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Show I Presidential Mansions.',& H oiscs U7icA oko A te one 4ro 'ffc 1o Make Hisiory H JliFdiiiout Vrler Mansion ami Ike Mm UhoIIavl Urti in I II here John fH Quinty Mams Uied and Hheie Resident Madison Signed Ihe Tieaty of jH Crant-A A'llluMiit of iSco Something Aleut t'iee 'iesldeut Motion" tH iliatet-nlt.tUer,t A'ew Mansion A folate in hoiy Milwaukee Hi let. (H Iti lie Ho"" "nd Cootlnf AirangemenltA CUrious Vole 11 miner and H If enJerut irlorslsTen 1'irceUln lath Tubs A IWI Mo John B yarmvif llouullts Library Vault and Something About lint at a H IfKiilClinf"'""'!' ll'tml .tew. H EvOone llllnl-, t,l,t 1'rcsldent Clevc- ll land CunJy mil spend but liUlc time in R 1(lt executive Mansion during Ills nd I nfnitrtIon. nf Tbe We House has gotten the JR rtputitlon of being unhcaltli, and it Is a Hf tlllutonfact tint the Presidents of the list decade have been tilling wlilTc II thtyU)cJ In It. There have been nine V deaths connected with the last acliulnis- in Intion, and President Ilarriaon's free- dom from Illness may be attributed to nH lis daily drives and Iour walks. The (9fl McKee children ol the White House H lite not been well nt times, and the jBu President naturally fears for baby Kutli. Hl President Arthur bad nit tlic doctors of jH the country discussing Ills health during H the biter part of his administration, ami tl Fretldent Cleveland, after bis marriage, VB tptnt tlia printer part of the jcars, of VI hj first admirlstrallon nt Oak View. JH There are a number of large houses in 11 thecityvvlilch would make good pre!- ill !cntal residences, and if the 1'resident al no keep his home nu ay from his busl- (KB nesi office it will add to hit privacy and ffp ness. Thu house uhlcli it is said II S !r. Cleveland is seriously considering is 1 the famous Porter mansion. This is aj tiihin a stone's throw of the White )Bjfl House, and it Is a massive three-story Hflj UMaigvviih great rooms and a generous aH side and rear )ard. Its front is covered IHj nth vines and it has a big bail room and H ipltridtd parlors. The grounds nrc filled sB(i Kh shade trees nnd the place could be jU cade one of the most comfortable at VI tie capital. It is on II street bctvvecn SI iph and iSth, not far from the Metropolis SS to Club and Just around the corner .SfV from the War Department. It Is one rf jHI tit most historic mansions of the fjVJIfl opiul. It was last occupied by Admtrut liter, and, I think, It now belongs to VI tiBUte. It was built by Richard Kush AVBl lia he was attorney general of the jMBJ tiled States during Madison's second 'w limlnUtratlon, and it has been the abid ing place cf Judges, generals and slates-men slates-men Rush was a diplomat nnd vvss afterward one of our foreign ministers. He entertained in it migntficcntly, and after he left it It was rented by two ministers from I'.rgl.ind In the di)Stvhen Hngland did ou n a legation here. One of them, Lord Lvons, built the bill room which Is annexed toil. The house was once ovvncdi by Gen. Phil Kearney, nnd Hamilton I'isll also owned nnd occupied it at one time. Admiral Porter bought it obout twenty yean ago, and he lived in It till the day of bis death. UIILKIt I'KKSIUIYrn MAVK LIVID. A number of the Presidents of the past have had homes outside of the White house. John (Julncy Adams kept up an citabliilinn.nl of K street opposite the Lbbltt house during n put of his administration, and wlii.ii Madison wus burnt out of the While House by the Ilritish he moved over to New Yolk uvenue and occupied the o'd Tnloe mansion. Tins house, still stands. It Is known ns the Octagon house nnd It was within it that Madison signed the treaty nf (".hint. It Is n vast building of Iwu stories and an attic, nnd was nt the time It was built the finest house in thcl'rllcd Slates. It Ins eight sides nnd the front Is of an oval sliape, rising from the ground to the roof like n great bay window or mamotii column cut in half nnd fastened to the front of the house. Tills mikes nn oval half nnd the room above It on the second story Is an oval, ami It was in this tli.it the famous treaty was signed, I walked up the battered steps the other day nnd uttered this room. Its doors nrc