strange that our buildings are 
 not up to the highest known standards ? Does any one for a 
 moment admit that this inexperienced boy — he was little 
 more — could or would do as well as the old and tried prac- 
 titioner, or that he would not be able to do much better ten 
 or fifteen years later in his career ? Apropos to this, one of 
 the best-known designers of the day recently said to me that 
 he could not look upon some of his earlier works without 
 having an attack of nightmare and that he would go out of 
 his way several blocks to avoid passing them. "I am simply 
 filled with amazement," said he, "to think I could have 
 
54 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 done so badly, yet I thought they were beautiful when I did 
 them." All of us have at times feelings akin to this which we 
 guard jealously and to which we never allude. As the older 
 men look backward along the rugged path they have labo- 
 riously climbed, they can see many examples of their earlier 
 work which they would gladly obliterate. It takes a great 
 many years to realize how little one really knows. I can 
 truly say that I firmly believed twenty-five years ago, when 
 I commenced practicing, that I knew far more about my pro- 
 fession than I know that I know to-day. That man is a 
 fool whose vanity leads him to believe that any work that he 
 has done or may do cannot be improved upon. We are all, 
 even if successful, simply students; and the one who follows 
 one line the longest and most conscientiously will become 
 the best fitted to do good work in it. 
 
 I once heard a well-known architect say in speaking of 
 school buildings: " In all my practice I have never built one 
 — if I were to receive such a commission, I should go to 
 some expert in the planning, heating, lighting, etc., of this 
 class of buildings, and say to him: ' Work out this problem 
 as you think it should be according to the program, and 
 when you have the plans finished, bring them to me and I 
 ■will work up the elevations without interfering in the least 
 with anything that you may have done,' " I do not know 
 as this gentleman ever put his theory into practice, but he 
 certainly had the right idea. He realized that the specialist 
 could and would do better work than he was capable of, and 
 that if he secured a thoroughly good plan it would be easy 
 for him to make an attractive exterior for it. 
 
 So much can be said in favor of and so little against the 
 employment of the specialist that it would seem, if the 
 
SPECIALISTS. 55 
 
 advantages derived were understood, that he would be called 
 in as a rule and not as an exception. Oftentimes when 
 committees themselves are willing and anxious to have the 
 advice of an expert, vigorous opposition is encountered from 
 would-be competitors and influential citizens. 
 
 In these later days the specialist who persistently rides 
 his hobby is very apt to be branded as a crank, and the 
 general public is very shy of cranks. "Yes," it will be 
 said, ''he is a bright fellow and all right in theory, but he 
 carries his theories too far and we do not care for them." It 
 is very difficult to maintain a position a little in advance of 
 the times and to have to educate the public in theories which 
 time will prove to be correct. Such, however, is the func- 
 tion of the specialist of to-day, and it should be his endeavor 
 to win b}' the soundness and practicability of his advice the 
 respect and confidence of the public in general and his client 
 in particular. The results will be immeasurably more bene- 
 ficial and far-reaching to the progress of good building than 
 can be obtained by simply parading certain qualifications 
 before the eyes of those who are not yet in a position to 
 understand or appreciate them. Therefore I say that the 
 public welfare demands the employment of the best talent in 
 the designing of our school buildings, and the problem before 
 our profession is how to establish public confidence in our 
 fitness to do certain things well. I believe that this can best 
 be accomplished by a thorough and systematic subdivision of 
 the architect's practice. If there could come into existence 
 in the near future classes of practitioners who would devote 
 themselves entirely to certain departments of an architect's 
 work and would do nothing else, they would do that class of 
 work more artistically and practically. Supposing one class 
 
56 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 devoted itself entirely to church work, another to office and 
 commercial buildings, another to theatres and music-halls, 
 another to court-houses, another to railway stations, another 
 to schoolhouses, and so on. Do not we all believe that 
 these men would ultimately do better work in their chosen 
 lines than they do now ? Would not the architecture of the 
 country be improved — in fact, the whole nation benefited 
 thereby ? I think there can be no question as to the sound- 
 ness of this proposition, and it only remains for clients and 
 committees to recognize the best men in the profession in 
 certain classes of work, and by employing them constantly in 
 these classes to enable them to practice what they preach, 
 and so bring about this much-needed reform. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS, 
 
 59 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 6i 
 
 ^CCOND s5topy Plan 
 
 Lincoln School Building 
 
 BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 
 rOURTEElIS ROO/V\& 
 
 Third iTORY Pi 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 COMMISSIONS. 
 
 Architects of high standing and known ability often 
 refuse to present designs on account of the small amount of 
 the commission offered, and men eminently qualified to do 
 the work are frequently not employed for the sole reason that 
 their charges are considered exorbitant. 
 
 It is hard to understand just why charges which have 
 almost invariably been allowed as legitimate by the courts, 
 when they have been called to pass upon them, and a 
 schedule which has been officially endorsed by all the archi- 
 tectural societies of the country and adopted by every prac- 
 titioner of standing, should be considered excessive. Never- 
 theless, the fact remains that it is the almost universal 
 impression that architects' commissions are enormous while 
 their labor amounts to little or nothing. Consequently archi- 
 tecture is regarded by the uninitiated as the easiest of pro- 
 fessions and the busy practitioner is popularly supposed to 
 be coining money. 
 
 How unjust and absurd all such assertions are and how 
 utterly devoid of all truth or reason. There is, in fact, no 
 profession more difficult and exacting than that of architec- 
 ture — that is, if it is practiced in the fullest sense of the word. 
 
 The true architect not only must spend long years in study 
 
 63 
 
€4 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and preparation before he is competent to design even the 
 simplest kind of a structure and do it as it should be done, 
 but when in active practice he will be expected to be a clever 
 designer, a good constructor, thoroughly understanding 
 masonry in all its branches, carpentry in every detail, plumb- 
 ing and sanitary-engineering, tinning and gas-fitting, heating 
 and ventilation, slating and painting, and, in these latter 
 days, iron and steel construction. He must also be able to 
 compute the strength of foundations, walls, piers, columns, 
 girders, beams, and trusses, and write an intelligent and com- 
 prehensive specification on all these subjects. 
 
 In addition to all these qualifications, to be a successful 
 practitioner he must be a first-class business man, capable of 
 drawing contracts, looking after the interests of his clients, 
 and so alert that he shall not be imposed upon at any time 
 by unscrupulous contractors or unskilled workmen. 
 
 Surely his duties are varied and complex enough, demand- 
 ing, as they do, the closest study and indefatigable attention 
 at all times. Yet for the application of all this knowledge to 
 a greater or less degree, in every problem presented and in 
 every building constructed, the charge of five per cent upon 
 the total amount expended is considered excessive. 
 
 Let us analyze a little and see if there be any well- 
 grounded reason for such an opinion. In a speech a few years 
 ago before the Congressional Committee on Grounds and 
 Buildings, at Washington, the much-lamented architect, 
 Mr. Richard M. Hunt of New York, stated that in fifty years 
 of active practice he had never been able to produce drawings 
 and specifications and supply the superintendence actually 
 necessary to properly execute the work for a less sum than 
 fifty per cent of the amount of the commission received, and 
 
COMMISSIONS. ■ 6$ 
 
 that usually the cost was far in excess of this amount. This, 
 it must be understood, did not include his own services at 
 all, but was what he had actually been obliged to expend for 
 ofifice-rent, material, draughtsmen, and superintendence. It 
 must also be remembered that Mr. Hunt's commissions were 
 of the largest, and that the ratio of the expense of producing 
 drawings increases as the cost of the building decreases. So 
 marked is this increase in small buildings that many promi- 
 nent architects charge a commission of from seven and a half 
 to ten per cent on all work costing less than ten thousand 
 dollars. The American Institute of Architects has now under 
 consideration a new schedule of charges designed especially 
 to regulate this matter. 
 
 Within a year the writer met socially one evening seven 
 prominent New York architects, and in the course of conver- 
 sation the question of the actual expenses necessarily incurred 
 for drawings, specifications, and superintendence came up 
 and was thoroughly discussed. The gentlemen were all men 
 of wide experience and well qualified to speak intelligently 
 upon the subject. The unanimous verdict was that the cost 
 rarely went below sixty per cent of the amount received and 
 frequently reached as high as seventy-five per cent. 
 
 It is but fair, then, to assume that the actual cost to the 
 architect, if his work is properly done, for preparing the 
 drawings, specifications, and details, and attending to the 
 superintendence, will be sixty-five per cent of the five per 
 cent commission that he receives; or, in other words, thirty- 
 five per cent of the five per cent commission will be for his 
 own services. Let it be supposed that he should have on 
 hand and commence at about the same time five school 
 buildings costing respectively $20,ooo, $40,000, $50,000, 
 
66 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 $80,000, and $100,000 — a total of $290,000 to be expended. 
 At the customary charge of five per cent made by reputable 
 practitioners, the total commission on this amount would be 
 $14,500. As has been shown, the architect will have to 
 expend sixty-five per cent, or §9,425, of this amount, leaving 
 thirty-five per cent, or $5,075, for his own services. The 
 time required to complete all these buildings from the time 
 preliminary sketches were prepared would be at least two 
 years, therefore the architect's yearly salary would amount 
 to $2,537.50. Surely this sum cannot be called excessive 
 when the amount of labor, skill, and responsibility involved 
 are taken into consideration. In fact, instead of being over- 
 paid, there is no professional man so poorly paid as the 
 architect, public opinion and popular sentiment to the con- 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
 Think of a skilled practitioner of twenty years' experience 
 devoting himself almost continually for two years to the con- 
 struction of five buildings, which he has practically created 
 and is responsible for, for the sum of $2,500 yearly. Com- 
 pare this with the fees that would be received by a lawyer of 
 equal eminence or a doctor of wide experience and reputa- 
 tion. Yet their training has been no more severe, their labor 
 no harder, and their responsibility not one bit greater. Why 
 is it, then, that the architect is considered an expensive luxury 
 at a five per cent commission, when the lawyer or doctor is 
 often cheerfully paid five times this sum for his services ? 
 The principal answer is that the architect's work and duties 
 are not properly understood; the greater portion of his labor 
 the client never sees and does not understand. Meeting the 
 architect in his office, looking at a few plans and one or two 
 pretty elevations, leads him to think that these are all there 
 
COMMISSIONS. " 67 
 
 is to his work. The vast amount of study and detail that it 
 has taken to produce what he sees in a condensed form he 
 knows nothing about and cares less. No amount of explana- 
 tion can make him fully comprehend it, because he cannot be 
 made to appreciate that which looks very simple when com- 
 pleted, but which may have taken hours, days, or even 
 weeks of hard and persistent study and research to evolve. 
 It is not, as is generally supposed, the time and labor spent 
 in actually executing the final drawings that forms the greater 
 portion of the architect's work, nor what the client is paying 
 for principally; but the vast amount of thought and study 
 expended, often a dozen times repeated, that is essential and 
 necessary in every well-conceived design in order to produce 
 a harmonious whole. All this work never appears on the 
 surface; only the final conception is shown to the clients. 
 When this is satisfactory, it is turned over to the draughts- 
 men of the office to finish for the contractors, and the labors 
 of the architect, so far as the designing of the structure is 
 concerned, are practically finished. In fact, the larger por- 
 tion of his labors are accomplished before he becomes closely 
 associated with his client in the erection of the structure. 
 The client, not realizing this fact, counts the time spent by 
 the architect in the superintendence of the construction of 
 the edifice as the greater portion of the services he is paying 
 for, when in reality it is a very small part of it. 
 
 I have used the expression, " if the drawings and specifi- 
 cations are properly prepared," and I wish to reiterate and 
 emphasize it here, for it is of vital importance for the best 
 interests of the building and the client that they should be 
 as nearly perfect as it is possible to make them. A contrac- 
 tor, when he figures upon a set of drawings and specifications 
 
68 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and signs a contract to execute the work in strict conformity 
 to them, is bound to follow them implicitly. If he does this^ 
 in my judgment he has absolutely no responsibility for any 
 faults in the planning or construction that may occur. The 
 author of the plans and specifications is the one to whom to 
 look for redress, and not the man who is employed to 
 execute that which another has laid out. When plans are 
 not properly studied and specifications are carelessly drawn, 
 faults are bound to occur which will cost the client, in the 
 long run, many times the amount of the fee of a first-class 
 architect. When men in my profession cut their just com- 
 mission in order to secure work, I know that one of two 
 things will occur: either their work will not be properly done 
 or there will be collusion between them and the contractors. 
 
 I think it will be admitted that it has been shown by un- 
 impeachable testimony that the expenses that the true archi- 
 tect has to incur is fully sixty-five per cent of his commission; 
 if his commission is reduced one half, his work must be 
 slighted or he must receive money from some other source to 
 secure himself against loss. These are indisputable facts, and 
 should convince the most skeptical of the truth of my asser- 
 tions. 
 
 As few drawings as possible are made, these being rushed 
 through without serious study. Specifications are carelessly 
 drawn and the contractors left practically to their own devices 
 — the primary object being to get the structure finished and 
 accepted as quickly as possible. The result is almost invari- 
 ably that when the work is completed it is unsatisfactory, and 
 large additional expenditures are necessary to complete it as 
 the client expected and had supposed it would be finished. 
 Naturally he is disgusted, and condemns the architect who 
 
COMMISSIONS. ' 6g 
 
 got him into the scrape in unmeasured terms. In this he is 
 perfectly justified: but he should stop with the man he has 
 employed^ and not extend his condemnation to others nor 
 malign the whole profession for the faults of one. 
 
 Closely allied to inferior work of architects is collusion 
 between them and contractors. This may be accomplished 
 in many ways: by giving a favored contractor a tip as to how 
 the work might be done and what material would be 
 accepted; by permitting the work to be executed in an 
 inferior manner and allowing the introduction of a poorer 
 quality of material than that specified; by specifying special 
 kinds or makes of goods and receiving a commission for so. 
 doing. These are a few only of the many ways and means 
 employed, and unless the client is an expert in such matters 
 or more than usually alert, such things pass unnoticed, or if 
 they are discovered are explained by the architect and con- 
 tractor in some plausible way. Such methods save the con- 
 tractor considerable sums, and he is very willing to divide the- 
 savings with the architect. The architect in this way obtains 
 an amount of money which, when added to the two and a 
 half, three, or three and a half per cent received from the 
 client, will make the total amount of his commission far in 
 excess of what it would have been had he been honorable 
 and charged the full commission of five per cent. 
 
 The client, instead of saving money as was his intention, 
 has not only been swindled and hoodwinked, but put to an 
 unwarranted expense. Naturally he is very much dissatisfied 
 and very bitter toward the architect. In his indignation he 
 condemns the whole profession, and concludes that he would 
 have been better off without any architect at all. It is no 
 unusual thing to hear men say that architects are a luxury 
 
70 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and they would rather employ a good builder. This usually 
 occurs after experiences similar to those cited — the client 
 in his wrath forgetting that in the first instance his own 
 actions precipitated results that were inevitable. When he 
 invites architects to state a price in competition for their 
 work he drives from the field the very men whose services 
 he would like to secure, and paves the way for those who are 
 not honorable enough in their practice to resist temptation 
 and the consequent corruption. 
 
 If individuals and committees could be made to realize 
 that in order to secure the best talent they would have to 
 pay that talent a legitimate fee, that in no other way could 
 such services be obtained, they would take a great step in 
 the direction of public improvement. If they would follow 
 these precepts in the selection of the men who are to design 
 and have in charge the construction of their school buildings, 
 they would find that the results obtained would fully meet 
 their fondest expectations and that the completed buildings 
 would contain the best-known principles of scientific and 
 hygienic construction — in fact, they would be " up to date." 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 71 
 
 
 s ^^a_.te'"~!3Ti3:ir 
 
 
 PER-SPECTI VE Vl £W. 
 
 A iA\ALLl'-\lGH^CH06LDuil.DINC.. 
 
 TiasT-Jnoav Plati' 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 73 
 
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 C)BCCVJD Floor Plan, 
 
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 1 
 
 Gaouv^D Floor Plaai. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 SUPERINTENDENCE. 
 
 I FIND a very widespread and erroneous idea among 
 committees and laymen as to the architect's duties in re- 
 gard to the superintendence of school or other buildings. 
 Frequently I am asked: " Should you be employed to super- 
 intend the construction of our building, how often do you 
 propose to visit it? And how much time will you spend upon 
 it ? " And when I answer (if the structure is not in my own 
 city), "Once a week or so, for a few hours only," I am in- 
 variably called to account for what is considered inadequate 
 service, and have usually to enter into a lengthy explanation 
 to defend my position. The fact that the building is to be 
 visited but weekly, unless it be that some special contingency 
 arises, seems to many the grossest kind of neglect on the 
 architect's part. It is argued that he cannot know by visits 
 so remote how the work is being done, and that visits daily, 
 or at least once in two days, are absolutely necessary to prop- 
 erly inspect the work and protect the committee's interests. 
 It is hard to make them understand how unnecessary this 
 would be if a reliable contractor were employed, and how 
 utterly impossible such a superintendence would be for a 
 busy practitioner. 
 
 These views of the committee, to my mind, arise entirely 
 
 75 
 
76 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 from a total misconception of an architect's duties, which are 
 confounded with those of a superintendent or inspector kept 
 constantly on the ground, and commonly known as the clerk 
 of the works. 
 
 That superintendence of this kind is a good thing, both 
 for the committee and the architect, no one will gainsay, but 
 the idea that such constant surveillance is a part of the archi- 
 tect's duties is entirely erroneous. No matter how willing 
 and conscientious he may be, it is impossible for him to 
 spend more than a few hours a day upon his numerous struc- 
 tures; in fact, when busy, assistants have to do by far the 
 larger part of this work for him. Sometimes he may not be 
 able to see a distant structure for months at a time; even this 
 indicates no neglect of duty on his part, as he is usually 
 ably represented, and, while he may not visit the work 
 himself, is still in close touch with it. 
 
 If the contractor is a reputable man, little or no fear need 
 be entertained but that he will live up to the plans and 
 specifications and their evident intentions to the best of his 
 ability. On the other hand, should the contractor be dis- 
 honest, and when he took the contract intended to slight the 
 work, no amount of superintendence that the architect can 
 give the building (and do anything else) will entirely eradi- 
 cate the evil. 
 
 There are but two ways to deal with such conditions. 
 The first, by taking the work out of such a man's hands and 
 reletting to trustvv'orthy parties; and the second, by employ- 
 ing the before-mentioned clerk of the works, who is con- 
 stantly upon the ground. 
 
 To explain more fully, this man is employed by the 
 owners to be at the building continuously whenever work of 
 
5 UP ERIN TEND ENCE. 7 / 
 
 any description is being done; he is to inspect all material 
 delivered, and, if it does not fully meet the requirements of 
 the specifications, report its shortcomings at once to the 
 architect. Likewise in regard to the work, if it should be 
 done in a slovenly or improper manner, or there should be 
 ■anything about it that, in his judgment, is not as it was 
 evidently intended, the architect should be at once notified, 
 and the work stopped until it has been inspected by him and 
 the defects remedied ; then only should the work be allowed to 
 proceed. Obviously such a clerk must be closely allied with 
 the architect, and not with the contractor. He should, in 
 fact, be appointed, or at least selected, by the former; for, to 
 get good results, he must work in perfect harmony with 
 -him. 
 
 A man of this kind on any job of importance is, to my 
 mind, invaluable for the best interests of all; and I wish that 
 his employment were universally insisted upon. In foreign 
 ■countries he is very generally found, but in this country, 
 except on government and some of the more important 
 private buildings, his services are rarely made use of. He is 
 not an expensive luxury; good men, fully capable of per- 
 forming the duties required, can be had for from six to 
 nine hundred dollars per year, and most of our buildings 
 are built within this period of time so it is safe to say that 
 the employment of such a man would not add to the cost 
 of any ordinary building more than one thousand dollars. 
 Under such a system the committee's interests would be 
 fully protected, and I believe it would be commended for 
 adopting such a course, and no one could say but that it was 
 money well expended. 
 
 But to return to the architect's duties. The American 
 
78 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Institute of Architects, in its schedule of charges and pro- 
 fessional practice, defines the point in question as follows: 
 
 SUPERVISION OF WORKS. 
 
 " The supervision or superintendence of an architect (as 
 distinguished from the continuous personal superintendence 
 which may be secured by the employment of a clerk of the 
 works) means such inspection by the architect, or his deputy, 
 of a building or other work in process of erection, completion, 
 or alteration as he finds necessary to ascertain whether it is 
 being executed in conformity with his designs and specifica- 
 tions or directions, and to enable him to decide when the 
 successive instalments or payments provided for in the con- 
 tracts or agreement are due or payable. He is to determine 
 in constructive emergencies, to order necessary changes, and 
 to define the true intent and meaning of the drawings and 
 specifications, and he has authority to stop the progress of 
 the work and order its removal when not in accordance with 
 them." 
 
 CLERK OF THE WORKS. 
 
 " On buildings where it is deemed necessary to employ a 
 clerk of the works, the remuneration of said clerk is to be 
 paid by the owner or owners, in addition to any commission 
 or fees due the architect. The selection or dismissal of the 
 clerk of the works is to be subject to the approval of the 
 architect." 
 
 There is no better authority in the land upon such a sub- 
 ject than the Institute, and it would seem that the duties so 
 clearly defined in these paragraphs could not, under ordinary 
 
SUPERINTENDENCE. 79. 
 
 circumstances, be misinterpreted. Much more might be said 
 in support of the architect's position, but I prefer to leave 
 the subject here, and only add that it will be found an infalli- 
 ble rule: the better and more reliable the contractor is, the 
 less need there is for a clerk of the works. 
 
 On the other hand, if the contractor is unreliable, my 
 experience leads me to assert that it will be impossible to 
 have the work executed as the architect intended it should 
 be, unless a clerk of the works is employed. 
 
 One other point I wish to touch upon in this connection^ 
 and that is to insist that the architect should always have full 
 charge of the work until it is fully completed, unless he is, 
 found absolutely incompetent. Committees sometimes, to 
 save money, will make an arrangement by which the archi- 
 tect's superintendence is omitted, and a local man put on to 
 do this part of the work. Once or twice, in my practice, I 
 have had work done in this way, and in each instance it has, 
 proved to be most unsatisfactory to both my clients and 
 myself. I have always found that the work was not executed 
 as intended. My designs were either not understood, or 
 wilfully misinterpreted; the superintendent (who is usually 
 some builder) has ideas of his own which he induced the 
 committee to accept with disastrous results — so much so that 
 I have, of late, declined to accept commissions of this char- 
 acter. 
 
 If committees have not confidence enough in the architect 
 to place the full designing and construction of the proposed 
 building in his hands, they had better not employ him. If 
 they cannot afford to pay him his full fee, better far abandork^ 
 the work than try to save in this department. 
 
8o MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDJNGS. 
 
 ETHICS. 
 
 . The ethics of the architectural profession may not be 
 closely allied with the construction of school buildings, yet 
 it seems to me that these papers would not be complete 
 unless I called the attention of laymen to a phase of our 
 practice that constantly intrudes itself in these modern days. 
 
 The question as to whether the architect shall remain in 
 his office and wait for his clients to come to him, or whether 
 he shall solicit his work as a tradesman solicits orders, is one 
 open to grave discussion. 
 
 Shall we, in a word, become architectural "drummers," 
 leave our ofifices and firesides, go out on the road, interview 
 every one who may possibly require architectural service, 
 and, by every means in our power, try to interest prospective 
 clients, and induce them to accept our service ? 
 
 A common expression of the day, in speaking of a par- 
 ticularly energetic business man, is to designate him a 
 " hustler," and in the trade the qualifications which he pos- 
 sesses are considered admirable. Has it become necessary, 
 in order to be a successful practitioner of to-day, to become 
 an "architectural hustler"? 
 
 I cannot think so; the thought is particularly distasteful 
 to me. Yet good friends who are in business insist that it 
 is the only way to do; for, they argue, if you don't do this, 
 some one else will, you may be sure, and you will simply get 
 " left." No doubt they are right in a measure. The suc- 
 cessful men of the day have to keep their names and achieve- 
 ments constantly before the people; to be, in a word, in the 
 public eye; they endeavor by every means to do this, 
 working on the theory that no matter what is said of them, 
 
SUPERINTENDENCE. ' 51 
 
 either good or bad, it is all beneficial from a business point 
 of view, as long as some\\\\VLg is said. In trade I am willing 
 to grant that all this is true, and am forced to admit, from 
 my observation, that it applies more or less to my own pro- 
 fession. As I write, a case that will illustrate this point 
 comes to my mind. In a limited competition, for a small 
 building, six architects were invited to submit sketches 
 with full description of same; three of the competitors, of 
 whom I was one, were afterwards invited to appear before 
 the committee at different times and still further explain their 
 designs. Meeting a friend some time afterward from the 
 town, and before the competition was decided, I asked if he 
 knew anything about it. "I only know this," said he, 
 " that that man from New York is getting the bulge on you 
 fellows; he has been up here a number of times, has seen 
 every one of the committee more than once, and has talked 
 his plan and abilities into them so that he has the inside 
 track; he's a hustler, he is. You are dead slow. I wouldn't 
 let a fellow get ahead of me that way. I give you the tip; 
 now go in and knock him out." An interview of this kind 
 is pretty apt to arouse all the animosity and latent energy in 
 a man; and it requires, at times, considerable self-control to 
 forbear entering the lists and frightening such a competitor 
 with his own weapons. But this I have never done. I am 
 moulded in the older school, and probably am not up to date 
 in my ways; if this is so, it is simply my own misfortune. 
 
 Unquestionably, this man had a perfect right, from a 
 business standpoint, to do just what he did. Ethically, had 
 he an equal right ? He would protest that he had done 
 nothing unprofessional; that his methods were legitimate 
 and aboveboard ; that he made no secret of seeing the com- 
 
■S2 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 mittee; and that others had the same privileges. This is all 
 true, but it is not, to my mind, in the true spirit of a com- 
 petition. It is, in fact, an attempt to influence, by means 
 other than those prescribed, a jury, for a committee judging 
 plans is just as much of a jury, in one sense, as that of a 
 court of law ; and who for a moment, would countenance one 
 of the contestants of a lawsuit interviewing a juryman and 
 trying to influence his judgment. In the latter case, a person 
 -caught doing this would be amenable to the law and sum- 
 marily dealt with. I wish it were possible to apply the same 
 principle to my profession. The coat that fits the juryman 
 does not fit the committeeman, and similar practices which 
 are abhorred in one instance are commended in the other. 
 
 I must confess that I do not understand the train of 
 reasoning that enables supposedly reputable men of my pro- 
 fession to satisfy themselves as to the perfect propriety of 
 such proceedings; there must be a screw loose somewhere, 
 or possibly the greed for gain is so intense that it has 
 blunted all other sensibilities. 
 
 The case cited referred, of course, to a competition; but 
 this "forcing system" applies equally to all our work. 
 Clients have repeatedly told me that it was no sooner known 
 that they proposed to build than they were besieged by 
 €very one in the city who could draw, or thought they could 
 draw, a plan. So persistent, in some cases, were these men 
 that they became positively a nuisance, and harsh measures 
 had to be taken to get rid of them. In far too many 
 instances men of this class have had success; if they did not, 
 they would not continue to practice such methods. The 
 first-come first-taken code, is here applicable, and men who 
 are not in this wild rush for a job are counted slow and 
 
SUPERINTENDENCE. - 83 
 
 behind the times. The mystery is, why these practices 
 should be applied and accepted in our profession and con- 
 demned in the kindred ones of law and medicine. Suppose 
 all the doctors in the city should indulge in a wild race to 
 reach you the moment you were known to be sick, or that 
 the legal fraternity should chase you continually and solicit 
 the favor of defending you in a lawsuit. The ethics of their 
 professions proscribe such lapses of dignity, and the public 
 quickly recognizes and denounces any members who may so 
 far forget themselves as to resort to such means to procure 
 clients; but, in the architect's case, it is usually accepted 
 placidly. There is one thing certain, if one does not respect 
 himself, no one else will respect him; and it is largely due to 
 the reprehensible practices of men of my own calling that 
 the low state of ethics among architects exists. But what I 
 vv^ant to say to committees and the public generally in this 
 connection is, to beware of the " architectural hustler." 
 Don't employ the men who are chasing you, and who herald 
 their ability from the housetops. Avoid the know-alls. 
 Every problem that confronts the architect requires profound 
 study, and rarely are two solutions alike. Select your archi- 
 tect as you would your lawyer or your physician, not because 
 he can sprint the fastest, talk the loudest, and look the best, 
 but because you know that under that quiet, dignified 
 exterior real worth and merit abide, and that when you 
 place yourself in his hands your interests are safe. Do 
 not be scared away from him by that bugbear so often 
 used that "he is too expensive." It is better, at the 
 start, to pay a good man his price and have your work well 
 done, than it is to employ a cheap man and have the work 
 neglected. You cannot obtain first-class service and the best 
 
84 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 of material and workmanship unless you are willing to pay 
 for it, and the expenditure had better be for the man who 
 will see that you obtain this, rather than for the incompetent 
 " cheap " one, who is likely to be in collusion with the con- 
 tractor. Committeemen should particularly heed this warn- 
 ing, and make their selections accordingly; for, by so doing, 
 they secure the best available talent to execute the work 
 entrusted to their hands. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 vffe'^'SS' '^ .;'^^ iilf *'~"' 
 
 85 
 
 ^^O 
 
MODERN AMEKICRN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 87 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. - o^ 
 
 M I I I I -t 
 
 ^ecomdStorvPlan A~3ix I2.oo^^ Duildi/VG. 
 
 I. — I — I — ^-J" 
 
 First^'toryPlan. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 READY-MADE PLANS. 
 
 In the annual reports of State and local Boards of Health 
 and Education, and in the reports of the Superintendents of 
 Schools from various parts of the country, it has been cus- 
 tomary to embody plans of school buildings; these in some 
 instances represent finished buildings, but more frequently 
 those contemplated or suggested. 
 
 If the authors or compilers of these reports would be con- 
 tent to simply make use of the plans of completed structures, 
 or those in process of erection, when the reports are issued, 
 and obtain from experts concise criticisms, pointing out 
 defective, and commending desirable, features of the build- 
 ings illustrated, much good might be accomplished ; for in 
 this way common faults would be forcibly brought to the 
 attention of those most deeply interested in such matters, 
 with the natural result that in future building these defects 
 would be avoided. It seems to me that such a course as this 
 would represent the proper function of these reports as far as 
 they may relate to school buildings and their construction ; 
 but when, either to make their reports more attractive, or 
 with a misconceived idea of improving school architecture, 
 they go further and present " ready-made plans," they cer- 
 tainly place themselves in a false and unenviable position^ 
 
 91 
 
92 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and actually injure instead of benefit the interests that they 
 so unwisely attempt to improve. 
 
 Few, indeed, are the architects of good standing in the 
 country who will allow their plans to be published in this 
 manner, unless it be to illustrate some article that has been 
 prepared upon the subject. Even when this is done, sketches 
 are usually all that are furnished, and for purely imaginary 
 structures not intended for any particular locality or condi- 
 tion. Quite likely these sketch designs will be made use of 
 by some zealous building committee who consider the legiti- 
 mate employment of an architect entirely unnecessary, yet 
 are perfectly willing to appropriate his ideas. Some local 
 contractor will be consulted as to his ability to erect a build- 
 ing like the one illustrated; he will undoubtedly assert that 
 he not only can do this, but will be able to improve very 
 much upon the building shown; so a contract is entered into 
 with him, and the building erected by the contractor, sub- 
 stantially according to his own views, not in any way as the 
 structure was originally intended to be. Not only are 
 changes made in the plans and elevations, but the hygienic 
 and sanitary features, not being understood, are utterly dis- 
 regarded; probably the building will be placed upon a site 
 and with surroundings that are totally unsuitable for it, no 
 thought having been given to adaptability or harmony. 
 
 In this connection it is well to remember that a building 
 to look well when completed must be designed with special 
 reference to the position that it is to occupy, and that struc- 
 tures which are extremely pleasing upon one site will become 
 a blot upon the landscape when injudiciously placed upon 
 another. 
 
 In a practice of over twenty years I have never but once 
 
EEADY-MADE PLANS. - 93 
 
 attempted to erect two buildings from identically the same 
 plans, upon entirely different sites. The result in this case 
 was disastrous, for the building which looked well upon the 
 lot it was designed for was very unsatisfactory when erected 
 on the site unsuited for it. 
 
 Let me say just here that the great majority of the 
 designs of this work have not been studied for any definite 
 site or location, but are presented to illustrate certain prin- 
 ciples in which I thoroughly believe. Probably there is not 
 one of them but that would have to be modified to a greater 
 or less degree to properly meet the requirements of a school 
 or the peculiarities of its site. Modifications can undoubtedly 
 be satisfactorily made in any of the designs, provided careful 
 study and thought are given to the problem; but this should 
 invariably be done by the creator of the design, and not by 
 those who cannot be in touch with the true spirit of it. 
 
 Ready-made plans, like ready-made clothing, never quite 
 "fit, and are just as easy of detection in one case as in the 
 other. It is simply a penny-wise, pound-foolish policy to 
 make use of them. In the beginning money may be saved 
 by not obtaining first-class professional advice, but in the 
 long run this expenditure will be more than balanced by 
 poor planning, careless construction, ignorance in not taking 
 advantage of feasible opportunities, and a general inadapt- 
 ability of the completed structure. Innumerable cases of 
 this kind occur to me, and I frequently have been consulted 
 in regard to buildings that it was claimed had been erected 
 in strict accordance with a design of a model schoolhouse 
 published in some report. It is hardly necessary to add that 
 upon investigation this was not found to be the case ; radical 
 departures had been made in many vitally important details, 
 
94 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and the failure of the building was not due to the original 
 design, but to the way it had been mutilated during its erec- 
 tion by unskilled hands. 
 
 A notable instance of an attempt to foist '* ready-made 
 plans " upon school committees is that of the Department of 
 Public Instruction of the State of New York. Upon applica- 
 tion they will furnish free of charge to any resident of the 
 State lithographic copies of plans and specifications of a 
 number of school buildings, ranging in cost from six hundred 
 to sixteen thousand five hundred dollars. These plans, with 
 some others, have also been published in book form and cir- 
 culated by the State Board of Instruction. The designs were 
 obtained in the year 1888, through a competition instituted 
 by the New York State superintendent of Public Instruction, 
 who, on the 20th of September, 1887, issued a circular invit- 
 ing the architects of the country to submit competitive plans 
 and specifications for school buildings of different sizes and 
 cost. The superintendent was actuated, he states, by a 
 desire to supply school officials with the most modern and 
 artistic designs for the erection of low-priced schoolhouses. 
 Six classes of buildings were called for, and as I had on hand 
 sketch-plans of buildings that very nearly fulfilled the require- 
 ments of each class, I sent them in, and in January, 1888, 
 was notified that I had been awarded special commendation 
 in classes 3, 4, 5, and 6, this notification being accompanied 
 with a request to forward at once complete working plans^ 
 details, and specifications for each of the buildings; it was 
 also stated that " special commendation " insured the publi- 
 cation of my designs in the forthcoming report. A reply was 
 immediately sent stating that I did not care to have my 
 designs published and that I would not under any considera- 
 
READY-MADE PLANS. - 95 
 
 tion furnish working plans, details, and specifications, and 
 asking, as I had received no prize and therefore was not in 
 any way indebted to the State, that my drawings be returned 
 to me. This request was refused, and in spite of my 
 vehement protestations my drawings were all retained and 
 four of the designs published in the report. 
 
 The State Superintendent states in the introduction to 
 the report that full working drawings, details, specifications, 
 directions, contracts, and builders' estimates for eleven of the 
 designs presented will be forwarded upon application, free of 
 charge, when the department shall be notified by the proper 
 authorities that a district has voted to erect a school from 
 any of the designs shown. I am glad to say that four others 
 refused with me to furnish the working plans, details, and 
 specifications; so that in eight instances they cannot be 
 obtained except through their authors. 
 
 The bait so temptingly offered to school committees is 
 most alluring. The fact that it is possible to obtain free of 
 charge working plans, details, and specifications of a model 
 school building is so very satisfactory that no attention is 
 given to fitness of the design selected; they are taken as 
 they come, and turned over to the local builder, who, as I 
 have before said, does about as he pleases with them. 
 
 I have seen some of these buildings after completion, and 
 found them so much changed and mutilated that the good 
 features which they originally contained were completely 
 obliterated; some I found placed in positions that completely 
 ruined their architectural effect, and in no single instance did 
 they come anywhere near that degree of excellence the 
 designer intended to obtain. From the State Superinten- 
 dent's point of view this would, of course, seem particularly 
 
96 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 unfortunate; but from my own it appears a just retribution. 
 To me it is a most undignified proceeding for the great State 
 of New York through her paid agents to be "hawking" 
 architect's work and peddling out, free of charge, working 
 plans of buildings that have been designed for no particular 
 location, and that are to be constructed without competent 
 professional advice. If a State is to pursue such a course as 
 this, why confine it to school buildings ? Why not establish 
 an architectural mill at Albany and grind out at short notice 
 and, of course, " free of charge," plans and specifications for 
 city and town halls, court-houses, churches, hospitals, 
 libraries, jails, and all other public and private structures ? 
 Perhaps in this way a uniform " American style of architec- 
 ture " might be evolved without expense or trouble. 
 
