Plate 40.—The Tabernacle—Exterior
By architects and others this building has been pronounced one of the most remarkable auditoriums ever erected. As the picture shows, it it simply a great dome supported by buttressed walls. It was in course of erection from July 1864 to October 1867.
The immense dome-roof is a lattice-work construction and is self-sustaining. The roof span is without a single pillar. More remarkable still, the roof is built entirely of wood and was constructed without nails or metal spikes. The enormous beams and trusses were held together by wooden pegs and raw-hide thongs. While the Tabernacle was in course of construction, iron nails and spikes were obtainable only as they were brought across the plains by wagon and team, and the high cost prevented their use.
Many modern buildings present larger roof spans, but such are generally constructed of metal. The roof covering of the Tabernacle consisted originally of wooden shingles; these have been replaced, however, by sheet metal. The building is two hundred and fifty feet long and onte hundred and fifty feet in greatest width; from floor to ceiling at the middle the distance is seventy fee; and the net work of beams andtrusses between ceiling and roof is ten feet high.
See pages 203–205.