curved in shape. Its Moor is of grcit blocks of mirble, and the whole Interior of the house is full of cv Idcnccs of its pist magnificence. La cry thing now, however, is going to ruin. Thu house has longtime been condemned by the health authorities and the plasttr is dropping from the walls which once rang back the laugh of Dolly Madison or phnnographlcally re eelved the lion mots of Alexander I lam-iltou lam-iltou nnd Henry Clay, lllg brass knobs which were bandied by the statesmen of the past are now tarnished with age and the keyhole to the front door where Madison used to let himself In when he came homo late at night Is rusted, but its opening shows that the key which went into It must line been at least two Inches long This house was owned by the great millionaire of 1S00. Ills name was Taylor, and he had, It Is said, an Income of $7J.oco n vcar nnd spent Jjj,. coo annually on race bourses. He ow tied ti-ed son slaves, had Iron mines, s!tip-j and other works, all run by his own slaves. He entertained liken prince and Midi-foil Midi-foil came to his house ns his guest. After stopping here for .1 time he moved to the corner of tvvci.tltli street and Pennsvlvanla mimic, where there is now' a drug store, and this formed bit home. President Madison afterward bought lite hotiso whlc'i is iiowocciiplnl by tlie Cosmo Chili. This Is just across from the Aillngton hotel, mid It wns here that Dolly Madison lived after her husband's death, I'OSSIIILP IKIfilDI Nrut. MANSIONS. The last administration occupied some of the test Ih.ihui at the capital, and If President Cleveland circs to change bit residence n numb, r ol tliese will Co nt his disposal. Vlic President Morton lias not announced that he will Icivc Washington, Wash-ington, but his big mansion Just oil of hrott's circls would make n rplerdul house for a President. It lias Mist parlors, par-lors, a kltiht.ii lug cnoujdi In feed an nrmy, and the late ire President has spent more money on it and In It r litre he came here than he has received in the way of salary. The bouse orljtl.iallv cost something over a hundred tliojs.ind dollars and It w.r. climated lliat his additions cost in tin- neighborhood of fjo.ooo. It has along Its south two pirlots, n library and fi dining room, w hlcli are I lo it t in length and so Joined Join-ed by ilublu doors that vou can stand at one end and look rlcar through to the other, I cannot describe the magnificence magnifi-cence of its furniture and its finishings. 'I hero are carving, plate glass nnd expensive ex-pensive frescoes iverjwlicre, and the kitrhitis of the bouse are quite as Interesting Inter-esting n tin- pulors. You could roast an ox on the Vice President's range. A railway lias beiu built to carry the ashes out of the house. The kitchen Is walled with clilni Hies and there i a hearth of costly lllcs Unity four fret long In front of the cooking stove. The building Is Military throughout nnd If the Vice President will cone to Ihe nsslstincc of the democratic President there will be no truble about this house matter being settled, Ihe dining room will be amply big enough for n state d nncr, nnd even the diplomats who have been accustom ed to the palaces of Kuropu vv III not be out of pi ice In It. THE CI.AISE MANSION. It will bonmicer thing If President Cleveland should at some time during his term rent the ll'aine mansion. The thing Is not vet nn liiiiiossibillty. 'I he millionaire l.eiter of Chicago, who has now a Ic ise upon It, will hive one of the finest houses in the United States of bis own with u n stone's throw of it next fall, and the Illalne house will probably be again on Ihe market. Mr, Letter has tented it for vears. Hi firtt lease was, It is said, at thi- rate of I t.ooo n v ear for five years, and nt the end of this time another lease was made, so I am told, at lo,ooo or n,eioon sear The Illalne mansion is about a mile from the. White House, and Is one of Ihe blggc t houses here. It Is a red bilck and n ha. It Is I Slid, more rooms titan th I rmsh legation. There nrc two ninin i ntrancrs to it, one for carriages on M nliusetts avenue nnd another by n fine n n e staircase stair-case on Dupont circle. I'.i " up Hie latter between brass railings v. . enter a