 As to the eight designs published without working plans, 
 details, and specifications, I can say concerning my own four 
 that in the past eleven years innumerable letters have been 
 received inquiring my terms for furnishing that which the 
 State was unable to supply. A reply was always returned 
 stating that my services were at the committee's disposal, at 
 the usual recognized charges, and that I should be pleased to 
 serve them to the best of my ability. Although scores of 
 applications have been received, in not a single instance have 
 my terms been accepted. I am well aware that buildings 
 have been erected from my designs, but not under my su- 
 pervision nor in a way that I should recommend; and I do 
 not doubt that the other gentlemen who pursued the same 
 course as I have had a similar experience. I shall probably 
 be accused of mercenary motives in my criticisms of the 
 methods of the New York State Board of Instruction. Some 
 may say that through chagrin at non-employment my judg- 
 
READY-MADE PLANS. ' 97 
 
 ment is too biased to be just. To such charges I simply 
 answer that the competition was entered (very foolishly, I 
 admit) without expectations other than those realized, and 
 that when I was honorably mentioned I was perfectly satis- 
 fied, and tried in every possible way to withdraw my designs 
 and let the matter drop. Furthermore, even at this late 
 day I still regret exceedingly that they were published, for 
 the reason that under the conditions with which they are sur- 
 rounded no good can result from their continued use. Eleven 
 years have elapsed since they were prepared, and I do not 
 believe that there is an architect who submitted a design at 
 that time who would be willing to send in the same thing 
 to-day. We live in a progressive age; improvements are 
 made almost yearly in everything, and the planning and con- 
 struction of school buildings is no exception to this rule. 
 Those things that we did with complacency yesterday will 
 not satisfy us to-morrow. All of us have skeletons in our 
 closet, — designs prepared or work executed which we are slow 
 to acknowledge as our own. To the progressive man this 
 must always be so, for he who is contented and satisfied with 
 what he has done, and makes no determined effort to improve 
 upon it, is a conceited sluggard who will be left stranded on 
 the wayside by the steady onward march of progress. 
 
 Do not let it be inferred that I am opposed to the publi- 
 cation of designs by those interested in school matters. On 
 the contrary, I am very much in favor of it when it is done 
 in a legitimate manner, as I believe, if it is done judiciously, 
 it would be very beneficial. If State and local Boards of 
 Instruction or Health would pay reputable architects a fair 
 compensation for " sketch designs," or if they must do it in 
 the other way, offer suitable prizes for the best " sketch 
 
98 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 designs" submitted, and publish only these, clearly stating 
 when they are issued that they represent at that time the 
 miost advanced ideas of some of the best-known specialists in 
 school construction, and giving their authors full credit for 
 them, they will have taken a great stride in the direction of 
 advancing the standard of excellence in the designing and 
 construction of school buildings. But when they go further, 
 invade the architect's domain, and attempt to furnish the 
 public at large with that which it is his legitimate business to 
 do, they are entirely out of their element and cannot be 
 expected to obtain satisfactory results. 
 
 I cannot understand why members of my profession 
 should be foolish enough to furnish working plans, details, 
 and specifications for such a purpose, which are to be repro- 
 duced ad libitiivi. It seems to me to be a most impertinent 
 thing to ask them to give away for a paltry consideration 
 their best ideas — in fact, their stock in trade, which they have 
 spent the best years of their life in acquiring. Would it be 
 expected of any other professional man? I think not. Why, 
 then, is the attempt made to impose on the architects and 
 get them to do what would not be expected of others? 
 Simply for the reason that the value of the true architect's 
 services are underestimated; he is deemed a luxury, when he 
 ought to be considered a necessity; the people at large have 
 not learned that it is ultimately much cheaper to pay for 
 first-class professional advice than it is to accept free of cost 
 an inferior article. 
 
 Ready-made working plans and specifications furnished in 
 book form by the so-called architects who advertise their 
 wares extensively are to be shunned even more than those 
 already referred to. They are to be classed with the patent- 
 
READY-MADE PLANS. - 99 
 
 medicine and other nostrums with which the country is 
 flooded; and it is safe to class the authors with the quack 
 doctors who perform such wonderful cures through the news- 
 papers. Who ever heard of eminent physicians, lawyers, or 
 engineers advertising themselves or their doings through the 
 public press? When this course is taken by a member of 
 either of these professions, his true status is at once deter- 
 mined by his brethren: if he is truly skilful or a genius in 
 his special line, he will not require printer's ink to have it 
 become known; that is to say, he need not use it himself — 
 his worth will be quickly recognized and full credit given 
 him for his skill, perhaps not at first by the masses, but by 
 those of his own craft whose opinions he most values. 
 
 Every thinking man knows this to be true, and many are 
 fully aware of it when they make use of plans prepared by 
 architects who have had absolutely no training or standing in 
 the profession. Why they do this is a mystery to me, unless 
 it can be explained by the words of that illustrious townsman 
 of mine, the famous Barnum, who always maintained that the 
 American public loved to be " humbugged." 
 
 To sum up briefly, avoid, if you would have really good 
 buildings, all ready-made plans. No matter how much they 
 may be recommended, have your building designed by a 
 competent man to meet your wants, and with special reference 
 to the position it will occupy. If you have seen some 
 plan which particularly pleases you, or you know of some 
 building that you think will very nearly meet your require- 
 ments, call the attention of the architect you may employ 
 to these points, and let him investigate them. If they are 
 worthy of consideration, he will tell you so; and if they are 
 essential in your new building, he can undoubtedly incor- 
 
lOO MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 porate them in it. But do not, under any consideration, let 
 some local builder undertake to make over and improve 
 some plan or building that you have in your mind; you 
 can rest assured that such a course will result unsatisfactorily, 
 and that when you have completed the building, it will fall 
 far short of what you had expected it to be. If this course 
 were to be taken with every new school building erected, 
 it would quickly change their complexion, so that in the near 
 future they would be fully up to the standard of our edu- 
 cational systems, in fact outrank any other class of buildings 
 in the country. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 ~ lOI 
 
 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 103 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. - I05 
 
 First Story Plan 
 Light Rqo/^ BviLOinG 
 
 Se-como Story Puan- 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ENTRANCE-HALLS AND STAIRCASES. 
 
 In former articles I have laid great stress upon the mis- 
 takes usually found in this department of school construction, 
 and I wish to take the subject up once again and explain 
 more in detail what I have previously said, and what from 
 my point of view the mistakes consist of, using, to better 
 illustrate my meaning, sketches taken at random from the 
 plans published in the various architectural journals of the 
 day. Should any of these sketches be recognized by their 
 authors, I beg of them not to consider that in making use of 
 them it is my intention to reflect in any way upon their 
 professional skill, but that I am simply using, perhaps in a 
 very free way, existing plans to illustrate certain arrange- 
 ments of halls and staircases that in my judgment are not the 
 best or most satisfactory way to treat them. It is not neces- 
 sary to argue that entrances should be liberal and direct, that 
 the halls should lead you as quickly as possible to the stair- 
 cases, and that the staircases should be well lighted, of easy 
 tread and rise, and as nearly fire-proof as it is possible to make 
 them. All these requirements will be readily admitted, and 
 in many instances it will be confidently asserted that they 
 have been fulfilled. This I do not admit, for it is very rare 
 
 to find a fully satisfactory arrangement even in the most 
 
 107 
 
108 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 expensive structures. For example, in Sketch i, Plate 23, a 
 very common arrangement is shown, which is open to severe 
 criticism. It is obvious that the pupils occupying the second 
 floor, entering the building either at the principal doors, A A, 
 or the minor ones, BB, will have to traverse more or less the 
 lower halls, CCC, in order to reach the staircases, DDD, and 
 in so doing either pass directly or in close proximity to the 
 several room-entrances, EEE. This mingling of the pupils 
 of the two floors and presumably different departments in the 
 lower halls can only result in confusion and noise, which will 
 be more or less augmented by the rapidity of the pupils' 
 movements and the discipline to which they are subjected. 
 If, as is frequently the case, the pupils of the upper floors are 
 dismissed before those of the lower, they are forced to 
 descend almost directly in the centre of the building and pass 
 through the lower halls before they can reach the outer air; 
 this cannot be accomplished noiselessly, consequently the 
 occupants of the lower rooms are bound to be more or less 
 disturbed. All this is objectionable and can and should be 
 obviated in every well-planned structure. In Sketch 2, Plate 
 23, there is indicated a somewhat different arrangement, but 
 which has the same faults. Sketch 3, Plate 23, illustrates 
 still another method, which is quite as unsatisfactory as either 
 of the others. None of these studies is especially novel, 
 nor do they differ materially from scores of buildings that can 
 be found in every large community. But while I maintain 
 that the arrangement of the entrances and halls is unsatisfac- 
 tory, they are not, to my mind, one half as much so as the 
 situation and general construction of the staircases. All of 
 these are of the style known as the open stairs, in which 
 newels, rails, balusters, and open wells are freely made use 
 
ENTRANCE-HALLS AND STAIRCASES. ' IO9 
 
 of. I cannot too strongly condemn the introduction of this 
 method of constructing staircases in school or other public 
 buildings where there are to be large assemblies of people. 
 At their best, they are a constant menace to life and limb; 
 in the case of a sudden rush to them by the occupants of the 
 upper floors, it is almost impossible to restrain the more 
 impetuous from climbing over these flimsy guards in their 
 efforts to get down and out. Moreover, the danger of the 
 rails and balusters giving way entirely when the rush comes 
 is great, as they are seldom built with sufficient stability to 
 resist even a moderate pressure. I have in former articles 
 repeatedly called attention to these evils, and cited one in- 
 stance, in the city of New York, where a terrible disaster 
 occurred in the middle of an afternoon session by which 
 fifteen lives were sacrificed on just such staircases as I have 
 here illustrated; this, too, when scores of people were pass- 
 ing the very doors of the building, when the fire department, 
 said to be the finest in the world, was called and responded 
 promptly, when willing hands and stout hearts did all that 
 human power could to rescue the little ones, who it is claimed 
 were splendidly disciplined and had been carefully instructed 
 in a fire-drill to meet just such an emergency. But of what 
 avail was all this, when one, more nervous or frightened than 
 the rest, lost her footing and fell headlong on that fatal stair- 
 case ? Who could prevent the force of those hurrying from 
 above, checked for a moment, spreading out, and in so 
 spreading creating a pressure against the frail stair-rail, caus- 
 ing it to give way with a crash that would have caused the 
 majority of adults to lose their presence of mind ? Who can 
 blame the children if they did become frenzied, and those 
 above, in their mad efforts to get down, force those below 
 
no MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 through the fatal aperture, until they were piled in a strug- 
 gling mass in the hall below, from which within a few 
 minutes fifteen lifeless little bodies were taken ? This terri- 
 ble disaster occurred more than a dozen years ago, but the 
 fearful lesson has been almost totally disregarded. Stringent 
 laws should have been enacted prohibiting the occupancy of 
 any building for school purposes that was equipped with the 
 open staircase, with its accompanying rails and balusters; and 
 I say that it is simply criminal to permit their continual use 
 and introduction into new buildings. No one will deny but 
 that the disaster just referred to would have been averted had 
 the staircases of that building been constructed upon safe 
 principles. There are hundreds of buildings scattered all 
 over this great country where the same methods of construc- 
 tion have been used and where there needed only similar con- 
 ditions to produce disasters as terrible as this one. If this is 
 doubted, I would ask you to examine school buildings that 
 you are more or less familiar with, many of them erected 
 since the time mentioned, and by so doing satisfy yourself of 
 the correctness of these assertions. 
 
 It is astonishing to me that so few accidents occur, and I 
 can only attribute it to the exceptional care taken by those 
 in whose charge the children are placed, and to the indulgence 
 of a beneficent Providence. Another strong argument against 
 placing the main staircases in the central portion of the build- 
 ing is the increased danger of fire to which this position ren- 
 ders them liable. For good and sufficient reasons the heating 
 apparatus is usually centralized. If a fire occurs, it starts 
 nine times out of ten at or near the boilers or furnaces, and 
 the chances are that the staircases, the principal means of 
 exit, will from their situation become in an incredibly short 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Ill 
 
ENTRANCE-HALLS AND STAIRCASES. ' ^S 
 
 space of time enveloped in smoke and flame and rendered 
 useless. The main avenue of escape is thus shut off, and the 
 occupants of the upper floor are forced to seek an exit by 
 narrow minor staircases or fire-escapes, if the building is for- 
 tunate enough to be provided with them. 
 
 I have said that I believe it is criminal to build and place 
 staircases as they are found in the great mass of school build- 
 ings, for there is not the slightest need of it, nor any good 
 reason why they should be so constructed. It is simply the 
 fault of the designer, whose ignorance or total disregard of 
 the true principles of safe construction as applied to school- 
 houses causes him to fall into these errors by which hundreds, 
 yes, thousands of lives are continually jeopardized. Do not 
 infer that I would increase the expense, sacrifice the conven. 
 ience of the plan, or render the ease of entry or access to any 
 part of the building more difficult by arranging the stairways 
 differently; on the contrary, I would gain decidedly in these 
 respects, as well as in those of sound construction and safety. 
 A careful examination of the various plans shown in this work 
 will, I am sure, convince any one that what I claim is both 
 feasible and true. 
 
 There can be no question as to the desirability of pro- 
 hibiting the introduction of open or centrally located stair- 
 cases into any school building occupied upon more than one 
 floor, and it seems to me that the best way to accomplish 
 these ends would be by State legislation. If a law were 
 enacted making it a misdemeanor to build or equip a building 
 in this manner, committees would be obliged to insist upon 
 its enforcement, and the architects to govern themselves 
 accordingly. If I were to draw up a code to regulate this 
 
114 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 matter, it would be formulated somewhat in the following 
 manner: 
 
 First. That all staircases shall be built where possible 
 outside the main walls of the building. 
 
 Second. That stairways shall be placed at both ends or 
 sides of the building, so that in case of fire or accident two 
 independent and isolated exits are available. 
 
 Third. Stairways shall be of the style known as box- 
 stairs, with dividing walls or partitions between the runs 
 extending from floor to ceiling, and that there shall be no 
 open wells, rails, or balusters allowed in any building. 
 
 Fourth. That all stairways shall have at least one broad 
 platform or landing in the height of any one story, and that 
 there shall be provided, on each side of all runs, neat hand- 
 rails (brass or iron preferred) that shall be supported on 
 strong metal brackets, firmly bolted to the walls. 
 
 Fifth. That no stairways shall be less than four feet wide 
 in the clear, where there are more than one hundred pupils 
 on a floor, and that the staircases, unless they are increased 
 in number, shall be added to at the rate of one foot in width 
 for each story, and six inches in width for each additional 
 hundred of pupils. 
 
 Sixth. That the main staircases in all buildings that are 
 occupied upon more than one floor shall be so arranged that 
 the pupils of the upper floors can enter or leave the building 
 or ascend or descend through it to the toilet- and recreation- 
 rooms without entering or passing through any hall or corri- 
 dor of the building except that out of which their own rooms 
 open. 
 
 Seventh. That all staircases shall be well lighted by direct 
 light, that the windows shall be placed upon the landings if 
 
EN TRA NCE-HA LLS A ND S TA IR CA SES. I I 5 
 
 possible, and that the stools of these windows shall be at 
 least four feet from the floor of the landing. 
 
 Eighth. That all staircases shall be either fire-proof or 
 constructed on the slow-burning principle. 
 
 Build them with solid walls of common brick if you have 
 little money, pressed brick if you have more, and glazed 
 brick if you can afford it. Where possible, use sawed blue- 
 stone or rubbed slate, built directly into the walls, for treads, 
 risers, and platforms, or good smooth castings of iron; if 
 these are too expensive, hard-wood stairs, made extra heavy, 
 with the stringers and supports bolted directly to the walls 
 with expansion-bolts, will answer the purpose. Avoid all 
 studding, furring, and unnecessary sheathing, and, above all 
 things, lath and plaster. Some will claim, undoubtedly, that 
 the theories here advanced cannot be successfully incor- 
 porated in all classes of school buildings, but I assure you 
 that in all my practice I have never known of an instance 
 where I could not have introduced all of the features here 
 advocated. That it has not always been done in the build- 
 ings entrusted to me, I am free to admit; but it could have 
 been accomplished, and the reason for not doing it was 
 either that I was so hampered by the committee that it was 
 impossible, or that I did not have the means to build 
 properly. By referring to the plates of the larger buildings 
 numerous examples of staircases constructed strictly upon the 
 principles here laid down will be found. If you have a 
 liberal allowance of money at your disposal, use it in making 
 your building safe and sound, and not in undue elaboration 
 or senseless decoration. A schoolhouse, to my mind, is a 
 workshop, or, as the French say, an atelier, occupied for 
 a limited period only each day for mental labor more or less 
 
Il6 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 severe. This should be impressed as much as possible upon 
 the minds of the pupils, while their surroundings should be, 
 from the hygienic point of view, as perfect as possible, and 
 good taste shown throughout in the furnishing and equip- 
 ment. There should be no ostentation or vulgarity in orna- 
 mentation or decoration, or that which is in any way liable 
 to distract or permanently leave its imprint upon the mind 
 of the pupil. 
 
 School buildings, unless the gift of some individual who 
 desires to perpetuate his name, are not monumental in char- 
 acter; and, as they are erected by the taxation of the people 
 for the use of their children, it is obvious that no more money 
 should be expended upon them than is necessary to secure a 
 perfect building inside and a pleasing one outside. It is a 
 hard lesson for the masses to learn, but I hope some day that 
 the great American public may be made to understand that 
 good architecture does not consist of fantastic shapes and 
 sharp contrasts, or that objects that are ornate must neces- 
 sarily be artistic. For myself, I would rather see a building 
 as plain as the proverbial barn, so it be well planned and 
 soundly constructed, than the most elaborate edifice ever 
 erected that is faulty in these respects. I should much 
 prefer to obtain a reputation for the reason that I had planned 
 well and constructed soundly rather than because I had 
 designed cleverly and disregarded everything else. Of course 
 the ideal architect is the one in whom both functions are 
 happily combined, but they are like angel's visits, few and 
 far between. In choosing an architect, take the practical 
 man, even if you find him less artistic, for the health, com- 
 fort, and safety of your children are more to you than the 
 finest artistic effects. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 117 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WINDOWS AND LIGHTING. 
 
 Probably more has been written concerning the amount 
 of light required, and the way that it should be introduced 
 into the schoolroom, than about any other feature of school 
 construction. So voluminous and reliable is the data obtain- 
 able upon this subject, that it would appear almost impossi- 
 ble that mistakes could occur in this department; but upon 
 critical examination it is found that the average structures are 
 little better in this respect than they have been shown to be 
 in the arrangements of the entrances and stairways. The 
 generally accepted standard of lighting is that there must be 
 an actual area of exposed glass surface that shall equal one 
 sixth of the floor-space of the room ; and I believe this to be 
 ample if it is arranged properly. It has been the custom of 
 those best posted to introduce the light at the back and left 
 of the pupils. I have in former years advocated this system ; 
 but from long experience, close observation of rooms in 
 actual use, and from the opinions obtained from teachers and 
 pupils who have occupied the rooms, I have of late been led 
 to discard where possible the back light entirely, and rely 
 only upon that obtained from the left. My reasons for this 
 1 will explain more fully upon subsequent pages. Before 
 doing this it will be well to consider what a well-lighted room 
 for school purposes should be. Unquestionably the light 
 
 119 
 
I20 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 should be introduced into the room as directly as possible; as 
 few obstructions should be placed in its way, in the shape of 
 piers and mullions, as sound construction will allow. The 
 distance it has to traverse to reach the remotest parts of the 
 room should be reduced to a minimum; and I believe it 
 should be concentrated at its introduction. It must not be 
 assumed that because a room may have a certain number of 
 windows whose combined openings equal one sixth the area 
 of the floor-space it is well lighted, even when the windows 
 are placed at the left and back of the pupils. This is not 
 always the case, as can be seen by reference to Sketch i, 
 Plate 27. 
 
 Here we have a room 27 X 36, containing 972 square feet 
 of floor-space, the room being capable of accommodating 
 comfortably 48 pupils. The room is lighted by five windows: 
 three on the left side of the pupils and two at their back. 
 The openings through the walls are each 4' 2" Y. 8', a little 
 more than one sixth of the floor-space. While the require- 
 ments of position and area have in a measure been lived up 
 to in this case, the windows are badly placed and the piers 
 unfortunately arranged. This is equally true of the three 
 rooms shown in Sketch 2, Plate 27. None of these rooms 
 are well lighted, for the following pertinent reasons: 
 
 First, the teacher from her position facing the pupils is 
 forced to look directly into the light, which is extremely 
 trying as well as injurious, and entirely unnecessary in a well- 
 arranged room. True, it is possible to draw the shades and 
 thus subdue the light, but in doing this there is a loss of 
 direct light, which is detrimental to the pupils. There has 
 been but one answer given by teachers when questioned as to 
 this arrangement of windows, — it was found to be very objec- 
 
WINDOWS AND LIGHTING. J2I 
 
 tionable; and if it were possible to obviate this evil, the 
 rooms would be far pleasanter and the work of the teacher 
 much easier. 
 
 Second, that large piers or wide spans between the win- 
 dows not only seriously impede the light, but that the 
 shadows they cast (as can be seen by reference to Sketch 3, 
 Plate 27) are so heavy as to inconvenience the pupils to a 
 greater or less degree. 
 
 If you wish to read comfortably, you will naturally seat 
 yourself before or where the direct rays from the window will 
 fall upon your book, and not in the heavy shadow of a large 
 pier. But the pupil whose desk may unfortunately occupy 
 such a position has no choice, and consequently must study 
 in a poorer light than his more favored companion. 
 
 Third, that the light should be centralized as much as 
 possible, and that there should be as little obstruction 
 between the windows as is consistent with sound construc- 
 tion. If an artist builds a studio, he concentrates his lighting 
 surface in one space, and would not tolerate piers or heavy 
 muUions. It is the same in the construction of photographic 
 galleries, and even in the modern factories; the whole sides 
 of the structures are practically of glass. In these instances 
 experience has taught the occupants that the best results can 
 be obtained by this method of arranging the windows, and the 
 lessons thus learned can be with advantage applied to the 
 schoolroom. 
 
 Fourth, the spaces between the windows usually occupied 
 by blackboards are of little use, and the more the windows 
 are divided the greater number of spaces of this kind there 
 will be. If, however, the windows are grouped together on 
 one side of the room, there are three sides of the room, 
 
122 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 minus the door openings, available for the blackboards, which 
 can from their position be seen easily from any part of the 
 room. 
 
 The windows shown on the inner walls of the rooms in 
 the plans of this work are invariably placed above the black- 
 boards, on the same level as the transoms of the doors, and 
 are of the same size and hung and operated in the same way. 
 Their function is not only to light the inner halls, but in the 
 warmer months, when artificial heat is not in use, to provide 
 for a free circulation of air when the outer windows are opened 
 a little at the top, directly across the upper part of the rooms 
 and halls. 
 
 It must be admitted that the objections here raised to the 
 ordinary method of lighting are pertinent, and if they can be 
 easily overcome, without unnecessary expense, can there be 
 any valid reason why the ordinary method should not be dis- 
 carded ? I certainly think not. It will be well, however, in 
 this connection to consider still further the question of piers, 
 and their effect upon the light area. It is hardly possible, 
 even in the smaller brick buildings, to construct with safety 
 the brick piers or mullions between windows less than twelve 
 inches in width; in larger structures they need to be sixteen, 
 twenty, twenty-four, twenty-eight inches, and sometimes 
 piers of from three to four feet are required to obtain suf- 
 ficient strength. To obviate the heavy shadows that these 
 piers must cast, and to obtain the maximum strength with 
 the minimum obstruction, I have recently introduced into 
 my buildings, with marked success, iron mullions cast with 
 heavy flanges or webs, as shown in Sketch i, Plate 28. The 
 window-frames are bolted directly on to these mullions, the 
 outer portions of which are made wedge-shape, running very 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. I23 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 12$ 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 127 
 
WINDOWS AND LIGHTING. . 1 29 
 
 nearly to a sharp edge. It will be readily seen that by this 
 simple device very little more space is occupied by the sup- 
 porting mullion or pier than that actually required by the 
 frames and weight-boxes; in fact, the saving is so great that 
 six windows can be introduced in the same space which would 
 be occupied by five, having the ordinary 16-inch brick pier 
 between them, the expense in both cases being practically 
 the same. 
 
 The strength of the mullions can be regulated by the 
 thickness of the shell and web, so that, with little or no 
 change of outside dimensions, they can be used to support 
 almost any weight. In small frame buildings a similar 
 mullion can be made of hard wood that will be strong enough 
 for ordinary purposes. 
 
 Schoolrooms shown in the majority of the plans in this 
 book are constructed with this mullion between the windows, 
 and they are more particularly illustrated in Sketch 2, Plate 
 28. Note the size of the shadows cast from these mullions 
 as compared with those cast from the piers in Sketch 3, and 
 who will have the hardihood to say that the room constructed 
 as shown in the latter sketch is not better lighted and a 
 better room to work in than those shown in Sketches i, 2, 
 and 3, Plate 27 ? I hardly believe that any one who carefully 
 studies the various sketches here shown will contend that a 
 schoolroom can be well lighted if it simply have windows of 
 a sufficient size and number placed at random in the walls at 
 the back and left of the pupils. 
 
 About the only valid objection that can be raised to the 
 massing of the windows on one side of the room is that the 
 large glass surface will radiate a vast amount of cold in severe 
 weather, and in this way render the seats occupied by the 
 
130 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 nearest pupils uncomfortable. This objection can easily be 
 overcome either by the use of the double sash (which I would 
 recommend in the northern portion of our country) or as 
 described in the chapter devoted to heating and ventilation. 
 If double sash are used, they can be fitted in the usual way 
 directly to the blind-stop (Sketch 4, Plate 28). One or two 
 of them in each group of windows should be hinged at the 
 top and operated with a rod and suitable fastenings at the 
 bottom, so that they may be readily opened for flushing pur- 
 poses (Sketch 4, Plate 28). 
 
 It may also be said that inside blinds cannot be used to 
 advantage, and that the ordinary shades will not be satisfac- 
 tory. As to the former of these objections, the ordinary 
 inside blinds are to my mind unsuitable for use in the school- 
 room; they take up too much room, are noisy, hard to 
 handle, and extremely liable to get out of order. I much 
 prefer good opaque shades, using two for each window, hung 
 as shown in Sketch 4, Plate 28. This method of hanging 
 permits the shades to be raised and lowered from the 
 centre with the sashes, and prevents the flapping that is 
 so annoying when the sashes are lowered from the top in 
 warm weather, where the shades are hung in the ordinary 
 manner. 
 
 The exterior effect of buildings with the windows massed 
 is more satisfactory to me than when they are widely sep- 
 arated. Broad wall-spaces are pleasing and restful to the 
 eye, and add, if skilfully handled, strength and dignity to the 
 structure. Besides, the openings for staircase and for 
 assembly-hall windows, which do not need to be grouped, 
 combined with the entrances, and windows that may be used 
 for hat-and-cloak-rooms, will certainly give a variety of line 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 I^I 
 
WINDOWS AND LIGHTING. .133 
 
 and detail that will be ample to secure harmonious and artis- 
 tic results. 
 
 One other and a very important thing which must be 
 remembered in figuring the lighting-surface of a room is that 
 the actual openings through the wall do not represent by any 
 means the true area of the glass surface. This fact is almost 
 invariably lost sight of. I am frequently shown rooms in the 
 best of our buildings where it is confidently asserted that 
 every requirement as refers to the proper lighting has been 
 complied with. "' Notice, please," the superintendent or 
 principal will say, " that our rooms, that are 24 X 36 in size,, 
 contain five windows, each 4 feet wide by 8 feet high, a total 
 of 160 square feet ; so we are in excess of the amount needed. ' *" 
 This calculation would be perfectly correct if the whole open- 
 ing were available, but there must be deducted from this the 
 area of the boxing, frames, and sash, as can be seen by refer- 
 ence to Sketches 5 and 6, Plate 28. This is very consider- 
 able, actually reducing the glass-area of each window, as they 
 are ordinarily constructed, to 2^^ square feet, consequently 
 five openings through the wall instead of having a lighting- 
 capacity of 160 square feet have only ii6f square feet, so 
 that there is really in the room seven and one half times as 
 much floor-space as there is glass-surface in the windows. 
 It would be well for the so-called experts in figuring lighting- 
 surfaces to consider carefully these points, and to remember 
 that even the size of a light does not represent its actual area 
 that is exposed. If the seemingly small items were heeded, 
 fewer blunders would be made. 
 
 Deep reveals should also be avoided, and if they are 
 necessitated by the thickness of the walls, should be cut back 
 both on the outside and inside, as shown on Sketches 2 and 
 
134 
 
 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 4, Plate 28. The lintels can be treated in the same way, and 
 in cases where the light is in a measure obscured by buildings 
 or heavy foliage, it is not a bad plan to construct the window- 
 stools in the manner shown on Sketch 4, Plate 28. 
 
 In fact, I believe that every impediment to the direct 
 entrance of the light should be as far as possible removed. 
 
 It may be considered that I am over-zealous in this 
 department of school construction, but if I do err, I certainly 
 wish it to be on the safe rather than on the other side, believ- 
 ing, as I do, that there is no greater blessing than good eyes; 
 and noting the alarming increase of myopia among the 
 younger generation, I do not believe that it is possible to be 
 too careful in this respect in the construction of our school- 
 rooms. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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CHAPTER X. 
 
 HAT-AND-CLOAK-ROOMS.— PLAY-ROOMS. 
 
 It is essential that in every school building ample provision 
 should be made for the convenient hanging of the pupil's 
 outer garments, during the sessions, in some kind of a ward- 
 robe or room. Too often far too little thought or study is 
 given to these very important adjuncts of the schoolroom. 
 Frequently they are worked into the plan in most undesirable 
 locations, and, as a rule, they are too contracted; indeed, I 
 frequently find them so cramped that confusion and crowding 
 are unavoidable when the children are dismissed and attempt 
 to secure their clothing. Three methods are in common use 
 at the present time for the reception of clothing. The first, 
 and decidedly the poorest, of these is the concentration of all 
 the garments in one or more large rooms, usually situated in 
 the basement of the building. Children entering the building 
 pass into this room, leave their wraps and ascend to their 
 several classrooms. At dismissal the same routine, in a 
 reverse order, is gone through. This arrangement is very 
 objectionable to me — the gathering of the garments of 
 hundreds of pupils from scores of different localities and con- 
 ditions in one room, where they must be placed in close 
 proximity to each other, is certainly a very dangerous pro- 
 cedure; if not decidedly unsanitary, the spread of contagious 
 139 
 
140 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 diseases is certainly invited, and the seeds of serious epidemics 
 are likely to be sown. The objections cited in the chapter 
 devoted to entrance-halls and staircases, whereby the pupils 
 from various parts of the building are forced to pass through 
 several halls, apply with equal force to this arrangement of 
 the cloak-rooms. And it must be remembered that pupils 
 from different portions of the building, dismissed at or about 
 the same time, will come together with a rush in the base- 
 ment at a point far removed from the watchful teacher's eye. 
 They are bound to be, at this time, in a hurry, and a wild 
 scramble ensues that is anything but beneficial to discipline, 
 and seriously detrimental to clothing. 
 
 More serious than either of the above-mentioned ob- 
 jections is that of thieving. Principals of large schools 
 have repeatedly stated to me that it was almost impossible to 
 prevent it when the clothing was all placed together. To 
 such an extent did this evil exist that in some instances it 
 had been necessary to employ the police to suppress it. 
 True, it was found upon investigation in many cases that the 
 theft was purely imaginary, the child having in fact lost the 
 article before entering the building, and upon missing it at 
 the close of the session, quickly assumed that it had been 
 stolen. In the majority of cases, however, there was just 
 cause for complaint, as there was no doubt that clothing was 
 systematically purloined. Surely, if these conditions exist, 
 it would be well to remove, as much as possible, their primary 
 cause, and prohibit in new buldings the " general cloak- 
 room." 
 
 In some instances individual lockers have been introduced 
 into the large basement cloak-rooms, each locker being pro- 
 vided with a key or combination lock, the janitor having a 
 
HAT-AND-CLOAK-ROOMS.—PLA Y-ROOMS. -I4I 
 
 master-key; this system will prevent thieving, but it is 
 expensive and costly to maintain, as the locks are continually 
 out of order and cumbersome and complicated in operation. 
 The average scholar, when through with the session's duties, 
 desires to get out of the building as quickly as possible, and 
 when required to descend into the basement, unlock or work 
 the combination of a lock, is irritated and impatient, and the 
 chances are that the operation will not be gone through with- 
 out noise, confusion, and a possible mishap to the lock. 
 While I have never used this system, it certainly does not 
 appeal to me, and I should be very loth to make use of it 
 except perhaps in a high- or normal-school building. 
 
 The one or more small rooms connected directly with 
 each schoolroom are the most common form of cloak-rooms, 
 and possess decided advantages over methods just described. 
 The main objection to them is their restricted size (the space 
 which they occupy being too valuable to be lavishly used), 
 and, if they are properly constructed with windows, the space 
 on the outer walls occupied by them could be used to better 
 advantage. Usually, too, these rooms are hard to heat and 
 ventilate. Their multiplicity complicates the heating system 
 badly and adds very materially to the cost of construction 
 and maintenance. If, however, they are well placed they are 
 convenient. The principal cause of thieving is removed, as 
 they are under almost constant surveillance, and the detec- 
 tion of wrongdoers is comparatively easy. 
 
 For a number of years I have made use of the partitioned 
 hat-and-cloak-rooms placed in the main halls of the buildings, 
 as shown on the majority of the plans in this work. This 
 device has been thoroughly described on other pages, and it 
 is not necessary to enlarge upon it here. 
 
142 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 This arrangement of the clothing receptacles has many 
 good and some bad features. They occupy a portion of the 
 building that is not especially valuable; they are handy and 
 easy of access; they can be heated and ventilated with the 
 main halls without complicating the apparatus; and, as they 
 are entirely open at the top and do not run to the floor, there 
 is a free circulation of air through them. On the other hand, 
 as there are two provided for each room, more or less confu- 
 sion is caused by the pupils entering and leaving them. 
 When I have tried to obviate this by the use of additional 
 doors, I have not only added to the expense of the building, 
 but rather increased the noise and confusion. The greatest 
 objections, however, to these rooms come from the teachers, 
 who complain that the unruly urchin, being necessarily out 
 of their sight for a few moments, inside of the partitions when 
 in quest of his clothing, can create a vast amount of disorder 
 which it is almost impossible to prevent. This fault can 
 largely be done away with by constructing the upper portions 
 of the coat-room of heavy wire netting, so that a fairly clear 
 view could be had at all times of their interior. I have 
 tried several times to introduce this feature, but have never 
 yet succeeded in convincing a building committee of its prac- 
 tical utility. (See Sketch 3, Plate 31.) 
 
 From my own point of view I object to this method of 
 construction on account of its unsightliness, while the 
 utility and sanitary features appeal to me. I must con- 
 fess that I have never yet succeeded in making it either 
 attractive or artistic. It is usually a blot in what would 
 be a well-proportioned and spacious hall without its pres- 
 ence. Should the wire netting be introduced, I fear it 
 would give the appearance of a menagerie; in fact, one of 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. J43 
 
 Plate 31 31^3 
 
 v3ketche5, iM at 4- Coat Roo.*as. 
 
HAT-AND-CLOAK-ROOMS.— PLAY-ROOMS. . I45 
 
 my jovial friends once called these enclosures kennels, and 
 with some degree of propriety. 
 
 The query naturally arises, As none of these devices 
 are commended, what is the satisfactory solution of the 
 problem ? To me it is the construction of the large halls 
 in the same way as if the partitioned rooms were to be 
 used, but entirely omit the partitions, using only the side walls 
 of the halls for hanging purposes. Examples of what I mean 
 will be seen on Plate 31, Sketch 2. A teacher standing any- 
 where in the hall near her room-door has her entire class 
 under surveillance; there is plenty of room for all clothing on 
 the side walls; the heating and ventilation are easily accom- 
 plished; there is a large saving of expense in construction; 
 and the architectural effect of the hall is maintained. 
 
 I have introduced this method into one or two school 
 buildings with marked success (the idea was orginally sug- 
 gested by the progressive Superintendent of Schools of the 
 city of Yonkers), and I can see no valid objection to it. The 
 only one raised, as far as I know, is that the clothes are un- 
 sightly in the hall, to which I reply that the schoolhouse is 
 not an art-gallery but a workshop, and if the aesthetic senses 
 of our sensitive people are prostrated by the view of 
 children's outer garments hung neatly upon the wall, they 
 had better stay out of the building, I have used the expres- 
 sion "neatly hung" advisedly, for clothing placed in this 
 position would be constantly under the teacher's inspection; 
 carelessness would at once be detected and corrected, and the 
 child would almost unconsciously acquire orderly habits. 
 
 This method of caring for the clothing is one of great 
 simplicity, and has none of the objections raised to others. 
 Naturally one is apt to be prejudiced against almost any 
 
146 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 innovation, but where it has been tried it has not been 
 found wanting; and until sonne better device presents 
 itself, I most heartily commend it to those who desire a con- 
 venient, simple, and thoroughly hygienic system. 
 
