Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 80, no. 2052: July 13, 1907

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July 13. 1907 RECORD ANX> GUIDE Î47 ESTABUSHED^W.RRPHSl'-i^l868. DEVÍriED ID Rf^L EsTAIE.BuiLDlĩfe %C}ÍITEeTUI\E .KoUSEtíOID DeGOFĨJT'.?^!, Bi/sitfessAĩfoTHEMEsbFGEiÍER/il Wterest. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS Communications should be addressed to C. W. SWEET Tablisheã EVerp Satarday By THE RECORD AND GUIDE CO. Preaident.'CLINTON W. SWEET Treasurcr, F. W. DODGE Vice-Pres. &. Geni. iHgr., H. W. DESMOND Secretary, F. T. MILLBR Woa. 11 to 15 East 24tli Sti-cet, Kew Yorli Cily (Telephone, Madison Square, 4-i.lO to ■ÍIS'Î.) '■Entvrcd at the Post Oflice at Ncic I'Oíft N. Y., as SI.CIJII'i -llllSt mnllir." Copyrighted, 1907, by The Record & Giiide Co. Vol. LXXX JULY 13, 1907. No 2052. INDEX TO DEPAETMBNTS. AdvertĨBing Section. Page.. Fage. Cemeut ......................xiv Lumber ....................?;>: Cons\iltĩiig Engineers ...........v Macliinery ....................vi Ciay Products ...............xviii Metal Work ...................xv Contractors and Builders......iiĩ Quick Job DirecLory............x.y Blectrical Interests ...........vii Real EstaLe ..................ix Fireproofing ...................ii Rooters & Roolĩug Materĩals. .xix Granite ......................xvi Stone .......................xvi Iron and Steel ................viii Wood ProducLs ..............xxi AHALT ín the advance in the Stock Market took place durins tlie week and tliere was consternation among sonie sraaHe; H.perators who had been led to believe that a real hull.gg,;ĩ;gst was here at last. An -jíjmrafor of na- tional notp' '^ £í wlio advertises íargely, niay be consid- ered, t,o r-í^. ^Attíut, responsible for the change of senti- iĸent^—that is to say his predictions failed to materialize. But the sudden shimp was just as ĩogical and natural as the rather too rapid advance of last week. In short, the "pace was Itilling" and could not last. During the break in the middle of the week prices fell rapidly as every weak and stroug issue was attacked. AII the active sto'cks were heavy losers. American Tobacco also suffered, holders be- coming alarmed by tke reports of the Federal proceedings against the Tobacco Trust, quotations declining from 315 to 300. There were many reasous for botli tlie halt iu tlie predicted bull market and tĩie decline, inciudiug uew eu- gagements of gold for export, hardening in time funds, a call loan rate that touched 8 per cent., fomenting of the war spirit ■with regard to war with Japan by the newspapers and a dozen other things, to say nothing of the cloud haug- ing over the Interborough merger and the unfavorable con- ditiou of corn as certifled to by tlie Department of Agri- culture for July 1. But after all tlie liurry, reviewing the transactions o£ the week as a whole, did not last long. There was later a better feeling in London and a considerable show oÊ streugth in Paris. Two of the weakest issues during the ■week were Reáding and American Smelters. It was said they were drĩven down to low -levels in order to facilitate short covering. Naturally money, both time and call, has been affected by the untoward course of events in Walĩ Street tliis week, which fact is never encouraging to real estate and building interests. Money rates fîuctuated wide- ly, -which would go to show that notwithstanding all the gloomy forebodings the condition of business throughout the country is on a sound basis and that there is no sign of a dimînution in our present prosperity, Wall Street may be the pulse of the country, but sudden advances or declines in stocks are by no meaus an unerring indication of the con- dition of trade or the progress of the couutry. ALARGE nuiuber of business men, owuing stores on Fifth Avenue between Thirty-fourth and Forty-sec- ond Streets have come out finally in favor of the wideuing of that tboroughfare by pushiug back the stoop line, and theír contention that such a wideuîug is necessary to the easy moYement of the carriage trafiĩc eannot be contro- verted. Years ago the Record and Guide pointed out that the business future of the aveuue demanded the revocation of the licenses under which property-owners have been per- mitted to erect temporary structures beyond the building line, and the conversion of the shopkeepers doing business on Fifth Avenue to this opinion was only a question of time. FifthyA.Ten^G trade depends largely upon custoniers who journey to their destination ín carriagf:ablislimp-' oi\o which promotes the celerity oE movemenMaĸr the 1 Su, motor cars and carriages will promote tl.'