hall fifteen feet wlds and lor Im- feet long, nt the back of which Is nhandsome fireplace and mantel, into Mlmlilsict n great plito glass mirror. At (lie rlsht Is the reception room ami on the left uro parlors iliriiuii which ou pi into the drawing room and library. I. dining rouni Is hardly lrge enou'n rsutc dinners, but it has n dui ilnnu r.i-l t as a good-slrtd elevator mid t milter runs Irom the floor to the tout I In In. I tenor ol this house is finished in lieiun-fid lieiun-fid woods; the windows me- of plate glass. The-ic ntc numerous chniitiera nnd Ihe moot elegant of ball to mi- hi-eluding hi-eluding n hot nlr nnd Tutkl h hath clmiiih-.- There is n billiard m mi in the hi-cmcnl and there are nmking room i, loafing rooms andall the im jm-pinliiu jm-pinliiu nlsol u millionaire's pilne It rcijuirea n retinue of servants in keep it In order, nnd I luve hoard It islnnueil tint it won I take at least fe a day to live proprrlv li it. The miiitarv arrangements ar-rangements of it, however, iir- p.nec , and b ib, Kuth would be sure .il li u mg pood air nnd ihe atnuuphont ii in imcr II her f.dh. i does not stint ll i ..al. A VIII LIONAtRK'S PAI VI I Speaking of Leiter's big house, I I vmled it vesioHlay, and In lompuiy with the slewaid went over it Irom attle to b iseinent. An army of workmen ire now hammering nway at It mid this, peihsps the must elegant mansm i In ihe country. Is now rapidly appro iching completion The ground on which it Mauds cost jioo.ooo It will cost tl otis-ntids otis-ntids upon tnous.amls of doll irs to bi.dd the house, and the interest on ilu money invested in It will annually nni'.uni to n (.ood'Sled fortune. It Is on liupimt circle nn I N'evv Hampshire avenue, mid it K a massive four-story building of Miles aukeu brick, cream white In tutor nnd polished like marble. 1 liese bri. ks form the oulsldu coating of the house and it took ijo,ouool them to rover It The bricks wrro all selected ones.mide willt great enre, and tl is proce s of selection was so careful that out of a lot of M ooo bricks only x ooo w re i li. en. The tfTect of these bricks Is that of mir ble, or rather of a ilrlie.it Ivorj.and thu house is more beautiful tli in any marble palace I have- evcrse n. Un the New Hampsh're avenue nidi Ihuc is a vnstporlccoehercof whitest n uplield by Ionic pillars ns large nroin d as the biggest oak tree ou have ever seen and renchfng to the height of n three story house. Passing through these ou rumr to n wide entrance way, the st nre is s of which nre of polished tvlme nmlile, beautifully cnrvcil and of tnc dehi.ite lint of an Iridescent pearl. Pie staircase stair-case leads first lo the bisement, where are the reception rooms, nhnost on n level with thu ground, how vcr, nnd where the gtusts walk down this mag nlficenl marble sialrcasclo t kcofTlhcir things, and where there nre all con-v con-v euiences. At the right of tins itaitca' o nnd nt the lett nre tw o other4, leading to the first floor, or the parlors and dining room, antitheses nrc Immense and they wllfbc finished most gorgeous)). A WUNt'KKm. DArtKME.IT. Hut first let me tell you something about ll.c bisement or ground floor. ou enn get lost hi It. There nre rooms lor nil sorts of purposes. I lerc nre two for Ice and cold storage. In this Ice house sou ctnlld slow away enough Ice for n month, and 1 1 it nte hooks where the beeves and sheep mid game shipped to Mr. loiter can I kept Mr weeks. All the beef nnd mutton used In this house will come from his big firm hi Wisconsin. It will bo killed by his own butchers nnd shipped direct tn Washington lor his use. This is now done nt the Illalne mansion. Take a look at the kitchen. The kIovq is nine feet long and joii rotitil lied one of John Wnniinukcr's bund y school pit. lllcs with the food tint could be cooked on it alone time. It has ,i ventilator over ll which runs fiom the kitchen to the roof aid this is so operated by n Ian and an extra pipe that when Mr. Lei it r cats snuer kmut ur codfish the smell of the rooking will go from the stove up this ventilator, and even nfier Ihe dlsn Is taken oil nf the stove Ihe -pipes will Carry Its nromn from the tlhlu to the vQutilfltor. Another curious arrange, inent Is the apparatus (or