“The
first point to which our attention has been directed
was the expediency of erecting a building which should
be secure from danger by fire.”
~Congressional Committee on Public Buildings,
1835
The technique of “fireproof
construction” was a novel but increasingly valuable
skill in the early 1800’s when destruction by
fires posed a constant threat to American cities largely
clustered with buildings built of timber. In addition
to the relatively common conflagration that burned many
cities, Washington suffered two intentional fires begun
under political auspices. Fires ignited by the British
in 1814 during the War of 1812 incinerated the Capitol,
the White House, and the Treasury. The second Treasury
building was ruined by arson in 1833, leading Congress
to require fireproof construction for the third Treasury
building, which remains today.
The Taking of the
City of Washington in America.
Library of Congress
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Despite the increased cost and lengthy duration
of fireproof construction, preventing the further loss
of important government property became a priority for
Washington having recently suffered significant damage
from fires. The fireproofing of the new Treasury building
was particularly important given the department’s
holdings of currency, records, and a multitude of other
valuable paper assets. Congress therefore sought to
replace the burned Treasury building with one using
the newest advances of fireproof technology.
Robert Mills was an obvious choice having established
a respectable record for vaulted construction among
only a handful of American architects familiar with
this technology. Given his experience and his powers
of persuasion, in 1836 Mills successfully convinced
President Jackson to appoint him Architect of Public
Buildings, beginning with the commission for the design
and construction of the new Treasury building.
Mills employed his expertise of masonry vaulting
throughout the Treasury’s original East and Center
wings using barrel and groin vaults made of brick mortared
with an innovative hydraulic cement used throughout
the interior structure. Mills’ use of the groin
vault made from brick was a unique practice in America
in the early nineteenth century.
This section of the
Burlington County Prison, New Jersey, Robert Mills’
first major commission in 1808, illustrates the characteristic
vaulting construction throughout the building, similar
to Mills’ vaulted masonry method for the Treasury.
Historic American Buildings Survey
Mills crafted his fireproof method
with long barrel vaults, formed by a continuous arch,
seen above, for the corridors of the original Treasury,
while groin vaults, formed by the intersection of two
barrel vaults, were used for the office spaces and the
intersection of the East and Center wings, seen below.
Groin vaults at the
intersection of the East and Center wings,
which encompass Robert Mills' "East wing".
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