US Pension Office Civil War Veteran Memorial

Item: 154273
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Seller: HistoryOnPaper - Visit Store
Seller Status: Good
Ends: Thursday, March 18, 3:30 p.m. CDT
Time Remaining:
1 hour, 50 minutes
Price $5.00

Shipping:	2.50 (None) - Calculate Insurance
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Ending:	1 hour, 50 minutes (Thu Mar 18, 3:30 p.m. CDT)
Date Listed:	Thu Jul 9, 6:59 a.m. CDT
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Item Description: <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"><meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0"><meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"><title>Method of payment</title><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);" align="center"><font size="6">USPension Office Civil War Veteran Memorial</font></p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><font size="5">Color lithographof U.S. pension Building, Washington, DC.  </font></p><p>The Pension Building, now the National Building Museum, stands as a memorialto Civil War veterans. From 1887- 1926, the Pension Bureau distributed$8,300,000 in benefits to 2,763,063 veterans (and their survivors) of theRevolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War.</p><p>In 1881 the U.S. Congress directed General Montgomery C. Meigs (1816-1892),Quartermaster of the U.S. Army and a graduate of West Point, to develop afireproof building for the Pension Bureau. Meigs envisioned the building as bothoffice space and as a monument to those who died fighting in the War Between theStates. In commemoration of those heroes, Caspar Buberl (1834-1899) sculpted a1200-foot terra cotta frieze depicting the Union’s Army and Navy.</p><p>Construction began in 1882 and ended in 1887. Seeking to create a light andairy environment for federal workers, Meigs incorporated numerous ingeniousengineering innovations into the structure, his last project. Responsible forsuch important engineering feats as the Capitol Dome, Meigs considered thePension Building to be his greatest achievement. Others did not agree,disparaging it as "Meigs’ old red barn."</p><p>When the Pension Bureau became part of the U.S. Veterans Administration in1930, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) took over the building. Anapproved expansion plan was abandoned due to concern that an enlarged PensionBuilding would reduce space for growth of the nearby Courts. By 1950, when GAOmoved into its own modern facility, the Pension Building was considered obsoleteand demolition was contemplated.</p><p>Public perceptions of the building began changing in the late 1950s when anexhibition by the American Institute of Architects promoted it as worthpreservation. In 1969 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.In 1980 an Act of Congress designated the Pension Building as the site of a newmuseum celebrating American achievements in the building arts. The NationalBuilding Museum opened in 1985, the same year the building was designated aNational Historic Landmark.</p><p><span class="Subtitle">Architecture</span></p><p>The monumental Pension Building was a technological achievement at the timeof its construction in 1882 and a fitting tribute to those who served in theCivil War. The red-brick building, measuring 400 feet by 200 feet, occupies theentire city block bounded by Fourth, Fifth, F, and G Streets, N.W., in downtownWashington, DC.</p><p>Massive in size and scale, the Italianate Renaissance Revival building istwenty-seven bays long on the north and south elevations and thirteen bays wideon the west and east elevations. The lower exterior facades are modeled afterAntonio da Sangallo’s Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The exterior walls areload-bearing brick, measuring 75 feet high and 2 feet 4 inches thick. They arecomposed of common brick faced with pressed brick, decorative masonry, andornamental terra cotta. This was an early use of ornamental terra cotta, whichwas an affordable substitute for carved stone or iron. The terra cotta friezedesigned by Bohemian-born sculptor Caspar Buberl depicts a continuous parade ofCivil War military units represented in six themes—infantry, cavalry,artillery, navy, medicine, and quartermaster. The entrances centered on eachelevation are defined by projecting brick archways. The main frieze of eachentry is ornamented with carved panels depicting the military units of the CivilWar. The western entry is the Gate of the Quartermaster, the southern entry isthe Gate of the Infantry, the eastern entry is the Naval Gate, and the northernentry is the Gate of the Invalids.