mmmmmmm
v M^si&^il
1
Wi*Mi JSt ISSfEHi S! PiffFI
P^|^^#-' '%'"''P
PiiiiiPiiiii
*»>?*£! v.. ™.--.- ?
MraBBHBT flj ia ^TflfflgBHg^^gg
^f^J^P^^^^KflH
#■
SS^Kv.t\sV"/r^r^''^"'-:*''--* • - •« -r.'v".vr?^!rSE-*S
1
iifei
i-^im^flH
if"
if
$^ss;it ^aMv v-:s^^4K
If M-::'^'-[:
^M^mmm^^
liflpl
mm.
Ijllti
iBBii
v;vpp|"-
&,L &<&<»<* %Jk
ir*~
Tvc
.(X.yi^V&*~->
* * '
A HISTORY
OF
Real E^ate. B™g
AND
Architecture
in
NEW YORK CITY
DURING TIIK LAST QUARTER OF A CENTURY
RECORD AND GUIDE
14 AND I 6 VESEY STREET
NEW YORK
mm
Copyrig-ht, 1898, by
THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION
CONTENTS.
Page.
Real Estate on Manhattan Island, a Review of —
The Dutch Period I
The English Colonial Period 14
From Declaration of Independence to Opening of Erie
Canal 24
From Opening of Erie Canal to the Close of Civil War. ... 33
From the Close of the War to Consolidation 45
Maps of New York City 14, 17, 20, 21, 23, 25, 31, 37
Noted Auction Sales 130
Prices of Lots in 1847, 1857, l868 156
Tables of Conveyances, since 1868 157
Table of Buildings Projected, since 1868 159
Real Estate Leaders:
Review of the Principal Real Estates Brokers, Agents, Auc-
tioneers, Etc 165-219
Operating Architects, Builders and Real Estate Men 220-235
Titles to Real Estate in City of New York 236
Leading Real Estate Lawyers 247-252
Title, Trust, Real Estate and Similar Corporations 253-258
Review of the Mechanics' Lien Law:
Introduction 259
The Lien Law 262
The New York Building Law 287
Leaders in the Building Trade:
Review of the Leading- Builders and Building- Firms.. .. .299-350
A Review of Building in New York City 352
Investment in Buildings 364
Mechanical Appliances in Building ^67
Passenger Elevators 373
Fire-proof Buildings yjy
Brick— Clay Products 30c
Cements and Plasters 40^
Plumbing- and Sanitary Appliances 407
Interior Finish 40q
Electricity 4I,
The Builder AT-
*&-a.o<!*2?*
R4712
869
CONTENTS.
Page.
Leading Building Material Firms 417-454
Review of the Development of Structural Iron:
Iron Fronts, Skeleton Construction, Fire-proof Floors, Cais-
son Foundations 455
Leading Structural Iron Firms 484
A Review of Ornamental Iron Work 489
Leading Ornamental Iron Firms 505
A Review of Architectural Terra Cotta 509
Leading Terra Cotta Firms 529
Artistic Hardware 533
Progress in Lock Making and Art Metal Working 545
Leading Hardware Firms 550
A Review of Architecture ^52
Prominent Architects of the Day 697
The Singer P>uilding 703
Illustrations: 44, 48, 49, 52, 57, 88, 89, 161, 162, 163, 164, 166, 167,
t68, 220, 226, 254, 302, 308, 310, 313, 32^ 325, 329, 342, 35 [,
354, 356, 359* 361, 363, 365, 368, 369, 371, 3y2, 374. 375, 376,
378, 380, 381, z$3< &4* 38S. 3£7< 3^ 389, 392, 396, 397< 400,
401, 404, 405, 408, 410, 412, 418, 420, 435, 447, 457, 459, 460,
463, 468, 469, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 479, 480, 481, 482, 488,
489, 490, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 499, 501, 502, 503, 504,
5io, 511, 513, 515, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525,
526, 527, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 54T, 542,
543, 544, 546, 547, 552, 554, 555, 556, 557, 560, 561, 562, 563,
566, 567, 568, 569, 572, 573, 574, 575, 578, 579, 580, 581, 584,
585, 586, 587, 590, 591, 592, 693, 694, 695, 696, 700, 703.
A Review of the History of Real Estate
on Manhattan Island*
I.— THE DUTCH PERIOD.
CONTEMPORARY writer affirms that the idea of
searching along the American coast for a passage to
India was "suggested to Hudson by some letters and
maps which his friend Captain (John) Smith had sent
him from Virginia, and by which he informed him
that there was a sea leading into the Western Ocean by the north of
Virginia." Under the auspices of the Amsterdam chamber of the
Dutch East India Company, Henry Hudson, in 1609, made an at-
tempt to discover this passage. His adventure failed of its principal
object. But the merchants of Amsterdam were quick to recognize
the importance to the fur trade of the river and country which he ex-
plored. Vessels privately despatched to the Great River realized
handsome profits, and certain houses engaged in this trade estab-
lished a station on the south point of Manhattan Island in 161 3.
About the same time a stockade, called Fort Nassau, was erected on
an island in the Great River, near the present site of Albany.
The Dutch government soon after published a decree giving to
persons who should discover new lands the exclusive privilege of
trading to such parts, the privilege being limited to four voyages.
Under this enactment a fleet of five vessels was sent on a voyage of
exploration in American waters, and from the journals and surveys
of the several ships a large stretch of country was mapped, over
which the government of Holland proceeded to claim jurisdiction.
The owners of the vessels, comprising some, at least, of the mer-
chants who had been active in the establishment of Fort Nassau and
the station on Manhattan Island, thereupon received a grant of the
2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
monopoly of trade with New Netherland for four voyages, to be com-
pleted within three years of January i, 1615. The grantees consti-
tuted a corporation, known as the United New Netherland Company,
and it was in the charter creating this corporation that the territorial
designation New Netherland was first officially employed. On the
expiration of its charter, the company secured a continuance of exist-
ence, though not with the former monopoly of trade, for two, possi-
bly three, years under a special annual license.
The United New Netherland Company possessed no interest in
the soil, and made no attempt at colonization. However, it served a
useful purpose by demonstrating the commercial value of the coun-
try, and thereby persuading, though much against its own will, the
Dutch government of the expediency of entrusting New Netherland
to a stronger corporation for colonial development.
The Dutch West India Company, chartered in 1621, possessed a
monopoly of trade on the coasts of both Americas. The company
was a commercial federation, with chambers in the principal cities of
Holland. To each chamber was assigned a specific territory, with
the exclusive rights of trade and government appertaining thereto.
New Netherland, extending from the Virginia plantations to New
England, and from the coast inland indefinitely, became the property
of the Amsterdam chamber. The title of the Dutch government to
this magnificent domain was not undisputed by other nations, and
the English had already on one occasion enforced the temporary
submission of the factors at the mouth of the Hudson. This circum-
stance, no less than the terms of its charter, compelled the West In-
dia Company to secure its territorial interest by a substantial colonial
establishment. The company's pioneer vessel, in 1623, landed a band
of colonists on the river bank, near the site of Albany, where Fort
Orange was erected for their protection, the older stockade having
already disappeared. A smaller band wTas put ashore on Manhattan
Island, and both settlements were augmented by fresh arrivals from
Holland during the following two years, while new establishments
were begun at other points.
Fort Orange and the Manhattan post were wisely located from a
military as well as commercial standpoint. The former lay at the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 3
head of ship navigation, where two great Indian trails met, the one
coming down from the St. Lawrence by way of Lake Champlain and
Lake George, the other running through the Iroquois country to the
Great Lakes. The Manhattan post, on the other hand, commanded
the entrance to the Hudson River, and thus secured for the Dutch a
monopoly of the most important water-way on the eastern coast 'of
America.
Peter Minuit, the first director-general of New Netherland, ar-
rived at his seat of authority on Manhattan Island in 1626. His first
important act was the purchase of the island from the Indians for
sixty guilders, or twenty-four dollars, after which he set about the
erection of a fort and the organization of a town, which received the
name of New Amsterdam. From the year of Minuit's arrival we may
properly date the colonial existence of New York City, for in that year
the essential elements of a continuous municipal life were first
assembled.
Probably the first public improvement undertaken at New Amster-
dam was the erection of a stronghold intended to withstand not only
the primitive weapons of the Indians, but the bombardment of cannon
as well. Fort Amsterdam was planned by Kryn Fredericke, a mili-
tary engineer who accompanied Peter Minuit, and who "had in mind
the creation of works of sufficient magnitude to shelter in time of
danger all the inhabitants of a considerable town." The site chosen
was the area now enclosed by Bowling Green, Whitehall, Bridge and
State streets. The fort, which was begun in 1626 and finished in
x^35, was about 300 feet long and 250 feet wide. Its walls, origin-
ally constructed of earth and faced with sods, were, before their com-
pletion, strengthened at salient points by masonry work of "good
quarry stone." The space within the fort was eventually occupied
by the governor's residence, the several offices connected with the
government, the soldiers' barracks, and a church. Outside the
walls clustered the private houses, constructed for the most part of
logs and bark; and here also were the company's warerooms, built
of stone, and a mill, whose upper story was used temporarily as a
church. In 1628 the population of New Amsterdam comprised
two hundred and seventy souls.
4 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
This was a meagre body, compared with the seven hundred emi-
grants who settled at Boston, under Winthrop, in 1630, or with the
four thousand people living on the banks of the James, in 1622. It
is evident that neither the economic nor the religious conditions
obtaining in Holland were such as to induce emigration on a large
scale. The company, as a matter of fact, experienced difficulty in
securing settlers for New Netherland, and this circumstance led to
the adoption of a somewhat drastic measure for enlisting the ener-
gies of wealthy members of the corporation in the work of coloni-
zation. In 1629, a Charter of Privileges and Exemptions was pub-
lished, creating "all such" of the directors and possibly also of the
shareholders, "patroons of New Netherlands who should "within
the space of four years undertake to plant a colony there of fifty
souls upwards of fifteen years old." Each patroon received in ab-
solute property sixteen miles of territory fronting upon the sea or
on one side of any river in New Netherland, or eight miles fronting
on both sides of a river, the extent back from the water being prac-
tically unlimited; and over every such estate the owner was invested
with manorial rights. Under the stimulus afforded by this char-
ter, settlements were quickly made on both banks of the Hudson
and on the shore of the bay. The commercial supremacy of the
capital was assured by a grant of staple rights, in accordance with
which all vessels engaged in local trade were compelled to dis-
charge cargo at the fort or pay compensating port charges.
The Charter of Liberties and Exemptions expressly prohibited
the establishment of patroons'hips on Manhattan Island, thereby re-
serving to the provincial capital ample space in which to develop.
At first the city was allowed to grow without any definite plan.
Each settler was permitted to build his house where he pleased, and
to surround it by an enclosure of any convenient shape and size.
Land was apparently occupied by unwritten sanction, for an undated
paper preserved among the Dutch West India Company's docu-
ments reads as follows: "Divers freemen request by petition to the
council conveyance of the lands which they are cultivating at pres-
ent. The request of the petition is granted on condition that they
shall, after the expiration of ten years from the commencement of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 5
their plantations, annually pay to the company the tenth of all the
produce which God s'hall bestow on the land; also, in future, for a
•house and garden, a couple of capons yearly." It was not until
1642, when Andreas Hudde was appointed surveyor, that formal
grants began to be made of town lots, and probably no title for
building sites below Wall street can be traced through individual
proprietors beyond that date. We may, therefore, accept this year
as a convenient point of departure for a more detailed description of
the physical progress of the city.
At the period in question two main roads connected the town of
New Amsterdam with the outside world. One, beginning at the
principal gate of the fort, which opened upon the Bowling Green,
led northward along the line of the present Broadway, Park Row,
Chatham street and the Bowery; and, later, along the Old Post or
Boston road. The other led from the fort, along the present Stone
and Pearl streets, to the Brooklyn ferry, near which is now Peck
slip.
On the line of the present Broad street, with a roadway
on either side, a canal extended as far as Beaver street,
where it narrowed to a ditch. The ditch and canal drained a
swamp that stretched northward to about the present Exchange
place. On the line of Beaver street, running east and west, were
lateral ditches, which emptied into the main canal, and whose banks
also afforded a convenient roadway. The swamp, having been con-
verted into a meadow by drainage, became known as the Sheep
Pasture. Bridge street derives its name from a wooden passage-
way that crossed the Broad street canal, or Heere Graft.
The four streets, Pearl (including Stone), Broadway, Broad and
Beaver, none of which was paved, were the only important public
thoroughfares in New Amsterdam about the year 1642. Pearl street
followed the East River shore, for South, Front and part of Water
street have since been reclaimed by filling in beyond the primitive
line of high tide, as have also Greenwich, Washington, and West, on
the North River. Pearl street, communicating with the populous
Long Island settlements, was a well-traveled highway, and Cornel-
ius Dircksen, the first ferryman of whom the records speak, appar-
6 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ently did a thriving business, for he owned much land in the neigh-
borhood of Peck slip.
In Broad street were centered the great commercial interests of
New Amsterdam, for here were the homes and places of busi-
ness of the leading merchants. Upon the banks of the
canal in Broad street, lighters discharged and received the
cargoes of ships lying at anchor in the stream. Furthermore,
between Broad and Whitehall streets, on the line of the present
Moore street, lay the only wharf in town, which, however, was no
more accessible to seagoing vessels than the canal. Next in im-
portance as an artery of commerce was the canal in Beaver street,
which probably received its name from the trade in beaver skins
which was mainly carried on here.
The trend of development even at this early period was toward the
east and north, along the East River. Population centered around
the shipping and trading interests, and these grew up on the East
River, in preference to the Hudson, for the reason that the salt
water of the former did not freeze over in winter. Broadway was
originally merely a road through fields owned by the West India
Company. It was not until 1642 that lots began to be granted to
individuals in this avenue, chiefly on the east side, below the present
Wall street. Prior to the arrival of Stuyvesant in 1647 the west side
of Broadway, between the present Bowling Green and Trinity
Church, at the head of Wall street, was occupied solely by a burial
ground and by the gardens and dwellings of Vandegrist and Van
Dyck. The speculative value of property on the avenue seems,
however, to have been appreciated, for very few of the original
grantees improved their lots, but sold them in after vears to actual
settlers.
Private houses at this early period were mostly constructed of
boards or logs, roofs and sides being covered with bark or thatch.
Many of the buildings erected by the company were, however, of a
more durable character. A group of five stone warehouses stood on
the present Whitehall street, fronting westward, an open space of
over a hundred feet in width lying between the warehouses and the
fort. Part of this space was afterwards built upon, leaving a small
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 7
street in front of the stores called Winckel or Store street, and ex-
tending from Bridge to Stone street. The company's bakery stood
on Pearl street, near Whitehall; the company's brewery, on the north
side of Bridge street, between Broad and Whitehall. The first church
was commenced in 1633, religious services having previously been
conducted in the second story of the company's horse-mill. The
church was of frame, and stood in Broad street, at the junction of
Pearl and Bridge, where it still existed a century later as a store and
dwelling. It was outgrown as a place of worship in 1642. In that
year a stone church, fifty-two by seventy-two, and sixteen feet high,
was built within the fort at a cost of, say, one thousand dollars, and it
is curious to note that the contractors were John and Richard Og-
den, of Stamford, Conn. The church front contained a marble slab
with the inscription: "Anno, 1642. William Kieft, Directeur Gen-
eral Heeft de gemeente Desen Temp-el doen bouwen." At the close
of last century this tablet was discovered buried in the ground on the
site of the fort, and was deposited in the belfry of the Dutch church
in Garden street (Exchange place), where it was lost or destroyed in
the fire of 1835. The Year io42 also witnessed the completion of an-
other important building operation, "a fine stone tavern," con-
structed for the company on the northwest corner of Pearl street
and Coenties alley, to accommodate travelers from New England
and the Long Island settlements. Except farmhouses, this was
one of the first buildings constructed east of Broad street. It was
ceded to the city on the organization of a municipal government in
1653, when it became the Stadt Huys, and continued in use as a
city hall until the closing year of the century.
The fort and village proper covered only part of the region be-
low what is now Wall street. The rest was occupied by the culti-
vated fields of the company and by private bouweries. The price
of building lots was almost nominal, as is shown by the earliest pri-
vate deed on record illustrating the value of property. In 1643
Abraham Jacobsen Van Steenwyck conveyed to Anthonv Jansen
Van Fees, for twenty-four guilders ($9.50), a lot on Bridge street,
between Broad and Whitehall, having a frontage of thirty feet and a
depth of one hundred and ten. This piece of land was, perhaps, as
valuable as any in town.
8 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
In 1653 two measures were perfected, which had an important
bearing on real estate, namely, the incorporation of New Amster-
dam as a municipality, and the fixing of the city's northern boundary
by the erection of a stockade on the line of the present Wall street.
The erection of the palisade was occasioned by the breaking out of
hostilities between England and the United Provinces, and the con-
sequent threat of an invasion from New England. The means of
defense provided by the company was wholly inadequate for the
protection of the city, and imperious Governor Stuyvesant found
himself constrained to fall back for support on the newly
created town magistracy. The fort had long since been
outgrown, and was no longer capable of sheltering the
population. At a conference between Stuyvesant and his
provincial council with the local magistrates the latter,
therefore, after some hesitation, consented to the imposi-
tion of a municipal tax for the purpose of protecting the land
side of the town by a wall across the island. This wall, when com-
pleted, extended from river to river, and was built of posts, twelve
feet in height and seven inches in diameter. Inside the stockade
was an embankment which enabled the garrison to overlook the
wall, and here also was a level space which eventually became known
as the Cingle or Wall street. The threatened invasion from New
England did not take place, and as no occasion arose to test the
military value of the wall, its erection proved to have been ill-ad-
vised. For nearly half a century its effect was to restrain the natur-
al northward growth of the city.
The order of the Amsterdam Chamber of the West India Com-
pany authorizing the creation of a municipal government for Man-
hattan Island, directed that the new magistracy should be modeled
after that of Amsterdam, and should be filled lby popular election.
It was characteristic of Stuyvesant's arbitrary mode of government
that he retained the appointment of the magistracy in his own hands,
and refused altogether to fill the most important office — that of
schout. The magistracy, as appointed by him, comprised two bur-
gomasters and five schepens, holding office for one year. But de-
spite its political insignificance, the new municipal government exer-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. Q
cised a beneficial influence on affairs relating to the physical appear-
ance and growth of the town.
Little regard had been paid to boundary lines in the erection of
houses up to the time of Stuyvesant's arrival. Stuyvesant, soon af-
ter taking office, appointed surveyors of streets and buildings, who
were empowered to prevent the erection of unsightly and improper
buildings, and to regulate street lines according to the land patents:
No building could be erected without plans having first been sub-
mitted to the surveyors, and approved. The condition of the streets
at this time appears from the following ordinance : 'The roads and
highways here are rendered difficult of passage for wagons and carts
on account of the rooting of the hogs; therefore, it is ordered that
the inhabitants put rings through the noses of all their hogs. It has
been seen that goats and hogs are daily committing great damage
in the orchards and plantations around Fort Amsterdam; therefore,
it is ordered that these animals be kept in enclosures." The munici-
pal government, as soon as supplies had been voted for protection
against New England and for the conquest of New Sweden, turned
its attention to town improvements. In November, 1655, the magis-
trates notified Governor Stuyvesant of the presence of many refugees
(probably Swedes from the Delaware), who, with others, were re-
questing building lots on which to erect permanent dwellings; and
asked that a survey of the city be made, with a view to the distribu-
tion of unoccupied land. This action on the part of the magistrates
resulted in the appointment of a committee, consisting of the regular
street surveyors, Burgomaster Allard Anthony, and Councilor La
Montagnie, with power to make a survey of the city, open streets,
and assess the price of lots.
The survey, accompanied by a map now lost, was submitted to
the Governor and his council in February, 1656. The corrected
street lines were marked with stakes, and owners injured fby the
straightening of streets were directed to apply for compensation to
the burgomasters, who also had charge of the distribution of lots.
The burgomasters were empowered to determine what streets and
lots should first be built on. The distribution of land did not ap-
parently prove as effective in promoting improvements as the au-
lO A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
thorities expected, for two years later many vacant lots were still to
be found within the city limits. Such lots were now taxed at the
rate of the fifteenth penny of their value, as appraised by the owners;
and the burgomasters were authorized to take any lot at the owner's
valuation, if not improved, and grant it to another.
The streets established by the survey of 1656 were T'Marckt-
velt (Whitehall street, Broadway and Battery place on the several
sides of the Bowling Green, which was then a public market),
T'Marckveldt Steegie (Marketfield street), De Heere Straat
(Broadway, between the Bowling Green and Wall street), De
Hoogh Straat (Stone street, between Broad and William, and
Pearl street, north side, between William and Wall), De Waal
(Wall street, between Pearl and Broadway), TWater (Pearl street,
north side, between Broad and Whitehall), Perel Straat (Pearl
street, between Whitehall and State), De Brouwer Straat (Stone
street, between Broad and Whitehall), De Winckel Straat (now
closed, ran from Stone to Bridge, between Whitehall and Broad),
De Brugh Straat (Bridge street, between Broad and Whitehall),
De Heere Graft (Broad street, between Beaver and Pearl), De
Prince Graft (Broad street, between Beaver and Wall), De Prince
Straat (Beaver street, between Broad and William), De Beever
Graft (Beaver street, between Broad and Broadway), De Smee
Straat (William street, between Maiden lane and Hanover square),
and De Smit's Valey (Pearl street, between Wall street and Frank-
lin square).
In 1657 property owners in Brouwer street, so called from the
breweries which it contained, petitioned the burgomasters to have a
pavement of cobble-stones laid in that thoroughfare, and the records
show that the cost of the improvement was assessed on the residents
in the street. This wras the first pavement laid in New Amsterdam,
and the fact is commemorated in the name, Stone street, which the
thoroughfare now bears. Winckel street, which has long since been
closed, but which ran from Broad street diagonally through the
blocks where the Mills Building and the United States Custom
House now stand, was paved, as was also Bridge street, in 1658. These
pavements were without sidewalks, and were drained by a gutter in
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. II
the middle of the road. An ordinance of 1660 ordered the residents
on either side of the ditch, or canal, in Beaver street to
pave the road in front of their own doors as far as the edge of the
water. The Heere Graft, in Broad Street, was, as we have seen, the
main artery of commerce. The construction of sidings of wood to
prevent its 'banks from caving in was commenced in 1657, and at
the same time ordinances were issued against throwing filth and offal
into the water, with heavy penalties for their violation. The con-
struction of the sidings, on which three laborers were employed dur-
ing the open season, was completed in 1659. The roadway on either
side of the canal was subsequently paved at a cost of 2,792 florins
($1,096.80).
It is difficult to realize at the present day that Pearl Street was at
one time exposed to the encroachment of the East River. High
tide sometimes made access to the Stadt Huys almost impracticable.
For this reason the construction of a siding of wood in front of the
City Hall was begun by the public authorities in 1655, similar im-
provements having already been made by individual property own-
ers at various points along the shore. To secure a continuous bar-
rier against the water the following ordinance was published in that
year: " Whereas, the sheeting in front of the Stadt Huys (near the
present Coenties Slip), and before the City Gate (at Wall street), on
the East River, and some other places thereabout, is finished, and
some is also begun by others; therefore, for the uniformity of the
work, all who have houses on the water side, between the Stadt
Huys and the gate are ordered to line the banks with plank." This
ordinance was the first of the public measures which have resulted
in the addition of several blocks on either river to the lateral exten-
sion of the island, as well as to its southern extremity.
In a place where the houses, including chimneys, were mostly of
wood, fire was a constant and threatening source of danger. Al-
ready before 1628 the settlement was almost completely destroyed by
a general conflagration. Nevertheless, no adequate measures for the
prevention and extinction of fires were taken until after the creation
of the municipal government. In January, 1648, Governor Stuyves-
ant published an ordinance appointing fire-wardens and prohibiting
I2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the use of wooden chimneys in houses between the fort and the Col-
lect, or Fresh Water Pond, which occupied several acres in the
neighborhood of and including the site of the Tombs Prison. Fines
were imposed on owners who refused to alter their chimneys, or in
whose houses fires occurred, and the proceeds of the fines were ap-
plied to the purchase of fire-ladders, buckets, and hooks. In Sep-
tember of the same year the power of the fire wardens was en-
larged, and they were directed to visit every house to see that chim-
neys were properly cleaned. These ordinances were never properly
enforced, however, and ten years later wooden chimneys were still the
rule. By an ordinance of December 15, 1657, thatched roofs and
wooden chimneys were ordered removed, and the city magistrates
were authorized to collect from every house, great and small, one
beaver or eight florins in wampum ($3.20) for the purpose of pro-
curing two hundred and fifty leathern fire buckets, also hooks and
ladders. The ordinance further established a yearly tax of one
florin for every chimney within the jurisdiction of the burgomasters
and schepens. The buckets, properly numbered, were, in January,
1659, distributed throughout the town, fifty being placed in the
Stadt Huys, twelve at the inn of Daniel Litschoe (near the intersec-
tion of the present Pearl and Broad streets), and another dozen at
the house of Abraham Verplank (near the present Custom House).
No systematic policing of the city was undertaken during the
Dutch regime, although Governor Stuyvesant issued ordinances
against fighting with knives (1647), against fast driving (1652), and
against shooting with firearms at partridge and other game within
the city limits (1652). A temporary night-watch was maintained by
the magistrates in 1653, during the trouble with New England.
Five years later a permanent night-watch was established — nine
men serving in detachments of four each night, the pay of each man
being 48 cents for every night on duty, besides a gift, of one or two
beavers and a quantity of firewood. Otherwise order was enforced,
on occasion, by the garrison at the fort.
There was no regular post between New Amsterdam and the
other Dutch settlements, chief among which were the Esopus Dis-
trict, Fort Orange, Fort Nassau on the Delaware, and the Long
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 13
Island towns. But as to the transatlantic mails, the directors of the
Amsterdam Chamber wrote to Governor Stuyvesant in 1652: "For
the accommodation of private parties who often give their letters
for New Netherland to one or the other sailor or free merchants,
from which practice result many delays in the delivery of letters and
subsequent losses to the writers and their friends there, the letters
being laid in the bottom of chests or the bearers going to other
places, we have fastened a box at the new warehouse, where we now
hold our meetings, for the collection of all letters, to be sent out by
the first ship sailing. We have deemed it advisable to inform you
thereof, so that you 'may do the same in New Netherland, and send
the letters, for the sake of greater safety, in a bag addressed to us.
We shall hand them to whom they belong. People expecting let-
ters usually come to the warehouse.''
Unrivaled in geographical position, New Amsterdam was from
the beginning a trading city. European and coastwise commerce
was attracted by one of the finest natural harbors in the world, while
innumerable rivers and inland waterways made the interior accessi-
ble in every direction. Despite harrassing trade restrictions —
the company's attempt at monopoly was abandoned in 1642 — New
Amsterdam rapidly developed into an emporium of commerce for
the Western World. To the mother country it exported tobacco
and especially furs, namely, the skins of beaver, mink, deer, otter
lynx, the elk, the panther, and the fox. From Holland came French
and Spanish wines and brandy, leather, meat, bacon, malt, nails,
lead, butter, linen and woolen stuff, oil, soap, tiles, bricks, iron rods,
casks, cordage, candles, salt, spices, tar, and agricultural and do-
mestic implements. Wheat, pork, beer, fish, and wine were carried
to Virginia, for which tobacco was received in exchange. To the
West Indies and the Dutch colonies at Curacoa and Brazil were
sent the various kinds of goods obtained from Holland, besides In-
dian corn and baked bread and biscuit, dried fish, salt meat, and
lumber, return cargoes, consisting of sugar and Barbados rum. A
prosperous trade was also maintained with New England and the
Dutch settlements on the Hudson, the Delaware, and Long Island.
14
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
II.— THE ENGLISH COLONIAL PERIOD.
Peter Stuyvesant, the last of the four Dutch director-generals of
New Netherland, surrendered to the English under Richard Nic-
olls, August 29, 1664. According to the Chevalier Lambrechtsen,
the province contained at that time a population of about 10,000
souls, exclusive of Indians, and comprised three cities and thirty vil-
lages.
X-D^CRIPllON- OFTHE
^TDWiVE OFMANNADC^S:
•OR-NEW-A^STtHDAM*
aNV^I'aNIVK* 3HX
By Permission From the New York History Co.
The capital city is described in a map forwarded by the conquerors
to the new proprietor, the Duke of York, in whose honor the city and
province were renamed New York. The "Duke's Plan" was copied
from an earlier Dutch map, probably a secondary edition of the
survey of 1653, and bore the title "A Description of the Towne of
Mannados, or New Amsterdam, as it was in September, 1661. . . .
Anno Domini, 1664." Its northern limit is where the preseint Roose-
velt street now runs, where Wreck Brook then discharged the waters
of the Collect into the East River, crossing the region still familiarly
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 15
called The Swamp. North of the palisade at Wall street, the
"Duke's Plan" shows but twelve buildings. Among these were Isaac
Allerton's storehouses, which were south of the "passage place" to
Brooklyn, situated where now is Peck slip. Below the wall the only-
complete block was that between Bridge and Stone streets, between
which then ran the Winckel Straat, along which stood the West
India Company's stone warehouses. What is now the Battery was
merely a reef of scragged rocks, frequently covered by the tide. The
Hudson on the west came up to the hill on which stands Trinity
Church, while the East River flowed along Pearl street almost to
Broadway. The westerly side of the town, from the Bowling Green,
northward, and from the Hudson River to Broadway, was covered
with orchards and gardens. Wolfert Webber's tavern, near the
present Chatham square, was the last habitation that one passed
on the highway to Harlem. The population of the city was about
fifteen hundred, chiefly Dutch.
The leniency of the conquerors and the essential similarity be-
tween Dutch and English institutions prevented any serious injury to
the material interests of the colony as a consequence of the transfer-
ence of powrer. Ten months were allowed to elapse before the gov-
ernment of New York City was altered (June 22, 1666,) and the
change involved in the substitution of a sheriff, a board of aldermen,
and a mayor for the sellout, burgomasters, and schepens was more
in name than in reality, as the personnel of the new government re-
mained for the most part that of the old. The temporary reposses-
sion of the colony by the Dutch in 1673-74 produced no lasting
effects.
An early result of the English occupation was the opening up of a
post road to facilitate intercourse between New York and Boston,
The wagon road to Harlem was perfected in 1672, and formed the
beginning of what became known as the Boston Post Road. A
monthly mail was established in January of the following year, the
postrider picking his way beyond Harlem through the primeval
wilderness. In 1678, agreeably to his instructions "by all means to
chiefly encourage the city of New Yorke," Governor Dongan pro-
cured the enactment of the Bolting and Baking Act, which granted a
X6 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
monopoly in the bolting of flour, and in the packing of flour and
biscuit for export, to the residents of the provincial capital. No mill
outside the city was permitted to grind flour for market, nor was
any person outside the city permitted to pack breadstuffs in any form
for sale. The effect of this act was to throw the export trade in
breadstuffs, mainly with the West Indies, exclusively in the hands
of the millers and merchants of New York. Outside the city the mo-
nopoly was denounced as injurious to the interests of the colony as a
whole, and repeated attempts were made in the Provincial Assembly
to have the odious law repealed. Nevertherless, it remained in force
sixteen years, during which time it more than met the expectations
of its promoters as a stimulus to the growth of the city.
In a petition presented against the repeal of the Bolting and Bak-
ing Act we find some statistics illustrating the city's expansion un-
der its influence. When the law was enacted, in 1678, the total num-
ber of houses in New York was 384; the number of beef cattle
slaughtered was 400 ; the sailing craft belonging to the port aggre-
gated three ships, seven boats, and eight sloops; and the total annual
revenues of the city did not reach £2,000. When the act was re-
pealed, in 1694, there were said to be 983 houses; nearly 4,000 beef
cattle were slaughtered, most of them exported ; the sailing craft
comprised 60 ships, 40 boats and 25 sloops ; and the city's revenues
were more than doubled. Six hundred of the 983 buildings in the
city, the petition states, were connected with the prosperity of the
trade in flour. The arms of New York, when the stimulated
trade was at its height (1682), therefore, appropriately bore, along
with the beaver, the sails of a windmill and two flour barrels as em-
blems of the foundation of its new prosperity.
Comparison of a map prepared in 1695 with the Duke's Plan re-
veals most graphically the city's progress in the intervening years.
In 1664, fully one-third of the street-fronts below the palisade were
not built upon, and only twelve buildings had been erected outside. By
1695 nearly all the street fronts in the city proper were improved, and
new streets laid out north of the wall almost doubled the city. The
trend of improvement, however, was toward the north and east,
as there is nothing to show that the streets west of Broadway were
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
17
4-' ''///
ul«i?*jr;Siiifff!Us?|iitl.;iiiii
liiti'ili'Alilimitiitil'.iUUlmi
2 i i £ f. i s: ri K a * t: ii R 8 s « a
1 8 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
evident except upon the map ; and no houses seem to have been built
west of what is now William street. At an auction sale of lots near
Coenties slip, we find that £35 was paid for each of fourteen lots sold
in 1689. ^n Broad street values were still higher, owing to the fill-
ing up of the canal, which was ordered in 1676, and the construc-
tion at its foot of the Wet Docks — two basins that afforded
harborage for the trading vessels that flocked to the port.
About this time two new wharves were also built on the East
River front, Broadway was graded and laid out as far as the present
City Hall Park, and seven public wells were sunk in the streets in dif-
ferent parts of the city as a protection against fire. In view of these
evidences of commercial expansion it is not surprising to find that a
lot at the foot of Broad street, in the heart of the mercantile district,
was thought well worth £80.
Under the Bolting and Baking Act large investments had been
made in shipping, which could not be withdrawn. The repeal of the
act had the effect of stimulating enterprise to prevent a loss of this
capital. The coastwise trade and the trade with the West Indies
became brisker than ever, though the profits on individual transac-
tions were smaller. Provisions shipped from New York were ex-
changed for West Indian products; these were carried to England,
where manufactured goods were received in return, and brought to
New York. Not all the business of the port was of this prosaic na-
ture. During the century of practically unbroken war that began
with the accession of William III., privateering, with occasional
ventures in piracy, was a favorite enterprise with the merchants of
New York.
Privateering at that period was a legitimate arm of war. But the
step from privateering to piracy was easily made. Once at sea with
the king's commission to plunder hostile nations, privateers were
sorely tempted, in the absence of proper prizes, to despoil merchant-
men indiscriminately. Piracy was carried on under the cloak of
war, and the principal merchants connived at the practice. Putting
to sea as a privateer, the pirate bore away for the Arabian Gulf, the
Red Sea, or the Indian Ocean, where the galleons of the British and
Dutch East India Companies fell an easy prey, with their rich car-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 19
goes of Oriental fabrics, spices, gold, and gems. The booty was
entered at the Admiralty Court at New York as lawful spoil of war,
or it was carried to Madagascar, where merchantmen from New
York would repair to barter supplies for the stolen goods.
New York, at the close of the seventeenth century, contained a
population of 5,000, the Dutch and English being nearly equal in
number, some French, Swedes and Jews, while there were about 800
negroes, mostly slaves. By the year 1732, the population had been
increased by an additional 3,600 inhabitants. In the same year we
find prices of lots on Whitehall street stated at from £150 to £200 —
a material increase. According to the Swedish traveler, Peter Kalm,
over two hundred vessels entered and an even larger number cleared
from the harbor between December 1, 1729, and December 5, 1730.
The following table, compiled in November, 1729, and covering the
period from Christmas to Christmas in each year, gives an idea of the
volume of foreign commerce conducted at New York, and of the
favorable balance of trade enjoyed by the port:
Years. Imports. Exports.
1723-24 £21,191 £63,020
i724-25 25,316 70,650
1725-26 38,707 84,850
1726-27 31,617 67,373
\727-28 21,005 78,561
The city as it was at this time is shown on a map entitled "Plane
of New York in 1729, Surveyed by James Lyne." In this, as in ear-
lier maps, the trend of development toward the northeast is distinctly
emphasized. Several causes united to retard the improvement of the
westerly side of the island. The business of the city was transacted
along the East River. Here, the shipping of the port was harbored,
because the East River, an arm of the sea, seldom freezes. Here
were the ship-yards and the warehouses; and here also the Brook-
lyn ferry and the field of competition for the Long Island trade.
Broadway was remote from the industrial activities of the town.
The few dwellings that were erected along this future great thor-
20
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
oughfare did not venture above Liberty, then called Crown street.
There were only open fields westward, above this line. These com-
prised the estate known originally as the Company's Farm, tilled for
the benefit of the Dutch West India Company's servants, and
bounded by the present Fulton and Warren streets, Broadway and
the North River. The farm passed to the Duke of York, by the con-
quest, was extended northward, by purchase from the Annetje Jans
heirs, to Charlton, or perhaps Christopher street, and was afterwards
known as the King's, and later Queen's Farm. Queen Anne granted
the property to the Episcopal Church in New York in 1705. The
church ownership of this property was one of the factors which
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
21
tended to retard the development of Broadway, for so long as
building sites conveniently located could be had in fee simple no
one cared to improve leasehold land.
By the middle of the century, however, the city's expanding com-
as
M
u
o
CD
pa
merce was evidently beginning to create a need for the improvement
of leasehold property also. Maerschalck's map of 1755 shows streets
laid out through the southern part of the Church Farm, and locates
twenty-five buildings between the present Liberty and Warren
streets. But the trend of development was still toward the northeast
22 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Advance up the middle of the island was prevented by the Collect, or
Fresh Water Pond; on the westerly side, by Lispenard's Meadows,
a marshy valley, and a stream carrying the overflow from the Fresh
Water Pond into the North River. The upper part of Broadway was
merely a lane ending near the present Leonard street ; and it was
not until the opening of the road leading to Greenwich Village, ante-
rior to 1760, that the west side possessed any thoroughfare that
could become a line of development.
On the easterly side, however, ran the Boston Post Road, con-
necting the city with the populous regions inland from Long Island
Sound. Over this highway, since 1732, came and went the monthly
stage to New England. According to Ratzer's map, country seats
lined this road in 1767 up to Madison square, and a small village
had sprung up at its intersection with Monument lane. Of this
lane, which led to Greenwich, two sections survive in the present
Astor place and Greenwich avenue.
KEY TO MAP OF NEW YORK, SHOWING FARMS AND ESTATES.
NOTE.— The explanation of the numbers, which is taken, by permission, from the
"Memorial History of New York," covers only the most important feature's or estates.
1. Extent of the city under the Dutch gov- this property to that of a shoemak-
ernor; wall along Wall Street. er's knife.
2, 4, 5, G, 12. Comprising what was known 6.">. Rose Hill farm.
at different periods as West India 66. Estate of John Watts
Company's Duke's, King's, Queen's 67. Estate of Admiral Sir Peter Warren,
farm; ceded to Trinity Church in called Greenwich; the Indian name of
t vi' eV „™ i . t. * ,iU ^ . *_ the P°int °f land here was Sapokani-
i. The Shoemaker's Pasture (the Dutch gan.
-.r, Churcn Property included in the tract.) 07 D. Estate of George Clinton and John
10. Beekman's Pasture. Jacob Astor.
}J- T^Te Fields or Common. 73. Estate of Bishop Moore.
12y2. Negro burying-ground. 74. Clarke estate.
i ?• Sutato of Jacob Lei?ler- 76. Known as the Horn estate, originally
14. The Swamp, a section still known by patented by Sir Edmund Andros to
-i- J; name- lx „ Solomon Peters, a free negro, whose
ii" 2J6 Poosevelt farm. widow and heirs conveyed it to John
io £ ii T5ew,ay estate* Horn; held fey Horn's descendants till
19. Kolk Hook. recently.
20, 21. The Kolk, Collect, or Fresh Water 80. Kip's Bay farm
0_ ™,Pond- 87. Murray Hill estate.
Zo. The Dominie's Hook, or Anneke Jans's 89, 03. John Slidell, formerly President of
o* T /arm- „ the Mechanics' Bank.
ot idSpeT?axrd mead°ws. 1)2. Estate of James A. Stewart.
I- a 6AUtg£rs fTarm- , t,8J/2- Estate of "Citizen Genet," the French
6o A and B. De Lancey s east and west Ambassador in 171)4, who married
w rmTr-21S" * c Governor Clinton's daughter.
o~ The Bayard farm. 100. Estate of Richard Harrison.
o<. Another portion of the Anneke Jans 107. Glass House farm, formerly beloncine
on r,,farim-, ,. to Sir Peter Warren.
fjli rnsntate' 110,116. Incleberg, where, 1770 General
48, 5a ol, 52. Property of the Stuyvesants. Howe and stiff were entertained dur-
kp ™l0nT?mg to+Sai;°rs' Snu& Harbor. ing the retreat of the American troops
56. The Brevoort estate. from New York.
<54. Krom Messie (crooked little knife), cor- m. The Grange, country seat of John Mur-
rupted into Grammercy: so-called ray, Jr
from the resemblance of the shape of 122. Turtle Bay, or Deutel Bay farm
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 23
CITYor NBWYORK
tKtwmg the original fugK water Un* tuuLthestecatUm, of
tile different Rerun weLEstaU*.
By Permission From the New York History Co.
24 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
III.— FROM THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
TO THE OPENING OF THE ERIE CANAL.
The British, driven from Boston and alarmed by the general up-
rising throughout the colonies, determined to concentrate their
forces at New York. Having control of the sea, they hoped, by
obtaining possession of the Hudson Valley, to prevent co-operation
between the northern and southern colonies. The plan was bril-
liantly conceived, but was utterly defeated by the surrender of Bur-
goyne at Saratoga. This event proved the turning point in the war,
although with the assistance of a large fleet the British were enabled
to hold New York from September 15, 1776, to November 25, 1783.
• During this period of occupation the population of the city de-
creased from 25,000 to probably half that number. Its commerce,
comprising about one-tenth of the combined foreign trade of the
American colonies, was completely destroyed, while two great fires
added to the suffering caused by the stoppage of business. Six days
after the entrance of the enemy, namely, on September 21, the west-
terly side of the town was visited by a conflagration, probably of ac-
cidental origin, which is thus described in the diary of the resident
Moravian pastor, Ewald Gustav Schaukirk: "In the first hour of
the day, soon after midnight, the whole city was alarmed by a dread-
ful fire," which " raged all the night and till about noon. The wind
was pretty high from the southeast and drove the flames to the north-
west. It broke out about White Hall, destroyed a part of Broad,
Stone and Beaver streets, the Broadway, and then the streets going
to the North River, and along that river as far as the King's College.
Great pains were taken to save Trinity Church, but in vain ; it was
destroyed, as also the old Lutheran Church; and St. Paul's, at the
upper end of Broadway, escaped very narrowly." Four hundred and
ninety-three houses were laid in ruin. Two years later another fire
destroyed almost the whole of the block south of Pearl street, be-
tween Coenties and Old Slips.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
25
MI
£ i
* Q 3
3
^3
1
h r
26 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
During the Revolution most of the patrician families remained
loyal to the king. On the withdrawal of the British troops they were
overtaken by the same fate which, at the beginning of hostilities, had
been meted out to the Whig leaders — they were driven from the city
and their estates confiscated. The exodus of the Tories and the re-
turn of the Patriots made the Young American element, with its
i
"nervous activity and practical bent," predominant in affairs, a circum-
stance which partly explains the rapidity of the community's recov-
ery from the effects of the war. Within three or, at the utmost,
four years of the formal declaration of peace the city had completely
regained its lost population.
The adoption of the Constitution put an end to the commercial
strife between individual States which had been allowed to grow up
under the old Articles of Confederation, and laid the foundation for
that extraordinary material development of the United States which
is one of the marvels of the present century. New York, being a
seaboard town with superior inland water communication, became a
chief beneficiary of the new nation's expanding industrial activities.
New York became the seat of the Federal government on the inau-
guration of Washington in 1789. In that year, although the city was
astir with the new life that had come to it after the war, the effects of
the great fires of September 21, 1776, and August 3, 1778, were not
yet effaced. The Lutheran Church, which had stood on the south-
ern corner of Rector street and Broadway, was still a mass of ruins.
Trinity Church and the Middle Dutch Church were in process of re-
construction. Of private houses, perhaps the majority were in the
condition in which the fire had left them. But there was activity in
house building, labor, rents and produce were high, and a feeling of
buoyancy pervaded the community.
From the west side of Broadway to the west side of Greenwich
street, on the North River shore, the ground was more or less closely
covered with buildings from the Bowling Green to what is now
Reade street. Beyond Reade street, there were only a few scattered
houses. On the east side of the island the area of building im-
provement extended farther north, namely, to the south
side of Bayard's Lane, now Broome street. The south side of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEIV YORK. 27
this lane was built upon from Mulberry street, on the west, to the
present Suffolk street, on the east; and a line drawn from the south-
east corner of Broome and Suffolk streets to the northwest corner of
Cherry and Pike streets would mark approximately the northeasterly
limit of the city. North of the present line of Reade street no streets
were laid out between the North River and Mulberry street, with the
exception of Greenwich street and Broadway.
The city contained a population of 29,000. The number of houses
in the city was 4,200. Among the buildings were many old Dutch
houses, but the prevailing type of architecture was English. An ad-
vertisement of the Mutual Assurance Company of 1789 states that
buildings were mostly of frame with brick fronts, although in 1761
the Legislature had enacted that none but brick houses should be
erected south of the present Duane street after January 1, 1766.
The time was afterward extended to January 1, 1774, but on the 2nd
of May of that year nearly 3,000 citizens petitioned for the re-
peal of the act. The petition was not granted. ( )n the other hand,
it does not appear that the law was strictly enforced for many years.
Streets were narrow and crooked. Water and Queen (Pearl), for
example, were in some places too cramped to allow the construction
of sidewalks. On the 21st of March, 1787, the Legislature ihad
authorized the Common Council to lay out new streets and to im-
prove those already existing, and in 1788 improvements were begun.
The act provided that streets already laid out should not be made
wider than four rods, nor narrower than two. The sidewalks were
to be each one-fifth the width of the street, and were to be paved
with brick or stone and curbed. The city possessed no system of
sewerage, sewage being carried to the river at night in buckets by
negro slaves. The city was supplied with water by public pumps.
The best water came from the Tea Pump, which was fed from the
Collect and stood in Chatham street, a little to the northeast of the
end of Queen (Pearl) street.
Places of interest to the sightseer were not numerous. At the
lower end of Broadway was the Bowling Green, which had been in-
closed as a park in 1733. Fort George lay 150 feet below the Green.