 A more elaborate plan based upon the same principles is 
 shown in Sketch 3, Plate 31. This gives to each pupil a sep- 
 arate compartment, with space for overshoes below, and a 
 shelf above upon which hats may be laid; the latter being 
 especially useful for the girls. There is also a place for 
 umbrellas which necessitates a drip-trough underneath. Of 
 course this system is much more expensive, but it has the 
 advantage of a certain amount of exclusiveness, and, when the 
 necessary funds can be obtained, is probably the best-known 
 solution of the problem. 
 
 PLAYROOMS. 
 
 I believe good playrooms are absolutely necessary in every 
 well-equipped school building. Manual training is becoming 
 a most important feature in school life; and if we recognize 
 its usefulness, we must provide suitable rooms in which it can 
 be successfully taught. In all the buildings shown in this 
 work, playrooms will be found ; usually they are placed in 
 the basement; sometimes on the top stories or roof; in any 
 case they should be large, well lighted, and amply ventilated; 
 when possible there should be windows on two or more sides, 
 so that they may be thoroughly flushed by the outer air. It 
 is not necessary that these rooms be heated to over 60°; in 
 fact, it is better that the temperature should be at a much 
 lower point than in the schoolrooms. These rooms are 
 intended to exercise in, and the pupils, during the limited 
 time that they have, should be impressed with the necessity 
 
HA T-A ND -CLOAK-RO OMS. —FLA YR O OMS. - 1 47 
 
 of exercising as much as possible. Side walls of these rooms 
 are best of brick laid Vv'ith struck joints and thoroughly 
 painted some light, neutral tint; for the floors I have found 
 a good quality of half-hard asphalt the most satisfactory; and 
 for the ceilings nothing is better than "stamped metal"; 
 this can be painted to harmonize with the side walls, produc- 
 ing a light, airy room that is not easily damaged. 
 
 For the heat required, I have used successfully return coil- 
 pipes ]iiing just below the ceiling; in this position they are out 
 of the pupil's reach, do not occupy floor-space, and give all 
 the heat required. 
 
 In close connection with the playrooms, if they are 
 situated in the basement, in our latest building it has been 
 found necessary to introduce bicycle-rooms. These, it must 
 be understood, are not intended to ride or exercise in, but 
 simply for the proper storage of wheels during the time the 
 pupils may be occupied in the building. 
 
 There should be one of these rooms for each sex, and, if 
 possible, they should be placed near, or in connection with, 
 the playrooms; that is, when the latter are situated in the 
 basement of the building. The general construction and 
 finish of these rooms should conform with that of the play- 
 rooms; in fact, in some cases, they may simply be a part of 
 these rooms partitioned off by a heavy wire screen running 
 from floor to ceiling. Wherever they are placed, they should 
 be in direct or nearly direct access with the outside; and 
 there should be arranged, if they are situated above or below 
 the grade, a suitable enclosed " run," up and down which 
 the wheels may easily be trundled. 
 
 Rooms of this kind must be so arranged that they can be 
 securely locked during sessions; this is absolutely neces- 
 
148 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 sary, not only to prevent actual thieving, but also a system 
 of "borrowing" a wheel for an hour or so without the 
 owner's knowledge which was found to exist in one large 
 building. Pupils without wheels would get dismissed for 
 some trivial cause, secure a wheel and ride till just before the 
 close of the session, and then return it to its place; usually 
 these stealthy expeditions were not beneficial to the wheels. 
 Give plenty of space to these rooms — all you can spare; 
 don't be afraid of getting them too large, for it is astonishing 
 how many wheels, even in the poorer districts, are ridden to 
 the school building. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. - 149 
 
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CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HEATING AND VENTILATION. 
 
 However well our building may be planned, constructed,, 
 and lighted, if the heating and ventilation system is not suc- 
 cessful, it will be unsatisfactory when occupied. No other 
 portion of school construction requires closer attention or 
 more careful study than this, and there will be found an 
 immense amount of printed matter relative to the subject, in 
 the shape of essays, circulars, and advertisements, a greater 
 portion of which is of questionable merit. This being mainly 
 due to the tremendous competition existing between the 
 various firms either directly or indirectly interested in the 
 manufacture and erection of heating and ventilating appa- 
 ratus. To such an extent has this rivalry been carried, that 
 seme firms make a practice of issuing illustrated volumes in 
 which are depicted in flaming colors the perfect working of 
 their apparatus and the astounding result which may be ob- 
 tained by the use of their goods and systems. 
 
 One enterprising and supposedly reputable firm has gone 
 so far as to appropriate and publish in its catalogue, with- 
 out my knowledge or consent, the cuts used to illustrate the 
 series of experiments made with a model, when the heating 
 and ventilating system of the Bridgeport high-school was 
 
 155 
 
156 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 being studied in 1879. These cuts were first published in 
 the Report of the Connecticut State Board of Health for that 
 year, and are reproduced in the articles on the Bridgeport 
 high-school (Plate 43 of this work). The firm in question 
 first made use of the cuts in a catalogue issued some eight or 
 ten years ago, and at that time gave me credit for them; but 
 in subsequent catalogues not only has my name been omitted, 
 but the statement of when and where the experiments were 
 made as well. They now appear in color, with this note 
 printed under them: "Illustrating a series of experiments 
 made to determine the direction of air-currents with inlets 
 and outlets, located as indicated, which since has been veri- 
 fied many times by practical experience." 
 
 About two years ago an agent of this company came into 
 my ofifice, and was very anxious to introduce their system in 
 a large school building I was about to erect. He opened his 
 catalogue at the page where the cuts mentioned were printed 
 to show me how their system worked and to what pains they 
 had been to perfect it. I asked, " Where did your firm 
 obtain the data for these illustrations?" He answered, 
 *' Our engineers have been making extensive and elaborate 
 experiments for a number of years past and these cuts show 
 the results of their investigations." " Are you quite sure," 
 said I, " that the cuts originated with them ? " " Most cer- 
 tainly they did," he replied; " why do you ask such a ques- 
 tion ?" In reply I took down a volume of the Connecticut 
 State Board of Health Report for 1879, before referred to, 
 and turning to my article, asked him to examine critically the 
 cuts there shown, and say if they were not identically the 
 same as his firm were now making use of. After examination 
 he had to admit that they were, but assured me that his firm 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. 157 
 
 was not aware that they were my work, for if it had been it 
 would not have made use of them without my knowledge and 
 consent, and would have given me full credit for them. His 
 people had been shamefully imposed upon by their engineers. 
 He should consider it his duty to bring it to their immediate 
 attention and have the matter righted without delay. In 
 reply to this oration I produced one of their earlier cata- 
 logues, in which I was given credit for the cuts, and in which 
 my article was quoted at some length, and asked him how he 
 accounted for that. I must confess that I was sorry for the 
 man, as he had evidently been sincere in what he had said, 
 and was now so utterly taken aback as to be practically 
 speechless. He could only offer the most profuse apologies, 
 and assure me of his individual innocence. He declared he 
 would communicate with his firm and ask for an explanation. 
 Whether he did this I do not know, as I have never seen 
 another of their representatives. 
 
 I have mentioned this incident simply to show to what 
 ends supposedly reputable firms will go to introduce and sell 
 their wares. Agents will strenuously contend that the boiler, 
 radiator, or fan that they may represent will do almost double 
 the amount o[ work of any other in the market, and that their 
 system is absolutely the only one with which one can success- 
 fully heat and ventilate a building. Of course this is all non- 
 sense; but so persistent are their drummers that in many 
 instances they not only obtain great influence over members 
 of committees, but frequently lead them to believe that what 
 they say is true. It should be remembered that there are 
 scores of first-class boilers, radiators, and fans manufactured, 
 any one of which- when properly set and operated will give 
 the desired results. It is absurd to claim that the goods of 
 
158 
 
 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 one firm are so vastly superior to those of any other, when in 
 point of fact there is Httle to choose between them. And it 
 is the same with the best-known automatic systems of heat- 
 ing and ventilation ; they are all very nearly alike, and when 
 equipped and handled understandingly are capable of doing- 
 excellent work. Beware, then, of the people who assert that 
 one cannot obtain good results unless their goods are used. 
 Rest assured that when such claims are made, it is for the 
 purpose of preventing honest competition and debarring 
 firms from submitting estimates who have apparatus or sys- 
 tems which are just as good, if not better. 
 
 I am not in favor of receiving independent estimates from 
 various firms for their own special style of apparatus and 
 system of heating. If this course is adopted, it is simply 
 impossible to judge understandingly between the different 
 bids received; each will specify special wares and claim that 
 its fixtures, workmanship, etc., are so much better than 
 another's that its bid alone should be considered. This 
 will surely result in mystification and confusion, and is quite 
 likely to obtain for a firm with a really inferior system the 
 execution of the contract. A far better way is to decide at 
 the outset the method of heating and ventilation intended to 
 be used, and then employ some competent heating expert to 
 prepare a complete set of working plans and specifications for 
 it, submit these to the various firms who desire to estimate, 
 and make them in their estimates live up to the requirements. 
 In this way bids for the same class and quality of work 
 will be obtained which can be accurately compared, and the 
 contract awarded with judgment to the lowest satisfactory 
 bidder. 
 
 As to which method of heating I prefer, long experience 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. 159 
 
 enables me to say with decision that under the varying 
 climatic conditions which we encounter I believe steam to be 
 the best medium for all classes of school buildings, and that 
 the automatic system is preferable and more economical in 
 the majority of cases than the fan system. Simplicity is 
 desirable in all things, and nowhere more so than in a heat- 
 ing and ventilating plant. The men, as a class, who have 
 the care of a school heating plant are not of a very high order 
 of intelligence; consequently the more complicated the 
 apparatus, the less likely they are to comprehend it. Too 
 often they will condemn that which they fail to understand, 
 when if they could master readily the true principles of the 
 plant they would have no trouble with it. In recommending 
 the use of steam, it must be understood that I am advocating 
 the indirect and not the direct method; the latter being 
 made use of only as an auxiliary in extreme cases, where very 
 large glass surfaces or unusual exposure may make it neces- 
 sary. 
 
 The system that I have used for the past eighteen years 
 is that which has come to be known as the Wheeler system, 
 so called for the reason that in 1879 the Hon. Nathaniel 
 Wheeler, President of the Wheeler & Wilson Company of 
 Bridgeport, and then a member of the local Board of Educa- 
 tion, became deeply interested in the proper heating and 
 ventilating of our city schools. He came to me with certain 
 ideas that he had, and together we developed and worked out 
 the system as it is now used, Mr. Wheeler paying all the ex- 
 penses of models and of a long series of experiments. In 
 1883 he patented the system, not to secure pecuniary benefit 
 from it, but to prevent any one who was engaged in trade or 
 manufacture from patenting and controlling it. He used to 
 
l6o MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 remark that he believed it was the best-known automatic 
 system of heating and ventilation, and he desired that any 
 one who wished to use it could do so without restraint. The 
 system in question has nothing especially novel in it. It was 
 really the ingenious application of old and well-known prin- 
 ciples. A device by which the heat-generating surface for 
 each room could be concentrated and controlled, and the 
 centralization of the entire heating-surface of the building at 
 or near its centre, were its principal features. 
 
 The introduction of the warm pure air at a considerable 
 height from, and its removal at, the floor-level upon the same 
 side of the room were well and favorably known. Moran had 
 made use of a similar device in the Hotel Dieu, Paris, France, 
 years before; and Morel Wyman, in a " Practical Treatise on 
 Ventilation," published in 1846, on page 118, commends 
 such an arrangement of the flues. 1 do not doubt that many 
 other examples could be found. The insulation of the 
 entire heating-surface required for a room, its enclosure in a 
 metal jacket connected directly with the room by a large- 
 sized pipe, and the subdivision of this heating-surface into 
 three or more parts were, I believe, at that time new. By 
 this arrangement we were enabled to supply any room with 
 the same volume of air at all times, the temperature of the 
 room being regulated by the temperature of the entering pure 
 warmed air, which in turn was controlled and regulated by 
 the use of one or more of the sections of the heating-surface, 
 as the outer temperature might require; or, to speak more 
 plainly, the pure cold air introduced below the coil- or section- 
 boxes at all times passed directly through the entire heating- 
 surface, the degree to which it was heated being regulated by 
 the use of one, two, or three sections of the heating-surface. 
 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. '161 
 
 It is desirable under almost every condition to " group " all 
 the heating-surface required for a building, and to enclose 
 it in heating-chambers, constructed of brick, as centrally 
 located as is possible, and as far away from the cold outer 
 walls as the construction of the building will allow. Coil- 
 boxes containing the heating-surfaces are placed at the 
 bottom of the ventilation-flues in the heating-chambers, and 
 the metal inlet-pipes running from these boxes to the several 
 rooms pass directly through these flues. This arrangement 
 renders the system perfectly automatic, for the reason that 
 the moment that heat is introduced into the coil-boxes and 
 the warm air commences to pass through the coils and ascend 
 through the metal inlet-pipes on its way to the rooms, heat 
 is of course radiated from them, and, the air of the ventilat- 
 ing-flues being in this way warmed, a strong upward draught 
 is produced, which sucks the colder impure air through the 
 outgoing registers, situated at the floor-level of the several 
 rooms and halls. With the addition of a suction-coil placed 
 near the top of the ventilating-flues, I have found that the 
 heat generated from the coil-boxes and inlet-pipes is sufUcient 
 to obtain very satisfactory results; in fact, this is all that is 
 necessary under ordinary conditions. 
 
 This system is extremely simple, easy to construct and 
 maintain, and comparatively inexpensive, as it has no highly 
 finished work, patented contrivances, or special fixtures about 
 it. Any well-made boiler or radiator may be used with equal 
 facility, and it can be erected successfully by a good local 
 steam-fitter if he will simply follow the drawings, specifica- 
 tions, and instructions given him. 
 
 The success or failure of such an apparatus does not 
 depend upon elaborate detail or finish, but upon the careful 
 
l62 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 proportioning of the incoviing and outgoing Jlues, their relative 
 positio7i, and tJie amount of heating-stirfaee required for each 
 particular room. All of these details are of the most vital 
 importance. I have been astonished to find how seriously 
 even a slight departure from formulas which experiments have 
 proved to be correct will affect the working of an apparatus, 
 and how necessary it is to understandingly guard against con- 
 ditions that may be at variance with those usually encoun- 
 tered. The margin between success and failure is not large 
 enough to be carelessly considered, much less ignored. 
 Many really good plants have failed to do their work because 
 some of the minor details were not properly looked after, and 
 innumerable others could be made to do far better work if 
 every available condition had been made use of. There is 
 apt to be far too much guesswork used in the erection of the 
 ordinary plant; even when a good set of plans and specifica- 
 tions are procured, they are not alwaj^s carefully followed. 
 This is especially true when the work is executed without 
 supervision. At times I have had the greatest difficulty in 
 getting contractors to work closely to my drawings, when 
 they happened to be, in detail, at variance with what they 
 were accustomed to do. So attached to certain methods do 
 some mechanics become that it requires the greatest amount 
 of patience and firmness to get them out of their well-worn 
 ruts into the paths you wish them to follow. But when you 
 do succeed in getting an intelligent workman to understand 
 the principles of the system and to comprehend the results 
 that it will produce, he is very apt to become enthusiastic 
 over it, and to err in this way to the extent of claiming for it 
 impossibilities. 
 
 It is quite as difficult to get a janitor to run an apparatus 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. " 163 
 
 as it was designed to be run after it has been completed: 
 they are inclined to be stubborn and exasperating in the 
 extreme; they will not give either the fire or heating-surfaces 
 the attention which they require, or regulate properly 
 the supply of cold air furnished, which varies continually 
 under our constant climatic changes. To save themselves a 
 little trouble the apparatus is "set" in a certain way and 
 used week in and week out, no matter what the changes in 
 the outside temperature may be. They cannot in the 
 majority of cases be made to understand that a good heating 
 and ventilating apparatus is really a piece of machinery and 
 must be treated and handled as such, not left to its own 
 devices. Occasionally men are found who are reliable and 
 willing; such men in a very short time master the apparatus 
 in all its details, and by running it in an intelligent manner 
 secure from it the best possible results with little or no 
 trouble. 
 
 In a certain well-known structure there was a man of this 
 kind employed as janitor, who for ten years ran the apparatus 
 most successfully. Under his management the school build- 
 ing obtained the name of being one of the best heated and 
 ventilated structures in the country. Suddenly a change in 
 administration occurred and a new janitor was secured; the 
 next fall the moment the apparatus was started there was 
 trouble, which increased to such an extent that about the 
 middle of the winter some rooms of the building had to be 
 closed, as they could not be properly heated. My attention 
 having been called to the matter by an interested friend, 
 I quietly investigated it, and was quickly convinced that the 
 entire fault was with the janitor, who was simply letting the 
 apparatus take care of itself. 
 
164 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Shortly after this I was summoned to appear before the 
 Board of Education, the complexion of which had entirely 
 changed during the ten years that had intervened between 
 the completion of the building and the trouble with the 
 apparatus. In answer to numerous questions, I afifirmed that 
 there was nothing wrong with the, apparatus, but that the 
 trouble was wholly with the man who was in charge of it. 
 This was quickly refuted by one gentleman in particular, whom 
 I afterwards found to be a relative of the janitor, it being 
 claimed that the new man was a great improvement on the 
 old. " This may be all perfectly true, gentlemen," said I, 
 " but if it is so, will you kindly explain why it is that an 
 apparatus that is in most excellent repair and that has for the 
 past ten years given the best of satisfaction, suddenly and 
 without any known reason utterly fails to do its work. No 
 changes have been made in it or the building; the fuel and 
 general conditions are identically the same, and yet you con- 
 demn the system and are thinking seriously of changing it. 
 Consider this matter well before you decide to take it out; 
 and, above all, convince yourselves that I am in error in my 
 statements before going further." This reasoning was so 
 logical that it was impossible to ignore it, and so the new 
 janitor was taken to task and given to understand that if he 
 could not run the apparatus satisfactorily some one would be 
 employed who could. This episode occurred over six years 
 ago; since that time there has been no further complaint, 
 although the same man still holds the position. 
 
 I am sorry to have to say that I have quite as much 
 trouble with the principals and teachers as with the janitors. 
 At times it has seemed to be impossible to prevent their 
 doing just what they ought not to do. I have had more than 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. 1 65 
 
 once to remove the fans entirely from both the incoming and 
 outgoing registers, for the reason that I could not make 
 teachers comprehend that by the closing of one or the other 
 they seriously interfered with the free working of the system; 
 that all it was necessary for them to do when the room 
 became too warm or too cold was to notify the janitor, who 
 would at once regulate the temperature of the incoming air,, 
 and consequently that of the room. Instead of doing this, 
 they will insist upon closing the incoming-registers and open- 
 ing the windows when the room was too warm, or closing the 
 outlet-registers when it was too cold, — one course being quite 
 as bad as the other. In the first instance the supply of pure,, 
 warmed incoming air is shut off entirely, and the room and 
 its occupants quickly chilled by the rush of cold air through 
 the open windows; in the second, the exit of the foul air is 
 stopped and the entering warmed air banks up until the 
 pressure of air within the room becomes so great as to practi- 
 cally stop its entrance. It should be borne in mind that it is 
 impossible to bring large quantities of air into a room unless 
 there are ample provisions made for its rapid removal. I 
 have frequently had teachers explain, when the outlet-regis- 
 ters have been found partly closed, " We keep them that way 
 purposely; if we did not, all the heat would go up the 
 flue! " In one instance, where remonstrances were found to 
 be useless, an areometric test was made to show how vitally 
 necessary it was to keep all the registers wide open. The 
 results, which were extremely interesting and convincing,, 
 were as follows: Outside temperature, 18°; wind light from 
 the N.E. ; temperature of air at the inlet-registers, 125°; 
 quantity admitted, 27 cubic feet per minute for each of the 
 fifty occupants; temperature at breathing-level, 70". Both 
 
l66 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the supply and temperature were easily maintained when all 
 the registers were kept wide open; but under the same con- 
 ditions, with one half of the outlet closed, the result was: 
 Temperature of air at inlet, 125°; quantity entering, 16 cubic 
 feet per minute for each occupant; temperature at breathing- 
 level averaging 65°. It was found extremely difficult to 
 maintain an even temperature during the hours in which the 
 test was made, there being a fluctuation of 10°. When the 
 outlet-registers were entirely closed the flow of incoming air 
 varied from 5 to 8 cubic feet per minute for each occupant, 
 and it was impossible to maintain a temperature of over 60° 
 in the room. Demonstrations of this kind are so conclusive 
 that it would seem incredible that they should be ignored; 
 yet in the very room in which these tests were made I after- 
 wards found the registers closed and the windows open ! 
 
 One inlet- and one outlet-flue are all that are usually 
 necessary in the ordinary-sized room. Additional flues either 
 for the incoming or outgoing air only mean complication, 
 which should be avoided. All flues should be placed upon 
 the protected inner walls of the building, never on the 
 exposed outer walls. The amount of heat lost by placing 
 the pipes or flues in the latter position is enormous, and an 
 immense amount of fuel will be consumed in the effort to 
 force warm pure air through or to take foul air out of flues 
 in exposed positions. The exact position that the flues 
 should occupy in the room, that is to say, on which side or 
 end they should be placed, is immaterial, and may be varied 
 as the construction of the building may demand, provided 
 always they are near together, never contracted, or built 
 otherwise than straight and direct. Crooked or irregular 
 inlet-pipes or outlet-flues must be avoided if you would 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. ' l6y 
 
 obtain good results. Bring the warm pure air into, and 
 remove the impure air from, the building as quickly and 
 directly as possible. This is a golden rule that should be 
 rigidly enforced. 
 
 I cannot too strongly condemn the practice of scattering 
 the inlet- and outlet-registers all around the room, and of 
 extending inlet- and outlet-pipes in irregular and erratic lines 
 to some central point. Systems constructed in this way will 
 never work uniformly. Some pipes and registers will do 
 better than others; in fact, those situated in particularly 
 exposed positions will do little or no work, and ultimately 
 become simply receptacles for dust and vermin. 
 
 The system once so much in vogue, but now, I am glad 
 to say, rapidly being discarded, of exhausting the foul air 
 through small ducts beneath the upper floor, is one of the 
 worst devices ever introduced into a school building, and 
 should never have been tolerated. I am also opposed to the 
 system that collects all the foul air of the building and carries 
 it by various ducts down through it to one central receptacle 
 in the basement before starting it on its final upward and out- 
 ward journey. I can see no good reason why the foul air 
 should first be carried down and then up, and made to 
 meander through the building in more or less intricate 
 passages. Surely this cannot be done without the expensive 
 construction of suitable ducts, and there must also be em- 
 ployed some mechanical device to produce a steady draft. 
 This cannot be accomplished without power, which means 
 additional expenditure for fuel and attendance. If a quantity 
 of air is required in the basement, it can easily be obtained 
 from the cold-air inlets, and it is not necessary to bring it 
 down through two or three stories. 
 
l68 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Flues for both the incoming and the outgoing air should 
 be very large, those for the outlets at least twice the area of 
 the inlets; this latter point must be insisted upon, as it is of 
 paramount importance. Registers should have an actual area 
 of openings through which the air passes considerably larger 
 than the full capacity of the inlet pipe, and I prefer to have 
 the registers without fans, for the reasons before stated. 
 
 In unusually exposed rooms, in some exceptionally cold 
 localities, it may be found necessary to provide some direct 
 heat upon the cold outer wall. When this is found necessary, 
 my preference is for the simple return-coil placed directly 
 under the windows and running their entire length. These 
 coils can be " set back" in a tin or galvanized-iron recep- 
 tacle, with register-plates screwed in position over them; this 
 will cover up their unsightliness and remove them from the 
 aisle, where they would be more or less in the way. The cost 
 of this method is little more than when the ordinary radiator 
 is used and is much more satisfactory. 
 
 In some instances it will be necessary to use forcing- or 
 suction-fans, although in the great majority of cases their use 
 can be dispensed with. If their use is required, there is noth- 
 ing about the system which I have described that will inter- 
 ■fere in the least with their proper operation. In isolated cases 
 where I have used them, the capacity or principles of con- 
 struction here advocated have not been changed. The only 
 thing that I have had to guard against is the noise produced 
 by the rapid motion of the fans, which causes a buzzing or 
 humming that is transmitted through the inlet-pipes to the 
 rooms. To sensitive persons this is extremely disagreeable; 
 in some cases so much so as to become almost unbearable. If 
 the fans are to be used, every precaution should be taken to 
 
HEATING AND VENTILATION. ' 1 69 
 
 have them plaeed as far as possible from the inlet-registers, and 
 they should be set upon the solidest of foundations, to reduce 
 their vibration to a minimum. With the suction-fans, which 
 will presumably be placed in the outlet-ducts at the top of 
 the building, less trouble will be had; but they should be so 
 situated as to be easily accessible for oiling and repairs. Of 
 course power of some kind must be used to propel the fans; 
 and this means either a small engine in the building or the 
 use of electricity obtained from the outside. In either case 
 it will increase the expense of running the building unneces- 
 sarily, I think, except in very large structures. 
 
 It must also be remembered that to properly heat and 
 ventilate a building a large amount of fuel will have to be 
 consumed. This fact is too often lost sight of, and after a 
 plant has been run for a season it is condemned as an extrava- 
 gant luxury, no matter how well it may have done its work. 
 A room 27' X 36' X 13' contains 12,536 cubic feet of air. 
 An ordinary cylinder-stove placed in the room will very 
 quickly heat the amount of air it contains to 70° at the 
 breathing-level, but to bring into and remove from this room 
 27 cubic feet of warmed pure air per minute for each of its 
 fifty occupants means the handling and heating to a degree 
 sufificient to maintain a temperature of 70° at the breathing- 
 line of 81,000 cubic feet of air per hour for each room of the 
 building, or a reheating of all the air the room originally 
 contained over six times an hour; when these indisputable 
 facts are thoroughly understood, it will be seen that it would 
 be impossible to heat such enormous quantities of air unless 
 there were a large consumption of fuel. I firmly believe that 
 money used in this way is well spent and that it is the poorest 
 kind of economy to attempt to deprive our children of fresh. 
 
170 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 pure air and comfortable rooms to study in. Far cheaper it 
 is to be taxed for the maintenance of good school buildings 
 than to pay individual doctors' bills. I wish it were in my 
 power to make the average taxpayer believe this, but alas for 
 the perversity of human nature, I am more often criticised 
 than praised for my efforts in the behalf of good ventilation. 
 To sum up briefly, I believe there is not the slightest 
 difficulty in heating and ventilating any school building in a 
 perfectly satisfactory manner by a simple, comparatively 
 inexpensive, automatic system which is easily handled and 
 maintained, and that as a rule the less complicated the 
 apparatus is the better the results obtained from it will be. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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 171 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ~ 1 75 
 
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CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SANITARY ARRANGEMENT. 
 
 I DO not propose under this head to discuss the various 
 systems for the disposal of sewage that are in vogue, or to 
 advocate any special style of fixtures, but rather to consider 
 briefly the position that the pupils' toilet-rooms should 
 occupy in the building and what bearing their location may 
 have upon the comfort and health of the occupants. 
 
 At the outset I shall insist that wherever they may be 
 placed they must be conveniently located, and if isolated 
 from the building connected with it by enclosed halls or pasc- 
 ivays, so that the pupils shall not be exposed to the elements 
 in passing to and from them. 
 
 There can be no insurmountable difficulty in making this 
 provision in a building without interfering with its general 
 utility or causing an unusual expense. It is simply a humane 
 measure, usually neglected, but which I contend is essential 
 to the health of the pupils; for it is certainly an unnecessary 
 hardship to compel any child to leave a warm schoolroom and 
 traverse a bleak yard in all kinds of weather. 
 
 As to the expediency of placing the pupils' toilet-rooms 
 in the basement of the main building, in the basement of 
 wings outside of intervening halls, in isolated buildings more 
 
 or less removed from the main structure, or to subdivide 
 
 177 
 
178 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 them and place a certain number on each floor, there is a 
 variety of opinions. Certainly the least desirable of any of 
 these positions is that where they are placed directly under 
 the schoolrooms. This cannot always be avoided, and in 
 some of the plans shown they will be found in this position; 
 but where they occur in such a position it is because the 
 exigencies of the problem allow of no other feasible solution. 
 
 When this arrangement becomes imperative, every pre- 
 caution must be taken not only with the fixtures, but in the 
 construction of the rooms, to have them as nearly perfect 
 from a sanitary standpoint as possible, and eternal vigilance 
 must be exercised after their completion to keep them in 
 first-class condition. If this is done the danger from con- 
 tamination may be reduced to a minimum, but never quite 
 obliterated. 
 
 Some will claim that this or that system can and has been 
 introduced and used in a building in the position under dis- 
 cussion, with perfectly satisfactory results. Any such state- 
 ment I seriously question. In my varied experiences I have 
 never found toilet-rooms placed under schoolrooms that did 
 not after a time become objectionable, and the longer they 
 continued in use the more cause there was for complaint; 
 and I don't see how it could possibly be otherwise. It is 
 true that just after the rooms were completed and when they 
 had been used but a short time I have found everything satis- 
 factory, but upon visiting the same buildings three, five, or 
 ten years later I have invariably found the conditions any- 
 thing but what they should be, and this, too, without the 
 inmates having the slightest conception that they were living 
 in an unwholesome atmosphere. We are largely creatures of 
 habit, and it is surprising to observe how quickly we become 
 
SANITARY ARRANGEMENT. . 179 
 
 accustomed to our surroundings. That which may be terribly 
 obnoxious if suddenly thrust upon us is taken almost uncon- 
 sciously in homoeopathic doses. In fact, so hardened do our 
 senses become to unsanitary conditions that it is frequently 
 extremely difificult to make the occupants of a building fully 
 realize the dangerous conditions with which they are sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 When a designer fully understands these matters, the 
 danger of placing toilet-rooms under schoolrooms is so forcibly 
 impressed upon him that he will, even at a sacrifice, arrange 
 them elsewhere. 
 
 Toilet-rooms placed in the wings with a hall or staircase 
 separating them from the main building are in a much better 
 position. There is little fear of the direct contamination of 
 the schoolrooms where they are properly constructed, but it 
 has been my experience, even when the utmost care had been 
 taken in the construction and maintenance, that after a series 
 of years there was more or less odor perceptible at times in 
 the entrance-halls and staircases, and that no amount of 
 cleansing or disinfecting would entirely remove it. The 
 expression " at times" is used advisedly, for under certain 
 conditions of wind and atmosphere the odors were very 
 marked, while at others they were scarcely perceptible. 
 Many times the conditions cited have not been noticed by 
 the school officials or teachers; or, if they have, have not 
 been commented upon; but they have annoyed me to such 
 an extent, especially in those cases where I have tried to take 
 every precaution and thought I had succeeded, until my nose 
 ruthlessly dispelled the illusion, that I have about made up 
 my mind that it is impossible to place the pupils' toilet- 
 
l80 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 rooms in any part of the basement of a school building with- 
 out their presence being noticeable. 
 
 . To effectually overcome this objection, I have of late 
 resorted to the isolated-building system, as shown on Plate 
 13, and with very satisfactory results. Of course arrange- 
 ments of this kind require either special heat generated in 
 the outbuilding or heat conveyed from the boiler of the main 
 building; the latter method is usually feasible where steam is 
 the medium of heating, but where hot air is used it will be 
 necessary to use stoves in the outbuildings. An arrangement 
 of this kind is shown on Plate 38. Of course the advantage 
 of placing the toilet-rooms either in the basement or yard is 
 their proximity to the playgrounds and rooms, and this is 
 a very important consideration, especially in suburban build- 
 ings or those situated in the smaller cities, where there is 
 plenty of available space devoted to the playgrounds; but in 
 the larger cities, where there is little or no yard room, there 
 is no advantage that I can can see in placing the toilet-room 
 in the basement or yard, provided, of course, that the play- 
 rooms are also removed from the basement. I am thoroughly 
 convinced that the best place for both toilet- and play-rooms 
 in any school building situated in the crowded districts of our 
 larger cities is upon the top floor of the structure, as shown 
 on Plates 86 and 89. Take these necessary requirements of 
 every school building out of the damp, dark, and usually 
 poorly ventilated basement, and put them where sunlight can 
 penetrate and the winds of heaven circulate. Devote the 
 basement entirely to that for which it is best adapted — 
 storage and the heating and ventilating apparatus. To 
 many this very radical departure from the arrangement which 
 precedent has firmly established will be startling; but, after 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ' l8l 
 
SANITARY ARRANGEMENT. 1 83 
 
 careful consideration, they will, I think, agree with me and 
 acknowledge that the advantages obtained more than balance 
 the objections that can be raised. 
 
 The first difficulty that will suggest itself is that of con- 
 venience. The idea that all the pupils of the lower floors 
 must ascend through the building to the toilet- and play- 
 rooms will appear to be an insurmountable obstacle, but I 
 fail to see why it should be considered more natural for the 
 pupils of the third and fourth floors to descend to the base- 
 ment and return to their rooms than for the pupils of the first 
 and second stories to ascend to the roof and return to theirs. 
 To use a homely expression, it is just as broad as it is long, 
 and I believe it to be a very debatable question whether the 
 presumably older occupants of the upper floors are better 
 able to stand the necessary exertion attendant on this passing 
 to and from their class-rooms than the younger children of 
 the lower floors. In either case it will certainly be easier for 
 all to descend rather than to ascend after the natural fatigue 
 attending the exercise of the playroom. The time consumed 
 in either case would be the same, and there need be no more 
 complications in planning and construction in one instance 
 than in the other, 
 
 A possible objection may be that it would be more 
 dangerous in case of fire or panic to have the children massed 
 on the upper floor than upon the lower. With proper fire- 
 proof construction (which should be insisted upon), ample 
 exits, and broad and easy staircases I do not think that this 
 is a valid objection. If the proper precautions are taken, the 
 danger from the causes mentioned can surely be reduced to a 
 minimum; and I should not hesitate a moment, should 
 
184 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS 
 
 opportunity present itself, to erect a building arranged in the 
 \yay here advocated. 
 
 Those cited are all the objections that occur to me. 
 Others might develop after such a structure had been occu- 
 pied; but if they should, I believe they would be trivial and 
 easily surmounted. Such a building would certainly be a 
 novelty in school architecture, and I think the advantage to 
 be obtained under the proposition worthy of serious consid- 
 eration. All the bad odors emanating from the toilet- and 
 play-rooms would be eliminated from the building, and -the 
 danger from contamination effectively removed. Plates 84, 
 85, 86, 87, 88, and 89 show buildings planned in this manner, 
 which are quite as pleasing architecturally as are any of the 
 others. True, the expense of this method will be somewhat 
 more than if the old way is followed, but not so much so as 
 to prove fatal to introduction. And I believe that if this 
 system is once successfully introduced, its many advantages 
 will assert themselves in so emphatic a manner that buildings 
 in the larger cities constructed in this way will become in the 
 future the rule rather than the exception. 
 
 The desirability of subdividing the toilet-rooms and plac- 
 ing a certain number on each floor is at present a mooted 
 question. Much can be said both in favor of and against this 
 system. The objections already cited in regard to the 
 permeation of the air will still exist, perhaps not to so great 
 an extent, but still sufificiently to become in time a menace to 
 the health of the occupants; and as to convenience of access 
 to the playrooms or grounds, there is no question that any 
 of the other arrangements is superior. But the greatest 
 fault of this system to me is its complication. If your build- 
 ing is four stories high, you necessarily have two toilet-rooms 
 
SANITARY ARRANGEMENT. - 1 85 
 
 on each floor, one for each sex; this means eight separate 
 rooms to be plumbed, kept in repair, and daily taken care of 
 — quite a task in itself if it is properly done; the amount of 
 supply-, vent-, and waste-pipes is largely increased, and the 
 number of traps, valves, and shut-offs multiplied to an alarm- 
 ing extent. 
 
 The rule of simplicity appHes, to my mind, with equal 
 force to the plumbing as to the heating systems, and I am 
 just as much in favor of grouping in one instance as in the 
 other, and believe that more satisfactory results can be 
 obtained by placing the plumbing in not more than two posi- 
 tions than by scattering it all over the building. 
 
 About the only advantage claimed for the subdivided 
 system is the close proximity of the toilet-rooms to the 
 schoolrooms, their consequent accessibility and the little time 
 that is lost in passing to and from them. If the halls and 
 staircases are arranged as I have advocated in other portions 
 of this work, pupils passing to and fro will not disturb the 
 occupants of the rooms any more in one case than in the 
 other. This is true when the school is in session, but at 
 recess or between sessions it ceases to exist. As to the time 
 spent in going to and from the toilet-rooms, I believe it 
 makes little difference whether the rooms are situated on the 
 same floor or two or three stories removed ; if in the latter 
 position, the additional exercise incurred will be beneficial 
 rather than detrimental to the health of the pupils, especially 
 to those who are disinclined to take active exercise at recess 
 time. 
 
