WONDERLICH BUYS CITY BUILDINGS - E.C. Wonderlich was the highest bidder for the old city hall and jail and the buildings were sold to him Monday evening for $100.00.  Mr. Wonderlich started tearing them down this morning and expects to remove the material to North Kellogg avenue where he will build some cottages this summer.

Provisions will be made for a temporary location for the two cells which have been in the jail.  The exact location of this temporary jail has not been decided upon.

PLAN TO LAY CORNER STONE MONDAY - 2:30 - The ceremonies pertaining in the laying of the corner stone of the new city hall at two-thiry next Monday afternoon have been placed in the hands of the Ames Women's Club and the Ames Commercial Club.  A committee has been appointed from the Woman's Club consisting of Mrs. L.G. Hardin, Mrs. L.C. Tlilden and Mrs. S.A. Beach.  The committee on general arrangements appointed by the Commercial Club consists of General James Rush Lincoln, chairman; J.C. Tilden, C.I. Siverlay, Thos. Thompson, B.J. Shelden, M.A. Manning, I.O. Hasbrouck, Ben Edwards, L.M. Bosworth.  The music committee consists of R.J. Shelden, Chas. Dragoun and Gus Martin.  The committee on decorations, W.C. Stephenson, W.H. Jameson and T.J. Loughran.

At a meeting of the general committee held yesterday afternoon it was decided to invite Mayor Parley Sheldon to lay the corner stone and Judge C.G. Lee to deliver the address of the afternoon.  The Ministerial association has been asked to select a representative to deliver the invocation; Dr. A.B. Maxwell has been asked to represent the Commercial Club in securing suitable materials to be placed in the stone and Thomas Thompson has been delegated to request all business houses to close from 2 to 2:30 p.m.

Preceding the exercises a parade will march from the city park to the new city hall.  The parade will be headed by the band, followed by the city officials and representatives of the Woman's Club, after which will come representatives of the college and the various professions and business organizations.  Representatives of the business and professional interests will march in groups with appropriate banners and the following group chairmen have been appointed to see that all persons interested are invited to march in the parade.

Attorneys - R.E. Nichols
Automobiles, accessories and garages - Geo. O'Brien
Bands - B.J. Shelden
Banks - I.O. Hasbrouck
Barbers - W.L. Garretson
Blacksmiths - W.L. Allen
Bricklayers - F.H. Coates
Carpenters - U.S. Griffith
City schools and city library - L.C. Tilden
Clothing - Gus Martin
Coal and feed - Jams Gilchrist
Dairy and ice cream - C.J. O'Neil
Dentists - Dr. E.W. Pittman
Doctors - Dr. E.B. Bush
Drugs - L.M. Bosworth
Dry goods - E.J. Coffin
Electricians - C.B. Nelson
Factories - C.E. Lyman
Federal Employes - C.L. Little
Florists - F.J. Olsan
Furniture and undertaking - H.M. Duckworth
Groceries - W.H. Poole
Hardware - D.J. Bullock
Harness - D.E. Parsons
Heating and plumbing - L.K. Sanders
Hotels and restaurants - H.H. Nowlin
Implements - S.L. Loughran
Jewelry - C.W. Dudgeon
Livery - F.E. Morris
Life Insurance - H.F. Brown
Lumber - C.E. Dragoun
Meat market - Chris Sorenson
Ministers - Ministerial Association
Music - C.E. Holmes
Milliners - Mrs. J.D. Murphy
Newspapers and printing - W.L. King
Painters - A.G. Barker
Photographers - C.R. Quade
Real estate - Thos. Thompson
Shoes - C.C. Alm
Tailors - F.L. Holmes
Transfer and teamsters - H.J. Buckham
Public service, gas, telegraph, telephone, street railway - Geo. H. Cole

If there are some who wish to join the parade under some banner not listed above they are requested to notify General Lincoln.  This parade will be of great benefit to the city as an advertising feature and those taking part are requested to be at the city park in time for the procession to move promptly at 3:30.

CITY HALL IS FAST NEARING COMPLETION - The fine new $75,000 city hall is fast approaching completion and it is an assured fact that the contractors, J.E. Tusant and Son company, of Des Moines, will be able to turn over the building long before the time specified in the contract, March 17.  The entire building has been enclosed and the heating plant is going at full blast, the fuel being furnished by the city in return for the premature use of city jail quarters.  This enables the workmen to make splendid time and every man possible has been put to work by the contractors.  The carpenters are busy on the finishing while the cement workers are fast putting down the hall floors and other cement work.