The northerly side of the fort contained no batteries, and the whole
2g A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
structure was in a state of dilapidation and decay. On the easterly
and southerly sides of the fort were large gardens. What had once
been an earthwork, was known as the Battery, and extended from
the south line of Battery place, along the water's edge, to Whitehall
slip. The site of the fort and the Battery, being originally crown
property, belonged to the State. In 1790 the site of the Battery, in-
cluding a small part of the ground on which the fort stood, was
granted to the city. In the same year the fort was razed to give place
for a residence intended for the use of the President. Before the com-
pletion of the building the National Government removed to Phila-
delphia. After having been for some years occupied by the Governor
the structure was converted into a custom-house. Below the fort
grounds were two irregular blocks of houses, divided by Pearl
street, and extending from Whitehall street, on the east, to the Bat-
tery, on the west. South of these two blocks were the Lower Bar-
racks, a building 210 feet long by 25 feet deep, with an ell 70 feet
long at its westerly end. The space of about 240 feet from the front
of the barracks to the southerly extremity of the island was unoccu-
pied except by the earthwork of the Battery and a small house on
the west side of Whitehall street.
Broadway was paved from the Bowling Green to Vesey street, and
contained several noteworthy buildings, including the Kennedy and
McComb's mansions, the City Tavern (on the site of the present Bo-
reel Building), Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel. The McComb
mansion, on the west side of Broadway, was, in 1790, occupied by
Washington at a rental of $2,500 a year. Transfers of real estate on
Broadway in 1789 were few. Among the deeds recorded in that
year, was one conveying for £700 a lot on the northwest cor-
ner of Liberty street, 25x90, with a smaller lot in the rear ;
another lot, 35x90, in the same neighborhood was sold for
£600. A plot on the west side of Broadway, some dis-
tance below Wall street, having a frontage of 105 feet and a depth
of 270 feet to high water, running thence to low-water mark and
thence 200 feet into the North River, was sold for £3,200. A Church
Farm lot, 25x108.9, on the west side of Broadway, between Warren
and Murray streets, brought £240, and £150 was paid for a lot 33X
190 on the avenue, near the Collect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 29
On the easterly side of Broadway, the Park, inclosed by a wooden
fence, extended from Vesey to Murray street. North of the Park,
about on the northerly side of Murray street, stood the Bridewell,
Almshouse and Jail, facing south. Between the jail and the alms-
house a Chinese pagoda inclosed the gallows.
Broad street, in the year under review, had descended from its
high estate as the seat of foreign commerce, and was occupied by
small shops and dwellings. The principal business streets in the
city were Queen street (the present Pearl, from Wall to Chatham),
Great Dock street (Pearl from Broad to Wall), Water street and
Hanover square.
The fashionable residence street of the city was Wall street, and
the value of real estate in this favored locality may be judged by the
sale, in 1789, of two lots, 57x106x57x135, on the south side of the
street, near Pearl, for £1,800. Federal Hall, on the northeast corner
of Wall and Nassau streets, was the finest building in the city, and,
indeed, in the United States, fitting its character as the seat of the
National Government. It was completed in 1789, being practically a
new structure, although it contained most of the walls of an older
structure, the City Hall, erected in 1700. On the removal of the
Federal Government to Philadelphia, the premises reverted to their
original use. On the completion, in 1812, of the present City Hall
in City Hall Park, the structure on Wall street, including the
grounds pertaining thereto — four lots — were sold at auction, and
the building demolished.
The general stage office during part of the year 1789 was at
Fraunces' Tavern, No. 49 Cortlandt street, whence stages left for Al-
bany, Boston, and Philadelphia. The route to Albany was by the
Bowery lane and Kingsbridge road to Kingsbridge and thence along
the Hudson River. Stages left both ends of the route on Monday,
Wednesday and Thursday, three days being required for the jour-
ney in summer and four or more in winter. A day's journey lasted
from five o'clock in the morning until ten at night. The Boston
stages left the city on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, by way of
the Bowery and the Boston Post Road to Harlem, and reached Bos-
ton in about six days by traveling from three in the morning until
30 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ten at night. In October, 1789, the Boston and Albany stage office
was removed to Mr. Isaac Norton's, No. 160 Queen (Pearl) street.
Stages for Philadelphia left Paulus Hook twice a day, except Sat-
urday and Sunday, when but one stage ran. From Paulus Hook
there were two routes to Philadelphia, one through Newark and
the other through Woodbridge. The journey occupied about three
days. One might also reach Philadelphia by taking the boat which
left the Albany pier on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Fri-
day for South Amboy. From South Amboy stages set forth at three
o'clock the next morning alternately to Bordentown and Burlington,
whence boats sailed for Philadelphia. Boats for New Brunswick,
N. J., left Coenties slip every Saturday morning. The New Haven
boats left Burling slip, and stages for Jamaica, L. L, started from the
ferryhouse at Brooklyn. There was also a stage from New York to
Morristown by way of Paulus Hook. (Smith, N. Y. City in 1789,
p.'ioi.)
Among the more important public improvements undertaken at
the beginning of the nineteenth century was the filling in of the Col-
lect, a body of water covering the area approximately bounded by
the present Elm, Baxter, Pearl and White streets. On the western
shore of this water the Dutch found a deposit of decomposed shells;
hence the name Kalch, Callech, Colleck or Collect. By the English
the water was popularly known as the Fresh Water Pond. The
pond was surrounded by broad stretches of swampy ground, half
land and half water, which extended across the island, excepting
about 150 yards of salt meadow on the North River and about 300
yards of similar meadow on the East River. A sluggish stream along
the line of the present Canal street furnished an outlet into the North
River, while on the opposite side a similar stream, called Wreck
Brook, communicated with the East River at the foot of the pres-
ent Roosevelt street; so that, at exceptionably high tide, the waters
of the two rivers mingled in the Collect. By 1733 the stagnant pond
had become a menace to the public health. Consequently, in that
year, it was granted to Captain Anthony Rutgers, who proposed to
improve its sanitary condition by a system of sluicing and damming
devised by himself. This system no doubt had some effect in carry-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
3*
32 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing away the unhealthy stagnation. But with the multiplication of
dwelling and other houses around the Collect the sense of danger
to the public from its polluted waters increased, and in 179 1 the city
purchased Captain Rutgers's heirs' interest in it for £150. The filling
in of the pond was apparently begun in 1803, when the dirt exca-
vated on the site of the City Hall in City Hall Park was dumped
into it. But it was not until 1808 that the work was undertaken in
earnest. The city being then full of sailors and laborers thrown out
of employment by the Embargo act, the city government, to relieve
the distress among this element of the population, engaged a large
force of men to obliterate the pond by leveling into it the surround-
ing hills. Two years later the improvement was completed.
The filling in of the Collect was by no means an isolated instance of
municipal growth and enterprise during the opening decade of the
century. Despite the ruinous effect on commerce of Jefferson's for-
eign policy, the city continued to expand. Old streets were improved.
New streets were laid out, and large tracts of outlying lands were
cut up into city lots. A large part of the Trinity Church Farm, for
example, was thus improved, with the result that it was rapidly built
upon. In 1808 alone Trinity Corporation ceded to the city land for
the following new streets through its farm : Greenwich street, from
Spring to the northern limit of the farm ; Hudson street, from North
Moore to Vestry; Washington street, from Christopher to the Hud-
son River; Varick street, from North Moore to Vestry; Beach street,
from Hudson to the eastern limit of the farm; Laight street, from
Hudson to its eastern boundary; Vestry street, from Greenwich to
its eastern boundary; Desbrosses street, from Greenwich to the Hud-
son River; Le Roy street, from Hudson to the Hudson River and
King, Charlton, Van Dam, Clarkson, Hamersley, Barrow and Mor-
ton streets, as far east and west as the church lands extended.
In the same year another important improvement was accom-
plished. The stream between the Collect and the North River was
deepened and widened into a canal, which not only carried away the
overflow from that part of the Collect not yet filled in, but which also
drained the great swamps alongside the original stream, fitting them
for use as building sites. The banks of the canal were planted with
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 33
shade-trees, and a road ran along either side of the canal. The
width of the whole thoroughfare, which received the name of Canal
street, was 100 feet. In the course of time, the canal was arched over
with brick, and became a sewer.
But by far the most important public work undertaken at this
period was the surveying and plotting of the whole of the present
city, between Houston and 155th streets. Hitherto, the city had
been allowed to grow at random along the lines of least topograph-
ical resistance. The region below the Collect, particularly east of
Broadway, was a perfect maze of crooked streets. Above the Col-
lect, the streets, though laid out on straight lines, were cut up into
several independent groups, each at variance with the others. To
prevent a similar confusion in the prospective street system of the
northern part of the island, the Legislature, on April 3, 1807, ap-
pointed Gouverneur Morris, Simeon DeWitt, and John Rutherford
Commissioners of Streets and Roads in the City of New York, with
"exclusive power to lay out streets, roads, and public squares of such
width, extent, and direction as to them shall seem most conducive to
the public good, and to shut up streets not accepted by the Common
Council within that part of said city of New York to the northward
of a line commencing at the wharf of George Clinton on the Hudson
River, thence running through Fitzroy road, Greenwich lane, and
Art street to the Bowery road; thence down Bowery road to North
street in its present direction to the East River." Four years were
allowed the commissioners in which to draw up their plan. Promptly,
in 181 1, their report was made, and their maps filed, although the
work of surveying the streets and locating them by means of "1,549
marble monumental stones and 98 iron bolts" was not completed
until 1 82 1.
With the exception of public parks, the City Plan established by
the commissioners is substantially that which exists to-day between
Houston and 155th streets. This entire region, which was of an ex-
tremely diversified character, has been reduced to a more or less
uniform surface by the filling in of watercourses and leveling down
of hills and ridges. A rectangular system of streets and avenues was
adopted because of the "greater economy and convenience in build -
3
34 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing." The avenues were made ioo feet wide. Those that could be
extended to the Village of Harlem were numbered west from First
avenue, which ran from the west of Bellevue Hospital to the east of
Harlem Church. Twelfth avenue ran from the " wharf at Manhat-
tanville, along the shore of the Hudson River, in which it was lost."
From First to Second avenue was a distance of 650 feet; from
Second to Third, 610 feet; between Third and Sixth avenues the
distance between each avenue was 920 feet; west of Sixth avenue,
800 feet.
Fifth avenue was called Manhattan avenue, or the Middle road.
East of First avenue were four short avenues, called A, B, C and D,
respectively. The cross streets were laid out up to 155th street, 1st
street running from Avenue B to the Bowery, and 155th street from
Bussing's Point to the Hudson River. The streets were 60 feet wide,
except 14th, 23d, 34th, 42d, 57th, 72d, 79th, 86th, 96th, 106th, 116th,
125th, 135th, 145th and 155th, which were 100 feet wide. The com-
missioners supposing that the pressure of traffic would be across
the island, from river to river, provided one-third more of latitudinal
streets to the square mile than longitudinal. Experience has shown,
however, that the pressure of traffic is on the streets running north
and south. In the matter of public reservations, the commission-
ers set aside ground for a market, 3,000x800 feet, between 10th and
7th streets, First avenue and the East River; for a reservoir between
89th and 94th street, Fourth and Fifth avenues; for a parade, i,35ox
1,000 yards, between 23d and 32d streets, Third and Seventh ave-
nues; and four small parks or squares. The magnificent parade of
the City Plan is represented by the present Madison square, while
the market was never opened. To-day, when the city is obliterating
costly improvements to provide sites for small parks, the commis-
sioners' reasons for their niggardly policy in respect of "breathing
spaces" make interesting reading. "It may be a matter of sur-
prise," they say, "that so few vacant spaces have been left, and those
so small, for the benefit of fresh air and consequent preservation of
health. Certainly if the city of New York was destined to stand on
the side of a small stream, such as the Seine or Thames, a great num-
ber of ample spaces might be needful. But those large arms of the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
35
sea which embrace Manhattan Island render its situation, in regard
to health and pleasure, as well as to convenience of commerce, pe-
culiarly felicitous. When, therefore, from the same causes, the
prices of land are so uncommonly great, it seems proper to admit
the principles of economy to greater influence than might, under
circumstances of a different kind, have consisted with the dictates of
prudence and the sense of duty."
The City Plan of the Commission of 1807 is open to criticism in
several respects. Its fundamental defect, however, is that, in order
to give a low gradient to the streets, it provided for the filling in of
primitive watercourses. The springs and streams of the island pro-
duced a volume of fresh water sufficient to supply the city until close
upon the middle of the present century. Their filing in was ordered
under the impression that, when obliterated from the surface, they
would disappear from the soil. But many of the springs issued
from the living rock, and continued to flow, with the result that they
have permanently saturated the dirt thrown into them and the beds
of the streams which they originally fed. The unsanitary condition •
of houses built upon such soil is obvious.
During the war of 1812, for two years, the commerce of New
York was almost completely suspended. In 1814 the revenue of the
United States government from the tariff was some $4,400,000. In
181 5, peace having been concluded, $16,000,000 were collected- at
the port of New York alone, as manufactured goods which had ac-
cumulated abroad were poured into the country. These vast im-
portations glutted the market, and many years were required to
restore trade to a normal condition. But despite the war and subse-
quent vicissitudes of trade, by the year 1825 the population of the
city had reached 166,000 ; its northern limit of building improvement
was close to Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village itself was a popu-
lous suburban ward, and a considerable settlement was springing up
west of the Bowery. It is also worthy of note that in the year 1825
gas was introduced in the city, pipes being laid in Broadway from
Canal street to the Battery, by the New York Gas Light Company.
Gas rapidly displaced oil lamps in the principal downtown streets,
and in 1830 the Manhattan Gas Light Company was formed to sup-
ply the new illuminant in the upper part of the island.
36 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The larger commercial life which New York entered upon after
the second war with Great Britain was soon found to warrant the
establishment of regular transatlantic lines of sailing vessels with
fixed dates of departure. The famous Black Ball line of monthly —
afterwards semi-monthly — packets to Liverpool was started in 1817.
Two new monthly lines, the Red Star and the Swallow-Tail, were
presently organized, with the result that communication was main-
tained between New York and Liverpool by a fleet of sixteen ves-
sels, making weekly departures from each end of the route. Regu-
lar lines were also established to London, Havre, Greenock, and
other European ports, while weekly lines plied between New York
and Savannah, Charleston, Mobile, and New Orleans.
This excellent system of coastwise and transatlantic service was
developed before the inland waterways tributary to New York had
received any artificial improvement, and indicates the existence of
perhaps as large a carrying trade as the city was then able to control
by reason of natural advantages of geographical position. The time
had, therefore, come when artificial exploitation of those advantages
was inevitable. The project of a canal from the Hudson River to
Lake Erie was brought before the Assembly by Joshua Forman in
1808, when an appropriation was granted for a preliminary survey.
Two years later the movement received the powerful support of Sen-
ator, afterwards Governor, DeWitt Clinton, who thenceforward
made the opening of the Erie Canal the chief concern of his political
ambition. The war with England and the resulting disorder in the
finances of the State caused a temporary abandonment of the pro-
ject. But April 17, 1817, an act was passed providing funds for the
construction of a canal 365 miles in length, with a surface width of
40 feet, a bottom width of 18 feet, and a water channel 4 feet in
depth. Ground was broken July 4, at Rome, on the middle section,
and the canal was formally opened October 26, 1825. The Erie
Canal established the undisputed supremacy of New York City as
a distributing agent for the commerce of the interior of the continent,
so that when the construction of railways began their chief objective
sea-board town was already determined by economic facts over
which they had comparatively little control.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
37
38 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
IV.— FROM THE OPENING OF THE ERIE CANAL TO
THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
During the forty years from the opening of the Erie Canal to the
close of the Civil War, New York City pushed her northern limit of
building improvements from, say, Astor place to 42d street, and grew
in population from 166,000 to 726,000. In other words, her progress
was greater than it had been during the preceding two hundred
years. This extraordinary achievement was the result, partly, of the
opening of the Erie Canal, partly, of the general introduction of
steamships, railways, and the telegraph.
The first successful steamboat, commercially as well as mechan-
ically, was launched at New York in August, 1897. The "Clermont,"
constructed by Robert Fulton, ran as a regular packet between New
York and Albany, making the round trip in seventy-two hours, while
sailing vessels occupied from four to seven days each way. A sec-
ond steamboat for service on the Hudson River was built in the fol-
lowing year, and a third in 181 1. In 1812, two steam ferry-boats,
also designed by Fulton, began to ply on the North River, other*
being presently constructed for the East River. The War of 1812
prevented these experiments from being followed up with vigor,
and Fulton himself died in 181 5. It was not until 1831 that a vessel,
built at Quebec and named the "Royal William" steamed all the
way across the Atlantic. But from this time on the development of
the local coastwise and Atlantic steamship service was rapid, and
in 1848 the famous Collins line of steamers was established between
New York and Liverpool.
The experiments conducted in England with the steam locomotive
— invented by George Stevenson in 1814 — induced the New York
Legislature, in 1825, to provide for the survey of a public railway
through the southern tier of counties from the Hudson River to
Lake Erie, which was to compensate those counties for the opening
of the Erie Canal through the northern part of the State. The re-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 39
port of the survey proved unfavorable, and the project was aban-
doned. Short local roads, however, were promptly constructed by
private companies. The Mohawk and Hudson, chartered in 1826,
was opened between Albany and Schenectady in 1831, being the first
railway in the State. The Hudson River Railroad Company, char-
tered as early as 1846 to construct and operate a railway between
New York and Albany, opened its line to East Albany in 185 1. In
this year, also, the first of the many trunk lines which serve as feeders
to the commerce of New York reached the city. The New York
and Erie Railroad Company was organized in 1832 to carry out the
project, abandoned by the State, of building a railway through the
lower tier of counties. With the assistance of liberal loans and grants
from the Legislature, the line was completed nineteen years later
from Dunkirk, on Lake Erie, to Piermont, on the Hudson River.
New York, however, was the natural terminal of the road, and ar-
rangements were promptly made to run its trains over the tracks of
the Union, Ramapo and Paterson,and the Jersey City Railroads from
Suffern to Jersey City. None of the other great trunk lines enter-
ing the city was originally projected as such, all having been formed
by consolidation of connecting lines constructed under separate
charters. Thus, the second trunk line to be established between
New York and the West — the New York Central and Hudson River
Railroad — was organized as recently as 1869 by the consolidation
of the New York Central and the Hudson River Railroad Com-
panies.
The experimental telegraph line, constructed by Morse, between
Washington and Baltimore, with assistance from Congress, was
opened in 1844, and two years later a line was completed from New
York to Washington via Philadelphia.
The introduction of improved means of transportation and com-
munication inaugurated a new era in the material development of
the country, as a whole, and of New York City, in particular. Be-
fore the advent of the railway, population was confined to compara-
tively narrow strips of land on the seaboard and along the banks of
navigable streams. Land transportation, being by means of oxen
and horses, over indifferent roads, the margin of profitably tillable
40 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
soil was reached a short distance from the water's edge. The con-
struction of railways opened the interior to cultivation, ancj started
an immigration movement which in a few years covered the broad
prairies of the Middle West with prosperous agricultural communi-
ties. From 1820 to 1829 immigration to the United States amounted
only to 90,077 persons. Between 1830 and 1839 it rose to 343,517.
From 1840 to 1849 ^ was I>I6i,564, while between 1850 and 1859
Ireland alone sent 1,073,065 persons to the United States, and Ger-
many 935,171. After 1847 emigration from the north of Europe re-
ceived a fresh impetus from the potato famine of that year in Ireland,
from the revolutionary movements on the Continent, which began
in 1848, and from the discovery of gold in California, in the same
year.
A larger proportion of immigrants, both absolutely and relatively
to the population, settled in New York than in any other American
city. At the same time, probably more than half of the native citizens
of pre-Revolutionary ancestry drifted westward. The result was a
complete change in the ethnic character of the population. By the
outbreak of the Civil War the inhabitants of foreign stock far out-
numbered the natives, who stood third in numerical order, the Irish
being first and the Germans second. In politics, the presence of a
growing body of naturalized citizens, who belonged mainly to the
proletariat and the middle class, hastened the abolition of the few
restrictions that remained on the full recognition of the democratic
principle of equality. The mayoralty was made elective in 1834,
whereupon the Democrat, Cornelius W. Lawrence, defeated his
Whig rival for that office with the assistance of the Irish vote, and
in 1842 all property qualification was removed in respect of city
voters.
The growth of the city in extent and population encouraged the
undertaking of important public and semi-public improvements.
Stages for local transit were introduced in 1830, the first line running
between the Bowling Green and Bleecker street. Two years later
the New York and Harlem Railroad Company opened a horse rail-
way— the first of its kind in the world — in Fourth avenue and the
Bowery, between Prince and 14th streets. The tracks were flat iron
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 41
bars, spiked to timbers. The cars, designed by John Stephenson,
resembled stage coaches, the driver sitting overhead, and moving the
brake with his feet. Each car was divided into three compartments,
with side doors, and was balanced on leather springs. The horse
railway, however, as thus constructed, did not prove commercially
successful, and the motive power was shortly changed to steam,
whereupon the line was extended, first to Harlem (1837) later to
Chatham Four Corners. The true era of horse railways did not be-
gin until the Fifties. The Sixth avenue and Eighth avenue com-
panies were chartered in 185 1, and the Second avenue, the Third
avenue, and the Ninth avenue companies in 1852, when the era may
be said to have been fairly introduced.
The insufficiency and impurity of the city's water supply having
begun to excite popular apprehension, owing to the frequent recur-
rence of epidemics and devastating fires, it was determined at the
spring election of 1835 to secure a new supply by the construction
of an aqueduct from the Croton River, forty miles away. Some
months later the necessity of completing this undertaking without
delay was emphasized by a terrible fire which broke out on the night
of December 16. The fire raged nearly three days, destroying 693
houses and stores, with property valued at $18,000,000, and covered
an irregular triangular area of 13 acres, its course being along Wall
street, the East River, and William street. Until the completion of
the Croton Aqueduct, the water supply of the city was drawn from
the island itself, the chief sources being the Tea- Water Pump, the
town pumps, which could be found in nearly everv block, the well
of the Manhattan Company, and Knapp's Spring. The water from
Knapp's Spring was carted about in the upper part of the city, and
sold at a penny a gallon. The Manhattan Company, organized un-
der the famous charter obtained by Burr\ in 1799, which enabled it
to conduct a banking business contrary to the intention of the Leg-
islature, furnished the city's chief water supply for domestic use,
pumping its waters from a well at Cross and Duane streets, into hol-
low logs distributed underground through the lower portions of the
city. Water for use at fires was obtained from a well and reservoir
at 13th street and the Bowery, through iron pipes connecting with
hydrants at convenient street corners.
-Mtf
42 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The project of securing a new supply from the Croton valley in-
volved engineering problems of great difficulty. A storage lake had
to be created by the construction of a dam across the river, and the
aqueduct — an ellipse of stone, brick and cement, measuring 8J feet
perpendicularly by y\ feet horizontally — had to be carried over the
valley of Sing Sing and across the Harlem River. But by the sum-
mer of 1842 the work was completed, with the exception of the
aqueduct bridge across the Harlem. At this point resort was had
to a temporary system of inverted siphons, or iron pipes, which made
the new supply immediately available. On June 2.J the water was
admitted into the receiving reservoir at Yorkville, and on July 4 it
was introduced into the distributing reservoir at Fifth avenue and
42d street.
Previous to the opening of Central Park, the city's breathing
places were confined to a few small squares, mostly damp and un-
wholesome reservations on the site of old water courses. The pro-
priety of providing a park, in the proper sense of the term, was first
officially suggested by Mayor Ambrose C. Kingsland in a message
to the Common Council of April 5, 1851. Action was promptly
taken on the suggestion, and, under authority received from the
Legislature, $5,028,844 was appropriated for the acquisition of the
land bounded by Fifth and Eighth avenues, 59th and 106th streets,
possession being obtained in 1856. The following graphic descrip-
tion of the site is given by Gen. Egbert L. Viele, the topographical
engineer of Central Park, in the "Memorial History of New York/'
"It was for the most part a succession of stone quarries, interspersed
with pestiferous swamps. The entire ground was the refuge of about
five thousand squatters, dwelling in rude huts of their own construc-
tion, and living off the refuse of the city, which they daily conveyed
in small carts, chiefly drawn by dogs, from the lower part of the city,
through Fifth avenue (then a dirt road, running over hills and hol-
lows). This refuse they divided among themselves and a hundred
thousand domestic animals and fowls, reserving the bones for the
bone-boiling establishments situated within the area. Horses, cows,
swine, goats, cats, geese, and chickens swarmed everywhere, destroy-
ing what little verdure they found. Even the roots in the ground
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 43
were exterminated until the rocks were laid bare, giving an air of
utter desolation to the scene, made more repulsive from the odors of
the decaying organic matter which accumulated in the beds of the
old water courses that ramified the surface in all directions, broad-
ening out into reeking swamps wherever their channels were inter-
cepted. " The work of improving the site was begun in 1857, and in
the following year a portion of the park was opened to the public.
In 1859 the northern boundary of the park was extended from
106th to 110th street. The land contained in the second tract was
practically the same in character as that of the first. Some idea of
the effect which the opening of the park had on surrounding real
estate may, therefore, be obtained by comparing the prices paid for
the two sections. The first cost about $7,800 an acre, while the sec-
ond tract cost $20,000 an acre. Within five years the taxable value
of the three wards bounding the park rose from $26,429,565 to $47,-
107,393. and in ten years it was $80,070,415.
From the opening of the Erie Canal to the outbreak of the Civil
War, despite financial crises (1837, 1857) visitations of the Asiatic
cholera (1832) and the yellow fever (1853), disastrous fires (1835,
1845), and formidable riots (1834, 1835, 1837, 1849), New York en-
joyed a period of unexampled prosperity and growth. But with the
commencement of hostilities building improvements practically
ceased. Of high-class dwellings, which had been increasing at the
rate of 500 to 800 a year, not one-tenth as many was constructed as
in the corresponding period immediately preceding, owing to the ab-
normal rise in the price of labor, caused 'by the exodus of the labor-
ing class to the seat of war and the derangement of the currency.
Population actually fell off 96,482, and the demand for vacant lots
practically ceased.
44
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
m
H
H
H
tf
H
m
Q
&
O
W
P
Q
«
Q
<
&
Q
«!
O
tf
PQ
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 45
V.— FROM THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR TO
CON SO LI DA TION.
At the close of the Civil War the city's northern limit of building
improvements was in the neighborhood of 426. street. Beyond that,
streets were for the most part ungraded and unpaved. In this dreary
region of rocky eminences and marshy depressions, stray houses
interspersed among a legion of squatters' shanties, straggled, partic-
ularly on the East Side, as far north as 86th street. Below 86th
street the city contained, in 1865, 25,261 vacant lots. It was a city
with a low sky-line. Square miles of territory were covered with
houses of three and four stories. The Astor House and the Fifth
Avenue Hotel were considered gigantic structures, and mercantile
buildings were rarely over five stories in height.
The introduction of steamships, railways, the telegraph, and the
horse-car, during the preceding period, was producing a revolu-
tionary effect on the commercial and industrial life of the commu-
nity, an effect which was presently heightened by the submarine
cable, permanently opened in 1866, and the telephone, established
in 1879. But no corresponding revolution had been effected in the
productive power of real estate, and the price of land, as compared
with the present day, was low. The earning capacity of real estate
to-day is determined largely by the passenger elevator, rapid tran-
sit, and steel construction, and none of these agents existed as po-
tent factors in 1865. The first apartment house, properly so-called,
with its large tenantry and corresponding income, dates from 1869,
and it was not until the evolution of a successful type of elevator,
some years later, that mercantile buildings of more than five, or, at
the utmost, six stories became economically practicable. Nothing
more forcibly illustrates the revolution which has been effected in
land values since 1865 than the circumstance that, over square
miles of the city's territory, the major part of the buildings of that
day have been replaced by loftier structures. In fact, comparatively
46 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
littlQ of the city, as jt then was, remains, except in the form of ob-
solete survival.*
New York in 1865.
TJie extraordinary physical change which New York has under-
gone in consequence of improvements in the builders' trade and
transportation facilities makes it desirable to take a closer survey of
the lower part of the island as it appeared at the opening of the
period under review. The Battery sea-wall, extending from the
foot of West street and Battery place to Whitehall street, was not
yet completed. On the other hand, the mansions of the wealthy
Knickerbocker families which, before the war, made their homes
in the vicinity of Bowling Green and Battery Park were for the
most part converted to mercantile uses.
Few people descending from the elevated railway at the Battery
to-day will recognize that historic place in Felix Oldboy's descrip-
tion, published some ten years ago. "Sitting here," says that de-
lightfully reminiscent gentleman, "with every little wave of the har-
bor dancing in the sunlight just as it did forty years ago, when I
played under the elms, with no signs warning one to keep off the
grass, I recall the Battery as I first knew it. The park was not then
one-half its present size. There was no sea-wall. The tide rippled
unchecked among the sands that made the beach. The walks were
*This radical change in land values has rendered a study of the prices
which obtained prior to the close of the Civil War of academic rather than
practical interest. In the preceding chapters, therefore, statistics relating
to prices have not been introduced, except incidentally, and by way of illus-
tration. To be properly treated, the subject of the progressive movement
of land values before the period which we take up in the present chapter
would require an enormous amount of research among public records prac-
tically inaccessible in the absence of an adequate system of indexing. It
is not until we reach the files of the "Record and Guide," in 1868, that
statistical information becomes available in convenient form. As we go
back in time an additional difficulty is encountered in the fluctuations of
the purchasing power of the monetary metals. However, the movement
of land values is only a lesser part of the history of real estate. The prin-
cipal part is the progress and character of improvements. The account
contained in the foregoing chapters has been based on standard historical
works, special acknowledgement being due to the "Memorial History of
the City of New York," edited by James Grant Wilson; Janvier's "In Old
New York," and Smith's "New York City in 1789." Use has also been made
of less accessible authorities, as Valentine's "Manuals," "History of the
City of New York," and "Ferry Leases and Railroad .Grants," Post's "Old
Streets of New York," and old directories and guide books. For the period
beginning with the close of the Civil War reliance is had almost exclu-
sively on the files of the "Record and Guide."
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 47
unkempt, and the benches were only rough wooden affairs. But
the breeze, the fresh sea air, the whispering leaves, the orioles and
bluebirds, and the shade were there, and to the boys of the period
its attractions were Elysian. Castle Garden, then a frowning for-
tress still thought capable of service, was reached by a wooden
bridge, and the salt water lapped its foundations on all sides."
This description recalls the fact that most of the land included in
the Battery park, which now comprises twenty-one acres, has been
reclaimed from the sea, chiefly since the war. According to a re-
port of Governor Dongan, dated in 1687, "the ground that the Fort
stands upon and that belongs to it contains in quantity about two
acres or thereabouts." At that time the high-water mark extended
in a slightly westward curve from the foot of the present Greenwich
street to the present Whitehall and Water streets. All the land be-
yond this line has been obtained by filling in over the rocks that
lined the primitive shore.
Castle Garden, originally known as Castle Clinton, was built by
the Federal Government in 1807, its site being then 300 yards from
the main land. In 1822, on the removal of the Federal military
headquarters to Governor's Island, the structure was ceded to the
city, which, two years later, leased it to private individuals as a
theatre and place of amusement. It was here that the populace
gathered to do honor to Lafayette, in 1824, and to Jenny Lind, in
1850. Together with the Bowery Theatre, this historic building is
the only remaining landmark of the drama of the first half of the
century. In 1855 Castle Garden was turned over to the State for
use as an emigrant station, and as such it was known in 1865 to
millions at home and abroad who had never heard of its other
phases of existence. When the Federal Government assumed
charge of the reception of immigrants in 1890, the building came
again mto the possession of the city, by which it has been started
on a new career as an Aquarium.
Broadway in 1865 was hardly less impassable than to-day, owing
to the cumbersome omnibuses which ran to and from the ferries
and formed part of the city's main transit system. According to a
guide book copyrighted in 1867, the routes followed by the several
48
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
omnibus lines were as follows : From South Ferry, through Broad-
way, to 42d street; from South Ferry, through Broadway and Fourth
avenue, to 326. street; from South Ferry, through Broadway, 8th
street, Avenue A, 10th street and Avenue D, to 10th street Ferry;
from South Ferry, through Broadway, West 23d street, Ninth ave-
nue, and 30th street, to Hudson River Railroad Station ; from Wall
Street Ferry, through Broadway, 23d street, Madison avenue and
Stock Exchange, Broad street front, 1868. Since Remodeled.
40th street, to Reservoir square; from Fulton Ferry, through
Broadway, nth street, University place, 13th street, and Fifth ave-
nue, to 42d street ; from Cortlandt Street Ferry, through Broadway,
Bleecker street, and 2d and East Houston streets, to Houston
Street Ferry. The street-car lines, running north and south, were
the 2d, 3d, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th avenue, the East Side,
and the Bleecker street and Fulton Ferry systems, including the
Yellow Line, besides which there were half a dozen crosstown
routes. No street-car line had in 1865 invaded Broadway.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
49
In Broadway, between the Bowling Green and Wall street, we:e
the offices of importers of merchandise other than dry goods, ship-
ping agents, transportation companies, financial institutions, and
lawyers, the buildings being mostly five-story structures without
distinctive claims to architecture. In Beaver street, grouped around
the old Produce Exchange Building (the new building was begun
in 1881 and completed in 1884) were the flour, grain and provision
trades. The foreign fruit and wine trade was in lower Broad street.
t
POST-OFFICE BUII.DINO.
Old Post-Office Building, Nassau Street, Between Cedar and Liberty.
Site of present Mutual Life Building.
Ihe Stock Exchange moved into its present quarters in Broad
street, between Exchange place and Wall street, in 1865, and this
point, then as now, was the centre of the office building district, in
which stock brokers, lawyers, and the larger financial institutions
were located.
In Nassau street, between Liberty and Cedar, was the Post
Office, quartered in the old Middle Dutch Church building, into
which it moved some years before from a hired basement in Wall
street. The Dutch society purchased the site in 1728 for £575; in
i86t the site, including the building, was sold to the United States
Government for $200,000.
Off City Hall Park, toward the East River, was the district of the
50 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
West Indian, South American and Chinese import trades in to-
baccos, coffees, teas, sugars, syrups, liquors, dye-woods, and raw
hides ; farther to the eastward, between William street and the East
River were concentrated, in their respective localities, the drug
trade, the paint, oil and color trade, the school-book publishing
trade, the iron, tin-plate, stove and hollow-ware trade, ship-chan-
dlery, the cotton and wool commission trades, the lead-pipe and
plumbing trades, and the leather trade. The chief attraction in the
lower end of the city, however, was Trinity Church in Broadway at
the head of Wall street — the third of the line on the present site.
The first, a wooden edifice, built in 1697, was destroyed in the great
fire of 1776. The second was built in 1788, and the present edifice,
from plans by Richard M. Upjohn, was finished in 1846.
On the corner of Broadway and Maiden lane was the Howard
House, one of the city's famous hostelries. Nearby, in Maiden
lane, was • the principal seat of the jewelry trade. Barnunr s
Museum, at Broadway and Ann street, was burned in July, 1865,
and the site was presently occupied by the five-story Herald Build-
ing, which in turn has given way to the St. Paul Building, of twenty-
six stories. St. Paul's Chapel, between Broadway, Church, Vesey
and Fulton streets, was the oldest church edifice in the city, having
been completed in 1766. The comparative unimportance of Broad-
way as a thoroughfare at the time when St. Paul's was built, is
apparent from the circumstance that the chapel fronts towards the
North River.
Printing House square in 1865 was quite as famous as to-day,
though not so imposing architecturally. The "World," the youngest
paper among the great dailies, occupied rented quarters on the cor-
ner of Beekman street. It was housed in a small building belonging
to Orlando B.Potter, one of the most extensive owners of New York-
business property. Next door to it was the old five-story Times
Building; a fire-proof structure, with massive walls of brick faced
with Nova Scotia stone on its three front elevations, on Park row.
Spruce and Nassau streets. This was the most imposing and in all
respects the best equipped newspaper building in the city. Diag-
onally across the corner from the Times Building was the sanctum
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 51
of the Great Abolitionist, Horace Greeley. The Tribune Building
was a low, old-fashioned structure, as were also the other buildings
on this side of the square. On the .opposite corner of Nassau street
stood the American Tract Society's Building, a five-story red bricK
structure. The building occupied by the "Sun" was by long odds tne
best looking on that side of the square. It was the original Tam-
many Hall, and was called "lofty and imposing" at the time when it
was built. On the next corner was the famous old Earle's Hotel,
renowned among newspaper men ; but it had seen its best days. The
Staats Zeitung Building, on Tryon row, was not yet in existence.
On Franklin square, Printing House square's modest rival at the
intersection of Pearl, Frankfort and Cherry streets, were located
Harper's great five-story publishing house and some smaller es-
tablishments.
When the century was still young Cherry, Monroe, Madison
and Henry streets, and the cross streets, Pike, Jefferson, Rut-
gers, Clinton, Montgomery, Gouverneur, Scammel and Jack-
son, constituted the most fashionable residence section. In Catha-
rine street were then the largest dry-goods and millinery stores in
town and naturally it was the centre of the fashionable shopping
trade. Lord & Taylor had their original establishment in this street.
Beyond Grand street, along the East River, was the ship-yard dis-
trict, while between East Broadway and Houston street, clear over
to Chatham street and the Bowery, stretched the dwelling district
of the ship-yard operatives and other mechanical trades. All this had
changed by the year 1865. Although some of the old families still
clung to their former homesteads, the fashionable centre had shifted
long before the war to Stuyvesant square and Second avenue, then
to Washington square and lower Fifth avenue, and in 1865 it was
changing to the vicinity of Fifth avenue, about 42d street. The en-
tire section east of Chatham street, the Bowery, and Third avenue,
except the immediate vicinities of Tompkins and Stuyvesant Parks,
was rapidly filling up with foreigners, the native American citizen-
ship of the provident common class having sought refuge in the
western side of the city, particularly in the districts comprising the
old villages of Greenwich (between Canal and 14th street, west of
52
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 53
Broadway to Houston, and west of Sixth avenue, above Houston)
and Chelsea (between 14th and 34th streets west of Seventh avenue).
The County Court House, at the north end of City Hall Park,
facing Chambers street, was in process of construction, having been
begun in 1861. A. T. Stewart's five-story, white marble, wholesale
dry-goods establishment, on the corner of Broadway and Chambers
street, marked the beginning of the wholesale dry-goods district,
which extended to Canal street along both sides of Broadway, and
in the side streets as far west as West Broadway. There were still
many private residences left in Church and Lispenard streets, but
they were fast disappearing before the onward march of trade. The
New York Life Insurance Company had not yet purchased the
block front between Leonard street and Catherine lane, for the
purpose of erecting the office building recently displaced. When
this and the Park Bank and Equitable Life buildings were com-
pleted Broadway could boast the three most imposing and artistic
office buildings in the country. West of Broadway, in the lower
part of the city, was the machinery district; Barclay, Robinson,
Murray and Warren streets contained the china, crockery, and
glassware trade; and Warren and Chambers streets the saddlery
and hardware trades. The stationery and blank-book trade was
more scattered ; so also the trade in boots and shoes, clothing, straw
goods, rubber goods and notions. West of College place and West
Broadway, the wholesale grocery, wooden and willow-ware, window
glass, wholesale confectionery and provision trades had their hab-
itations. St. John's Park was not yet obliterated to furnish a site
for the Hudson River Railroad Company's freight station.
On the west side of Broadway, between Reade and Duane
streets, was the New York Hospital. The Bloomingdale Insane
Asylum, a branch of this hospital, was located on the Morningside
plateau. The larger retail stores were located on Broadway, be-
tween Canal street and Astor place, but Stewart had already cov-
ered part of the block between Broadway and Fourth avenue, 9th
and 10th streets, with his giant five-story iron front "dry-goods
palace." The Fifth Avenue Hotel, in Fifth avenue, between 23d
and 24th streets, was the first elevator building in the city. It was
54 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
opened in 1859, and was six stories high, the elevator being con-
structed on the principle of a revolving nut or screw. Twenty -
third street was still pre-eminently a residence street.
Factors and Periods of Development*
As already indicated, the local factors of first importance in the
development of real estate during the period under consideration
have been: 1. The extension and improvement of rapid transit facili-
ties, chiefly through the construction of elevated railways. 2.
The adoption or evolution of new types of buildings, and improve-
ments in building methods, such as the introduction of the apart-
ment house, the development of the passenger elevator, and the
adoption of the method of skeleton construction ; in a word, all
agents whatsoever which, working through the builder's craft, have
increased the accommodation obtainable from a given superficial
area. 3. Public improvements.
By the year 1868 these three factors were all present in a more
or less modified form, and were affecting land values by reason of
the expectations created by their prospective development. The
rapid transit problem, much as we know it to-day, was receiving at-
tention. The city, it was felt, had outgrown its existing limits.
It was clearly seen that speedier transportation was a pre-requisite
to further expansion. The Arcade Railroad, the New York Cen-
tral Underground Railroad, the Through-the-block plan, the Swan
three-tier road, the Gilbert Elevated Railway, the Beach Pneu-
matic Transit road, these and other schemes were being advanced
as solutions of the problem. The era of large office buildings had
opened — not, of course, with structures in the style of recent sky-
scrapers, but of the first forerunners of these ; edifices such as
the New York Life Insurance Company's Building, on the corner
of Broadway and Leonard street, the Park Bank Building and
others of similar class. A. T. Stewart, to whose vigorous enter-
prise New York owes its first mammoth store, had already erected
the big emporiums on Broadway, at Chambers and at 10th street.
On the 7th of March, 1868, the Central Park Commissioners filed
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 55
their maps of the lines and grades of the street system of the West
Side. Morningside Park and the Riverside improvements were
drawn plainly enough on the popular map of the city, though they
were not added to the departmental maps until a few years later.
The annexation of the district north of the Harlem was being
talked of. The Brooklyn Bridge was under discussion, though
the bill creating the legal foundations of the structure was not en-
acted for some years. Plans were preparing for the Post Office at
City Hall Park. The press was demanding a radical improvement
of the dock system. Several fire-proof buildings had already been
erected, and the necessity of adopting this kind of construction
in the larger edifices was receiving recognition. The idea of the
apartment house was fermenting in many minds. The passenger
elevator had not, indeed, yet received its final development, and the
skeleton system of construction was lacking. Nevertheless, both
these improvements lay potentially in the new demand for higher
and fire-proof buildings.
In the following pages our concern is with the foregoing local,
as apart from the general conditions that have affected real estate.
However, it is necessary to remember that the opening of the Far
West and the multiplication of railways have in an extraordinary
degree stimulated the commercial and industrial activities of the
city since the war. During that great struggle one million and a
half of men were withdrawn from productive occupations to serve as
soldiers in the Union and Confederate armies. Their place as pro-
ducers was supplied partly by immigration from Europe, but
chiefly by the invention of labor-saving machinery. So great were
the profits of agriculture and so limited the supply of labor that
fortunes were to be made by the invention of improved agricultural
implements, with the result that the mechanical genius of the peo-
ple was stimulated to the utmost. It is estimated that the improved
agricultural machinery of to-day enables one man to do the work
that was performed by twenty at the beginning of the sixties, and
the same holds true of 'other industries. At the close of the war
the productive forces of the country had adjusted themselves to the
abnormal economic distribution of the population. When
56 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the armies were disbanded the Union and Confederate veterans
found their civil occupations for the most part gone. But in 1869
the heart of the continent was pierced by the Union Pacific Rail-
road, and in a few years a network of railways covered the entire
West. The surplus population of the East streamed into the new
country, followed by bands of immigrants from abroad. A remu-
nerative field of labor was open to all who would enter. The Gov-
ernment supplied land at a nominal charge. Western competition
drove the Eastern wheat-grower from his high-priced land to the
factory, while the West furnished, by way of compensation, an
enormously increased market for the manufacturers of the East.
The material progress of the United States between the censuses
of 1870 and 1890 is one of the marvels of history. In the former
year about one-third of the national domain was unsettled. The
Western frontier ran irregularly parallel with the Mississippi
River, but nearer to that stream than the Rocky Mountains. Ex-
cepting certain sections on the Pacific slope and in Utah, Colorado
and Xew Mexico, the Great West was virgin wilderness. Twenty
years later it was a smiling agricultural region covered with thrifty
homesteads and prosperous cities. The population of the United
States had increased sixty-two per cent., while the taxable wealth
of the nation had leaped from $30,068,000,000 to $65,037,000,000,
an advance of 116 per cent. The railway mileage of the country
had been increased 200 per cent, and half a dozen new States had
been created. m
Without attempting to analyze the influence which each local
and general factor has exerted, it may be premised that their total
effect has been to divide the history of real estate since 1868 into
three well-defined periods: 1. The speculative period, from 1868
to 1873. 2. The period of stagnation, from 1874 to 1879. 3- The
period of development, particularly in building improvements,
from 1879 to the present day.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
57
58 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The Speculative Period*
The year 1868 was the first year of the greatest speculative craze
that has so far affected New York real estate. Traced to its pri-
mary source, it was no doubt largely one of the consequences of
the inflati®^ that followed the close of the war, but confining our
attention to local causes it was the direct outcome of large antici-
pations, born of great contemplated improvements in rapid transit,,
and vast promised public works.
As a strict matter of fact, private enterprise was not actually-
making great additions to the rapid transit accommodations of the
city in 1868, though the street railroad lines were rapidly invading:
the great avenues, nor were the municipal authorities actively en-
gaged in pushing many important improvements, but it was set-
tled in everybody's mind that the city was on the eve of witnessing
the commencement of important undertakings from both sources.
The element of speculation is one of the most active forces in pro-
moting real estate operations. It was, therefore, only necessary
for events to be shaping themselves for new developments with
some measure of certainty in order to stimulate the real estate-
market. In 1868 a new rapid transit system seemed to be assured.