 My own preference at the present time is to place the 
 toilet accommodations of the smaller city and suburban 
 schools in isolated buildings in the yards, as shown on Plates 
 
l86 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 8 and 13; and for the larger structures in the crowded cities, 
 at the top of the buildings, as shown on Plates 85 and 89. 
 These views are those of mature consideration, arrived at after 
 the most careful study. Possibly at some future time a 
 better method will be devised; but until I am perfectly 
 assured of this, I must urge upon school committees the 
 adoption of either one or the other of these systems as being 
 the best, all things considered, now known to me. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 187 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 189 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 191 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 193 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE HYGIENIC CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGEPORT 
 HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING.* 
 
 In no department of public or private works is there such 
 vital necessity for a perfect system of hygiene as in the plan, 
 ning, construction, drainage, and ventilation of our school 
 buildings. At no time in our lives are we so susceptible to 
 disease as in our school-days. The rapid growth of the child, 
 the mental strain that our forcing system of education 
 requires, and the bad sanitary condition of many homes, all 
 tend to weaken the constitution at this period, and render it 
 particularly liable to the contraction of disease. The neces- 
 sity of abating, as far as possible, and ultimately exterminat- 
 ing, what is known as preventable disease, has become of 
 
 * This paper was originally prepared for the third annual report of the 
 Connecticut State Board of Health, published in 1879. and was afterwards 
 reprinted in the report of the Board of Education of the city of Bridge- 
 port for 1881. Copies of either of these volumes are exceedingly difficult 
 to obtain. For this reason, coupled with the fact that, even at this late 
 day, frequent demands are made for copies of the paper, it has been 
 reproduced intact in this work, with the original illustrations. Plates 39 
 and 40 show the building as it was designed and erected in 1878-Q. 
 Plates 41 and 42 show the same problem treated in the way I should 
 recommend to-day, after the intervening years of experience in school 
 construction. It has seemed to me that it would be interesting to illus- 
 trate a problem in this way, and I hope that a careful comparison of the 
 old with the new ideas will prove of interest to all those into whose hands 
 this work may come. 
 
 195 
 
196 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 paramount importance. The alarming spread of malarial dis- 
 eases and malignant epidemics among children in various 
 parts of the country I attribute, in the majority of cases, to 
 criminal carelessness in sanitary matters. Miserable con- 
 struction, poor sewerage, bad plumbing, and no system of 
 ventilation, combine to produce among the poor classes hot- 
 beds for the nursing of the germs of pestilential disease, which 
 are then conveyed by the children to our schoolhouses. 
 Much has been accomplished by our State and local boards 
 of health to remedy this evil, but there still remains a vast 
 amount of work to be done. Stringent legislation is needed 
 in all matters pertaining to building, and proper officers 
 appointed by the Governor to see that the laws are enforced 
 are required in all larger cities in the State; when this is done 
 we may hope to see the erection of the miserable shams that 
 greedy speculators and unscrupulous landlords now burden us 
 with, stopped. So long as they enjoy the license which the 
 present laws allow them, we can hope for no improvement. 
 
 The schoolhouse, where the child spends from four to six 
 hours each day, demands our direct attention. The majority 
 of the pupils in our public schools come from the poorer 
 classes, and are, as a rule, none too cleanly in their personal 
 habits; coming from homes which have none of the luxuries 
 and barely the necessities of life, they are in no condition to 
 be subjected to either excessive heat or extreme cold. Foul 
 air and poor ventilation they have in plenty at their homes, 
 and we should endeavor in the schoolroom to supply them 
 with pure air, uniform temperature, plenty of sunlight, cheer- 
 fulness, refinement, and comfort; our buildings should be so 
 planned as to combine all these requirements. 
 
 Dr. Lincoln, in his admirable paper recently published in 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. - 1 97 
 
 'Brick's Hygiene, has plainly told us what a school building 
 should be, and the writer has endeavored, as far as lay in his 
 power, to produce a building that should be a model of its 
 kind. He has not only labored long and faithfully himself,, 
 but has consulted the leading experts of the country in regard 
 to the heating, ventilation, and general sanitary arrangements 
 of the building, and has always received from them their 
 hearty approval, coupled with the remark: ** We have fre- 
 quently called the attention of the public, in our articles, to 
 what a building should be, and we are glad to see at last a 
 building planned in accordance with our view." 
 
 In all the writer's efforts he has been most aoly seconded 
 by the Board of Education of this city, and more especially 
 by the members of the board who comprise the building 
 committee. They are, to a man, whole-souled, enlightened, 
 Christian gentlemen, who have the welfare of the public in 
 view, and although they have been severely criticised and 
 wrongfully assailed, they have unflinchingly put their 
 shoulders to the wheel, and worked with a zeal that cannot 
 be too highly commended to secure for the city a building 
 that can be pointed to with pride when finished. 
 
 The site of the new building is admirable. Situated almost 
 in the geographical centre of the city, in one of its best 
 localities, far removed from all noise, dust, or odors arising 
 from factories, stables, or the like, being completely isolated 
 on all sides, having no large buildings or trees to shadow it„ 
 and standing within a few feet of the highest ground within 
 the city limits, it presents natural advantages that have never 
 been surpassed, and seldom equalled. The lot has an actual 
 elevation of 6i feet above the average high water in the 
 harbor. It has a frontage on two streets of 200 feet, and aa 
 
198 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 average depth of 256 feet, the lot running from street to 
 street. Not only are great advantages obtained by this 
 frontage, in ease of access to the building, but thus are 
 secured unexceptional facilities for the disposal of sewage, 
 there being a 12-inch main running down the hill in the 
 centre of both streets; the fall of these streets is very rapid, 
 being between 4 and 6 feet in every hundred. 
 
 The principal front (there is no rear) of the building faces 
 Congress street, which, running nearly east and west, gives it 
 a southwesterly exposure. This arrangement secures in every 
 room in the building, during a portion of the day, sinilight in 
 abundant quantities. 
 
 The building is designed to be constructed of brick, with 
 local stone foundations and underpinnings, brownstone caps, 
 sills, and trimmings, exterior steps to be of granite, and roots 
 of slate. It will consist of three stories, viz., the ground 
 floor, first story, and second story. It contains a total of 
 fourteen school- and recitation-rooms, a chemical laboratory, 
 reception-room, office, library, janitor's room, work- and 
 boiler-room, beside the water-closets. 
 
 The height of all rooms in the building, with the excep- 
 tion of the high-school room, is 13 feet, the high-school room 
 having a height of 28 feet in the centre, and 21 feet on the 
 sides. 
 
 The writer does not consider it necessary to go into a 
 detailed explanation of each fioor-plan, but will simply call 
 attention to some of the novel features and general construc- 
 tion of the building. The plans themselves illustrate suffi- 
 ciently the general position and arrangement of rooms and 
 halls. 
 
 The ground floor is located two steps, or about 1 5 inches, 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. - 1 99 
 
 below the grade of the lot. This, under ordinary circum- 
 stances, would be considered an objection, on the plea of 
 -dampness, but the floor and side walls have been so carefully 
 prepared that the rooms situated on this floor are expected to 
 be the driest in the building. 
 
 In the first place, the ground itself is unusually free from 
 dampness; ample provision has, however, been made for the 
 removal of all surface-water by the introduction of 6-inch 
 •drain-pipes, laid with open joints, in trenches filled with loose 
 stone, these stones covering the top of the pipe a few inches. 
 These pipes run all around the building, just outside of the 
 foundation wall, and are then carried to the manholes, where 
 they are connected with the main sewer above the running 
 trap. 
 
 The ground under the floor of the schoolrooms situated 
 on the ground floor is first cemented 2^ inches with the best 
 Rosendale cement, and then covered with two coats of 
 asphaltum. This asphalt is put on hot, and not only covers 
 the entire bottom, but runs up on all outside and inside walls 
 to the height of the copings, and is then carried across the 
 top of all interior and exterior walls, forming an impenetrable 
 protection against dampness. Not only is the ground floor 
 and the walls to the height of the coping treated in this 
 manner, but all outside walls in the building — they are all 
 covered to their full height and width with two coats before 
 they are furred. This I believe to be a more perfect safe- 
 guard against dampness than the common hollow wall. 
 
 STAIRCASES. 
 
 The staircases consist of four flights; two at either end of 
 the building. While being convenient and easy of access- 
 
200 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 from all parts of the building, they are yet sufficiently isolated 
 to be free from the usual objection of noise, and are more- 
 over absolutely fire-proof. They ara constructed with iron 
 treads and risers, securely fastened to string-pieces, also of 
 iron, that are bolted directly to the brick enclosing-walls. 
 The top surfaces of all treads are to be covered with rubber, 
 to prevent slipping. All platforms and landings are to be 
 formed of granite slabs 8 inches thick. The stairs are formed 
 with two " runs " for each flight, with landings midway, this 
 being done to secure an easy ascent. The stairs are all 5 feet 
 wide; all landings 5' X u', risers 'j\ inches, treads 11 inches; 
 they are well lighted at all points by ample windows placed 
 on each landing. An iron hand-rail, bolted to the walls, runs 
 around on all sides at a suitable height. There is no wood- 
 finish of any kind, with the exception of door- and window- 
 casings, in the staircase halls. The side walls are of face-brick 
 laid in black mortar with struck joints. These walls, when 
 hard, are to be treated with a coat of liquid filler, and then 
 varnished in two coats, thus forming a perfectly hard surface^, 
 not easily marred or soiled 
 
 HAT-AND-CLOAK-ROOMS. 
 
 In all our school buildings of the present day, the hat- 
 and-cloak-rooms have been more or less objectionable, 
 especially in wet weather. Children coming in with wet 
 garments hang them in narrow rooms, poorly heated and 
 lighted, and usually unventilated, where they are allowed to 
 steam in a close and unwholesome atmosphere during the 
 session, and at its close are put on by the child in a worse 
 condition than when taken off. An attempt has been made 
 to remedy this evil in the construction of this building. la 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING: 201 
 
 the main halls, which are spacious, and which are to be 
 heated and ventilated in the same manner as the schoolrooms, 
 have been placed the hat-and-cloak-rooms — two for each 
 -schoolroom. These rooms, instead of being lathed and 
 plastered in the usual manner, are simply partitions of ash 
 S feet high, entirely open at the top, and so arranged that 
 only the supporting posts run down to the floor. The por- 
 tion of the partition between the posts is kept 4 inches fr©m 
 the floor, giving a free circulation of air throughout these 
 rooms. Damp or uncleanly clothing hung» in these rooms 
 during the session, instead of being filled with the foulness 
 •arising from confined atmosphere, will become purified by 
 the constant circulation of pure air, — the impure air being 
 -disposed of through the main-hall ventilators. 
 
 LIGHT. 
 All eminent writers on school hygiene have called atten- 
 tion to, and dwelt with much stress upon, the importance of 
 "abundant light properly distributed in our schoolrooms. 
 That the light should come from the left side and be intro- 
 duced at nearly right angles to the floor-line is an established 
 Tule among those versed in school matters. Upon the actual 
 amount of glass required by each pupil, authorities differ. 
 Dr. Lincoln states that the size of the windows, taken collec- 
 tively, should equal at least one sixth of the floor-space. 
 Cohn, the German writer, requires one fifth, or 30 inches to 
 the foot. Some of the highest authorities require from 300 
 to 350 square inches of glass for each pupil; this coincides 
 very nearly with Cohn, but Dr. Lincoln does not consider 
 that, in our schoolrooms, which have a greater depth than 
 those referred to by the above-mentioned authorities, the 
 ^amount mentioned by them is enough. 
 
202 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 In the Bridgeport schoolhouse the window-stools have all 
 been kept 4 feet from the floor, and the window openings are 
 carried up to within i foot of the ceilings. The size of the 
 windows, taken collectively, equals, in the corner rooms, one 
 sixth of the floor-space, allowing 50 pupils per room, and 
 gives 434 square inches of glass per pupil. In the middle 
 rooms, the floor-space is seven times that of the glass-surface, 
 and, allowing 50 pupils per room, will give to each 403 square 
 inches of glass. In the corner rooms the seats are so arranged 
 that the light comes always from the back and left — in the 
 middle rooms it comes only from the left. 
 
 In the high-school room, the glass-surfaces, taken collec-^ 
 tively, equal one sixth the floor-space; allowing 200 pupils 
 for this room, will give to each pupil 384 square inches of 
 glass-surface. 
 
 FLOOR, AND CUBIC FEET OF SPACE ALLOWED EACH PUPIL. 
 
 In the corner rooms, allowing 50 pupils per room, each 
 pupil will have 20.50 square feet of floor-space and 266 cubic 
 feet of air. In the middle rooms each pupil will have 21 
 square feet of floor-space and 273 cubic feet of air. In the- 
 high-school, allowing 200 pupils, each pupil will have 17 
 square feet of space, and 441 cubic feet of air. While the 
 floor-space in the high-school room is somewhat smaller than 
 the highest authorities require, the cubic contents are largely 
 in excess of the most exacting, and it must be taken into 
 consideration that this room is seldom occupied by the entire 
 number of pupils for more than a few moments at a time, as 
 the recitation-rooms used in connection with it are, during 
 the school session, in constant use. It should also be remem- 
 bered that the number of pupils calculated for each room is. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 203 
 
 %\ 
 
 
 1~\ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 \ 
 
 , 
 
 
 «^^]aj|| 
 
 \hh i 
 
 111 
 
 1 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING.. 205 
 
 their extreme capacity. It is to be hoped that no teacher 
 will be burdened with more than 44 pupils, although I have 
 based my calculations on a larger number. 
 
 THE WATER-CLOSETS AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 The demands of modern civilization require that we pro- 
 vide, either within our school buildings or in close proximity. 
 to them, water-closets for the use of the pupils. There can 
 be no doubt that much harm is done to children, in many 
 schools in our State, by the bad sewerage and careless 
 arrangement of water-closets. It has been said that privies 
 placed under the same roof which shelters the school should 
 not exist for a moment. I do not consider that this rule 
 should be simply applied to privies, but that the groups of 
 water-closets which are required in all our large schools should 
 come under the same head; they should in no case be placed 
 directly under schoolrooms in the basement, as contamina- 
 tion will surely follow sooner or later. They should be, if not 
 wholly, at least partially isolated from the building, and those 
 for the boys removed as far as possible from those for the 
 girls. The teachers' water-closets can, I think with safety, 
 be placed in the building, that is if they are carefully venti- 
 lated; these water-closets will be used understandingly and 
 are not liable to become unwholesome; but the pupils' closets, 
 even with the most careful watching, are liable to become 
 foul from the habit so prevalent among children (I wish I 
 could say that the habit was confined to children alone!) of 
 making the closet a common receptacle for all kinds of 
 garbage. 
 
 In the Bridgeport schoolhouse (see Plate 43) the closets 
 for the pupils have been placed at either end of the building 
 
206 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 under the entrance-steps, far removed from each other, secur- 
 ing a complete separation of the sexes. They are also com- 
 pletely shut off from the main school building by the 
 intervening staircase halls; by this arrangement, ease of 
 access is obtained, combined with complete isolation, obviat- 
 ing the danger of contaminating the main school building. 
 
 The water-closets have been constructed with a view to 
 having as little woodwork as is possible with the require- 
 ments of comfort. The main floor is to be of bluestone 
 flagging 4 inches thick, laid in Portland cement; this is laid 
 on a gentle incline to a certain point, to secure a good drip 
 or wash from all points of the room. The side walls are of 
 brick, treated in the same manner as has been before men- 
 tioned in the description of the entrance halls. The ceilings 
 will be formed by the bottom of the granite slabs that are 
 used for the floors of the vestibule, porch, and outer halls. 
 The casings, doors, and seats for the closets comprise the 
 entire woodwork; these are of ash, and are treated to a coat 
 of filler and then varnished in two coats. The partition 
 between each bowl is to be of slate, i^ inches thick, 7 feet 
 high, by 2 feet 6 inches broad. These slate partitions are 
 held in position by iron floor- and wall-pieces and caps of the 
 same material (see Plate 43). The floor upon which the 
 closets stand is raised one step above the main floor of the 
 closet (see drawing), and is also composed of bluestone flag- 
 ging 4 inches thick, a hole being cut through this stone for 
 the outlet of the closet. The closet that is intended to be 
 used is the Hellyer short artisan hopper. This closet com- 
 bines more good points, in the writer's opinion, than any 
 other at present known to him. Its chief point of excellence 
 is its simplicity of working, and the fact that it is entirely of 
 
THE BRIPGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. . 20^ 
 
 earthenware. There are no pans, valves, or plungers to 
 become foul or get out of order; it is, in fact, an earthen 
 hopper of improved shape, fed by a continuous tank to which 
 is attached for each bowl a serving-box. When the seat is. 
 occupied, by a simple device a valve is raised, and the serv- 
 ing-box filled with water from the tank, at the same time a 
 small stream is permitted to trickle into the hopper, wetting 
 the sides and preventing the adhesion of excreta to the bowl. 
 When the seat is relieved of its weight, the valve before 
 referred to is closed, another one opened and the contents of 
 the serving-box (some three gallons) suddenly discharged 
 through a large pipe connected with the flushing-rim into the 
 bowl of the hopper, carrying all solid matter through the trap. 
 As I have said before, these hoppers, both bowl and trap, are 
 of white earthenware; they are to be securely bolted to- 
 the bluestone and left entirely open and exposed to view. 
 The seat is supported by the slate partitions, on which are- 
 bolted slate cleats. The chain operating the service-box and 
 the feed-pipe are both enclosed in an iron pipe, so as to be 
 completely inaccessible to the pupils. 
 
 The tank and service-boxes are of iron, painted. Directly 
 under the platform on which the hoppers are set, there is to 
 be constructed a manhole trench to be built of brick, coated 
 with asphalt; the top is formed of the bluestone that the 
 hoppers rest upon. This manhole is 2 feet broad by 3 feet 
 6 inches high, and is large enough to permit of a man crawl- 
 ing through it to inspect the pipes. This trench is to have 
 an iron register at one end for the admission of pure air, and 
 at the other is connected directly with the ventilating-shaft. 
 In this trench are to run the soil-pipes from the hoppers; 
 these are to consist of 6-inch cast-iron pipes with 4-inch. 
 
208 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 Y joints for each hopper. These pipes are caulked with 
 molten lead and then covered with two coats of asphaltum to 
 prevent rust. By the arrangement of this trench the soil- 
 pipe and its connections are always accessible; even should 
 a leak occur in any of its joints which was not at once dis- 
 covered, the stench arising from such a cause would not enter 
 the building, but pass off through the ventilating-flue. The 
 urinals are placed along the inside division-walls; they are to 
 be constructed with slate backs and troughs put together in 
 the most approved manner, the trough being supported by 
 brass brackets; the back is arranged with a neat cap of slate, 
 under which is run a water-pipe perforated with small holes 
 so as to secure the complete wetting of the entire back at all 
 times. Underneath this trough, in the floor, there is another 
 trough, the bottom and one side being of bluestone and the 
 other formed by the slate back; this trough has an inclined 
 surface and is intended to carry off all drippings or slopping 
 that may occur in or about the closets or urinals. At its 
 outlet it is trapped with a deep running-trap and then con- 
 nected with the main drain. This arrangement w'll enable 
 the janitor, at the close of each day's session, to thoroughly 
 wash down with a hose the entire room. 
 
 Upon the inside walls of rooms that are occupied by these 
 closets have been placed ventilating-flues, two for each of the 
 closets. These flues are of large size, and run up through 
 the building, entirely independent of all other flues, to a 
 point far above the main-cornice line. Through these flues 
 the extension of the soil-pipes of each section of hoppers is 
 carried, and there is also connected with these flues a vent- 
 pipe, running under the seats just above the trap of each 
 hopper. Lastly, the trench in which the soil-pipe runs is 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. - 209 
 
 also cemented. The lower portions of the flues, — that is, 
 those parts of them that come directly in the rooms occupied 
 by the water-closets, — are enlarged into a circular form (see 
 plans), this being done to permit of the introduction of a 
 small stove in the bottom of each flue, and this stove is 
 to be kept running ALWAYS, both winter and summer, as 
 the writer believes that this is the ONLY WAY to secure a 
 steady up-current at all times under the varying conditions of 
 the atmosphere. The brickwork around these stoves is laid 
 in open work (see Plate 43), and on the inside covered with 
 wire netting. There is also an iron door provided for each, 
 flue. By this arrangement many points are gained; not only 
 are the hoppers and soil-pipes perfectly ventilated, but any 
 stench arising in the rooms is quickly removed by the strong 
 up-current through the flues. Again, in the winter, these 
 two stoves in each room will be ample for heating purposes; 
 while in summer, by a simple device, the direct radiation is 
 shut off from the room, and thrown entirely up the flue. 
 
 The teachers' water-closets, situated two on each floor, 
 are to be of the same pattern as those described, fitted up in 
 the same manner as the ordinary house-closets, but with 
 special reference to their construction and ventilation.* 
 
 The reader by studying the accompanying plans and 
 
 * The soil-pipes for the teachers' closets in the main building are laid 
 in a trench in the same manner as described above ; the main drain runs 
 into a manhole just outside of the building, where the three lines of soil- 
 pipes (one from each section of hoppers, and one from the teachers' 
 closets) are brought together just above a deep running-trap. This man- 
 hole is covered with a bluestone flag, is carefully ventilated, and easy of 
 access. There is also connected just above the trap in this manhole the 
 rain-water drains connected with the leaders from the roof, so as to secure 
 during every rain a thorough scouring out of all these drains and their 
 connections. 
 
2IO MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 sketches will be enabled to readily understand the general 
 arrangement and working of this system. 
 
 HEAT AND VENTILATION. 
 
 It is generally admitted, on all sides, that, the most prac- 
 tical, economical, and surest way of heating our buildings, at 
 the present day, is by steam. Granting that steam is to be 
 our medium, it next becomes a question of how it shall be 
 used. There are, at this writing, two methods in general 
 use, these being known respectively as the direct and indirect 
 systems. The direct system means the placing of radiators 
 or circulation-pipes in each and every room required to be 
 heated. The indirect system consists in placing all the pipes 
 or radiators in boxes in the basement. Pure, cold air is 
 brought into these boxes, and by passing through the coils 
 of heated steam-pipes is warmed to the degree required. 
 The heat generated in these boxes is then conveyed to the 
 various rooms through tubes or pipes, in the same way that 
 heat is usually conducted from our ordinary hot-air furnaces. 
 Both systems have many strong advocates, but as far as the 
 writer's investigations and researches have led him, he has 
 found, among men who have simply the heating of a room in 
 view, the direct system in favor; but among those who have 
 not only the actual heating, but the supplying of the room 
 with fresh, pure air at all times, the indirect system is invari- 
 ably adopted. From the personal investigations and practical 
 experiments the writer has made from time to time, he is 
 convinced that far better results can be obtained by this 
 method than by any other now known to him. It has there- 
 fore been adopted in the new building for this city. It may 
 be said in objection to this system that the amount of fuel 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. _ 211 
 
 required to heat a given amount of space is largely in excess 
 of that required by the direct plan. This is in a measure true, 
 but not to the extent supposed. Again, it has been said that 
 it is impossible to heat exposed rooms by the indirect plan 
 without an enormous apparatus. This also is a mistake, for 
 neither is an extravagant use of fuel nor a gigantic apparatus 
 required, if the apparatus is properly arranged and understand- 
 ingly handled. The trouble has been not from the inability 
 to produce heat, but from the extraordinary loss of heat, — 
 this being occasioned in many cases by the position of the 
 introductory-flues, and in other cases by that of the out- 
 going ventilating-ducts. It should be our aim to utilize every 
 particle of heat entering the room before we allow it to 
 escape; it is certainly folly to bring in vast quantities of pure, 
 warmed air at the floor level of a room, and send it out with 
 equal rapidity at the ceiling level, without having traversed 
 the room, outside of an almost direct line drawn from the 
 incoming to the outgoing register; yet in many cases our 
 registers are so arranged that it is impossible to get any 
 different results. 
 
 I have before said that there is a general unity of opinion 
 among experts as to the feasibility of indirect heating, but in 
 regard to the placing of the heating surfaces in the cellar, and 
 the position of the incoming and outgoing registers, there is 
 a wide diversity of opinion. 
 
 I shall endeavor briefly to describe some of the principal 
 methods in common use, and the objections that I have to 
 them, before describing the system adopted in the Bridgeport 
 school building; the placing of the coil-boxes in the base- 
 ment, on the outer walls under the rooms to be heated (Fig. i, 
 Plate 43), and the introduction of the warmed air at the floor 
 
212 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 and its removal at the ceiling level upon the opposite side o£ 
 the room. The objections that I have to this system are: 
 
 1. That in a building like the Bridgeport school there 
 would have to be placed in the basement at least six separate 
 coil-boxes for the generation of heat, arranged one under each 
 room; that by placing these boxes in the basement rooms the 
 rooms are rendered entirely unfit for school purposes, and 
 their utility for playrooms greatly crippled. 
 
 2. That by placing these boxes far away from the centre 
 of the building, where the boilers are presumably located, a 
 large amount of additional piping becomes necessary through- 
 out the basement. 
 
 3. The boxes being placed on the outer walls of the build- 
 ing, there is danger of the pipes freezing; constant watching 
 and attention is required to prevent this and to insure their 
 proper working. 
 
 4. That the introduction ducts or flues running up the 
 outer exposed walls of the building lose a great deal of heat 
 by their proximit)^ to the cold; that this loss of heat cannot 
 be wholly obviated even by the most expensive construction; 
 that a large addition to the actually necessary heating-surface 
 is required to overcome this loss of heat, caused by the 
 exposed position of the flues. 
 
 Lastly. That the air entering upon the outer wall at the 
 floor, and being removed on the inner wall at the ceiling 
 level, does not benefit the occupants of the room as it should. 
 The action of the air as it enters is rapidly upward to the 
 ceiling, where it stratifies, then along its surface to the out- 
 let, as indicated in Fig. 2, Plate 43. The entering air is. 
 warm and light, and naturally rises and flows across the top 
 of the room to the nearest outlet. The foul air of the room> 
 
'IHE BR1DGEP0R7' HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. ' 21 3 
 
 being heavy with impurities, remains at the bottom, becom- 
 ing constantly more contaminated. There is no doubt a 
 certain amount of radiation or mixing going on, but the great 
 bulk of the pure, warmed air entering the room takes the 
 short cut across it and up the ventilating-flue, as shown in 
 Fig. 2, Plate 43. This action of the warm air occasions, as 
 may be readily seen, an enormous loss of heat, without 
 accomplishing the very points aimed at, the utilization of 
 every particle of heat before it is allowed to escape, and the 
 thorough mixing of the pure incoming air with the air already 
 in the room. If any one doubts the correctness of the action 
 of air as herein described, let him fill the incoming fiue with 
 smoke, that can be readily seen, and watch its course as it 
 enters, flows upward and outward, and see where the great 
 mass of it goes. The dotted lines on these sketches indicate 
 the breathing-point of a person sitting. 
 
 It may be well to explain that in these experiments the 
 outlets have been at least twice as large as the inlets, and 
 that there has always been heat in the outgoing flues to pro- 
 duce a strong up-current, as I believe this to be the ojily sure 
 way to produce a constant outward flow of air. In Fig. 3, 
 Plate 43, the outgoing flue is in the same position, but the 
 incoming flue has been raised about two thirds of the way 
 toward the ceiling. In Fig, 4, Plate 43, the flues have been, 
 placed on about the same level, but with no better results. 
 In Fig. 5, Plate 43, the outgoing flue has been placed at the 
 floor with the results shown in the sketch. In Fig. 6, Plate 
 43, both flues are at the floor level, with better results than 
 have yet been obtained, but still far from satisfactory. I 
 have thus tried to show the general action of incoming and 
 
214 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 outgoing currents of air by the placing of the introduction- 
 flues on the outer walls. 
 
 The second method in general use is the placing of the 
 coil-boxes upon the inner wall and the removal of the foul 
 air at the opposite side of the rooms. I consider the placing 
 of the coil-boxes on the inner walls a great improvement on 
 the other method, as by this plan they are centralized, 
 extensive piping is saved, and the danger of freezing obviated. 
 The placing of the exhaust-flues on the opposite side of the 
 room I believe to be open to the same objections that I have 
 described in the first method. The action of the hot air, 
 from the points where it is introduced toward the various 
 outlets, is the same as in the sketches already shown, and will 
 be readily understood by the reader. 
 
 In the Bridgeport school the coil-boxes for the heating of 
 the various rooms have all been placed in the main ventilat- 
 ing-shafts in the centre of the building, and the air conveyed 
 from them through these shafts to the rooms by means of 
 metal tubes. The air enters the inner corner of the room 
 about 8 feet from the floor, the corner being clipped (see 
 plans) so as to form a flat surface for the register opening; 
 underneath the register the space is utilized for a closet for 
 the use of the teacher. The outgoing flue has been placed 
 directly under the platform, which is located in the same 
 corner as the introduction-flue. This platform measures 
 6' X 12', and is supplied with casters, so that it can be moved 
 at any time it is necessary to clean under it. Its entire lower 
 edge is kept about 4 inches from the floor, to give a free cir- 
 culation under it at all points. The action of the incoming 
 air is rapidly upward and outward, stratifying as it goes 
 toward the cooler outer walls, thence flowing down their sur- 
 
THE BRIDGEPORT HIGH-SCHOOL BUILDING. 21 5 
 
 faces to the floor and back across the floor to the outgoing 
 register. By this method all the air entering is made to 
 traverse with a circular motion (see Fig. 7, Plate 43) the 
 entire room before it reaches the exhaust-shaft, and there is 
 a constant movement and mixing of the air in all parts of the 
 room. All the heat entering is utilized, and I believe that if 
 the supply and exhaust-flues are properly balanced as to size, 
 there can be a very small loss of heat. 
 
 The inlets are all intended to be large, and the flow of air 
 through them moderate and steady. The air is not intended 
 to be heated to a very high temperature; the large quantity 
 introduced is expected to keep the thermometer at about 68° 
 at the breathing-level. The schoolrooms contain on an 
 average about 13,000 feet of air, or 260 cubic feet per pupil. 
 It is proposed to supply each pupil with 30 cubic feet of air 
 each minute, or 1800 cubic feet per hour. Allowing 50 
 pupils to each room, this will necessitate the introduction of 
 90,000 cubic feet of air into the room each hour, and will 
 change the air of the room 6.92 times within the hour, or 
 once in about 8 minutes. These calculations are based on a 
 difference of 30° in the temperature. 
 
 In tne exhaust-flues there are placed coils to produce a 
 strong up-current at all times; heat is also obtained from 
 radiation from the introduction-flues, which run through the 
 foul-air shafts. 
 
 Trouble has always been found in regulating the supply 
 of warmed air obtained by the indirect system, owing to the 
 inability to control the heating-surfaces. The usual way of 
 constructing the apparatus has been to place in the coil-boxes 
 sufficient steam-pipe to heat the room in the coldest weather. 
 The pure, cold air passing over the pipes becomes heated to 
 
2l6 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the desired temperature, and is then carried to the rooms - 
 this answers very well during the coldest weather, but, as the 
 weather moderates and less heat is required, the only way to 
 regulate it has been to close the registers, which not only 
 lowers the temperature of the room, but shuts off the supply 
 of pure air entering. This fault has been remedied in the 
 Bridgeport schoolhouse as follows: The heating-surface for 
 each room is enclosed in separate cases or jackets (see Fig. 8, 
 Plate 43) of metal, and are then subdivided into five sections, 
 so arranged that any number of sections or the whole may be 
 used at pleasure, — that is to say, that any one, two, or three 
 parts may be used at discretion. In extreme cold weather 
 the whole five sections are in use; in moderate weather two 
 or three, and when a small amount of heat is required, only 
 one. By this plan the supply of pure air remains always the 
 same, but the degree to which it is heated is changed by the 
 opening or closing of a valve (Fig. 8, Plate 43). 
 
 The arrangement of all the heating and ventilating ap- 
 paratus in the centre of the building renders it convenient 
 and easy to manage, economical in its construction, and effec- 
 tive in working. The advantage is also obtained of having 
 all speaking-tubes, call-bells, and water-pipes run through 
 the ventilating-shafts, where they are always accessible, as 
 each shaft is provided with an iron ladder. This system has 
 not only been introduced into each room, but into the halls 
 as well. There are placed, moreover, in the hall foot- 
 warmers, that are indicated on the plans. These warmers are 
 simple steam-pipes encased in tin boxes arranged between 
 the floor-joists; the pipes are packed in sand to tem.per the 
 heat, and are covered at the floor level with checkered iron 
 plates set flush with the floor. The tin cases referred to are 
 
THE BRID GEPOR T HIGH-SCHO OL B UILDING. - 21 J 
 
 water-tight and have a drip-pipe running down to the boiler- 
 room, so that in case of a leak no damage may be done to the 
 building. 
 
 The boiler-room floor is sunk some 6 feet below the level 
 of the ground floor to insure a drip of all return-pipes from 
 the coils. The cold-air inlets are on four sides of the build- 
 ing, the openings being about 8 feet from the ground; these 
 inlets are connected so that, whatever way the wind may be, 
 a supply of pure, cold air is always assured. 
 
 I have thus far spoken only of winter heating and ventilat- 
 ing; for summer ventilation I believe there are no better 
 inlets for the air than the windows. There are many devices 
 that may be arranged in them that are simple and effective. 
 It is not necessary to describe them here. The outlets, how- 
 ever, need a brief description; it is intended not only to use 
 the outlet under the platform, but by a simple device the 
 incoming register for warm air in winter is made to connect 
 with the main outlet in summer, so that two outlets are pro- 
 vided during the warmer months. The up-going current in 
 the ventilating-shafts is maintained in summer, as well as in 
 winter, by heat; there being placed at the bottom of each 
 shaft a stove, which is to be used constantly when the boilers 
 are not in use, insuring an equally strong up-current in winter 
 as in summer. 
 
 I would say in conclusion that many interesting experi- 
 ments have been made and important facts established. 
 These experiments have principally been made with a model 
 of about one sixth the capacity of the schoolrooms. They 
 have always resulted most satisfactorily, and have proved to 
 the writer the correctness of the principles herein advanced 
 against the objections commonly raised that heat brought 
 
2l8 MODEEN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 into the room on the inner walls will not sufficiently warm the 
 outer walls. He would say that in every test yet made the 
 registration of carefully-graded thermometers has been from 
 i" to 2° warmer near the outer wall than near the inner, 
 showing conclusively that the flow of heated air is rapidly 
 towards cool surfaces, and that if its volume is as it should be 
 it will counteract the cold radiating from the outer walls and 
 render the temperature of the air in tiieir immediate vicinity 
 comfortable. Many other interesting facts have been estab- 
 lished and much useful data obtained, but I have neither the 
 time nor the space here to describe them. I have purposely 
 omitted in this paper all figures not actually necessary, aiming 
 to make it a simple statement of the writer's views, fortified 
 by the results of actual experiments. If any should desire 
 more minute details than are here given, by communicating 
 with the author he will willingly furnish all the information 
 required. 
 
 The building has been described throughout as it was 
 designed to be built by the architect; some modifications have 
 been found necessary during the progress of the work. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 219 
 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.- 
 
 221 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES* 
 
 Under the stimulating influences of what is known as 
 sanitary reform, the outgrowth mainly of the systematic 
 organization of State and local boards of health, there is in 
 some localities a laudable desire among the school and build- 
 ing committees to improve the general condition of existing 
 schoolhouses, and in those about to be erected to embody, in 
 a greater or less degree, the lessons taught by sanitary science 
 and practical experience. 
 
 While the spirit of this movement is to be highly com- 
 mended, it is to be deplored that, however conscientiously 
 the advocates of better structures for school purposes may 
 labor, they almost invariably fall far short of the desired 
 results. This is directly attributable to several causes. 
 
 First, the stereotyped schoolhouse is always before them, 
 and is usually taken as a model for the new building. Com- 
 mittees and teachers are alike slow to depart from the estab- 
 lished custom, fearing, if unsuccessful in their efforts to 
 improve, the severe censure they are sure to receive from the 
 
 * This paper was written for the State Board of Health of New Hamp- 
 shire and published in their first annual report issued in the spring of 
 1882. This edition has long since been exhausted, for which reason 
 mainly I have republished the paper here substantially as it was first 
 V ritten, but with new illustrations which more fully depict the ideas 
 gleaned from a riper experience. Such changes in the text as have been 
 made refer almost exclusively to the plans and their accessories. 
 
 223 
 
224 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 community. Many valuable suggestions are not adopted 
 for this reason, it being considered better to leave well 
 enough alone, no matter how bad " well enough " may be. 
 
 Second, local prejudice against hygienic reform. The 
 ancient inhabitant classes it with all other modern crazes and 
 new-fangled notions. " In my school-days," he argues, 
 " we had no such nonsense, and children were healthy and 
 hearty enough, I am sure. Why should they not be so 
 to-day, with better buildings, and all the so-called ' modern 
 improvements' ?" It is true that we have "modern im- 
 provements" of all kinds, not only in our buildings, but in 
 our studies as well. The time has been, when a few months* 
 schooling each year in the rudimentary branches was consid- 
 ered an almost unwarranted luxury. The greater portion of 
 the lives of the youth of both sexes was spent in manual 
 labor, thereby strengthening them physically, without over- 
 taxing their mental powers. They lived, as a rule, in a 
 country thinly populated, and had at all times an abundance 
 of fresh air and exercise. Malarial and contagious diseases 
 were comparatively unknown. Modern civilization and im- 
 provements had not contaminated either the soil or the air, 
 as is the case in our day. I venture to say, that, if we could 
 take the healthy, robust children of fifty years ago, and crowd 
 them into our badly-ventilated, poorly-heated, and imper- 
 fectly lighted schoolrooms, confine them in the unwhole- 
 some atmosphere five or six hours daily, subject them to our 
 forcing system of education, and continue this strain for the 
 greater portion of each year without the least thought of their 
 physical culture, the healthy child of "ye olden time" 
 would guickly be reduced to as unhealthy and puny a stripling 
 as the majority of the city school children of to-day. 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. - 22$ 
 
 The very salvation of the child in those days was the 
 small amount of mental labor, and the vast amount of physi- 
 cal exercise required of him. The state of the community at 
 that time required that it should be so, while in our day it is 
 exactly the reverse. It is as absurd to compare the school 
 system and buildings of those days with what is now required 
 as it would be to put the ancient stage-line in competition 
 with the railroad. 
 