keeping the plates warm. I venture to si that this apparatus cost nt least $eo, fur It had to be made pcciall for the house. It lonsluaof a great boiler of heavy iron, ns big around as n twobu.hcl basket and so heald h g is that n cod of pipes running Irom it to Ihe butler's pintr? ov crheatl U always Idled ".villi hut water. Theft) pipes run back and forth in Hit. shape of ncop in a cuplMiard of sine m the butler's pantry, and in this t uplxiartt the platesare kept. 1 he) grow warm in u few minutes, nnd the cuplvoard is lurgu enough lo hold Ihe m mcc of n whole dinner. There is a billiard room in Ihe basement which is a; leet square, and Mils, as the vv hole house, is heated by hot water, the pipes being so cover oil up that vou can't tell where the heat conies from. Under many Inviting divans and beautiful resting places there will be steam pipes, and the arrangements arrange-ments for furnUliin? the bent arc such that it woulj .automatical!) be kept nt an even tempt ratnre throujionl the whole house 1111. I-AUI CUSOP A CKOFSUS. None of Ihe linishings hue jet been tlone as lo the pulors nnd dining room. Hut I ran tell vou something about them, 'i he grand hall w ty ou the first floor is Itself big enough for an ordinary house. The music lull or dancing room is about Iwenly-hve feet wide and fifty feet long. It owns into a drawing room nudngrrat hbrnrv, which islwimy one by fort)-fin feet in I. ngth. All the ceilings of this Hour nre fifi en feet high and all will be finished In mahogany. Tho upper part of Ihe house is to be finished in cherry hi its natural color, polished like a piano, and ol th. finest selected nrleti- s, '1 In ililnl n,i0r, uf the same wood, Is to be paititid a delicate deli-cate ivorv nnd nil the uoud work of Hie luitise will b.' like mirrors. The floors arc to li of quartered o ik and of the heatl of Georgia p'ne. Only the linen of selcrted woods are- used, and thoroughly seasoned wuodi brought from the plaining mills nre rcse.ajoned here before the) are put down. TURNINtl DAY INT.. NIGHT. I can't liegln to describe the queer conceits of ill's home. The lighting Is lo be a revelation. Illeetriclty will turn night into tin), and in the timing room and in thu music hull I ho electric lights will be so arranged lh.it no one can see where the light conies from, but the rooms will bubiilliamlv lighted by the pressing ol a button. 'I he whole liouse lias electric lights nnd electric bells. In eaih room their Is n bell for the butler and the ladies' maid and a third servant, whose iiatiu I forget. "1 he lights are so arranged that )ou can touch one button ami tight Ihe whole house, or you can turn on the light on a sin. lo floor or in u siniki room. The electric wnes of Ihe building are all Incised in tulles, so that if anything gels out of order you can pull fie wire out from the tulie and pull another within it nt the same time without with-out disturbing the house. These tubes tun nil over Hie house. 'Ihe tubes from Ihe electric light wires are brass, those fur the electric bells are of a different composition, hut both are made so that they are non conductors, and wiles nte also wrapped in some non conducting material. MAt.Nirie-KNT MANTKI S AND 1110 UATII TlllH. Thr mantels nre to be magnificent There is one made of green marble in ilu dining room running from tho floor to the ceiling which is made up of eight thousand thflcrent pieces nf m.irbli, and which looks inure like malachite than an) thing else. The dining room is piuletl in tndiogaii), nnil home of the most beautiful rooms in the house to me nru ilu Ijaih rooms. 