The problem apparently had been narrowed to a choice between-
plans. No good reason existed for doubting that before long Har-
lem on both sides of the island would be as near to the City Hall
as 42d street was by means of horse cars and omnibuses. The de-
mand for great city improvements also was at that moment par-
ticularly insistent. The West Side Association was vigorously de-
manding the attention of the authoritites to the reclamation for
building purposes of the province whose destiny it was watching
over. Already, on April 13, 1866, the first act of legislation had
been passed for improvement of the West Side. Riverside Drive,
Morningside Park, the Grand Boulevard, the widening of Broad-
way north of 17th street, the Eastern Boulevard, the opening of
Madison avenue, were all either in contemplation in 1868 or in ac-
tual progress toward completion. We must add to the foregoing
the circumstance that the war was over, the nation was bending
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
59
its energies again to industrial pursuits. Perhaps as early as 1867
the real estate market felt the beginnings of the coming activity,
but it was in 1868 that the boom indubitably manifested itself, and
a year later it was at its height. In June, 1869, it subsided some-
what; there was a decided lull in 1870, but in the spring of 1871
a fresh start was made, which carried the movement along until
the fall of 1873.
The peculiarity of this great speculative craze was that it was
almost entirely restricted to dealing in lots — vacant property — ly-
ing east and west and north of Central Park. On the West Side
in 1868 there were not more than half a dozen modern houses.
Standing at the southwest corner of the park, stretching away to
the northwest over the territory which is to-day the great residen-
tial section of the well-to-do, there was nothing to be seen but a
wilderness of rocks dotted with dilapidated shanties. The region
was almost as wild as at the time when Washington rallied his
forces on the Heights to the north. It was traversed by country-
fied roads ; indeed it was country. Here and there were a few rural
houses and wayside inns, and at Carmansville the pedestrian might
rest himself in a slumbrous little village which betrayed no tokens
of the revolution at hand. On the East Side there was somewhat
more for the visitor to see. Here again we run across the influence
of rapid transit. As early as the fall of 1858, ten years before, the
Second avenue cars were running to 1226. street. The Harlem
Railroad extended to Harlem. With the inconvenience of two
changes the traveler — it was travel in those days — could penetrate
by the Third avenue line as far north as 86th street. And the cars
brought with them population. Residences and stores sprang up
along their routes, and although in 1868 the East Side still wore
a suburban aspect, Third avenue was almost continuously built up
as far north as 86th street, and Second avenue was well lined with
buildings. Of course at Yorkville and Harlem there were older
settlements upon which the longitudinal growth of the city was
encroaching.
The growth of New York beyond the limits of the Colonial city
has been strictly controlled by the nature of the rapid transit fa-
60 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
cilities. The extent of the one has ever marked the boundary of
the other. First of all there was the stage coach era, when after a
loose manner the villages of Greenwich and Chelsea were united.
Then came the omnibus era, when the Wholesale District was con-
fined below Chambers street and the retail stores lined Broadway
as far north as Canal street, and the upper part of the residential
city stretched to 14th street and beyond. The 'bus, however,
failed to extend the town very much further than 23d street. The
horse-car era followed, beginning in 1852, and the northernmost
limit of the city was pushed upward from 23d street to, as the fur-
thermost point, 59th street. Beyond that street it rendered only a
suburban service, but it was a service which, as we have seen, did
a great deal to develop the East Side. On the West Side, in 1858,
the Sixth avenue cars ran to 59th street and the Eighth avenue
cars to 60th street, but the progress of extension to the north was
much slower on that side of the city than on the other. The horse-
car, however, was the first factor that greatly contributed to en-
hance the value of real estate in the region north of 59th street and
in the district immediately south of that street.
We start then with the extension of the horse-car lines north of
59th street and the movement of population that accompanied
them into the upper section of the city. Following, and in great
measure due to these advances, came the cry for extensive public
improvements and the demand for speedy rapid transit lines to the
Harlem. In 1868 both of these were apparently on the point of
being secured. Under these circumstances it was not surprising
that the speculative spirit of the community pictured the great unoc-
cupied waste of land east and west and north of Central Park as
converted within a few years into the finest residential part of the
In 1858 lots on 5th avenue, at 125th street, were worth $1,000; at 124th
street, $800. On 120th, 119th, 118th and 117th streets, east of 5th avenue,
street lots were worth, perhaps, $600, and corner lots $850. At ll(Jth street,
Bleecker & Sons sold a corner lot at $1,500, and inside avenue lots at $1,200.
Street lots adjacent brought about $800. Between 110th and 115th streets,
avenue corners were sold for $1,400 to $1,600; inside lots, $1,025 to $1,115.
Street lots could be purchased for from $385 to $325. This standard of
prices ruled, but increasing with every block southward to 59th street,
around which point avenue lots were worth $5,000 to $7,000. West Side
property at this period received little attention, and there was scarcely any
market for real estate as there was on the East Side.
BUILDING 4ND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6l
city. It was hard to believe that any one could go astray purchas-
ing real estate, and as early as the close of 1867 the multitude com-
menced buying lots. Purchasers scarcely took any thought of
prices and many never saw the lots to which they took title. Noth-
ing at all approaching to business judgment controlled the market.
No one had any real idea of value. Property changed hands
quickly and many of these turn-overs, both on the East and West
Sides, resulted in such dazzling profits that it is little wonder that
the rational business instincts of the community were confounded.
In January, 1869, Sacchi & Burling purchased from C. G. Havens
the block between 70th and 71st streets, Eighth and Ninth avenues,
for $400,000. In the middle of February they resold the same prop-
erty for $505,000. On the other side of the city a plot of lots on
84th street, between Madison and Fifth avenues, was sold four
times in sixty days, the first time at $40,000 and the last time at
$55,000. It was in that year that the first portion of the Dyckman
property on the upper West Side, in the neighborhood of 200th
street, was offered at auction— the first great sale of city property
and the forerunner of the breaking up of the big estates, many of
which dated from Colonial times. It would be impossible to calcu-
late the amount of realty sold during even the first stages of the
boom. It was estimated that in the month of April, 1868, $6,000,-
coo worth of property was sold under the hammer, but not all of
this was up-town real estate, nor even New York City real estate.
E. H. Ludlow & Co., it was reported, sold between the first of
January and the last of June $2,525,125 worth of property; Muller,
Wilkins & Co., $7,212,000, and Homer Morgan (all at private sale)
$7,000,000 worth. A factor that contributed greatly to the activity
at this period was the revival of the contract system, which had
played an important part in the real estate boom in the fifties, and
which received a fatal blow in i860, when property decreased so
suddenly in value at the commencement of the war. By the opera-
tion of this system large tracts of land were secured, usually on
ninety days' contract, by depositing 5 per cent, of the purchase
money. The land thus obtained was mapped out and sold under
hammer at the salesroom. Every artifice of the speculator, indeed,
62 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
we may say of the gambler, was employed. The Exchange rooms,
at No. in Broadway, were constantly thronged. The mock auc-
tion business flourished, and it is estimated that perhaps as much as
two-thirds of the sales reported were bogus.
It deserves to be noted that this increase in real estate values
was not confined to New York, but was very marked in San Fran-
cisco, Chicago, Boston, and elsewhere in 1868. As events have
turned out, much of the property bought then no doubt would
have yielded substantial, and in some cases magnificent profits, had
the purchasers been able to hold on, pay taxes and weather the
inevitable occurrence of hard times. The boom of 1868 and the
following years, however, was not an investors' movement. It
was purely speculative, and even those investors who did partici-
pate in it were not consciously laying out their money for profits
to be secured fifteen or twenty years later. All that was necessary
to prick the boom was the arrival of some circumstance that would
occasion a vigorous scrutiny of the movement. This did not come
until 1873, when the panic, which upset so many solid calculations
in the mercantile world, effaced the very notation of the golden
arithmetic upon which these real estate operations were based. Be-
tween 1868 and 1873 it is safe to estimate that the value of vacant
In the up- town section the following prices were obtained in 1869: 70th
street, west of 8th avenue, about $8,000 per lot; 73d street, west of 2d
avenue, $2,000; 81st street, west of 11th avenue, $4,000; 88th street, east
of 9th avenue, $4,000; 100th street, west of 2d avenue, $4,000; ICOth street,
west of 9th avenue, $3,000; 116th street, west of 2d avenue, $2,600; 125th
street, west of 4th avenue, $4,500; 134th street, east of 5th avenue, $2,500;
on 5th avenue, east side, north of 62d street, two lots sold for $50,000; 5th
avenue, southeast corner of 67th street, six lots, for $120,000; 5th avenue,
northeast corner of 110th street, two lots, for $20,000; 8th avenue, west
side, 27.2 north of 82d street, two lots, $20,000; 9th avenue, northeast corner
70th street, two lots, $14,900; 9th avenue, southeast corner 71st street, two
lots, $15,900; 9th avenue, northwest corner 98th street, two lots, $7,200; 9th
avenue, northeast corner 123d street, four lots, $11,400; 10th avenue, north-
east corner 83d street, two lots, $5,750; 10th avenue, northeast corner 90th
street, one lot, $7,000; 10th avenue, northeast corner 118th street, eight
lots, $22,000; 10th avenue, northeast corner 145th street, nine lots, $25,000;
11th avenue, west side, 25.5 south 69th street, two lots, $6,050; 11th avenue,
southeast corner 145th street, seven lots, $34,000.
In 1870 the subjoined representative sales were made: Boulevard, west
side, 25.8 south 72d street, one lot, $11,500; Boulevard, west side, between
140th and 141st streets, ten lots, $70,( 00; Boulevard, southeast corner 141st
street, two lots, $5,300; Boulevard, northeast corner 147th street, five lots,
$19,000; 60th street, north side, 40 east of 4th avenue, eight lots, $95,200;
S5th street, north side, 173 east of Avenue A, four lots, $6,500; 85th street,
north side, 100 east 9th avenue, six lots, $30,000; 86th street, north ssde.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK 63
property north of 59th street seemingly increased fully 200 per
cent., and in many cases 300 or 400 per cent.
The speculation which raged north of 59th street was not by any
means so intense south of that thoroughfare, although there was
a brisk demand for property in the immediate neighborhood of
59th street. In the lower sections of the city, activity manifested
itself chiefly in the shape of building operations and in the trans-
formation of the older residential sections to the purposes of trade.
Indeed, in 1868 an important up-town movement was well under
way. The retail business was in progress of transference from a
centre which may be placed, approximately, considerably south of
14th street to a centre near to 23d street. The movement
was similar to the shifting which we are witnessing to-day
to 42d street. As to the choice residential region of the city,
it had already, some years before, commenced to move
tip-town into the streets between the 30th and 50th par-
allels. Fourteenth street was still a street of private boarding
houses and Union and Madison squares were occupied
chiefly by dwellings. Invasion by the storekeeper, however, had
already produced marked effects upon the character of this district.
A. T. Stewart, as we have seen, was in 1868 just completing his
mammoth store at Broadway and TOth street. The old Peter Loril-
325 west of 3d avenue, one lot, $9,000; 111th street, south side, 80 west of
4th avenue, two lots, $3,100; 115th street, south side, 270 west of 3d avenue.
five lots, $14,000; 118th street, south side, 285 west 5th avenue, six lots,
SI 5,000; 125th street, north side, 260 east of 3d avenue, two lots, $7,000;
127th street, north side, 250 east of 7th avenue, two lots, $0,000; 135th
street, south side, 185 west 5th avenue, two lots, $0,000; 140th street, north
side, 250 east 11th avenue, two lots, $9,500; Avenue A, northeast corner
85th street, five lots, $14,425; Madison avenue, northeast corner 77th street,
five lots, $62,000; 2d and 3d avenues, 101st and 102d streets, the block,
about fifty- two lots, $80,000; 2d avenue, southwest corner 105th street; four
lots, $12,000; 3d avenue, southeast corner 75th street, twelve lots, $68,000;
3d avenue, northwest corner 84th street, six lots, $70,0C0; 4th avenue,
northwest corner 76th street, three lots, $18,000; 4th avenue, west side,
100.10 north 110th street, two lots, $2,600; 5th avenue, east side, 50.5 south
63d street, two lots, $70,000; 5th avenue, northeast corner 65th street, three
lots, $87,500; 5th avenue, east side, 50.5 north 67th street, one lot, $32,500;
5th avenue, east side, 52.2 south 84th street, two lots, $40,000; 5th avenue,
southeast corner 97th street, five lots, $35,000; 8th avenue, west side, 15.5
south 71st street, two lots, $30,000; 9th avenue, northwest corner 100th
street, four lots, $14,250; 9th avenue, northwest corner 208th street, eight
lots, $2,780; 10th avenue, northeast corner 106th street, nine lots, $40,000;
10th avenue, southwest corner 121st street, four lots, $14,000; 10th avenue,
southeast corner 211th street, four lots, $2,200; 11th avenue, southeast cor-
ner 97th street, five lots, $14,000.
64 A. HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
lard residence, on the northwest corner of Broadway and ioth
street, was being converted into stores. Lake & McCreary in that
year purchased the corner of Broadway and nth street, opposite
Grace Church, for business purposes. Arnold, Constable & Co.
had begun to build at the southwest corner of 19th street and
Broadway. These were the chief of the advance guard. The new
Tammany Hall had been recently completed. Plans had been filed
for five stores on the northwest corner of 18th street and Broad-
way, also for the Grand Hotel, southeast corner of Broadway and
31st street, which was to cost $250,000. The Young Men's Chris-
tian Association Building, at Fourth avenue and 23d street, was
under way. In 1870 the Park Hotel, not then intended for a cara-
vansary, was built; Lord & Taylor's Broadway store was in the
course of erection ; Tiffany's iron building was erecting ; the Ma-
sonic Temple on 23d street had been commenced ; likewise Bry-
ant's new Opera House (later Koster & Bial's) on the same street
west of Sixth avenue. The Gilsey House had been started. Much
building, though not of a commercial character, had been clone
(about 1870) between 32d and 52d streets, Fifth and Lexington
avenues. The Church of the Messiah, No. 61 East 34th street, was
completed, so were the Astor houses on Madison avenue, 34th and
35th streets, and the Hospital for the Lame and Crippled, Lexing-
ton avenue and 37th street. The Church of the Covenant, on the
northwest corner of Park avenue and 35th street, and a fine resi-
dence on the southwest corner of Park avenue and 39th street,
from designs by the architects Remvick and Sands, were building.
The Grand Central Depot was under construction. St. Bartholo-
mew's Episcopal Church, on the southwest corner of 44th street
and Madison avenue, was commenced, also the Collegiate Re-
formed Episcopal Church, on 48th street and Madison avenue, and
the Presbyterian Church on the same avenue at 53d street. The
foregoing facts serve to indicate the character of the work and de-
velopment that was in progress in the district we are speaking of.
It was plain New York was moving up into the central part of the
island. The city had quite outgrown the old limits. Expansion
was a necessity. Schemes were on foot for relieving the pressure
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6.5
of traffic on Broadway by means of thoroughfares on the East
Side. The proposition for widening Broadway north of 17th
street was under active discussion. People were debating between
the extension of Centre street northward to 4th street, bending at
4th street into a crescent to meet Third or Fourth avenues, and the
proposition to widen Elm street. The opening of Madison avenue
north of Madison square was also on the card. Indeed, it was in
February, 1868, that the opening of that avenue from 86th street
to 1 20th street was ordered. *
In 1 872, in the new fashionable district which was creating within
the area roughly bounded by 42d and 59th streets, Madison and
Sixth avenues, there were 200 costly buildings in the course of
erection. It was an era of high prices, due to paper money, and
the extravagant cost of building will be sufficiently indicated by
the following table:
Mechanics' wages for day of 8 hours. . $5 to $8.
Labor wages $2.75 to $3.25.
Hard Bricks $14 to $18 per thousand.
Cement $2 to $2.25 per barrel.
Lime $1.50 to $1.75.
Timber $25 to $30 per 1,000.
Georgia Pine $50 to $60.
*As to the value of property in this central district, the following- tran-
script from the official conveyances will serve as indications: Four lots,
northwest corner of 7th avenue and 39th street, sold in 1868 for $38,0CC,
105 Waverley place, 25x105, brought $24,000; the southwest corner of Mad-
ison avenue and 45th street was purchased for $18,000; the west side of
Broadway, 25.7 north 49th street, 50x99, was sold for $32,500; 23d street,
south side, 161 west of 5th avenue, 20x98.9, sold for $55,000, and 399 6th
avenue, 20x100, for $28,400. John Hoey purchased the southwest corner of
5th avenue and 22d street for $115,000. Broadway, northwest corner 11th
street, 76.7x196.7x23.1x178, was sold for $321,000; Broadway, southwest
corner 19th street, 82x171, for $375,000; Broadway, west side, 25.7 north
49th street, two lots, for $32,500; Lexington avenue, northeast corner 46th
street, five lots for $31,000; Madison avenue, northeast corner 34th street,
four lots for $55,000; 1st avenue, northeast corner 47th street, six lots for
$35,000; 4th avenue, west side, 98.9 north 38th street, four lots for $61,000;
6th avenue, northeast corner 23d street, 98x141, the plot, $340,000; 7th ave-
nue, northwest corner 39th street, four lots, $38,000. A year later, in 1869,
38th street, south side, 100 east 11th avenue, three lots were sold for $8,500;
43d street, north side, 125 east of Lexington avenue, two lots for $15,000;
44th street, south side, 275 east 11th avenue, two lots for $4,000; 46th street,
north side, 200 west 9th avenue, three lots for $12,000; 4th avenue, south-
west corner 36th street, four lots for $75,000.
5
66 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
It remains only to be said that in the early seventies the apart-
ment house or French flat was introduced. The Stuyvesant in
1 8th street, between Third avenue and Irving place, from designs
made by Mr. Richard M. Hunt, was the first of the class, and it
was followed shortly by the Haight houses at the corner of Fifth
avenue and 15th street. The Albany, the Saratoga, the Knicker-
bocker, the Florence, the Osborne do not belong to this period.
Although the first apartment buildings were said to have been,
financially, very successful — as much as 30 per cent., it was re-
ported, having been made in some instances in the first four years
— the new idea at the beginning was not popular. It was even op-
posed, and not for some years, until after 1873, did the public take
kindly to what is now one of the chief institutions of the
metropolis.
The only part of the city that remains to be considered is the
down-town wholesale district. We have already indicated that in
1868 it was the seat of important building operations which within
a few years revolutionized the character of this, the oldest portion
of the metropolis, and greatly multipled the productiveness of its
real estate. Indeed, within this district the builder has always been
the most important factor in enhancing the value of real estate.
Improvements in rapid transit, of course, have not been without
effect there, but they have worked indirectly by aiding the con-
version of the district to business purposes. The depopulation of
this section has been slow but continual during the past thirty
years. In 1868 the residents of the First, Second, Third and Fifth
wards numbered 47,392, whereas in 1895 the population was only
28,163 (police census), in spite of the great growth of the city else-
where and the denser peopling of the isolated residential spots that
remain in these lower wards resulting from the introduction of the
tenement house system. In 1868 the work of replacing the older
office buildings, which were really little more than private houses
on a large scale, by modern specialized structures had commenced,
and it is curious to note that the newspapers were among the first
innovators in this movement as they have been more recently in
the erection of the tower-like sky-scrapers. The "Times, " as far
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 67
back as 1859, had erected its once familiar headquarters, since re-
placed by the present Romanesque structure, and in 1868 Oswald
Ottendorfer purchased for $250,000 the corner on Chatham street
and Tryon row, on which to build the new building for the "Staats
Zeitung." In 1866 the "Herald" put up its old building, on the
corner of Ann street and Broadway ; and in 1873 the "Tribune" led
the way to still higher altitudes than had been reached by any other
building with the edifice in which it is at present housed. We have
already spoken of the Park Bank Building, the New York Life In-
surance Co.'s Building, the Equitable Life Assurance Society's
Building, all under way in 1868. The generation that witnessed the
erection of these structures regarded them as enterprises of start-
ling extravagance.
The wholesale dry goods district at this time extended to Canal
street ; and the erection of warehouses was beginning to disturb the
peace which had hitherto prevailed among the dwellings on Lispe-
nard and Church streets. Broome street, near Greene street, was
also then invaded by the growing commercial necessities of the
city. The extent of building operations in this district is shown
in the fact that in June, 1868, $3,345,000 worth of new buildings
were in progress on Broadway alone, south of 14th street.
Our review of the city is now complete, and we come to the dark
clays of 1873, when the nation entered the wilderness of low prices
and financial depression, whence it did not emerge until 1879. ^
is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that all departments of
industry suffered during these times, and real estate fared no worse
than did other commodities. Indeed, it suffered less than some.
Property down town changed hands infrequently then as now. The fol-
lowing transactions come from the records for the years 1868, 1869, 1870
and 1871, and serve to give the reader an idea of the range of values:
Broadway, No. 153, sold for $50,000; Nassau street, northeast corner of
Pine street, 76.11x71.7x81.3x70.5, the plot, for $470,000; Nassau street,
southeast corner of Cedar street, 73.1x71.7x65.7x73.3, the plot, for $500,000;
Bowery, No. 179, 25.3x104, International Insurance Co., with building, $165,-
000; Broadway, No. 294, 24x130, to George Sloane, with building, $150,000;
Broadway, northwest corner Washington place, the New York Hotel, the
plot, with building, $1,095,000 (sold since practically for land alone, for
$1,300,000) ; Broadway, northeast corner 21st street, four lots with buildings,
to Wm. M. Tweed, $600,000; Pine street, No. 11, 23.9x73.9, March 10, 1871,
$65,800; No. 58 Pine street, John P. Coffin to Cornelius Bogert, $25,000;
Reade street, Nos. 137 and 139, 50x75, $24,000; No. 55 Ann street, $22,700:
316 Broome street, $12,000.
68
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The sad auditing of extravagances, inflation, wild speculation, un-
sound economic practices began with the failure of Jay, Cooke &
Co., on September 18, 1873. The height of the acute stage of panic
was reached on the 20th, when the Union Trust Co. suspended and
the Stock Exchange closed its doors. The duration of the panic
was about one month, and, as is usually the case, securities felt
the shock first, then general business, and, last of all, real estate.
Indeed, it was not until the fall of 1874 that the process of liquida-
tion actually began in real estate. However, the process, once
started, was a long one; it continued for fully three years. Nat-
urally the inflation of values north of 59th street was pricked in an
instant. The equities of thousands of property owners were wiped
out as with a sponge. But the destructive process did not stop with
the obliteration of the purely fictitious. The decline wrought
havoc with legitimate values. All property suffered — suffered se-
verely. For a time there was really no market by which one
could discover the plane of prices. Everything that was sold was
slaughtered, and, in a multitude of cases, selling was merely the
process by which the mortgagee gathered up the remnants of what
was left. It is estimated that fully one-half of the speculative build-
ers, who were so busy in 1872, disappeared, and their exit from the
field with the lot speculators was followed by a perfect avalanche
of foreclosure sales, or rather, we should say, of foreclosure pro-
ceedings, which went by the name of sales. Below are the statis-
tics of these transactions:
1 87 1 total foreclosures from Jan.
1 to Dec. 31
... 674
1872, "
"
. . . . 1,012
1873, "
u
. ... 1,152
1874, "
a
... 1,521
187S, "
ii
... 1,744
1876, "
"
••• 2,533
1877, "
ii
... 2,259
1878, "
((
... 2,378
1879, "
**
•-• 1,513
It might be thought that with the merest indication of the actual
state of affairs the whole situation would be apparent to everybody.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 69
Yet, astonishing as it may seem, it must be recorded that so cor-
rupted was the commercial judgment of people that in face of the
disaster overwhelming them they did not at first recognize the
real nature of their position. It will be remembered that in the
midst of the panic Secretary Richardson, at Washington, inaugu-
rated another inflation movement which had a short duration of
about nine months. Incomprehensible as it may seem, while it
lasted, real estate operations actually were renewed on almost as
extravagant values as those prevailing before the crash. A demand
for realty rose in the spring of 1874 which almost equalled the ex-
traordinary activity of the spring and fall of 1868. Grant's famous
veto put a stop to the insanity, and then the long period of depres-
sion and stagnation began in earnest.
The Period of Stagnation*
The second stage of our history is now reached. Roughly
speaking, it comprises the years 1874 to 1879 inclusive. As to the
causes that produced and intensified the panic of '73 and the
stagnation that followed they undoubtedly were: An inflated and ir-
redeemable currency, delay in providing the city with adequate rapid
transit facilities, extravagances in building, abuses of the building
loan system, an abnormal condition of labor, dishonest and incom-
petent administration of the city government under the Tweed reg-
ime, the large amount of trading done upon inadequate capital.
In proceeding to a discussion of the factors that slowly made
themselves felt in the production of better times, the first that has
to be set forth is this — the destruction of values that resulted from
the panic was, with an immense amount of realty, excessive. This
imparted a certain latent strength to the situation. Of course so
long as the downward pressure was exerted to the utmost, this
could not be manifested, but the strain once removed, rebound was
inevitable. It was long, however, before the market received any
visible advantage from its latent strength.
Another circumstance that aided the market, though it operated
very slowly, was the vast accumulation of funds in the vaults of
m
70 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the banks and other financial institutions. True, for a long time
this sequestered capital was very zealously guarded, and far from
supporting or promoting ordinary operations was as good as non-
existent. Owners would neither lend nor use it. But there it was ;
and locked up money, like a dammed stream, exerts a continual
pressure against its restraints. It percolates and leaks through the
smallest fissure and continual accumulations inevitably result in
an overflow. Thus, while the locking up of money assisted greatly
in depressing values and even in lowering prices beyond the war-
rant of facts, it created opportunities for investment and profit
which in the end proved too attractive to be resisted. As early as
1876, one by one, here and there, capitalists began to pick up the
bargains in real estate obtainable in every class of property in every
part of the city. The big companies, the wealthier house buyers
entered the market and the slow process of absorbing the surplus
stock of houses and buildings commenced. The builders and pro-
fessional speculators took no part in this movement. It was quite
beyond their power to do so. In 1874 there was a complete ces-
sation of building operations in the new fashionable residential dis-
trict between 426. and 59th streets, Madison and Sixth avenues. The
panic found scores of houses there tenantless, and prices fell so that
by 1876 first-class residences which could not be purchased for
less than $85,000 in 1873 could readily be acquired for $60,000.
A great deal of this decline was legitimate enough, due to the fall
in wages and materials. Dwellings that cost $50,000 merely to put
up in 1873 could in 1876 be easily duplicated for $35,000. We have
already given a table showing the cost of wages and materials in
the former year. It will be interesting to present here for the sake
of comparison a similar table for the latter year:
Mechanics' wages (10 hours a day in place
of 8 as formerly) $2
Laborers' wages (do) 75c. to $1.
Hard bricks $6 per thousand
Cement $1 to $1.25 per barrel.
Lime 75c. to $1 per barrel.
Lumber $15 per thousand.
Georgia pine $16 to $18.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 71
After the panic the first houses to find purchasers were the cost-
liest. We have said that in 1872 there were 200 of these in the
course of erection in the fashionable district. One by one they
were taken off the market at prices that were ruinous to builders,
so that at the beginning of 1876 there were only thirty-eight of
these (and the few others that had been built in the meantime) re-
maining unsold. Purchasers of medium-priced dwellings were
almost entirely absent from the market at first, but after a time
they too came following in the wake of the richer investors. By
1877 the effect of this slow absorption was visible, the supply of
buildings was far below the average. Concurrent with this process
went similarly great transactions in lots.
In the fashionable district there were about three hundred and
fifty vacant lots when the panic arrived. Many of these passed
slowly into the hands of wealthy purchasers and a few strong, con-
servative builders. Millionaires like Wm. Rockefeller, Bostwick
and Stevens began building on upper Fifth avenue, near the Park,
and by the 1st of January, 1877, extensive operations were in prog-
ress in the 50th streets, between Fifth avenue and Fourth avenue,
conducted by builders Duggin & Crossman, O'Reilly, Rathbone,
Byrnes, Hamilton, Bradley & Co., McManus, Phyfe, Lynch and
others ; indeed, it is to be noted that it was about this time that
the limits of the seat of building operations were extended several
blocks northward on the East Side above 59th street. It thus hap-
pened that there were appearances of something like prosperity
in this part of the city. Lots above 59th street, east of the Park,
the district which, as we shall find, was to engage the builders' at-
tention until the next decade, had declined enormously in value.
Choice lots that brought $35,000 in the days of the inflation were
selling for $11,500, and somewhat less desirable lots for $6,000 to
$8,000. Avenue lots, opposite the Park, that sold in speculative
times, corners for $100,000, inside lots for $75,000, could be bought
for $40,000 and $25,000. These figures give a good idea of the in-
tensity of the slump that followed the panic.
While these improvements were slowly making themselves visi-
ble in the northeast, large capitalists were contributing: immensely
J2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
to strengthen the situation down town and elsewhere. The West-
ern Union Headquarters, the 'Tribune" Building, the American
News Company's Building on Chambers street (the site of the old
Burton's Theatre, for which the present proprietors paid $180,000),
the Jefferson Market Police Court, the Bennett Building, Fulton
and Ann; Booth's Theatre, the Domestic Sewing Machine Com-
pany's Building, on Union square ; Chickering Hall, the Church of
the Paulist Fathers and others, were commenced. Moreover, the
early years following the panic witnessed the actual introduction
into New York of the apartment house as we know it to-day. We
have already alluded to the first enterprises with this class of build-
ings and have pointed out that though they encountered a great
deal of adverse criticism on the score of intruding an element of
publicity into home life, they evidently satisfied the requirements of
many persons. Financial success not only prompted investors and
builders to erect others, but to set about to develop this new type
of residence. Between 1873 and 1879 tne apartment house was
thoroughly naturalized or localized in New York. The most im-
portant of these buildings then erected were the Knickerbocker, on
the southwest corner of Fifth avenue and 14th street, on the site
of the old residence of Myndert Van Schaick ; the Berkeley, on
Fifth avenue and 9th, built by the Rhinelander estate on land that
had remained long vacant ; the Albany, the Saratoga, the Stevens,
and in June, 1876, the Osborne, due to the enterprise of Duggin &
Crossman. In 1877 the Bradley apartment houses on 59th street,
between Fifth and Sixth avenues, were commenced.
The buying and building of this period was mostly in strong
hands. In November, 1876, Joseph Harper bought the dwelling
on the corner of Fifth avenue (No. 562) and 46th street, for $82,500;
the southeast corner of Fifth avenue and 29th street was sold for
$120,000; in 1877 W. H. Vanderbilt acquired No. 691 Fifth avenue,
between Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth streets, from Stephen U. Cad-
well, who gave $70,000 for the property; Nos. 87 and 89 Wall
street were purchased by George W Denton for $110,250; No. 599
Fifth avenue sold for $72,750; D. H. McAlpine acquired No. 373
Broadway, 24.10x150, for $125,000; the Queen Insurance Com-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 73
pany began their building at Nos. 37 and 39 Wall street; August
Belmont bought the block between St. Nicholas and Seventh ave-
nues, 112th and 113th streets, for $50,000; the iron store building
at Nos. 5, 7 and 9 Union square (destroyed by fire in 1876 and re-
cently replaced by the Spingler Building), to cost $110,000, was
commenced, so was the office building at No. 43 Wall street, the
estimated cost of which was $125,000. The Lorillard, Wolf, Rhine-
lander and Roosevelt estates made extensive improvements upon
their several properties. The Roosevelt estate erected on the site
of the old homestead, on Broadway, near 13th street, the store now
occupied by Mitchell, Vance & Co. The Ottendorfer building,
on Fourth avenue and 26th street, 'The Bella," was started, so
were structures by Mr. Little, at Union square and 17th street,
by Matthews, at Fourth avenue and 18th street. Altman's store,
on Sixth avenue and 18th street, was commenced in 1877, and
down town, on the block bounded by Worth, Elm, Pearl and
Broadway, the ancient and dilapidated rookeries that stood there
were replaced by modern business buildings. Many improvements
at the lower part of Wooster street were begun. The work of
The following representative sales show the range of prices that obtained
for vacant lots (the asterisk denotes building loan transactions):
Fifth Avenue.— Conveyances were extremely limited on the avenue after
the panic. In the spring of 1875 Duggin & Crossman bought of W. S.
Gurnee 40 feet front on the block between 47th and 48th streets, at the
rate of $45,000 for a full lot. A year subsequently Wm. Rockefeller pur-
chased of Jacob Vanderpool the full lot on the northeast corner of 54th
street and 5th avenue, for $50,000. About a year later Edward Silleck pur-
chased of C. & R. Poillon a full lot in middle of block, between 52d and 53d
streets, next adjoining the Osborne House, for $35,000. Some element of
trade is supposed to have entered into this valuation.
Madison Avenue. — Conveyances were numerous and noteworthy, although
the avenue seemed threatened with a total and fatal eclipse after the estab-
lishing of the horse-car route through its entire length. The prejudice
against this intrusion gradually wore away, and the brilliant success of a
firm of builders in disposing in the spring of a whole block of houses on
this avenue immediately on completion encouraged other projections. Cash
transactions indicate prices ranging from $12,000 to $15,000 per lot, includ-
ing corners: Between 44th and 45th streets, Livingston to Duggin, 2 lots,
$14,250 each;* between 45th and 46th streets, Hemenway to Bellman, 10
lots, $19,800 each; southwest corner 54th street, Connell estate to Dinkle-
spiel, 4 1-5 lots, $15,000 each; southwest corner 54th street, Dinklespiel to
Hennessy, 4% lots, $16,250 each;* southeast corner 55th street, Barnum to
Duggin, 3 lots, $12,000 each; northeast corner 55th street, Jones estate to
Episcopal Church, 3 lots, $15,000 each; southeast corner 56th street, Jones
estate to Duggin, 5 lots, $13,000 each.
The bulk of the transactions in lots occurred on the side streets as the
most popular and salable property when improved, the lots, besides, admit-
74 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
modernizing the older buildings on 14th street was carried along.
Clearly these transactions indicate very substantial progress.
Yet the market continued dull, foreclosures were numerous, specu-
lation was dead, rents were low — only half of what they had been —
the long process of liquidation was not complete. General busi-
ness, however, throughout the country was picking up slowly, the
mercantile world was emerging from the woods. There was a
plethora of money in the banks, and one of the beneficial results of
this was felt in 1876 when the rate of interest upon mortgage loans
was reduced from 7 to 6 per cent, and 5 per cent, for gilt-edge se-
curity. Funds could then be obtained freely for first-class opera-
tions, and in a short time this favorable circumstance began to
stimulate building. The building loan operator entered the field
with activity at this period, so that in July, 1877, of 500 dwellings
then in course of construction by builders only seventeen had been
started without the assistance of a loan.
In 1878 we touch a decided activity in building; indeed, the tone
of the entire real estate market had improved considerably. Dur-
ing 1877 m^ny large investments for improvements, including the
ting of more economical and judicious treatment in building. The prices
in strictly cash transactions indicate a range of from $11,250 to $14,500.
The purchase of two lots on 58th street, opposite the Plaza, for $20,000 each,
made at this time by Bryan McKenna, is exceptional in price and location;
*53d street, between Madison and 4th avenues, Lowe to Darragh, 7 lots,
$15,000 each; 54th street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Dinklespiel, pur-
chaser, 7 lots, $12,250 each; *54th street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Din-
kelspiel to Lynd, 7 lots, $14,000 each; 55th street, between Madison and 5th
avenues, Jones estate to Ely, 2 lots, $14,500 each; 56th street, between
Madison and 5th avenues, Jones estate to Smith, 6 lots, $13,000 each; *56th
street, between Madison and 5th avenues, Smith to Lynd, 6 lots, $14,500
each; 56th street, between Madison and 4th avenues, Jones estate to Webb,
1 3-5 lots, $11,250 each; 57th street, between Madison and 4th avenues,
Stewart to Duggin, 7 lots, $14,000 each; *57th street, between 5th and 6th
avenues, Einstein to Sullivan, 2 lots, $25,000 each; 58th street, between 5th
and 6th avenues, Ferris estate to Smith, 9 lots, $12,500 each; *58th street,
between 5th and 6th avenues, Smith to McManus, 9 lots, $16,000 each; *58th
street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Morton to McKenna, 3 lots, $16,000
each; 58th street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Smith to Dowdney, 2 lots,
$12,000 each; *58th street, between 5th and 6th avenues, Marsh to Mc-
Kenna, 2 lots, $20,000 each.
The subjoined table shows the range of prices in respect to improved
property :
Fifth Avenue. — The -sales on this avenue were so few as to afford little
variety of quotation: Southwest corner 44th street, Brokaw purchaser, 28x
125, 4-story brownstone, $115,000; between 47th and 48th streets, east side,
Duggin seller, 2 each 18x65x100, 4-story brownstone, $52,500 and $60,000;'
between 48th and 49th streets, east side, Brokaw purchaser, 27x70x100,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
75
purchase by David McAlpin of the Sweeny block, on Broadway,
between 33d and 34th streets, had been made, and at this time the
transaction was consummated which was in a sense the turning
point of the destiny of the West Side. Edward Clark purchased the
block of thirty lots on Eighth avenue, between 72d and 73d streets,
and the adjacent block of twenty-eight lots on Ninth avenue.
During the years of depression the West Side has been in a large
measure neglected. Of building operations there were none. All
the great public plans for improvements which had an effect so
stimulating during the years of the boom were allowed to lie dor-
mant ; and to such a low point had the fortunes of real estate in this
district fallen that even the street openings and the other few simi-
lar betterments ordered from time to time were so great a burden
that property-owners appealed to Mayor Ely for relief. The
value of lots, of course, had fallen immensely. Good street lots
could be obtained for from $2,000 to $3,000 ; Ninth and Tenth ave-
nue lots for from $4,000 to $5,000; Eighth avenue lots that prior to
1873 nac* commanded such exorbitant figures were now on the
market for prices ranging from $7,000 to $15,000, according to
location. Undoubtedly, the reaction carried prices below the in-
4-story house, $72,500; between 49th and 50th streets, west side, Duggin
seller, 15x125, leasehold, $32,500; between 50th and 51st streets, west side,
Labau purchaser, 25x60x125, leasehold, $65,000.
Madison Avenue. — Sales principally confined to houses of the Duggin &
Crossman make, of such original and peculiar construction as hardly to
furnish a general standard: Between 44th and 45th streets, east side, Wain-
wright purchaser, 25x60x100, 4-story, brownstone, $32,500; between 53d and
54th streets, east side, Hamilton seller, 2 each, 20x65x85, 4-story, brown-
stone, $30,000; between 55th and 56th streets, east side, Duggin seller, 18x
60x100, 4-story, brownstone, $26,000; between 55th and 56th streets, east
side, Duggin seller, 32x48x60, 4-story, brick, $35,000; southeast corner 56th
street, east side, Duggin seller, 25x50x60, 4-story, brick, $33,000.
Side Streets.— The greatest variety of sales and the most intelligible stan-
dard of values were to be found on the side streets. By the transactions re-
ported we seem warranted in quoting these assorted values, the locations
and qualities of buildings being technically first-class. For a 16 or 17-foot
front house and lot, $24,000 to $25,000; for a 20-foot, $28,000 to $32,500; for
a 22-foot, $32,500 to $35,000; for a 25-foot, $40,000 to $45,000. 43d street.
5th and Madison avenues, Lustig seller, 16.8x60x100, $25,000; 46th street,
5th and 6th avenues, unknown seller, 20x50x100, $24,000; 49th street, 5th
and 6th avenues, McCafferty seller, 16x60x100, $24,000; 54th street, 5th and
6th avenues, Bradley seller, 16.8x65x100, $24,000; 54th street, 5th and 6th
avenues, Lynd seller, 2 each, 20x65x100, each $32,000; 54th street, 5th and
6th avenues, Lynd seller, 23x65x100, $35,000; 58th street, 5th and 6th ave-
nues, McManus seller, 20x50x100, $28,000 and $32,000; 58th street, 5th and
6th avenues, McKenna seller, 3 each, 25x75x100, each $44,000; 52d street,
5th and 6th avenues, Union Dime seller, 25x70x100, $44,500.
£042 7$
76 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
trinsic worth of property, and during 1876 and 1877 some capital
was put into West Side realty, just as it was going, but in much
larger amounts into the East Side property. During the hard
times many large blocks of property were sold at auction. In July,
1876, thirty-three lots between Riverside and Eleventh avenues,
90th and 91st streets, were put under the hammer and fetched $75,-
850, or $2,298.50 per lot. This property had been owned by Cyrus
Clark for about ten years. The Furniss property was also sold.
On May 17, 1877, the Morris estate sale was held of lots on Grand
Boulevard and I52d street. In the heart of what was then Car-
mansville, at I22d and 123d streets, close to Morningside Park,
twenty-three lots on the latter street brought $16,245, the lots
on I22d street selling for $625 to $720 each, and the 123d street lots
at $565 each. For the purpose of contrast it is interesting to note
that in April, 1873, before the panic, four lots on the south side of
I22d street, 200 feet west of Tenth avenue, directly opposite the
Morris lots, sold under foreclosure for $3,400 each. We have al-
ready spoken of the block August Belmont purchased, between St.
Nicholas and Seventh avenues, 112th and 113th streets, for $50,000.
This purchase was made May, 1877. The auction sales of large
blocks of property throughout these years were numerous, but as
an offset it must be remembered that many of the sales that os-
tensibly were bona fide were really bogus.
The Period of Development, 1879 to Date*
The year 1879 brings us to the close of the period of stagnation..
We have enumerated above some of the factors that aided in bring-
ing about better times for real estate, but there are others now to
be mentioned. The country had not only quite recovered from the
depression produced by the panic, but by readjustment of its af-
fairs and the enforced economy incident to dull times had acquired
a large fund of capital and confidence. In 1879 New York real
estate first began distinctly to feel the improved conditions. Prices
were still low and money was cheap and abundant, population
had greatly increased and was pressing somewhat upon the domi-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. yy
ciliary and mercantile accommodations of the city. Besides, taxes*
had been reduced from the extravagant limits that prevailed in
1873, and what is of still greater importance the elevated railroads
were beginning to perform a service for the metropolis which gave
them the first place among the rapid transit facilities of the city.
As to the elevated roads, they played so important a part, one
might almost say the capital part, in the revived activity in real
estate during 1879-80 and the years following that it will not be out
of place to set down here the chief points in the history of the ex-
tension and development of this system. We have already referred
to the fact that among the plans that were before the people in 1868
for improved rapid transit was one for an elevated road system.
Indeed, as early as July 1, 1867, an experimental section of ele-
vated structure was commenced on Greenwich street, from Bat-
tery place to Cortlandt street, and was completed May 10, 1868.
A single car was then run between these two points, no fare being
charged, this fragment of the system having been constructed
simply to demonstrate the feasibility of the new method of locomo-
tion. It cannot truthfully be said that the device captured at first
either the imagination or the favor of the public. On the contrary,
it was much frowned upon by them as a disfigurement to the streets
of the city, and engineers and railroad men increased the popular
disfavor by pronouncing the scheme to be decidedly chimerical
and foolhardy. Indeed, of all the projects before the city in 1868,
perhaps there was none to which New York seemed less commit-
ted than the elevated roads. The system, however, possessed that
*The following- table exhibits the reductions made in the charges upon real
estate:
Mortgages. Assessm'ts
Estimated Street
Yield Openings Croton
of their and Im- Annual Water
Taxation, provem'ts. Taxes. Totals. Taxes.
1869 $1,500,000 $4,402,690 $15,509,245 $21,441,935 $1,266,520
1870 1,500,000 5,715,064 16,699,531 23,914,595 1,322,801
1871 2,500,000 5,944,057 16,698,840 25,142,897 1,304,163
1872 2,500,000 1,647,894 23,129,137 27,277,031 1,388,709
1873 3,000,000 10,291,915 20,919,822 34,211,737 1,338,092
1874 3,000,000 3,625,006 24,683,343 31,308,349 1,419,423
1875 1,500,000 5,162,018 25,979,120 32,641,138 1,377,561
1876 1,500,000 4,756,337 24,987,988 31,244,325 1,350,000
1877. 1,000,000 2,777,242 23,719,194 27,496,436 1,428,659
1878 1,000,000 1,569,239 22,964,902 25,534,141 1,546,301
78 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Caliban quality, cheapness, which has forced the elevated roads,
one after another, into the streets and avenues of New York until
the usurpation furnishes a unique example of civic prostitution of
appearances to utility. The experimental line was slowly contin-
ued north of Cortlandt until on February 14, 1870, it was com-
pleted to 31st street and Ninth avenue. At first the road to this
point was operated by an endless chain system driven by stationary
engines placed underground. This method of traction proved a
failure and the service was irregular and intermittent until April 20,
1871, on which date one dummy engine and three cars were placed
on the line and run between Dey and 29th streets — the only two
stations then existing. On January 4, 1873, extensions and repairs
having been completed, the line was opened southward to No. 7
Broadway, at which point another station was established. Fur-
ther extensions of the Ninth avenue line followed slowly in the fol-
lowing order: July 30, 1873, to 34tn street and Ninth avenue; No-
vember* 6, 1875, to 42d street and Ninth avenue; July 18, 1876, to
59th street and Ninth avenue; April 15, 1877, to South Ferry. On
June 9, 1879, the main line double track was extended from 59th
street and Ninth avenue to 83d street and Ninth avenue and opened
for business with stations at 72d and 81 st streets. The Ninth avenue
division was operated at first until May 2, 1880, as a single line
road with turn-outs. It was then entirely rebuilt and opened as a
double track system.
The Sixth avenue line from Morris street to 59th street and
Sixth avenue was opened June 5, 1878, and additions in the follow-
ing order: Fifty-third street and Sixth avenue to 53d street and
Eighth avenue, February 25, 1879; 53^ street and Eighth avenue
to 81st street and Ninth avenue, June 9, 1879; ^Ist street and
Ninth avenue to 104th street and Ninth avenue, June 21, 1879;
104th street and Ninth avenue to 125th street and Eighth avenue,
September 17, 1879; 125th street and Eighth avenue to 135th
street and Eighth avenue, September 27, 1879; I35tn street and
Eighth avenue to 155th street and Eighth avenue, December 1,
1879; Morris street to South Ferry, November t, 1881.
The Third avenue line was opened for business between South
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
79
Ferry and 426. street and Fourth avenue, August 26, 1878; from
426. street and Third avenue to 67th street and Third avenue, Sep-
tember 16, 1878; 67th street and Third avenue to 89th street and
Third avenue, December 9, 1878; 89th street and Third avenue to
129th street and Third avenue, December 30, 1878. The first ex-
cursion train from South Ferry to 129th street and Third avenue
was run December 24, 1878.
The Second avenue line from Chatham square to 67th street,
was opened March 1, 1880, and from 67th to 129th street August
16, 1880.
The Suburban line was opened between 128th street and Second
avenue and 133d street, May 17, 1886; to 143d street, May 23, 1886;
to Harlem River Bridge, November 29, 1886; to 156th street, July
1, 1887; to 166th street, December 25, 1887; to 170th street, Septem-
ber 29, 1888; to Wendover avenue, May, 1891 ; to 177th street, July
20, 1 89 1 ; to Willis avenue, July 18, 1891.
