Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/227

 1868.] The Gazette. 183 octagonal, with openings on three sides ; others, again, have but two sides, with two windows ; and some are semi-cir- cular. The latter, however, are very seldom met with. There are still other varieties; but the first two we have named above, are those which are in most general use. They are capable of being made very striking and elegant points in the appearance of a building, proportionally to the amount of deco- ration, both external and internal, which maj r be bestowed upon them. The one whereof we have here given a design, is very simple and plain, and can be constructed at a very trifling cost. THE GAZETTE, THE MAEBLE QUARRY, AT OAKLAND, Chester County, Pennsylvania. THE steady increase in wealth and population of our city, brings with it increased wants ; and it is important to see, how these wants are to be sup- ■ plied. Buildings, both public and private, must keep pace; or should rather be in advance of the increasing population ; and, in their erection, not only cheapness, but solidity, convenience and taste should be aimed at, particu- larly as the latter can be obtained with very little extra expenditure, having so many skilful and experienced archi- tects and builders amongst us. Look- ing round, within the compass of a few miles, we find a country bountifully supplied, by nature, with every material necessary for building purposes, both as regards durability and beauty, suitable for the cottage of the laborer, the more elegant city mansion, or suburban villa, of the merchant, or the more elaborate and massive public edifice. Every order of Grecian, as well as Gothic, archi- tecture can be carried out, in its appro- priate style, and in its suitable material. The Chester valley, extending from the Schuylkill forty or fifty miles west, losing itself in the limestone valleys of Lancaster county, yields marble of all shades, from black and dark blue to nearly pure white, in inexhaustible quantities. The beautiful green ser- pentine, the massive granite, the various colored sand-stones, and many other desirable kinds, all being easily acces- sible ; and, indeed, already opened to market, by the different railroads, which, radiating in all directions, offer facilities of which few other cities can boast. Among the marble deposits, one of the most extensive is that at Oakland — only twenty-seven miles from the city, situated between the Pennsylvania Cen- tral and the Chester Valley Railroads, and but a very short distance from either — opened in the year 1833, by Jacobs & Cornog ; and now owned by Dr. George Thomas. It was from this quarry, that the marble for building Girard College was, in a great measure, procured — all, in fact, except some of the large blocks, composing the shafts of the columns, and a portion of the steps, &c, which were obtained from Great Barrington, Mass. The Corin- thian capitals and other sculptured work were from the Oakland quarries, their marble being well adapted to that purpose, on account of the compactness of its crystallization, thus enabling the artist to cut it into any desired form, and closely resembling, in that respect, the Italian statuary marble.