APPENDIX E E E. IMPROVEMENT AND CARE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS IN REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1911. OFFICER IN 6. House where Abraham Lincoln died. 7. Buildings occupied as offices by the War Department.. 2975 2976 2976 OFFICE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS, GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations of the office of public buildings and grounds in the District. of Columbia under the Chief of Engineers during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911: The various duties assigned to the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds during the year were as follows: 1. Maintenance, care, and repair of the Executive Mansion, grounds, and greenhouses. 2. Improvement, policing, care, and maintenance of various parks and reservations in the District of Columbia. 3. Improvement, care, and maintenance of the portion of Potomac Park west of the railroad embankment. 4. Care and maintenance of the Washington National Monument. 5. Care and maintenance of the propagating gardens. 6. Care of the building No. 516 Tenth Street NW., where Abraham Lincoln died. 7. The preservation, care, and safety of buildings occupied by the War Department in the District of Columbia, except State, War and Navy Department Building. 8. Care and repair of the Government telegraph line connecting the Capitol with the various departments and Government Printing Office. 9. Care and maintenance of the highway bridge across the Potomac River, District of Columbia. 10. Furnishing and planting trees, shrubs, etc., in the grounds of the Library of Congress, of the Capitol, and of executive departments. 11. The immediate charge of the banks of the Potomac River from the north line of the arsenal (or Washington Barracks) grounds to the southern curb line of N Street SW. 12. Care of the monument at Wakefield, Va., the birthplace of Washington, and the iron pile dock at the mouth of Bridge Creek, Va. Executive and disbursing officer of the following commissions: 13. Grant Memorial Commission. 14. Von Steuben Statue Commission. 15. Barry Statue Commission. 16. John Paul Jones Statue Commission. 17. Columbus Memorial Commission. 18. In charge of the monument at Fredericksburg, Va., to the memory of Gen. Hugh Mercer. 19. Member of the commission created by the public buildings act approved May 30, 1908, to cause plans and estimates to be prepared for a suitable armory for the National Guard of the District of Columbia. 20. Secretary, executive and disbursing officer of the Commission of Fine Arts, created by act approved May 17, 1910. 21. Member of board of engineers to prepare and approve plans for the reclamation and development of the Anacostia River and Flats. 22. Military aide to the President. 1. EXECUTIVE MANSION, GROUNDS, AND GREENHOUSES. Care of Mansion. The work required to maintain the house in good condition was carried on in a systematic manner throughout the year. The hardwood floors in particular require much attention in the way of cleaning, waxing, etc., and this was done with regularity. The tile floors in the entrance vestibule and in the main corridor on the first floor were also given constant attention. General repairs.-Minor repairs were made to doors, windows, and floors. New doors were made for the exit from the attic to the roof. Old plastering in the elevator and light shafts was cut out and replaced; some plastering repairs were also made in the west terrace. The roofs of the east and west terraces were repaired. One room in the west terrace was fitted up for the use of the extra clerks in the executive offices; the plaster and woodwork were repaired, electric lights installed, and the walls, ceiling, and woodwork given three coats of paint. The lockers for the house servants were moved from the room next to the bouquet room, and that room was fitted up for use as a storage room in connection with the bouquet room. A new marble mantel was placed in the southeast corner of the East Room to replace a badly cracked one that was taken out. The electric dumb waiter was repaired. All fire-alarm boxes were tested. Heating. The heating plant was looked after and kept in proper order. Plumbing. The plumbing fixtures were examined regularly and maintained in good order. Lighting, etc.-The electric plant and wiring were overhauled and maintained in good condition. All of the chandeliers and fixtures were thoroughly cleaned. Burned out electric lamps were replaced with new, and new shades put on where required. All the electricbell wiring was overhauled. Elevator.-Necessary attention was given to the elevator and to its operating machinery. All bearings were repacked and the controller cable was repaired. Lightning protection.-A new system of lightning protection was installed on the Mansion in July, 1910. The work was done under contract. The old zinc and lead rods were removed from the house and new copper cables, connected to large copper earth plates, put in place. These cables were connected to 100 points on the roof of the house. The rods and points are mechanically and electrically connected to the house. Silver closet. A silver closet, with double steel doors and a complete set of shelves and cupboards, was built in one end of the storeroom on the ground floor. Telephone system. A new house telephone system was installed. A new telephone annunciator was placed in the ushers' room, and the head usher's desk was connected with all the house telephones. Painting. The following portions of the Mansion were painted: On the second floor the baseboard in the President's dressing room, in the east end of the corridor, and in the northeast and northwest bedrooms, the blind door of the library, the ironwork of the small private stairway, the wall and two windows in the elevator shaft, and two skylights over that shaft, and the walls of one room in the attic (whitewashed). On the first floor the woodwork in the blue and red rooms, the walls, ceiling, door frames, and door in the corridor. On the ground floor the carpenter work of the new silver closet, the storeroom, the walls, ceiling, and woodwork in the steward's room, and two sides of the wall under the west terrace. Furniture and furnishings.