The foregoing makes the fact clear that it was in the years 1879-80
that New York began to experience the effects of adequate rapid
transit facilities, and to this fact probably more than to all others
put together is due the activity in real estate and the increase in
values that commenced in those years. In 1879 the new elevated
roads contributed much to the increasing strength of the market.
Particularly on the upper East Side they stimulated the builder, who
was already busy in that district. It was early in that year (1879)
that the New York Elevated Railroad Company purchased the
block, then used as the cattle-yards of Dutcher & Allerton, bounded
by Third and Fourth avenues, 98th and 99th streets, paying for the
property $120,000. At once a great number of tenements were
erected in the streets adjoining Second and Third avenues, east
and west, and between Madison and Fourth avenues, and adjacent
thereto as far north as 125th street the speculative builder was ac-
tive putting up row after row of stereotyped brownstone residences.
In one week, that ending May 24, 1879, plans were filed for sixty-
two dwellings to be erected on Madison and Fourth avenues, 112th,
114th, 115th and 124th streets. Prices were advancing, but were
still much below the figures ruling before the panic. For instance,
80 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the block 201.10x420, between Fifth and Madison avenues,- 106th
and 107th streets, was sold to William P. Van Valkenburgh for
$180,000. In 1873 tne same property was sold to T. A. Vyse for
$370,000. Charles M. Field paid $204,050 for the property in 1878.
Still the upward tendency of prices was marked. There was a brisk
demand for lots, not altogether normal, it is true, due to the un-
healthy stimulus of the building loan, and there was a decided ac-
tivity in the house market. Population was spreading into the
East Side, now that rapid transit was secured, and it was clear that
in that section of the city was to be continued the expansion and de-
velopment which had formerly been confined to the central district,
south of 59th street. Substantial capitalists began to operate on
the East Side, and the northeastern part of the island. Arnold,
Constable & Co. from time to time acquired much property there,
and late in 1879 paid $200,000 for two blocks on the east side of
Sixth avenue, between and upon 135th and 136th streets. Every-
where on the East Side people were buying and selling and build-
ing.* Population was pouring into the district. Not only was
As to the character and location of the new work, the following record of
new houses started in the fall of 1879 above 59th street, extending from 3d
to 5th avenue, one year after the first excursion train was run over the 3d
avenue elevated road to 129th street, shows both:
59th st, n s, e of 5th av, 6 brownstone houses, Mr. Todd, owner; 61st st,
s s, cor 4th av, store and residence, P. Ehrmann; 61st st, s s, e of Madison
av, 2 brownstone houses, J. M. Hazeltine; 61st st, n s, w of Madison av,
2 brownstone houses, Parsons & Breen; 61st st, n s, e of 5th av, residence,
W. B. Isham; 62d st, n s, e of Madison av, 3 brownstone houses, James Mc-
Donnell; Madison av, w s, n of 62d st, 10 brownstone houses, I. E. Doying;
Madison av, e s, cor 63d st, brownstone flat, Jas. Campbell; 63d st, s s, e of
Madison av, 5 brownstone houses; 63d street, n s, e of 5th av, 4
brownstone houses, Mr. Williams; 63d st, s s, e of 5th av, 3 brownstone
houses, Mr. Sinclair; 64th st, s s, w of Madison av, 2 brownstone houses,
Wm. Johnson and D. & J. Jardine; 64th st, n s, w of Madison av, 4 brown-
stone houses, Mr. Croft; 64th st, n s, cor 4th av, 9 brownstone houses, Mr.
Cornish; Lexington av, w s, s of 62d st, 4 brownstone houses, Thos. Ken-
nedy; Lexington av, w s, s of 65th st, 6 brownstone houses, Mr. Parsons;
Madison av, e s, s of 65th st, 6 brownstone houses, Willett Bronson; 65th
st, s s, w of Madison av, 5 brownstone houses, B. Spaulding; 66th st, s s,
e of 5th avenue, 4 brownstone houses, Breen, Nason & Hughes; 66th st, n
s, e of Madison av, 2 brownstone houses, Breen & Nason; 66th st, s s, e of
Madison av, 5 brownstone houses, I. E. Doying; 66th st, n s, w of 4th av,
6 brownstone houses, Willett Bronson; 66th and 67th sts, and 4th and Lex-
ington avs, Seventh Regiment Armory, I. E. Doying; 67th st, s s, w of 4th
av, 10 brownstone houses, J. Ruddell; 67th st, n s, e of 4th av, 11 brown-
stone houses; 67th st, s s, w of Madison av, 8 brownstone houses;
67th st, n s, w of Madison av, 4 brownstone houses, B. Muldoon;
68th st, s s, e of 5th av, 5 brownstone houses, B. Muldoon; 68th st, s s,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 8l
land advancing in value, but as early as 1879, due to building ac-
tivity, the price of materials and labor advanced, though the en-
hancement at first was not extravagant, as the following table
shows:
1860. 1869. 1878. Sept.'79.
Bricklayers $12@14.00 $27@30.00 $12.00@18.00 $18.00
Carpenters 12 15.00 27 30.00 12.00 15.00 12.00
Gas and steam fitters 16.00 .. 21.00 15.00 18.00 18.00
Hod carriers, etc 9 10.00 16 18.00 9.00 . . 10.50
Marble cutters 16 18.00 24 30.00 15.00 18.00 15.00
Marble polisher 8 10.00 15 18.00 9.00 12.00 10.20
Marble rubber 16 18.00 21 24.00 10.00 15.00 10.50
Masons 10 12.00 27 30.00 12.00 18.00 18.00
Painter 12 14.00 21 24.00 12.00 18.00 15.00
Plasterer 12 14.00 30 36.00 12.00 18.00 18.00
Plumber 12 15.00 18 24.00 15.00 18.00 18.00
Quarrymen 8 10.00 15 18.00 7.50 10.50 9.00
Roofer 10 14.00 24 30.00 12.00 18.00 15.00
Stair builder 12 16.00 22 27.00 10.50 13.50 15.00
Stone cutter— blue 15 18.00 24 24.00 10.50 13.50 15.00
brown 15 18.00 27 30.00 12.00 18.00 18.00
Stone rubbers 12 15.00 16 18.00 10.00 13.50 10.50
The fatal weakness in this East Side "boom/' for boom it was
during the earlier years, was its speculative character and the small
amount of hard cash underlying the transactions. The fictitious
element in prices was particularly large. Inflated trading was
heavy and much of the building was carried on upon extravagant
building loans which enhanced the price of real estate ridiculously
e of 5th av, 5 brownstone houses, ; 68th st, s s, e of Madison av, 3
brownstone houses, McCafferty & Bulkley; 68th st, s s, w of 4th av, 5
brownstone houses, Mr. Fowler; 5th av, w s, cor 69th st, brownstone resi-
dence, David Dows; 70th st, s s, e of 5th av, 2 Nova Scotia houses, Van-
derbilt and Henry Eastman; 70th st, s s, w of Madison av, 5 brownstone
houses, Thos. Pearson; 71st st, n s, w of Lexington ay, 3 brownstone houses^
M. McDonnall; 72d st, s s, e of 4th av, 4 brownstone houses, Mr. Graham;
72d st, n s, e of 4th av, 7 brownstone houses, Mr. Webb; 73d st, s s, w of
Lexington av, 5 brownstone houses, Mr. Hennessy; 74th st, n s, e of 4th av^
4 brownstone houses, Aldhous & Smyth; 74th st, n s, e of Madison av, 5
brownstone houses, John Davidson; 75th st, s s, e of 4th av, brick boarding-
stable, Many & Osborn; Lexington av, e s, n of 74th st, 6 brownstone
houses, W. H. Browning; 75th st, n s, w of 3d av, 4 brownstone flats, P.
McQuade; 76th st, s s, w of 3d av, 4 brownstone flats, Mr. Stewart; Lex-
ington av, e s, n of 76th st, 6 brownstone houses, H. McKenna; Lexington
av, w s, n of 76th st, 6 brownstone houses; 76th st, n s, e of Madison
av, 6 brownstone houses; 77th st, n s, e of 5th av, 3 brownston-
houses; 77th st, n s, w of 4th av, 8 brownstone houses; 79th
st, n s, w of 4th av, 6 brownstone houses, Squires & Woolley; 4th av, e s„
cor 80th st, brownstone store and tenement; 80th st, n s, w of Lex-
ington av, 4 brownstone houses; Lexington av, w s, n of 81st st, <>
brownstone houses; 5th av, e s, cor 83d st, brownstone residence,.
Mr. Arnold; 83d st, n s, w of 4th av, 5 brownstone houses, Mr. Sturtevant;
83d st, n"s, e of Lexington av, 6 brownstone houses, Judge Wandell; 85th.
st, n s, w of 3d av, 3 brownstone flats, Mr. Johnson; 3d av, w s, n of 85th st,
2 brownstone flats; 86th st, n s, w of 3d av, 6 brownstone houses; 87th st,
s s, w of Lexington av, 4 brownstone; 86th st, s s, e of Madison av,
6
82 • A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
before it passed into the hands of the builder, himself in many cases
a man of small means. One example of this inflation will be suffi-
cient. Early in 1879 slx l°ts on 7^th street, between Fifth and
Madison avenues, were purchased for $30,000. A few months later
they were resold with building loans for $90,000. It was at this pe-
riod that John H. Deane entered the field. He was particularly ac-
tive in lower Harlem, from 110th to 115th street. His practice,
similar to that of many others, was to buy lots and resell at a heavy
advance with a building loan. Dozens of speculative builders were
thus induced to begin operations, and under this artificial stimulus
prices advanced so quickly that for a time builders were able to
borrow from the unwary sums large enough to give them a sub-
stantial profit upon their transactions. Among this flimsy specu-
lative class those of bad eminence wrere Q. W. Hawkes, John
Schappert, the infamous Buddensiek, W. H. and R. E. Johnson.
So long as there was a rising market and the value of lots could be
pushed up a thousand or more dollars a year, and excessive loans
were obtainable, all went well. Street after street was built up in
a monotony of brownstone. Indeed, in the early days of the period
we are now considering the great East Side was created. The
movement continued for four years, until 1884, by which time fur-
ther expansion was impossible. Prices had become stationary and
a measure of collapse was then inevitable. In the latter year Deane
2 brownstone houses; 90th st, n s, e of 4th av, 2 brownstone houses, Q. W.
Hawkes; Lexington av, s s, n of 91st st, 6 brownstone houses; 94th st, n s,
w of 3d av, 6 brownstone houses; 95th st, n s, w of 3d av, 6 brownstone
houses; 95th st, s s, w of 3d av, 12 brownstone houses; 3d av, w s, n of
101st st, 5 brownstone flats and stores, Duffy Bros.; Lexington av, w s,
n of 104th st, 12 brownstone houses; 109th st, n s, e of 4th av, 8 brick tene-
ments and stores; 105th st, s s, e of 4th av, 5 brownstone houses; 110th st,
s s, cor of 4th av, 2 brick tenements and stores; 110th st, n s, w of Lexing-
ton av, 3 brownstone houses; 110th st, n s, e of 4th av, 10 brick houses;
112th st, s s, e of 4th av, 6 brick houses; 114th st, n s, e of 4th av, 8 brown-
stone houses; 115th st, n s, e of Lexington av, 3 brick houses, Mr. Heart;
115th st, s s, w of Lexington av, 4 brownstone houses, B. R. Richardson;
116th st, n s, e of 4th av, 7 brownstone houses; 116th st, n s, w of 3d av,
4 brick houses; 117th st, n s, e of Lexington av, 8 brick houses; 124th st,
s s, e of Lexington av, brick residence; 125th st, n s, w of Lexington av,
row of flats and stores; Lexington av, w s, n of 125th st, 2 brownstone
houses; Lexington av, w s, cor 127th st, brownstone house; 125th st, n s,
w of 4th av, brick residence and store; 124th st, s s, e of Madison av, brown-
stone houses; Madison av, e s, s 124th st, 5 brownstone houses; Madison av,
w s, n of 113th st, 6 brick houses; Madison av, e s, n of 111th st, 4 brown-
stone houses; 111th st, n s, w of 4th av, 10 brownstone houses; 111th st, s s,
w of 4th av, 6 brownstone houses; 111th st, n s, e of Madison av, 3 brown-
stone houses; Madison av, w s, s of 111th st, 5 brick houses.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 83
failed with hundreds of houses, finished and unfinished, on his
hands — houses which he had been forced to take from his ope-
rators. The auction sale of his holdings was one of the memorable
events in real estate history. Hawkes also went under. Wm. H.
De Forrest, a silk importer, who backed Mowbray & Lynd Bros.,
was another famous operator in this movement who subsequently,
as we shall see, played an important part in the opening up of Ham-
ilton Grange. Willett Bronson also deserves to be mentioned.
The field of his activity was 61st, 62d, 63d streets, between Madison
and Fourth avenues. He began work in 1877, and with Ira E.
Doying as his builder, erected hundred of houses before, like the
others already mentioned, he failed.
It must not be understood, of course, that all the activity on the
East Side, the first result of better times, was purely speculative.
On the contrary, a great deal of solid work was done, particularly
in the more fashionable district immediately north of 59th street.
Here such builders as Dugging & Crossman, and their successor,
Charles Buek & Co., C. W. Luyster, O'Reilly Brothers, Terence
Farley, Breen, Nason & Hughes and others carried on substantial
operations which even to this day stamp a solid, if sombre, char-
acter upon the better streets on the East Side. Besides, it was dur-
ing the early years of this period that society firmly intrenched
itself in the upper part of Fifth avenue and Madison avenue, ad-
jacent to 59th street. In August, 1879, Wm. H. Vanderbilt pur-
chased the property between 51st and 52d streets at a cost of $700,-
000. Indeed, Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt and his family purchased
about thirty lots on and contiguous to Fifth avenue at that time.
His action was followed by a number of similar investments made
by his friends and others. Mr. Vanderbilt also bought for $50,000,
75x100.5, on the northeast corner of Madison avenue and 52d
street. David Dows commenced building a house which cost
$125,000 on the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and 69th street.
George W. Quintard bought the northeast corner of 73d street
and Fifth avenue, 100x125, for $165,000. Henry Havemeyer se-
cured the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and 67th street, 50x100.
A plot of four lots on the northwest corner of 54th street and Fifth
84 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
avenue was sold to Hollis L. Powers for $200,000. Two lots on
Fifth avenue between 56th and 57th streets, were sold by George
Bliss, of Bliss, Morton & Co., for $70,000, Mr. Bliss having paid
$43,000 for these lots a few months previous, buying them from E.
W. Strughton, U. S. Minister at St. Petersburg. D. O. Mills at
this time purchased a mansion on Fifth avenue, opposite the Ca-
thedral. No. 693 Fifth avenue was purchased by Frederick Van-
derbilt for $125,000, and Henry M. Flagner took title to a house
which Griffith Rowe had built on the corner of 54th street and
Fifth avenue. Early in 1880 the Stuart Block on 69th street, be-
tween Madison and Fifth avenues, was broken up by the sale of
nine lots to Mr. J. D. Crimmins, who paid $27,500 for each of the
lots. They are situated on the south side of the street, and it is in-
teresting to note that it was in 1864 that the Stuart brothers bought
this property from Mr. James Lenox, paying for the same $220,000.
In short, the years following 1880 were particularly busy ones
on the East Side. Trading was active in all classes of property.
Prices advanced, and there was scarcely a block, excepting some on
Fifth and Madison avenues, upon which building operations were
not under way. At an early date in this period all lots, as far north
as 85th street, between Fifth avenue and Madison avenue, passed
beyond the reach of the speculative builder and into the hands of
the richer classes. Thus before the year 1884, when Deane and
operators like him came to grief, the whole East Side was thor-
oughly defined and prices were so firmly fixed that speculation,
in the ordinary sense of the word, had become impossible.
The work that has been done since 1884 in this great section of
the city has been a work of development upon lines already estab-
lished. It cannot be said that operations subsequent to that date
have materially changed the character of any of the streets or ave-
nues from that stamped upon them by the building activity which
we have considered in the foregoing. There was, indeed, for a
time a hesitancy on the part of the wealthier classes to occupy Fifth
avenue facing the park, north of 59th street, but within the last
six years the step northward has been positively taken, and the
erection of such residences as those of W. V. Brokaw, F. C. Martin,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 85
Mrs. Josephine Schmid, E. T. Gerry, C. T. Yerkes, Mrs. N. E. Bay-
lies, Isaac Stern and fashionable clubs like the Metropolitan has-
determined the character of the avenue and the streets adjacent
thereto wherever any doubt existed.
We have now to turn our attention to the other side of the island.
While the developments just described were in progress on the
East Side the first steps towards opening up the great West Side
were making. We have already seen that some time prior to 1879
the better class of capitalists, merchants and others were begin-
ning to regard with great favor the long undeveloped stretch of ter-
ritory between Central Park and the Hudson River. It was evi-
dent to all that due to some cause or other fortune had been par-
ticularly unkind to this section, which possessed so many natural
advantages to a far higher degree than any other portion of the
island. Despite, however, the tardiness of development on the
West Side, as soon as public attention was given to the great tide
of population that in 1879 began to pour into the East Side, the
conclusion was irresistible that before long a part of it at least
would be diverted to the western district. It is indeed one of the
anomalies of the history of New York real estate that the West
Side was so utterly neglected, save by the speculator, for so long.
In the earlier years with which our history deals a serious obstacle
to the actual occupation of the West Side existed in the then defi-
cient transit facilities, but between 1870 and 1880 that district was
quite as well served in that respect as was the opposite side of the
city. Moreover, the elevated roads reached 59th street and Ninth
avenue at even an earlier date than 59th street at Third avenue,
though as an offset to this advantage was the fact that the Third
avenue road was extended above 59th street prior to the similar ex-
tension of the Ninth avenue road. Undoubtedly this priority
counted for a great deal. However, from the very earliest days,
the growth of the city along the eastern side of the island has been
an easier movement than along the western border. It was so in
Colonial and post-revolutionary days. And we have seen that in
1868 much building had already been done along Second and Third
avenues and in many of the cross streets, while there was scarcely
86 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
a modern house to be found along the West Side. This, though,
was largely due to the earlier development of the horse-car on the
East Side than on the West. But, in addition to the horse-car,
continuity was undoubtedly a factor of great importance in de-
termining the line of building operations. When Murray Hill,
lower Fifth avenue, and the parallel avenues had been built up, it
was easier for the house builder to continue his work directly
northward above 59th street than to turn off and proceed along the
other side of the island, particularly as the buildings on the West
Side, immediately south of 59th street, were of a decidedly poor
class. The railroad along the Hudson, too, was an obstacle. More-
over— perhaps this circumstance has more weight than any other —
from the very beginning the West Side was a victim of its magnifi-
cent prospects. It was settled at an early day in people's minds
that that district was destined to be the choicest residential section
of New York City. It was conformable to this idea that the great
public improvements, boulevards, parks and drives were planned
for in the Sixties. Now, it is a curious but nevertheless a very ap-
parent fact that "magnificent prospects" have always been a bar to
the solid development of real estate. When the future seems to
promise so much owners at once attempt to seize upon wealth that
exists only in anticipation of actual improvements. Prices are
then advanced so greatly that the builder, the investor and even
the speculator, the men who are to give reality to the imaginary
values, are practically shut out. Then, while owners are waiting to
realize their big anticipations, taxes and other charges pile up to
such an extent that at last their bridges are burnt behind them;
they cannot retreat, but are obliged to .hold on to their property
for high prices to avoid great loss. In 1879 (as previously in 1868)
when real estate began to recover from the effects of the panic,
property owners on the West Side hastened to anticipate the com-
ing of the builder. They endeavored to secure for themselves the
very profits which the work of the builder was necessary to create.
Therefore, when the revival of operations commenced, it found
the plane of values on the whole much lower on the East Side than
on the West Side, and this, in conjunction with the other facts we
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 87
have set forth, directed the tide of operations away from the Hud-
sen. But a year or two of work, aided by speculation, speedily
enhanced the value of the East Side realty and by 1880 prices were
relatively higher there than on the West Side. Joined to this, the
beneficial effect of the elevated roads began to be felt powerfully.
By the close of the year 1879 tnat system of transportation was in
operation to 155th street and Eighth avenue, and in the fall of that
year people in large numbers commenced to enjoy on Sundays the
rural felicities of the West Side much as they do to-day those of the
23d and 24th Wards. The great "West Side movement'' may be said
to have commenced in that year. At first, and indeed until the
boom on the East Side was played out, the new activity was one of
anticipation. The West Side was still very backward with its pub-
lic improvements. The great avenues were in very poor condi-
tion, mostly unpaved, merely soft roads, pleasant enough for fast
driving in fine weather, but dusty as an Illinois country road, and
during rain almost impassable for pedestrians. Riverside Drive
had just been delivered in a crude condition from the hands of the
contractors and the authorities were beginning to make niggardly
expenditures upon Morningside Park. Parts of 59th, 60th, 61st, 62d,
65th, 66th, the whole of 74th, parts of 81st, 88th, 89th, 91st, 97th,
98th, the whole of I02d and 107th, parts of 108th, 109th, the whole
of 1 nth and 112th, parts of 116th, the whole of 117th, 118th, 119th,
1 20th, 121 st, I22d, and parts of 123d, 124th, 125th, and 126th
streets — in all there were thirty- four streets between 59th and 134th
streets a portion or the whole of which were not yet legally opened.
As to the remainder of the streets, few of them were graded, paved
or flagged, and the water and gas supply were of course existent
only in the rudiments.
Second only to the advent of the elevated roads as a factor in
attracting public attention to the West Side were the large im-
provements in and adjacent to 72d and 73d streets, Eighth and
Ninth avenues, made in 1879 by the late Edward Clark, President
of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. Two years before, on Decem-
ber 31, 1877, August Belmont and Caroline, his wife, transferred to
Mr. Clark for $280,000 the block front on Eighth avenue, West
88
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
8g
90 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Side, extending from ?2d to 73d street, 2044 feet, and extending
375 feet on each street. At the time this large transfer was an-
nounced, in 1877, it received some attention, just as the previous
purchases in 1875-77 of the same property by Mr. Belmont had
received attention. But those years were dull times for real estate,
and, as we have said in discussing the period of depression that fol-
lowed 1873, tne multitude took small part in what real estate trans-
actions were then carried through. Mr. Clark's purchase lay fal-
low for two years. Then came the announcement that he had de-
termined to improve it, not only by the erection of a number of
private dwellings of a high class, but it was whispered (then or
soon after) by the construction — so the story went — of a large
hotel. There were other sagacious operators who undertook to
build about the same time. In June, 1879, Jonn D. Crimmins filed
plans for flats on Ninth avenue and 63d street, and in the same
month H. H. Cammann began the erection of similar buildings on
Tenth avenue and 82d street. But neither of these examples were
attended by the publicity which was given to Mr. Clark's enter-
prise. They were not so extensive in the first place, and besides the
President of the Singer Company was already well known as a
shrewd, bold operator by many large building operations which
he had carried through south of 59th street. Early in 1880 Mr.
Clark's row of dwellings, from designs by H. J. Hardenberg,
was put on the market for rental, and late in that year the plans
were filed for the long-heralded apartment house (hotel, it proved
not to be) — the Dakota — the cost of which was estimated at
$1,000,000.
There was no doubt then in the people's minds that the day of
actual work on the West Side had dawned. A start on so imposing
a scale could not but be impressive. It occasioned an immense
amount of talk, but, it must be recorded, very little that was more
solid than talk, for many months. The fact is, the speculative
builder was not ready for the West Side, and without his activity
private individuals might undertake a few colossal enterprises, but
the actual work of converting acres into improved city lots could
not be done. In 1880 the speculative builder was busy on
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 91
the East Side, at Yorkville and in Harlem. He was, moreover,
building and selling there with a considerable measure of success,
and was shrewd enough or dull enough to stick to the field that
paid without desiring to experiment on virgin soil. Mr. Clark's
enterprise, therefore, bore small fruit at first. In August, 1880,
James R. Kingston started some dwellings on 64th street, east of
10th avenue (to stick to the old street nomenclature in vogue at the
time), and Daniel Herbert began the erection of residences on 73d
street, east of Ninth avenue. Mr. Cammann, too, filed plans for a
new lot of tenements on Tenth avenue, north of 82d street. The
movement was indeed begun, but it gathered headway slowly.
However, though little building was undertaken, there was de-
cided activity in lot transactions. There was a market for West
Side property such as has not been seen since 1873 and prices ad-
vanced.*
Despite advancing prices and notable building enterprises such
as Mr. Clark's, the great speculative era for the West Side did not
begin in earnest until 1885. Even up to as late as 1883 a total of
less than $8,000,000 had been invested in improvements. Never-
theless, one by one, builders and others whose names are now
*Por instance: 72d street, north side, and 73d street, south side, 475 west
8th avenue, 25x102.2, which sold in 1874 for $23,000 with mortgage of $3,000,
in 1876 for $7,000 with $5,000 mortgage, in 1878 for $7,000 (same mortgage),
sold in 1879 to John D. Crimmins for $10,000' (same mortgage), and in 1881
to Chas. F. Hoffman for $23,000 (same mortgage).
72d street, north side, and 73d street, south side, 500 west of 8th avenue,
25x102.2, sold in 1878 for $11,385, on December 13, 1880, for $19,500, and in
January, 1881, for $22,000.
Riverside avenue, east side, extending from 79th to 80th street (207.1%)
and extending 69.8% on 79th street, 35.8% on 80th street, was sold January,
1879, to Samuel V. Hoffman for $12,000; in June, 1879, it was transferred
for $25,000; in November of the same year again for $25,000; then in quick
succession to Wm. H. Scott and Simon Sterne for $35,000, and to James
Scobie (February, 1880), for $39,500.
In May, 1879, James E. Mallory purchased some property on 9th avenue,
west side, 25.10 south 84th street, for $7,000, which he sold on March 10,
1880, to John B. Conley for $10,500.
83d street, south side, 225 west 8th avenue, 50x102.2, was acquired by
Wm. H. Scott in May, 1879, for $10,000, sold in 1880 to E. H. Nichols for
$19,250, and in 1882 to William Tilden for $26,000.
Wm. H. Hewlett in 1877 paid $2,000 for 10th avenue, east side, 102.2 north
of 84th street, 51x100, and sold the same for $5,000 in April, 1881.
On December 6, 1877, Edward Kilpatrick sold to Wm. H. Scott for $13,000
85th street, south side, and 84th street, north side, 350 east 9th avenue,
50x102.2, who in 3880 resold to Thos. N. Fowler for $20,000.
In 1881 Edward Clark paid $36,650 for four lots on south side 85th street,
100 west 8th avenue, which were purchased by the seller in 1876 for $17,750.
92 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
well known to everybody ventured from time to time upon what
was in greater part experimental work. The future of the West Side
of course was quite a blank, and in the long stretch of territory
from 59th street to the Harlem there were few fixed points to guide
the investor in determining the nature of the buildings it would be
most profitable to put up. At 59th street the undeveloped West
Side came into touch with a rather inferior class of structures, so
that one could guess fairly well what was likely to be the line of
operations for some few blocks northward. Eighth avenue or Cen-
tral Park West and Riverside Drive were consecrated in the imagi-
nation of property owners to the uses of millionaires, and from the
first the price demanded for lots on those thoroughfares was prac-
tically prohibitory so far as the speculative builder was concerned.
Elsewhere the elevated road stations at 72c!, 81 st and 93d streets
attracted the builder like magnetic points, although the early
operators were even there groping in the dark. No one could feel
sure as to whether he was working in what would be a tenement
district or a region of first, or second, or third-class residences.
Indeed, in 1881 plans were filed for tenements to be erected on
the north side of 72c! street, 100 feet west of Ninth avenue. They
were never built, fortunately, but the circumstance showrs in what
A lot on 90th street, north side, 400 west 8th avenue, that sold in 1878 for
$3,500 was sold in 1881 for $4,250.
9th avenue and 90th street, northeast corner, 100.8M>xl00, was bought by
John H. Tingue February, 1880, for $11,200, and sold a year later to David
B. Alger for $14,000.
Certain property on the Boulevard, east side, south of 95th street, which
sold in 1878 for $3,700, was purchased by Alonzo R. Hamilton in 1880 for
$8,000.
101st street, north side, 174.4 west 9th avenue, 19x100.11 (with building),
sold in 1878 for $2,350, and in May, 1880, for $3,500.
9th avenue, east side, 25.3 north 105th street, 25.8x100, was acquired by
the Mutual Life Insurance Co. in 1878 for $1,000. The Company sold it in
1880 for $3,000, and in 18S1 it was resold to Patrick Connelly for $1, subject
to a mortgage of $5,500.
100th street, north side, 175 east 9th avenue, 25x100.11, and 101st street,
south side, 150 east 9th avenue, 50x100.11, was purchased by Simon Sterne
January 16, 1880, for $7,500 (mortgage $1,781). who on March 23d of the
same year resold to Benjamin F. Romaine for $9,600 (same mortgage).
109th street, north side, 250 east 10th avenue, 50x half block, and 110th
street, south side, 250 east 10th avenue, 50x half block, was sold in 1879
for $8,175 by Max Oppenheimer, and in 1880 was resold by the purchaser,
Samuel A. Lewis, for $15,500.
The foregoing instances, taken quite at random from the records of the
period, are sufficient to indicate the general advance in prices of West Side
property that was in progress in 1879-80 — an upward movement, by the way,
which continued with marked results for ten years. It must not be for-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 93
great obscurity as to the future the builder was naturally enveloped.
The Clark houses constituted another fixed point, and up in West
Harlem something had already been done in spots to determine
local character. The rest was a wilderness of confusing possibili-
ties, and it is curious to notice how far many of the early antici-
pations were from the reality. Riverside Drive and Central Park
West would, it was thought, be seized upon first of all the avenues
on the West Side by the wealthy as the sites of mansions that would
splendidly eclipse anything and everything on Fifth avenue. Tenth
or Amsterdam avenue was preferred to Ninth or Columbus avenue.
The Boulevard was to be the seat of lordly pleasure houses, and
Eleventh, or West End avenue, to which small thought was given,
was consigned by many to be the location of household stores. The
future of property on Morningside Hill was regarded as very prom-
ising. Much of its was owned by the Leake and Watts Asylum
and by the Society of the New York Hospital. The former
owned three blocks between Morningside avenue, Tenth avenue,
110th and 113th streets. The Hospital Society owned the entire
tract with the exception of a few lots between 112th, 120th streets,
Tenth avenue and the Broadway Boulevard, together with a large
piece west of the Boulevard, north of 116th street, leaving only a
gotten, however, that the prices we have given for 1879-80 were still far
below those that ruled in 1871-1872, as the following table shows:
Prices. Prices.
1871-1872. 1880.
N w cor 8th av and 62d st, four lots $130,000
N w cor 8th av and 63d st, three lots $65,000
S w cor 8th av and 64th st, four lots 115,000
S w cor 8th av and 65th st, and one st lot, five lots 120,000
W s 8th av, bet 65th and 66th sts, three lots 45,000
W s 8th av, bet 67th and 68th sts, two lots 50,000
8th av, 25 n 63d st, one lot.. 25,000
Front, 64th to 65th st, and two lots on 65th st, ten lots. . 255,000
S s 68th st, 325 w 8th av, three lots *15,000
S S 68th st, 325 w 8th av, three lots • • fl7,000
S s 68th st, bet 8th and 9th avs, six lots 42,000
N s 69th st, beginning 100 e 9th av, fourteen lots 91,000
S w cor 8th av and 70th st, and two street lots, six lots. . 130,000
S w cor 8th av and 76th st, three lots 83,000 30,000
Av lots, bet 76th and 77th sts, two lots. 55,000
Av lots, bet 81st and 82d sts, two lots 27,000
N w cor 8th av and 88th st, two lots 47,000 28,000
N w cor 8th av and 81st st, two lots 25,000
N w cor 8th av and 82d st, one avenue and two street
lots, three lots 25,000
N w cor 8th av and 85th st, four avenue lots, four street
lots, one gore, eight lots 95,000
94 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
comparatively small number of lots for private owners. For the
strip on Morningside avenue, from 113th street to I22d street,
averaging about 500 feet in width and on the front along the ave-
nue, exclusive of the Leake and Watts asylum, there were only about
ten owners in all. They were: Emanuel Garcia, Frederick de
Peyster, General Jas. Watts de Peyster, James J. Goodwin, Joseph
W. Drexel, Dwight H. Olmstead, The Central National Bank,
Tracy, Olmstead & Treacy, Mary G. Pinckney and James Rufus
Smith. Among the large owners of inside or street lots were But-
ler H. Bixby, Roscoe Conkling and Dr. B. W. McCready.
John Jacob Astor expressed it as his opinion in 1879 tnat build-
ing would start from 72d street and move from that point south-
ward and crowd out the shanties ; whereas others suggested that the
city was destined to grow up the Fifth avenue side of the town and
then swing across 110th street to Morningside Hill. Neither view, as
we know, was entirely correct. Seventy-second street was the
starting point of one set of operations, which moved in all direc-
tions from that centre, but chiefly northward. Similar centres were
also established at the elevated stations at 81 st and 93d and 104th
streets — points, by the way, which mark the several high elevations
of land on the West Side. As to the "swing-across-town" theory,
it was correct in principle, but the cross movement was not made
at 110th street but at 125th street. It is needless to point out the
determining influence in all this exerted by the elevated roads. To
sum up: The earliest development of the West Side tended north-
ward from 72d street, and north and south of 125th street, the
greatest activity at first being in the upper locality.
It was perhaps as early as 1880 that what may be termed the
overflow from the East Side began to trickle into the northern
part of the West Side. Rents in Harlem proper in that year were
advancing rapidly and the beneficial influence of the Third avenue
elevated road was stimulating building at the northern end of
the island, along 125th street and other adjacent cross streets. A
demand for upper West Side lots arose and prices began to move
upward. In 1879 August Belmont sold the block, St. Nicholas and
Seventh avenue, 11,2th and 113th streets, for $150,000. The plot
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 95
iooxioo.ii on 125th street, south side, 150 feet west of Eighth
avenue, including 100x100.11 on 124th street, north side, 150 feet
west of Eighth avenue, which sold for $10,000 in 1878, brought
$21,000 the next year, while the plot 100.11x125 on 125th street,
southwest corner of Tenth avenue, sold at $6,500 in 1879, $1 1,000
in 1880 and $16,000 in 1882. Considerable purchases on and
around 125th street toward the west side of the island were made
in 1879 by William Jennings Demorest, Simon Sterne, Edward J.
McGean, John D. Phillips, John H. Deane, David J. Seligman, The-
odore W. Myers, Samuel L. Parish, Edward A. Jackson, John
B. Hillyer, Edward J. King, John M. Pinkney, Richard H.
L. Townsend, Frank Tilford, Wm. H. Scott, Wm. R. Martin, John
H. Hankinson, Smith Ely, Jr., Wm. D. Whiting.
In 1881 the builder was quite active in the upper West Side.
Among the early pioneers were A. A. Teetz, S. O. Wright, R. M.
Strebeigh, Kehoe, Hubner, Broas, Moore, Codling & Son, Brown-
ing, E. S. Higgins, I. E. Wright, J. Van Dolsen, Cunningham,
Thurston, T. Wilson, J. W. Stevens, Lynch, Harlow, Mulrein,
Hutchinson. The field of operations was chiefly between Seventh
and Eighth avenue, 126th and 133d streets. Eighteen hundred and
eighty-one was an active year in real estate in all parts of the city.
Prices were advancing. Indeed, since 1877 there had been a steady
increase in the number of transactions as well as in the amount of
money invested. General business was good. The prices of labor
and material were advancing and there was a good demand for
both. The East Side reaped the larger part of this harvest, but
125th street was a fertile tract, along which some of the seed was
scattered into the West Side. The lower part of the West Side
received less benefit. The Clark operations, at 72d and 73d streets,
were still the chief ones, but in 1881 George J. Hamilton began to
build on 73d street, near the Clark houses, and at the close of the
year there were eighteen rows of buildings in course of erection in
the district south of 125th street. Plans were filed for 139 buildings
calling for an expenditure of $2,035,400.
The building done in 1882 did not vary much, either in extent or
character, from that accomplished in 1881. At the same time the
96 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
activity was somewhat more marked, and many builders hitherto
at work in other parts of the city began operations on the West
Side. Thus John W. Stevens built a small row of dwellings in 87th
street; John G. Prague filed plans for some tenements in 61 st street
and Ninth avenue; Francis Crawford started in with some dwell-
ings on 71st street, and Michael Brennan built a small experimen-
tal row on 69th street. George W. Hamilton, also, was encouraged
by his father's operations on 73d to follow Mr. Crawford's example
on 71st street. In April of that year David Christie commenced
work on Tenth avenue and 96th street, and James O'Friel on Ninth
avenue and 78th street. John Maloy thought money was to be made
by building on Ninth avenue and 61 st street, while Edward Mor-
rison was imbued with the same idea regarding a location two miles
further north on 100th street, west of Ninth avenue. Furthermore,
those who had come to the district previously were there to stay.
John D. Crim'mins and Edward Clark commenced the erection of
new rows, the former at 92d street and Ninth avenue, the latter
still on 73d street. Geo. Hamilton returned to 73d street later in
the year, this time west of Ninth avenue. While these enterprises
were fairly well distributed the centre of activity wa's in the imme-
diate vicinity of 72d street, although on that street itself nothing
had been done as yet. Altogether there were plans filed for 177
buildings in the district, their estimated cost amounting to $3,159,-
100, against 954 buildings costing $14,990,375, for the section east
of Central Park.
Respectable colonies had been formed in the neighborhood of
the 72d, 81 st, 93d, 104th and 125th street elevated railroad stations,
representing an investment of between seven and eight millions of
capital. No plans had been filed for buildings on West End ave-
nue, and Tenth avenue was apparently more popular than Ninth
avenue, which was only in the process of being paved. Some one
suggested, under the illusion that the latter avenue was to be cov-
ered with dwellings, that it would be a good idea to situate the
houses as far back from the building line as would be consistent
with the depth of the lot, and plant a row of trees in front to pre-
vent the occupants from being annoyed by intrusive cinders from
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 97
the elevated engines. This ingenious -method of defense did not,
however, commend itself to builders. The year 1883 saw a con~
tinuance of the progress made the year before, without, however,
any notable acceleration of pace. Fred. Kruse began building on
Tenth avenue, Samuel Colcord on 79th street, Casper M. Lawson
on 100th street, Christian Kruse on 83d street, A. Alonzo Teets on
1226. street, John Richards and James Phelps on 61 st street, George
Huhn on 67th street, Benj. Wallace on 100th street, S. H. Mapes
on 10th avenue, R. Townsend on 1 ooth street, Hugh Blesson on
76th street, and Richard Deeves on 83d street. Other names which
may be mentioned are: E. M. Wadsworth, J. W. Guntzer and
Richard Chaffy. At the same time many builders who had entered
the district in previous years continued their operations with un-
abated confidence and apparently with unvarying success.
Throughout the year plans were filed for 183 buildings, to cost
$3,398,075. Building on the East Side, however, still continued to
be far more important in respect to the extent of operations than
that on the West Side.
Several large auction sales, joined to the greater facilities for
access furnished by the elevated roads, served to advertise the
West Side immensely. At the Carman sale, on March 25, 1880, 257
lots, between 148th street and Highbridge Park, were disposed of
for $181,609. As the buyers refused to take title, owing to legal
difficulties, a resale of the property was held in April, 1881. The
first of the two famous Jumel sales was held May, 1882, and the
second in November, 1,058 lots north of 159th street being
knocked down for a total of $544,830. Another important sale
was that by the Mutual Life Insurance Company of improved
property and 22J vacant lots, mostly on the West Side, in 70th,
80th and 90th streets, and northward to 158th street.* The dis-
persion of property formerly held by a few individuals into the
possession of many was an advantageous circumstance, and one
that favored the promotion of building operations. But the ball
moved slowly. As we have said, the speculative builder was not
♦For particulars of these and other noted auction sales, see Appendix.
7
98 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ready for the West Side, and the work of opening up the new
territory for the habitation of the multitude could not be accom-
plished without him. Eighteen hundred and eighty-three was
not a very good year for general business, and real estate slightly
felt the mild depression. A considerable amount of buying and
building was done in the upper part of the West Side, and in the
lower part new accessions from the ranks of the solider builders
on the East Side were made. George W. Hamilton, who con-
tributed so much to the early development of the West Side, was
busy in the vicinity of 72d street and 9th avenue; Samuel Colcord
filed plans for houses on 79th street. The building up of 72d street
was commenced in earnest. Cornelius W. Luyster, in connection
with James R. Smith, had plans prepared by D. & J. Jardine for
ten four-story brownstone dwellings, to be erected on the north
side of 72d street, 100 feet east of 10th avenue; on the south side
of the same street, 300 feet west of 9th avenue, Francis Crawford
prepared to build by acquiring four lots with building loan at a
cost of $58,000. B. C. Wetmore filed plans for another lot of
dwellings on 72d street, between 9th and 10th avenues. Edward
Hatch announced that he would erect eight tenements on the north
side of 61st street, between 10th and nth avenues; E. Purcell had
similar plans, but for only four buildings, on the south side of
60th street, 200 feet west of 10th avenue. Michael Brennan was
associated with Mr. Purcell. In the same year John M. Ruck
filed plans for a flat to be built on 9th avenue, at the northwest
corner of 71st street. I. M. Grenell undertook three dwellings on
the north side of 87th street, west of 9th avenue; Christian Blinn
filed plans for six dwellings on 78th street, west of 9th avenue. S.
H. Mapes determined to build tenements on the west side of 10th
avenue, 125 feet north of 74th street. Terence Farley purchased
five lots on the southwest corner of 9th avenue and 73d street and
other adjacent property, and Richard Deeves had plans made for
dwellings on the north side of 82d street, 175 feet east of 9th
avenue.
Most of the foregoing names the reader will recognize as those
of operators who have played very important parts in the develop-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 99
ment of the West Side. The greater part of the new work was in
the neighborhood of 726. street and along or between 9th and
10th avenues, and small in amount as the new work was in these
early years it was of unusual importance because these initial op-
erations did so much to determine the character of the cross streets
and longitudinal avenues. Eighteen hundred and eighty-two and
1883 were the years when the outposts of the coming army of
builders were established and it is noteworthy that so many of
these first operators should be the very men who subsequently were
the most active in developing the West Side. Over one hundred
buildings were projected or commenced in 1883. Of apartment
houses thirteen were under way in May, costing $209,000. North
of 69th street and south of 110th there were seventy-seven dwell-
ings under way, costing $1,192,500.
As to the upper West Side, the distribution of the Carman and
Jumel estates had an excellent effect. The northwest side of the
island seemed the most unpromising of any section south of the
Harlem River. It was the most remote from the business quarter,
and not accessible by the ordinary routes of travel. But the dis-
The following table shows the buildings projected on the West Side in the
spring of 1883:
Boulevard, w s, 60 n 60th st, 4-sty and basement brk and brownstone
apartment house, J. H. Gautier, cost, $40,000; Boulevard, e s, 79.4 n 74th st,
3-sty brk club-house and store, John D. Crimmins, $8,000; Boulevard, n e
cor 83d st, two 5-sty brk and stone stores and tenem'ts, Christian Cruse,
total cost, $30,000; 59th st, Nos. 303, 305 and 307 W., 4-sty brk stable,
owner, O. L. Jones; 60th st, No. 215 W., 5-sty brownstone dwell'g, Thos.
Cowman, $15,000; 60th st, No. 217 W., 5-sty brk apartment house, Julia
Mullaly, $20,000; 60th st, s s, 200 w 10th av, 5-sty brownstone tenem't,
Edward Purcell; 60th st, s s, 219 w 10th av, three 5-sty brownstone tene-
ments, same as last; 60th st, Nos. 285 and 287, w 11th av, two 4-sty
brk and brownstone stores and tenem'ts, Mrs. M. J. Largau, each $9,000;
61st st, n s, 200 e 10th av, 5-sty brownstone tenem't, $24,000; 61st st, s s,
100 w 10th av, 5-sty brk tenem't, Claus Ahrenz, $12,000; 61st st, s s, 125 w
10th av, five 5-sty brownstone tenem'ts, John Richards, each $23,000; 61st
st, s s, 350 w 10th av, two 5-sty brownstone tenem'ts, James Phelp, each
$18,000; 61st st, No. 532 W., 5-sty brk tenem'ts, Patrick O'Reilley, $14,000;
62d st, s s, 75 w Boulevard, 2-sty brk office stalls and dwell'g, Jacob Stock-
inger, $1,500; 67th st, No. 120 W., 1-sty brk stable, Wm. Skelly, $1,500;
67th st, 150 w 10th av, two 5-sty brownstone tenem'ts, P. Netter, each
$16,000; 67th st, n s, w 11th av, eight 4-sty brk tenem'ts, George Kuhn, each
$10,000; 69th st, s s, 100 w 11th av, and 69th st, n s, 200 w 10th av, twelve
5-sty brk tenem'ts, E. A. Davis, each $18,000; 11th av, n w cor 68th st, one
1-sty brk store and dwell'g, Michael Flick, $1,500; 69th st, n s, 125 w 10th
av, 2-sty brk dwell'g, Harriet I. Potter, $6,000; 71st st, s s, 80 w 9th av,
five 4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, George W. Hamilton, total cost $100,000;
72d st, s s, 100 e 10th av, five 4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, Geo. J. Hamilton,
total cost $130,000; 72d st, n s, 300 e 10th av, three 4-sty brownstone dwell-
ings, Margaret Crawford, each $20,000; 72d st, s s, 400 e 10th av, five 4-sty
IOO A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
tribution of the Carman and Jumel estates had a very wholesome
effect. The purchasers who were attracted by the low price of the
lots were not willing to pay taxes and assessments for ten or fifteen
years without some return from the property, and hence com-
menced to build. A sale of lots in the spring of 1883 above 140th
street and 8th avenue told the story of the increased favor in which
this part of the city was held. There was a surprisingly large ad-
vance in the price of lots as compared with the sales made when
the Carman and Jumel estates were auctioned off. During the first
half of 1883 I02 buildings, aggregating $386,650, were projected
west of 8th avenue and north of i40tR street. The proposed im-
provement of the Harlem River doubtless encouraged building in
this district, but the unexpectedly large number of plans filed dur-
ing the six months in question was primarily due to the fear en-
tertained by property-holders that the Legislature, then in session,
would extend the fire limits over the whole of the island. Accord-
ingly, with few exceptions, the plans filed were for frame buildings,
many of which were projected merely for the purpose of tempo-
rarily paying taxes, assessments and interest.
brownstone dwell'gs, Margaret Crawford, each $25,000; 72d st, n s, 100 e
10th av, ten 4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, James R. Smith and C. W. Luyster,
average, each $25,000; 73d st, s s, 275 w 9th av, 3-sty and basement brk
and brownstone dwell'g, Roberta W. Marsh; 73d st, s s, 300 w 9th av, three
4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, Anna McDonald, average, each $18,000; 73d
st, n e cor 10th av, one 4-sty brk flat, Jonathan Allen and ano., $22,000;
73d st, n s, 28 e 10th av, four 4-sty brk and brownstone dwell'gs, J. Allen
and ano., each $15,000; 78th st, n s, 150 w 9th av, six 3-sty stone front
dwell'gs, Christian Blinn, each $8,000 or $9,000; 78th st, n s, 30 w Broad-
way, three 1-sty brk and glass greenhouses, David Clark, total cost $1,200;
79th st, s s, 350 w 9th av, five 3 and 4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, Samuel
Colcord, about, each $10,000; 82d st, n s, 225 e 9th av, six 4-sty brk dwell-
ings, Mrs. Mary M. Williams, each $11,250; 83d st, s s, 225 e 9th av, six
4-sty brk tenem'ts, same as last, each $11,250; 85th st, s s, 300 e 10th av,
2-sty and cellar brk dwell'g, John Campbell, $2,500; 86th st, n s, 90 w 10th
av, 2-sty brk and stone chapel, Eighty-fourth Street Presbyterian Church,
$20,000; 87th st, n s, 175 w 9th av, three 3-sty brownstone dwell'gs, I. M.
