Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 17, no. 418: March 18, 1876

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XYII. NEW YOEK, SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1876. No. 418. Published Weekly by THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION. C. W. SWEET...............Pkesident and Tbeasuber PRESTON I. SWEET...........Seceetaby. L. ISRAELS.........................Business Ma.nageb TERMS. ONE YEAR, ill advance....$10 00. Communications should be addressed to C. SV. STV-IEJET, Nos. 345 and 347 Bboadwatt OUE BUILDING MATEEIAL. THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, IN SIXTH AVENUE—ITS WORKMANSHIP, ETC., ETC. Our attention haying been called in laat week's issue by "An Admirer of Kuskin" to super¬ abundance of excellent building material found in this country, we must admit that there exists no excuse for the cities of the United States not to present the iinest specimens in the entire world. From the Atlantic to the Pacific there are exhaustless deposits of granite, marble, and the various sand stones are found in easily accessi¬ ble localities. Our exceedingly variable climate, particularly in the Northern tier of States, ren¬ ders marble one of the least appropriate mate¬ rials for exterior walls on account of its dis¬ coloration. The Concord, N. H., and the Quiney, Mass., granites have been favorite materials for a number of years; but they cannot withstand ex¬ posure to intense heat, as has been unfortunately demonstrated at the Chicago and Boston fires. Notwithstanding the long rows of brown stone dwellings in the city of New York have made that stone peculiarly popular in our midst, it begins to be admitted, now more and more, that th^ dark color of the stone detracts from the effect of arehitectaral ornamentation. It scales off, also, and crumbles, and a considerable por¬ tion of it cannot resist the action of the elements. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick furnish a free stone which has come into quite general adoption within a few years. The drab color of the Dorchester stone is quite popular, especially in the dry goods districts, many buildings in Church and adjacent streets having been built with that stone. There" it has stood the test of years, like the building of H. B. Claflin & Co. The Mechanics' Bank now stands twenty-two years ; thp limes buildiiig nineteen years, and so are numerous others built from this stone. Some of the best descripitions of sand stone come ftom the Western States, where they have long been extremely popular for building pur- posiBS. Ohio is particularly rich in sand stone formations. With the increase of transportation facilities, this m&terial is coming rapidly into greater use in various sections of the. country. The finest quality of Ohio stone is quarried in the northern part of the State, within a few miles of Lake Erie, between Cleveland and Sandusky. There are nanierous quarries, some of which have been worked for more t]^an fifty years. The three leading varieties of this stone are knovm by the names of "Berlin," "Amherst" and "Berea" sand stones. The Berhn stone possesses a fine and firm texture, rendering it durable and par¬ ticularly adapted to ornamental purposes. Its color is a light gray tint, and when used for trimmings it affords a pleasing contrast with brick or a darker stone. It withstands a press¬ ure of over 10,000 pounds to the cubic inch—a degree of strength superior to that of many kinds of marble. As it can be wrought into the most ornamental designs for capitals, pediments and other architectural decorations, some of our best architects have selected Berlin of all sand stone for their finest edificas. The latest in¬ stance of this kind wiU be found in the THTRD TODICIAIj DISTBICT C0T7ET, where the architect, Mr. F. C. Withers, has used it to a great extent—^to such an extent, in¬ deed, that the stone bands, which look so orna¬ mental, form themselves an intricate part of the wall, and are not simply ornaments. This build¬ ing is probably one of the very few ever erected in this city which has been honestly built for, and in behalf of, the municipal government. It will be an ornament to that section of the city, but also a credit to those connected with its erection, from the Commissioners down to the meanest mechanic. The Messrs. J. K. & J. A. Horgan, whose contract calls for over $116,000 of masonry and brickwork, state that,in all their experience of twenty-seven years, they do not know of a single building where every detail is so accurately watched, where every expenditure has been so carefully weighed. From early morning till evening they can be found at the building, personally superintending the brick¬ laying which is progressing finely, and by next fall they hope to have their contiract fulfilled to the very letter. Messrs. M. C. Henry & Co., the stone-cutters, speak in excellent terms of the Ohio stone above aUuded to, enabling them to give a sharp, clear outline, even to the most deli¬ cate designs, and,the architect points particu¬ larly to this stone-cutting work as the best ever done in this city. We add a complete descrip¬ tion of the buUding, as furnished to our reporter from official sources: The Court House, bell tower and prison of the Third Judicial District, New York, for the erection of which- Messrs. Heinry Hobart Porter, Edward Berrian, and William Dodge were appointed Oommiasioners, in December. 