[E.] RECENT AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE.—Architectural activity in the United States continues to share in the general prosperity which has marked the years since 1898, and this activity has by no means been confined to industrial and commercial architecture. Indeed, while the erection of “sky scrapers” or excessively lofty office-buildings has continued to be a feature of this activity in the great commercial centres, the most notable architectural enterprises of recent years have been in the field of educational buildings, both in the East and West. In 1898 a great international competition resulted in the selection of the design of Mr. E. Bénard of Paris for a magnificent group of buildings for the University of California on a scale of unexampled grandeur, and the erection of this colossal project has been begun. An almost equally ambitious project, by a firm of Philadelphia architects, has been adopted for the Washington University at St. Louis; and many other universities and colleges have either added extensively to their existing buildings or planned an entire rebuilding on new designs. Among these the national military and naval academies at West Point and Annapolis take the first rank in the extent and splendor of the projected improvements. Museums and libraries have also been erected or begun in various cities, and the New York Public Library, now building, will rank in cost and beauty with those already erected in Boston and Washington.
In other departments mention should be made of recent Federal buildings (custom-houses, post-offices, and court-houses) erected under the provisions of the Tarsney act from designs secured by competition among the leading architects of the country; among those the New York Custom House is the most important, but other buildings, at Washington, Indianapolis, and elsewhere, are also conspicuous, and many of them worthy of high praise. The tendency to award the designing of important public buildings, such as State capitols, county court houses, city halls, libraries, and hospitals, by competition instead of by personal and political favor, has resulted in a marked improvement in the quality of American public architecture.
[F.] THE ERECHTHEUM: RECENT INVESTIGATIONS.—During the past two years, extensive repairs and partial restorations of the Erechtheum at Athens, undertaken by the Greek Archæological Society, have afforded opportunities for a new and thoroughgoing study of the existing portions of the building and of the surrounding ruins. In these investigations a prominent part has been borne by Mr. Gorham P. Stevens, representing the Archæological Institute of America, to whom must be credited, among other things, the demonstration of the existence, in the east wall of the original structure, of two windows previously unknown. Other peculiarities of design and construction were also discovered, which add greatly to the interest of the building. These investigations are reported in the American Journal of Archæology, Second Series; Journal of the Archæological Institute of America, Vol. X., No. 1, et seq. The illustrations, Figures 35 and 36, are, by Mr. Stevens’ courtesy, based upon, though not reproductions of, his original drawings.
[ GLOSSARY]
OF TERMS NOT DEFINED IN THE TEXT.
Alcazar (Span., from Arabic Al Kasr), a palace or castle, especially of a governing official.