 Third, penurious and short-sighted economy in the appro- 
 priation of small sums for the construction of buildings. 
 
 The average parents will cheerfully provide their children 
 with suitable, and often expensive, clothing; will indulge 
 them with costly toys; obtain for them teachers in music, 
 drawing, etc., — all without a murmur. But should there be 
 a special tax levied to help pay for a new school building, or 
 should they be asked individually to contribute a certain sum 
 for that purpose, you will usually find them as stingy and 
 close-fisted as misers. 
 
 I put it to any thinking man or woman, — which would be 
 most beneficial to children, money spent in useless toys that 
 please for the moment only, or the same sums invested in the 
 construction of healthful schoolrooms in which they may 
 pursue their studies ? 
 
 In nine cases nut of ten, where first-class professional 
 talent has been secured by a committee to advise and assist 
 in the planning and construction of new buildings, this talent 
 is so hampered by the meagreness of the means at hand that 
 it is impossible to improve much upon what has already been 
 done. Should a request for an additional appropriation be 
 taken before a public meeting, there will be a tremendous 
 outburst of popular indignation, and the useless waste of 
 
226 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 public funds will be harped upon on all sides. The members 
 of the committee themselves will be looked upon as vultures 
 trying to prey upon the people's treasury, instead of men of 
 common sense, who have the welfare of the rising generation 
 in their minds. Until this niggardly policy is abolished, and 
 public sentiment brought into harmony with the true spirit 
 of reform, we may expect little or no improvement in school 
 buildings. 
 
 The fourth obstacle in the way of thorough sanitary reform 
 in school buildings is the difficulty of obtaining satisfactory 
 data. The average layman has ver}' little idea of the require- 
 ments of a thoroughly good schoolhouse, and I am sorry to 
 say that a majority of my profession are equally as ignorant. 
 They have yet to learn — many of them — that something 
 more than a showy exterior and rooms large enough to crowd 
 a certain number of pupils into is required. In many cases 
 some local architect of little experience, or master-builder, is 
 employed, having absolutely no insight into hygienic or sani- 
 tary science. With an over-confidence in his own ability, he 
 usually opposes the calling in of an expert, on the ground 
 that such a step would involve an uncalled-for expense, and 
 result in no practical good. 
 
 For the enlightenment of unprofessional men generally, 
 and more particularly those who are directly interested in 
 schools or school buildings, I have written this article, my aim 
 being to call attetion to existing evils, and to show in a prac- 
 tical way how they may be remedied. I submit for your 
 inspection plans which are based upon correct principles. 
 Objections will probably be raised to them on the score of 
 cost. In answer to this, I would say that nothing has been 
 introduced that is not essential to sound, healthful construe- 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. . 22/ 
 
 tion and practical convenience. The details are simple and 
 within the range of ability of the ordinary village craftsman, 
 it being my firm belief that any New England town has home 
 talent enough to construct, under proper guidance, buildings 
 that will embody all that the most exacting exponent of 
 school hygiene may require. 
 
 SITE. 
 
 The selection of a proper site is of the greatest impor- 
 tance. A lot with an area of an acre will be large enough for 
 a one-room building. While being handy and easy of access, 
 it had better be sufficiently isolated to be unobjectionable to 
 surrounding property owners. It should have, if possible, a 
 southern exposure, be entirely free from dampness, and far 
 removed from stagnant water, or low, marshy ground. Blind 
 drains must be introduced for the drainage of any portion 
 that may be springy, and for the removal of surface-water. 
 
 As no public system of water exists in most of our 
 suburban towns, we shall probably be forced to depend upon 
 a well for the supply. This should be situated near at hand, 
 so that water may be pumped from it into the building with- 
 out diflficulty. A force-pump arranged with a two-way con- 
 nection should be conveniently placed in the building, and 
 some simple pump in the yard. The " two-way cocks " will 
 enable you to draw water directly from the well, or pump it 
 into a tank in the upper portion of the building, from which 
 it can be drawn for the use of closets and bowls. A good 
 windmill placed in some convenient position will do this 
 pumping admirably; it will require little or no attention, and 
 may be so treated as to be a picturesque feature of the land- 
 scape (see Plate 38). In connection with the exposure, I 
 
228 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 would say, that of all lots, I should most prefer one facing 
 the south and west, as by placing your building judiciously 
 you are enabled to obtain not only the coveted north light, 
 but sunlight for the greater part of the day. 
 
 MATERIAL. 
 
 The only quality that can commend the universal use of 
 wood in the construction of suburban schoolhouses is its 
 cheapness. At the outset, it is unquestionably more economi- 
 cal to build of wood than of other material; but if during a 
 series of years the cost of repairs and a consideration of the 
 health and comfort of the occupants are taken into account, 
 surely it is better to pay the difference in the beginning. 
 Few are the localities where good, cheap brick cannot be 
 obtained; and there is hardly a village in New England that 
 does not contain within its limits quantities of excellent 
 building-stone, easily quarried, and comparatively inexpen- 
 sive. Why, then, should not these materials be used ? A 
 building properly constructed of stone will withstand the 
 storms of centuries; it will be warm in winter and cool in 
 summer, and more pleasing to the eye than the slab-sided 
 abominations that now deface our landscapes. Many people 
 object to stone on the score of dampness; but there is not 
 the slightest danger of this, with proper construction. 
 
 I would not have you think that I advocate the use of 
 expensive cut or sand-rubbed stone; all that I require is 
 bold, quarry-faced, random ashler, laid with dark joints, and 
 trimmed, for economy's sake, at angles and around openings, 
 with selected hard-burned common bricks; these materials to 
 be used on all exterior walls. 
 
 The roofs may be covered with slate or, what is better 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 229 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. " 23 1 
 
 ■r 
 
 FiRST ^TORY Plan. 
 
 m 
 
 Two PJOOM BuiLDIAia 
 
 _E>i>r5_ Js ' 
 
 Basejacnt DlAM 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. - 233 
 
 •Still, metallic shingles. These are now made in large quanti- 
 ties, and are rapidly growing in favor; they form a durable, 
 tight, and light roof of pleasing appearance, at an expense 
 not greater than that of first-class slate. Some of the com- 
 position roofs are very durable, if well laid, and have usually 
 the merit of cheapness to recommend them. 
 
 THE PLAN. 
 
 The first thing to be considered by the designer is the size 
 '■and arrangement of the entrances, classrooms, principal's 
 rooms, etc., and their connections with the schoolroom proper. 
 The entrance must be handy and easy of access, the hat-and- 
 'cloak-rooms convenient, and so situated as to have direct com- 
 munication from either the yard, playground, or schoolroom. 
 
 The water-closets for the girls and boys, while being per- 
 fectly isolated from each other, should be so situated that the 
 children will not have to leave shelter in cold and stormy 
 weather to reach them. 
 
 A good, dry basement should always be placed under the 
 entire building. I cannot too strongly condemn the practice 
 ■of building only trench walls, or setting the building on piers 
 close to the ground, from whence the dampness is transmitted 
 to the building. By the use of the basement a playroom is 
 'obtainable, where delicate children can exercise without 
 exposure, and in stormy weather the pupils are not confined 
 to one room during the entire session. No school building is 
 ■complete without a playroom, and its introduction should 
 always be insisted upon. 
 
 The parallelogram form of room, while not arbitrary, is 
 probably the most satisfactory ; although at times this form 
 may be varied or departed from with advantageous result. 
 
234 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 I am not an advocate of vagaries of any kind, but I fully 
 believe in ingenious, well-studied plans, and am convinced 
 that there are times, especially on irregular and cramped 
 sites, when it will be necessary to depart from the stereotyped 
 form. 
 
 The size of the room should be determined by the number 
 of pupils which it is to accommodate. The number that should 
 be assigned to a teacher varies from forty to fifty. Whatever 
 the number may be, at least 20 square feet of floor-space is 
 required for each. Assuming that there are 44 pupils, with 
 the teacher we have 45 times 20, or 900 square feet of floor- 
 space to provide, — this being the smallest permissible amount. 
 I prefer, however, to provide an amount in excess of this, and 
 so have shown in Plate 44 a room containing 972 square feet 
 of surface, or about 21J per person. 
 
 In the design to which I have just referred, sittings are 
 provided for 44 pupils; the aisles between the desks are 20 
 inches wide, and there is 10 feet between the front desk and 
 the wall back of the teacher, and 4 feet in front of the plat- 
 form and around the outside of the desks. The windows are 
 all at the left of the pupils, the sills being 4 feet from the 
 floor, and the openings run up to within i foot of the ceiling. 
 
 By this arrangement of windows there can be no dark 
 corners, as the light has to travel but a short distance to 
 reach the utmost limits of the room. If the building is 
 placed judiciously on the lot, sunlight — so essential to the 
 health and comfort of the occupants — is furnished in abundant 
 quantities, and in warm weather a free circulation of air can 
 be obtained in all parts of the room by the combined use of 
 the windows and the large transoms placed over the entrance 
 doors. 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. - 235 
 
 The arrangement of the pupils' desks is convenient and 
 compact, and the situation of the teacher's platform such as 
 to bring the pupils under easy supervision. 
 
 A small teacher's room in the front is a convenience that 
 will be appreciated by all who may be connected in any way 
 with the school. 
 
 The blackboards are situated back of the teacher's plat- 
 form, and on the right and in the rear of the pupils. They 
 are easily seen from all parts of the room and are all abun- 
 dantly lighted. 
 
 A study of the plan will clearly show the arrangement of 
 porches, entrances, and hat-and-cloak-rooms. Independent 
 entrances are provided, and the sexes are completely sepa- 
 rated by the intervening teacher's room — this, too, without 
 sacrificing in any wa)'- the convenience of the plan. Stairs 
 descend from either side to the basement, the whole space 
 under the schoolroom being used as a playroom. Doors in 
 the rear of the playroom lead either to the boys' or girls' 
 water-closets in the yard. 
 
 The height of the main schoolroom is 13 feet in the clear, 
 therefore it contains 12,636 cubic feet of air, or an allowance 
 of about 280 cubic feet for each person. This amount, with 
 ample floor- and glass-surface, renders the room, hygienically, 
 as perfect as it is possible to arrange a room without, of 
 course, considering the method of construction or the heat- 
 ing and ventilating. If we are equally thorough with these 
 and the sanitary arrangements, I believe we will have pro- 
 duced a schoolhouse in which children can pursue theii 
 studies with perfect safety. 
 
 While I always advocate the use of stone or brick for the 
 exterior walls of school buildings, let it be understood that 
 
■236 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 however strongly I might urge their use, it is not absolutely 
 essential that they should be employed to produce a building 
 based upon the same plan, and containing the same floor- 
 space and cubic contents as the one just described; it is 
 perfectly feasible to construct any of the designs herein pre- 
 sented entirely of wood, both exterior and interior. It is in 
 the methods of construction usually employed that I do not 
 believe; and I shall endeavor now to describe a building con- 
 structed upon what I consider correct principles and em- 
 bodied in the designs presented. 
 
 FOUNDATIONS. 
 
 Great care should be taken with this part of the work, as 
 any settlement will cause cracks and injuries to the structure 
 which it will be almost impossible to remedy. Heavy footing- 
 stones must be placed under all walls. The walls themselves 
 should be laid in half-and-half lime and cement-mortar, with 
 heavy bond-stones running through them once in every six 
 superficial feet. Where basements are used as playrooms, 
 the inner surface of the walls is to be faced with brick, laid 
 with close-struck joints; this surface to be painted with two 
 or three coats of pure lead and oil, either in white or some 
 h'ght neutral tint. 
 
 UNDERPINNING. 
 
 At the grade level, on top of foundation walls, there 
 should be laid a bluestone coping, 4" X 12'', this to project 
 one inch over foundation walls; the underpinning is built from 
 this coping, and should be rock-faced, random rubble, laid in 
 black mortar, with one inch draft-lines at angles and around 
 .all openings. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 237 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 239 
 
 WALLS. 
 If stone with brick trimmings is used, the walls should be 
 26 inches thick; 16 inches of stone work, 2 inches of air- 
 space, and 8-inch brick backing; the backing should be 
 bonded to the outer wall by brick headers, or ties of thin iron 
 or copper; — the latter are much the better, as they do not 
 rust and will not transmit dampness, as is the case with the 
 brick ties. All angles and around openings may be laid with 
 brick, as indicated on the elevations. The cornice may be 
 entirely of stone and brick and the gutters of copper. 
 
 ROOFS. 
 
 The roofs should be covered with metallic shingles, and 
 the ventilators and cornices constructed of copper, which may 
 also be used for crestings. 
 
 With a structure built as above described you will have 
 an exterior practically imperishable; and if the work is well 
 done, it will be many years before any expenditure will have 
 to be made for repairs. 
 
 INTERIOR FLOORS. 
 
 Wood is almost universally used for floor-beams; indeed, 
 with one or two exceptions, I have never known of iron being 
 used, even in the most expensive school buildings. Far 
 better and more durable floors can be obtained by the use of 
 iron, and costing but little more than first-class woodwork. 
 
 The common way of constructing floors is to lath and 
 plaster the under side, and lay flooring over the top of the 
 timbers. No better way could be devised for the circula- 
 tion of air and fires, and no finer highway for vermin who 
 make use of tlie receptacles furnished by the builder for 
 
240 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the storage of garbage collected on their marauding expedi- 
 tions. The mischievous urchin also delights to poke rubbish 
 into every convenient knothole he can find. I remember, 
 when a boy, to have seen a venturesome schoolmate cap the 
 climax by introducing a lighted match into a time-honored 
 hole which had received the donations of generations of school 
 children. The result must have been entirely satisfactory to 
 my friend, as he succeeded in breaking up the school for 
 some time, after causing a serious panic and much damage. 
 
 To construct a floor of wood suitable for school purposes, 
 extra heavy timbers must be used, which should be strongly 
 bridged and stayed. They should be cross-furred on their 
 under side, and wire netting should be fastened to this, on 
 which to plaster; double floors should be used above, with 
 heavy deadening-felt between. This makes the best wood 
 floor that can be laid, but it is expensive, and is open to all 
 the objections I have mentioned. Sound is easily trans- 
 mitted, and the spring and oscillation caused by marching or 
 calisthenic exercises produces ajar that is felt throughout the 
 building, often so severe as to cause the walls to crack and 
 ceilings to fall. 
 
 Iron floor-beams are far preferable, and for ordinary spans 
 need not be over 10 or 12 inches deep, and can with safety 
 be placed from 5 to 8 feet on centres. Arches of hollow tile 
 should be turned between these beams, so formed as to 
 entirely cover them (see Plate 48). 
 
 Strips of wood 2 inches square should be firmly secured 
 to the top of the beams, to which to nail the floor, and the 
 spaces betweoin these strips, on top of the arches, should be 
 carefully leveled up with cement. 
 
 A single hard-wood floor may now be laid and firmly 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 24I 
 
 nailed to the strips, and the plastering may be applied 
 directly to the under side of the brick arch, without cross- 
 furring, lathing, or any woodwork whatever. If hard-wood 
 ceiling should be desired, it is only necessary to screw strips 
 to the under side of beams, as described for the upper, and 
 nail the ceiling directly to these strips. For playroom or 
 basement ceilings the surface of the hollow tiles is all that is 
 necessary, with carefully struck joints, to make a perfectly 
 neat job. If the holes at the outer ends of the lines of hollow 
 tiles are carefully stopped, as they should be, you will have 
 a floor that is not only absolutely fire-proof, but through 
 which vermin have no chance to circulate; sound cannot be 
 transmitted through it; it is perfectly rigid, and will support 
 five times the weight of a wooden floor without deflection. 
 The flooring-boards should be oak, maple, or rift-grained 
 yellow pine laid in narrow widths and blind-nailed. 
 
 INSIDE WALLS. 
 It is the universal custom to line all our stone or brick 
 walls with wood; that is to say, we fur the inside surfaces 
 of brick or stone with wood strips on which to nail lath- 
 ing. Even when wire lathing is used, furring-strips cannot 
 be dispensed with. This method of construction introduces 
 highly inflammable material on walls that otherwise would be 
 incombustible. Again: we cover the lathing with a thick 
 coat of plaster — a substance of a most perishable nature, and 
 which is, moreover, an absorbent which becomes loaded with 
 impurities; dampness is often perceptible upon its surface, 
 and it is no rare thing to see mould. However much care 
 may be taken in its preparation, and carefully as it may be 
 applied, it is but a short time before a dirty, grimy appear- 
 ance is noticeable. 
 
242 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 You ask how all this is to be remedied; and I would 
 answer, By the use of enamelled brick. These are made in 
 large quantities and of excellent quality, in all colors; their 
 surface is like porcelain and as hard as adamant; if they are 
 laid with cement to match their color, they form a wall not 
 easily marred, non-absorbent, and very pleasing to the eye. 
 Not only the walls, but the door- and window-casings, may 
 be built of these bricks, and there need be no more wood 
 about the doors and windows than their actual operation 
 requires, which is very little, as may be seen from the detail 
 drawings on Plate 48. 
 
 A dado may be carried around the room, of dark-brown 
 or chocolate-colored bricks; above the dado a slate black- 
 board of suitable size is set, and above this a field of buff or 
 neutral-tinted brick, finished by a frieze, if desired, laid in 
 fancy patterns of different-colored bricks. A picture mould- 
 ing, from which to suspend maps, etc., should run entirely 
 around the room at a suitable height, this being, with the 
 blackboard band and chalk-rack, all the wood, outside of the 
 doors and window-casings, required on the inside wall. This 
 wood, so far as practicable, should be of ash, filled with a 
 heavy coat of filler, varnished in two coats, and carefully 
 rubbed down. 
 
 A room well built, as I have described, would last, with 
 ordinary care, for a century. The walls could at any time be 
 scrubbed down, with hot water, or a hose turned upon them, 
 without injury. The effect of a room finished in this way is 
 far more pleasing than the ordinary glaring white walls, and 
 I can see no sustained objection to the introduction of this 
 class of work. 
 
 For the ceiling I should recommend, in rooms that have 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 243 
 
 nothing over them, h'ght iron beams, upon which narrow ash 
 ceiling-boards are firmly fastened ; where there is room over 
 room, finish them, as I have before mentioned, directly on 
 the hollow flooring-blocks. These wooden ceilings may be 
 panelled and made as elaborate as desired, according to taste 
 and the length of the purse. Or the ceiling may be first 
 covered with rough boards upon which metal ceilings can be 
 laid; these ceilings are now made in many pretty designs and 
 have much to commend them; they are comparatively inex- 
 pensive, and if kept painted are extremely durable. By all 
 means, do away with plaster; it is an abomination, and the 
 sooner it is banished from our schoolhouses the better it will 
 be for the health of the children. 
 
 The main argument against finishing walls as I have 
 described will be, I presume, the expense; but when it is 
 considered that we do away entirely with the furring, lath- 
 ing, and grounds, all plastering, wainscoting, and base-boards, 
 surely the difference in cost cannot be great. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 It would be well to make the floors of all rooms, except 
 the school-, teacher's, and class-rooms, of encaustic tile, 
 firmly bedded in cement. The entire basement should be 
 treated with a heavy coat of concrete; the playroom and 
 adjacent hall ma)^ have an additional covering of asphaltum, 
 ^such as is used for sidewalks. 
 
 The windows of the school- and class-rooms in the ex- 
 treme Northern States should have two thicknesses of glass, 
 set in the same sash, about one-half inch apart (see Plate 48); 
 this will answer all purposes of outside sashes, is always in 
 place, and between the sessions the room can be flooded with 
 
244 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 pure external air, which is prevented by the use of the outer 
 sash. Four h'ghts per window are best adapted for school 
 use; a greater number of sash-bars only cast disagreeable 
 shadows and obstruct the light. Sash should be carefully 
 adjusted and balanced, and metal sash-chain used instead of 
 cord ; fixtures should be so arranged that they may be easily 
 worked by the teacher at all times. 
 
 Outside blinds are not wanted on a schoolhouse, inside 
 blinds are noisy and in the way, and the ordinary Venetian 
 blinds and the common shade are invariably out of order 
 when most needed, and are objectionable on account of flap- 
 ping and blowing in the wind. The best shade that I have 
 yet seen is what is known as the Wilson Rolling Venetian 
 Blind. It is made of any wood desired, and is light, strong, 
 and durable, noiseless in operation, and cannot blow or flap. 
 While completely screening the room from the sun's rays, it 
 still admits of a free circulation of air. Special provision has 
 to be made for it in the construction of the building, as it 
 coils up neatly either above or below the window-opening. 
 (See Plate 48.) 
 
 Doors should always have a transom over them as large 
 as is practicable, operated by cords or rods; the latter is the 
 better method, as the transom can be made stationary at any 
 desired point. Doors should always swing out, so that in 
 case of a panic there may be no obstruction to the effort to 
 leave the building. 
 
 It is better to have the teacher's platform movable, so 
 that the floor can be thoroughly cleaned under it; by the use 
 of hooks or bolts it can be firmly fixed in position. 
 
 Slate blackboards, although expensive, are by far the 
 best, and cost nothing for repairs. 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOQLHOUSES. 245 
 
 In seating, I believe in the single desk. "While it takes 
 up more room, it is much better for the child in many ways,, 
 and the teacher has better control over the school. Each 
 child should be given all the floor-space possible, and there 
 should be a free circulation of air all around him. 
 
 I would say a word just here concerning the modern 
 school desk. While there is an unlimited number of patent 
 desks before the public, neat and even elegant in style and 
 finish, I do not know of one in which the seats are even com- 
 fortable; the backs are concave where they ought to be con- 
 vex, and vice versa ; the seats are usually too high, and their 
 shape is such that only monstrosity would fit them; it is a. 
 shame to force any child to occupy, day after day, chairs sO' 
 ill adapted to the requirements of health and comfort. I am- 
 glad to be able to say that, under the direction of the ener- 
 getic Board of Education of the city in which I write, a large 
 New York firm have undertaken to manufacture desks and 
 chairs for their new school building, designed upon a 
 common-sense principle, combining simplicity, utility, com-^ 
 fort, and elegance. 
 
 WATER-CLOSETS, ETC. 
 
 Whatever care may be taken in the construction of other 
 parts of the building, the structure, so far as its healthful 
 usefulness is concerned, will be a failure if the sanitary 
 arrangements are neglected. 
 
 I am aware that it is an uncommon occurrence to find 
 water-closets in any school building outside of a city. Privies 
 situated in the yard are considered sufficient. They are 
 usually poorly built, and are only accessible by exposure to 
 the weather, and are anything but elevating to the morals o£ 
 
246 MODEJiA AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the children. In some instances you will find privy vaults 
 under the same roof that covers the schoolroom — this, too, 
 without any attempt at ventilation. The evils arising from 
 a vault so situated cannot be estimated. In some cases 
 earth-closets have been introduced with success, and if 
 properly built and systematically looked after they work 
 well, and can be placed in such a position that a child need 
 not be exposed to the cold or wet in passing to and from 
 them. 
 
 I think there is nothing better than a good water-closet 
 or latrine, properly set, and can see no reason why they 
 should not be generally used in suburban schoolhouses. 
 From the roofs of ordinary structures large quantities of rain- 
 water may be collected and stored in cisterns conveniently 
 located. These, with a good well, should furnish an ample 
 supply of water, that can be pumped by an ordinary force- 
 pump, supplied with a two-way cock, from the well or cistern 
 into a tank in the attic, A few minutes' work by the wind- 
 mill daily will keep the tank properly filled. As the school 
 is closed during the hot, dry months, when sometimes we 
 have a drought, there can be little danger of the water failing, 
 provided a reasonable amount of care is exercised in its use. 
 With a good circulation of water assured, there can be no 
 objection to the use of closets. A simple hopper of porcelain 
 is the best, arranged with iron service- and feed-boxes over- 
 head, the valves in the boxes to be connected with the wooden 
 seat over hoppers in such a manner that the weight of the 
 occupant will cause a flow of water, flushing the closet 
 thoroughly each time it is used. 
 
 The floors of the closets, except under hoppers, should 
 be of tiles, and the side walls of enamelled brick, as before 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 247 
 
 described. That portion of the floor upon which the hoppers 
 stand should be of dark-blue slate, about 2 feet wide and 2 
 inches thick. The hopper should be firmly bolted to the 
 slate with brass bolts, an outlet being cut through the slate 
 for the mouth of the hopper. There should be a slate parti- 
 tion between each hopper about 6 feet high, 2 feet broad, 
 and i\ inches thick, A light metal frame and capping should 
 hold this in position. The seats should be of wood, resting 
 on cleats that should be bolted through the slate partitions. 
 
 The urinals may be simply slate troughs with backs of the 
 same material, or the individual porcelain urinals that are in 
 common use. 
 
 A marble wash-bowl should be provided in each dressing- 
 room, and drinking-water pumped directly from the well. 
 The hoppers should be of white porcelain exposed to view. 
 The soil-pipes and traps should run out of the building as 
 quickly as possible, and be easily accessible for inspection at 
 all times. It is well to paint their outer surface white, as 
 any leak or escape of gas quickly causes discoloration and is 
 at once detected. 
 
 The utmost care should be taken in the ventilation of the 
 traps, pipes, and drains, as, however costly the fixtures may 
 be, unless they are properly ventilated they will be objec- 
 tionable. 
 
 As no public drainage is likely to exist, a cesspool will 
 probably have to be used for the reception of sewage. Let 
 this be removed as far as possible from the building, and 
 placed in some remote, unfrequented corner of the lot. By 
 all means use a tight cesspool, and do not on any condition 
 use the leaching cesspool, as it is impossible to tell what 
 course may be taken underground by the filth discharged 
 
248 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 from it. Pollution of well- or spring-water at long distances, 
 has often been traced to this cause, while hundreds of undis- 
 covered cases now exist. A tight receptacle of ample size, 
 thoroughly built and properly ventilated, will not be obnox- 
 ious, and can be pumped out once or twice a year at a small 
 expense. It would be useless to attempt a system of sub- 
 irrigation for a single building of small size, for while this 
 disposal of liquid waste has much to recommend it when 
 planned upon an extensive scale, I do not consider that it can 
 be practically applied to a single building without a very 
 large expenditure of money. 
 
 HEATING AND VENTILATION. 
 
 Under this head will be found the true test of the success- 
 ful hygienic construction of a building. To heat any room 
 to a required temperature in the coldest weather is a very 
 simple matter. To bring into the room a suf^cient supply of 
 pure, warm air, to remove the vitiated air, maintaining at all 
 times and in all parts of the room a steady circulation or 
 mixing of the air without causing unpleasant drafts, is a 
 far more difficult thing to do. That it can be satisfactorily 
 done is only a question of understandingly applying the 
 means that are at hand. 
 
 In the smaller rooms and the halls of the accompanying 
 plans I would use direct steam. In the main schoolroom the 
 indirect system will be far better. 
 
 Before going into the details of the heating apparatus, it 
 would be well to consider briefly the requirements of the 
 schoolroom, the quantity of air that it is necessary to supply, 
 the capacity and position of the incoming and outgoing regis- 
 ters, and the general laws governing the movements of air. 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. ' 249 
 
 The schoolrooms that are shown in the accompanying 
 plans contain about 12,536 cubic feet of air, an average of 
 about 278^ cubic feet per person. I believe in supplying to 
 each occupant as near 30 cubic feet of pure warmed air per 
 minute as possible. To do this, we shall be obliged to bring 
 into the room every hour 1350 cubic feet per person, or a 
 grand total of 81,000 cubic feet. Of course, if this amount 
 is brought in, proper provision must be made for its removal 
 as soon as it has become vitiated, which will cause the dis- 
 placement of all the air in the room about 6f times each 
 hour, or once in about 9 minutes. Some may consider the 
 quantities I have named in excess of the actual requirements, 
 and that it is not possible to introduce and move such quan- 
 tities of air unless a gigantic apparatus is used and an 
 enormous amount of fuel consumed. In answer to the first 
 objection, I would say that the highest medical authorities 
 insist upon about the same amount as a standard; and to the 
 latter, that if the apparatus is properly constructed and under- 
 standingly handled, no unnecessary expense will be incurred. 
 
 There is much diversity of opinion among experts as to 
 the position of incoming and outgoing registers. Many 
 -advocate placing the incoming registers in the floor, some on 
 the side walls near the floor, and a few high up on the side 
 walls. The latter is the only proper place for them, and it 
 seems to me the worst kind of bigotry, with our knowledge 
 of the action of warmed and cooled air, to insist that the floor 
 is the best place. We all know that warm, pure air is light 
 and will rise rapidly to the top of the room, no matter at 
 what point it is introduced. It is an equally well-established 
 fact that foul air is heavy and settles in the lower part of the 
 Toom. I cannot understand why, with these facts before us, 
 
250 MaDERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 it is still sometimes argued that the floor is the best place for 
 registers. If you introduce the pure, warmed air there, you 
 are bound by natural laws to carry it through a stratum of 
 impure air before it reaches the top of the room; and I think 
 no one will have the hardihood to claim that it has passed 
 through without becoming contaminated. 
 
 Why, then, is it not better to avoid this contamination, 
 and bring the air into the room as near the ceiling as is prac- 
 ticable ? Your registers will cost no more, and the additional 
 pipe required is a very small matter. 
 
 Another strong objection to floor registers is that dust and 
 dirt are continually deposited in them, especially when not in 
 use: this dust is mixed with the incoming air, and carried 
 directly to the lungs of the occupants of the room. An 
 objection some will make to wall registers is that children 
 cannot warm their feet at them. Much better arrangements 
 for this purpose are " foot-warmers," consisting of coils of 
 steam-pipe placed between the floor-beams, encased in tin, 
 and packed in coarse sand to temper the heat; on the top 
 they are covered with flat iron plates, countersunk, and flush 
 with the top surface of the floor. These plates should have 
 their top surface roughened with some neat pattern to prevent 
 slipping. The plates may be placed with advantage in the 
 entrance-halls and hat-and-cloak-rooms, and by their use a 
 steady, uniform heat is obtained„ The tight iron plate 
 renders the collection of dust upon the surface of the pipes, 
 impossible. 
 
 The outlet-registers should be placed at the floor-level, 
 for the air settles there as it cools and becomes laden with 
 impurities, and it should be our aim to remove it as quickly 
 as possible. Outlets are invariably made too small; it is. 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 25 I 
 
 absurd to attempt to bring large quantities of pure warmed 
 air into a room unless ample provision is made for its re- 
 moval. It is safe to assume that if the foul air is with- 
 drawn, enough pure air will find its way into the room to 
 supply the vacuum, the greater portion coming, of course, 
 from the heating apparatus. 
 
 It has been repeatedly proved by experiments that from 
 two to three times as much air will flow through an outgoing 
 as through an incoming flue, which indicates, in rooms of 
 ordinary construction, a continual suction into them of the 
 outer air. It is a mistaken idea to think that foul air will 
 obligingly meander through the small and intricate passages 
 laid out for it, without some motive power for its propulsion. 
 The exhaust-flues must not only be of large dimensions, 
 running with as few turns as possible directly to the outer air, 
 but some means must be employed to assure a steady outward 
 current. An exhaust- or suction-fan placed in the outlets 
 would undoubtedly be the surest way of accomplishing this, 
 but this must be operated by an expensive apparatus, and 
 can only be successfully applied to a very large building. 
 The simplest and most practical method of maintaining the 
 current is by the introduction of heat into the outgoing ducts. 
 This may be generated from a steam-pipe running through 
 the flue, by a small stove placed at the lower end, with the 
 smoke-pipe running up through it, by a gas-jet kept contin- 
 ually burning during the sessions, or even by a lighted lamp 
 set in the flues. 
 
 For the reasons before cited, the outgoing flues should be 
 at least twice as large as the incoming, no matter how large 
 the latter may be; they should be placed on the inside walls 
 of the room at the floor-level. 
 
252 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ^ 
 
 The hot-air registers, for the introduction of pure warmed 
 air, I have placed directly over the outlet-registers, and high 
 up on the side walls. By this plan I am enabled to concen- 
 trate all the heating and ventilating apparatus on one side of 
 the room. 
 
 The flues for the introduction of pure warm air are all in- 
 tended to be large, and the flow of air through them moderate 
 and steady. The pipes, where they enter the room, should 
 be splayed or trumpet-shaped, the register being one third 
 larger than the flue. The flue itself should be of tin or gal- 
 vanized iron encased in brick, and should extend vertically 
 from the register in the room downward to the heating-surface 
 placed in the basement. This heating-surface may consist of 
 coils of I -inch pipe staggered, and placed one above the 
 other, or of some one of the many indirect radiators that are 
 in the market. 
 
 One great fault that I have to find with most of the 
 radiators now in use is that there is not sufficient provision 
 made for the flow of air through them. The air which does 
 flow through them is usually overheated and while the tem- 
 perature of the room is easily maintained at the required 
 point, the supply of air furnished is inadequate. I have had 
 great trouble in finding radiators with sufficient air-space, and 
 have resorted to various expedients, more or less successful, 
 to overcome this deficiency. Whatever radiators may be 
 used, they should be enclosed in metal jackets tightly fitted 
 to the flue at the top, extending down over the sides, and 
 closely connected with metal plates on the bottom. These 
 plates should be in direct communication with the cold-air 
 duct, and perforated over their entire surface with i-inch 
 holes, placed 2 inches on centres, these serving as distributers 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. 253 
 
 of the cold air to the radiating-surface, which should not be 
 placed in one mass, but subdivided into at least three sec- 
 tions, having one main supply-pipe, with branches con- 
 trolled by gate-valves for each radiator. By this arrange- 
 ment, one, two, or three sections may be used at pleasure, 
 and the supply of air, while remaining always the same, is 
 raised or lowered to the temperature required by the turning 
 of a valve. 
 
 The cold-air ducts should be of brick, laid close-jointed in 
 cement, protected at the outer opening with a register-plate 
 or coarse wire netting. The supply of cold air should always 
 be taken at least 6 feet from the ground, and should flow as 
 directly as possible to the heating-surface; the flue should be 
 provided with a damper by which the flow of air may be 
 regulated. 
 
 I have not as yet given the size of the incoming and out- 
 going flues for a room of the capacity of the one here pre- 
 sented. This depends much upon its length. The longer 
 the flue, the greater the velocity of the flow of air through 
 It; consequently its size may be reduced in proportion to 
 its length. The flues in question are about 12 feet long; 
 according to Montgolfiier's formula, a flue with a capacity of 
 2^ feet square, 12 feet long, will discharge into a room, 
 allowing 30° difference in the temperature, 750 cubic feet of 
 air per minute, or 45,000 cubic feet per hour. Two flues of 
 this capacity will introduce 90,000 cubic feet each hour, which 
 is slightly in excess of the amount actually required, but it is 
 better to increase rather than diminish the supply. The in- 
 troduction of this air will change the atmosphere at least six 
 times each hour, rendering it perfectly healthful at all times. 
 -It is safe to assume that, for rooms of the size here shown. 
 
254 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 one flue with a capacity of 5 square feet, or two flues with 
 a capacity of 2\ square feet each, will be required for the 
 incoming hot air. The outlets must have an area of at least 
 10 square feet. Both incoming and outgoing registers must 
 be one third larger than the flues or ducts. 
 
 The best of our steam-heaters require, for indirect heat- 
 ing, I foot of heating-surface to every 40 feet of air. At this 
 ratio it would require about 316 feet of indirect heating-sur- 
 face for the room of which we are writing. When it is con- 
 sidered, however, that every hour we are introducing 90,000 
 cubic feet of air, and that this amount must be properly 
 warmed, it can be readily seen that more heating-surface will 
 be required. It will be found that i foot of heating-surface 
 to every 20 feet of air will be amply sufficient to heat the 
 room even in the coldest weather. I should prefer to use 
 'three 150-foot radiators in each stack, a total of 900 feet of 
 heating-surface for the room. This will give i foot of heat- 
 ing-surface for every 100 feet of pure air introduced, or i foot 
 for about every 14 feet actually contained in the room. It 
 is to be understood that this amount is not to be used at all 
 times: one third of it will answer for ordinary cool weather, 
 two thirds for sharp winter weather, the whole capacity being 
 called into use only on the coldest days. 
 
 It is short-sighted economy to construct a small apparatus 
 to commence with, hoping it will prove of sufificient size. It 
 is better far to have the capacity in excess of what is actually 
 required than below it. Bear in mind that it is cheaper to 
 run a large boiler at two thirds its actual power, than a small 
 one when taxing it. 
 
 For the playroom, water-closets, hat-and-cloak-rooms, 
 and halls, direct heat may be used in the form of circulation- 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. _ 255 
 
 pipes. In the basement rooms these should be hung from 
 the ceiling, and be of sufficient quantity to allow i foot of 
 heating-surface for every 60 cubic feet of air. By hanging 
 these pipes from the ceiling they will be out of the way, and 
 the heat will be where it should be, at the top of the room. 
 They may be bronzed over, and will not be unpleasant to 
 look at. The outlets for these rooms should be, as in the 
 schoolroom, large and at the floor-level. The teacher's room 
 should have a small direct radiator. 
 
