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 124 COLUMBUS buildings and institutions. In this it is not ex- celled by any city in the United States except Washington, and much surpasses any other town of the Ohio valley. The state has con- centrated here nearly all the public buildings devoted to its business, benevolence, or justice. The most conspicuous among these are the capitol, the penitentiary, the lunatic asylum, the deaf and dumb asylum, and the blind asy- lum. These are all on a large and liberal scale. The capitol is one of the largest in the United States. It is 304 ft. long and 184 in width, and covers 65,936 square feet. The rotunda is 157 ft. high and 64 ft. in diameter. The building is in the Doric order, of fine gray limestone, approaching marble in its texture and appearance, and is perhaps as fine a speci- men of architecture as can be found in this country. The interior is elegantly finished. The hall of the house of representatives is 84 ft. long by 72 ft. wide. The senate chamber is 56 by 72. There are rooms for all the state officers, besides 26 committee rooms. All the arrangements for heat, light, -water, and grounds, are planned with the utmost improve- ment which modern skill has been able to in- vent. The penitentiary is another striking building. It is of hewn limestone, and with its yards and shops covers six acres of ground on the E. bank of the Scioto. Its entire front is 456 ft, the centre being 56 ft.*, containing the warden's house and offices, with two wings, each 200 ft. front and three stories high. These wings each contain 350 cells for prison- ers, arranged in five tiers, and isolated from the main wall of the building by open galleries. The central Ohio lunatic asylum was burned in 1868. In 1870 a new series of buildings was commenced on 300 acres of elevated ground W. of the city. These buildings will be in the Franco-Italian style, with a frontage of about 1,200 ft., depth 300 ft., centre tower 165 ft. high, and a capacity for 600 patients. The asylum for idiots, a plain Gothic structure, 272 by 198 ft., occupies grounds 123 acres in ex- tent, adjoining those of the lunatic asylum. The new blind asylum in the E. part of the city, on the grounds of the old one, will be a stone structure, 340 by 270 ft., in the Gothic style of the Tudor period. The deaf and dumb asylum, centrally situated on large and hand- some grounds in Town street, is built in the Franco-Italian style. There is a large and well built state arsenal. The United States arsenal, situated on extensive and handsome grounds, beautifully wooded, in the N. E. sub- urb of the city, comprises, besides an immense central structure, numerous other buildings, used for offices, quarters, storehouses, &c. The city hall, on the S. side of State street, is a Gothic building, 187 by 80 ft., with a central tower 138 ft. high. The high school building is a fine specimen of the simple Norman or church style of architecture. The Holly wa- ter works occupy a building 132 by 98 ft., near the junction of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and are abundantly supplied with ma- chinery. The county buildings are the court house and a poorhouse, or county infirmary. There are also a fine opera house and a new odd fellows' building. Columbus has great advantages for internal commerce. It is situ- ated on a branch of the Ohio canal, at the inter- section of the following railroads : Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis; Cen- tral Ohio; Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis; Little Miami; Columbus and Xenia; Columbus, Chicago, and Indiana Central; Cleveland, Mt. Yernon, and Delaware; Co- lumbus and Hocking Valley. The last named road, opened in 1870, penetrates a very rich iron and coal region, and has given a gre* impetus to the business interests of the city. There are several lines of street railroad. Tl manufactures are important, the principal tablishments being 7 founderies, 7 breweries, 10 machine shops, 8 planing mills, 7 tanning and currying establishments, 2 manufactories of agricultural implements, 3 of boilers, of brushes, 3 of cars and car wheels, 17 ol carriages, 7 of chairs, 3 of edge tools, 2 of files, several of furniture, 8 of hair work, 3 of lard oil, 3 of lime, 1 of paper, 3 of ploughs, of pumps, 14 of saddlery and harness, 2 of soap, 1 of tools, 1 of wire work, 6 flour mills, 6 book binderies and blank book manufactories, 2 bli furnaces, 1 manufactory of bolts and nuts, of boots and shoes, 1 of rope, 1 of saws, 3 silver plating, and 2 rolling mills. There 24 hotels, 3 national banks, with an ag capital of $650,000, 2 state banks, and 5 insu- rance companies, of which one is a life insurance association. The city is divided into 9 wards, and is governed by a mayor and a common council of 17 members. The fire department is under the control of a chief engineer. There are 3 steam engines, a hook and ladder com- pany, and 11 fire alarm boxes. In 1870 the penitentiary contained 1,053 prisoners and 7S officers and employees; the lunatic asylum, 320 patients ; idiot asylum, 232 ; blind asylum, 193 patients and 30 employees and officers; and the deaf and dumb asylum, 266 inmat and 15 instructors. There are also several hospitals and orphan asylums. A convent of the sisters of the Good Shepherd has been established at Franklin, in the neighborhood. The board of education consists of a president, secretary, and one member from each ward. In 1871 there were two high schools, with 19 teachers and 621 pupils; and seven evening schools, with 43 teachers and 1,241 pupils, The other schools (grammar and primary) had 102 teachers and 4,003 pupils. The total ex- penditure on account of schools for the year was $121,255 27, of which $53,158 35 were for sites and buildings, and $53,759 92 for teach- ers' wages. The Koman Catholics have foui parish schools, with an average attendance of 1,020, and several academies and seminaries. Other educational institutions are Capitol uni- versity (Lutheran), and Starling medical col-