-Furniture was repaired and the frames rubbed down wherever necessary. One sofa, 2 side chairs, 1 armchair, and 1 corner chair in servants' room in attic were reupholstered and covered with new material. The tops of the 2 large mahogany dining-tables were cleaned off down to the natural wood, shellacked, varnished, and rubbed down. In July all carpets and portieres were taken up, cleaned, and packed away for the summer. The walls of the green, blue, and red parlors were cleaned and a white covering put on for the summer. The animal heads in the State Dining Room were cleaned and covered. All furniture was cleaned and linen covers put on. Mirrors and oil paintings were covered with netting. In September the temporary white covering was taken down from the walls, the furniture covering removed, all the floors cleaned and waxed, and the house was put in good condition for the return of the President on September 25. In October all carpets were put down and portieres hung. Social functions.-During the year this office did more or less work, as called upon, for six State dinners, thirteen small dinners, five musicales, four evening receptions, three day receptions, three dances, one ball, four garden parties, one tea, and the President's silver wedding anniversary. For the receptions the necessary rearrangement of furniture was made and attendants were provided for the hat boxes, dressing rooms, and supper room. For the dinners the tables were put in place and the usual floral decorations provided. Immediately after each of these functions the house was restored to its usual condition. Temporary lines of telephones were put up for use in calling carriages at the evening functions, and attendants provided for operating them. A temporary inclosure of wood was erected on the roof of the East Terrace, just outside of the East Room windows, in which the Marine Band played for one of the dances. A portable platform was made for the north end of the East Room for use at musicales. Inventory of property. The sundry civil act approved June 25, 1910, provides: SEC. 9. Hereafter the steward, housekeeper, or such other employee of the Executive Mansion as the President may designate, shall, under the direction of the President, have the charge and custody of and be responsible for the plate, furniture, and public property therein, and shall, before entering upon the duties of the office, give bond for the faithful discharge thereof, said bond to be in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and be approved by the Secretary of War. And hereafter a complete inventory, in proper books, shall be made annually in the month of June, under the direction of the officer in charge of public buildings and grounds, of all the public property in and belonging to the Executive Mansion, showing when purchased, its cost, condition, and final disposition. This inventory shall be submitted to the President for his approval, and shall then be kept for reference in the office of public buildings and grounds, which shall furnish a copy thereof to the steward, housekeeper, or other employee responsible for the property. Under the above provision of law, a complete inventory of the public property in the White House has been made, under the direction of this office, by Mr. W. McC. Sauber, an expert who was detailed for the purpose from the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. This inventory has been approved by the President. It is in duplicate and the copies will be disposed of in accordance with the law quoted above. Executive Office Building.-The usual care was extended to this building. Minor repairs were made to doors, windows, woodwork, plumbing fixtures, and heating apparatus. A partition was built across the south end of the clerks' room to form a new room for the telegraph and telephone service. Arched openings were made in the wall separating the secretary's room from the old telegraph room, in order that the latter might be used as an additional room for the secretary. A skylight was placed in the roof to give light and ventilation to the new telegraph room. The lighting circuits in this room and in the clerks' room were changed. Systematic attention was paid to the floors, which were cleaned and waxed whenever necessary. Some painting was done in the lobby and in the passageway from the West Terrace, and the walls and woodwork in the secretary's new room and in the press room were given two coats of paint. Old burned-out electric lamps were replaced with new, and all the electric bells and buzzers were put in good order. A new wooden case for files and books was erected in the clerks' room, and facilities for supplying additional heat to the room were provided. The headpieces of the marble mantel in the President's room and of the stone mantels in the Cabinet and secretary's rooms were replaced with larger pieces of stone. In October the wire screens were taken down from the windows and stored. Extra ventilators were purchased for use in the Cabinet Room. One new 4-light chandelier was put up in the congressional waiting room. Stable of Executive Mansion. The plumbing and lighting fixtures were maintained in good order. The sundry civil appropriation act, approved March 4, 1911, appropriated $1,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the removal of this stable and for such grading, soiling, seeding, and sodding as may be incidental thereto. The act further requires that the Quartermaster General of the Army shall provide suitable accommodations for the horses, carriages and other vehicles of the President and of the Executiye Office, in the stables |