Grenell, each $9,000; 100th st, n s, 300 w 9th av, four 5-sty brownstone
apartment houses, Casper N. Lawson, each $9,000; 104th st, s s, 250 w 9th
av, 2-sty brk dwell'g, Mrs. C. A. Brown, $5,500; 106th st, s s, 100 e 9th av,
two 4-sty brk and brownstone apartment houses, Mrs. M. C. Jackman, each
$15,000; 107th st, s s, 175 w 9th av, 2-sty brk shop, Julius Bush, $1,500; 8th
av, n w cor 86th st, frame grand stand, Manhattan Athletic Club, $3,000;
9th av, n w cor 71st st, 4-sty brownstone store and flat, John M. Ruck,
$20,000; 9th av, w s, 69.2 n 71st st, two 4-sty brownstone dwell'gs, same as
last, each $10,000; 71st st, n s, 20 w 9th av, five 3-sty brownstone dwell'gs,
same as last, each $12,000; 9th av, e s, 25.2 n 100th st, 1-sty dwell'g, Anna
Harms, $2,000; 9th av, n w cor 100th st, four 5-sty frk and stone-trimmed
tenem'ts. Benjamin Wallace, each $9,000; 10th av, w s, 75 n 74th st, 5-sty
brownstone flat, S. H. Mapes, $23,000.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. ioi
During the year 1883 plans were filed for 183 buildings, to cost
$3,398,075, between 59th and 125th streets, west of 8th avenue.
In the same period 849 buildings, to cost $13,754,047, were filed
for the East Side — a comparison which shows more clearly than
any description where the real seat of operations was at that time.
In the following year, 1884, however, the West Side movement be-
gan to assume large proportions. The activity on the East Side
was declining. Land there had become relatively dear and specula-
tion was beginning to reach the end of its resources. As we have
seen, the failure of Deane, Hawkes et al., was not for off. In 1884
335 buildings, to cost $6,675,490, were planned for on the West
Side. People began to make the discovery that class for class
houses were cheaper on the West Side than on the East Side, and
this assisted in sending buyers into the new territory which the
builder was beginning to invade. In this year John D. Crimmins
had plans made for houses on 68th street, between 9th and 10th
avenues; so did Edward J. King, on 71st street; Ralph F.
Townsend, on West End avenue, west side, south of I02d street;
David H. Knapp, 10th avenue, southeast corner 105th street;
William Noble, 83d street, south side, east of 9th avenue, and
Daniel Herbert, 81st street, north side, 200 feet east of 10th ave-
nue ; Henry Bornkamp, 9th avenue, east and west sides, between
95th and 96th streets. Joseph F. Navarro, who, despite his large
operations on 59th street, and on the East Side, had made con-
siderable investments in recent years in West Side property, filed
plans for (but did not erect) four twelve-story flats on 8th avenue,
west side, between 81 st and 82d streets, the site upon which the
Hotel Beresford now stands. Geo. C. Edgar undertook to build
on the north side of 70th street, 100 feet west of 9th avenue;
Samuel Colcord on the north side of 79th street, west of 9th ave-
nue; Charles L. Guilleaume on the north side of 87th street, 325
feet west of 9th avenue.
The building movement continued to be especially marked in the
neighborhood of the elevated road stations. It was encroaching
upon the vacant ground up to 74th street, and a good part of the
ground around 81st street; 71st to 73d street was largely built
102 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
over, and this was also the case with 826. and 83d streets. On the
latter twenty-one private residences were to be erected, or in pro-
cess of erection. Seven of these were built by William Noble, three
by D. & J. Jardine, the architects, and two by Thomas Cochrane.
The first stories of Architect George W. Da Cunha's three houses
were making their appearance above ground while the six residences
erected by Richard Deeves were rapidly approaching com-
pletion. The same owner was building three similar houses
on S26. street. Further west, between 9th and 10th avenues, and
on the same streets, the vacant ground for building purposes was
decreasing month by month. Going north, the building activity
was running beyond the 104th street "L" station. A number of
houses were going up on 9th avenue, 96th, 97th and 98th streets,
near 9th avenue, and it was declared that in a few years lots in this
direction would become as valuable as in the neighborhood of the
72d and 81 st street elevated road stations.
In the beginning of the year 1885 the prospect ahead for real
estate was not the brightest. There had been trouble in Wall
street during the previous year, there were bad times in Europe,
and the unusually hot political contest between Blaine and Cleve-
land had, or was supposed to have had, an unsettling effect upon
the country. Builders, moreover, had been hampered by a number
of petty strikes with their employes. The failures on the East Side
and the practical failures of many big apartment houses to return
sufficient interest on the money invested had contributed to create
something of an adverse opinion as to the profitableness of real
estate. However, before 1885 closed these clouds had quite blown
over, and in the new revival the West Side emerged as the recog-
nized speculative area of the city. The operators already at work
in that district undertook new and larger enterprises and they
were joined by nearly all the larger builders in the city. J. G.
Prague filed plans for dwellings on 73d street; Lamb &
Rich for twelve dwellings on the southwest corner of 75th
street and West End avenue; Gillie, Walker & Lawson for
tenements on 62A street, west of 9th avenue; E. S. Auchmuty for
one apartment house on the southwest corner of 9th avenue and
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 103
93d street; Samuel Colcord for residences on the north side of
81 st street, between 9th and 10th avenues; Robert Auld for resi-
dences on 94th street, west of 8th avenue ; George W. Rogers for
ten three-story dwellings on the northwest corner of the Boulevard
and 84th street. George R. Reade sold for S. T. Meyer & Son
twelve lots on New avenue, extending from 104th to 105th streets,
for $55,000, to the Protestant Half-Orphan Asylum, and at the
Drake estate sale, held in April of this year, four lots on the south-
west corner of 86th street and nth avenue were sold to Francis M.
Jencks for $14,650, and four lots on 87th street and nth avenue
were secured at private sale by Jacob Lawson and C. S. Wescott
for $10,000. Chas. Batchelor filed plans for five dwellings on the
north side of 72d street, 175 feet west of 9th avenue; Edgar &
Sons, for four dwellings on 70th street, west of 9th avenue; Wm.
Noble for residences on the north side of 76th street, west of 9th
avenue; M. Brennan for residences on the north side of 76th street,
west of 9th avenue, and Henry Maibrunn for a residence on 78th
street, west of 9th avenue, from plans by Alfred Zucker & Co.,
architects.
By this time the attention of the city was directed to the phenom-
enal progress which had been made by the West Side during the
This list contains all the building- plans filed from the 1st of December,
1884, to May, 1885, in the district west of 8th avenue, and extending from
65th to 135th street. The total number of houses to be erected according
to the plans amounted to 157, the estimated cost of which is $2,314,500.
It is safe to say that $2,000,000 would not cover the cost of the buildings,
the foundations of which were laid within the specified five months:
65th st, n s, w 8th av, five flats, James Philp, cost each $30,000; 65th st,
s s, w 10th av, one tenement, Henry Meyer, $10,000; 66th st, n s, w 8th av,
two tenements, John M. Ruck, each $17,500; 67th st, s s, w 8th av, three ten-
ements, John M. Ruck, each $17,500; 70th st, s s, e 11th av, three dwell-
ings, Tracy & Van Loon, each $12,000; 71st st, n s, w 8th av, seven dwellings,
Owen Donohue, each $12,000; 71st st, n s, w 8th av, three dwellings, Thomp-
son & Mickens, each $10,000; 71st st, n s, w Grand Boulevard, seven dwell-
ings, Elizabeth Steinmetz, each $12,000; 72d st, n s, w 9th av, five dwellings,
Chas. Batchelor, each $22,000; 75th st, n s, w Boulevard, five dwellings,
Daniel D. Brandt, each $11,000; 76th st, n s, w 9th av, seven dwellings, Mar-
garet A. Brennan, each $18,000; 76th st, n s, w 9th ay, four dwellings, Wm.
Noble, each $20,000; 76th st, n s, w.£th av, six dwellings, John T. and James
A. Farley, each $20,000; 76th st, nvs, w 9th av, twelve dwellings, John S.
Kelso, Jr., total $210,000; 78th st, s s, w 9th av, one dwelling, Henry Mai-
brunn, $20,000; 81st st, n s, e 9th av, one dwelling-, Christian Blinn, $40,000;
84th st, n w cor Boulevard, ten dwellings, George W. Rogers; 87th st, n s,.
w 9th av, three dwellings, I. M. Grenell, each $9,500; 88th st, n e cor West-
ern Boulevard, one store, Wm. McCormack; 95th st, s s, w 9th av, two-
dwellings, Edwin and Chas. Fraser, each $6,000; 101st st, n s, w 11th av,
one dwelling, Robt. T. Bellchambers, $12,000; 104th st, s s, e Boulevard,
104 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
past two years. As we have shown, the whole building force of
the city seemed to have been transferred from the East to the West
Side. In 1885 plans were filed for 689 buildings to be erected at
a cost of $10,686,284 — very nearly double the number of the year
before and equal to the number filed during the same year on the
East Side. In 1886 money was easy, the general state of the
country was prosperous, and in short, conditions of every nature
favored extensive operations. The buildings already erected on the
West Side had sold readily, so that builders were inclined and
were financially able to undertake new responsibilities. Early in
this year D. Willis James, with Messrs. Prague and Power, began
his extensive operations on 86th street, which has resulted in the
erection of nearly 300 houses. The only other operators whose
enterprises can be compared in magnitude to these are those of
the Clarks, and those of W. E. D. Stokes and his affiliations on
West End avenue and elsewhere. Mr. Charles Buek, another op-
erator who has made very large investments of the highest charac-
ter on the West Side, also began to build in that district in 1886,
having previously confined his attention to the fashionable region
in the lower East Side, wherein he continued the work of Dug-gin
& Crossman.
seven dwellings, Martha A. Law son, each $12,500; 105th st, s s, e Grand
Boulevard, four dwelling's, John F. Moore, each $12,000; 9th av, s w cor 93d
st, one apartment house, Mrs. E. S. Auchmuty, about $150,000; 9th av, n w
cor 94th st, and s w cor 95th st, two tenements and stores, John M. Pink-
ney, each $14,000; 9th av, w s, n 94th st, eight tenem'ts and stores, John M.
Pinkney, each $13,000; 10th av, e s, 92d to 93d st, one brick building (Home
for the Aged), Methodist Episcopal Church Home, $125,000; 10th av, n w cor
104th st, three tenements, Franklin Thurston, one $25,000, two, each $18,000,
$61,000; 11th av, s e cor 75th st, six dwellings, Lamb & Rich; 123d st, s s,
8th to St. Nicholas av, six dwellings, H. Josephine Wilson, each $9,000;
Same, two dwellings, same, each $14,000; 125th st, s e cor St. Nicholas av,
five stores and tenements, James Cassidy; 126th st, n s, e St. Nicholas av,
eight dwellings, The Nassau Building Co., each $12,000; 131st st, n s, w
10th av, one hospital, Manhattan Dispensary, $14,000; 8th av, w s, s 116th
st, two flats and stores, James Connor, each $22,000; 8th av, s w cor 116th
st, two flats and stores, James Connor, each $17,000; 8th av, w s, s 123d st,
runs to St. Nicholas av, one store and dwelling, John M. Pinkney, $10,000;
8th av, n e cor 126th st, one tenement and store, Marie T. McCormick,
$25,000; 8th av, s w cor 133d st, one tenement and store, Peter McCormack,
$18,000; 8th av, w s, s 133d st, two tenements and stores, Peter McCormack,
each $18,000; 8th av, w s, s 133d st, one tenement and store, Peter McCor-
mack, $18,000; 8th av, n w cor 134th st, four stores and tenements, L. Wei-
, her, each $10,000.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 105
In this year, 1886, the number of plans filed was 948 and the
estimated cost of buildings $15,169,000. In 1887 the amount in-
vested had increased to $16,607,975, but the number of projected
buildings slightly decreased, to 824. This year witnessed the cul-
mination of the first great activity on the West Side. Building had
been slightly overdone. There were, as a consequence, a few finan-
cial disasters and many builders found themselves obliged to carry
over their investments into another year. This state of affairs
checked building so that in 1888 there were only 522 buildings
planned for at a cost of but $10,383,500. By this latter year, need-
less to say, the West Side as we know it to-day was clearly de-
fined. Riverside avenue and Central Park West were still neg-
lected, but the character of all the other avenues was settled. As to
the centre of activity it had shifted northward to 81st street, but
below 72d street, a great deal of work was in progress. When
"The Record and Guide" made its first canvass of the West Side,
in the fall of 1888, it was found that between April, 1886, and
April, 1888, plans had been filed for 1,049 dwellings and 522 flats
and tenements, with the following result:
As to the value of West Side lots prices naturally were steadily advancing,
as the following- typical transactions show:
Jan., 1877. Oct., 1885. Sept.. 1886.
9th av, s e cor 124th st, 7 lots $10,000 $29,500 $41,000
Dec, 1885. Sept., 1886.
9th av, n e cor 70th st, 2 lots $20,000 $28,000
Dec, 1885. Mar., 1886. Oct., 1886.
9th av, s e cor 90th st, 4 lots $31,900 $40,000 $44,000
*$50,500
Dec, 1885. Dec, 1886. Mar., 1886.
9th av, w s, bet 98th and 99th sts, 8 lots. . $45,000 $56,000 *$72,000
Jan., 1886. Mar., 1886. Oct., 1886.
8th av, w s, 119th to 120th st, 8 lots $45,000 $65,000 $75,000
Nov., 1876. Jan., 1886.
72d st, s s, 175 w 8th av, 4 lots $34,500 *$85,000
Oct., 1879. Nov., 1879. May, 1885.
72d st, s s, 525 w 8th av, 4 lots $39,000 $40,000 *$72,000
♦Sold to a builder.
106 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
From From From From From From
59-72. 72-81. 81-93. 93-104. 104-116. 116-125. Total
Four-story dwellings:
No. filed 127 214 273 92 4 1 711
Unfinished, &c. ..... 18 78 64 20 0 0 180
Rented, &c 3 23 20 2 1 1 50
Sold 26 56 75 39 0 0 196
Unmarketed 80 57 114 31 3 0 285
Three-story dwellings:
No. filed 10 39 ,59 121 76 33 338
Unfinished, &c 0 3 ' 15 17 45 12 92
Rented, &c 4 9 0 5 10 0 28
Sold 0 21 10 61 13 10 115
Unmarketed 6 6 34 38 8 11 103
Flats:
No. filed 34 20 27 50 23 8 162
Unfinished, &c 0 2 3 7 4 0 16
Rented, &c 7 2 0 2 1 0 12
Sold 20 2 8 23 10 8 71
Unmarketed 7 14 16 18 8 0 63
Tenements:
No. filed 103 17 62 124 38 16 360
Unfinished, &c 29 2 26 24 1 0 82
Rented, &c 4 0 1 4 12 1 22
Sold 47 3 12 25 7 10 104
Unmarketed 22 12 23 71 18 5 152
In 1889 plans were filed at the Building Department for 839
buildings, estimated to cost $21,574,200, and with this record we
reach the banner year on the West Side. The activity of that twelve
months has never been exceeded, as the adjoined table shows:
BUILDINGS PLANNED BETWEEN 59TH AND 125TH STREETS, WEST
OP 8TH AVENUE.
No. Estimated Cost.
1885 612 $9,480,284
1886 932 14,904,000
1887 824 16,607,975
1888 , 522 10,383,500
1889 839 21,574,200
1890 804 17,872,350
1891 639 14,531,470
1892 645 15,151,925
1893. 443 17,101,450
1894 476 10,440,775
1895 699 20,860,820
1896 358 11,563,775
1897 445 13,471,350
By the year 1890 the permanent character of the several localities
on the West Side, between 59th and 125th streets, may be said to
have been determined by the improvements described in the fore-
going. The one important exception was Morningside Heights,
the more recent development of which demands attention.
The improvement of real estate on Morningside plateau effected
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 107
during the past five years is one of the notable achievements in the
history of the West Side. Five years ago the region bounded by
110th and 1226. streets, Morningside avenue and Riverside Drive
was practically empty of houses, and the character which coming
improvements would assume was a matter of uncertainty. To-day
the presence of Columbia University, the Teachers' and Barnard
Colleges, and some thirty high-class dwellings determine the
architectural and social complexion of the district.
The first impetus to improvement of real estate on the plateau
was given by the sale of part of the grounds of Bloomingdale
Asylum, in 1889. This institution was owned by the Society of the
New York Hospital, which possessed the fee of between forty and
fifty acres of land on the fairest portion of the heights. When the
society determined to remove the asylum to White Plains an auc-
tion sale was held of ninety-eight lots on Amsterdam avenue (then
called 10th avenue), the Boulevard, and 112th, 113th and 114th
streets. The sale, which took place on April 4, 1889, was conducted
by Adrian H. Muller & Son, and the prices obtained were con-
sidered satisfactory. Lots on the Boulevard brought from $6,350
to $9,600 each; on Amsterdam avenue, from $5,800 to $8,600. The
113th street lots realized from $4,450 to $5,000; the lots on 114th
street brought from $4,350 to $4,575; and the 112th street lots
fetched from $3,335 to $4,275. All lots were sold subject to re-
striction, dwellings only being permitted on the streets, and flats
and stores on the avenues. The sum of $500,400 was realized on the
eighty-nine lots — an average of $5,106 per lot. The quickening
effect of the distribution of this land among private owners is in-
dicated by the increasing number of conveyances subsequently re-
corded, although purchases appear to have been made for some
years with a view to investment rather than immediate improve-
ment.
The next important sale occurred in October, 1891, when the
trustees of the Leake and Watts Orphan House disposed of the
three blocks bounded by 110th and 113th streets, Morningside
and Amsterdam avenues, to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
for $850,000. The parcel comprised 200 lots, giving an average
108 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
price of $4,250 per lot. This very low price is explained by the
presence of considerable masses of rock on the site and by the
circumstance that the trustees of the Leake and Watts Orphan
House were affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and that, when
the resolve was made to remove the asylum to Ludlow, it was
thought that the founders' intention in regard to the land would
be best respected by insuring its dedication to the use of religion.
The filing of plans for a cathedral building in the following year,
looking to an expenditure of five millions of dollars, reflected the
judgment of experts as to the future of the neighborhood. It is
true that financial causes of delay have arisen to retard the work
on this splendid architectural monument. Nevertheless, its pro-
jection produced an extremely beneficial effect on surrounding
property.
The year following the purchase of the cathedral site, namely
in 1892, St. Luke's Hospital acquired the block bounded by 113th
and 114th streets, Morningside and Amsterdam avenues. The
transaction comprised eight separate parcels, title to the first
being obtained February 29, and to the last March 15. The
block contains 44 lots and the aggregate purchase price was
$530,000, making an average of $12,045 Per 1°* — a marked ad-
vance over previous averages, due, partly to the proximity of the
cathedral site, and partly to the circumstance that the land was
purchased from private owners in comparatively small parcels.
The largest single factor, however, in promoting private real
estate and building activity on the plateau was the removal hither
of Columbia University. During the three years previous to and
including the year of the purchase of the present site, plans were
filed for flats and dwellings to cost $245,000; during the three
years following the purchase plans were filed for similar buildings
to cost $780,000 — an increase of 218 per cent. These figures take
no account of seven dwellings for which plans were filed in 1896
and for which the cost is omitted in the records. The Columbia
University site was acquired in October, 1894, at which time the
trustees of that institution purchased from the Society of the New
York Hospital the four blocks bounded by 116th and 120th streets,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 109
the Boulevard and Amsterdam avenue, for $2,000,000. The plot
includes 294 lots, making an average price of $6,802 per lot.
It is not necessary to cite all the important conveyances that
have been made in the period under review, our primary object
being merely to contrast the land values of 1889 with those of
1897. The transactions mentioned were the determining factors
in producing the present condition of real estate on the plateau.
If now, we proceed to a comparison of the prices of 1889 with
those that obtained in the fall of 1897, we find that the advance
was sufficiently marked to excite attention. At the sale held
by the Society of the New York Hospital in 1889, the lot on the
southwest corner of Amsterdam avenue and 114th street brought
$8,600, which was also the price commanded by the lot on the
northwest corner of the same avenue and 113th street. The
highest price obtained for inside lots fronting on the avenue in
this block was $6,050. In 1897 two inside lots on the west side of
the avenue, 25 and 50 feet north of 113th street, respectively,
sold for $13,000 each. The lot on the same side of the same thor-
oughfare, 25 feet south of 114th street, brought $16,000. As to
corner lots, the records show one transfer in 1897 (Jan. to Oct.),
but as the lot in question passed as part of a larger parcel the
transaction is useless for purposes of comparison. On the Boule-
vard we find no conveyances in 1897 which may serve as an ex-
pression of values, and the same is the case with respect of
Morningside avenue, although it may be noted that the plot, 50X
100, on the southwest corner of that thoroughfare and 11 8th
street, sold for $22,500 in December, 1896. Practically no activity
was felt on Riverside Drive either in conveyancing or in
building improvement until the spring of i897,when twelve lots were
put under the hammer at a partition sale conducted by A. H.
Muller & Son. On this occasion the lot on the southeast corner of
119th street sold for $28,000, while inside lots brought from
$14,300 to $17,750. As a matter of fact, the lots on the avenues,
the Drive and the Boulevard are held as investments in strong
hands, and will hardly be improved in considerable number until
the building up of the streets. The street lots have been the sub-
HO A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ject of by far the largest activity both in conveyancing and in
improvement. On 113th street, between Amsterdam avenue and
the Boulevard, inside lots sold in 1897 at $8,100, as against
$5,000 in 1889. We have no basis for comparison in the matter of
1 1 2th and 114th streets. If we are warranted in drawing a general
conclusion from the particular data adduced, it is apparent that
land values on the plateau have advanced in eight years between
65 and 164 per cent.
Turning to a consideration of the improvements that have been
made on the plateau, we find that buildings to the value of
nearly five millions of dollars ($4,974,550) have been erected dur-
ing the period under review. In arriving at this estimate, we have
accepted the values placed on projected structures in the plans
filed with the Superintendent of Buildings ; and, with the exception
of the cathedral, have included buildings in process of construction
as well as those completed. Of this sum, roughly speaking, four
millions represent public buildings, comprising those of Columbia
University, the Teachers' and Barnard Colleges, St. Luke's Hos-
pital, and the Home for Aged Couples ; one-half million represents
dwellings, and a quarter of a million stands for flats.
The marked preponderance of dwellings over flats is the result
partly of the operation of natural economic conditions, but partly
also the design. According to the terms of the sale held by the So-
ciety of the New York Hospital in 1889, the lots on 114th, 113th
and part of 112th streets, between Amsterdam avenue and the
Boulevard, were restricted for a given period — 20 years, we believe
— to the use of dwellings. Attempts have since been made, but
without success, to obtain the consent of owners to a restriction of
the entire plateau. It is not impossible, however, that this object
may be accomplished by the Morningside Protective Association,
of which Seth Low is president; Mr. Spencer Trask, treasurer;
and Mr. J. P. Morgan, Jr., secretary; and of which Mr. H. H. Cam-
mann and Mr. Charles T. Barney are directors. But whether or
not the formal restriction of the plateau is achieved its character
as a high-class residence district is well established, both by the
improvements already made and by The sentiment of the prin-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. m
cipal owners. Most of the vacant land is held as investments by
such corporations and individuals of wealth as the Astors, C. P.
Huntington, Robert Goelet, Daniel S. Slawson, the White estate,
Jacob Lawson, Amos R. Eno,* Jordan L. Mott, the Society of the
New York Hospital, John Watts D. Peyster, James J. Goodwin,
Lucy W. Drexel, the Central National Bank, Mary B. O. D wight,
etc. Furthermore, in the absence of better transportation facili-
ties, the class of residents attracted to the heights is not of the
kind that is housed in the average flat.
The only transportational lines that traverse the plateau are
the horse-car lines on Amsterdam avenue and the Boulevard, the
nearest elevated stations being at 104th, 11 6th and 125th streets.
It is doubtful whether the change of power to the under-
ground electric trolley system on Amsterdam avenue will
materially affect the district, for this change will hardly achieve a
sufficient reduction in the distance between the heights and the
business portion of the island. However, the absence for the time
being of adequate transportation facilities may not be an un-
mixed evil, for if a considerable part of the land on the plateau
is left vacant until the surrounding territory is built up, ultimate
improvements are apt to be of a higher grade than those now
warranted and it is only a question of time when the projected
municipal rapid transit system, with a main line under the Boule-
vard will bring the plateau within easy reach of the lower city.
We will now consider the course of events subsequent to the year
1879 m the mercantile section of the city. The reader will remem-
ber that this was the locality that felt first the slow improvement
which followed the dark days ushered in by the panic of 1873.
When that financial disaster arrived it cut summarily short a move-
ment which had been in progress for a number of years, viz.: that
of replacing old buildings by more modern ones, a movement which
is essential if owners of property are to obtain to the full the bene-
fits of the "unearned increment." Many factors, to be sought for
in the larger circumstances of the life of the community, produce
this increment, but within the range of our review the chief operat-
*Lately deceased.
112 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing cause of the great increase in the value of down-town lots has
been the possibility of doubling or trebling the revenue obtainable
from a given superficial area due to the elevator and the skeleton
system of construction. These inventions have increased the poten-
tial value of every square foot of city property, and in the down-
town section have, economically, necessitated the erection of high
buildings.
We have seen that prior to 1879,. what m the modern sense may
be rightly termed the era of high building had commenced. The
number of towering structures were few; indeed, there were only
two office buildings — the Tribune and Western Union buildings —
which would be ranked to-day among the "skyscrapers. " The first
factor that came to the aid of the property owner and enabled him
to increase the capacity of his land and thus obtain larger income
The following table shows the building operations projected during the
period from 1892 to 1897, inclusive. The southerly side of 110th street, the
northerly side of 122d street, and the easterly side of Morningside avenue
do not form part of the district under review:
1892.
111th street, s s, 175 w Boulevard; dwelling $3,250
112th street, s s, 250 w Amsterdam av; dwelling 12,500
115th street, n s, 375 w Boulevard; two dwellings 30,000
120th street, n s, 100 w Amsterdam av; two dwellings 20,000
120th street, n s, 300 w Amsterdam av; Teachers' College 300,000
Total $365,750
1893.
Amsterdam, Morningside, 110th and 113th streets; St. John's
Cathedral $5,000,000
Amsterdam, e s, between 113th and 114th streets; St. Luke's
Hospital 1,000,000
Total $6,000,000
1894.
Morningside, s w corner 114th street; St. Luke's Hospital $500
Amsterdam, n e corner 117th street; flat 60,000
Amsterdam, n w corner 122d street; shed 250
117th street, n s, 40 e Amsterdam; six dwellings 120,000
Total $180,750
1895.
110th street, n s, 75 e Boulevard; six flats $120,000
112th street, n s, 225 w Amsterdam av; three flats 54,000
112th street, n s, 140 w Amsterdam av; two flats 42,000
116th and 120th streets, between Amsterdam and Boulevard;
Columbia College Library 750,000
Same location; Columbia College conservatory 300
117th street, n s, 150 e Amsterdam; ten dwellings : 200,000
Total $1,166,300
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 113
from it was the elevator. This device made it possible to increase
the height of buildings by three or four stories, scarcely more. But
the limitation at this point did not arise from the fact that the
capabilities of the elevator were exhausted. It was due to economic
difficulties which arose at that height from structural necessities.
Each foot of elevation demanded in the structure of buildings wider
foundations and thicker walls, so that beyond a certain height much
of the area gained in the upper stories was offset by the loss of
space in the lower stories and by a much greater proportional cost
of construction. It was at this juncture that the iron skeleton sys-
tem of construction was introduced to supplement and extend the
possibilities which the elevator had created. In addition to the pos-
sibilities obtained from the elevator and the skeleton construction,
the erection of high edifices has been further stimulated by the im-
portant economies which have been made year after year in build-
ing methods, economies that have reduced the cost of the typical
skyscraper from $2 to 40 or 30 cents per cubic foot.
Until 1879, the Tribune and Western Union buildings stood
1896.
Amsterdam, n w corner 112th street; Home for Aged Couples. . . $140,000
114th street, s s, 125 w Boulevard; seven dwellings Cost not given
116th and 120th streets, between Boulevard and Amsterdam; Co-
lumbia College 375,000
Same location and owner 220,000
Same location and owner Cost not given
Same location and owner; chemical laboratory 400,000
Same location and owner; gymnasium, etc 600,000
120th street, n s, 455 w Amsterdam; Teachers' College 200,000
119th and 120th streets, between Boulevard and Claremont;
Barnard College 132,000
Same location and owner 160,000
Total $2,227,000
1897. (To September 11, inclusive.)
Amsterdam, n w corner 113th street; flats $75,000
116th and 120th streets, between Boulevard and Amsterdam; Co-
lumbia College vaults 60,000
Boulevard, w s, 221.10 s 122d street; shop < . 2,000
113th street, s s, 125 e Boulevard; seven dwellings 97,000
113th street, s s, 94 e Riverside; three dwellings 30,000
113th street, s s, 150 w Boulevard; dwelling 15,000
113th street, n s, 300 w Boulevard; five dwellings 95,000
114th street, No. 605; dwelling 16,000
114th street, s s, 325 w Amsterdam; two dwellings 36,000
Claremont, 118th to 119th street; Barnard College dormitory. . 150,000
Total $576,000
8
114 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
alone as examples of the modern talj building, not because of
financial ill success, but because of hard times. In that year, how-
ever, under the more prosperous conditions then prevailing, the
era of high buildings commenced or recommenced in earnest. The
Smith Building on Cortlandt street was finished, the Morse Build-
ing, on the northeast corner of Nassau and Beekman was finished,
and in the same year (1879) the London, Liverpool and Globe
Insurance Company purchased Nos. 47 and 49 William street and
Nos. 41 and 43 Pine street for $175,000 preparatory to erecting the
large structure now standing on that site. Eighteen hundred and
eighty was a particularly good year for general business and many
large transactions in down-town mercantile property were consum-
mated, and a few large structures were commenced. The iron store
building on Broadway, at Grand street, was started. The north-
west corner of Broadway and Duane street, upon which stands
the headquarters * of the Mutual Reserve Life Fund, was sold for
$250,000. John Jacob Astor purchased Nos. 8 and 10 Wall street
for $500,000, and William Astor, No. 6 Wall street, for $156,250,
acquisitions which led to important improvements. The United
Bank Building, on the northeast corner of Broadway and Wall
street, was commenced. In 1881 there was a brisk demand for
property around Beaver, Broad and Stone streets in the immediate
vicinity of the site upon which the new Produce Exchange was to
be built. John Jacob Astor bought No. 5 Pine street for $83,000,
and early in the year it was settled that the great Mills Building on
Broad street and Wall street was more than a paper scheme. Plans
were filed for an iron building, designed by Richard M. Hunt, at
Nos. 162 and 164 Broadway, to cost $200,000. Temple Court, on
the site occupied by Clinton Hall, southwest corner of Beekman
and Nassau streets, was projected. This old hall was one of New
York's historical edifices, haunted by the memories of bygone gen-
erations. It was there that the fashionable society of the metropolis
gathered in the Thirties for musical and literary entertainments. It
was then in the aristocratic district. The ground, with the excep-
tion of the corner lot, was sold in 1839 for $55,000. Among other
notable transactions in 1881 was the sale of Nos. 361 and 363
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 115
Broadway, on which was a six-story iron store, for $250,000, and
the seven-story marble building Nos. 67 and 69 Wall street, was
started. In this year the fire insurance business began to concen-
trate in the district between Wall and Liberty streets, Broadway
and Pearl street, which subsequently resulted in a series of costly
improvements. The Produce Exchange secured the site for its
building which was started in this year. Plans were furnished also
for the Welles Building, Nos. 14, 16, 18 and 20 Broadawy, extend-
ing by an L to Nos. 5 and 7 Beaver street. In July, Cyrus W.
Field purchased at auction the old Washington Hotel on the north-
west corner of Broadway and Battery place for $167,500, also from
Caroline W. Astor for $70,000 the adjacent property on the north-
east corner of Battery place and Greenwich street, transactions
which at that time produced much discussion as to the use which
the new owner would make of the land. Some said it was to be em-
ployed as headquarters for the elevated roads and others thought
that perhaps it would be the site of a large apartment house com-
manding the superb prospect over the river and bay. In October
the New York Steam Heating Co. commenced the erection of a
portion of its building on the west side of Greenwich street,
between Cortlandt and Dey streets. The Vanderbilt Building on
Nassau street, on the southeast corner of Beekman street, was also
in course of construction in this year — a year so prolific of import-
ant improvements.
In the following year Cyrus W. Field bought No. 3 Broadway,
41.6x170, for $200,000, and started the Washington Building. The
old home of the "World," on the corner of Beekman street, opposite
the City Hall Park, was destroyed by fire in January, and Orlando
B. Potter at once began to erect on the site the building that bears
his name. Lamb & Rich prepared plans for an architecturally
noteworthy building, among the multitude of crudities and plati-
tudes in its vicinity, on the southeast corner of Broadway and
Broome street, for William H. de Forest. A. J. Bloor was engaged
with the designs for the building on the northwest corner of
Liberty and Nassau streets, and at this time, obliquely opposite, on
the corner of the same streets, the Mutual Life Insurance Company
Il6 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
was preparing to build. Toward the close of the year the Goelets
determined to improve property recently acquired by them on
Whitehall street, between Stone and Bridge streets. It embraced
the entire block on Whitehall street, and as it was occupied then by
Kimball's cotton warehouse, that name was given to the new
edifice.
In 1883 the Williamsburgh Fire Insurance Company started to
build on the northeast corner of Broadway and Liberty street on
the property acquired at the Jumel sale, and in January plans
were filed for the Merchants' Bank Building, Nos. 40 and 42 Wall
street. These and the improvements already mentioned marked
the beginning of the reconstruction of Wall street. Later in the
year the Cotton Exchange was decided upon, the plans being filed
in October. The Mercantile Exchange also was planned for.
In 1884 the Standard Oil Company started work upon its
headquarters on lower Broadway. No. 54 Wall street was pur-
chased by J. A. Scrymser for $355,000, and No. 33 Nassau street
by R. Stuart for $165,000. It is interesting to note that in this year
the Stock Exchange, the removal of which has been discussed on
several occasions, advertised for a site for a new building within
the district bounded by State, Pearl, Duane and Church streets.
The latter circumstance recalls the fact that it was expected for
several years, and for a time it was considered as settled, that a
movement further northward of the financial centre of the city from
the neighborhood of Wall street was inevitable, and more than once
there was serious talk of moving the Exchange. However, the suc-
cess of the elevated roads and the erection of high buildings ren-
dered shifting quite unnecessary.
Early in 1884 the first sale of the old French's Hotel, facing City
Hall Park, was made, the property going to one of the heirs at
$410,000. This was the first step in the replacement by modern
structures of the old hostelry which represented New York of more
than a generation ago. In this year the office building for the
Astor estate from No. 94 to 98 Broadway, with f routings on Wall
and Pine streets, was commenced. The land on which this building
was to stand was originally purchased at prices which seemed
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
II?
absurdly low, compared with those which now obtain. The lot,
No. 96 Broadway, size 21.9x100x20.10x100, was purchased by
John Jacob Astor from Hezekiah Wheeler, merchant tailor, on
April 14, 1847, f°r $27,600; No. 94, which is 16.6x100x13.10x100,
was purchased by William W. Astor, from the heirs of William B.
Gilley, on March 16, 1853, for $32,500. Compare these prices with
sales made at the time the Astors determined to improve — for in-
stance, the building No. 62 Broadway and No. 21 New street, near
Exchange place, was purchased on May 8, 1883, for $178,500. The
house No. 68 Broadway and No. 17 New street, size 22.10x119.5,
was sold on March 1, 1883, for $170,000. Broadway, Nos. 52, 54
and 56, and 31 to 39 New street, 124. 11 on Broadway, X159.10X
1 30. 1 on New street, x 135.2 on Exchange place, was sold on Feb-
ruary 20, 1883, for $1,000,000. The northwest corner of Broadway
and Liberty street, 25.4x85.2, with an L 25.4 and about 47.7 on
Liberty street, was bought under the hammer at the Jumel estate
sale, May 31, 1882, by the Williamsburgh City Fire Insurance Com-
pany for $356,000. This shows the great difference between the
prices which obtained before the Civil War as compared with those
demanded for choice Broadway property twenty years later.
Toward the close of 1885 there were labor troubles which
hampered and prevented operations. By the first of the new year,
however, they were all terminated, and bad times in Europe and the
slight dullness in the mercantile world led to .decline in wages and
building material, which somewhat stimulated building operations
down town. The Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank determined to
build upon Chambers street, and appointed W. H. Hume to draw
the plans. The final partition sale of French's Hotel was held in
October and the property passed into the hands of Pelham St.
George Bissell, for $460,000. In 1886 Aldrich Court was
commenced at Nos. 41 to 45 Broadway. The Down-town Associ-
ation commenced its club building at Nos. 60 and 62 Pine street
and 22 and 24 Cedar street. The Metropolitan Telephone and Tele-
graph Company was preparing to build at Nos. 16 to 20 Cortlandt
street, and the Equitable Life Insurance Company called upon
George B. Post for plans for what was practically the reconstruc-
Il8 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
tion of its old headquarters on Broadway, first constructed in
1868. The Gallatin National Bank was building in this year, so
was the structure adjacent, No. 38 Wall street. No. 54 Wall street
was building. St. Paul's School, Church street, in the rear of St.
Paul's Church, was under way. The Consolidated Exchange was
planned for. The design of Stephen D. Hatch for the new Armory
Building, on the site of the Produce Exchange, received a favorable
indorsement from the Secretary of War.
Following 1887 there was, for a year or two, a lull in large build-
ing operations down town. The skeleton system of construction
had not yet been adopted and architects were doing no more than
experiment with iron in the vertical supports of buildings. The
first edifices in which this plan of construction was employed were
the Tower Building, at No. 50 Broadway, and the London and
Lancashire headquarters, on Cedar street. The former building
dates from 1889 and the latter from 1890.
With the adoption of the skeleton system the second period of
the high building era began. Roughly speaking, it dates from
1890. Among the principal office buildings which belong to it are
the following,* the dates given being the years in which the plans
were filed: 1889. The Times Building, 13 stories, and the World
Building, 15 stories; the Union Trust Company's Building, Broad-
way and New street, 10 stories ; the Farmers' Loan and Trust Com-
pany's Building, Nos. 16 to 22 William street, 8 stories. 1890.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, northeast corner of
Madison avenue and 23d street, 12 stories; Clinton Hall, Astor and
Lafayette places, 7 stories ; the Western Union Telegraph Build-
ing, Broadway and Dey street, 10 stories. t 1891. The Havemeyer
Building, Cortlandt and Church streets, 14 stories ; the Mail and
Express Building, No. 203 Broadway, 11 stories; the Mohawk
Building, 5th avenue, southwest corner 21st street, 9 stories; the
United Charities Building, Fourth avenue, northeast corner of 22d
street, 7 stories; the D. L. &. W. R. R. Building, No. 26 Exchange
place, 10 stories; the Wolf Building, Nassau, southwest corner of
Fulton, 9 stories; the Vanderbilt Building, No. 15 and 17 Beekman
♦Not all the buildings here mentioned are constructed upon the skeleton
system.
tReconstructed after fire. The upper five stories are new.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 119
street, 15 stories; the building Nos. 39 and 41 Cortlandt street, 12
stories; the Morris Building, Nos. 64 and 68 Broad street, 10 sto-
ries. 1892. The Cable Building, Broadway, northwest corner of
Houston street, 9 stories ; the Postal Telegraph Building, Broad-
way, northwest corner of Murray, 13 stories; the Mutual Reserve
Building, Broadway, northwest corner of Duane, 14 stories; the
Home Life Insurance Building, No. 256 Broadway, 16 stories; the
Church Mission House, southeast corner of Fourth avenue and 22d
street, 6 stories. 1893. The Manhattan Life Insurance Building, Nos.
64 to 68 Broadway, 16 stories ; the Lawyers' Title Insurance Co.'s
Building, Nos. 44^ to 46 Maiden lane, 13 stories; the Corn Ex-
change Bank Building, William street, northwest corner of Beaver,
11 stories; the Continental Fire Insurance Co.'s Building, Nos. 44
to 48 Cedar street, 13 stories ; the Wallace Building, Nos. 56 and 58
Pine street, 12 stories; the Kuhn, Loeb & Co.'s Building, Nos. 2.7
and 29 Pine street, 13 stories ; the Shoe and Leather Bank Building,
Broadway, southwest corner of Chambers, 12 stories; the Constable
Building, Fifth avenue, northeast corner of 18th street; 12 stories ;the
Downing Building, Nos. 106 and 108 Fulton street, 16 stories. 1894.
The Presbyterian Building, Fifth avenue, northwest corner of 20th
street, 12J stories; the American Tract Society's Building, Nos.
144 to 150 Nassau street, 2^ stories ; New York Life Building (rear),
Elm, Leonard and Catharine streets, 12 stories; American Surety
Building, Nos. 100 to 106 Broadway, 20 stories ; the Wolfe Building,
No. 66 Maiden lane, 13 stories; the Fidelity and Casualty Building,
Cedar street, north side, from Temple street to Trinity place, 11
stories ; the Coffee Exchange, Nos. 113 to 117 Pearl street, 9 stories.
1895. The St. Paul Building, Broadway, Park row and Ann street,
26 stories; the Bowling Green Building, Nos. 5 to 11 Broadway, 16
stories ; the New York Life Building (front), Nos. 346 to 348 Broad-
way, 12 stories ; the Woodbridge Building, Nos. 98 to 106 William
street, 12 stories; the Commercial Cable Building, Nos. 20 to 22
Broad street, 21 stories; the Syndicate Building, Nassau, southwest
corner of Liberty, 15 stories; the Sampson Building, Nos. 63 and
65 Wall street, 16 stories; the Rhinelander Building, Nos. 232 to
238 William, 12 stories; the Lord's Court Building, Nos. 25 to 29
120 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
William, 15 stories; the Weld Building, Broadway, southwest cor-
ner of 12th street, 14 stories. 1896. The Central National Bank
Building, Broadway, northeast corner of Pearl, 15 stories; the Em-
pire Building, Broadway, southeast corner of Rector, 20 stories ; the
Hudson Building, Nos. 32 and 34 Broadway, 16 stories; Queen's
Insurance Co.'s Building, William street, northwest corner of Cedar,
15 stories; the Townsend Building, Broadway, northwest corner of
25th street, 12 stories; the Gillender Building, Wall street, north-
west corner of Nassau, 16 stories; the Bank of Commerce, Nassau
street, northwest corner of Cedar, 20 stories ; the St. James Building,
Broadway, southwest corner of 26th street, 16 stories; Exchange
Court Building, Broadway, Exchange place and New street, 12 stor-
ies; the Western National Bank Building, Pine street, northwest
corner of Nassau, 7 stories; Ivins Syndicate Building, Nos. 13 to 21
Park row and No. 13 Ann street, 30 stories; the Metropolitan Tele-
phone Building,- Nos. 13 to 17 Dey street, 15 stories. 1897. The
Washington Life Building, Broadway, southwest corner of Liberty,
19 stories ; the Singer Building, Broadway, northwest corner of Lib-
erty, 10 stories; the Dun Building, Nos. 290 to 294 Broadway, 15
stories ; the Cushman Building, Broadway, northeast corner of
Maiden lane, 12 stories; the building Nos. 9 to 13 Maiden lane, 15
stories ; the Chesebrough Building, Pearl, southeast corner of State,
15 stories.
The multiplication of the tall building since 1879, and particu-
larly since the crisis of 1893 (for in times of financial peril capital
forsakes other securities and turns to real estate), has placed down-
town mercantile property in a critical situation. Land values have
adjusted themselves to the income producing power of the tajl
buildings, while the sudden increase in accommodations, resulting
from the erection of these mammoth structures, has reduced ren-
tals, thus increasing the pressure on the owners of antiquated
properties to improve, and aggravate the competition for tenants.
Building in the down-town section has unquestionably been tem-
porarily overdone, as may be seen by a comparison of the increase
in accommodations in a typical office building district with the de-
velopment of the city's business since 1880. The district selected is
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 121
the eleven blocks bounded by Beaver street, Battery place, Trinity
place, Pine and William streets, which houses the bulk of the city's
financial business. In this district are located no less than forty-
four modern office buildings, including the Bowling Green, Empire,
Manhattan Life, Standard Oil, Johnson, Morris, Lord's Court,
Commercial Cable, Exchange Court, Surety and Gillender build-
ings. Offices under construction are, for obvious reasons, treated
as if already built. The ground dimensions of each of these forty-
four buildings have been obtained from the insurance maps, like-
wise the number of stories which each contains. From an ex-
amination of the plans of several typical structures, and from in-
quiry among architects, the conclusion is drawn that 60 per cent
of the floor space of modern office buildings is rentable. The aver-
age number of stories in the old buildings that remain in the dis-
trict under consideration is 43-11. This average has been accepted
for the structures replaced by the forty-four new buildings, their
total ground dimensions being, of course, the same as those of the
latter. Inquiry similar to that conducted in the case of new build-
ings fixes the average amount of rentable floor space in the old
buildings at 70 per cent. With the foregoing elements as a basis
for computation, the following results are obtained:
Rentable.