 The position of the boiler is clearly shown on the plans. 
 The make should be decided by the architect employed by 
 the committee. There are so many first-class boilers in the 
 market that with ordinary precautions a suitable one may be 
 obtained; only insist upon a large size, and ample grate- 
 surface. 
 
 I have not spoken of other methods of heating in this 
 article, for the reason that I consider steam the only suitable 
 one for school buildings. The best of the hot-air furnaces, 
 are abominable, and stoves are equally as bad; in the use of 
 either you are debarred from securing even a moderate sup- 
 ply of fresh warmed air. The small amount that it is possible 
 to obtairi has all the life burned out of it by contact with 
 overheated surfaces, and enters the room usually laden with 
 gas. The supply of air should always be large, but in no 
 case overheated. The volume introduced should be relied 
 upon to maintain a pleasant temperature. The use of stoves 
 or hot-air furnaces will not permit of this, and for this reason, 
 if for no other, they should be banished from school struc- 
 tures. 
 
 I have thus far spoken only of the heating and ventilating 
 of the rooms during cold weather. For that portion of the 
 
256 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 year when no artificial heat is required there can be no better 
 inlets for fresh air than the windows. There are many simple 
 devices that a little ingenuity will arrange successfully for the 
 outlets. With the windows dropped at the top, and the 
 transoms open, little more will be required in clear weather. 
 On damp and stormy days a large circular register, placed in 
 the centre of the ceiling, and directly connected with the 
 ventilator on the main roof, will be found sufificient. The 
 ceiling registers in the halls and hat-and-cloak-rooms may be 
 connected with the main ventilators by metal pipes, an 
 upgoing current being maintained in them at all times by 
 artificial heat. 
 
 A thorough "flushing" of the rooms with outside air 
 should be insisted upon, both in summer and winter, before 
 and after sessions, and at recess. As soon as the children 
 leave the room, all doors and windows should be opened to 
 their fullest extent, and the air be allowed to sweep through 
 them unimpeded. With a proper apparatus the required 
 temperature of the room will be quickly restored. 
 
 In conclusion, I would say that the buildings shown in 
 both designs can be easily doubled in capacity by placing a 
 floor above the one now shown. As I said before, I have not 
 tried in either design to produce a cheap building, but have 
 endeavored, by the use of the best materials combined with 
 sound construction and a careful consideration of the require- 
 ments of the occupants, to show that structures can be built 
 having all the comforts of ordinary ones without their objec- 
 tionable features. 
 
 While many of the theories I advance may be new, and 
 consequently not looked upon with favor, it will still be 
 acknowledged that an honesty of purpose in my plea for 
 
SUBURBAN SCHOOLHOUSES. .257 
 
 better buildings for the young has alone actuated me. If the 
 perusal of these pages will in any way help to improve the 
 condition of existing schools, or show a better way to con- 
 struct those about to be built, my aim will be accomplished. 
 
MODERISr AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 259 
 
 Si 
 
 O 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 261 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF SCHOOL- 
 HOUSES.* 
 
 Some years ago I was employed by the Board of Educa- 
 tion of a certain city to examine a large schoolhouse and 
 suggest, if possible, some way of improving the heating and 
 ventilation of the structure. While engaged upon this work 
 my attention was for the first time forcibly directed to the 
 evils that exist in the majority of modern school buildings. 
 In my professional career up to the time of which I speak, 1 
 had never been called upon to design a building that was to 
 be entirely devoted to educational purposes; in a general way 
 the requirements were known to me, but no special thought 
 or study had been given to the subject. In the present 
 instance, however, I gave the matter my undivided attention 
 and carefully searched not only home but foreign authorities 
 for reliable data that would instruct and enlighten me. 
 Existing structures were examined; superintendents, princi- 
 pals, and teachers were questioned as to their experiences and 
 
 * The following pages originally appeared as a series of articles which 
 were written for and published in Architecture and Building during the 
 year 1886. They have long since been practically out of print, and, as 
 there is a constant demand for them, it has been deemed wise to republish 
 them in this work ; they have been rewritten and reillustrated, and a 
 chapter on city schools added. In their present form they fully embrace 
 the theories that have been advanced in other portions of the work. 
 
 263 
 
264 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 conclusions; in short, no pains were spared to learn all that 
 could be learned of practical use. While much valuable in- 
 formation was obtained from these sources, but few, I may- 
 say no buildings were found where the principles laid down 
 by experts and suggested by experience had been combined. 
 
 So interested did I become in this subject that that which 
 at first was merely a part of the regular routine of ofifice work 
 soon developed into a hobby which is, to-day, being ridden 
 with as much vigor as when it was first mounted. It seems 
 to me that this branch of my calling has not had as many 
 devotees as many others, and I am inclined to the belief that 
 one who makes a specialty of any department of his profes- 
 sion is better qualified in that branch than those who have 
 not devoted the same time and attention to it. As I have 
 gotten into this special "rut," if I may so call it, and have 
 met with success, I feel as if I could intelligibly point out 
 existing defects in school buildings and suggest practical 
 remedies for them. 
 
 The principles and theories here advanced are those 
 deduced entirely from practical experience in the con- 
 struction of school buildings during the last fifteen years; 
 in this time it has been my good fortune to be called 
 upon to design buildings ranging from the one-room village 
 schoolhouse up to the normal-school building of a State, 
 The experience thus gained has been invaluable; and from 
 the very flattering reception given to some former articles of 
 mine on this subject, I am led to believe that a series of illus- 
 trated papers will prove of interest not only to those of my 
 own profession, but to all who are interested in the physical 
 and mental welfare of children. 
 
 As I purpose to speak only of public-school buildings, 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 265 
 
 and as there are several distinct classes that come under 
 this head, I shall, for convenience' sake, divide them as 
 follows: 
 
 First Class.— ^)x& normal school, and buildings devoted 
 entirely to the use of what is known as the " high school." 
 
 Second Class, — The buildings devoted to both high and 
 grammar schools, and grammar-school buildings containing 
 from twelve rooms upward. 
 
 Third Class. — The grammar school proper, containing 
 from six to twelve rooms, and the combined grammar and 
 primary schools, containing from three to six rooms. ^' 
 
 Fourth Class. — The village or district school, containing 
 from one to three rooms, 
 
 I shall discuss these various classes, beginning with the 
 last here enumerated; in other words, the first illustrations 
 and descriptions will be of the fourth-class structure, which 
 will be succeeded in regular order by the various classes, 
 until the first is reached and included. 
 
 A public schoolhouse differs in many ways from other 
 buildings; no matter in which class it may be placed, it is 
 essentially a working building, although its working hours are 
 short. The ordinary school sessions are from nine to twelve 
 and from two until four, allowing thirty minutes before and 
 after each session for those who voluntarily come early and 
 are involuntarily detained; therefore, out of every twenty- 
 four hours there are seven that the building is being used and 
 seventeen in which it is practically deserted. 
 
 In the seven hours that it is in use there are crowded into 
 far too limited a space children from every class in the com- 
 munity; it is, in fact, a heterogeneous assemblage, gathered 
 together for one purpose; for the time being it is expected 
 
266 MODEEN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 that each and every one will concentrate his energies upon 
 the task set for him. 
 
 We are all proud of the progress our children make in the 
 public schools, but we must know that their rapid advance 
 is only obtained by hard and persistent study. Any thinking 
 man or woman knows that a child cannot do as well nor pur- 
 sue a continuous course of this hard work in overcrowded, 
 badly ventilated, and poorly lighted rooms without sooner 
 or later feeling their injurious effects. It is generally con- 
 ceded that factory operatives work in extremely uncomfort- 
 able quarters; and yet, in the many factories with which I am 
 familiar, I do not know of one where the occupants have not, 
 as a rule, more square feet of floor-space, a greater number 
 of cubic feet of air, generally an abundance of light, and 
 usually better facilities for heating than can be found in the 
 school buildings situated in the immediate neighborhood. 
 Admitting that the working hours of the factory hands are 
 longer, and that they are older and better able to withstand 
 the strain to which they are subjected, I still have a firm con- 
 viction that if they were to be placed in as large numbers 
 within the limited space, and under the same conditions, as 
 the pupils in many schools, and required to work on full time 
 week after week, they would not be able to stand what they 
 do in their homely factory. Neither would you nor I, day 
 after day, be willing to go through what we expect of children. 
 How frequently we complain of the bad atmosphere or the 
 uncomfortable heat or cold that we experience while attend- 
 ing church, lecture, or theatre, although we are being enter- 
 tained instead of working, and are pleasantly detained, at 
 most, but two or three hours. It may be said that school- 
 rooms are more comfortable than churches, theatres, or 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS, 
 
 267 
 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 269 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 27 1 
 
 lecture-halls, but I beg to differ with those who take such 
 a view of the case; that they may be made so I am bound 
 to admit, and that they soon will be I sincerely hope. 
 
 ROOMS. 
 
 One of the first requirements of a schoolroom is suf^cient 
 floor-space; to determine what this space shall be we must 
 know at the outset how many pupils the room is to accom- 
 modate. This should be an invariable rule in school con- 
 struction, for it is the master key of the successful planning 
 of a schoolroom on hygienic principles, no matter what the 
 shape of the room may be. I am frequently asked how large 
 I should recommend ordinary grammar schoolrooms to be 
 built, and I invariably reply, " Tell me how many pupils you 
 desire to put into a room and I will tell you how large it 
 should be." My rule is to allow at least 20 square feet of 
 floor-space per pupil, never less — always get as much more 
 as you can. Rooms to contain 46 pupils would require, cal- 
 culating in this way, 920 square feet of floor-surface, and, as 
 the teacher must be looked after, I should recommend a room 
 27 X 36; this would give 972 square feet of floor-space, or 
 2\\ square feet for each occupant. If the reader will take 
 pains to count the pupils and measure the rooms in some 
 of the schools with which he may be familiar, he will find 
 how far short they usually come of this standard. I have 
 given a greater length than breadth to the room mentioned, 
 for the reason that a room so planned is easier to construct 
 than one that is perfectly square, on account of the lessen- 
 ing of the span, and I know of no objection whatevci to 
 this shape. I am sorry to say that in most of my buildings 
 I have been obliged to make rooms large enough to accom- 
 
272 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 modate 50 pupils; they contain invariably at least 1064 
 square feet of floor-surface, being 28 X 38 in size. While 
 the same proportion of space per head is obtained and in 
 the same general form, it is a mistake to burden a teacher 
 with so many pupils; from 40 to 44, I believe, are all to 
 v/hom they can do justice. I am u^ell aware that this is far 
 below the average number that they are expected to in- 
 struct; but because a bad precedent has been created there 
 is no reason why it should be everlastingly followed. A 
 machine is built with a certain capacity, and when that 
 capacity is exceeded one of two things follows: either poor 
 work is produced or there is a breakdown. The thought 
 has often occurred to me, when watching the public-school 
 teachers in their seemingly endless round of routine work, 
 that they are simply human machines whose capacity is far 
 more abused than those constructed by the hands of men. 
 While this subject is only indirectly connected with the con- 
 struction of schools, to my mind it is an evil that should be 
 eradicated; let there be fewer pupils per teacher, more and 
 larger rooms to put them in, and both teachers and scholars 
 will be benefited thereby. 
 
 The floor-space of our room being determined by the 
 number of pupils who are to occupy it, we can, in the same 
 way, obtain the height of ceiling required, for our next con- 
 sideration must be the amount of cubic space allowed per 
 pupil; there is a wide difference of opinion among experts in 
 regard to this; the minimum space I have found to be 
 variously estimated from 100 to 300 cubic feet per pupil. I 
 have, for my own use, established a minimum of 250 cubic 
 feet of air per pupil. This would require, in a room contain- 
 ing 972 square feet, a ceiling height of 12 feet 6 inches in the 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 273 
 
 clear. I should prefer, however, to give the room the height 
 of 13 feet in the clear and obtain, by so doing, about 275 
 cubic feet of air per pupil. 
 
 Plates 49, 50, 51, and 52 represent structures of the 
 fourth class, each containing one schoolroom, the buildings 
 being constructed in one instance of wood and in the other of 
 fieldstone and brick. While they are entirely different in 
 plan, the rules here advocated have been carefully carried out 
 in both. 
 
 LIGHTING. 
 
 The mode of determining the size of a room being settled, 
 our next and no less important consideration is its lighting. 
 This, as in the preceding cases, is to be arbitrarily decided by 
 the number of pupils. Long experience has led me to believe 
 that the placing of the windows at the left of the pupil is 
 preferable to all others; I am also convinced that they should 
 be grouped as much as possible, that their stools should be 
 about 4 feet from the floor, and that their opening should 
 extend as near to the ceiling as the proper construction of the 
 buliding will allow. It is asserted by some writers on this 
 subject that no school windows should have a circular head; 
 if this be true and if the teachings of a riper experience prove 
 to me that the introduction of a circular-headed window into 
 a schoolroom is objectionable, I am not so bigoted as not to 
 be open to conviction; but until I have better authority than 
 any now known to me condemning the arch, I shall continue 
 to use it, in its various forms, in my designs. 
 
 The position of the windows having been determined, the 
 size of their .openings must next be considered. Experts 
 differ as to the amount of glass surface required per pupil; 
 
274 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 some good authorities require that it should equal one fifth 
 or one sixth of the floor-area, while others state that from 300 
 to 350 square inches per pupil is sufficient. While I think 
 that one fifth of the floor-area is more than is necessary, 
 unless under the most adverse conditions, I am convinced 
 that 300 square inches is insufficient under the most favorable 
 circumstances. What is meant by "adverse conditions" is 
 rooms that are shadowed, as is often the case in cities, by 
 large buildings, or rooms that are badly planned or situated 
 so as to be masked by some other portion of the building of 
 which they form a part; these errors should not exist in a 
 well-studied structure, but that they do exist is an undeniable 
 fact. Undoubtedly, in \vell-proportioned rooms with a clear 
 space of at least 100 feet on the sides in which the windows 
 are placed, from 400 to 450 inches of glass surface per pupil 
 is enough for any schoolroom, and I have adopted this as 
 my standard. In the later buildings that I have designed 
 I have increased rather than diminished the size of the 
 windows, and believe that they are improved thereby. 
 
 Having fixed upon the floor-area, the cubic space, and the 
 amount of glass surface in such a manner that the highest 
 medical authorities or most exacting exponents of hygiene 
 cannot gainsay their correctness, it would seem that if suit- 
 able materials have been used in construction, proper heating 
 and ventilating insured, and the subordinate parts of the 
 structure as carefully studied, a model building would be 
 produced. 
 
 ENTRANCES. 
 
 Second only in importance to the schoolroom proper are 
 the entrances, halls, and stairways. These are usually far too 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 275 
 
 
 1 I ,i ^.::-' . 1^ ■ '■■'it, ! rTT^BW*'- 
 
 M II »„. 
 
 CD8 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 277 
 
 CS 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 279 
 
 contracted, badly arranged, poorly lighted, and, almost in- 
 variably, dangerous in their construction. What I mean by 
 dangerous will be more fully explained under the head of 
 staircases. 
 
 As far as is practicable, I believe in the separation of the 
 sexes in our public schools, no matter what the grade may be. 
 Believing this, separate entrances are provided for the boys 
 and girls wherever it is possible, even in the one-room build- 
 ing. The entrances may open onto a porch to be used in 
 common, or separate porches may be planned; it is well to 
 provide one or the other even in the smaller class of build- 
 ings. The open porch is a most useful and valuable acquisi- 
 tion to a school building, not only as an architectural feature, 
 but for its general utility, provided always that it is so placed 
 as in no way to interfere with the light and air of the school- 
 rooms. A good, roomy porch not only serves as a protection 
 to children who may arrive before the doors are opened on 
 stormy mornings, but enables them to stamp the snow and 
 mud from their feet, close their umbrellas, and shake the 
 superfluous moisture from their clothing before entering the 
 hall proper 
 
 HALLS. 
 
 Even in the smallest building the halls should be wide 
 enough to allow two or more persons to pass without crowd- 
 ing. They should lead as directly as possible from the 
 entrance to the schoolroom door; be easily accessible from 
 the side-entrance halls, hat-and-cloak-rooms, etc., and, above 
 all, be thoroughly lighted and ventilated. 
 
 On the floor-plans of the village schools all the above 
 requirements have been fulfilled without wasting room or 
 
28o MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 sacrificing the architectural proportions of the buildings. See 
 Plates 49, 50, 51. 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56. 
 
 SIDE AND REAR ENTRANCES AND PORCHES. 
 
 In the plans shown, side and rear entrances and porches 
 are introduced leading respectively to the boys' and girls' 
 yards. It is not claimed that these are absolutely necessary, 
 or that the building would be incomplete without them, but 
 that by their use many important and useful features are 
 gained; a direct communication with each yard is obtained, 
 and, if these are properly fenced, pupils are kept from the 
 village street or the highway; there is no commingling of the 
 sexes, as would be the case if it were necessary to use the 
 front entrance; moreover, by the use of these entrances the 
 pupils have no occasion for going to the front door during 
 school hours, unless sent on some special errand by the 
 teacher; the mud and dirt of the playground are not 
 besmeared over the front-entrance porches, and in case of a 
 sudden panic causing a stampede from the schoolroom, two 
 additional exits are provided. 
 
 teacher's ROOM. 
 
 The introduction of this room will probably be criticised 
 and its practical use doubted. It is by no means superfluous 
 in designs of this class, and good and sufificient reasons for its 
 use can be given. Almost all parents, sooner or later, during 
 the education of their children, have occasion to visit the 
 teacher; if they do not, they should, for not only should 
 there be a perfect understanding between the teacher and the 
 pupil, but also between the teacher and the parent. Those 
 parents who do occasionally visit the teacher or school prob- 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. .28 1 
 
 ably remember how agreeable it is to hold a whispered con- 
 sultation on the platform before a gaping roomful of pupils, 
 or how satisfactory a tete-a-tete is in an uncomfortable hall 
 where the visitor, perhaps after a long walk, is obliged to 
 stand, and the teacher, holding the schoolroom door ajar, 
 peeps anxiously into the room every few seconds, in the hope 
 •of catching an unfortunate urchin in some misdemeanor. If 
 the superintendent, committeemen, or school visitors call, 
 •they have to go through the same manoeuvres; if a pupil has 
 been especially refractory and has been in some malicious 
 mischief that renders it necessary for him to be brought 
 before the committee in the presence of the teacher and 
 perhaps the parent, would not the schoolhouse where the 
 trouble occurred be the proper place to investigate it, and 
 that, too, during school hours, so that other pupils could be 
 -called upon if required ? Is there any place provided in the 
 ordinary schoolhouses where such an investigation could be 
 carried on ? Again, in the case of punishing a pupil it has 
 either to be done after school hours or before the whole room, 
 •unless some place of retirement is provided. 
 
 Teacher's rooms, situated as those shown in the plans 
 under discussion, can be used for all the purposes mentioned 
 above and for many others; and they are equally useful for 
 recitation-rooms. When they are placed where indicated on 
 some of the plans, there might be introduced, in the wall, back 
 of the platforms, sashes of moderate size, glazed with clear 
 ;glass, which would enable the teacher to keep a general 
 supervision over both rooms, no matter which one she might 
 be in; these sashes can be arranged to slide so as to obtain a 
 iree circulation of air in summer, and could have a neat 
 curtain to screen them when desirable. 
 
282 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 It is not required that there should be a teacher's room 
 for every schoolroom, but that there should be at least one 
 for every building, and where there are male and female 
 teachers employed there should be one for each sex. In the 
 larger buildings, containing four or more rooms on each story, 
 it is well to have such a room on every floor, and, where it is 
 possible, arrangements should be made to have neat toilet- 
 rooms connected. Rooms of this kind add greatly to the 
 comfort of the teachers, and it seems to me absurd to claim 
 that they are an unwarranted luxury. 
 
 The stone buildings that are shown on Plates 51 and 55 
 are intended to be constructed of the common quarry stone, 
 such as may be had in almost every town, and a good quality 
 hard-burned local brick; the workmanship need only be well 
 done, and any good village mason is competent to do it. 
 
 Plates 53, 54, 55, and $6 illustrate suburban buildings, 
 containing two schoolrooms. It is obvious that either design 
 may be doubled in capacity by the addition of a story directly 
 over those shown, of the same size and arrangement. The 
 stairs would ascend over those that now descend to the base- 
 ment, and all exterior and interior lines would remain the 
 same, with the exception of being extended vertically. 
 
 HAT-AND-CLOAK-ROOMS. 
 
 Usually there is but little attention given to these rooms; 
 about all that is required is that they shall be large enough 
 to contain the requisite number of hooks. Frequently we 
 find them long, narrow rooms that should more properly be 
 called passages, connected with the hall at one end and with 
 the schoolroom at the other. As a rule, they are poorly^ 
 lighted and there is rarely any attempt made to heat or ven- 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 I 
 
 283 
 
 
 u k in 
 
 44i mm 
 
 \ Will i 
 
 II 
 
 D^ 1 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 285 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 28/ 
 
 tilate them, and yet there are no rooms in the building, 
 outside of the water-closets, which are more liable to be offen- 
 sive. The hat-and-cloak-room of a large public school is not, 
 at its best, particularly agreeable, and when the outer gar- 
 ments of a score or more of pupils, gathered from all classes 
 of the community, are saturated with moisture, hung closely 
 together and permitted to steam hour after hour in a close 
 atmosphere, an efifluvium is thrown off which, while not as 
 objectionable as sewer-gas, is sufficiently so to be extremely 
 disagreeable and unhealthy. 
 
 In some schools a large room or rooms in the basement is 
 used for hanging hats and cloaks, the garments of two or 
 three hundred pupils being gathered together. This method 
 is open to several serious objections; more or less thieving is 
 bound to occur, as the pupils of the several rooms in the 
 building are not always dismissed at the same time, and those 
 pupils who go out first have access to all the garments; when 
 the pupils are all dismissed at the same time there is apt to be 
 a great deal of confusion. Where there are so many garments 
 gathered together there is also great danger of the transmission 
 of epidemical diseases. It may be said, in answer to the first 
 objections mentioned, that monitors would prevent thieving 
 and preserve order. They might, in a measure ; but an urchin 
 who is through with his tasks for the day and has only to 
 cross the threshold to be free is rather an unruly subject, 
 and when you come to multiply him by fifty or a hundred, it 
 can readily be seen that the monitor's duty is no sinecure. 
 
 Every one will admit that hat-and-cloak-rooms should be 
 well lighted, carefully heated, and amply ventilated. In 
 some of the accompanying designs hat-and-cloak-rooms of 
 ordinary construction are shown, although special provision 
 
288 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 for ventilation has been made in the ceiHng. In others a 
 very different and far better arrangement is given. The hat. 
 and-cloak-rooms required for the schoolrooms are grouped in 
 the hall, of which, in fact, they form a part. No lath or 
 plaster partitions are used in their construction, they having 
 merely simple light partitions of wood supported by corner 
 posts, with bottom, middle, and top rails running between 
 them. These rooms are entirely open at the top, and only 
 the posts run down to the floor; the bottom rails and doors 
 are kept about 4 inches from the floor, thus securing a free 
 circulation of air throughout. They are heated and venti- 
 lated with the halls. 
 
 The doors of these rooms or compartments swing both 
 ways. On the inside, at a suitable height, strong hook-strips 
 are placed on which are screwed the hooks. 
 
 I have used rooms of this description in all grades of 
 buildings with marked success. Usually they have been con- 
 structed of matched and beaded hard wood in narrow strips, 
 but if it is desired they can be made more pleasing to the 
 eye by the use of panel-work. Their great advantage lies in 
 their perfect ventilation, convenience, and the comparatively 
 small amount of space that they occupy. 
 
 The illustrations on Plates 57 and 58 show a three-room 
 building constructed of wood. By referring to Plates 29 and 
 30 a three-room building of brick will be seen. 
 
 WATER-CLOSETS, PRIVIES, ETC. 
 
 The sanitary arrangements of village and suburban school- 
 houses are, with few exceptions, of the most objectionable 
 nature. A carelessly constructed privy, situated at some 
 distance in the rear of the schoolhouse, is the usual accom- 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 289 
 
 
 '"■^^"^ Will 
 is]'.. If' 
 
 
 Si 
 ill i 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 29I 
 
 Plate 58. 
 
 Three: Roo/a Bvildi/ig 
 
 in WOOD — 
 
 First Story Plan 
 I 
 
 t3A5t(»\E.nT PlA/N 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 293 
 
 modation offered. The majority of those that I have exam- 
 ined have been so poorly built, or were in such a dilapidated 
 condition, as to be almost untenantable in cold and stormy 
 weather, even for the short time required for the calls of 
 nature. These miserable shanties, devoid of the simplest 
 comforts, besmeared with nastiness, adorned with obscene 
 scrawls, cannot but be injurious to the morals of the children. 
 No parents, could they see these places, would wish to have 
 a carefully reared child frequent them, but there is no alter- 
 native. No matter how repugnant to delicate sensibilities 
 these teeming monuments of filth may be, children are forced 
 to use them day after day, and it is no wonder that their finer 
 instincts are blunted, their modesty corrupted, and the seeds 
 of sensuality and vulgarity sown. 
 
 In all seasons and in all weather a child leaves the school- 
 room and crosses the playground to these privies. In winter, 
 when the schoolroom is at a temperature of 70° or more, the 
 sudden change from a warm room to a cold outbuilding is 
 enough in itself to be dangerous to the strongest and most 
 robust, and yet thousands upon thousands of children are 
 every day during the winter subjected to this exposure. In 
 warmer weather the conditions are not much better, for, while 
 the frosts of winter are almost unbearable, they still have the 
 power, by freezing, of reducing the stench so that it is not 
 particularly objectionable; under the stimulating influence of 
 heat these beds of pollution are worse in many cases than the 
 foulest pigsties. 
 
 Reader, do you think that this picture is overdrawn, or 
 that the statements here made cannot be substantiated ? If 
 you do, will you take the trouble to investigate for yourself ? 
 Let no false modesty deter you, but go to these places. 
 
294 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 ■examine them carefully, and, without prejudice, judge for 
 yourself whether or no the evils which I have depicted exist. 
 
 It will probably be said that many of these things are 
 bound to occur where there is a promiscuous gathering of 
 children. This I do not believe. I am convinced that under 
 proper management carefully constructed, conveniently 
 located, well heated and ventilated rooms, in which are 
 placed the required number of water-closets and urinals, can 
 be built, which will be in no way objectionable. 
 
 The first step toward a radical reform must be to abolish 
 the privy forever; nothing can be more dangerous to health. 
 Apparently the only reason for its maintenance is the cheap- 
 ness of its construction and its ability to take care of itself, 
 little or no attention being given to a privy after it is once 
 finished. A superintendent of schools in a flourishing city of 
 about 40,000 inhabitants once told me of a case that came 
 under his personal observation. In one of his outlying dis- 
 tricts was a small schoolhouse to which belonged a privy. 
 People occupying adjacent houses grumbled considerably 
 about the outhouse, and finally wrote a letter to my friend 
 calling attention to the nuisance, and requesting that it be 
 remedied. A janitor had charge of the building, and had 
 repeatedly assured the superintendent that the vault was 
 attended to from time to time and put in proper condition. 
 Upon the receipt of the letter, the superintendent, with cer- 
 tain other school ofificials, went to the building and made a 
 thorough examination; they found that the complaints were 
 well founded ; that the vault was in a horrible condition, and 
 had evidently not been cleaned for years. When the janitor 
 was shown the letter and informed of the serious complaints, 
 lie was much surprised, and protested that he did not see 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 295 
 
 " why there should be a complaint just now, as the vault had 
 not been touched and was in the same condition that it had 
 been during the ten years he had had charge of the building." 
 Is it a wonder, under such conditions as these, that the 
 general health of modern school children is poor ? Can it be 
 otherwise? Medical and sanitary experts are continually 
 pointing out the evil effects that arise from just such instances 
 as those I have mentioned; and yet we go on, year after 
 year, not only tolerating what we have, but making little or 
 no change for the better. I have said that the abolition of 
 the privy was a necessity; I would that it should become a 
 law that no school building should have a privy-vault con- 
 nected with it. It will be asked, What can be done in small 
 towns or villages where there is no water or sewerage system ? 
 There are two ways open for overcoming this obstacle. 
 The first, and probably the cheapest, is by the use of what 
 are known as "earth-closets." The several ways in which 
 these may be used have been so fully described by able 
 writers that it is not necessary for me to do it here. The 
 second method, and the one that I have usually employed, 
 is the use of the water-closet. Any good closet or latrine 
 may be used — the simpler the mechanism the better. Those 
 known as tank closets are the best for the purpose. These 
 ar.e fed from a tank placed over the closets to which are 
 attached service-boxes, one for each closet. Water can be 
 supplied to this tank from a larger tank, in the attic, which is 
 in turn supplied with water pumped into it either from a 
 cistern or a well. It is folly to say that this is impracticable 
 or that sufificient water cannot be obtained to properly supply 
 the closets; it has been repeatedly demonstrated that water 
 enough can be obtained: the question is only one of storage 
 
296 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 capacity. Enough water can be collected from the roofs of 
 any ordinary schoolhouse and stored in cisterns to supply the 
 closets and urinals for from two to three weeks. At the time of 
 year when droughts are likely to occur the schools are closed, 
 but, should the cistern supply be exhausted, a two-way pump, 
 pumping either from the well or the cistern, would insure 
 a supply from the well. The pump may be successfully and 
 cheaply operated by a windmill. So with a good force-pump 
 placed in the basement, an ample storage cistern, proper 
 gutters with suitable leaders, an abundant supply of water 
 can be obtained. With this there can be no question that 
 the properly constructed water-closet is the best-known 
 method for the removal of excreta. 
 
 In the smaller schoolhouses, situated in towns or villages 
 that have no public system of sewerage, the best plan, 
 probably, will be to use a tight cesspool. This should be 
 situated as far away from the building as the extent of the 
 lot will allow. It should be connected with the schoolhouse 
 by carefully trapped and ventilated drains, and so built that 
 it can easily be cleaned out twice a year. On no condition 
 should a leaching cesspool be used, nor should the excrement 
 be carried into some old ditch and there left to pursue its 
 own course. The sewerage and pipe system should always 
 be easy of access and under complete control. There are so 
 many able sanitarians who have given to the public an abun- 
 dance of useful data that it is not necessary for me to enlarge 
 on the subject here. I will only say that, no matter how 
 carefully planned or perfectly constructed a building may be, 
 if the Sewerage system is defective the structure will be a 
 failure from a sanitary and hygienic standpoint. 
 
 There will probably be those who will not approve of 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 297 
 
 placing the closets where I have indicated on the plans. 
 Their proximity to the schoolrooms is likely to be severely 
 citicised, and any attempt to make these rooms something 
 more than uncomfortable necessities will be met with strong 
 opposition. Squarely in the face of all such antagonistic 
 sentiments, I do maintain that whether earth- or water-closets 
 be used, they should be under the same roof as the school- 
 rooms, or so connected with the building that a child will not 
 have to leave cover in passing to and from them. If closets 
 and urinals are properly constructed and carefully ventilated, 
 I can see no reason why they should not be placed near the 
 school building; they can be isolated enough so as not to be 
 any more objectionable than they are in any large dwelling or 
 ofifice building. No matter where they may be placed, they 
 require constant care; they will not run themselves, as seems 
 to be the popular idea. We do not expect this of any other 
 piece of machinery, and a modern water-closet is a mechanical 
 contrivance operated under the most unfavorable conditions. 
 Such being the case, ought we to expect to obtain satisfactory 
 results unless vigilance and care are used ? 
 
 The rooms in which the water-closets are placed should 
 be light, cheerful, and, if possible, sunny. Let the finish of 
 the room be neat and appropriate, and everything about them 
 tend to enlighten and elevate the morals rather than to 
 degrade and pollute them. The feeling that the closets 
 should be placed in some remote corner that is not good 
 enough to be used for anything else, and that a child in going 
 to and from them must skulk along as if he were doing some- 
 thing to be ashamed of, is all a mistake and should not be 
 countenanced. I believe in modesty and decorum as much 
 as any one does, but I do not consider it necessary, in order 
 
298 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 to be truly modest, that one should cross the border and 
 enter into the realm of prudishness. 
 
 The water-closets are one of the important features of a 
 school building. It may be possible to get along with badly 
 planned, poorly lighted, and insufBciently heated rooms, but 
 you cannot gather together a number of pupils without pro- 
 viding conveniences for the calls of nature. Admitting this, 
 we should not underrate the importance of the water-closets,, 
 but allot to them the prominent place in the plans that they 
 surely occupy in the school system. By bringing them to 
 light, if I may so speak, and placing them in convenient 
 locations we will obtain more thought and study in their con- 
 struction, and more inspection and care after they are com- 
 pleted, than if they occupied less conspicuous positions. 
 
 I believe it should be not only the duty of the janitor, but 
 of the teacher as well, to daily look after the closets and care- 
 fully inspect them. This should also be part of the duty of 
 the school visitors, committeemen, and superintendent when- 
 ever they may have occasion to visit the school. The 
 children themselves should be taught to be vigilant, to report 
 at once anything that may be amiss, and be stimulated by 
 rewards, if necessary, to practise neatness and cleanliness. 
 There is no reason why these things cannot be accomplished 
 in a legitimate and pleasant way, and who will say but that, 
 if they are, one of the most objectionable features of public 
 schools will have been removed ? 
 
 As to the general construction of these rooms, let there 
 be as little wood about them as is consistent with comfort,- 
 and no plaster. The floors, even in a simple village school, 
 can be so constructed as to be at once durable, non-absorbent, 
 and cleanly. On each side of the wooden joists, if they are 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 299 
 
 B / 
 
 1/ 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 301 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 303 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. , 305 
 
 used, let there be nailed strong cleats, and on these cleats lay 
 a rough floor between the joists; upon this floor, which should 
 be low enough to admit of it, lay common bricks on edge and 
 grout them in cement. The top edge of the bricks should 
 project about one quarter of an inch above the floor-joists, 
 and the cement when floated up will not only cover them but 
 will fill all crevices between the bricks, forming, when it has 
 had time to harden, a perfectly solid floor. On top of this 
 put down a heavy coat of asphaltum, and you will have, at a 
 reasonable cost, a floor that will answer all purposes as well 
 as one that would cost three times the amount. 
 
 The side walls should be of brick; enamelled are the best, 
 but common brick may be used, in which case they may be 
 painted with several coats, as they are too porous for this 
 purpose unless they are painted. As to the ceilings, they 
 will be more fully described in other portions of this work. 
 
 There are many good water-closets to be had; the author 
 prefers those made entirely of porcelain, cast in one piece and 
 fed from a service-box. They should be set directly down 
 upon the asphaltum floor before described, and not cased up. 
 The partitions between the several closets, in the smaller 
 schools, may be of any close-grained hard wood — cherry or 
 maple I think as good as any. The seats may be of the same 
 material, supported on cleats screwed to the partitions. It 
 is well to make the partitions themselves about 8 feet high 
 and cap them with a neat rail, housed down over them. This 
 rail should run across over the doors in front and will help to 
 steady the partitions. A similar strip should be screwed to 
 the floor for the lower edge of the partitions to rest in. The 
 doors do not need to run to the floor; in fact, it is better to 
 have from 6 to 8 inches of space beneath them ; they should 
 
306 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 be light, and so hung that they will not clash against each 
 other when in operation. Let them be finished in the natural 
 wood, that is to say, filled with some good filler and then 
 varnished. This will give a harder and better surface than 
 any other way, and is more cleanly and pleasing in appear- 
 ance. 
 
 As to the urinals, I have used slate backs in some cases, 
 bolted to the walls with brass bolts; slate floors and troughs 
 of the same material, supported at the required height on 
 brass brackets. Water was supplied through a perforated 
 galvanized-iron pipe, placed under a slate cap above the back. 
 This pipe was so arranged that when the water was turned 
 on, which should be during the time that the building was 
 occupied, a constant flow of minute streams completely wetted 
 the back. In this arrangement there were no partitions 
 forming individual urinals, although they might have been 
 made by using slate slabs bolted to the bricks and floor. 
 After trying several methods, however, I am inclined to give 
 the preference to individual, all-earthenware, Bedfordshire, 
 lipped urinals. If these are used, it is better to bolt them 
 against a slate or marble back, and to have a slate floor 
 properly dished under them. It is also well to have some 
 kind of a partition between them, as it prevents crowding. I 
 have seen a light cast-iron screen of good pattern used, which 
 seemed to answer the purpose. This was firmly screwed 
 against the slate back and did not extend to within a foot 
 of the floor. If these screens are kept properly painted, so 
 as t© prevent rust, they would seem to be all that is necessary, 
 and they have the advantage of being cheap. The only other 
 materials fit to use are slate or marble ; of these marble is far 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. ^ 307 
 
 the best — in fact, there is nothing so good, for use in and 
 about water-closets and urinals, as polished white marble. 
 
 Its expense, however, will prevent its general introduc- 
 tion, which is to be regretted. Slate answers the purpose 
 very well, and, considering all things, is the most available. 
 When it is possible it is better to make the back, partitions, 
 and floor immediately under the urinals entirely of slate. It 
 is not necessary to have the entire partition run to the floor; 
 indeed, I should prefer to have only the outer edges run 
 down, for strength, and let the space between be cut out to 
 the height of a foot or 18 inches, in a circular form, to admit 
 of thorough washing and scouring of every part. 
 
 Water-closets and urinals constructed as I have described 
 will not be objectionable in any building, provided proper 
 care is given to them. 
 