1873, by the late Mayor Havemeyer, are now approaching completion on the triangle formed by Sixth avenne. West Tenth street and Greenwich avenue. The entrance to the Court Rooms will be on Sixth avenue, through a large, ornamental archway into a porch, 16 feet square; from thence, on the left> through a vestibule of the same dimensions, to the Police Court on the gronnd floor, and, on the right, by an octagonal ■tone staircase, to the Civil Court above. Each of the rooms will be CI feet by 37 feet; the former 20 feet, and the latter 38 feet high. The Judgea' benehes will be placed in the rear, so as to.be. as far away as .possible from the noise of .:the:ave- nue. Aq e.xamination room, 37 fe^t b^ 24 feet, ^s pro¬ vided In connection with the Police Court, with a room for oflBcers in charge of those awaiting trial, for whosi two large rooms are arranged—one for males and the other for females. The Police Magistrate's entrance will be on Tenth street, where offices for himself and his clerks are lo¬ cated. The rooms for the Judge of the Civil Court will be on the second floor, adjoining the Court Room, with an entrance under the small tower on Sixth avenue, which leads also to the rooms for the janitor in the third floor. The clerks of the Civil Court will reach the ofaces provided for them by the principal staircase, and in the third floor, over these offices, and in communication with them by a small turret staircase, there will be a fire and burglar proof room to hold the records of the Court. Water closets for the public wiU be located near the principal entrance, on the ground floor, and on the second floor, adjoining the landing. The tower for the fire bell, called for by the Act of the Legislature, will be placed at the acute angle formed by the junction of Tenth street with Sixth avenue. |The room for the lookout will be reached by a separate spiral stone staircase, with a private entrance on Tenth street, the floor of which will be nearly one hundred feet from the sidewalk, and therefore above the ridges of the roofs, so that an uninterrupted view of the neigh¬ borhood may be obtained. Over this room wUl be placed tho fire bell, and the whole will be surmounted by a pyramidal roof, with a total height to its apex of one hundred and seventy-five feet. Between the build¬ ings occupied by the Courts and the prison will be an inclosed yard, entered by an archway, so that the pris¬ oners can he conveyed to and from the prison without publicity. The public entrance to the prison will be on Tenth street, and will lead directly from the porch into a guard room, 24 feet by 14 feet. Adjoining this will be a room for the Keeper. On the same floor will be two large waiting rooms for male and female prisoners. Ac¬ commodation wiU be provided for twenty-nine female and flfty-eight male prisoners in separate cells, each 8 feet by 5X feet. Those for the females will be on the second floor, arranged in two tiers, and those for the males on the floor above, ia four tiers. The cells will be placed back to beck, the dividing wall being used for ventilating purposes, separate flues being carried from every cell to a large central shaft, in which is placed the iron smoke-flue from the furnaces. An elevator worked by steam, eight and a half feet by six and a halt feet, will be used to convey the prisoners to their re¬ spective quarters, as well as to carry up the food from the kitchen, which is to be in the basement. The cells will be eight feet from the outer walls, which are set back ten feet from the street line, and contain the large windows for general light. A fence-wall fourteen feet high will surround the building. The rooms for the keepers are arranged at the entrances to the male and female quarters, and, in connection with each, there will be two larger cells for the detention of such persons as it may be considered advisable to keep separate from the ordinary class of prisoners. A small airing court, 30 feet by 20 feet, is provided in the roof, so that those prisoners who are detained for any- length of time may be able to take.iiir and exercise with¬ out the possibility of escape or communication with any one outBide. Provision will be made for the cleanliness of the inmates, bath-rooms and lavatories being pro¬ vided. The buUdlpgB are in the Gothic style, adapted to modem uses, and, while rich and ornate, so far as the Court House is concerned, will be free from everything meretricious. The foundations are of granite. The walls above are of brick, built hollow, and faced with Philadelphia preesed brick, with a Iree use of Ohio stone dressings to doorways, windows, gables, &c., &c. The Ohio stone has beea fumlBhed by Mr. Charles P. Williams. The princi pal entrance will be flajiked with life-size statues of Law I?