Floor space in 11 blocks in 1880, square feet 2,600,871
Less since displaced for new buildings 1,167,891
Balance, square feet 1,432,980
Added by new buildings, square feet 2,481,004
Total square feet, 1897 3,913,984
It is found that since 1880, there has been added to the rentable
floor space 1,313,113 square feet, an increase of 50 per cent., or the
equivalent of 13,131 rooms each 10 feet square. Moreover, the ac-
tual increase of gross floor space on the land improved was 2,466,-
591 square feet, or 147 per cent., and of rentable space, 1,313,113
square feet, or 112 per cent. The last mentioned figures show the
capacity of the high building for increasing office space, so far as it
has been shown in this city over a series of years. Of course, it is
proportionately very much greater as we come to present times,
when twenty-story buildings are becoming somewhat common in the
122 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
district under review and where all such buildings have been erected
in the last four years.
Now, while in this period of seventeen years the rentable office
space has been doubling, what has been the increase in business?
A partial test will be furnished by the exports and imports at New
York City. In view of the periodical changes in the tariff it is im-
possible to take individual years as a basis for comparison. This
difficulty is overcome if we let the total value of the imports and ex-
ports of 1880 be represented by the average annual im-
ports and exports for the ten years from 1871 to 1880,
inclusive, and the value of the foreign commerce of 1896
by the average annual commerce for the period from 1885
to 1896. On this basis the total value of the imports and
exports at New York was, in 1880, $728,034,111; in 1896, $963,-
465,761 — an increase of 32 per cent, in commerce as against 50
per cent, in rentable office space. The foreign commerce of the
port of New York, however, is only one of the elements which
require consideration in determining the demand for office ac-
commodation. General business, as measured by the clearings
of the New York Clearing House, does not show a correspond-
ingly large growth. The average annual clearings during the
decade ending in 1896 was $32,479,409,174 as against $27,627,943,-
031 during the decade ending in 1880 — an increase of only 17 per
cent. Clearings fell from 36 billions of dollars in the year before
the panic to 29 billions in 1896. The reports of the transactions
of the Stock, Produce and Cotton Exchanges, show also a pro-
nounced falling off in business since 1893, as the following state-
ment of the number of shares and par values of State, railroad
and government bonds dealt in on the New York Stock Ex-
change, and of the grain in bushels, bought and sold on the New
York Produce Exchange and the number of bales of cotton
traded in on the New York Cotton Exchange each year, from
1892 to 1896, inclusive, will show:
1
Shares of State & R. R. Government Cotton, Grain,
Tear. stocks. bonds. bonds. bales. bushels.
1892 86,850,930 $501,398,200 $1,662,400 53,359,900 1,585,154,365
1893 77,984,965 299,372,327 2,021,450 37,894,400 1,342,711,302
1894 42,275,736 352,741,950 4,293,300 39,469,800 1,475,811,925
1895 66,440,576 495,904,950 7,046,250 56,465,000 1,899,353,400
1896 54,490,043 353,815,850 27,121,550 35,113,000 1,285,903,500
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
123
Foreign commerce recovered from the effects of the panic of
1893 in the space of a year, but it was not until last summer that
the Exchanges witnessed a substantial renewal of activity. It is
in this fact that a hopeful outlook for high buildings is to be
found. Existing conditions make it reasonable to conclude
that the volume of business will experience a substantial increase,
and be accompanied by a sharper demand for money and by ad-
vances in the price of building materials, thereby giving a check to
the building movement while augmenting the demand for office
space.
As to the effect of the introduction of the elevator and steel
construction on the value of land in the heart of the downtown
section, the following table of sales and prices, arranged chrono-
logically, will give some idea:
Location. Date sold.
Broadway, No. 84 Nov. 30, 1868.
Broadway, No. 254 Jan. 30, 1809.
Pine, No. 34 Mar. 4, 1869.
Nassau, n e cor Pine. .. . June 22, 1869.
Broadway, No. 179 May — , 1870.
Broadway, e s, 67 s Pine. Feb. 25, 1871.
Broadway, No. 180 April 20, 1871.
Pine, Nos. 4 to 6 July 31, 1871.
Broad, s e cor Wall April 20, 1872.
Wall, No. 27 April 27, 1872.
Broadway, n w cor Dey . . May 1, 1872.
B'way, n e cor Maiden la. May 3, 1872.
Pine, Nos. 4 to 6 Nov. 8, 1872.
Broadway, No. 179 Feb. 14, 1873.
Broadway, No. 200 Feb. 4, 1875.
Broadway, Nos. 112-114... June 25, 1875.
Broadway, No. 180 July 1, 1875.
Maiden lane, No. 6 Oct. 10, 1879.
Broadway, Nos. 234-235. . . April 4, 1880.
Broadway, No. 92 May 1, 1880.
Wall, No. 4 April 29, 1880.
Wall, No. 6 Aug. 14, 1880.
Wall, Nos. 8 and 10 Jan. 22, 1881.
Broad, No. 11 Mar. 11, 1881.
Pine, No. 9 Mar. 17, 1881.
Broad, Nos. 17-19, and) April 27, 1881.
Exchange pi., No. 55. . \
Wall and Broad, s w cor . April — , 1882.
Wall, No. 7, s w cor? May 1,1882.
Wall and New S
Wall, No. 35, and Broad, \ May 2, 1882.
Nos. 13 and 15 \
Nassau, No. 19 May 10, 1882.
Liberty and B'way, n e cor May 31, 1882.
Cedar and Nassau, s e cor July 31, 1882.
Wall, No. 12 Nov. 1,1882.
B'way and Exchange pi.. \ Jan. — , 1883.
s e cor J
Pine, Nos. 4 and 6 Mar. 8, 1884.
Pine, Nos. 8 and 10 Mar. 8, 1884.
B'way and Pine, n e cor. . Jan. 2, 1885.
No. of
Purchaser. sq.ft.
Danford N. Barney. . 1,800
Home Life Ins. Co... 2,550
Daniel H. Baldwin. . 1,392
Fourth National Bank 5,615
International Ins. Co. 2,584
Continental Ins. Co.. . 1,750
Jhas. J. Smull 2,600
William Farman .... 2,472
Anthony J. Drexel. . . . 717
Anthony J. Drexel 1,803
Western Un. Tel Co. 6,250
Don Alonzo Cushman 1,250
Chas. E. Vernam 2,472
Samuel D. Babcock. . 2,525
Julia C. Witthaus... 3,680
John W. Simpson 3,525
Chas. G. Baadouine.. 2,600
Henry G. DeForest. . . 1,883
Thomas Maddock 4,220
First National Bank. . 2,733
First National Bank. . 1,065
Chas. F. Southmayd ) 2,699
trustee Wm. Astor J
J. J. Astor 5,709
D. O. Mills 2,486
J. J. Astor 1,752
D. O. Mills 8,655
M. Wilkes 508
W. W. Smith 3,525
D. O. .Mills 8,622
Julia F. Ludlow 2,050
Wmsb'rg Fire Ins. Co 3,070
Germania Life Ins. Co. 5,494
J. J. Astor 2,695
J. J. Astor 19,115
Equitable L. Ass. Co. 2,506
Equitable L. Ass. Co
Equitable L. Ass. Co. 4,896
Price,
Cost.
sq. ft.
$130,000
$72.22
140,000
54.90
45,200
32.47
470,000
83.70
165,000
63.85
112,500
64.28
75,000
28.84
120,750
48.84
250,000
348,67
250,000
138.65
850,000
136.00
104,0:10
131.20
150 000
60.67
155,000
61.38
160,000
43.20
300,000
85.10
155,000
59.61
47,750
25.35
122,000
28.90
220,000
80.49
94,000
88.26
156,250
57.63
500,000
87.58
200,000
80.44
100,000
57.07
637,500
73.65
168,000
330.70
240,000
157.37
625,000
72.48
170,000
82.92
356,000
115.96
462,000
84.18
300,000
111.31
1,000,000
52.31
267,500
106,74
400,000
115.00
762,500
155.75
124 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Location. Date sold. No. of Price,
Purchaser. sq.ft. Cost. sq. ft.
Broadway, No. 135, s el
cor Cedar, extending J- Mar. 15, 1887. Horace Waldo 3,283 351,000 106.94
to Temple st J
Broadway, No. 137 Mar. 15, 1887. Niagara Fire Ins. Co. 2,525 356,200 141.10
Broadway, No. 149; Lib- } Mar. 14, 1890. Singer Mfg. Co 3,006% 544,500 181.12
erty, No. 83, n w cor. )
B'way, No. 145, s w cor]
Liberty; Liberty, Nos. }- Dec. 3, 1891. Mrs. John Wolfe et al 6,587 770,000 118.47
86-88, s e cor Temple. J
B'way, No.68; New,No. 17 Mar. 15, 1892. Manhattan L. Ins. Co 2,830 375,000 132.51
Park row, No. 75; North) Mar. 15, 1892. John Delahunty 1,263 150,000 118.76
William, No. 23 }
Park row and Ann st, 1 Mar. 29, 1802. Joseph Pulitzer 1,317 208,000 157.93
n e cor \
B'way, Nos. 64 and ffi;l April 4,1892. Manhattan L. Ins. Co 5,413 850,000 157.03
New, Nos 17 and 19 j
B'way, Nos. 64 and 66; ) April 4, 1892. Manhattan L. Ins. Co 5,420 850,000 156.82
New, No. 19 }
Broadway, No. 257 April 15, 1893. Home Life Ins. Co.. 2,700 250,000 92.60
B'way, Nos. 32 to 42.. . ? April 21, 1893. J. N. Golding 33,016 1,900,000 57.55
New, Nos. 49 to 71 \
B'way, s w cor 31st st. . . April 24, 1893. Joseph Wechsler 12,187 700,000 57.44
Broad, No. 22 } April 25, 1893. J. M. Levy 4,410 310,000 70.30
New, Nos. 20 and 20%. . ]
Nassau, Nos. 40 and 44, ) May 18, 1894. Brooklyn Life Ins. Co 923 135,500 146.80
n e cor Liberty \
Dey, No. 15 Mar. 20, 1894. Met. Tel. & Tel. Co. . 1,899 100,000 52.65
Maiden lane, No. 11 May 21,1894. L. A. Fellows 1,662% 128,000 76.99
Liberty, No. 98, s e cor) May 23, 1894. W. E. Dennis 1,380 125,000 90.57
Trinity pi |
John, No. 19 June 28, 1894. M. S. Ives 1,777 126,250 71.04
John, No. 90, s e cor) Oct. 8, 1894. J. G. Floyd 846 50,000 59.10
Gold S
Liberty, Nos. 92 and 94, ) Jan. 18, 1895. W. Agar 2,828 250,000 88.40
s w cor Temple st. . . . J
Ann, Nos. 10 and 12 Jan. 31,1895. National Park Bank. 1,144 150,000 106.60
Maiden lane, No. 62, s w 1 Feb. 1,1895. T. G. Thomas 1,277 100,000 78.30
cor William |
Wall, No. 65 Feb. 28,1895. Duchess de Dino ... 2,32iy2 138,905 59.83
Broadway, Nos. 218 to]
222, s e cor Park row }■ Mar. 13, 1S95. H. O. Havemeyer . . . 5,780 900,000 155.70
Ann, No. 6 J
Nassau, Nos. 35 and 39, 1
Liberty, Nos. 56 and \ April 26, 1895. H. Lamb 9,188 fl,250,000 136.04
58, s w cor J
Fulton, No. 140 May 27, 1895. J. S. Lyle 2,725 136,250 50.00
Exchange pi, No. 66, se) June 24, 1895. J. H. Johnston 1,374 170,000 123.79
cor New st j
Broad, Nos. 20 and 22; f Aug. 22, 1895. Com'l Cable Bldg. Co. 7,536 *l,126,30O 149.32
New, Nos. 18, 20, 20.%. . S
Dey, No. 17 Nov. 12, 1895. Met. Tel & Tel. Co. . 1,909% 116,000 60.76
William, No. 157, n w ) Nov. 25, 1895. S. Palmer 1,463 82,500 56.39
cor Ann J
w cor Pine '. . \ Dec. 5,1895. Hanover Nat'l Bank. 6,034 1,350,000 223.39
Pine, No. 11 J
William, Nos. 67 and 69, 1 Jan. 15,1896. Queens Ins. Co 3,137y3 340,000 108.37
n w cor Cedar
Broadway, No. 39 ? Feb. 1,1896. W. B. Bacon et al. .. 5,680 300,000 52.81
Trinity pi, No. 15 j
Nassau, Nos. 13 to 15, [ Mar. 4, 1896. ( J. E. Searles for } 2,959 740,000 250.00
n w cor Pine J ( Equitable Life. J
Maiden lane, No. 11 Mar. 25, 1896. N. Y. Realty Co 1,662% 129,680 78.00
Broadway, No. 57; New]
Church st, No. 33 or [ April 1, 1896. R.A.& W.A.Pinkerton 5,769 395,000 68.46
Trinity pi., No. 95... J
Broadway No. 291, n w) April 10, 1896. J t'nistees° wfll oil 3,074 402,000 130.77
cor Reade J [ A# Hemenway. J
Wall, Nos. 41 and 43 April 16, 1896. Wm. K. Aston 4,259 805,000 189.01
Liberty, Nos. 95 and 97... April 30, 1896. N. Y. Realty Co 3,562 125,500 35.54
Broadway, No. 290, n e) May 1,1896. R. G. Dun 1,132 125,000 110.42
cor Reade J
William, No. 60 May 2,1896. Com'l Union A. Co. . . 928 100,000 107.75
Spring, Nos. 139 & 141, ) May 7, 1896. J. Weil & B. Mayer. . 5,300 258,000 48.71
Wooster, Nos. 94 to 98. )
•Largely represented by stock of purchasing company,
flncludes consideration for building loan, etc.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK
125
Location. Date sold. No. of Price,
Purchaser. sq.ft. Cost. sq. ft.
William, No. 62 May 16,1896. Germania F. Ins. Co. 3,101 200,000 64.49
Walker, No. 81 June 27, 1896. E. Matheson 3,600 120,000 33.33
Broadway, Nos. 5 to 11;) July 25,1896. Broadway Realty Co. 29,152 3,000,000 102.S0
Greenwich, Nos. 5 to 11 J
Lispenard, Nos. 60 and 62 Sept. 1, 1896. E. G. Stedman 4,227 163,000 38.56
William. Nos. 75 and 77. . Oct. 30, 1896. H. L. P. Stokes 4,081 408,000 99.97
Nassau, No. 80 Dec. 30,1896. N. Y. Realty Cd.' 3,538 160,000 45.22
Pine, No. 35 Feb. 6, 1897. Union Assur. Society 1,722 150,000 87.00
Walker, Nos. 105 to 107. . Mar. 4, 1897. W. J. Devlin 5,131 250,000 48.72
Maiden lane, No. 6 Mar. 18, 1897. H. Marquand 1,884 141,000 74.89
Nassau, No. 80 June 7, 1897. C. T. Harbeck . . 3,472 200,000 57.60
Maiden lane, No. 15 June 11, 1897 2,332 80,000 76.33
Broadway, n e cor of) June — , 1897. G. F. Wilcoxson 1,250 245,500 196.40
Maiden lane )
An important movement down town is that which has resulted
in the conversion of the streets parallel to Broadway, between Canal
street and Washington square, to warehouse purposes. This new
expansion of the business part of the city has come to be known as
the Mercantile District. As far back as 1879 there was consider-
able activity in the lower parts of Spring, Greene and Mercer
streets. Along Greene and Mercer streets a number of large
warehouses and factories were constructed, and business began
to encroach upon that part of the town. Before the expulsion of
the Tweed Ring, there were a number of schemes afoot to
regenerate certain portions of New York City. One company
was partially organized to buy up property in the Five Points,
and make this locality a business centre. Other schemes were on foot
to regenerate the old 8th Ward ; that is, that part of the city lying
above Canal street and west of Broadway, but below Houston
street. The argument was used that there was a section of the city
within gunshot of the largest business marts, which could be
reached readily, was adjacent to the docks on the North River, and
was low priced. It was urged that the growth of the city, from the
5th Ward upward, would make this territory especially valuable.
Indeed, it was in furtherance of this scheme that the Tweed Ring
proposed to run a street through Washington square, and extended
South Fifth avenue in the 8th Ward. The breaking up of the Ring
and hard times put a stop to these schemes. In 1879 far-seeing
real estate owners began to pay some attention to this part of
the city, with a view to future profit. Many large and costly stores
and factories were erected upon Mercer street, and there were some
efforts made to improve other streets parallel to Broadway and west
of that avenue.
126 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
This region was once the home of a large middle class popula-
tion, but the upward movement of population threw the old-fash-
ioned residences into the hands of ordinary tenants, while Mercer
and Greene streets, following the precedent set by Church street,
began to abound in some of the vilest haunts of the metropolis.
One by one the old malodorous dwellings along these thorough-
fares were pushed out by large warehouses, occupied principally by
the dry-goods and notions trades.
The building done, however, in these and the following years
cannot be properly included in what is known as the Mercantile
District. The creation of the new locality may be said to have
commenced in February, 1884, when the Cohnfeld Building was
erected at the southeast corner of Bleecker and Greene streets.
This was the pioneer structure, for which Mr. Alfred Zucker was re-
sponsible not only for the plans, but for the selection of site. The
friends of the owner and many experienced real estate men re-
garded the placing of such a building in such a position as a foolish
and ill-considered step — the reputation of the place was so bad and
its advantages for commercial purposes were so far from being ap-
preciated. A couple of years passed before Mr. Cohnfeld's example
attracted any imitators. In 1886 some work was done on Houston
street, and in 1887 on upper Greene street without, however, greatly
affecting the value of property. For instance, in 1884 a plot 25X
100, No. 163 Greene street, sold for $30,000, and a couple of years
later lots at Nos. 159 and 161 of the same size but somewhat better
improved were sold for $34,000 and $32,750 respectively.
Late in 1889, however, a very active buying movement com-
menced within the district bounded as follows: Commencing at
Broadway, northwest corner of Canal street, thence running north
along the west side of Broadway to the south side of 14th street,
In two weeks in 1882 plans for the following were filed: Greene street, No.
16, six-story iron store; cost, $26,000; Greene street, No. 18, six-story iron
store; cost, $32,000; Greene street, No. 45, six-story iron store; Greene
street, Nos. 121 and 123, six-story warehouse; cost, $75,000; Greene street,
No. 125, six-story warehouse; cost, $35,000; Greene street, No. 133, six-story
warehouse; cost, $48,000; Greene street, No. 135, six-story warehouse; cost,
$48,000; Greene street, No. 137, six-story warehouse; cost, $48,000; corner
Greene and Spring streets, warehouse; cost, $60,000; corner Greene and
Spring streets, warehouse; cost, $80,000.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 127
thence west along 14th street to the east side of 6th avenue, thence
running along 6th avenue to the southeast side of Carmine street,
thence southwest along Carmine street to the northeast side of
Varick street, thence southeast along Varick street to the north
side of Canal street, thence east along Canal street to Broadway
to a point at the beginning, nearly $16,000,000 worth of property
was sold in one year and plans were filed for buildings to cost nearly
$4,000,000. This decided the character of the district and produced
one of the most extensive movements in real estate that has oc-
curred down town within the period we are considering.
The tenantry of the new mercantile district was drawn very
largely from the wholesale firms occupying antiquated quarters in
Broadway, between Murray and 14th streets. Owners of Broad-
way property, in order to meet the competition of the improved
mercantile buildings in the new district, began, in 1890, to improve
on a large scale, with the result that the supply of mercantile housing
facilities has outstripped the demand. In January, 1898, there were
no less than 177 buildings for rent, in whole or in part, in Broad-
way, between Murray and 14th streets, of which 30 contained va-
cant stores, 128 one or more vacant lofts, and the rest vacant of-
fices.
The supremacy of this section of Broadway as a seat of wholesale
business makes it of interest to discover what the increase in mer-
cantile accommodations has been since the reconstruction of the ave-
nue began in 1890. The total store and loft space from Murray
street to 14th street in 1890 was 5,637,374 sq. ft. Of this 1,713,300
sq. ft. were removed to make way for new buildings, leaving 3,924,-
074 sq. ft. in the old buildings standing. To this new store and loft
buildings have added 3,699,121 sq. ft., making a total of that class
of space existing to-day of 7,623,195 sq. ft., or an increase of about
40 per cent, on the total of 1890. Of the space deducted 405,300
sq. ft. was replaced by office buildings, which contain a floor space
of 1,066,050 sq. ft. The last mentioned figures relate to the space
contained in the Postal, Home Life, Shoe and Leather Bank, Mu-
tual Reserve, Central Bank, New York Life and Cable Buildings.
Three other buildings might call for some further modification of
128 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the figures, but as they are store, loft and office buildings, they
have been classed among stores and lofts to prevent confusion by
making too many divisions. Consequently the new store and loft
space of 3,699,121 sq. ft. was substituted for 1,308,000 sq. ft., the
proportion of new to old displaced being nearly 2.8 to 1. Perhaps
some little deduction should be made because of the fact that some
of the old buildings removed were used as offices, everything hav-
ing, in the first place, been taken as store and loft space for the sake
of convenience ; but this would not materially change the result ar-
rived at. It should be mentioned, also, that no account has been
taken of the space in the Morton House Block, or that occupied by
Grace Church, so that all important necessary deductions have
been made. Another fact to be noted is that, unlike the floors in
store and loft buildings, only 60 per cent, of the space in modern
buildings is rentable, so that the new office buildings mentioned con-
tain in 1,066,050 sq. ft. floor space only 699,630 sq. ft. rentable
space. These figures may be summarized as follows:
Square ft.
Total floor space, Murray to 14th street, 1890 5,637,374
Less since removed for new bulidings: —
Square ft.
For stores and lofts 1,308,000
For offices 405,300— 1,713,300
Balance 3,924,074
Added by new store and loft building's 3,699,121
Total store and loft space, 1898 7,623,195
Total office floor space 1,066,050
Total office rentable space 699,630
The rapid production of new mercantile housing facilities has
naturally depressed rents. The upper lofts in unimproved build-
ings are, to use the expression of a competent authority, sacrificed,
while the rentals for upper, and, consequently, more desirable, lofts
in new buildings have declined about 12 cents per square foot in
the better part of the avenue, namely, between. Canal and 14th
streets. The pregnant fact remains, however, that, although rents
have fallen, land has appreciated in value. This fact, taken in con-
nection with the circumstance that very little property is offered
for sale, undoubtedly means that Broadway realty is in strong
hands, that modern improvements bring a fair return, and that
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
i2g
owners of antiquated buildings are waiting for a favorable oppor-
tunity to improve.
Since 1879 the extension northward of the business section of
the city has been steady and persistent. Of course, what remained
of a private character in 14th street has been utterly routed out,
23d street, from Third to Seventh avenue, has been completely
transformed for the purposes of retail trade, and 426. street has been
invaded by the shopkeeper. Sixth avenue, between 14th and 23d
streets, has assumed a position second only to Broadway as a shop-
ping centre. Fifth avenue, between the same parallels, is filling up
with office buildings and the stores of leading publishing houses.
Between 23d and 42d, or rather, perhaps, 59th street, in the cen-
trally located avenues, the typical three and four-story private dwel-
lings are rapidly being displaced by taller structures of a semi-pub-
lic nature — store and office buildings, studios, hotels, theatres,
clubs, and high-class apartment houses. During the last adminis-
tration large sums of money were expended on public improve-
ments in this central district — 14th to 59th street— particularly in
Fifth avenue. Furthermore, the change from horse power to the
underground electric trolley that is taking place on all the princi-
pal surface lines of the island has a tendency to facilitate local travel
within the district.
These several circumstances have given a marked upward turn to
real estate values, as may be seen at a glance bv reference to the tax
lists for 1898. During the past year the appreciation in the value of
land, apart from buildings, in the tax section bounded by 14th and
40th streets, the Hudson and East rivers, was some $11,240,000. In
the tax section bounded by 40th and 96th street, Sixth avenue, Cen-
tral Park West and the Hudson River, it was some $9,470,000. In
none of the remaining seven tax sections into which the island is
divided did the appreciation exceed $3,510,000.
MICHAEL A. MIKKELSEN.
130 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
APPENDIX.
N the foregoing pages reference has been made to
a number of the noted auction sales of Manhattan
real estate. Some of these deserve to be given in
full because, by the partition and distribution
among the public of large parcels of vacant land,
they gave the first impetus to building improvement in new locali-
ties ; others because, by a similar partition of extensive holdings of
antiquated properties, they encouraged the replacement of old with
larger buildings, which constitutes the most striking feature of real
estate activity in the rapidly expanding mercantile section of the
island. All auction sales are important as matters of record, inas-
much as they furnish a surer index to prices than the values given in
private sales, which are" not infrequently purposely inflated to affect
the market. The selection which follows has been made with a view
to illustrating land values in certain localities, now prominent on
the market, during what may be termed their formative periods.
The thi-ee Dyckman sales (1869-71) inaugurated the move-
ment which has resulted in the breaking up of the great estates in
the upper part of the island, many of which dated from Colonial
times. The Dyckman sales took place during the speculative period
which came to an end in 1873, and the property then sold brought
higher prices than could probably be obtained at the present day.
However, the distribution of this estate, which lay in the neighbor-
hood of 200th street, has not, owing to its extreme northerly loca-
tion, been productive of such marked results in the way of building
improvements as have attended sales of parcels farther south.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 131
The Carman Sale*
The next important sale that we have to notice is the Carman
sale. The Carman property, comprising 257 lots, was originally
disposed of at auction March 25, 1880. Owing to legal difficulties,
however, the buyers refused to take title, and the lots were again
put under the hammer April 6, 1881. In the former year the real
estate market was decidedly speculative, being buoyed up by the re-
turning tide of prosperity ; in the latter year it is evident that capital
had come to look for quicker profits than could be obtained from
outlying unimproved lots, as may be seen from the subjoined table:
Prices. Prices.
1880. 1881.
Lots on new av, north of 148th st $1,625 $2,365
10 lots on new av north of 153d st 4,675 4,375
1 lot on new av north of 154th st 850 825
13 lots on 175th st, bet 10th and 11th avs 9,850 8,365
1 lot on new av below 175th st 600 500
2 lots on 151st st, west of Boulevard. 2,400 2,050
2 lots on 152d st, 525 west of Boulevard 2,400 2,650
Riverside House and lots 21,000 12,500
Lots, being 101.11 on 12th av, bet 152d and 153d sts,
with water front on Hudson River of 99.11 2,500 1,100
Lot No. 22, being 104.11 on 12th av, bet 152d and 153d
sts, with water front on Hudson River of 99.11 2,500 1,100
14 city lots on a new av south of High Bridge park. .. . 3,500 3,920
5% city lots on a new av north of High Bridge park. . . . 2,530 2,338
Mansion House, including 16y2 city lots on a new av north
of High Bridge park 12,778 9,900
(jy2 city lots, on a new av north of High Bridge park. . . . 1,713 1,300
4% city lots, known as No. 183 in catalogue, on a new av
north of High Bridge park 1,065 1,065
5% city lots, known as No. 183, on a new av north of High
Bridge park 1,575 1,171
7 city lots, No. 185, on a new av north of High Bridge
^ Park 2,660 1,760
714 city lots, known in catalogue as No. 186, on a new av
north of High Bridge park 2,900 2,537
8% city lots, known as No. 189, on a new av north of High
Bridge park 2,397 2,100
10 city lots, known in catalogue as No. 190, and lying
north of High Bridge park 5,000 2,600
9 1-6 city lots, known as No. 189, north of High Bridge
Park 4.616 2,313
6% city lots, No. 188, north of High Bridge park 2,365 1,385
10 city lots on 10th av, south of Boulevard 11,500 8,500
Total $103,649 $67,809
Decrease in price $35,840
132
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The Mutual Life Insurance Co/s Sale*
The Mutual Life Insurance Company's sale comprised nine par-
cels of improved property and 227 vacant lots, and was held April
20, 1880, aggregating $663,455. The prices obtained were the high-
est paid at any time since 1874, although 50 per cent, lower than the
highest prices obtained for similar real estate before the panic of
1873. The prices obtained were certainly more than double the
amount which could have been secured in 1874. Lots which were
sold for $4,000 would not have brought more than $1,200 or $1,500
in 1874.
Boulevard, s e cor 69th st, 28. 6%xl36. 8^x25. 5x123. 8, to E. Livingston.$13,000
Boulevard, e s, adj above, 56.2x123.8x50x97.11, to E. Livingston 18,000
Boulevard, e s, adj above, 28.1x122.11x25x110.1, to E. Livingston 9,000
Boulevard, n w cor 139th st, 99.11x75, stable, to M. B. Baer 11,000
Boulevard, s w cor 140th st, 99.11x75, frame dwelling, to Stephen B.
French 17,600
Delmonico pi (Grove av), e s, 150 n Cliff st, 100x100, to J. L. Lindsay
att'y) 1,600
51st st (No. 217), n s, 200 e 3d av, 20x100.5, three-story brick house,
to James Hartigan 7,000
66th st, s s, 325 e 10th av, 25x100.5, to P. Yoran 2,900
66th st, n s, 125 e 10th av, 150x100.5, to Samuel Adams 23,100
69th st, s s, 136.8 e Boulevard, 25x75.5, to E. Livingston 5,100
76th st, n s, 100 e 10th av, 100x102.2, to F. P. Woodbury 15,200
76th st, n s, 200 e 10th av, 50x102.2, to John P. Huggins 8,000
77th st, s s, 100 e 10th av, 150x102.2, to James McCloud 15,300
83d st (No. 166), s s, 149.8 w 3d av, 15.7x102.2, three-story brick
house, to Man & Parsons 6,650
95th st, n s, 100 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 100 e 10th av, 50x100.8 |
to L. Friedman 11,200
95th st, n s, 150 e 10th av, 100x100.8 '
96th st, s s, 150 e 10th av, 100x100.8 i
to Samuel Adams 24,800
95th st, n s, 250 e 10th av, 100x100.8 |
96th st, s s, 250 e 10th av, 100x100.8 |
to Samuel Adams 26,800
95th st, n s, 350 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 350 e 10th av, 50x100.8 |
to J. M. Lichtenhauer 13,800
95th st, n s, 400 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 400 e 10th av, 50x100.8 (
to A. M. Lyons 13,700
95th st, n s, 450 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 450 e 10th av, 50x100.8 ]
to R. W. Cameron 13,500
95th st, n s, 500 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 500 e 10th av, 50x100.8 | _ _
to Jas. D. Lynch 13,200
95th st, n s, 550 e 10th av, 50x100.8 (
96th st, s s, 550 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
to H. Babcock 13,100
95th st, n s, 600 e 10th av, 50x100.8 1
96th st, s s, 600 e 10th av, 50x100.8 |
to R. W. Cameron 12,600
103d st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 163.11x78x152.9x80.1, to R. W. Cameron. 10,800
121st st (No. 508), s s, 123 e Av A, 17x80, three-story brick house,
to Michael Hicks 3,450
121st st, s s, adj above, 17x80, similar house, to John O'Brien.... 3,350
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 133
121st st, s s, adj above, 17x80, similar house, to J. L. Perley 3,500
121st st, s s, adj above, 17x80, similar house, to C. Saulinger 3,350
121st st, s s, adj above, 17x80, similar house, to E. A. Parker 3,300
123d st, s s, 100 w 8th av, 52.5x85.4x98.2, to R. H. K Townsend 5,700
136th st, s e cor New av, 100x103.1x104.8x133.11, to A. M. Lyon 3,440
136th st, s s, 100 e New av, 218xl33.11xl89.1x abt 187.10, to R.
W. Cameron 8,000
136th st, n e cor New av, 100x99.11, to Brian McKinney 3,120
136th st, n s, 100 e New av, 100x195.3x104.8x164.5, to A. Lustig. . 3,680
136th st, n s, 200 e New av, 75x164.5x78.6x141.5, to A. M. Waters. . 2,250
136th st, n s, 275 e New av, 67.6x141.5x110.11x115, to A. M. Waters. . 2,580
136th st, s w cor New av, 100x80x104.8x49.2, to James Plunkett 1,840
136th st, s s, 100 w New av, 159.7x49.2x167.1, to same 1,000
136th st, n w cor New av, 100x99.11 |
137th st, s w cor New av, 100x99.11 |
to E. J. King 5,760
136th st, n s, 100 w New av, 50x99.11 1
137th st, s s, 100 w New av, 50x99.11 |
to B. McKinney 2,800
136th st, n s, 150 w New av, 50x99.11 |
137th st, s s 150 w New av, 50x99.11 |
to T. C. Higgins 2,800
136th st, n s, 200 w New av, 50x99.11 1
137th st, s s, 200 w New av, 50x99.11 |
to H. P. Gray 3,040
137th st, s e cor New av, 100.8x99.11x100x95.4, to B. McKinney 2,800
137th st, n s, 100 e 10th av, 206.3x63.5x215.10, to F. Yoran 2,520
140th st, s s, 325 w Boulevard, 125x99.11, three-story frame dwelling,
to Carl H. Schultz 17,000
140th st, s s, adj, 100x99.11, brick stables, to same... 6,200
140th st, s s, adj, 191x99.11, to same 8,400
158th st, s s, 100 e 10th av, 50x100, stable, to H. P. Gray 2,950
3d av, n e cor 106th st, 25.2x100, to Jacob Bookman 7,700
3d av, e s, 25.2 n 106th st, 50.6x110, to R. H. L. Townsend 10,200
5th av (No. 1308), e s, 69.6 s 86th st, 22x100, four-story Nova Scotia
stone front dwell'g, to A. Rumrill 36,750
5th av, e s, 50.5 n 100th st, 50x100, to H. McAleenan 27,050
5th av, e s, 75.8 n 115th st, 75.9x100, irreg., to H. McAleenan 18,825
8th av, n w cor 122d st, 50.11x28.6x59.9x59.9, to E. J. King 6,600
8th av, s w cor 123d st, 50.11x100, to R. H. L. Townsend 10,200
8th av, w s, adj, 50x59.9x58.8x90.5, to same 8,000
8th av, w s, adj, 50x100x52.8x90.5, to J. M. Pinkney 4,650
10th av, e s, 25.1 s 67th st, 25.1x100, to R. H. L. Townsend 2,950
10th av, e s, 97.8 n 73d st, 80.8x100, to John D. Crimmins 16,000 '
10th av, n e cor 76th st, 27.2x10, to F. Yoran 5,100
10th av, e s, adj above, 75x100, to A. J. Meyer 10,200
10th av, e s, adj above, 75x100, to P. J. O'Donohue 9,000
10th av, s e cor 77th st, 27.2x100, to Thomas C. Higgins 4,150
10th av, e s, 25.2 n 95th st, 75.6x100, to P. J. O'Donohue 9,600
10th av, n e cor 95th st, 25.2x100, to P. J. O'Donohue 3,900
10th av, s e cor 96th st, 25.2x100, to J. D. Crimmins 5,350
10th av, e s, 50.4 25.2 s 96th st, 25.2x100, to J. D. Crimmins 3,300
10th av, e s, 50.4 s 96th st, 50.4x100, to D. Christie 6,575
10th av, s w cor 103d st, 22x100, to B. C. Thornell . 3,250
10th av, w s, adj above, 20x100, to H. P. Gray 2,175
10th av, w s, adj above, 41.2x100, to same 4,050
10th av, n e cor 136th st, 99.11x100, to H. Babcock 6,200
10th av, s e cor 137th st, 99.11x100, to S. B. Waterman 6,600
10th av, n e cor 137th st, 94.3x100x55x104.7, to E. J. King 6,000
134 A HISTORY? OF REAL ESTATE,
The Jumel Sale*
At the famous Jumel sale 1,058 city lots were disposed of for $544,-
830. The sale began on May 31, 1882. Despite the general impres-
sion that the prices obtained were good, the sale was stopped. It was
concluded on November 15, 16, 17 and 18, when prices ruled 30 per
cent, lower than in May. On April 3, 1888, 79 lots were auctioned
which had been bought by the Jumel heirs or by persons who had
failed to complete their purchases, and which consequently remained
in possession of the estate. The 79 lots brought a total of $250,752
in 1888, as against $187,505 in 1882.
May 31, 1882.
Broadway, n e cor Liberty st, 25.4x85.2
Liberty st, n s, 85.2 e Broadway, 25.4x47. 7x irreg
Nos. 150 Broadway and 71 and 73 Liberty st, five and six-story
brick office buildings
Williamsburg City Fire Ins. Co. (Rent $21,970) '. .356,000
Jumel terrace, 160th and 161st st and Public Drive— the block, 359.3
on Jumel terrace, xl73.3 on 160th st, x216.8 on 161st st, x irreg.,
mansion. Nelson Chase 45,000
Jumel terrace, n w cor 160th st, 25x80. F. Moriarty 1^200
Jumel terrace, w s, 25 n 160th st, 25x84.8. F. Moriarty 950
Jumel terrace, w s, 50 n 160th st, 25x89.4x25x94. Chas. Van Cott. . 900
Jumel terrace, w s, 75 n 160th st, 100x94x100x100. John D. Crim-
mins 3,600
Jumel terrace, w s, 134.3 s 161st st, 50x100. Pat. Merrigan 1,750
Jumel terrace, w s, 84.3 s 161st st, 50x100. Geo. Fisher 1,700
Jumel terrace, w s, 34.3 s 161st st, 50x100. John J.Conlon 1,800
Jumel terrace, s w cor 160th st, 34.3x100. John J. Conlon 1,650
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 167th st, 31.5x89.4x30x79.9. S. J. Huggins. 1,010
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 26.2x79.9x25x71.11. S. J. Huggins 680
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 26.2x71.11x25x64.1. S. J. Huggins 650
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 167th st, 27.10x106.5x26.7x98.1 on 167th
st. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,050
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 26.2x114.3x25x106.5. Chas. Connelly 875
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 26.2x97.2x25x114.3. Merrigan 785
Kingsbridge road, e s, 78.7 s 168th st, 25x97.2x25x105. P. Brun-
ner 685
Kingsbridge road, e s, 52.4 s 168th st, 26.2x80x25x87.10. P. Brunner. 685
Kingsbridge road, e s, 26.2 s 168th st, 26.2x87.10x25x87.10. P. Brun-
ner 815
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 168th st, 26.2x95.9x25x103.7 on 16th st. P.
Brunner 1,245
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 168th st, 26.2x86.7x25x78.8. F. T. Van
Buren 1,300
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 79x110.2x75x86.7. F. T. Van Buren 2,475
Kingsbridge road, e s, 57.7 s 169th st, 26.2x85.2x— x93. Scott &
Myers 820
Kingsbridge road, e s, 31.5 s 169th st, 26.2x93x— xl00.ll. Scott &
Myers 850
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 169th st, 31.5xl00.11x— xll0.3 on 169th
st. Scott & Myers 1,310
Public drive, n w cor 159th st, 25.1x107.8x25x105.1. B. P. Fairchild. 2,125
Public drive, w s, adj, 75.2x105.1x75x104.10. B. P. Fairchild 4,725
Public drive, s w cor 160th st, 27x132.9x25x122.6. B. P. Fairchild.. 2,200
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 135
Public drive, w s, 27 s 160th st, 77.2x104.10x75x122.6. B. P. Fair-
child . .' 4,425
Public drive, n w cor 162d st, 25. lx— J. H. Sutphen 1,300
Public drive, w s, adj, 100.6x— . J. H. Sutphen 3,850
Public drive, w s, 25.1 s 163d st, 75.3x— . J. H. Sutphen 3,130
Public drive, s w cor 163d st, 25.1x— . J. H. Sutphen 3,130
Public drive, n w cor 163d st, 26.3x149.11x25x141.10. Francis P.
Knapp 1,500
Public drive, w s, adj, 18.6x141.10x25x132.6. G. W. Mead 900
Public drive, w s, adj, 26.8x132.6x25x123. Scott & Myers 720
Public drive, w s, adj, 26.8x123x25x113.7. Scott & Myers 670
Public drive, w s, adj, 26.8x113.7x25x104.2. G. W. Mead 525
Public drive, s w cor 164th st, 26.6x91.6x24.10x100.11. Pat. Fox 875
Public drive, w s, adj, 80.1x100.11x75x129.2. Pat. Fox 1,950
159th st, n s, 100 e St. Nicholas av, 100x100. B. P. Fairchild 4,600 '
160th st, s s, 112.4 e St. Nicholas av, 25x100. John Callahan 1,575
160th st, s s, adj, 100x100. B. P. Fairchild 4,800
161st st, s s, 172.7 e St. Nicholas av, 50x127.4. John Callahan 2,225
162d st, n s, 100 e St. Nicholas av, 25x112.6. J. Knowles 1,225
162d st, n s, 125 e St. Nicholas av, 50x112.6. Wm. Dipperman 2,050
162d st, n s, adj, 75x112.6. Wm. Dipperman 2,370
162d st, n s, adj, 50x112.6. Douglas Campbell 960
162d st, n s, adj, 175x112.6. J. H. Sutphen 3,175
162d st, n s, adj, 50x112.6. J. H. Sutphen 1,300
163d st, s s, 100 e St. Nicholas av, 25x112.6. J. F. Cherry 1,050
163d st, s s, adj, 175x112.6. B. P. Fairchild 5,460
163d st, s s, adj, 100x112.6. Pat. Fox 2,480
163d st, s s, adj, 25x112.6. Chas. F. Partridge 690
163d st, s s, 425 e St. Nicholas av, 100x112.6. J. H. Sutphen 2,990
163d st, n s, 100 e 10th av, 25x112.6. M. B. Brown 1,040
163d st, n s, adj, 25x112.6. Louise Isabeau . 825
163d st, n s, adj, 25x112.6. Louise Isabeau 710
163d st, n s, adj, 100x112.6. Douglass Campbell 2,440
163d st, n s, adj, 75x112.6. Philip Feuring 1,650
168th st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 25x100. F. T. Van Buren 525
168th st, s s, 125 w Audubon av, 25x75. F. T. Van Buren 525
109th st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 50x85. Alfred Roe 1,000
169th st, s s, 150 w Audubon av, 50x85. D. Campbell 960
169th st, s s, 200 w Audubon av, 25x85. Scott & Myers 500
Audubon av, s w cor 166th st, 25x99.4 to Kingsbridge road, x29.4x75.
Joseph Brennan 1,015
Audubon av, w s, adj, 30.6x75x25.6x52.3. Jos. Brennan 905
Audubon av, n w cor 166th st, 25x122.7x26.2x130.6. Pat. Fox 1,675
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x130.6x78.7x154.1. Pat. Fox 2,925
Audubon av, w s, adj, 50x90. B. P. Fairchild 1,300
Audubon av, s w cor 167th st, 30x90. S. J. Huggins 910
Audubon av, n w cor 167th st, 26.7x100. Pat. Milligan 850
Audubon av, w s, adj, 50x100. P. Milligan 1,120
Audubon av, w s, 50 s 168th st, 50x100. Matthew Cox 1,080
Audubon av, w s, 25 s 168th st, 25x100. W. Callahan 550
Audubon av, s w cor 168th st, 25x100. D. Campbell 835
Audubon av, n w cor 168th st, 25x100. Alfred Roe 800
Audubon av, w s, adj, 25x100. Alfred Roe 525
Audubon av, w s, adj, 25x100. Michael Smith 490
Audubon av, w s, adj, 50x100. D. Campbell 1,060
Audubon av, w s, 25 s 169th st, 25x100. Alfred Roe 500
Audubon av, s w cor 169th st, 30x100. Alfred Roe 900
St. Nicholas av, n e cor 159th st, 25.5x100x25x104.8. M. A. J. Lynch. 3,000
St. Nicholas av, e s, adj, 76.3x104.8x75x118.8. L. J. Phillips 4,875
St. Nicholas av, s e cor 160th st, 25.5x112.4x25x107.8. John Callahan. 2,500
St. Nicholas av, e s, adj, 25.5x107.8x25x103. John Callahan 1,675
St. Nicholas av, e s, adj, 50.10x93.8x50x103. John Callahan 3,150
St. Nicholas av, n e cor 160th st, 25.5x100. L. J. Phillips 2,050
St. Nicholas av, e s, 25.5 n 160th st, 25.5x100. L. J. Phillips 1,600
136 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
St. Nicholas av, e s, 50.10 n 160th st, 25.5x100. J J Watson 1,525
St. Nicholas av, e s, 76.3 n 160th st, 101.8x112.8x100x98.8. J. D. Crim-
mins 5.650
St. Nicholas av, e s, 177.11 n 160th st, 25.5x117.4x25x112.8. H. Sonn. 1,475
St. Nicholas av, e s, 203.4 n 160th st, 32.6xl23.4x— xll7.4. W. J.
Barnes 1,875
St. Nicholas av, e s, 98 s 161st st, 63.4x73.4x— xll2.3. H. Sonn 2,850
St. Nicholas av, e s, 66.4 s 161st st, 31.8xll2.3x— xl31.9. John Calla-
han 1.800
St. Nicholas av, e s, 34.8 s 161st st, 31.8xl31.9x— xl51.3. John Calla-
han 2,300
St. Nicholas av, s e cor 161st st, 34.8xl51.3x— xl72.7 on 161st st. John
Callahan 4'000
St. Nicholas av, n e cor 162d st, 25x100. Henry J. Carr 3,750
St. Nicholas av, e s, 25 n 162d st, 50x100. Henry J. Carr 3,900
St. Nicholas av, e s, 75 n 162d st, 50x100. L. J. Phillips 3,350
St. Nicholas av, e s, 50 s 163d st, 50x100. Patrick Fox 3,400
St. Nicholas av, e s, 25 s 163d st, 25x100. P. Fox 1,975
St. Nicholas av, s e cor 163d st, 25x100. P. Fox 2,800
10th av, n e cor 163d st, 25x100. Martin' B. Brown 3,050
10th av, e s, adj, 25x100. M. B. Brown 1,800
10th av, e s, adj, 50x100. M. B. Brown 3,200
10th av, s e cor 164th st, 24.10x100. M. B. Brown 2,650
10th av, e s, adj, 25x100. M. B. Brown 1,500
10th av, e s, adj, 75x100. M. B. Brown 4,530
35% city lots, with water rights on Harlem River, north of line of
165th st. Charles A. Appleby 8,165
35 9-10 city lots, with water rights on Harlem River, south of line of
167th st. Charles A. Appleby 8,975
November 15-18, 1882.