 On Plates 59, 60, and 61 are shown a four- room building 
 of brick. By referring to Plates 24, 25, and 26 a building 
 of the same size of a different style will be found. 
 
 PLAYROOMS. 
 
 No matter how small or unpretentious a schoolhouse may 
 be, it should never be constructed without a cellar. Build- 
 ings set on piers, or built only with trench walls, are unsuit- 
 able for school purposes; dampness cannot be avoided in 
 structures of this kind, and a damp schoolroom is one of the 
 worst places in which a child can be placed. A dry, well- 
 lighted basement or cellar is as essential to a well-planned 
 schoolhouse as are the heating, lighting, or sanitary arrange- 
 ments. The cellar must extend under the whole of the build- 
 ing, and not under a small portion only, as is frequently 
 found. The extent of such a cellar will be sufificient to 
 
308 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS, 
 
 provide a proper space for the heater and the necessary fuel 
 cellars; the remaining space should be devoted to playrooms. 
 Let these be as large as possible, and have ample stairways 
 leading to the halls above and to the playgrounds. The floors 
 should not be more than 4 feet below the level of the exterior 
 grade, and the ceilings not less than 10 feet in the clear. 
 With this arrangement windows 5 feet in height can be 
 obtained, assuring abundance of light and air. These rooms 
 should be well heated, carefully ventilated, and kept as neat 
 and clean as any other part of the building. They are in- 
 valuable in cold or stormy weather, as they enable the pupils 
 to take the necessary exercise at recess without being exposed 
 to the elements. Sometimes in pleasant weather the play- 
 grounds are muddy, and the rooms can be used then to 
 advantage. Their cost is a small item, when we take into 
 consideration the vast amount of good that they do, and I 
 hope to see the time when it will be compulsory to have these 
 rooms in every school building. 
 
 The importance of systematic bodily exercise cannot be 
 overestimated, and it is well to note that there is an in- 
 creased tendency in communities to recognize this factor in 
 our educational system. That physical culture should be 
 placed shoulder to shoulder with mental education is becom- 
 ing more and more apparent. A playground of some sort is 
 usually found connected with almost every public or private 
 school, and pupils are expected to take a certain amount of 
 exercise thereon every day that the weather will permit; but 
 there are many times, especially in winter, when the open-air 
 grounds are unfit for use, and how needful then is the indoor 
 playgroom ! In fair weather children obtain more or less 
 exercise before, between, and after the school session, of 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 3O9 
 
 ■which they are deprived during prolonged storms; then it is 
 that all the time possible and consistent with school duties 
 should be passed in the playrooms. Boys will take more 
 kindly to these minutes of recreation than girls, and there are 
 usually much better provisions made for them. Take, for 
 instance, our institutes, colleges, and universities devoted 
 to the use of the sterner sex. Connected with them will 
 always be found grounds devoted to the use of all kinds of 
 outdoor pastimes, fully equipped gymnasiums, facilities for 
 boating and many other healthful exercises. On the other 
 hand, the same class of institutions, with one or two notable 
 exceptions, that are devoted to the use of the gentler sex are 
 entirely devoid of any such facilities; even if they were pro- 
 vided, I am not sure that the rules and regulations of our 
 "finishing" seminaries would allow a young lady to make 
 free use of them. In the first case, a certain amount of 
 physical exercise is considered necessary and is encouraged by 
 the faculty; in the second, the necessity is not admitted, or, 
 if so, is ignored. Can it be that our girls are stronger and 
 better able to withstand the mental strain of studentship than 
 our boys ? Are they so constituted that they require no 
 physical exercise ? I think not, nor will any physiologist 
 assert that such is the case. What is true of the young ladies 
 of the seminaries is equally so of the girls of the high and 
 grammar schools. They are usually so impressed, just at this 
 age, with their own importance, and are so afraid that if they 
 indulge in a little healthful play they will be lowering their 
 dignity, that they completely ignore that which is so vitally 
 important to their physical well-being. The fault lies not 
 wholly with the child in this matter; teachers and parents are 
 alike inclined to repress an exuberant spirit, being fearful that 
 
3IO MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the girl will develop into a boisterous hoyden if allowed to 
 give full vent to her feelings. Better far that she should than 
 into a sickly young womanhood, as she will find a healthy 
 body of much more use to her in after-life than the ability 
 to demonstrate a problem in geometry or translate a book of 
 Virgil. Have no fear of the hoyden. When the time comes, 
 the natural good sense of the girl, combined with her educa- 
 tion, will prevent her from being anything but what we all 
 admire — a lady. Is this not true of boys ? Think of the 
 rough boisterous fellows of our school days — hard players and 
 hard students as well; boys who did everything as well as 
 they could, working always with might and main. Watch 
 them in after-life, and, while you find them toned down and 
 gentlemen in every sense of the word, they still possess the push 
 and vim that to-day are the bone and sinew of this great nation. 
 If, on arriving at manhood, a boy can put sufificient restraint 
 upon himself, will this not be equally true of a girl ? En- 
 courage, then, I say, all healthful sports and pastimes of our 
 school children, and let every educational building be provided 
 "with ample playgrounds and suitable rooms in which exercise 
 anay be taken. 
 
 It is best to construct the side walls of such rooms of 
 brick; these can be painted two or three coats of white lead 
 and oil, and a very satisfactory and pleasing surface thus 
 obtained, which can be renewed at any time. There are 
 several methods of treating the floors. I have used asphaltum 
 with excellent results, and I think it is about the best thing 
 that can be had. When it is properly put down it is hard, 
 ■durable, rough enough to prevent slipping, easily kept in 
 order, and of a pleasing color. Floors of good, hard-burned 
 brick, laid on edge and grouted in cement, when well laid, are 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 3" 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 313 
 
\ 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. S^S 
 
 PlBST OToaV flAti. 
 
 Eli&HT Room Building. 
 
 — IM BRICK-— 
 
 SKO^P" ^TOKY PLVI 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 31/ 
 
 durable, and, while not so smooth as asphaltum, are not too 
 rough for use; their only serious drawback is a fine dust that 
 arises from them, caused by the disintegration of the cement 
 under constant use. This dust gets into the eyes and lungs 
 and is disagreeable, if not unhealthy. This objection can be 
 more forcibly urged against pure cement floors, and I think is 
 the only good reason why they cannot be used. It might be 
 possible, under certain conditions and by the admixture of 
 some other material, to produce a cement floor that would 
 not disintegrate. I understand that there are several patents 
 of this kind, but I know nothing practically of their worth. 
 Whatever material may be used, the floors should be slightly 
 dished or slanted toward a common centre, where a heavy 
 bell-trap can be placed, connected with a drain. This drain 
 must be carried into a blind drain somewhere away from the 
 building. On no condition is it to be in any way connected 
 with the sewerage system of the building. By arranging the 
 floor in this way it can be thoroughly washed down with a 
 hose once or twice a week, which will be of great benefit from 
 a sanitary point of view. Wood I do not consider suitable 
 for a playroom floor, for it necessitates a heavy cement under- 
 floor on which are placed sleepers to carry the wood floor. 
 This leaves a continuous row of spaces under the top floor, 
 which are sure to become highways for all kinds of vermin, 
 and there can be no such washing out of this room as in the 
 former cases. 
 
 Let there be as many windows in the playroom as the 
 proper construction of the building will allow. It is well to 
 have them so arranged that they can be easily opened or 
 closed, as these rooms must be thoroughly aired both before 
 and after occupancy. When it is possible, even in stormy 
 
3l8 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 weather the windows on the "lee" side of the building 
 should be left open, the object being to have the children 
 take their exercise as much as possible in the outside air with- 
 out being exposed. It is worse than useless to send pupils 
 out of a schoolroom into a musty, unwholesome basement. 
 What they want is pure air and plenty of it, and a complete 
 change of air and temperature is essential to secure good 
 results. The playrooms need not be heated to the degree 
 that we find necessary in the schoolrooms; a temperature of 
 from 50° to 60° is all that is required, and the pupil should 
 understand that during the few minutes allowed for recess he 
 is expected to take as much exercise as possible. No seats 
 are needed in the playroom — in fact, it is better not to have 
 them, as the scholars sit and lean over desks enough in the 
 schoolrooms. During recess let them strive in every way to 
 relax and invigorate the brain and muscles, which have 
 become wearied by study and confinement. This is what 
 recess is for, and why I advocate a playroom in every school 
 building, so that, no matter what the weather may be, bene- 
 ficial exercise may be had at stated times during every day of 
 school life. 
 
 Plates 62, 63, and 64 show an eight-roomed building with 
 the toilet-rooms in the basement; by referring to Plates 20, 
 21, and 22 an eight-roomed building will be found with toilet- 
 rooms on each floor. 
 
 STAIRCASES. 
 
 It is a general custom among architects to make a special 
 feature of the staircases, particularly in the larger buildings; 
 and many beautiful examples of their skill in designing can 
 be found in some of the recent large school buildings. There 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 319 
 
 is always a strong temptation for an architect to do this, for 
 in no department of interior work can more taste and skill be 
 shown. There is nothing that I admire more than a noble, 
 well-lighted staircase, leading up through a building, and I 
 am loath to deprive myself of this chance to beautify a school 
 building with handsome, well-studied newels, rails, and 
 balusters, and yet I believe they should all be abolished. I 
 have said in a previous chapter that the majority of staircases 
 were dangerous, and I reiterate it here. To better illustrate 
 my meaning, let me call your attention to the terrible calamity 
 that occurred on February 20, 1883, in the Roman Catholic 
 school of the Most Holy Redeemer, situated on East Fourth 
 Street, in the city of New York. The registered attendance 
 at the school at this time was 900, the pupils ranging from 
 four to fifteen years of age. The Sisters of Notre Dame had 
 charge of the school, and are said to have been very careful 
 ■with the children, having taken great pains to instruct them 
 in a" fire-drill." In spite of this, in the middle of a winter's 
 afternoon, in the most populous city of the Western Hemi- 
 sphere, in a city that boasts of the finest and best-equipped 
 fire department of the world, in a building which hundreds 
 of people were passing every hour, there occurred a slight 
 fire — so slight that the firemen had no trouble in mastering it 
 in a few minutes with the use of but little water — and yet 
 within an incredibly short time after the alarm was given 
 fifteen children lost their lives. Not one of these lives need 
 to have been sacrificed had the staircases been properly con- 
 structed. Should not such a terrible disaster as this teach us 
 that something was radically wrong in their construction ? 
 Do you wonder that I claim that the staircases are many 
 times " dangerous," when I tell you that there are hundreds 
 
320 MODERN' AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 of school buildings that are just as faulty in this respect as 
 the one in which this disaster occurred ? All published 
 accounts of the disaster agree that the halls were 6 feet 6 
 inches wide, and the staircases 3 feet wide. Down one of 
 these narrow staircases, containing twenty steps, an attempt 
 was made to march the children by twos, but in their eager- 
 ness to get out they could not be controlled, and there occurred 
 a jam upon the staircase; the children above, alarmed at the 
 delay, pushed forward and caused the rail and balusters at the 
 side to give way, hurling head-foremost to the floor below 
 a struggling mass of children that completely blocked the 
 passage. This pile of frenzied humanity was constantly 
 augmented from above, and, in spite of all efforts of willing 
 hands and brave hearts, fifteen little lives were sacrificed by 
 that fatal stair-railing. I do not pretend to say that if the 
 railing had not given way all would have been saved, because 
 the stairs themselves were about as bad as they could be, but 
 I do believe that many more would have gotten out safely, 
 even with the narrow stairs, had they been walled in on both 
 sides. Even if the railings are strong enough to withstand 
 a pressure, there is still danger of pupils either jumping or 
 being pushed over in case of a panic. I am well aware that 
 the architectural effect of the structure is not as good where 
 boxed or wall stairs are used, but it cannot be disputed that 
 they are safer and better adapted to the requirements of a 
 schoolhouse. 
 
 Stairs should not have over 7^ inches rise, and should be 
 built with at least two separate runs to each flight. They 
 should be from 5 to 6 feet in width, with square landings; 
 treads should be fully 12 inches, and the landings as wide as 
 it is possible to have them. Winding or curved stairs should 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 321 
 

MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Z^Z 
 
 Plate 66. 
 
 6ase;m£nt Plam 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 325 
 
 FlKiiT'STORV PlAM 
 
 'Twelve Room. BvilDimg 
 
 J 
 
 .ttttWJ" 
 
 ■"W^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 : 
 
 v^ 
 
 fffll 
 
 fei 
 
 -T-ih- -T 
 
 ri 
 
 c=>^ 
 
 
 J 
 
 vSecoHd -Stodv PlaH. 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. "32/ 
 
 never be used. A strong partition-wall should extend from 
 story to story between the separate runs of stairs, and there 
 should be a strong rail bolted to the wall on both sides at a. 
 suitable height. An abundance of light must be obtained, 
 and it is well to keep the windows at a considerable height 
 from the floor; by so doing there is no inducement for a pupil 
 to loiter on the stairs. Stairs of this description are shown in 
 all the designs in this book. 
 
 Where stairs are constructed as here shown it is almost 
 impossible for a jam to occur; there is no chance for anything 
 to give way, or of the children falling or being pushed over 
 the railings. When they are placed as shown in the majority 
 of the designs they have the further advantage of being com- 
 paratively noiseless to the occupants of the lower rooms. 
 Stairs are a necessity in all buildings, although I think far too 
 many are used; in other words, I do not believe in piling 
 story upon story in school buildings, preferring breadth to 
 height in all places where it can be obtained. In large cities 
 these high buildings cannot be avoided, but in the smaller 
 towns and in the country, where land can be had, no building 
 should be erected for school purposes that has more than two 
 floors to be occupied above the basement. 
 
 Eminent physicians have repeatedly pointed out the evils 
 that come to children, especiall}-- girls, from constantly ascend- 
 ing long flights of stairs. This, with the constantly increas- 
 ing danger as we ascend, is a strong argument in favor of 
 breadth instead of height. It is too much, however, to 
 expect that a radical change will be brought about in this 
 respect, although it is a pleasure to be able to say that during 
 the years 1884 and 1885 I built for the city of Taunton, 
 Mass., a high-school building in which the entire space 
 
328 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 devoted to school use was situated on the first floor; the 
 second floor contained only an exhibition-hall, anterooms^ 
 and rooms that could be used for evening drawing-classes. 
 In the basement were placed the chemical laboratory and 
 playrooms. 
 
 The illustrations on Plates 35, 36, and 37 show a building 
 very similar. I think it was a pioneer of its kind, and, while 
 by no means perfect, I consider the general arrangement a 
 decided improvement upon the average buildings of this class. 
 It is much easier for the teacher to handle the classes, and 
 the scholars have no stairs to climb in passing to and from 
 recitations. The schoolhouse, upon occupation, fully meets 
 the expectations of those who were interested in it, and I 
 hope it will continue to prove so satisfactory that buildings 
 hke it may be multiplied. 
 
 Wherever stairs may be used in schools or any other 
 public building, they should be built as strong and substan- 
 tial as possible, and practically fire-proof. They should be 
 the last thing to burn or fall in the structure. In ordinary 
 construction they are among the first places to catch fire and 
 the most efficient means of rapidly conveying it from floor to 
 floor. That there is no need of this has been repeatedly 
 demonstrated. Staircases can be built at a reasonable outlay 
 that are convenient, easy of ascent, well lighted, and abso- 
 lutely fire-proof — staircases that, in case of an alarm of fire or 
 sudden panic from any cause, would enable the inmates of 
 the building to get out safely, or at least without finding the 
 staircase already in flames and using its best endeavors to 
 destroy the rest of the building in the shortest time possible. 
 Architects and all others interested in school buildings should 
 encourage the construction of fire-proof staircases. Innu- 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS 
 
 529 
 
 =^5 
 
 < 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 331 
 
 First Stoiiv Pla 
 
 Twelve Roo/^ Bvilding 
 
 Stco/^o 5TOf?x Plati 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 333 
 
 merable calamities in crowded public buildings, churches, 
 theatres, and schools should have taught the public the con- 
 ditions that make a panic-stricken multitude of human beings 
 so dangerous to itself. It should be a lazv that ample means 
 of exit should be provided for just such emergencies. 
 
 Of what use was the careful training in a nre-drill by the 
 Sisters of Notre Dame of the 900 children entrusted to their 
 care, when these same children were confined in a death-trap, 
 out of which they could not have escaped under the most 
 favorable circumstances, in regular marching order, in less 
 than ten or fifteen minutes ? Of what use, I say, is a fire- 
 drill under such circumstances, and what is the use of saying 
 that children or any one else can be controlled when we know 
 that self-preservation is the first law of nature ? Under the 
 excitement and fear that such a scene brings on, the majority 
 of people become so frenzied that, for the time being, they 
 are transformed into mere brutes. Better far than all fire- 
 drills is a broad hall and a wide staircase. Better far than 
 money spent in exterior show is a plain building with fire- 
 proof floors and staircases. No one can dispute the sound- 
 ness of this reasoning; and yet an elaborate and showy 
 exterior will often be selected by a building committee, when 
 real worth and intrinsic merit are concealed under a humble 
 garb. 
 
 Let the side walls of school staircases be of enamelled 
 brick (either the imported ones or those made in Philadelphia 
 are the best) and you will have a surface as smooth and hard 
 as glass. These brick can be obtained in a variety of tints, 
 and when properly laid in Portland cement they make the 
 most satisfactory and durable wall that I know of. No 
 wainscot is required, although one can be laid of chocolate- 
 
334 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 colored bricks; this, with a field of light buff and a frieze of 
 delicate blue, makes a very pleasing combination. Many- 
 other tints can be had, and the only thing that prevents their 
 more general introduction is the expense: the enamelling is 
 laid on a first-quality pressed brick, and the labor and material 
 added to this brings the cost of the completed enamelled brick 
 up to $80 or $90 per thousand, without laying. While this 
 price may seem high, I believe it is economy in the long-run 
 to use these bricks in school construction, and I strongly 
 recommend them to all who are about to build. 
 
 Should the purse not be long enough to bear the expense 
 of enamelled brick, let the ordinary pressed bricks be used; 
 should these be too costly, use the Croton or even the 
 common bricks, carefully selected. The latter can be painted- 
 two or three coats of some light neutral tint, and will be at 
 once durable, fire-proof, and pleasing to look at. By all 
 means do away with plaster; it is easily soiled, an absorbent, 
 and far too perishable for the wear and tear of school life. 
 
 My favorite material for treads and risers is rubbed slate 
 of a dark-blue or purple color. In case this is used for the 
 treads only, the risers should be of brick, by which a very 
 pleasing contrast is obtained. These slate treads and risers 
 can be built into the brick walls at both ends and supported 
 in the centre by light iron beams and stringers; the underside 
 should not be closed up in the least, but left open, and the 
 iron painted some light neutral tint. 
 
 Where slate cannot be had, bluestone may be used in its 
 place, although, unless it be sawed, it is rather rough. Solid 
 granite or other stone steps are very good, but more expen- 
 sive than those mentioned. Iron is, of course, at all times 
 available and useful; if it be used, the top surface of all plat- 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. ^ 335 
 
 forms and treads should be finished with a checkered pattern 
 to prevent slipping, although even with this precaution it 
 will wear smooth under use and become slippery and danger- 
 ous, which is not the case with stone steps. Wood can be 
 used for treads where there are brick walls, although I much 
 prefer any of the first-mentioned materials. It is much 
 cheaper, but cannot be made fire-proof; but, with the walls as 
 described, wood stairways can be so constructed as to be very 
 slow of combustion, and when all the heating apparatus is 
 placed in the centre of the building and the stairways at the 
 extreme ends, as I have shown on the plans of the larger 
 buildings, there can be little danger of the fire getting so far 
 along as to block both staircases at opposite ends of the build- 
 ing at the same time. 
 
 It is better, however, not to take even this risk if it can 
 be avoided, but adopt at the outset imperishable materials. 
 It must be remembered, in this connection, that while stairs 
 built as I have described cost more in the first place than 
 v.'hen built in the ordinary way, there will be no expenditure 
 for newels, well-posts, or balusters, or for lath and plaster. 
 A hand-rail of brass or iron bolted to each of the side walls 
 with suitable metal brackets is all that is required. Brass is 
 the most pleasing metal and can easily be kept bright. I 
 have also had good success in making these rails of 2-inch 
 wrought-iron pipe, on each end of which are screwed neat 
 cast-iron caps. These rails need not run around the platform, 
 but be simply straight pieces of pipe following the run of the 
 stairs at a suitable height. Rails of this kind are far prefer- 
 able to wood, as they cannot be marred or easily damaged; 
 they are a vast improvement upon the ordinary rails, sup- 
 ported by balusters and newels, on which it is the delight of 
 
33^ I^JODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the small boy to perform startling gymnastic feats. I can 
 remember when it was the pride of my life to be able to say 
 that I had slid head-foremost from the third to the ground 
 floor of the schoolhouse on a well-remembered stair-rail that 
 curved up through the building. I often wonder, as I look 
 back, why my neck was not broken; but I presume the 
 urchin of to-day can perform just such "stunts" and 
 escape unharmed. Undoubtedly he would be very indig- 
 nant did he know that I wished to take away from him just 
 such rapid-transit descents. 
 
 In spite, however, of running the risk of incurring the dis- 
 pleasure of my young friends, I must urge, as forcibly as I 
 can, the wisdom and necessity of abolishing all except box- 
 stairs in buildings where there are large numbers of pupils 
 gathered together. This is a reform that can be easily 
 effected in almost any school building, and I hope that the 
 custodians of our public schools, when their attention is called 
 to this matter, will see that in all new buildings such an 
 arrangement is adopted, and, where it is possible, have the 
 proper alterations made in existing structures. 
 
 Isolation is also of importance in the construction of stair- 
 cases for school purposes; by this I mean that they should be 
 placed outside of the building proper, if possible. If this 
 cannot be done, let them be kept on the outer walls and so 
 arranged that the passing up and down may be heard as little 
 as possible by the occupants of the rooms. Stairs placed as 
 shown in the various buildings illustrated in these pages are 
 arranged as I like to see them. They are easy of access, well 
 lighted, and allow the occupants of the upper floors to enter 
 or leave the building and to pass to and from the playrooms 
 or water-closets without even entering the hall into which the 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 337 
 
 lower rooms open. If five minutes' difference of time is 
 allowed in the dismission of the pupils of the two floors, 
 there need be no confusion between them. By placing the 
 stairways at either end of the halls as shown, the sexes may 
 be also completely separated. 
 
 I decidedly object to placing stairways in the centre of a 
 building, or to having them so placed that the pupils will have 
 to pass the door of any other schoolroom in passing to and 
 from their own room. When stairs are placed in the centre 
 of a building this cannot be avoided; they are invariably 
 noisy, and it is very difificult to light them unless wells, rails, 
 and balusters are used. I have already given my reasons for 
 believing these unsuitable, so that it would seem that the only 
 proper place for the location of staircases is on the exterior 
 walls or in wings devoted exclusively to their use. 
 
 The arrangement of the stairways in such a manner that 
 all the pupils must enter one hall, common to all floors, 
 is open to some of the objections cited above, and leads 
 me to believe that the following simple rules can with pro- 
 priety be adopted in the construction of staircases for school 
 buildings: 
 
 1st. All staircases should be constructed with two or more 
 runs with square landings. 
 
 2d. No staircase should be less than 4 feet 6 inches wide 
 in the clear, and no winders or circular stairs should be used. 
 
 3d. No riser should be over 7^ inches, and all treads 
 should be at least 12 inches. 
 
 4th. No wells, rails, newels, or balusters should be used; 
 stairs in all cases to be walled or boxed up. 
 
 5th. All stairs should be built on the outside walls of the 
 building or in special wings prepared for them, and so placed 
 
338 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 that pupils occupying the upper floors of the building may 
 enter and leave the structure without disturbing or interfering 
 with the pupils of the lower floors. 
 
 There can be no difficulty in meeting all of these require- 
 ments in school buildings situated in the country or in the 
 smaller cities. In large cities, where the space is limited, it 
 is not so easy, although I think the problem was successfully 
 solved some years ago in the Sanitary Bnginee?-' s model 
 schoolhouse competition, and is fully illustrated on Plates 85, 
 Z6, 88, and 89. 
 
 The illustrations on Plates 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69 show 
 twelve-room buildings with and without an assembly-hall. 
 
 FLOORS. 
 
 It is hardly probable that enough money can be obtained, 
 unless under some specially favorable circumstances, to con- 
 struct the main floors of ordinary schoolhouses in a fire-proof 
 manner. I do not know of a building of this class so con- 
 structed. While it may not be of the same importance to 
 have the entire building fire-proof as it is to have the stairs, it 
 is still enough so to enlist our attention, especially where the 
 ordinary methods of stair-construction and heating are used. 
 The increased cost is the only argument that can be used 
 against fire-proof construction, and I am bound to admit that 
 this is a serious obstacle against its general introduction. My 
 own preference would be to reduce the exterior effect of the 
 building to the verge of barrenness, in order to obtain funds 
 enough to render the structure fire-proof — not only in the 
 floor, but in all other portions as well. 
 
 I should prefer, of all others, a floor constructed with iron 
 beams and the ordinary hollow, fire-proof brick arch turned 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 339 
 
 between them; upon the top of the beams there can be 
 screwed down strips of wood to which the floor may be nailed, 
 the space between being filled flush with the top of the strips 
 with cement. 
 
 The floor itself should be of maple, oak, or yellow pine 
 in narrow widths, i-J inches thick, matched and blind-nailed 
 to the strips before mentioned. Maple is probably the best 
 wood for the purpose, oak coming next, and yellow pine 
 being the poorest and cheapest of the three. 
 
 Where iron beams cannot be used the wooden joists may 
 be made comparatively fire-proof by encasing them with hol- 
 low, fire-proof tile; if this is done, the size of the beams will 
 have to be increased, as the additional weight of these tiles 
 must be provided for. In this method of construction a 
 double floor should be used; the rough under floor being laid 
 diagonally and nailed directly to the joists, and the upper floor 
 laid " straight " on top of this with a heavy thickness of 
 deadening-felt between. Asbestos felt is the best for this, on 
 account of its fire-proof qualities. 
 
 Plaster is commonly used for the ceiling, but I should 
 recommend in place of this perishable material either a wood 
 ceiling of some light-colored hard wood, screwed directly to 
 the iron beams, or a ceiling composed of pure Portland 
 cement applied to the fire-proof flooring-tiles; this makes a 
 most excellent ceiling — hard, non-absorbent, and durable; if 
 the color is found objectionable, it can be painted any light 
 neutral tint. Where wooden joists are used, instead of using 
 wood lath for the ceiling let wire netting or iron lath be 
 employed, and apply the Portland cement directly to this. 
 The open timbered system of the slow-burning construction 
 of floors, used in mills and factories, I am not inclined 
 
340 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 to favor for schoolrooms; it is most excellent for the pur- 
 poses mentioned, but hardly suitable for the finished work 
 of a room. 
 
 INSIDE WALLS. 
 
 In speaking of this subject elsewhere I have urged the use 
 of enamelled bricks for the side walls of schoolrooms, abolish- 
 ing by this means the use of furring, lath, or plaster. The 
 exterior walls should be built hollow for warmth and dryness. 
 In one or two instances objections have been made to the use 
 of this material on the ground that the rooms would be cold, 
 or that a feeling of chilliness would be produced. Nothing 
 causes me to have the latter sensation more quickly than an 
 unbroken expanse of white, plastered wall, and it seems to 
 me that a pleasing, warm, neutral tint in brick would have 
 the very opposite effect. As to the actual chill produced by 
 the use of this material, it is a well-known fact that whatever 
 the substance contained in a room may be, it takes up the 
 temperature of the room after a certain length of time, so 
 that, in reality, enamelled brick would not make the slightest 
 difference in the temperature of the room when ready for 
 occupancy. 
 
 Of course side walls built of these bricks are more expen- 
 sive, to start with, than those constructed in the ordinary 
 manner; but where their durability is taken into account, and 
 the benefits derived from a sanitary point of view are consid- 
 ered, I believe it safe to say that, in the long-run, it would 
 be economy to introduce them into all our public school- 
 houses. 
 
 A compromise might be made by introducing these bricks 
 for a dado or wainscot running up under the blackboards and 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 341 
 
 fli 
 
 
 
 O Q 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. ' 343 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 345 
 
 windows only, above the blackboards using Portland cement 
 applied directly to the brick walls as described for ceilings. 
 This would make a durable and pleasing wall without much, 
 if any, additional expense. 
 
 The best blackboards are of slate set in cement directly 
 onto the brick walls. Let them be kept near the floor in the 
 lower rooms, which are usually occupied by the smaller 
 pupils; from 20 to 24 inches from the floor to the top of the 
 chalk-rack is about the right height for these rooms, and from 
 24 to 30 inches for other rooms. There are numerous com- 
 positions in the market for blackboards, but I have never seen 
 one that is perfectly satisfactory ; their first cost, combined 
 with the expenditure necessary to keep them in order, renders 
 them, in a very short time, more expensive than those of 
 slate. 
 
 As to the general inside finish of schoolhouses, almost any 
 hard wood may be used. Oak, ash, maple, cherry, black 
 birch, and even yellow pine, are all available and pleasing in 
 effect. White pine and whitewood are too soft and easily 
 m.arred for the rough usage of school life. Whatever wood 
 is used, it should be finished in what is known as the 
 "natural wood" — that is, it is first treated with' a heavy coat 
 of some good filler, then varnished with two coats, each coat 
 well rubbed down. This makes a finish not easily defaced, 
 pleasing to the eye, and non-absorbent. Let the details of 
 the woodwork be simple; the fewer quirks and mouldings to 
 catch dust and dirt the better. 
 
 If a brick wainscot is not used, vertical matched and 
 beaded sheathing of the same wood as the casings and doors 
 will be found the best. This need not be more than half an 
 inch thick, as it is placed directly on the walls. 
 
346 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 By all means arrange transoms over the doors; and where 
 possible let there be inside sash in the walls, between halls 
 and rooms, as shown on the majority of the plans presented 
 with this book. This will insure, by opening the out- 
 side windows, a free circulation of air through the rooms and 
 halls in warm weather, and a complete flushing of the rooms 
 at any time it may be required. These windows also give 
 plenty of light in the long halls and hat-and-cloak-rooms; 
 being placed above the blackboards in the schoolrooms, they 
 are above the hooks in the halls and so do not interfere with 
 anything. It is well to have them swing, operating them 
 from the floor, and by the use of some patent transom-fixture 
 they can be opened to any desired point and there locked. 
 
 The outer windows of schoolrooms must be screened in 
 some way, especially if we obtain the requisite amount of 
 sunlight. Exterior blinds are unsuitable, and the ordinary 
 inside blinds or the shades in common use are open to many 
 objections; the blinds are noisy and in the way unless they 
 are arranged to shut into pockets, which materially increases 
 the cost of construction. The ordinary shade is eternally out 
 of order and cannot be used with comfort on open windows 
 where there is any circulation of air. 
 
 All things considered, the best device known to me at the 
 present time is the " Wilson Rolling Blind "; this is noise- 
 less in operation, cannot blow or flap, and rolls up out of the 
 way when not in use. While thoroughly screening the 
 occupants of the room from the rays of the sun, it still per- 
 mits of a free circulation of air. If these blinds are to be 
 used, it is better to make special provision for their reception 
 in the early stages of construction, although they can be 
 applied to almost any window by the introduction of a small 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 347 
 
 box cornice over each window into which the blinds will roll 
 or coil up. 
 
 One other thing I would recommend for all schoolrooms, 
 and that is a neat picture-moulding placed at a suitable 
 height. This will save the walls from being marred by driv- 
 ing nails or hooks for hanging maps or charts. In case the 
 walls are painted, the space above the picture-moulding may- 
 be of a different hue, which will give a good frieze effect 
 without additional expense. 
 
 As to the exterior, it seems to me that a school building 
 should show some idea of architectural proportion and sym- 
 metry; because a structure is designed for simple and homely 
 purposes it does not follow that it must be surpassingly ugly; 
 yet how few of the village schools that dot the pleasant land- 
 scape of our country are pleasing to look upon ? It is true 
 that they have the simplest of lines and are usually built of 
 the homeliest materials; but even with these drawbacks, 
 well-studied lines and carefully proportioned masses combined 
 with the plainest materials may in skilful hands make a village 
 school building a thing of beauty. It is not necessarj^ in 
 New England and many other sections of the country to go 
 further than the village field to find, in abundance, excellent 
 material for building; for can anything be more beautiful to 
 the eye, or more durable for the walls of a schoolhouse, than 
 the soft, warm gray of our field and ledge stone ? Let this 
 be skilfully laid, and what can be more pleasing and lasting ? 
 It is a constant source of wonderment to me that, with such 
 a bountiful supply of material at our very doors, so little use 
 has been made of it. An improvement has been made in this 
 direction within a few years; wood is gradually being sup- 
 planted by stone and brick for exterior suburban architecture; 
 
348 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the quicker wood can be entirely banished and it is under- 
 stood how beautiful artistic combinations of stone and brick 
 can be made, the sooner the most potent charm of the 
 English landscape will be ours. 
 
 On Plates 70, 71, 72, 73, and 74 are shown sixteen- and 
 seventeen-room buildings. 
 
 HEATING AND VENTILATION. 
 
 The real utility and success of a school building for prac- 
 tical every-day use may be summarized under this heading. 
 A building may have a beautiful exterior, the plan may be 
 above criticism, the material of the best, and the workman- 
 ship unexceptional, but from a hygienic point of view it will 
 be a complete failure if the system of heating and ventilat- 
 ing is faulty. 
 
 When I speak of properly heating a building I do not 
 for a moment mean merely the ability to maintain a given 
 temperature, say of 70°, even in the coldest weather; nor 
 when " ventilation " is mentioned is it only with the idea of 
 introducing three or four 8X12 outlet-flues in each room, 
 through which the foul air is supposed to be obliging enough 
 to flow. 
 
 Any firm that makes a business of putting in either steam 
 or hot-air apparatus will present with their bid for the work 
 a written guarantee that their apparatus will heat the building 
 in every part to 70° in the coldest weather, and they will 
 assert, furthermore, that their boiler or furnace is the only 
 one that will do the work in a satisfactory manner without an 
 enormous consumption of coal. It is the same way with 
 radiators. Each manufacturer will claim that his will gen- 
 crate more heat for the amount of surface used than any 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 349 
 
 
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 III m^\fm^m\ v~ 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 351 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 353 
 
i 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 355 
 
 other, on account of some peculiar shape or internal arrange- 
 ment. He will show you elaborately compiled tables depict- 
 ing the results of exhaustive tests, in which it is always Jiis 
 radiator that heads the list. These tables are all so nearly 
 alike, although presented by parties between whom I know 
 there could be no possible collusion, that I sometimes wonder 
 if some enterprising printer has not set up the results of tests 
 made at some time, and, as occasion demands, obligingly 
 prints the headings required at the top of each column for his 
 customers. 
 
 BOILERS. 
 
 In point of fact, the market is overstocked with boilers. 
 They are of all patterns, shapes, and sizes, and ingenious in- 
 ventors are constantly devising new forms which they fondly 
 hope will drive out all competitors. There may be merit in 
 these patent boilers, more, perhaps, than I have ever been 
 able to discover, but my own experience with them teaches 
 me that the plain horizontal tubular boiler is far preferable 
 to any other. I advocate no special make of these boilers, 
 as there are a score of good firms in the country who make 
 first-class boilers of this kind. I believe that these horizon- 
 tal tubular boilers are better than any patent boilers, that 
 they are more reliable, will do their work better, are less liable 
 to get out of order, will last longer, and will burn no more 
 coal for the amount of steam generated than any other. I 
 have never yet found an engineer who would say that there 
 was any better boiler for the generation of steam, and steam 
 is what we want and must have if we jvould properly heat a 
 building. The patent-boiler man will tell you that he can 
 get up steam quicker with his boiler. This is doubtless true, 
 
356 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 but he will lose it quicker also. If his boiler is sensitive, it 
 is as susceptible to cold as to heat, and I know of no special 
 advantage in the ability of a boiler to get up steam in a very- 
 short time, unless it be in the case of a fire-engine. If a 
 manufacturer desires to run a factory full of machinery, he 
 will use the boiler out of which he can get the most work; in 
 ninety cases out of every hundred you will find it to be the 
 horizontal tubular, and this is why I advocate so strongly its 
 use. 
 
 It is well to put in a larger boiler than is actually required. 
 In other words, it is cheaper to use a boiler at two thirds of 
 its capacity than to force it continually to its utmost limit. 
 The wear and tear of the boiler will be reduced and better 
 general results obtained. I should recommend the boiler to 
 be at least one third larger than the actual requirements. In 
 setting the boiler great care should be used to get it low 
 enough to allow of a rapid return or drip from all coils or 
 radiators. If the cellar is not deep enough to do this 
 properly, set the boiler in a pit two or more steps below the 
 level of the cellar-bottom. A boiler should be so set that 
 there will be plenty of room to fire it in front and a chance to 
 get at it on all sides for cleaning and repairs. Where two 
 boilers are used, they should be so connected that either or 
 both may be used at pleasure. 
 
 RADIATORS. 
 