1 best- are Moored ami walled with Ivor) tthiigs, and muny ol ll.atn ire .is large as tali niietl bed looms. Thrr are ten hath rooms In the louse, all finished in this way, anil tath equipped with a bath tub lit solid port i lam so large that you could scald a bug in it without scrutilung the sides I don't know how man) bed rooms there nru hi this house, but ninny of Ihemnre twent) -five feet square and the ceillngx nre nbout fourteen feet high. Neatly every lied room has Its own hath room intl the rooms art- airangrd in suites and single, so that )ou cm have, just what )ou want. Mr. I... Letter, who is building this mansion, has not 1 en hi litis country for mouths, and he Is now going up tile Nile willi his faniuy. His wonderful fortune is a queer in Inner of American ups anil downs. Oul, a few venrs ago he was living in n cheap boarding houe in Coluin.iiH, clerking lor u few dollars a wetk. I te began Ins cairer in Chicago us a buokkcej cr, I eenmo eventually a artuer In the firm uf Field, lodtlicr .e Company, nnd when he retired sold bis interest iliere for something like jtj.ooa,-oou. jtj.ooa,-oou. Hi owns blocks in Chicago, railroad rail-road slinks whleh nte worth millions, ami he has an income which will enable him tu huiitl just how it id what he phases, lie Is now In his prime and he will probibly iti)cy hii. new home for some v-ars to come It will cost him nearly us much as the Pienldent's salary tu e-uieitam in it. hut his Income must be something like -fioo.ouoa ear and lie can hlatiti it JOHN SIIKRMAN'S MANSION. V ' I Ano.her fine house w hich will be open ' I next)ear Is Senator Sherman's marbi) ' I residence facing I'ranklln Park. I spoke I to Senator Sherman nbout It the other se I day and he told me he expected to live , I in II. Saltl he- "I have n natural bent I for building nnd 1 suppose 1 would hnvu . been an architect or builder had I not f;one Into public life. My house Is rapid- y approaching completion antl we expect to be ill it next fall " Since tlieti ' I have visits I the hou-c. It Is more than fifty feet front and about loo feet deep. You enter n wide hall in which you could turn a two horse vvagoa with I nut tourl lng tl.e walls and on the right of this Is the senator's library and on tna left nre thr pnrlars, antl buck of them I the dining room All of these rooms H are very large and Hie senator's library is twt-nty fivo feet long. In the back of it there Is a grt at vault with n sale door antl time lock on il for the stroring nwny of papers and other valuables. Senator Sherman has some of the most H valuable coricspondenco in existence. I lie has be-on In public life for ueariv H forty )c.irs ami his papers are full ol un f written history. A great many of them are now stored in thu vaults of Ms library In M insfield, which are made it- I the same lirepr.nl Wfly that this vault If, mid it ia probable that some of thesu B papers ma) be brought here when thu house is completed. The parlors of tht H house sre besuilfully finished and lliey H will Ih: frescoed in the finest niannei H 1 he wuodwork of the whole house is o H tbe choicest of hard wood. Huineofllie H chambers are finished In beautiful bird's. eye m iple. The dining room lies i H paneled oak celling anil the parlor li finished in while satnivvood. Tnewsaod- H work of the house was brought frou. H Ohio and a great part of the work is In- H lug done tlierc. betiator Sherman nt one lime ouniil n lumber yard and pi in- H lug mill and he knows all about different H kinds of wiod mid the selections show H cscullcut taste I don't know how many M rooms there nru in the house, but I H should Judge at least thirty. I here nro H at least half a dnten balh rooms, which H nre finished in tiles, and the 1ml roams H are large and airy. It is a curious thing H to note that the senator is bulldinj this house ot ground which he bought fully H a general ion ago. When he was In Con- H gnss bellied tlownau C street near the Copiiol and when he told Mis Sherman M he wis going lo buy a liouse arinh I-rnnklmStuaru she objected strongl) I nnd ihoughl it was nway out of the world pranklin Squaio was then a kind of ball ground and it was on the etlge ol the resldental part of Washing- M ton. Since then the lowu lias crept up M I around it and twu miles beyontl it nnd H Ihe ground has become so valuable that I H vou have to carpet it with two dollar I H Mils in order lo get possession of il. I M Senator .Sherman first mull Ihe house in i H whleh henow lives when hewasserie- ' H tary of lh treasury and he has now M lorn down the one into wnleh he moved I H when he first came here and put this ' B mugmticent nm.isioii on its sue. K H slice Is one of the most fashionable- HJ streets of the capital, and Secretary jSjl Carlisle- lives in a brick house hi thu HI m xt block to Senator Sherman. Fkank U. Caki-kntek. . |
