These
measurements are said to be indisputably correct, and if so, the
Auditorium of Marble Cave is the largest unsupported, perfect arch in
the world; it being one hundred feet longer than the famous Mormon
Tabernacle at Salt Lake City. In addition to the artistic superiority of
architectural form, its acoustic properties having been tested, it is
found to be truly an auditorium. The curving walls and pure atmosphere
combine to aid the voice, and carry its softest tones with marvelous
distinctness to every portion of the immense inclosed space. As a
concert hall its capacity has been tested by musicians who are said to
have been enthusiastic over the success of their experiments. Several
years ago a piano was lowered into the cave for use on a special
occasion, and still occupies a position on the dancing platform, where
it will probably remain indefinitely under the scant protection of a
small canvas tent.
The chief ornament of the Auditorium is the White Throne, a stalagmitic
mass that when viewed from the stairway appears to rest solidly against
the most distant wall, and looks so small an object in that vast space
as to render a realization of its actual measurement impossible. The
height of the Throne is sixty-five feet and the girth two hundred. It is
a mass of dripstone resting on a limestone base reserved from the
ancient excavation to receive it, and on careful inspection the
perpendicular lines, observed on the front, are found to be a set of
rather large organ pipes.
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