</p><p>The interior plan of the Pension Building is dominated by a full-height hallor atrium at the center, with interconnecting rooms at the perimeter. The GreatHall is divided into three courts by two sets of four colossal Corinthiancolumns, supporting the metal and glass roof structure. Each column rises 75feet, rests on a base 8 feet in diameter, and is crowned by a molded plastercapital and an abacus of cast iron. The cornice has two hundred forty-fourniches containing life-size plaster busts representing eight prototypicalAmericans of the building world. A terra cotta-trimmed circular fountain islocated in the center of the Great Hall.</p><p>Lining the perimeter of the Great Hall are brick arches that spring fromseventy-two cast-iron Ionic columns, creating two levels of open arcadedgalleries that serve as corridors to offices on the first and second floors.Four main stairways, centrally located on each side of the building near theentrances, extend from the first to the third floors. The office of the PensionCommissioner on the second floor retains its original fireplace and the onlydecorated ceiling original to the building.</p><p>Numerous technological innovations were incorporated into the building’sdesign. A fresh air ventilation system was based on the premise that the centralatrium could act as a giant flue. The exposed roof structure, ornatefenestration, and the full height of the Great Hall acted as a chimney toexhaust unwanted heat. Air was automatically drawn from the perimeter of thebuilding through the clerestory windows, which were opened by a mechanicalsystem. The large central hall with perimeter offices ensured there were no darkcorridors, with daylight and air permeating every space.</p><p>In anticipation of use as the National Building Museum, the first renovationphase of the Great Hall was completed in early 1985. The roof was replaced andthe facades and terra cotta frieze were restored. As part of the U.S. GeneralServices Administration’s Art in Architecture program, four markersrepresenting themes associated with the building arts were designed in 1990 bysculptor Raymond Kaskey (1943- ) and placed at each corner of the site. In 1991extensive research was conducted prior to conservation of the Casper Buberlpainted terra cotta panels located in the stairwells of the building.Restoration work continued through the 1990s under the direction of the SmithGroup.</p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><font size="5">Date:1909; 97 years old</font></p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><font size="5">CONDITION:Excellent</font></p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><font size="5"> Measurements:Approximately 6" x 9"</font></p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);" align="center"><img src="http://cerash.ipower.com//cerash/pension.jpg" border="0" height="666" width="1000"></p><p style="border-style: groove; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" align="center"><font color="#ffff00" size="5">PLEASECHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS/EBAY STORE ITEMS </font></p><div align="center"><br> <center> <table border="1" width="25%"> <tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#ffff00" width="100%"><p align="center"><font size="4"><b><a href="http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=1439223&ssPageName=L2">PRESS HERE TO VISIT MY STORE</a></b></font></p></td> </tr></tbody></table> </center></div><p style="border-style: groove;"><b><font size="5"><font color="#0000ff">Shipping costs:</font> </font><font size="4">Shippingcosts on this item are <font color="#ff0000">$2.00.</font>  My shippingcosts are calculated on three factors - getting your item to you as quickly aspossible, as cost effectively as possible, and as safely as possible.  Ipride myself in providing optimal protection.  I use First Class orPriority Mail on most small items; Parcel Post on larger items; and Media Mailon books and magazines. You may request expedited shipment if you are willing topay costs.</font></b></p><p style="border-style: groove;"><font size="5"><b><font color="#0000ff">Insurance</font></b>:</font><b><font size="3"> </font><font size="4"><font color="#ff0000">Insurance is required on </font> all winning<font color="#ff0000"> bids of $25.00 ormore.</font> Insurance rates are $1.75 ( up to $50) and $2.30 ($51-$100).</font></b></p><p style="border-style: groove;" align="center"><font color="#0000ff" size="6">H</font><font color="#ff0000" size="6">istory</font><font color="#0000ff" size="6">O</font><font color="#ff0000" size="6">n</font><font color="#0000ff" size="6">P</font><font color="#ff0000" size="6">aper</font></p><p style="border-style: groove;" align="center"><font size="5">Contact: cerash@aol.com</font></p>

US Pension Office Civil War Veteran Memorial

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Thursday, March 18th 2010.

US Pension Office Civil War Veteran Memorial

Price $5.00

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