 It is with radiators as with boilers; there are so many 
 patterns and styles, each claiming to be better than the other, 
 that one is bewildered. In direct heating, by which I mean 
 the placing of the radiators in the rooms to be heated, any 
 first-class cast-iron radiator will do the work satisfactorily. 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 357 
 
 provided it is supplied with plenty of steam. There is little 
 or no difference in the amount of heat that radiators of the 
 same size, fed by the same size pipes, will throw off. Take, 
 for instance, the Bundy, Nason, Gold, or Reedy patents, and 
 I have no choice between them; all are good, and there are 
 many others equally so. In indirect heating, which is the 
 placing of all the heating-surface in stacks in the cellar, the 
 case is different ; although all the firms mentioned above 
 make what is known as an indirect radiator. I believe that 
 the best thing to use for this system is the ordinary box-coil, 
 consisting simply of stacks of one-, two-, or three-inch pipes 
 provided with suitable return-headers, and, where more than 
 one tier is used, have them set "staggering." My reason for 
 preferring the box-coils to all others is not their ability to 
 obtain any more heat for the amount of surface used, nor will 
 they heat any better or any quicker. Their superiority con- 
 sists merely in the fact that \.\i& pipes are further apart and 
 more air can be brought through them. This is of vital impor- 
 tance in the indirect system of heating. All indirect radia- 
 tors that I have used or seen, with the exception of the box- 
 coils, are built too closely, and repeated tests have proved 
 that, while the air brought through them is abundantly 
 heated, it cannot be had in sufficient quantities. If the 
 manufacturers would spread the pipes more, so as not to 
 retard the flow of air, I know of no superiority that the box-; 
 coils would possess. 
 
 HOT-AIR FURNACES. 
 
 With one exception I have never seen a hot-air furnace 
 of any description that I considered suitable for school pur- 
 poses. There are many of them, in fact those of any first-class, 
 
358 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 make, are abundantly able to heat a school building, but 
 when you come to the problem of bringing into a room a 
 large amount of fresh, pure, warmed air — say from 20 to 30 
 cubic feet of air per pupil each minute — they will not do it. 
 Yet this is what the highest authorities tell us should be 
 provided. As I said in the beginning of this article, almost 
 any firm will guarantee to heat a building to 70° in zero 
 weather, but where will you find one that will pledge 
 itself to maintain a steady flow into the room of pure, 
 warmed air in sufificient quantities to give each pupil 20 cubic 
 feet per minute ? The trouble with these furnaces is that the 
 cold-air feed is not sufficient; and even if it were, their con- 
 struction is such that the amount required could not be 
 properly heated, and then, too, a flow to any one room can- 
 not be assured on account of the tendency of one room to 
 rob another under certain conditions. 
 
 What is needed is a hot-air furnace of large capacity, so 
 constructed that an abundant supply of cold air can be 
 brought into it and properly warmed. The inside of the 
 furnace should be so constructed that the heat generated for 
 any one room should be ample for that room and be com- 
 pletely isolated or cut off from all others; in other words, the 
 cold air should be brought into the furnace, properly heated, 
 and then carried to the room as independently as if only one 
 room were to be heated. I know of such a furnace, a few of 
 which have been made and are now in successful operation. 
 I had hoped to be able to fully describe and illustrate it in 
 this series of articles, but, unfortunately, I have been unable 
 to procure from the patentee suitable drawings or models 
 from which to prepare my cuts. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDIALrS 
 
 359 
 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUrLDINGS. . 
 
 \6l 
 
 r 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 363 
 
 Otf 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 365 
 
 The illustrations on Plates 75, 'j6, and yj show a twenty- 
 four-room building with assembly-hall, 
 
 STOVES. 
 
 Except in the smaller one-room buildings, situated in 
 outlying districts, the use of stoves will hardly be required. 
 In case they should be used, the best way to insure a good 
 supply of fresh, pure air, properly heated, will be to build a 
 cold-air box extending from the outside of the building to 
 beneath where the stove will stand and there cut a hole through 
 
 o 
 
 the floor. In this cold-air box a suitable damper should be 
 arranged so as to regulate the flow of air. The stove itself 
 should be enclosed with a galvanized-iron jacket or drum, 
 fitted tightly to the floor and extending to a height of about 
 6 feet ; there should be a space of about 6 inches between the 
 stove and the jacket all around, and doors arranged in it 
 through which the stove-doors may be operated for feeding, 
 adjusting the dampers, removing ashes, etc. This is the best 
 device I know of for obtaining, by simple means, a fair 
 quantity of pure, warmed air when the ordinary stove is used, 
 and if a proper outlet for foul air is provided the air of the 
 whole room will be kept in a reasonable state of purity. 
 Almost any stove may be used, although I think it is better 
 to have as simple a one as possible. 
 
 STEAM-HEATING. 
 
 Two methods of steam -heating are in ordinary use — the 
 direct and the indirect; of these, the latter is far superior, in 
 fact I think it is the only method that should be employed in 
 using steam. I object decidedly to heating a school building 
 by the direct method. In placing the radiators or coils of 
 
3^6 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 pipe around the sides of the room, as is the ordinary custom^ 
 the children who occupy the outside seats are subjected to 
 an undue amount of heat, and if cold air is brought in through 
 the outer walls by small openings and registers that feed 
 directly on to the radiators, the same children are exposed to 
 unpleasant and dangerous drafts of imperfectly warmed 
 air; at times the flow of air through these openings is rapid, 
 again it is slow, and there is no way by which the supply of 
 air introduced can be regulated; with a high wind blowing 
 directly on to these inlets it is plain that the supply of air 
 would be infinitely larger than on a still day, and would come 
 with force enough to be driven directly through the heating- 
 surfaces without being properly warmed. It is true that the 
 registers might be partially closed and the supply regulated 
 in that way, but when this is done the amount of air intro- 
 duced is far below the required quantity, and I doubt if any 
 arrangement of this kind, working under the most favorable 
 conditions, can be made to bring into a schoolroom 20 to 30 
 cubic feet of air per minute for each pupil. Another serious 
 objection I have to this system is the number of openings 
 through the walls and the number of registers required; this 
 is sure to result in some being neglected; a multiplicity of 
 drafts and currents is produced, and if the outlet is one 
 common flue (as it should be), air entering from so many 
 different quarters near the floor-level is inclined to take the 
 most direct route to the outlet without doing the work that 
 we expect of it. Again, with inlets and registers placed on 
 the outer walls, if the steam is not kept up constantly, or the 
 register carefully closed on cold nights, you will be troubled 
 with frozen pipes or radiators. I know of one school building 
 in my own city where so much trouble was experienced from 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. - 367 
 
 this cause that the inlet-flues were finally stopped up as the 
 cnly remedy. 
 
 Frequently schoolrooms are heated by direct steam and 
 no provisions are made for the introduction of pure or the 
 removal of foul air. It is little wonder that, under these 
 conditions, serious objections are often made to the introduc- 
 tion of steam into school buildings. Under such a system 
 there can be no doubt that a room can be heated, but who 
 could live, much less work, for any length of time in the 
 stifling atmosphere that will be produced, without being 
 unpleasantly, if not seriously, affected by it? Sometimes a 
 fair amount of space is allowed for the foul air to escape, but 
 no provision is made for pure air to enter; in this case the 
 outlet-flue will not work properly, nor will there be a free cir- 
 culation of air in the room, for if we expect to remove the air 
 as soon as it becomes vitiated we must constantly supply an 
 abundance of pure air to take its place. There are several 
 ways of introducing steam into rooms by the indirect method, 
 or perhaps I might more properly say that there are many 
 places for its introduction. Some claim that there should be 
 several inlets placed in the outer walls near the floor, so that 
 the incoming air as it rises shall counteract the cold air which 
 penetrates the walls and comes in around the windows. 
 Others claim that the inlet-flues should be carried up near the 
 ceiling on the outer walls. Still others (and the majority, I 
 think) say that the inlets should be on the inner walls near 
 the floor. Many advocate placing them on the inner walls 
 near the ceiling, and there is one firm, I believe, which intro- 
 duces the air all around the room at regular intervals at the 
 floor-level. 
 
 It is the same with the outlet-flues: you will find them 
 
368 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 in every possible position ; and if you ask why they are placed 
 as they are, you will almost always find some one who has a 
 good reason (so he thinks) for placing them in that particular 
 position. I have been more than astonished to find the 
 number of so-called "experts" in the heating of school 
 buildings scattered through the country, unknown men, of 
 course, but nevertheless so impressed by their own impor- 
 tance and so convinced that they have grasped and digested 
 in one supreme mental effort, without any practical investiga- 
 tion or study, all that there is to know about the heating and 
 ventilation of buildings, that it is as useless to attempt to 
 reason with them as it would be to expect the Egyptian 
 Sphinx to answer questions. The utterances of these stupid 
 oracles of school boards and committees cause more trouble 
 and inconvenience and do more to prevent the introduction 
 of good systems than any other one thing that I know of. 
 They hamper and disgust men of sound sense and judgment, 
 who, rather than enter into any controversy, let them have 
 their way to the detriment of the building and the dis- 
 comfort of its occupants. I have found such cases as this 
 repeatedly, and I believe all others in my profession are 
 troubled in the same way. 
 
 But to return to the introduction of air into schoolrooms. 
 There are several objections to the placing of inlet-flues either 
 near the floor or high up on the outer walls. In the first 
 place, the outer walls are cold, and hot-air flues running on or 
 near them lose much of their effectiveness by the loss of heat 
 caused by this chilling influence before the heat reaches the 
 rooms. In the second place, the heating-coils or stacks 
 should be placed in the cellar, as nearly under the flues as 
 possible, to get the best results from them. In large school 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. -S^Q 
 
MODERM AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. J?' 
 
 3L-_Bfi • 
 
 ,5, jiU .i !■ r 
 
 nm^ 
 
 I-LuJ=JUl 
 
LIODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. . 373 
 
 iiifniiiyijjh 
 
 IllHIiiiiJllllii 
 
 ijilijilmiiu 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. . 375 
 
 buildings these stacks will oftentimes be far away from the 
 boilers, which will necessitate long runs of horizontal feed- 
 and return-pipes, and unless the cellar is very deep or the 
 boiler set very low there will be trouble with the circulation. 
 Then, too, the stacks being scattered, much more time is 
 consumed in their care than if they were concentrated — in 
 fact, they will not be as well cared for. Lastly, a large 
 additional amount of pipe will have to be used and a much 
 more elaborate system of cold-air supply-ducts provided than 
 if the heating-surface were grouped as nearly as possible in 
 the centre of the building. 
 
 By placing the incoming flues on the inner walls the chill- 
 ing effect of the cold outer walls is done away with and 
 usually much shorter runs of pipe are obtainable. As to the 
 actual heating capabilities of the flues, much better results 
 are obtained from those placed on inner walls. Some will 
 argue that a flue so placed will not heat that part of the room 
 nearest to the outer walls, but my experience has been that 
 that part of the room is usually the warmest. I prefer, above 
 all places, the inner corner of the room for my inlet-flues, and 
 it is always my endeavor to group, as much as possible, the 
 entire heating system in or near the centre of the building; 
 of course this is not always practicable, but in most buildings 
 it is only a matter of careful study and skilful planning. In 
 the ordinary eight-, twelve-, sixteen-, or eighteen-room 
 building no difficulty whatever will be encountered if plans 
 similar to those shown in this work are adopted. I have 
 obtained most satisfactory results from buildings so con- 
 structed, and I believe that there are no better heated and 
 ventilated school buildings in this country than those to 
 -which I refer. If Plate 83 (which is an enlarged drawing of 
 
n^ MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 the heating-chambers which I have generally used) is care- 
 fully examined it will be seen that the entire heating-surface^ 
 for all rooms and halls, is grouped in the centre of the 
 building in close proximity to the boiler-room. The heating- 
 surface for each room is enclosed in a separate metal jacket, 
 completely enveloping it; from the top of this jacket a large 
 pipe extends directly to the room to be heated; this pipe 
 has no connection with any other, so there can be no waste 
 of heat nor any appropriation of heat that should belong to 
 another room. The heating-chambers being placed so near 
 the boilers, there are no long runs of pipe, and the janitor 
 has the whole heating system constantly under his eye. 
 
 As to the position of the inlet-registers, my preference is 
 to place them about 8 feet from the floor to the bottom of 
 the inlet in rooms having 13-foot ceilings; this height should 
 be increased in the same proportion that the height of "the 
 rooms is increased. My reasons for putting the registers in 
 this position rather than at the floor-level are as follows: 
 
 1st. We know that warmed, pure air entering the room 
 at any point below the ceiling-level will, if it is warmer than 
 the air in the room (as it must be to raise or maintain a given 
 temperature), rise rapidly to the ceiling. Such being the 
 case, it seems to me wise to get the warmed, pure air to the 
 ceiling-level as soon as possible without letting it gather 
 impurities, by passing through the strata of foul air near the 
 base of the room, as it is bound to do when it is brought in 
 at or near the floor-level. 
 
 2d. I believe in placing the bottom of the register about 
 8 feet from the floor rather than near to the ceiling, for by 
 this means I am able to maintain the velocity the air has 
 gained in its ascension from the heating-chamber (Sketch i, 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. I" J 
 
 Plate 83) without retarding its flow by concussion, as would 
 be the case if it were brought in at the ceiling-level (Sketch 3, 
 Plate 83). The air should enter the rooms from the heating, 
 ■chambers rapidly and encounter as few obstacles as possible 
 in its course. 
 
 3d. I believe that air entering a room, at the point 
 ■named, with an enlarged or fan-shaped flue at its discharge- 
 point, has a tendency to spread out and flow rapidly across 
 the upper part of the room until it reaches the outer cooler 
 ^alls, where it descends, stratifying as it falls, and flowing 
 back across the room until the outlets are reached. 
 
 4th. I believe that in no other way are as good results 
 obtained as in the clipped-corner rooms shown in the 
 majority of the plans of this work, with the position of the 
 registers as above described. 
 
 Let all inlet-pipes be large. From 2 feet 6 inches to 3 
 feet in diameter is none too much for a room which is to 
 accommodate fifty pupils; have these pipes flare at their out- 
 let at least one third larger, for, if a register-plate is to be 
 used, even with this increase of size we shall not be able to 
 get the full capacity of the pipe through the register-opening. 
 I shonld prefer to use no register-plates, but objection is 
 usually made to their omission on account of looks. 
 
 On no condition should there be fans or dampers in the 
 inlet-pipes; they are not of the slightest use, in fact are 
 detrimental to the proper working of the apparatus. It will 
 probably be asked how the heat is to be regulated. Certainly 
 not in the common way, by shutting off our supply of pure, 
 warmed air; this we must always keep if we wish to maintain 
 -a healthy atmosphere and a suf^cient amount of air for the 
 use of the pupils. Instead of diminishing the amount of air, 
 
378 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 which is fatal to a really good system, let the entering air be 
 properly tempered before it enters the room, but at all 
 hazards maintain the supply. 
 
 By referring to Sketch i, Plate 83, which is a vertical sec- 
 tion through one of the heating-stacks and jacket shown on 
 the plan, it will be seen how this can be easily acccomplished 
 by the teacher without leaving the room: AAA is the heat- 
 ing-surfaces enclosed in the metal jacket B. C is the main 
 inlet-pipe/ extending from the jacket to the inlet D in the 
 room. ^ is the cold-air duct extending under the jacket ; F 
 is the damper in each stack, controlled by the janitor, and 
 regulating- the supply of air fed to each; C is a mixing- or 
 tempedng-pipe arranged with a damper //, controlled, by 
 means of cords and pulleys in each room, by the teacher. It 
 is obvious that if the temperature in the schoolroom becomes 
 too high, the teacher must open the damper H, which will 
 cause a part of the cold air to flow from the duct E, through 
 the pipe G, around the heating-surface AAA, to the main 
 pipe C, where it will be mixed with the warmed air coming 
 through the heating-surface AAA, thus tempering it without 
 lessening the supply. The degree to which the air in pipe C 
 is tempered depends wholly upon the amount of cold air per- 
 mitted to enter through pipe G by the damper H. This is 
 really a very simple contrivance, although from the explana- 
 tion it may seem complicated; by its use the same quantity 
 of air admitted to the room is always maintained and there is 
 no shutting off or turning on of steam. The janitor has only 
 to keep a steady fire and the steam up, and turn on the 
 requisite amount of heating-surface. The teacher, by the use 
 of one damper, controls, at all times, the temperature of the 
 room. I have just said that the janitor should turn on the 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 379 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS.' 38 1 
 
 
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PLANNIAG AND CONSTRUCTION. 383 
 
 requisite amount of heating-surface; it will be noticed that 
 in the jacket there are three sections or coils of pipe marked 
 AAA ; these three independent sections constitute the heat- 
 ing-surface for one room, and the heating-surface for each 
 room in the building is subdivided in the same way; the 
 object of this arrangement is to grade by the use of several 
 sections the amount of heat required by the outer tempera- 
 ture. For example, in the cool days of late spring or early 
 fall one section only would be used; as the cold increases two 
 would be in use, and in extreme winter weather all are used. 
 By this means there is not only a great saving of fuel and 
 steam, but in this variable climate advantage may be taken 
 of the sudden changes. In all cases it must be understood 
 that the flow of air through these sections is the same, but 
 the degree to which it is heated is increased or diminished by 
 the number of sections used. Let me say here that I do not 
 believe in overheating or burning the air introduced into 
 schoolrooms, for by so doing we absolutely destroy its life- 
 giving qualities; I prefer to have a large amount of heating- 
 surface, and the air introduced moderately heated. Let the 
 volume of air brought in contact with the heating-surface be 
 such that the required temperature may be maintained. For 
 this reason I advocate large boilers, pipes of ample size, and 
 an amount of heating-surface largely in excess of what is 
 usually figured. 
 
 Outlets should never be placed on the outside walls; let 
 them be built on the inside walls as near the centre of the 
 building as possible, and allow a large space for them. The 
 most serious fault I find in the majority of schoolrooms is the 
 meagre facilities provided for the removal of foul air; suffi- 
 cient heating-surface is often found and frequently large inlet- 
 
384 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 flues, but usually, I may say invariably, the outlet-flues are 
 far too small. It is absurd to think that quantities of pure^ 
 warmed air can successfully be brought into a room unless 
 abundant provision is made for its rapid removal as it 
 becomes foul. It must be remembered that not only have 
 we to provide for the removal of all the air that we may bring 
 in through the heating-apparatus, but for a vast amount that 
 works its way in around the doors and windows, and even 
 through the walls; the amount so introduced will equal, if 
 not exceed, that which may be brought in by the apparatus. 
 Competent authorities estimate that when a room is closed in 
 the ordinary manner, two and one half times as much foul air 
 will escape from the room, if proper outlets are provided, as 
 there is pure air brought in by mechanical means, showing 
 conclusively that this largely augmented volume is obtained 
 by leakage into the room, as above described. 
 
 In view of these facts, what mockery it is to provide one, 
 two, or three 8 X 12 flues for removing the foul air of a 
 schoolroom occupied by fifty or sixty pupils! Moreover, no 
 judgment is used in the placing of these small flues, nor is 
 there any motive power arranged in them to maintain an out- 
 going current at all times; they are as likely as not to be 
 placed on the outside walls, where the draft will probably 
 be down instead of up. Under such conditions as these can 
 we wonder that the air of schoolrooms is bad, that contagion 
 is not uncommon, and headaches and lassitude are the rule ? 
 
 To remedy the evil, the outlet-flues must in all cases be 
 large, at least twice the size of the inlet-flues, and if possible 
 two and one half times their size; let them be placed on the 
 inner and warmer walls of the room, and two openings or 
 registers arranged in them, one at the floor and the other at 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 385 
 
 the ceiling-level, the one at the floor-level being used through 
 the cold weather, when artificial heat is used to warm the 
 building, the one at the ceiling-level being used only in 
 warm weather when there are no fires. 
 
 No matter what the size of the outgoing flue may be, or 
 where it may be placed, a propelling power of some kind 
 must be arranged in it to maintain a continuous outgoing 
 current. There are two ways of accomplishing this; one by 
 the use of the suction-fan or blower, and the other by the 
 introduction of heat into the flue. If the fan or blower is 
 used, a small engine or motor of some kind will be needed to 
 obtain the propelling force; this will require more or less 
 machinery and some one familiar with it to operate it. This 
 is a decided objection to the fan in ordinary school work, and 
 I prefer, and have used in my own work with marked success, 
 the second method, that of introducing heat into the flues. 
 
 The most satisfactory results have always been obtained 
 when I have been able to plan a building with the shafts 
 placed in the centre of the building. When this plan is used 
 the heating and ventilating shaft is combined in one, or, in 
 other words, the heating-pipes for the several rooms run 
 through the ventilating-shaft, as shown in Sketch 2, Plate 83. 
 I also run the smoke-stack of the boilers (which is of 
 boiler-iron) through this shaft. The heat obtained from 
 the inlet-flues leading to the several rooms and halls com- 
 bined with that obtained from the smoke-pipe is sufficient 
 to obtain, under ordinary circumstances, a strong upward 
 current in the ventilating-shaft; but in order to counteract 
 any back draft that might occur under adverse conditions, a 
 suction-coil is also used at the top of the shaft where indi- 
 cated by letter C. Plate 83 clearly indicates the general con- 
 
386 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 struction and arrangement of the heating and ventilating 
 system that I would recommend for an eight-room grammar- 
 school building. By a careful study of these illustrations I 
 think the reader will fully comprehend the system. 
 
 The outlet-registers, at the floor-level, should be placed 
 directly under the inlet-registers, and there should be built up 
 on the inside of the flue a galvanized-iron outlet the full size 
 of the outlet-register and extending to a height of about 2 
 feet above the register-opening. The object of this small 
 pipe or flue extending from the register-opening to the height 
 described in the main shaft is to prevent the air from the 
 lower room or hall being carried into the room above, as 
 might sometimes happen if this barrier were not used. It will 
 be noticed on the drawing that there are dampers placed in 
 the upper part of the main shaft; these are to be used at 
 night and after sessions, being closed to keep the shaft warm 
 and retain the heat in the building. In the morning when 
 the heat is turned on, preparatory to the opening of the 
 school, these dampers should be only partly opened, as the 
 building can be heated quicker by this method; but when 
 the pupils have assembled, they should be opened to their 
 fullest extent. It is well to use swivel-slats in the outlets 
 at the top of the shaft; by this I mean slats that will close 
 automatically on the windward side under a strong wind- 
 pressure. I believe a slat of this kind has been patented, but 
 a modification can be used that will produce the same result 
 without interfering with the patent. A device of this kind 
 will be found very useful in high winds and during storms of 
 snow and sleet. 
 
 To recapitulate briefly the system of heating and venti- 
 lation herein described: 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 387 
 
 ^KETCH&3 OF HEATliNC ^VfeNTlbATION APPARATVA 
 
 Sketch AIq Z.. 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. 389 
 
 First. It is located in the centre of the building, and there 
 can be no loss of heat. 
 
 Second. It is automatic in its action, and one part of the 
 apparatus helps the other — that is, the hot-air pipes warm 
 the air in the outlet-shafts, and the foul air, not being cold as 
 it leaves the room, has no chilling effect on the inlet-pipes. 
 
 Third. The apparatus is easy to manage, simple in opera- 
 tion, and can be constructed at a moderate cost. 
 
 Fourth. When properly constructed and understandingly 
 handled there is no better system, I believe, for heating and 
 ventilating a building. In asserting this I do not speak from^ 
 theoretical impressions, but from practical experience during^ 
 the past ten years in the construction of such apparatus as 
 here described. 
 
 In other portions of this work I have referred to crowded 
 city school buildings, and in the succeeding chapter I shall 
 fully give my ideas as to how such buildings should be con- 
 structed on restricted sites. 
 
 Take, for instance, a problem substantially the same as 
 the one presented some years ago by that most excellent 
 journal, TJie Sanitary Engineer, now known as The Engineer- 
 ing Record, viz., a lot 100 feet square enclosed on three sides. 
 While nothing particularly original would be introduced into 
 the plans as a whole, still I would suggest some features 
 which would, I believe, commend themselves to those in- 
 terested in such matters. The principles advocated in these 
 articles would be embodied in the building, and a radical 
 change introduced in the arrangement of the water-closets and 
 playground. I have always been opposed to placing the 
 water-closets of a large city school building in the basement, 
 directly under all the schoolrooms; also the playrooms, if any 
 
390 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 are provided in such a building, are usually dark, unwhole- 
 some, and directly contaminated by the dirt and foulness of 
 the adjacent streets. When I have protested against this 
 evil I have been met with the assertion that they could not 
 be placed elsewhere. I freely confess that on these occasions 
 I had no suggestions to offer, but after much study and care- 
 ful consideration of the matter it has occurred to me that 
 there is a feasible solution of this problem. Why not place 
 the playrooms of our crowded city schools on the roof ? 
 Build a strong iron and cement floor over the ceilings of the 
 upper rooms, and around this construct a parapet wall about 
 4 feet high, with piers running up at regular intervals, from 
 which arches could be turned to support the walls that receive 
 the roof-plates. The whole area of the building should have 
 a light roof of iron and slate, tent-shaped on the inside. The 
 openings under the arches should be protected by strong iron 
 grills in summer, and in winter by sashes to keep out cold and 
 snow. With such an arrangement as this the pupils would 
 have an admirable playroom up among the house-tops where 
 there is as pure air as any to be had in our cities, far away 
 from the noise and dirt of the street, away from the foulness 
 and dampness of the cellar, a place where children could have 
 light, sun, and air for at least a few moments of each day. 
 
 To go further, take the water-closets from beneath the 
 schoolrooms and place them likewise upon the same level as 
 the playrooms. Get them out of the dark, contracted quarters 
 which they now occupy and place them where they can get 
 the purifying air and sunlight, and thus remove all danger of 
 foul odors penetrating the building. Devote i:he cellar to the 
 lieating and ventilating apparatus and the storage of fuel, but 
 put the water-closets where there is light and air. 
 
PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION. ^ 391 
 
 I suppose that this scheme will be objected to on the 
 ground that children, in the lower rooms especially, will have 
 to climb too many stairs in going to and from the playroom 
 and water-closets. This is the only objection, I think, that 
 can be made to this arrangement, and I do not consider this 
 serious enough to overcome its manifold advantages. Be this 
 as it may, I should like to see the experiment tried, and I 
 hope by bringing the matter to the attention of architects 
 throughout the country, that abler hands than mine may be 
 led to develop this idea, so that in the near future we may 
 be able, even in the largest city, to point to a building and 
 say with honest pride, " There is America's greatest gift to 
 her young — a perfect school building." 
 
 The illustrations on Plates 78, 79, and 80 show a very 
 large high-school building; on Plates 15 and 16 a small build- 
 ing of this class will be found; and on Plates 33, 34, and 35 
 one of medium size; on Plates 81 and 82 a State normal- 
 school building of ample size has been shown. 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 393 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 395 
 
MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 397 
 
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CHAPTER XVI. . 
 
 CITY SCHOOLS ON RESTRICTED LOTS. 
 
 More than fourteen years have elapsed since the last 
 chapter on the Construction of School Buildings was written 
 for Building, and although I have frequently been im- 
 portuned to describe and illustrate the suggestions made for 
 city school buildings at the close of that series, I have, up to 
 the present time, been unable to do so. The subject is not 
 an ideal one by any means, nor one that will be likely to 
 arouse inspiration or enthusiasm in the architect's brain. I 
 am not referring to isolated buildings with ample space for 
 light and air around them, or those fortunate enough to be 
 constructed on " corner lots," but of sites similar to those 
 presented some twenty years ago in the competition referred 
 to near the close of the last chapter, to wit, sites lOO or 150 
 feet square, enclosed by high buildings on three sides, as 
 shown in Plates 84 and 85 — in fact, a great box without a top 
 and one side. These sites were supposed to have northern 
 exposure on comparatively narrow streets; truly, more un- 
 desirable situations for school buildings can hardly be con- 
 ceived ; and I believe that the use of any such site should be 
 prohibited by law. But, upon the other hand, if necessity 
 should compel the erection of buildings upon such restricted 
 sites, we must meet the conditions fairly, and endeavor to 
 
 399 
 
400 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 solve the problem in such a way that the objectionable con- 
 ditions of the site shall be reduced to a minimum. 
 
 The competition above referred to attracted w^ide-spread 
 attention, and was eminently successful as far as the number 
 and ability of the competitors was concerned. The expert 
 judges' award was just, and their exhaustive report contained 
 many valuable suggestions; their eminence, coupled with their 
 peculiar fitness to pass judgment upon just such a problem, 
 should have made these recommendations arbitrary as far as 
 they might be applied to future buildings constructed under 
 the same conditions; no doubt it was fondly hoped by the 
 projectors of the competition that such would be the case, 
 and that a new era in metropolitan school building would be 
 inaugurated. Alas for such a fallacy. The lessons of the com- 
 petition were quickly forgotten, its practical teachings 
 ignored; and the same old mill grinds out the city " school 
 buildings" that are almost completely enveloped with 
 tenacious traditions and dogmatic precedents. 
 
 But to speak more specifically concerning the proposed 
 structure upon a lot lOO feet square, I believe it is possible, 
 if the building has three floors devoted to school purposes, 
 to introduce successfully ten rooms, an assembly-hall, and the 
 necessary principal's, teacher's, and hat-and-cloak-rooms. 
 By referring to Plates 84, 85, and 86 a building of this 
 description will be found; and on Plates 87, 88, and 89 one 
 on a 150-foot square lot. Note in each instance that the 
 rooms all have external light and air, and the principles of 
 lighting, heating, and ventilation, etc., advocated in other 
 portions of this work are fully carried out here. 
 
 The staircases are centrally located, abundantly lighted, 
 strictly fire-proof, and completely isolated from each floor 
 
CITY SCHOOLS ON RESTRICTED LOTS. 4OI 
 
 SO that the pupils of any one floor may be dismissed without 
 disturbing in the least those of any other. The assembly- 
 hall, 55 X 96, is situated on the ground-floor, and is lighted 
 and ventilated centrally from an immense skylight; this, to 
 my mind, is not objectionable for a room not used for 
 study and occupied only at stated times. 
 
 The entire basement of the building is devoted to the 
 heating apparatus, boilers, and fuel. 
 
 The arrangement of the several floors, schoolrooms, 
 teacher's rooms, coat-rooms, corridors, etc., require no 
 special description, as they are easily understood. 
 
 The most striking feature of the design, however, is the 
 introduction of the elevated play- and toilet-room system; 
 these are placed on the fourth floor, above the uppermost tier 
 of schoolrooms. They are reached by the main staircases 
 through a commodious central hall, and, while being com- 
 pletely isolated, are convenient of access, light, airy, and 
 perfectly safe. It is proposed to cover these rooms with 
 roofs of light steel and slate construction; the openings would 
 be guarded by ornamental wrought-iron grills, and during 
 the colder months protected with portable sash; the floors 
 would be of the same material used in the ordinary basement 
 rooms, half-hard asphalt, and enough heat would be intro- 
 duced during cold weather to render the rooms comfortable 
 to exercise in. The construction of this building would be 
 fire-proof throughout, and, while no elaboration is intended, 
 all work and finish should be strictly first-class. 
 
 In the larger building designed for the 150-foot-square lot 
 similarly situated and containing sixteen rooms and assembly- 
 hall (Plates 87, 88, and 89) the same principles in regard to 
 planning and construction have been adhered to, and it is not 
 
402 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 deemed necessary to describe the design in detail. A careful 
 study of these designs by those interested in the subject will 
 clearly show about what the possibilities of restricted sites of 
 this class are. The schoolrooms on the street-front of the 
 building have the advantage of the width of the street for 
 lighting purposes, but the disadvantages of noise and dust. 
 The schoolrooms opening on the light-courts (which should 
 have walls of white enamelled brick), while not having so 
 great a light-area to draw from, have the decided advantage 
 of quietness and are practically free from the annoying dust 
 which arises from the street. While the lighting of these 
 rooms is not as good as could be obtained in buildings that 
 had ample ground-space around them, it is far better than the 
 rooms in any similar class of buildings that I have ever known. 
 The actual glass-area of these rooms is as much as and more 
 than is usually used in isolated buildings; any diminution 
 of light is entirely due to their surroundings, and not to any 
 fault in their planning. The condition that encompasses such 
 a site is the unfortunate one which we cannot entirely over- 
 come, but which can be (as I think I have shown) so modified 
 that buildings that will be perfectly sanitary and so well 
 lighted that children can pursue their studies in them without 
 injury to their eyesight, can be constructed with a reasonable 
 expenditure of money even under these adverse conditions. 
 In this connection, let me say that the buildings shown 
 throughout this work are no more expensive than those of a 
 similar size and class that are being constructed all over the 
 country to-day; that is, if the buildings first referred to have 
 the same area, cubic space, hygienic conditions, and are con- 
 structed with equally good material and workmanship, their 
 cost will fully equal that of the buildings here submitted; in 
 
CITY SCHOOLS ON KESTRICTED LOTS. 4O3 
 
 other words, there is nothing ornate or unduly elaborate in 
 any design in this work. But to return to our theme. The 
 heating and ventilation of these buildings is very simple, and 
 as the whole basement is at our disposal, we certainly have 
 ample opportunity to introduce any desired apparatus. 
 
 As to the sanitary arrangements, I believe the placing of 
 the toilet rooms above rather than below the schoolrooms in 
 any city school building is the best possible position for them. 
 I have argued elsewhere in this work, under the head of Sani- 
 tary Arrangements, as to the feasibility and accessibility of 
 this system, and it is not necessary to repeat myself here; 
 but what I want to impress the school ofificial with is the 
 adaptability of this system to all classes of city school build- 
 ings. It does not require a "restricted site" to make it 
 imperative that such a system should be used; it is better for 
 any building, be it in city or country, to have the water- 
 closets above rather than under the schoolrooms; and the 
 sooner this is realized and practically introduced into school 
 buildings the better they will be for it; the only valid objec- 
 tion that I have ever heard raised to this system is the ques- 
 tion of the water-supply; it has been pointed out that as in 
 many instances the school buildings are placed on the hio-hest 
 ground in the city limits, and in fact elevated sites are 
 always preferred, the ordinary pressure of city water would 
 not supply properly these elevated toilet-rooms. This is 
 undoubtedly true; but the diflficulty can easily be overcome 
 by the adoption of the tank system used in the larger build- 
 ings of all cities; a good force-pump run by steam, gas, or 
 electricity, placed in the boiler-room in the basement, will 
 enable the janitor to keep in the tank a sufficient supply of 
 water at all times. The extra expense and maintenance of a 
 
404 MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 good tank and force-pump is more than balanced by the 
 advantages obtained by the elevated toilet-room system. 
 
 I am informed that elevated playrooms have been intro- 
 duced into some of the new school buildings in New York 
 City; if this is a fact, I am pleased to know that a system 
 advocated by me for more than a dozen years has at last been 
 made use of. Let us hope that the reform will not stop with 
 the playrooms, but extend (if it has not already done so) to 
 the toilet-rooms as well. 
 
 The practicability of constructing city school buildings 
 upon restricted sites, as here outlined, cannot be questioned; 
 and if such problems have to be solved, I have as yet failed 
 to find a better solution than here given. 
 
 In these modern days, when steel and iron enter so largely 
 into our construction, we are enabled to accomplish that 
 which, a decade ago, would have been considered impossible. 
 No reasonable span is too great to be carried ; and walls or 
 piers that under the old regime would have had to be 
 abnormally heavy are reduced by the steel-pier and curtain- 
 wall construction to a minimum. All this is a distinct gain 
 in utility and space, and enables us, if we thoroughly under- 
 stand the subject, to produce, even under the worst condi- 
 tions, buildings that are far in advance of anything that has 
 heretofore been done. I have just said, " if we thoroughly 
 understand the subject." This sentence analyzed will be 
 found to contain the real reason why the average municipal 
 school building is not of a higher grade. Politics and favorit- 
 ism enter so largely into the appointment or selection of the 
 architect that it is rarely that a first-class practitioner is in 
 power long enough as City Architect or Architect of the Board 
 of Education to accomplish much. Even if a thoroughly 
 
I\IODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
 405 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 407 
 
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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
 
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CITY SCHOOLS ON RESTRICTED LOTS. 4I I 
 
 competent man is appointed, the chances are that before he 
 is fairly established in his new office the political power 
 will change, and he must make room for another; true, " to 
 the victor belong the spoils," but when this precept is 
 applied to the architectural department of a city it produces 
 the most disastrous results. 
 
 I believe that better results would be obtained by any 
 municipality by giving power to its various departments to 
 select architects (without competitors) to do their work. As 
 I have before said, I am an advocate of specialists, and I do 
 not believe that as good work is obtained from any " City 
 Architect's Office " as can be had by entrusting the work to 
 regular practising architects whose qualifications and training 
 have eminently fitted them for some special branch ; this 
 theory is particularly applicable to school buildings; and it 
 is hoped by the writer that a reform movement in this 
 department will be inaugurated in the near future. 
 
 I could enlarge upon this subject at length, but as I have 
 fulfilled my promise made so many years ago, and described 
 and illustrated city school buildings on restricted lots, it is 
 only necessary for me to say that in all the pleadings and 
 theories advanced in this work I have simply been actuated 
 by an honest endeavor to remedy faults that I continually 
 encounter in my practice. And as I look back over these 
 pages which have been penned at such wide intervals, I am 
 surprised to see how little the theories advanced long ago 
 require to be changed by a riper experience. Many of them 
 will surely be criticised; some possibly condemned; but such 
 as they are I give them to the public; and if they are found 
 wanting, it will not be for the reason that I am not perfectly 
 sincere in my convictions. 
 

 
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