Edgecombe road, n w cor 159th st, 25.7x84x25x89.9. V. K. Stevenson. $1,200
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 76.11x106.11x75x89.9. V. K. Stevenson. . 2,475
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 76.11x124.2x75x106.11. V K. Stevenson. . 2,550
Edgecombe road, s w cor 160th st, 25.7x129.11x25x124.2. V. K. Ste-
venson 1,17.)
Edgecombe road, n w cor 162d st, 25.4x46.10x25x42.6. Sutphen. 500
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 76.1x29.7x75x42.6. Sutphen 1,080
Edgecombe road, s w cor 163d st, 126.8x7.11x125x29.7. Sutphen. 1,750
Edgecombe road, n w cor 163d st, 25.4x68.11x25x64.7. P. G. Duffy. 730
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 101.4x47.4x100x64.7. Alfred Roe 975
Edgecombe road, w s, 25.2 s 164th st, 76x59.4x75x72.4. V. K. Steven-
son x^yu
Edgecombe av, s w cor 164th st, 25.2x55x24.10x59.4. V. K. Stevenson. 500
Edgecombe road, n w cor 164th st, 25.4x115.3x25x119.6. G. F. Gantz. 785
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 4 lots. G. F. Gantz 1,800
Edgecombe road, s w cor 166th st, 25.2x90.4x25x93.5. H. Jumel 610
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 4 lots. H. Jumel 2,400
Edgecombe road, n w cor 166th st, 25.1x109.11. L. Toplitz 500
Edgecombe road, s w cor 167th st, 22.5x129.7x92.11x109.11. L. Toplitz. 650
Edgecombe road, w s, 219.11 n 167th st, 4 lots. John M. Jones . 800
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 4 lots. G. F. Gantz 1,020
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 3 lots. G. F. Gantz 750
Edgecombe road, w s, adj, 2 lots. W. A. Cameron 490
Edgecombe road, e s, n 167th st, 2 lots. August Sbarbard 570
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on south, 4 lots. J. J. Mahoney. . . . 1,080
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on south, 4 lots. J. J. Mahoney. . . . 1,000
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on south, 4 lots. S. Chester 1,480
Edgecombe road, s w Jumel pi, 130.4x63.8x100x147.3. Maclin. . 2,480
Edgecombe road, e s, strip 4.9 wide, extending from 169th to 162d st,
x— x87x to Croton Aqueduct, x irreg. Nelson Chase 6,600
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on north, 1 lot. John McCallum. . 290
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on north, 5 lots. John McCallum. . . . 1,050
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on north, 5 lots. John McCallum. . . . 1,110
Edgecombe road, e s, opposite 163d st, 2 lots. C. F. Partridge 700
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 137
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on north, 100x124.6 to Croton Aque-
duct. John Ruhl 1,060
Edgecombe road, e s, adj above on north, 100x126.4 to Croton Aque-
duct. T. B. McKenna 1,000
Edgecombe road, e s, nearly opposite 164th st, 100x124.6 to Croton
Aqueduct. G. P. Gantz 960
Edgecombe road, e s, north 164th st, adj above, 109.4x130.8x60. 2x
124.6. G. P. Lespinasse 960
Jumel pi, e s, 113.8 s Edgecombe road, 75x122.2 to Edgecombe road,
x— xl68.6. Mr. Presstman 990
Jumel pi, s e cor Edgecombe road, 113.8 on Jumel pi, x — on Edge-
combe road, x 122.2. John Brown 1,110
Jumel pi, n w cor 167th st, 91.3x119.3x6.2x100. J. Gillies 820
Jumel pi, w s, adj, 75x100. J. Gillies 1,020
Jumel pi, w s, adj, 75x100. Margaret Quinlin 750
Jumel pi, w s, adj, 100x100. J. R. Dorsett 860
Jumel pi, w s, adj, 100x100. J .R. Dorsett 940
Jumel pi, w s, adj, 100x100. J. R. Brown 920
Jumel pi, w s, 63.9 s Edgecombe road, 50x100. W. H. Cochrane. . . . 600
Jumel pi, e s, 30.4 n 167th st, 100x176.10x104.7 to Edgecombe road,
x!47.6. G. P. Gantz 1,000
Jumel pi, e s, 130.4 n 167th st, 100x90. J. M. Jones 720
Jumel pi, e s, adj, 100x90. P. Pox 720
Jumel pi, e s, adj, 75x90. Thos. Curran 525
Jumel pi, e s, adj, 50x90. Jas. De Vanney 400
Kingsbridge road, 174th st and New av, gore, 23x66.8x70.7. Thos.
Walsh 400
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 171st st, 100.6x94.9x100x61.9. A. Foise 1,620
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 172d st, 100.6x84.9x100x117.8. G F. Gantz. 2,000
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 172d st, 100x121.2x94.6x88.6. V. K. Ste-
venson, Jr 1,240
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 173d st, 25.10x125. E. Crowley 830
Kingsbridge road, e s, adj, 79.4x96.2x75x122.4. B. Fellman 1,080
159th st, n s, 100 e St. Nicholas av, 100x100. V. K. Stevenson 3,250
160th st, s s, 137.4 e St. Nicholas av, 100x100. V. K. Stevenson 3,800
163d st, s s, 100 e 10th av, 100x112.6. H. Jumel 2,800
163d st, s s, 200 e 10th av, 100x112.6. Alfred Roe 1,600
163d st, n s, 68.11 w Edgecombe road, 25x125 (
163d st, n s, adj, 25x112.6 1
Jas. McCloud .' 1,280
163d st, n s, adj, 50x112.6. Tim. Donigan 1,200
164th st, s s, 100 e 10th av, 50x112.4. William Lalor 1,280
164th st, s s, adj, 50x112.4. M. Lichtenauer 1,330
164th st, s s, 200 e 10th av, 75x112.4. H. Jumel 1,980
164th st, s s, 275 e 10th av, 100x112.4. J. Matthews 2,000
164th st, n s, 100 e 10th av, 50x156.7x50.4x163.5. H. Jumel 1,500
164th st, n s, 150 e 10th av, 75x142.11x75.7x156.7. H. Jumel 2,490
164th st, n s, 225 e 10th av, 75x132.8x75.7x142.11. H. Jumel 2,250
164th st, n s, 300 e 10th av, 25x129.3x25.2x132.8. H. Jumel 570
166th st, s s, 90.4 w Edgecombe road 25xl21x irreg. Mr. Caryl 570
166th st, s s, adj, 3 lots. H. Jumel 1,650
166th st, s s, adj, 4 lots. Frank Lober 2,440
166th st, s s, 95 e Audubon av, 50x92.9x51.4x84.5. Ellen Barry 930
166th st, s s, adj, 100x109.3x102.8x92.9. James Von Bien 1,910
166th st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 25x95. T. Fitzgerald 620
166th st, n s, 109.11 w Edgecombe road, 75x166.9 to 167th st, x89.6x
117.11. L. Toplitz 1 575
166th st, n s, adj, 100x100. W. H. Morrell. 1,800
166th st, n s, 95 e Audubon av, 50x95. Tim. Donigan 970
166th st, n s, adj, 100x95. H. Jumel 1,960
167th st, n s, extending from Jumel pi to Edgecombe road, 153 on
167th st, x80.4 on Jumel pi, xl47. 6x115.7 on Edgecombe road. Mr.
Tresstman 630
167th st, s s, 119.3 s e 10th av, 4 lots. W. H. Morrell 1,780
138 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
167th st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 25x85. C. Schultz 450
167th st, s s, 125 w 10th av, 100x85. H. Jumel 2,000
167th st, s s, adj, 50x85. Ellen O'Hare 990
167th st, n s, 95 e Audubon av, 100x81.7. H. Jumel 1,640
167th st, n s, adj, 75x81.7. P. V. Bussing. 1,335
168th st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x95. A. J. Robinson 2,120
168th st, s s, adj, 75x95. John and Herbert McCallum 1,530
168th st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 75x95. H. Jumel 1,680
168th st, n s, adj, 100x95. L. Sinsheimer 2,040
169th st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x85. Isaac Cahn 2,000
169th st, s s, adj, 75x85. L. Sinsheimer 1,425
169th st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 100x81.7. Mr. Henry 2,200
169th st, n s, adj, 75x81.7. Thos. Fenton 1,650
169th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x81.7. R. B. Saul 720
169bh st, n s, adj, 75x81.7. W. Hahn 750
170th st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x95. Mr. Henry 2,680
170th st, s s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 1,890
170th st, ns, 100 w 10th av, 100x100. Mr. Henry 3,000
170th st, n s, adj, 75x100. P. Fox 1,890
170th st, s s, 100 e 11th av, 75x95. Alfred Roe 675
170th st, s s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 870
170th st, n s, 100 e 11th av, 75x100. A. Roe 1,320
170th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x100. P. Fox 1,380
171st st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x95. Mr. Henry 2,440
171st st, s s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 1,575
171st st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 25x95. A. Roe 325
171st st, n s, adj, 100x95. H. Jumel 1,100
171st st, n s, adj, 50x95. H. Jumel 400
171st st, s s, 100 e 11th av, 75x95. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,050
171st st, s s, 175 e 11th av, 75x95. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 960
171st st, n s, 100 e 11th av, 75x95. P. V. Bussing 1,050
171st st, n s, 175 e 11th av, 75x95. Th. Bryn 1,110
172d st, s s, 100 e 11th av, 75x95. V. Spader 1,170
172d st, s s, 175 e 11th av, 75x95. J. R. Dorsett 1,095
172d st, s s, 100 w 11th av, 50x94.6. G. W. Monnell 630
172d st. s s, 100 w 10th av, 25x95. Geo. Fisher 500
172d st, s s, adj, 75x95. Ellen O'Hara 1,125
172d st, s s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 600
172d st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 100x94.6. J. J. Mahoney 1,760
172d st, n s, 100 e Audubon av, 75x94.6. J. J. Mahoney 1,050
172d st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x94.6. A. Foise 840
172d st, n s, 100 e 11th av, 75x94.6. L. Sinsheimer 870
173d st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x100. J. J. Mahoney 2,360
173d st, n s, 100 w 10th av, 100x100. Wm. Lalor 2,400
173d st, s s, 100 e Audubon av, 75xi00. J. J. Mahoney 1,650
173d st, n s, 95 e Audubon av, 75x100. W. A. Cameron 1,710
173d st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x100. Geo. R. Dean 1,290
173d st, s s, 100 e 11th av, 75x100. John Renehan 1,800
173d st, n s, 100 e 11th av, 75x100. Pat. Fox 870
173d st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x100. B. Fellman 840
173d st, n s, 100 w 11th av, 100x100. W. H. Morrell 1,240
173d st, s s, 100 w 11th av, 75x100. J. A. Booth 915
174th st, s s, 100 w 11th av, 100x100. J. R. Dorsett 1,220
174th st, n s, 100 w 11th av, 100x105.7x100.5x96.1. John Whelan 1,400
174th st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x100. B. Fellman 645
174th st, s s, 100 e 11th av, 75x100. C. Hagemeyer 690
174th st, n s, 95 e Audubon av, 275 to 10th av, xl.6x276.3x26.11. G. F.
Gantz 1,060
174th st, s s, 100 w 10th av, 100x100. John Renehan 1,920
174th st, s s, 95 e Audubon av, 75x100. L. C. Ledgett 1,260
174th st, n s, 100 e 11th av, 75x60.7x75.4x67.8. Margaret Quinlan. . 1,200
174th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x60.7x75.4x53.6. J. M. Jones 840
Audubon av, n w cor 170th st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 650
Audubon av, w s, adj, 150x100 P. Fox 2,160
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 139
Audubon av, s w cor 171st st, 20x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 435
Audubon av, n w cor 171st st, 20x100. Geo. Dean 500
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. Geo. Dean 1,080
Audubon av, s w eor 172d st, 20x100. V. Spader 500
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. V. Spader 1,125
Audubon av, n w cor 172d st, 19.6x100. John Foley 450
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. John Carlin 810
Audubon av, s w cor 173d st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 650
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,200
Audubon av, n w cor 173d st, 25x100. J. R. Brown 510
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. J. R. Brown 900
Audubon av, s w cor 174th st, 25x100. A. W. Gerloch 410
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. L. J. Phillips 810
Audubon av, n e cor 172d st, 19.6x95. Dan'l Brady 450
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. V. K. Stevenson 810
Audubon av, s e cor 173d st, 25x95. J. J. Mahoney 710
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. J. J. Mahoney 1,200
Audubon av, n e cor 173d st, 25x95. W. A. Cameron 730
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. W. A. Cameron 1,200
Audubon av, s e cor 174th st, 25x95. L. C. Ledgett 510
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. L. C. Ledgett 1,230
Audubon av, n e cor 174th st, 36.5x95x26.11x95.4. B. Fellman 800
Audubon av, s e cor 166th st, 25x95. T. F. Stafford 710
Audubon av, e s, adj, 43.9x96.3x— x95. T. F. Stafford 960
Audubon av, n e cor 166th st, 25x95. Thomas Kearney 775
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. Thos. Kearney 1,590
Audubon av, e s, adj, 50x95. Alfred Roe 1,060
Audubon av, s e cor 167th st, 30x95. Alfred Roe 720
Audubon av, n e cor 167th st, 26.7x95. H. Jumel 640
Audubon av, e s, adj, 100x95. H. Jumel 1,800
Audubon av, e s, adj, 25x95. H. Jumel 430
Audubon av, s e cor 168th st, 25x95. H. Jumel 525
Audubon av, n e cor 168th st, 25x95. Alfred Roe 600
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. Alfred Roe 1,230
Audubon av, e s, adj, 50x95. L. C. Ledgett 950
Audubon av, s e cor 169th st, 30x95. Alfred Roe 600
Audubon av, n e cor 169th st, 26.7x95. H. Jumel 825
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. Thos. Fenton 1,575
Audubon av, e s, adj, 50x95. Samuel Brown 1,060
Audubon av, s e cor 170th st, 25x95. P. Fox 875
Audubon av, n e cor 170th st, 25x95.7. H. Jumel 875
Audubon av, e s. adj, 75x95. T. F. Stafford 1,575
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. Alfred Roe 1,350
Audubon av, s e cor 171st st, 20x95. Ellen Newman 625
Audubon av, n e cor 171st st, 20x95. H. Jumel 425
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 825
Audubon av, e s, adj, 75x95. H. Jumel 900
Audubon av, s e cor 172d st, 20x95. H. Jumel 480
Audubon av, s w cor 170th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 570
Audubon av, w s, adj, 50x100. H. Jumel 620
Audubon av, w s, adj, 75x100. Patrick Barry 1,080
Audubon av, n e cor 169th st, 26.7x100. C. D. Mills 610
Audubon av, n w cor 174th st, 25x100. G. F. Gantz 380
Audubon av, w s, adj, 19x100.5x28.6x100. G. F. Gantz 340
New av, n w cor 173d st, 25x100 J. J. Macklin 925
New av, e s, adj, 75x100. L. J. Phillips 1,830
New av, n e cor 174th st, 25x100. L. J. Phillips 540
New av, e s, adj, 75x100. L. J. Phillips 1,485
New av, n w cor 174th st, 25x100. M. Littman 500
New av, e s, adj, 90x100.5x80.7x100. M. Littman 1,215-
St. Nicholas av, n e cor 159th st, 25.5x100x25x104.8. W. Moore 2,000
10th av, s e cor Edgecombe road, 100x96.9x77x100. A. Roe 5,800
10th av, e s, adj, 100x100. L. J. Phillips 2,445
10th av, e s, adj, 200x100. L. J. Phillips 7,750
140 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
10th av, e s, adj, 100x100. L. J. Phillips 2,415
10th av, n e cor 167th st, 361x119.2x76.2x100. J. Gault 2,430
10th av, e s, adj, 75x100. L. J. Phillips 2,400
10th av, n w cor 172d st, 19.6x100. V. K. Stevenson 1,630
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson 3,900
10th av, s w cor 173d st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson 1,850
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson 3,525
10th av, n w cor 173d st, 25x100. A. Roe 2,025
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. A. Roe 3,675
10th av, s w cor 174th st, 25x100. J. Wickham 1,800
10th av, w s, adj. H. Jumel , 3,300
10th av, e s, opposite 172d st, contains 41 city lots. James McCloud. . 25,215
10th av, s w cor 163d st, 25x100. H. Jumel 2,275
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. H. Jumel. 4,050
10th av, n e cor 164th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 2,300
10th av, e s, adj, 75x100. H. Jumel 3,075
10th av, e s, adj, 3 lots. H. Jumel 3,000
10th av, s e cor 166th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 1,475
10th av, e s, adj, 2 lots. Stephen McCarthy 2,500
10th av, n e cor 166th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 1,500
10th av, e s, adj, 100x100. H. Jumel 4,280
10th av, e s, adj, 100x100. L,. Toplitz 4,400
10th av, s e cor 167th st, 71x100x6.11x119.3 on 167th st. Jos. McCloud. 2,025
10th av, w s, 25 s 166th st, 75x100. M. B. Brown 3,270
10th av, w s, adj, 30x100x13.5x101.4. Louise Isabeau 1,000
10th av, n w cor 166th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 2,000
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. C. Schultz 3,630
10th av, w s, 30 s 167th st, 50x100. C. Schultz 2,260
10th av, s w cor 167th st, 30x100. C. Schultz 1,810
10th av, n w cor 167th st, 26.7x100. H. Jumel 1,950
10th av, w s, adj, 100x100. H. Jumel 4,680
10th av, w s, adj, 25x100. A. J. Robinson 1,360
10th av, s w cor 168th st, 25x100. A. J. Robinson 1,900
10th av, n w cor 168th st, 25x100. H. Jumel 2,075
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. H. Jumel 3,750
10th av, w s, adj, 50x100. H. Jumel 2,420
10th av, s w cor 169th st, 30x100. Catharine Kelly 2,250
10th av, n w cor 169th st, 26.7x100. Mr. Henry 2,000
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Mr. Henry 3,600
10th av, w s, adj, 50x100. Mr. Henry 2,620
10th av, s w cor 170th st, 25x100. Mr. Henry 2,000
10th av, n w cor 170th st, 25x100. Mr. Henry. 2,725
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Mr. Henry 4,500
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Mr. Henry 4,950
10th av, s w cor 171st st, 20x100. Mr. Henry 2,125
10th av, n w cor 171st st, 20x100. J. A. Page 1,425
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. B. C. Wetmore 2,475
10th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Geo. Fisher 3,000
10th av, s w cor 172d st, 20x100. Geo. Fisher 1,450
11th av, n e cor 169th st, 26.7x100. Geo. F. Gantz 1,000
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. Geo. F. Gantz 1,800
11th av, e s, adj, 50x100. Geo. F. Gantz 1.000
11th av, n w cor 170th st, 100x77.11 to Kingsbridge road, xlllx29.9
on 170th st. J. R. Dorsett. 2,020
11th av, s w cor 171st st, 95x77.11 to Kingsbridge road, xl05.5xl23.7
on 171st st. R. B. Saul. 2,800
11th av, n w cor 171st st, 95x90. A. Foice 1,620
11th av, s w cor 172d st, 100x100. L. Sinsheimer 1,500
11th av, n e cor 170th st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 880
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,140
11th av, s e cor 171st st, 20x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 600
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. P. Feuring 1,230
11th av, n e cor 171st st, 20x100. George Dean 625
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. P. V. Bussing 1,470
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 141
11 th av, s e cor 172d st, 25x100. V. Spader 640
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. V. Spader 1,500
11th av, n w cor 172d st, 19.6x100. A. Roe . 430
11th av, w s, adj, 75x100. A. Roe 1,080
11th av, s w cor 173d st, 25x100. J. A. Booth '555
11th av, w s, adj, 75x100. J. M. Lichtenauer 1,170
11th av, s e cor 170th st, 25x100. John Wickham 900
11th av, n e cor 172d st, 19.6x100. L. Sinsheimer 500
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. L. Sinsheimer 1,050
11th av, s e cor 173d st, 25x100. P. Fox 1,030
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. P. Pox 1,800
11th av, n e cor 173d st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 835
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,530
11th av, s e cor 174th st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 700
11th av, e s, adj, 75x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,560
11th av, n w cor 173d st, 25x100. Wm. McDonald 660
11th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Wm. McDonald 1,320
11th av, s w cor 174th st, 25x100. Wm. McDonald 700
11th av, w s, adj, 75x100. Wm. McDonald 1,350
11th av, n w cor 174th st, 25x100. Mr. Press tman 700
11th av, w s, adj, 61.7x100.5x96.1x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,230
11th av, n e cor 174th st, 25x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 780
11th av, e s, adj, 52.2x100.5x42.8x100. V. K. Stevenson, Jr 1,100
Plot containing- 35^ city lots on e s Croton Aqueduct, opposite 165th
st, and extending to Harlem River. H. Jumel 13,840
Plot containing 35 9-10 city lots adj above on the north. H. Jumel. . 7,890
Plot containing- 38% city lots adj on the north. H. Jumel 8,855
Plot containing 31% city lots adj on the north. H. Jumel 6,615
Plot containing 21 2-10 city lots adj on the north. H. Jumel 5,724
Plot containing 47 city lots on e s Croton Aqueduct, at 155th st. H.
Jumel 22,090
Plot containg 17% city lots adj on the north. H. Jumel 5,250
Plot containing 18% city lots adj on north. H. Jumel 5,150
Plot containing- 33 9-10 city lots adj on the north. H. Jumel 10,170
Plot containing 27% city lots, bounded by Edgecombe road, Croton
Aqueduct and High Bridge Park. Hugh Stevenson 7,562
Strip on Edgecombe road, north of 167th st, 197.8 front xl.9xl50x ir-
reg. Eugene Fountain 1,030
The Lofillard Spencer Sale*
The initial sale of the Lorillard Spencer estate was held in the
week ending October 20, 1882. Its importance lies in the fact that
it shows the prices of improved property at the time when mercan-
tile structures of the type which prevailed anterior to the introduc-
tion of steel construction began to replace the older style of build-
ings. The prices obtained were considered remarkably good.
Bank st, No. 46, s s, 19x91.3, two and one-half-story brick front
frame house and one-story brick shop in rear. A. Altmeyer.
(Rent, $180, and subject to life lease) 5,500
Bowery, No. 22, n w s, 25.1x99.6x25x97.8, four-story brick and one-
story brick house in rear. Catharine R. Thomas. (Rent, $2,400,
taxes, &c.) 35,100
Bowery, No. 65^, e s, 16.4x80x16.9x79.10, four-story brick house.
Geo. Ruckert. (Rent, $1,535, taxes, &c.) ' 36,100
Broadway, No. 212, n e cor Fulton st, 29.6x76, five-story brick build-
ing, French roof. M. A. J. Lynch. (1-25 part) 12,000
»ttT
i42 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Broadway, No. 393, n w s, 25x100.5, five-story brick (stone front)
house and one-story in rear. L. Spencer. (Rent, $11,000, taxes,
&c.) 115,000
Broadway, No. 448, s e s, 25x120.2x24.10x120.3, five-story brick iron
front house. L. Spencer. (Rent, $6,000, taxes, &c.) 133,060
Canal st, No 331, n e cor Greene st, 20.1x77.11x20.6x81.9, one three
and a-half-story and one three-story brick houses. W. A. Spencer.
(Rent, $3,000) 41,000
Catharine slip, No. 6, w s, 20.3x40, four-story brick dwelling. Isidore
Cohen. (Rent, $1,000) 10,000
Church st, Nos. 61 and 63, e s, 50x50, portion five-story brick ware-
house. Estate H. D. Aldrich. (Rent, $1,500) 31,800
Church st, No. 234, n w s, 20.2x74.11x19.9x74.11, three-story brick
house. W. A. Spencer. (Rent, $1,800, taxes, &c.) 33,000
Chambers st, No. 49, n e s, 21.1x151.7 to No. 27 Reade st, x25.6x
151.6, five-story brick storehouse. J. I. Campion. (Rent, $12,000). 132,500
Chatham st, No 41, s s, 20.1x52.7 to North William st, xl6. 10x41.3
two and one-half-story frame building. Henry Hart. (Rent, $1,-
200, taxes, &c.) 22,000
Crosby st, Nos. 13, 15 and 17, s e s, 75x100, three three and one-half-
story brick and one four-story brick houses. John Burke. (Leased
as long as grass grows and water runs) 10.000
Division st, Nos. 166 and 166^, n s, 28x102.1x25.2x89.3, two and one-
half-story frame house. H. Conkling. (Rent, $840) 11,750
Division st, No. 18(>, n s, 21.6x60.8x19.6x69.3, three-story frame
dwelling and one-story frame dwelling on rear. Louis Brulewitch.
(Rent, $300) 6,725
East Broadway,' No. 101, s s, 24.11x100x24.3x99.11, three-and-one-
half-story brick house. S. Jacobs. (Rent, $1,000) 13,350
Eldridge st, No. 52, e s, 20.10x66.6, three-story brick house. H. Conk-
ling. (Rent, $800) 10,000
Eldridge st, No. 52^., e s, 20.10x66.6, similar building. H. Conkling.
(Rent, $720) 9,325
Elizabeth st, No. 40, s e s, 25x55, two-story frame house and two-
story brick shop in rear.. Chas. Golden. (Rent, $360) 7,500
Elizabeth st, No. 44, e s, 25x100, two-and-one-half-story (brick
front) frame house and two-story brick shop. Charles Golden.
(Rent, $420) 13,675
Elizabeth st, No 298, e s, 23.1x75x23.1x73.6, three-story frame
house. H. Conklin. (Rent, $280) 8,400
Forsyth st, Nos. 181 to 185%, n w s, 75x100, four three-story brick
houses. W. A. Spencer. (Rent, $660 each) 32,000
Gold st, No. 34, s e s, 23.11x98.10x23x93.11, two-story brick shop,
shed and coal yard. John W. Mason. (Rent, $600, taxes, &c). . 1,000
Grand st, No. 39, s s, 22.6x72.6, brick house. James Carr. (Rent,
$550) 8,850
Grand st, No. 73, s s, 22x75.4, four-story brick (iron front) house and
one-story in rear. Mayer Eisemann. (Rent, $288, taxes, &c.) . . 7,850
Grand st, No. 341, s e cor Ludlow st, 21.11x74.9, three-story frame
(brick front) dwelling and two-story brick dwelling in rear. Henry
Waters. (Rent, $1,500, taxes, &c.) 31,000
Grand st, No. 399, s w s, 20.1x80.1, three-story brick house. Cath.
R. Thomas. (Rent, $1,200) 16,400
Greene st, No 6, e s, 22. 10x100.5x29. 6x irreg., two-and-one-half-
story brick house and one-story in rear. W. A. Spencer. (Rent,
$1,600) 28,500
Hester st, No. 102, s w s, 25.7x100.9, three-story frame house. Aug.
Berbert. (Rent, $750, taxes, &c.) 11,550
Lispenard st, No. 10, s w s, 20x69, two-and-one-half-story frame
house, shed, &c. W. C. Lester. (Rent, $600, taxes, &c.) 10,000
Maiden lane, No. 86, s w s, 27x131.7 to No. 15 Cedar st, x27.2x irreg. ;
No. 86 Maiden lane, three-and-one-half-story brick building and
one-story in rear; No. 15 Cedar st, four-story brick house and one-
story in rear. E. H. Kellogg. (Rent, $3,600) 49,000
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
H3
Mercer st, w s, 72.4 n Canal st, 37x47.5x31.1x52.4, three-story brick
building and one-story brick extension. W. A. Spencer. (Rent,
$2,600) 37,500
Mulberry st, No. 25, w s, 25x74x22.1x69, three-story frame house and
stables in rear. D. H. Dugro, (Rent, $300, taxes, &c.) 9,100
New Bowery, No. 32, n w s, 35.5x55 to No. 36 Roosevelt st, x24.11x
30.6, two-story brick house. W. A. Spencer. (Rent, $450, taxes,
&c.) 8,700
North William st, No. 18, e s, 16.11x18.1x20.1x7.6, four-story brick
* house. J. B. Simpson. (Rent, $420) 6,000
Pearl st, No. 480, e s, 23.11xll9.1x25.4x irreg., two-and-one-half-
story brick house and brick house and frame stable in rear. John
Boyd. (Rent, $900) 13,350
Pell st, No. 11, s w s, 25.4x84.1x24.9x89.5, two-story frame loft and
four-story brick house in rear. F. A. Conkling. (Rent, $425, taxes,
&c.) 8,000
Prince st, No. 134, s w s, 25x101, three-and-one-half-story brick
house. Benj. Van Raclin. (Rent, $900) 14,850
Prince st, No. 138, s s, 25x101, two-and-one-half-story frame (brick
front) dwelling and one-story brick stable in rear. Morris O'Brien. 13,300
Spring st, No. 94, s w s, 25x50.8, five-story brick (stone front) house.
C. P. Wildey. Rent, $2,804) 37,000
Spring st, No. 154, s s, 20x80, three-and-one-half-story brick build-
ing. John Sullivan. (Rent, $1,000) 13,100
Water st, No. 183, s e s, 23.5x45x23.1x44.11, four-story brick house
and one-story in rear. W. A. Spencer. (Rent, $1,320) 20,600
White st, No. 115, s e cor Centre st, 25.3x80x20.lx-, two-story brick
house and one-story brick house, one-story frame house, shanty,
&c. D. Knabe. (Rent, $1,500) 18,100
White st, No. 117, s s, 23.8x— , twostory brick house. John Boyd.
(Rent, $600) 8,500
White st, No. 119, s s, 23.8x— , two-story brick house. John Boyd.
(Rent, $650) 8,100
White st, Nos. 116, 118 and 120, n e cor Centre st, 58.6x73-2x58.6x
77.4, three two-and-one-half-story brick houses and three-story
and one-story brick houses on Centre st. Joseph Kuntz. (Rent,
$2,560) 36,000
Wooster st, No 226, s e s, 20.6x50, two-and-one-half-story brick
house. Miss Kath. Wolfe. (Rent, $600, taxes, &c.) 10,000
4th st, Nos. 31, 33 and 35 E., s s, 75x132x75x130, four-story brick
building, "Turn Hall." Francis Schneider 74,000
18th st, No. 140 W., s s, 23x92, two-story brick stable. H. Conkling.
(Rent, $1,000) 15,000
3d av, No. 272, w s, 21.6x75, three-story brick house. J. J. Mathews.
(Rent, $1,200) 18,350
The Jones Sales.
The distribution of the Jones estate by the sales of November
22, 1888, and February 19, 1889, was a notable event in the history
of Manhattan realty, on account of the choice location of the prop-
erties. The first sale disposed of a large quantity of mercantile
property, including part of the site of the Mail and Express Build-
ing, at the opening of the steel construction period ; and the second,
which distributed 100 vacant lots in a most select residential neigh-
borhood, gave immediate rise to important building improvements.
The prices realized were regarded as excellent.
144 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Central Park W. (8th av), n w cor 74th st, 25.8x100, vacant. Judge
P. Henry Dugro 28,000
Central Park W., adj, 25.6x100. Same 16,600
Central Park W., s w cor 75th st, 25.8x100. V. K. Stevenson 25,100
Central Park W., adj, 76.4x100. Oppenheimer & Metzger 48,450
Central Park W., adj, 51x100. Same 32,800
74th st, No. Ill, n s, 100 w 9th av, 20x102.2, four-story brick and
stone dwelling. D. L. Pulsivi 26,000
74th st, No. 113, 20x102.2. Charles Mayer 26,050
74th st, No. 115. C. W. Luyster 26,050
74th st, No. 117. George Stake 26,200
74th st, No. 110. C. W. Luyster 25,850
74th st, No. 121, Philip Rosenheim 26,200
74th st, No. 123. C. W. Luyster 25,850
74th st, No. 125. M. M. Sternberger 27,100
74th st, No. 127. C. W. Luyster 25,850
74th st, No. 129. D. Lord, Jr 26,100
74th st, No, 131. C. W. Luyster 25,850
74th st, No. 133, O. C. Faurbach 26,050
74th st, No. 135. C. W. Luyster 26,050
74th st, No 137. P. B. Marshall 26,050
74th st, No. 139. A. E. Putnam 26,050
74th st, n s, 100 w Central Park West, 600x102.2, vacant. Henry
Morgenthau, Wm J. Ehrich and R. A. Cunningham 283,200
75th st, s s, 100 w Central Park West, 600x102.2, vacant. F. de R.
Wissmann 264,000
75th st, s s, 100 w 9th av, 100x102.2, vacant. Jacob Rothschild 44,100
75th st, adj, 100x102.2. Ottinger Bros 42,000
75th st, adj, 100x102.2. Fisher, Adler & Schwartz 42,800
75th st, n s, 100 w 9th av, 100x102.2, vacant. B. A. Sands 40,000
75th st, adj, 100x102.2. A. J. Robinson 37,400
75th st, adj, 75x102.2. F. J. Drummond 28,050
Greenwich av, No. 96, n e s, 27.1 s e 13th st, 20x84x irreg. x83, three-
story brick store and tenement, and one-story brick building on
rear. Charles Simpson. (Amount due $10,722) 2 11,250
5th av, No. 246, s w cor 28th st, 28.4x100, four-story brick and stone|
dwelling I
28th st, No. 2, s s, 100 w 5th av, 25x112.10, brick stable in rear.)
Geo. De F. Barton [229,000
9th av, n w cor 74th st, 25.8x100, vacant. Judge P. Henry Dugro. . 30,000
9th av, adj, 25.6x100. B. P. Fairchild 16,000
9th av, adj, 25.6x100. Oppenheimer & Metzger 14,500
9th av, s w cor 75th st, 25.8x100, vacant. Jacob Rothschild 26,000
9th av, adj, 76.6x100. Same 44,100
9th av, n e cor 74th st, 25.8x100, vacant. Owen McCrorken 27,250
9th av, adj, 51x100. Same 28,000
9th av, adj, 25.6x100. L. J. Phillips 13,950
9th av, s e cor 75th st, 25.8x100. A. W. Frazer 25,100
9th av, adj, 76.4x100. Same j 42,000
9th av, n w cor 75th st, 25.8x100, vacant. C. W. Luyster 26,000
9th av, adj, 25.6x100. Alex. McSorley 16,300
9th av, adj, 51x100. Jacob Bookman 30,000
Broadway, No. 203, w s, 33.10 s Fulton st, 24.9x100.3x25x100.3, five-
story building. R. C. Alexandre for Elliott F. Shepard 211,000
Chambers st. Nos. 91 and 93, n s, 97.6 e Church st, 52.8xl50.9x50.2x
150.8, through to Reade st, five-story brick and stone buildings.
William Cruikshank, for R. T. Auchmuty 255,000
Duane st, Nos. 72 and 74, s s, 140 w Elm st, 50x78.10x49.4x79, two
five-story Nova Scotia stone front stores. Louis F. Emillo. .. 130 000
Duane st, No. 129, n s, 100.2 w Church st, 25x175.11 to Thomas st,
five-story stone and brick front building. Sol. Zickel .108,000
Duane st, No. 162, s e cor Hudson st, 35.6x77.1x89, gore, two-story
attic and brick house and two-story brick house on rear. P. H.
Du^ro .'...! 45,000
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 145
Franklin st, Nos. 107-113, s s, 170.6 w Church st, 76.10x100, five-story
stone front building. A. Newbold Morris, for Jas. H. Jones, an
heir 227,000*
Front st, No. 135, e s, 19.1 n Pine st, 19x61.10x18.6x64.8, four- story
brick house. R. L. Montgomery 20,000*
Fulton st, Nos. 164-168, s s, 100.4 w Broadway, 66.6x77.4x66.9x77.7,
four and four-and-a-half-story buildings. R. C. Alexandre, for
Elliott F. Shepard 151,00ft
Hudson st, Nos. 56-60, Thomas st, Nos. 93-97, n e cor, 78x78.3x100.3
x irreg., five-story brick building. R. C. Williams & Co 155,500*
Liberty st, No. 121, n s, 36.8 e Greenwich st, 25x100.9x25x100.10, five-
story stone front building. L. E. Ransom 48,000-
Maiden lane. No. 32, s s, 34.2 w Nassau st, 16.8x83x15x79.9, four-
story brick building. Helen Langdon, an heir 60,000-
Maiden lane, No. 34, adj, 18.3x42.4x18.5x39.5 five-and-a-half-story
brick building. Same v 41,000
Warren st, No. 36, n s, 25.3 w Church st, 25.2x100.10x25.2x100.9, five-
story stone front store. F. de R. Wissmann 69,50ft
Washington st, No. 280, w s, 80.9 n Warren st, 26.9x74.3x12. 6x irreg.,
five-story brick house. Charles H. Woodbury 44,50ft
Washington st, No. 279, e s, 65.2 n Warren st, 26.3x75.10x26.5x75.9,
five-story brick house. T. S. Clarkson 40,000
9th av, s e cor 75th st, 25.8x100. P. H. Dugro 26,300
9th av, e s, adj 25.6x100. William Gillespie 15,300
9th av, e s, adj, 51x100. G. L. Lawrence 30,400
The Morgenthau Sale*
The Morgenthau sale, which took place May 30, 1891, disposed o£
411 vacant lots on Washington Heights. The property was origin-
ally part of the Chesebrough estate, and was bought in 1879 ^T
George Ehret, the brewer, for $350,000. Governor Morgan pur-
chased it in 1881 for $450,000; when his estate was wound up it was
secured by Morton & Bliss for $400,000; in the early part of 1891
it was conveyed to the Washington Heights Improvement Co., of
which Henry Morgenthau was the leading spirit, for a stated con-
sideration of $980,000, of which $680,000 was left on mortgage. At
the Morgenthau sale the property brought $1,494,300. The actual
cash investment of Mr. Morgenthau and his associates was there-
fore $300,000, upon which they realized an advance of over $500,-
000, or 170 per cent. During the past two years a pronounced
soeculative movement has been developed in unimproved lots on
Washington Heights. This sale, as well as the Ward sale, on page
151, will therefore have special value as a record of prices.
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 178th st, 25.4x98.8x25x103. B. F. Kearns. 5,050*
Kingsbridge road, adj, 50.8x90.1x50x98.9. Same 6,800
Kingsbridge road, adj, 25.4x85.9x25x90.1. Mahoney Bros 3,050
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 179th st, 25.6x90.10x85.8x25. S. Wolf 4,70(>
Kingsbridge road, adj, 76.6x106.3x75x90.10. F. Koch 10,350
Kingsbridge road, adj, 76.6x96.8x75x81.3. A. Moses 10,500-
10
146 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 178th st, 25.6x101.9x25x90.8. E. J. Marsh. 5,800
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 180th st, 25.0x87.(5x25x82.4. A. Block 5,150
Kingsbridge road, adj, 25.0x92.7x25x87. D. P. Freedman 3,000
Kingsbridge road, adj, 51x102.10x50x92.7. Thos. Alexander 7,000
Kingsbridge road, adj, 25.0x88x25x77.10. B. L. Kennelly 3,000
Kingsbridge road, adj, 57x93.3x50x83. B. F. Kearns 7,000
Kingsbridge road, adj, 25.0x93.3x25x98.5. Same 5,050
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 181st st, 25.0x80.1x25x75. F. T. Higgins. . . 9,200
Kingsbridge road, adj, 70.0x95.0x75x80.1. J. Lichtenstein 12,400
Kingsbridge road, adj, 90.5x99.llx irreg. x90.0. S. Wolf 13,800
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 180th st, 25.0x99.11x25x105. A. Block 7,500
Kingsbridge road, s e cor 182d st, 25.2x95.11x25x99.4. L. Schles-
inger 4,800
Kingsbridge road, adj, 25.2x102.0x25x105.11. Mr. Elting 4,500
Kingsbridge road, adj, 45.4x90.4x45x102.0. J. T. Anger 0,850
Kingsbridge road, adj, 50.4x89.5x50x90.4. B. F. Kearns 7,050
Kingsbridge road, n e cor 181st st, 25.2x80x25x89.5. Same 8,200
178th st, s s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 25x100. A. J. Connick 2,400
178th st, adj, 150x100. M. Friedsam 14,400
178th st, n s , 100 w Audubon, 125x100. B. P. Fairchild 10,250
178th st, adj, 25x100. Thos. J. Colton 2,275
178th st, n s, 100 w Wadsworth av, 50x100. Wm. Mulqueen 5,050
178th st, adj, 25x100. R. M. Lyon 2,525
178th st, adj, 25x100. E. J. Marsh 2,575
178th st, s s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 25x99. J. Tourney 1,975
178th st, adj, 100x94. T. R. Brennan 7,700
178th st, adj, 50x89. J. M. Muhan 3,400
178th st, s s, 100 w Wadsworth av, 50x100. S. T. McAvoy 4,000
178th st, adj 25x100. Mrs. M. E. Davagh 2,300
178th st, adj, 25x100. Mahoney Bros 2,275
178th st, n s, 100 w 11th av, 50x100. R. A. Haglisz 4,000
178th st, adj, 50x100. I. Yates 4,750
179th st, s s, 100 w 11th av, 100x100. C. Trinks 8,800
179th st, h s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 50x100. J. L. Marcellus 4,500
179th st, adj, 125x100. B. P. Fairchild 10,875
179th st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 125x100. Wm. Kennelly 11,375
179th st, adj, 25x100. Wm. Dolsen 2,400
179th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 100x100. B. P. Fairchild 9,500
179th st, - adj, 50x100. Alex, Martin, Jr 4,900
179th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 25x100. J. Lechtalen 2,000
179th st, adj, 75x100. C. Trinks 7,350
179th st, n s, 100 w Wadsworth av, 50x100. B. F. Kearns 5,700
179th st, s s, 100 w Amsterdam, 100x100. Wilson & Knight 10,000
179th st, adj, 75x100. M. Friedsam 7,200
179th st, s s, 100 w Wadsworth av, 25x100. M. Curley 2,375
179th st, adj. Mrs Weir 2,350
179th st, adj. Thos. Molloy 2,375
180th st, s s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 75x100. H. G. Badgley 7,000
180th st, adj, 75x100. B. P. Fairchild 7,200
180th st, adj, 25x100. S. De Walltearss 2,425
180th st, n s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 50x100. S. Goldsticker 5,700
180th st, adj, 120x100. L. K. Ungrich 12,325
180th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 25x100. Louis Sanders 2,750
180th st, adj, 50x100. Thos. McGuire 5,000
180th st, adj, 25x100. F. T. Higgins 2,500
180th st, adj, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 75x100. Geo. Schwegler 7,650
180th st, adj, 75x100. F. B. Mesick. 7,800
180th st, s s, 100 w Audubon av, 25x100. R. M. Hoar 2,550
180th st, adj, 75x100. H. Batterman 7,575
180th st, n s, 100 w Audubon av, 50x100. G. & W. J. Rauch 5,000
180th st, adj, 25x100. Thos J. Colton 2,450
180th st, adj 50x100. S. Vollmann 2,525
180th st, adj, 25x100. Isaac M. Elliott • 2,750
180th st, s s, 100 w Wadsworth av, 25x100. B. L. Kennelly 3,000
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 147
181st st, s s, 1.00 w Amsterdam av, 50x119.6. S. Goldsticker 14,350
1.81st st, adj, 75x119.6. Hanlon Goodman 16,500
1.81st st,. adj, 25x119.6. B. L. Kennelly 5,300
181st st, adj, 20x119.6. M. A. Frank 3,600
181st st, adj, 75x100. Alexander Bros 16,050
181st st, s e cor Audubon av. P. A. Smyth 8,600
181st st, s w cor Audubon av, 25x100. Sinclair Myers 8,300
181st st, adj, 75x100. Same 14,400
181st st, adj, 100x119.6. Same 17,100
181st st, adj, 25x119.6. M. E. Monaghan 5,700
181st st, adj, 25x119.6. Isaac M. Elliott 5,750
181st st, adj, 75x100. M. J. Mulqueen 18,000
181st st, s e cor 11th av, 25x100. Edw. Rafter 11,300
181st st, n e cor Audubon av, 25x100. L. Tanenbaum 8,000
181st st, adj, 145x100. Same , 29,800
181st st, adj, 50x100. Morten & Battie 10,800
181st st, adj, 50x100. Louis Wendell 11,800
181st st, s w cor Wadsworth av, 25x100. Edw. Rafter 10,500
181st st, adj, 50x100. J. Lichtenstein 13,100
181st st, n w cor Wadsworth av, 25x100. B. F. Kearns 7,500
181st st, adj, 50x100. Same 9,300
181st st, s w cor 11th av, 25x100. John Reilly 12,250
181st st, adj, 75x100. Same 17,650
181st st, adj, 25x119.6. D. Kahnweiler 5,020
181st st, adj, 50x119.6. Jacob Holhn 8,900
181st st, adj, 25x119.6. B. L. Kennelly 4,550
181st st, adj, 50x100. Thos. J. Colton 9,600
181st st, adj, 25x100. Wm. H. Bergen 4,750
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. Wurtzburger & Hecht 5,050
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. D. W. Ronde 5,000
Wadsworth av, s w cor 180th st, 25x100. Same 3,700
Wadsworth av, n e cor 180th st, 25x100. John Wynne 4,500
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. Same 4,900
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. S. R. Welsen 5,100
Wadsworth av, n w cor 180th st, 25x90. B. Fitzgerald 4,300
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x90. J. Romaine Brown 4,800
"Wadsworth av, adj, 45.6x80. C. Mclntyre 4,350
181st st, s e cor Wadsworth av, 25x100. Edw. Rafter 8,100
181st st, n w cor Audubon av, 25x100. Miles Tierney 7,150
181st st, adj, 50x100. Same 8,350
181st st, adj 50x100. P. Ward 8,300
181st st, adj, 50x100. Mr. Rhode 8,800
181st st, adj, 150x100. Mr. Bauerdorf 29,500
181st st, n e cor 11th av. B. F. Kearns 11,100
181st st, n w cor 11th av, 25x100. John Reilly 11,750
181st st, adj, 50x100. P. Ward 10,000
181st st, adj, 50x100. J. C. Hatie 9,200
181st st, adj, 150x100. P. Fox 26,400
181st st, n e cor Wadsworth av, 25xi00. Edw. Rafter 7,000
182d st, s s, 100 w 11th av, 50x70. G. Robertson 4,000
182d st, adj, 50x70. C. Brothers 3,950
182d st, s s, 100 w Amsterdam av, 50x100. Louis Wendell 5,150
182d st, adj, 100x100. B. P. Fairchild 8,900
182d st, adj, 25x100. C. H. Butler 2,200
182d st, s s, 100 w Audubon, 50x70. L. Schlesinger 3,950
182d st, adj, 75x70. Mrs. W. Schuff 6,000
182d st, adj, 25x70. W. J. Parmly 2,075
Amsterdam av, n w cor 178th st, 25x100. A. J. Connick 9,100
Amsterdam av, adj, 50x100. S. Wolf 10,600
Amsterdam av, adj, 75x100. A. J. Connick 15,350
Amsterdam av, adj, 25x100. W. E. Munn 5,350
Amsterdam av, s w cor 179th st. S. Wolf 8,500
Amsterdam av, s w cor 178th st, 25x100. Same 8,350
Amsterdam av, adj, 50x100. C. A. Briggs 10,475
148 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Amsterdam av, adj, 30.8x100x24.3. S. Vollmann 5,050
Amsterdam av, n w cor 179th st, 25x100. J. L. Marcellus 9,500
Amsterdam av, adj, 50x100. A. Block 11,350
Amsterdam av, adj, 25x100. M. S. Silberberg 5,650
Amsterdam av, adj, 50x100. John M. Meehan 11,400
Amsterdam av, adj, 25x100. Solomon Moses 6,100
Amsterdam av, s w cor 180th st, 25x100. H. G. Badgley 10,100
Audubon av, s e cor 180th st, 25x95. D. Gaide 3,550
Audubon av, adj, 25x95. H. Newmark. . . . 2,000
Audubon av, adj, 50x95. Lester Walton 3,900
Audubon av, adj, 25x95. E. H. Doyle 1,950
Audubon av, adj, 50x95. A. Smart 4,200
Audubon av, n e cor 179th st, 25x95. D. W. Ronde 3,125
Audubon av, s e cor 178th st, 21.10x95. L. Walton* 2,475
Audubon av, adj, 60x— x66.1x95. B. P. Fairchild 4,875
Audubon av, n w cor 179th st, 25x100. C. G. Tousey 3,500
Audubon av, adj, 25x100. Same 2,225
Audubon av, adj, 100x100. C. H. Krauich 8,40O
Audubon av, adj, 25x100. Wm. Dolan 2,450
Audubon av, s w cor 180th st, 25x100. L. K. Ungrich 3,500
Audubon av, s e cor 179th st, 25x95. M. Friedsam 3,200
Audubon av, adj, 150x95. Same 12,150
Audubon av, n e cor 178th st, 25x95. Same 3,575
Audubon av, s w cor 178th st, 25x100. Esther Silberman 3,450
Audubon av, adj, 50x100. Same 4,000
Audubon av, adj, 100x100. Wurtzburger & Hecht 8,100
Audubon av, s w cor 179th st, 25x100. H. W. Hartman 3,450
Audubon av, n e cor 180th st, 25x100. L. K. Ungrich 4,000
Audubon av, adj, 25x100. Same 2,500
Audubon av, adj, 25x100. Geo. Ebert 2,550
Audubon av, adj, 19.6x100. Alexander Bros 2,700
Audubon av, n w cor 180th st, 25x100. L. Schlesinger 4,000
Audubon av, adj, 75x100. A. E. Fountain, Jr 8,400
Audubon av, adj, 19.6x100. J. H. Fink ' 2,000
Audubon av, adj, s e cor 182d st, 25x100. B. F. Kearns 3,750
Audubon av, adj, 50x100. Same 4,850
Audubon av, s w cor 182d st, 25x100. L. Schlesinger 3,450
Audubon av, adj, 50x100. Same 4,925
Wadsworth av, n e cor 178th st, 25x100. J. G. Johnson 3,275
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. Dr. Steers 4,750
Wadsworth av, adj, 75x100. Newman Cowen 6,900
Wadsworth av, adj, 25x100. R. S. Abrams 2,325
Wadsworth av, s e cor 179th st, 25x100. Henry Stickweh 3,200
Wadsworth av, s w cor 179th st, 25x100. L. K. Ungrich 3,400
Wadsworth av, adj, 100x100. W. W. Wat kins 10,500
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. L. K. Ungrich 4,850
Wadsworth av, n w cor 178th st. Same 3,400
Wadsworth av, s w cor 178th st, 25x100. T. Donovan 3,325
Wadsworth av, adj cor, 50x100. Frank Demult 4,300
Wadsworth av, adj cor, 25x100. Wm. McCarthy 2,325
Wadsworth av, s e cor 180th st, 25x100. W. H. Elting 4,000
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. C. Trinks 5,150
Wadsworth av, adj, 100x100. Wurtzberber & Hecht 10,400
Wadsworth av, n e cor 179th st, 25x100. F. T. Higgins 4,000
Wadsworth av, n w cor 179th st, 25x100. D. W. Ronde 3,700
Wadsworth av, adj, 25x100. F. T. Kee 2,575
Wadsworth av, adj. 25x100. W. J. Brown 2,500
Wadsworth av, s w cor 182d st, 25x85. C. E. Schuyler 3,000
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x75. Same 3,750
Wadsworth av, s e cor 180th st, 25x100. E. W. H. Elting 4,000
Wadsworth av, s e cor 182d st, 25x100. Mr. Coffey 3,000
Wadsworth av, adj, 50x100. J. W. McCarron 4,150
11th av, s w cor 182d st, 25x100. Alfred Miller 5,050
11th av, adj, 50x100. A. B. Humphrey 6,400
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
149
11th av, n e cor 178th st, 25x100. Thos. Colton 5,500
11th av, adj, 25x100. Same 3,525
11th av, adj, 25x100 Otto Boelsen 3,400
11th av, adj, 75x100. J. Davis 10,425
11th av, adj, 25x100. Thos J. Colton 3,500
11th av, s e cor 179th st, 25x100. Same 5,900
11th av, s w cor 179th st, 25x100. H. A. Sohl 5,400
11th av, adj, 25x100. Thos. H. Friend 3,300
11th av, adj, 25x100. Geo. R. Conklin 3,200
11th av, adj, 50x100. Vollman Bros 6,500
11th av, adj, 50x100. J. Edgar Leaycraft 3,350
11th av, n w cor 178th st. Same 5,450
11th av, s e cor 180th st, 25x100. L. Walton 6,000
11th av, adj, 75x100. Same 10,800
11th av n e cor 179th st, 25x100. B. F. Kearns 5,350
11th av, adj. Same 10,950
11th av, n w cor 178th st, 25x100. T. Boumeister 5,200
11th av, adj, 25x100. Carl Thomson 3,625
11th av, adj, 25x100. B. L. Kennelly 3,625
11th av, adj, 75x100. C. Shormeier 10,950
11th av, adj, 25x100. P. Somers 3,850
11th av, s w cor 180th st. A. Block 6,100
1.1th av, n e cor 180th st, 25x100. J. F. B. Smith 7,000
11th av, adj, 25x100. A. Block 4 150
11th av, adj, 25x100. John Delaney 4,100
11th av, adj, 25x100. L. B. Knickman ". . 4,100
11th av, adj, 19.6x100. M. J. Mulqueen 4,300
11th av, n w cor 180th st, 25x100. John Reilly 6,750
11th av, adj. Same 15,975
11th av, s e cor 182d st, 25x100. P. Ward 5,000
11th av, adj, 25x100. J. H. Little 3,350
11th av, adj, 20x1000. Mrs. H. Purvis 2,875
The Arnold Sale*
The 143 lots disposed of at the Arnold sale, April 15, 1892, were
located on the East Side and in Harlem. The competition was free
and unrestricted, and so far as known there was absolutely no pro-
tection or bidding by representatives of the estate.