The building is to be very complete in its appointments and when finished will be one of the finest of its kind in the country.  The finish is in Italian marble and the woodwork, of oak and birch, will be of weathered oak effect.  The decorations, upon which the painters are already busy, will be in harmony with the whole scheme.

The new city hall will have splendid features in rest rooms for both sexes, well appointed and comfortable.  There will be offices for the mayor, the city clerk, the city solicitor, the street commissioner, the engineering department, the police department, and the fire department.  In the rear of the building the firemen will have a sleeping room with all conveniences and the council is planning for up-to-date equipment.

A council room and committee rooms will have places on the upper floor, and in other parts of the building will be storage rooms, a fine heating plant, the city jail, a large room for a rock pile, and other accommodations.

CITY HALL IS PRIDE OF ALL AMES PEOPLE - June 10 was a most memorable day to Ames pioneer citizens and to those of a somewhat younger generation for that date marked the passing of the formerly up-to-date and what was at one time considered large enough and artistic enough city hall to supply the demands and wishes of the people of an earlier day, but the citizens of Ames had fond dreams of a municipal building that would stand as a monument and not a disgrace to their public spiritedness and the above date marked the realization of their dream for it was this day that soil was first broken for Ames new $45,000 municipal building.

The bulk of the executive work fell upon the shoulders of three men, Councilman Murray, Gilchrist and Rice.  These three men composed the building committee of the council and as the city selected their own plans, chose the finish hardware and electric light fixtures it was the duty of these men to do the selecting and they chose a sand blast finish for the hardware which gives it a grayish appearance that blends with the copper electric light fixtures and the dark oak of the wood work most harmoniously.  The new city hall is well supplied with heat by a Kewanee smokeless boiler which is a marvel in coal saving and most up-to-date in heat production.

The exterior of the building up to the second story is finished with Bedford lime stone and this material is again used on the second story for cornices and window trimmings.  The balance of the second story is finished with Boone rug faced brick and the whole fits in with the surrounding landscape most harmoniously.

The building throughout has been made fireproof by the use of concrete and tile floors in construction and in order to conform with this a roof constructed of concrete and covered with Barrets special specification gravel top has been built.  This is topped off by an 18 foot flag pole from which will float the nation’s emblem at all times.

It was the general idea when the plans were first made that the new building with a front of 55 feet and a depth of 80 feet would be too large for years to come to supply the needs and demands that the city would make on it but after all the assignments had been made it was found that there were only two rooms that were not absolutely needed at this time and the council has several things in view that these can be used for.

Above the station are located the firemen’s quarters and here the men are provided with every known convenience including shower baths, lockers and sleeping quarters.  This room is connected with the wagon room by means of a circular stairway and a brass pole.  The chief is to have his private office opening directly off the wagon room.

In the basement below the wagon room are located the boiler room, ash room, and storage rooms.  The remainder of the basement contains that some times popular hotel the entrance to which is only gained by having a number.  This is to be enlarged by the addition of the cells form the old city Bastille.  The police court has been provided with a room in this part of the building where sessions will be held.  The street commissioner's desk will be located in a private room near the police court.  In addition to this the city has provided a long needed rest room for women and this room has been equipped with the sole idea of furnishing a comfortable place for the women of Ames, and the surrounding country to stop and rest while shopping or for any other use that the members of the gentler sex see fit to put it to.

On the first floor the city clerk has a spacious office well lighted by means of prism glass and finished very beautifully.  Opening directly off of his office there is a large steel vault in which the city records are safely kept.  The mayor and the city solicitor have a large reception room back of the clerk's office and their private offices open into the reception room. The women's cells are situated on the first floor and are equipped with toilet and shower baths.

The stairway from the first floor to the second leads to the council chamber a large room 28x54 feet.  This with the committee rooms which open off the council chamber takes up the north half of this floor.  The council chamber is finished off beautifully.  To the south the city engineer has a private office.  A large drafting room and room for taking blue prints adjoin his office.

The interior of the building as a whole is finished in such a way as to excite favorable comment from those whose tastes are the most fastidious.  The ceilings have large plaster beams and there are a goodly number of artistically placed plaster pilasters which in conjunction with a marble base gives the rooms a most finished appearance.  The floors of the halls and corridors are of chipped marble and concrete to which combination the name Terraza has been given.

Taken as a whole the new municipal building stands as a fitting monument to the untiring efforts of the present city council and mayor and to the united support given by the public.  The citizens of Ames can point with pride at this beautiful edifice because it represents a big step in the very onward march of civic improvements.