& business AS-'^IJ^ ests of the aveuue and tend to maiĩé property thereon ní '"^■fÍ" valuable. As we all know, the movemeut of vehicles '' w and down the avenue during the winter months has bet ;?, becoming more and more congested, 'until at the presen, time during certain hours in the day bad blocks are not in- frequent, and much time is ĩost. There is uo alternative route anything like as convenienfc which carriages aud motor cars can take, aud the only remedy for this congestion is the widening of the carriage-way. In the course of time ít raay also be necessary to bridge such important inter- sectiug streets as Thirty-fourth and Forty-second Streets, but for the present the widening of the carriage-way wîll be sutficient. The revocation of these licenses can do no injustice to property-owners, who still retain tĩieir stoops, because these owoers have beneiited enormously from the increased availability of Fifth Aveuue for business pur- poses, and can afford to make some sacrifĩce to improve its availability for the retail trade and its general public ser- vice ability. There is only one objection to thê widening which has any force. It is claimed that a wider avenue, flooded with an increase of vehicular trafiîc, will be much more diflicult to cross and that its iinpassability wĩll hurt retaii trade. This objection should not be ignored, but its force can be broken by a very simple expedient, When the carriage-wayi is widened, islands should be placed in the middle of the street, three to each block, which will,^,'^ ■ pedestrians an opportunity of safely and conveniej the passage. Such islands wil! be absolutely j^lssary, in case the widening is effected, antJ no plan should be adopted from which they are opîíftéd.'' ĩ^iĸmg THE City of New York is to be congratulated upon the appointment of Mr. Waĩter Cook as consulting archi- tect of the Board of Estimate and AppOrtionment. There are other architects in New York whose work has been more conspicuous and raoré original than that of Mr. Cook, but there is none who is so well fltted, by his combiuation of technical ability and sound general intelligence, to act as architeetural adviser of the Board of Estimate. It is very much to be hoped that the hoard will take his advice freeĩy and act on it ioyally. Thé city does an enormous amount of building. Many of the new structures, which are paid for by the money of the city, are not erected under the di- rect supervision of the Board of Estimate, but many of them are so erected, and it is in reference to the design of fchese sfcructures fchat Mr. Cook's advice should be most val- uable. If. it is acted on, it will effectually prevent the waste of the city's money upon buildings like the new Court House or its perversion into such an unworthy pile as the Criminai Courfcs. Ifc will nofc be Mr. Cook's function to design the new municipal buildings, but it will be his busi- ness to see that they are properly designed and economically constructed. If a new structure sueh as the proposed municipaĩ office-buîlding is to be submitted to public com- petition, Mr. Cook's advice should determine the terms o£ the competition and the method of award. On the other haud, if it is advisahle, as is freauently the ease, that an architect should be commissioned to design a particular buildings, because of his peculiar availability for that par- ticular, job, Mr. Cook would know the name of the raau who ought to be selected. His duties, consequently, will be much more positive than those of the Municipal Art Com- missîou. The Art Commission can prevent the erection of architectural excrescences or aherrations by the City of New York, hnt it can do uothing to bring about the design o£ really beaufciful and appropriate buildings, Mr. Walter Cook, OD tke other hand, i^ the Board oE Estimate takes his advice as seriously as it would that of the Corporation Counsel in a matter of law, should be able to bring about the erectiou o£ a raucĩi better average of city building than that which now obtains. His appointment is one of tlie most praiseworthy and promising actions that any Board of Estimate has ever taken in reference to the important matter of good municipal architeeture. ONE of the first unofficial but manifestly not unauthor- ized reports from the headquarters of the Puhlie Ser- vice Commission is that some of its members are iuclined to permit the addition of a through third track on the Sec- ond and Third Ave. elevated structures. The representa- tive on the commission from the Broux is stated to be very much in favor o£ this meaus of relief, and his associates are o£ much the same mind. They wiil not grant the required