Lenox av, n w cor 128th st, 99.11x75, vacant. Leopold Kahn 44,000
133d st, s s, 325 e 7th av, 75x99.11, vacant. Francis J. Schnugg 20,700
134th st, s s, 260 w 5th av, 200x99.11, vacant. E. C. Bell 40,000
87th st, n w cor Madison av, 95x100.8, vacant. Higgins & Kane. . . . 65,500
87th st, n s, adj, 100x100.8, vacant. Peter Summers 52.000
87th st, n s, adj, 50x100.8, vacant. Andrew H. Smith 27,400
88th st, s w cor Madison av, 95x100.8, vacant. J. Wehrum 63,500
88th st, s s, adj, 125x100.8, vacant. Max Danziger 58,750
88th st, s s, adj, 97.9x100.8, vacant. J. Keiser 50,800
90th st, s s, 113.4 e Madison av, 76.8x100.8, vacant. Max Danziger. 33,300
94th st, n w cor Madison av, 42.9x100.8, vacant. L. M. Jones 30,000
94th st, n s, adj, 125x100.8, vacant. Same 63,750
94th st, n s, adj, 100x100.8, vacant. Sonn Bros 52,800
94th st, adj, 50x100.8, vacant. Francis J. Schnugg 27,000
95th st, s w cor Madison av, 42.9x100.8, vacant. Newman Cowen. . 29,000
95th st, s s, adj, 75x100.8, vacant. John Harney 32,100
95th st, s s, adj, 100x100.8, vacant. Max Danziger 43,200
95th st, s s, adj, 100x100.8, vacant. Geo. F. Johnson 46,000
97th st, s s, 100 e 5th av, 75x100.11, vacant. A. Cameron 26,100
102d st, s s, 100 e 5th av, 25x100.11, vacant. Geo. Wolff 7,400
102d st, s s, adj, 225x100.11, vacant. Geo. F. Johnson 63,000
150 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
134th st, s s, 75 e 7th av, 100x99.11, vacant. Jacob M. Newman. . . . 28,400
134th st, s s, 375 e 7th av, 275x99.11, vacant. Henry M. Bendheim. . 72,600
133d st, n s, 350 e 7th av, 100x99.11, vacant. Henry M. Bendheim.. 20,800
135th st, s s, 125 w Lenox av, 50x99.11, vacant. A. J. Bruen 19,000
136th st, n s, 75 w Lenox av, 150x99.11. John Harney 33,600
137th st, n s, 100 e Lenox av, 100x99.11, vacant. Alex. Cadoo 16,800
138th st, s s, 175 e Lenox av, 275x99.11. S. Manges 33,000
139th st, n s, 370 w 5th av, 75x99.11, vacant. M. Greenbaum 8,550
Lenox av, n w cor 138th st, 99.11x125, vacant. J. M. Newman 29,000
Lenox av, s w cor 139th st, 99.11x125, vacant. H. Hirsh 28,200
The Bernheimer-Schmid Sale*
The Bernheimer-Schmid sale was held March 7, 1895, under a
decree granted in friendly partition proceedings. The eighty-two
lots put up, located on 108th and 109th streets and Columbus ave-
nue, were eagerly competed for. The total realized was $550,050.
Columbus av, n w cor 108th st, 25.5x100, this and all other parcels
vacant unless otherwise mentioned. W. R. Rose 15,500
Columbus av, adj above, 25.2x100. Wm. Rankin 9,200
Columbus av, adj above, 75.6x100. Heilner & Wolf 26,800
Columbus av, adj above, 50.4x100. Adler & Herrman 18,550
Columbus av, s w cor 109th st, 25.5x100. Heilner & Wolf 18,500
Columbus av, s e cor 109th st, 25.5x100. Wm. Rankin 17,500
Columbus av, adj above, 25.2x100. Same 10,300
Columbus av, adj above, 25.2x100. Cohen & Endel 9,500
Columbus av, adj above, 75.6x100. Ottinger Bros 27,450
Columbus av, adj above, 25.2x100. Wm. Rankin 9,500
Columbus av, n e cor 108th st, 25.5x100. Same 13,800
109th st, s s, 100 w Columbus av, 25x100.11. Adler & Herrman 7,100
109th st, adj above, 25x100.11." Heilner & Wolf 6,000
109th st, adj above, 100x100.11. Wm. Rankin 18,800
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11. Conrad Schlosser 9,350
109th st, adj above, 125x100.11. Sonn Bros 27,400
109th st, adj ab6ve, 25x100.11. David Christie 5,700
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11. W. P. Silleck 11,725
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11. S. J. Luckings 18,200
109th st, adj above, 25.100.11. Anton Schwartz 6,200
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11. Adler & Herrman 13,500
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11. Jared Bell 14,400
109th st, adj above, 50x100.11 Peter Wagner 15,800
109th st, adj above and extending in front to point 0.4 e of Amster-
dam av, 49.8x105x20.9x100.11. John Planigan, Carmel, N. Y 17,000
109th st, s s, 100 e Columbus av, 25x100.11. W. R. Rose 5,575
109th st, adj above, 25x100.11. Geo. E. Mott 4,700
109th st, adj above, 25x100.11. W. R. Rose 4,650
109th st, adj above, 25x200.11. Geo. E. Mott 4,825
109th st, adj above, 75x100.11. Sonn Bros 16,175
108th st, n s, 100 e Columbus av, 50x100.11. Same 10,300
108th st, adj above, 100x100.11. W. R. Rose 18,250
108th st, adj above, 25x100.11. Jacob S. Bernheimer 5,000
108th st, adj above, 43x204.10 to 100th st, x8x201.10. Same 7,500
108th st, n s , 100 w Columbus av, 75x100.11. John Jones 14,575
108th st, adj above, 25x100.11. W. R. Rose 4,550
108th st, adj above, 50x100.11. David Christie 9,075
108th st, adj above, 50x100.11. W. R. Rose 9,050
108th st, adj above, 50.9x100.11, two-story brick and two-story frame
houses. Geo. E. Mott 10,600
108th st, adj above, 149.2x100.11. W. R. Rose 26,850
108th st, adj above, 75x100.11. Joseph Carr 13,750
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 151
1()8th st, adj above, 25x100.11. R. D. Elder 4,550
108th st, adj above, 25x100.11. W. R. Rose 4,500
108th st, adj above, 25x100.11. David Christie 4,900
108th st, adj above, 50x100.11. Jared Bell 10,200
108th st, adj above and extending: in front to a point 58.1 e of Am-
sterdam av, 41.11x105x70.9x100.11. Same 12,700
The Ward Sale*
The Susan B. Ward partition sale on November T9, 1896, and Oc-
tober T9, 1897, disposed of 238 lots on Washington Heights for a
total of $444,250.
November 10, 1896.
Kingsbridge road, s w cor 170th st, 28x91x25.3x103.1, this and parcels
described below vacant. C. Buckman 9 550
Kingsbridge road, adj above, 50x127.4x50.6x103.1. G. W. Van Allen
and C. Buckman 12,000
Kingsbridge road, adj above, 28x114.0x25.3x102.4. Same 5.700
170th st, s s, 91 w Kingsbridge road, 125x90. Same 14 000
170th st, adj above, 50x90. David Kahnweiler 4 000
170th st, adj above, 100x90. Edward Oppenheimer 7 000
170th st, adj above, 50x90. J. Bleecker & Son for a customer 3,700
170th st, adj above, 100x90. M. Hecht 7,800
1 70th st, adj above, 70x90. T. G. Smith 7,800
Fort Washington av, s e cor 170th st, 25.3x95x25.3x90.2. C. T. Bar-
ney 4,700
Fort Washington av. adj above, 101.3x90.8x100.11x90.2. Same 11,100
Fort Washington av, adj above, 25.8x80.3x25 3x90.8. Jane O'Neill. 2,150
Fort Washington av, adj above and n e cor 109th st, as proposed,
25.9x80.9x25.3x80.3. Mrs. F. Hack or Mack 3,000
109th st, as proposed, n s, 80.9 e Fort Washington av, 45x80.7. C.
T. Barney 2,800
109th st, adj above, 150x80.7. A. Herzberg 8.000
109th st, adj above, 50x80.7. D. J. TimDSon 2.90O
109th s.t, adj above, 200x80.7. William Hays 19,200
109th st, adj above, 50x80.7. Edward M. Timmins 4,700
109th st, adj above, 25x100.11. D. Markey 2,900
109th st, adj above, 25x75.8. A. M. Geraty 2,000
Kingsbridge road, n w cor 109th st, as proposed, 20.3x1 18.3x25.3x
113.9. C. H. Douglass 9.900
Kingsbridge road, adj above, 56x89.6x50.0x113.9 C. K. Henderson. 10 850
Fort Washington av, s w cor 170th st, 25x100x25x98.11. C. T. Bar-
ney 4,000
Fort Washington av, adj above, 75x98.5x75x98.11. J. Romaine
Brown 10,500
Fort Washington av, adj above, 75.0x107.3x75x98.5. C. T. Barney. 9,900
Fort Washington av, adj above, 33.6x114x31.7x107.3. James C. Hus-
sey 4,850
Haven av, s e cor 170th st, 25.10x110.1x25x103.8. C. T. Barney 4,300
Haven av, adj above, 77.6x84.2x75x103.8. Same 6,300
Haven av, adj above, 25.10x127.9x25x134.2. Adelaide Murdock... 1,850
Haven av, 50.9x114.9x50x127.9. M. Donohue 3,000
Haven av, adj above, 31.5x106.11x31.8x114.9. John McSherry 1,800
170th st, s s, 100 w Fort Washington av, 50x100. J. Romaine Brown. 5 300
Fort Washington av, s w cor 170th st, 25x100x25x98.11. C. T.
Barney 4,000
Fort Washington av, adj above, 75x98.5x75x98.11. J. Romaine
Br«wn 10,500
Fort Washington av, adj above, 75 6x107.3x75.98.5. C. T. Barney.. 9,900
Fort Washington av, adj above, 33.6x114x31.7x107.3. James C. Hus-
sey 4,850
15*
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Fort Washington av, n w cor 170th st, as proposed, 50x95x50x97.3.
John Drey S 8,750
Fort Washington av, s w cor 171st st, as proposed, 146x103.10x145
x97.3. C. T. Barney 15,700
170th st, as proposed, 95 w Fort Washington av, 100x97.6. Same. . 10,000
171st st, as proposed, 103.10 w Fort Washington av, 125x97.6. Mrs.
C. C. Carroll 5,250
Haven av, as proposed, s e cor 171st st, 51.8x108.11x50x95.11. J. F.
Weber 4,800
Haven av, adj above, 25.10x89.6x25x95.11. Henry Holdman 1,550
Haven av, adj above, 23.3x83.8x22.6x89.6. C. T. Barney 1,700
Haven av, n e cor 170th st, 100.9x83.4x99.6x108.7. Henry B. Cohen.. 9,500
Fort Washington av, n w cor 171st st, as proposed, 50x95x50x92.9.
J. A. Zimmerman 3,250
F"ort Washington av, adj above, 25.1x90.6x25x92.9. James S. Car-
ney 1,050
Fort Washington av, adj above, 25.2x87.625x90.6. W. A. Toll 1,075
Fort Washington av, adj above, 25.3x112.6x25x108.9. S. A. Ludin. . 1,600
Fort Washington av, adj above, 39.11x101.6x31.11x108.9. J. S.
Ehrich 2,900
171st st, as proposed, n s, 95 w Fort Washington av, 25x100. C.
Shulander 1,325
171st st, adj above, 75x151.6x75.3x156.11. James L. Wells 4,650
171st st, adj above, 25x149.9x25.1x151.6. Lottie Waldmar 1,425
171st st, adj above, 25x147.11x25.1x149.9. J. A. Curry 1,600
171st st, adj above, 25x146.1x25.1x147.11. D. J. Murphy 1,725
Haven av, as proposed, n e cor 171st st, as proposed, 141.7x84.6x
120.4. L. J. Phillips 11,400
Haven av, w s, opposite n part 170th st, as proposed, 25x103.4. M.
Hecht 2,750
Haven av, s of and adj above, 100x103.4. J. Romaine Brown 10,000
Haven av, adj above, 75x103.4. W. E. Patch 4,125
Haven av, adj above, 50x103.4. M. Hecht 2,300
Haven av, adj above, 35.6x103.8x35.4x103.4. Sol. Prowler 1,150
Haven av, w s, opposite n line proposed 170th st, 75x103.4. Wm.
Miller 8,625
Haven av, n and adj above, 25x103.4. Reeber's Sons 2,300
Haven av, adj above, 25x103.4. M. Hecht 2,100
Haven av, adj above, 50x103.4. T. G. Smith 4,600
Haven av, adj above, 25x103.4. M. Hecht 1,850
Haven av, adj above, 25x103.4. Anna M. Cardana 1,875
Haven av, adj above, 50x103.4. T. G. Smith 3,750
Haven av, adj above, 25x103.4. C. A. Mannie 1,675
Haven av, adj above, 50x103.4. Caspar Iba 3,100
Haven av, adj above, 26.8x100.11x21.8x103.4. Alex E. Mitchell. . \ . . 1,825
October 19, 1897.
F'ort Washington av, w s, 175.7 s 170th st, runs w 107.3 x s 31.7
x s e 113.11 to av, x n w 13.3 x n 20.4 to beginning. H. W. Money. 2,400
Haven av, e s, 180.9 s 170th st, 31.5x106.11x31.7x114.9. H. W.
Money 1,000
boulevard Lafayette, e s, 269.3 n 170th st, 10U)x229.3x9(>.8x223.9.
W. F. Carroll 4,550
Boulevard Lafayette, e s, 63.6 n 170th st, 103x229x100x193.2. Adolph
Wurzburger 4,700
Boulevard Lafayette, e s, 142.6 n 170th st, 103x177.3x100x161.5.
Charles B. Hill 5,325
Boulevard Lafayette, s w cor Private st, adj Fort Washington
Park, 28.55x100. 04x— xlOO, vacant. P. A. Cassidy 3,300
boulevard Lafayette, w s, adj, 154x100. P. A. Cassidy 11,550
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 25x100. Mrs. A. Budd 1,150
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 25x100. S. L. Prowler 1,200
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 50x100. J. J. Fredericks 2,400
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 100x100. E. C. Lyons 4,800
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
153
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 200x100. J. D. Butler 14,000
Boulevard Lafayette, adj, 116.11x115.16x116.11x100. C. H. Scholer-
man 9,600
Private st, adj Fort Washington Park, s e cor Private st, e of N Y
C R R, 108.9x107.57, vacant. W. H. Douglass 12,100
PPrivate st, e s, adj, 125x180.90. W. H. Douglass 2,600
Private st, adj, 50x108.90. J. J. Fredericks 800
Private st, adj, 100x108.90. E. C. Lyons 1,800
Private st, adj, 75x108.90. William Hayes 1,350
Private st, adj, 125x108.9. W. A. Martin 2,300
Private st, adj, 104.1x109.98x106.84x108.90. A. W. Miller 2,200
Private st, s w cor Private st e of N Y C R R, 7.10x112.25x0.14x110.6,
vacant. W. L. Douglass 500
Private st, w s, adj, 473.59x irreg. Wm Rankin 6,750
Private st, adj, 25x82.6. J. J. Fredericks 350
Private st, adj, 50x125.43x53.24x82.26. F. C. A. Maurice 900
Private st, adj, 27.86x126.15x25x125.34; also irreg strip w of N Y
C R R. Geo. B. Ward 1,000
Prices of Fifth Avenue Lots, 1872-1882*
The following is a list of actual prices paid for Fifth avenue prop-
erty between the years 1872 and 1882. The list shows the havoc
which the panic of 1873 wrought on the prices that ruled during
the preceding speculative period. Values apparently continued to
fall until 1877, when they seem to have reached the low-water
mark:
1ST e cor 81st st, 25.8x100; also one on 81st st, 25x102.2. June 22,
1872 $102,500
25.8 n 81st st, 51x100. June 8, 1872 100,000
Same property. Dec. 25, 1875 55,000
Same property. June, 1879 50,000
Same property. Jan. 15, 1881 76,000
76.8 n 81st st, 25.6x100. July 5, 1879 26,000
Same property. March 19, 1881 40,000
S e cor 82d st, 102.2x125. May 25, 1872 225,000
S e cor 83d st, 102.2x160. March 23, 1872 220,000
Same property. June 1, 1872 250,000
Same property. Dec. 25, 1875 145,000
Same property. July 5, 1879 132,500
Same property. Nov., 1879 142,500
Same property. May 8, 1880 180,000
N e cor 83d st, 50.2x100. Feb. 3, 1872 95,000
51.2 n 83d st, 52x100. June 1, 1872 91,000
Same property. August, 1879 75,000
Same property. Jan. 15, 1881 78,000
S e cor 84th st, 25.8x100. June 8, 1872 71,500
Same property. Feb. 28, 1874 71,500
Same property. Sept. 19, 1874 73,500
Same property. Foreclos. Nov. 14, 1874 43,500
Same property. Feb. 15, 1879 26,000
Same property. Feb. 15, 1879 33,000
Same property. April 24, 1880 39,500
26.6 s 84th st, 25x100. Feb. 3, 1872 38,000
Same property. June 8, 1872 40,000
Same property. July 3, 1875. • • • 35,000
Same property. Aug. 21, 1875 32,736
N e cor 84th st, 22.2x125. March 2, 1878 50,000
154
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
22.2 n 84th st, 20x115. April 18, 1874 .' 120,000-
Same property. Aug. 26, 1876 80,000
Same property. Aug. 11, 1877 80,000
Same property. March 26, 1881 80,000
Same property. Dec. 17, 1881 66,500
Same property. Dec. 17, 1881 80,000
42.2 n 84th st, 20x125. Feb., 1878 25,000
Same property. Feb., 1880 50,000
62.2 n 84th st. Feb., 1878 ,• • • 25,000
Same property. Feb., 1880 50,000
82.2 n 84th st. Oct. 13, 1887 43,000
Same property. March 13, 1880 o0,000
Same property. March 20, 1880 43,000
127 n 84th st, 25x100. Sept. 11, 1875 42,000
Same property. April 22, 1876 23,300
S e cor 85th st, 27.2x100. April 6, 1872 47,500
Same property. July 13, 1872 42,500
Same property. Jan., 1882 *>.<**)
27.2 s 85th st, 25x100. Feb. 24, 1872 <W,000
*50.8 s 85th st, 50x102. March 2, 1872 68,000
Same property. March 2, 1872. &>.000
52.2 s 85th st, 25x100. June 8, 1872 40,000
Same property. June 8, 1872 • • • ^>0()()
N e cor 85th st, 25x100, with two on n s of 85th st, 50x102.2. Dec.
~ -. or* < 80,000
5, loi-i . _~ n/v.
♦25 n 85th st. 21.1x100. Feb. 21, 1874 70,000
♦46.10 n 85th st, 22x100. May 10, 1873 o ™n
Same property. J.une 24, 1876 3»,000
♦68.10 n 85th st, 22x100. Nov. 2, 1872 80,000
Same property. Sept. 11, 1873 |>7.o00
Same property. Oct 9, 1873 ^,000
Same property. Sept. 19, 1874 oo'^l
Same property. Sept. 2, 1876 ^/>"{>
♦90.10 n85th st, 22x100. May 20, 1876 ^'
♦112.10 n 85th st, 22x100. Oct 12, 1872 80,800
S e cor 86th st, 25.8x100. July 3, 1875 £^00
Same property. April 21, 1877 ^00
♦25.8 s 86th st, 21.10x100. Jan. 27, 1872 «>.<**>
Same property. April 19, 1873 • ^,000
Same property. July 8, 1876 38,000
Same property. April 29, 1876 ^,800
69.6 s 86th st, 22x100. April, 1879 ^00
N e cor 86th st, abt 4 lots. Junt 5, 1875 ^^
Same property. May 1, 1879 ^00
Same property. Jan. 10, 1880 80'™0
50 n 86th st, 75x102. Jan. 29, 1881 *>.000 ■
Same property. Jan. 29, 1881 75,000
Same property. Dec. 31, 1881 120,000
S e cor 87th st, 25.2x102.2. April 21, 187, ^,000
25.2 s 87th st, 25.2x102. April 28, 1877 W»0
50.2 s 87th st, 25.2x102. April 28, 1877 18,000
N e cor 87th st, 25.4x140. May 18, 1877 f>>™>
25.4 n 87th st, 25.4x140. May 19, 1877 14,000
50.11 n 87th st, 25x140. July, 1879 I'.wu
50.8 n 87th st, 50x140. March 12, 1881 W>00
Same property. March 12, 1881 -non
75.8 n 87th st, 25x140. March 19, 1881 25 000
Same property. Feb. 21, 1880 co'nnrt
Bet 87th and 88th sts, 50x140. April 6, 1872 8d,000
50.8 s 88th st, 25x102. July 8, 1876 ^™"
75.8 s 88th st, 25x102. Aug 5, 1876 oc 000
75.11 s 88th st, 25x140. April 1, 1876 f°'J* "
50.4 n 89th st, 50.4x102.2. 2-3 part. Oct 12, 1872 28 500
Same property. Aug. 5, 1876 '
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 155
Same property. Dec. 25, 1877 36,000
S e cor 90th st, 25x100. May 25, 1872 48,000
Same property. April 12, 1873 50,000
Same property. Feb. 21, 1874 55,000
50.5 n SOth st, 50.4x102.2; s e cor 85th st, 27.2x100. Aug 10, 1872. . 135,000
Same property. Aug. 17, 1872 56,000
75.6 n 05th st, 25.2x100. Jan. 17, 1874 6,000"
75.9 s 101st st, 25x100. Nov. 24, 1876 5,000
S e cor 85th st, 27.2x100; 50.4 n 89th st, 50.4x102.2. Aug. 10, 1873. . 135,000
♦Improved.
Population of New York*
The Old City, including, from 1874, the 23d and 24th Wards.
1653 1,120 1825 166,136
1661 1,743 1830 202,589
1653 1,120 1835 253,028
1673 2,500 1840 312,710
1696 4,455 1845 358,310
1731 8,256 1850 515,547
1750 10,000 1855 , 629,904
1756 10,530 1860 813,669
1771 21,865 1865 726,836
1774 22,861 1870 942,292
1786 23,688 1875 1,041,886
1790 33,131 1880 1,206,299
1800 60,489 1890 1,515,301
1805 75,587 1892 1,801,639
1810 96,373 1893 1,891,306
1816 100,619 1897 *2,000,(XM>
1820 123,706 1898 |3,388,000
♦Estimated.
tGreater New York.
156 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Prices of Lots in 1847, 1857 and 1868*
The following comparative table of estimated prices is taken from
the Record and Guide for December, 1868:
Value in
Location of Lots. April,
1847.
19th st, bet 5th and 6th avs $1,650
21st st, bet 5th and 6th avs 1,950
17th and 18th sts, bet 6th and 7th avs. . . 2,350
18th st, bet 6th and 7th avs 1,200
4th av, bet 50th and 51st sts 450
50th st, bet 3d and 4th avs 350
32d st, bet 4th and 5th avs 1,500
43d st, bet 5th and 6th avs 1,200
45th st, bet 5th and 6th avs 775
51st st, near 4th» av 450
Lexington av and 52d st 450
4th av., 52d st (inside) 420
5th av, 56th to 57th sts 575
5th av., 58th st 500
58th st, bet 5th and 6th avs 220
Near 5th av
8th av., 65th st. 400
-64th st., near 8th av 225
66th st, near 3d av 700
Lexington av, 65th and 66th sts 800
3d av, 7th st 750
71st st and 3d av 480
80th st and 3d av 290
3d av, 80th st 525
79th st, near 3d av 295
4th av, 83d st 400
83d st, 3d and 4th avs 275
5th av, 86th st, (cor) 850
5th av, at 86th st (inside) 505
86th st,§ near 5th av 510
Lexington av, bet 51st and 52d sts. :
Inside 1,400
Corner 2,100
58th to 62d sts, bet 5th and 6th avs, 5th
and Madison avs 700 2,000 10,000
•64th to 68th sts, bet 6th and 7th avs, 5th
and Madison avs 600
74th to 78th sts, bet 5th and 6th avs, 5th
and Madison avs 750
77th st, bet 4th and 5th avs, 5th and Mad-
ison avs 650
74th st, bet 3d and 4th avs 600
5th av, 7th st 1,000
80th st, bet 3d and 4th avs, on s s 950
And on 4th av 2,000
116th st (100 ft. st), bet 3d and 4th avs 500
117th st, bet 2d and 4th avs 600
Value in
Value in
April,
November,
1857.
1868.
$7,000
$18,000
7,500
18,000
4,000
18,000
4,000
7,500
2,500
10,000
1,850
5,000
6,500
12,000
3,000
15,000
3,000
14,000
1,800
7,000
2,000
10,000
2,000
7,000
5,500
30,000
5,000
30,000
2,000
12,000
15,000
5,000
(cor.) 12,000
1,500
6,000
1,600
5,000
2,000
7,000
2,500
12,500
1,500
12,500
1,100
3,000
2,250
12,000
3,500
6,099
1,500
5,000
1,000
3,000
5,500
25,000
4,500
20,000
2,500
8,000
2,000
8,000
2,750
10,000
1,750
6,000
1,500
5,000
1,250
8,000
1,200
8,500
2,000
42,000
1,500
3,000
3,000
12,000
700
3,000
600
2,000
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 157
Comparative Tables of Conveyances Since J 868*
1. The Old City, including from 1874, the 23d and 24th Wards.
Average
Total No. Considera- price per
Year. of Conveys. tion. No. Nora. Convey.
1868 10,070 $160,027,469 592 $15,892
1869 8,155 148,308,878 696 18,186
1870 6,632 106,750,732 810 16,096
1871 7,070 146,446,743 625 20,710
1872 7,599 167,599,852 639 22,055
1873 7,175 145,285,753 880 20,248
1874 7,223 119,030,668 1,254 16,479
1875 7,214 102,646,802 1,555 14,090
1876 7,133 89,841,680 1,656 12,595
1877 7,076 73,594,864 1,692 10,400
1878 6,861 66,481,006 1,927 9,846
1879 8,969 87,882,097 2,301 9,798
1880 9,588 115,505,306 2,564 12,083
1881 11,678 148,219,490 2,931 12,692
1882 9,975 170,764,163 2,724 17,216
1883 10,620 164,534,012 2,813 15,499
1884 12,262 182,044,304 3,061 14,846
1885 11,412 184,837,797 2,514 . 16,109
1886 13,569 243,981,539 2,404 17,988
1887 13,896 258,663,980 2,684 18,513
1888 12,035 217,732,936 2,846 18,090
1889 15,085 269,873,442 3,474 17,908
1890 15,857' 282,047,609 4,042 17,156
1891 14,013 231,908,649 4,058 16,548
V892 13,944 228,608,599 4,458 16,394
1893 13,244 216,825,732 4,963 16,371
1894 13,436 149,614,843 5,705 19,352
1895 14,040 151,968,784 6,782 20,938
1896 14,072 132,522,092 7,434 19,970
1897 14,988 111,232,874 8,072 16,083
J 58
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Comparative Tables of Conveyances Since 1868* — Continued.
2. Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards.
Year.
1868. ...
1869. ...
1870...
1871...
1872...
1873...
1874. ...
1875...
1876. ...
1877...
1878. ...
1879. ..
1880...,
1881...
Total No.
of Conveys.
1,032
867
749
897
852
916
853
1,056
1882 1,067
1883 1,366
1884 1,849
1885 1,625
1886 2,120
1887 2,505
1888 2,048
1889 2,773
1890 2,875
1891 2,775
1892 2,826
1893 2,457
1894 2,587
1895* 3,512
1896* 4,192
1897* 4>605
Considera-
tion.
$4,833,059
3,641,240
3,107,875
2,125,579
2,361,819
2,318,184
3,838,670
3,727,302
3,889,064
4,343,545
4,382,975
4,787,848
7,911,185
11,226,480
8,219,576
11,535,266
13,332,374
11,153,950
11,066,795
10,092,668
8,750,644
11,114,409
10,733,782
10,937,273
No. Nom
Average
price per
Convey.
161
168
146
224
218
213
219
268
296
371
404
379
340
449
477
668
668
670
758
796
903
1,453
1,897
2,163
$4,685
4,199
3,361
2,482
2,901
2,519
4,617
3,520
3,645
3,179
2,382
2,946
3,731
4,481
4,013
4,156
4,637
3,947
3,916
4,462
5,196
5,398
4,685
4,478
♦Including the district east of the Bronx annexed in June, 1895.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
1 59
Total Number of Buildings Projected Since J 868*
The Old City, including, from 1874, the 23d and 24th Wards:
No. of No. of Average
plans buildings Estimated cost per
field, projected. cost. buildings.
1808* 964 2,014 $34,517,082 $17,138
1809* 1,266 2,348 40,352,058 17,185
1870* 1,206 2,351 34,668,998 14,740
1871* 1,416 2,782 42,585,391 15,307
1872* 1,009 1,728 27,884,870 10,137
1873* 825 1,311 24,930,535 19,021
1874 878 1,388 10,007,414 12,008
1875 819 1,400 18,220,870 12,703
1870 760 1,379 15,903,980 11,532
1877 773 1,432 13,365,114 9,333
1878 753 1,672 15,219,680 9,012
1879 960 2,065 22,507,322 10,899
1880 1,005 2,252 29,115,335 12,928
1881 1,247 2,082 43,391,300 10,179
1882 1,264 2,577 44,793,180 17,381
1883 1,450 2,023 43,214,340 10,498
1884 1,003 2,812 42,215,423 15,012
1885 1,843 3,370 45,918,240 13,024
188(1 2,085 4,097 58,479,053 14,273
1887 2,131 4,385 00,839,980 15,242
1888 1,700 3,070 47,142,478 15,332
1889 2,040 3,021 08,792,031 18,998
1890 2,000 3,507 74,070,373 21,282
1891 1,625 2,821 56,072,624 19,977
1892 1,783 2,967 59,107,618 19,921
1893 1,433 2,172 55,162,953 25,397
1894 1,589 2,592 51,420,577 19,452
1895 2,184 3,838 84,111,033 21,912
189(5 1,894 3,149 71,889,705 22,829
1897 1,988 3,510 83,668,840 23,796
*The cost of building was abnormally high in these years.
i6o
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CD O 01 ©
10
$ 3 S3
CO
$83,668,
$23,092,
^
a
^ *_2 S
a
^
» ri £!
00
h N h
s
05
^ o5
00 O CO ©
t- Ol 00 C5
rl © M fl
"^ CO -
$
rH 00 ©, M
id of co~ rH
oi ®
3 ff
a ©
CD oi
CO oo
sss
<3
CO
3 C5 Ol
*rJ en a
2 ri
ss s
s s i i
IS C5 O
00
H O M ^
of of jo"
CO iH
tH 05
I
1
o
g
00 b- »o
rH CO c5
CO CO 05
W H N t- *H
05 3
»0 tH
CM CM
CD 00
r-i tH Ol Ol
58 !3
O N M JO
05 t-
t- b- Ol t-
■^ 00 o
05
KO
Ol 00 w
fc-
-t<
CO CO *0
Ol
00
JO no
3 §5
3 S 12
Tt< O © CO
>0 »0
3 S
B .5
lo*
T3
S
g
in
Ol
£
.g
Ol
i
Ol
CO
5
g
T~1
-g
,d
J3
tH
*3
1=1
00
00
Ol
O
.g
V
•
•
.a
05
1
.g
05
K0
s
£
©
.g
iq
o
g
3
o
c
1
> 1
■a
w
O
0)
,©
w
V
C
-J
w
-t->
o
o
CO
©
0
o
6
U
d
c
)
O
a
6
L
J
11
■■W:a
WW
Mr* Geo* R* Read*
There is no name better known or more prominently identified
with New York realty than that of Mr. Geo. R. Read, of No. 10
Wall street and No. 9 Pine street. The business managed by Mr.
Read is comparable only to that of a large banking or financial insti-
tution in its extent and solidity. It would not be fair to say his of-
fices handle all the first-class realty in this city, but there can be no
exaggeration when it is stated that Mr. Read handles a remarkably
large portion of desirable New York realty. The business in brief
is a general real estate business ; it embraces auctioneering, broker-
age agency and appraisals. Mr. Read is retained by the largest
financial institutions and executors of large estates as an adviser in
matters appertaining to real estate values. In this connection Mr.
Read's judgment is considered authoritative and final. That he is
a leading expert in the metropolis can readily be substantiated by
the fact that Mr. Read has been instrumental in carrying to a suc-
cessful conclusion many of the large, if not the largest, real estate
transactions ever recorded in this city.
It must be further explained that Mr. Read's business has be-
come much more important and dignified than that of a successful
broker. A financial institution, corporation, or estate will place a
property in his hands for improvement. They rely on his judgment
as to the nature of the improvement, and in this respect he stands
in the most intimate relation to his clients. The Corn Exchange
Bank officers placed the improvement of their property at William
and Beaver streets in his hands. He submitted a scheme in which
the data showed a profound and most accurate knowledge of con-
ditions suitable for the proposed improvement. The American
Tract Society Building, a twenty-two story building, was built un-
der his advice. He now manages, as general agent, the following,
among a long list of buildings: Home Life Insurance Building,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, Wallace Building, Taylor
Building, Corn Exchange Bank Building, Bank of Commerce
Building, Astor Building, Constable Building, Park Row Syndicate
Building (now in course of construction, and which will be when
completed the tallest office building in the world), the Beard Build-
ing and the Exchange Court Building.
The direction of a business of this magnitude naturally re-
quires a well-equipped office and management of the soundest
character. When one learns that in addition to matters of appraisals,
auctions and expert advice which enter so largely into a real estate
agent's business that the agent stands in the position of landlord to
the tenants, pays the taxes and other assessments of his clients, then
one can more easily judge of the extent of the business carried on
in Mr. Read's office.
In 1884 Mr. Read opened an office for the carrying on of a real
estate business at No. 19 Nassau street. In the comparatively short
time which has elapsed he has become the most prominent mem-
ber of New York real estate circles. He has third filled with honor
the position of president of the Real Estate Exchange, and he is held
in the highest esteem by all its members.
1(X)
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
OLD REAL ESTATE OFFICE No. .V/> PINE STREET
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
167
o
Q
2
O
H
O
>
O
s
i68
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 169
REAL ESTATE LEADERS.
American Real Estate Company*
In the New York field the American Real Estate Company is one
of the earliest and oldest companies of its kind, as well as one of the
most important.
In 1888, when the gentlemen who organized it first conceived the
idea of handling large real estate holdings by means of a stock com-
pany, for purposes of investment and development, the idea was new.
To-day, New York City has hundreds of real estate corporations,
and the business of corporate holding of real estate is recognized as
one of the belongings to the extraordinary development of this im-
perial city.
The plan of the American Real Estate Company differs from that
of other companies, in that it affords a continuously open field for
the smaller investor, combining his capital with its own foundation
capital, and dividing profits on a basis of earnings. It owns, among
other properties, Park Hill on the Hudson, the most beautiful sub-
urb of New York City. Its success in this investment has been phe-
nomenal. Park Hill, eight years ago, was a piece of rugged wilder-
ness, overhanging the Hudson, and opposite the centre of the Pal-
isades. No one dreamed of its adaptability for a residence suburb.
The American Real Estate Company took hold of it and with land-
scape gardeners and engineers, and the experienced skill and taste
of its own officers turned it into a magnificent residence park and at-
tracted to it some of the most desirable people from the denser resi-
dence districts of Manhattan Island.
Park Hill differs from the ordinary real estate enterprise in that
it is a community with community interests, growing up with the
growth in the neighborhood. It has a country club that is famous
throughout upper New York, and many other associations for en-
tertainment and improvement that make life here as desirable as on
the borders of Central Park.
The Company has, besides Park Hill, other holdings on Manhat-
tan Island and in the Greater New York. Among which are, "The
Cliffs," which it owns and is holding for future development on the
same lines as Park Hill, consisting of over 17 acres on upper Broad-
way, New York, with a frontage of one thousand feet on Van Cort-
landt Park, and is a property of great promise. It is on the direct
line of the great West Side development, and is already rapidly ris-
ing in value.
The American Real Estate Company in Park Hill and its other
investments has laid the foundation for an extended business in what
has come to be regarded as the safest security this country affords.
The offices are located in No. 290 Broadway.
170 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Ashforth & Co*
The firm of Ashforth & Co., of No. 1509 Broadway, stands in a
well recognized position of prominence among New York's sub-
stantial and high-class realty dealers. It is one of the favored few
real estate firms in the Metropolitan district that have served as the
stewards of the estates of wealthy New York families and in addi-
tion have kept well in touch with the realty movements in recent
years. The firm and business is well established, and during its
career its reputation for probity and honorable dealing has never
been questioned. It has handled very large leases and managed
some of the most extensive estates in the city, and it continues to do
so. The firm had never before reached its present high state of effi-
ciency in regard to comprehension of detail and knowledge of value.
Nor did it carry on a real estate business on so large a scale.
The business was established in 1852 by Mr. James F. Chamber-
lain, who now is probably better known as the founder of the
Franklin Savings Rank, of which he was for many years the presi-
dent. He was an attorney by avocation and practised the profes-
sion in connection with his main business, that of real estate. In
1869, Mr- George Ashforth was admitted into the firm and its name
thereupon became Chamberlain & Ashforth. Their offices were
then located at the corner of 45th street and Eighth avenue, but
were subsequently moved to Broadway, between 42d and 43d
streets. In 1884 Mr. Chamberlain, who had grown old in the busi-
ness, retired, and the business was then carried on by his partner,
Mr. George Ashforth, until the latter's death in 1890. Mr. Edward
Ashforth, his brother, who had been connected with the real estate
business for many years, and was a capable successor to the sub-
stantial business, formed a partnership with Mr. Frank Blackhurst,
and together, under the name of Ashforth & Co., they continued
the successful career of the firm. In 1895, Mr. Blackhurst retired,
leaving to his former senior partner the entire control of the large
and important business. The name Ashforth & Co. has been main-
tained.
The management of estates, the investments of funds in high-class
realty and other securities and general real estate brokerage, form
in general the branches of the realty trade of Ashforth & Co. In
the residential sections of the West Side, between 42d street and
57th street, the firm has successfully leased a large number of lots
for improvements, and the management of these leaseholds now
forms an important feature of the business. The properties under
their control, however, are located in all sections of Manhattan Isl-
and, from the Battery to Harlem ; they embrace piers, mercantile
and manufacturing structures and residential buildings. The firm
has charge of properties of the Astors, and for many years Edward
Ashforth had charge of the Joshua Jones estates, one of the most
extensive ever sold in New York. Mr. Ashforth is a charter mem-
ber of the Real Estate Exchange, and is also a member of.the Board
of Brokers.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 171
Daniel Birdsall & Co,
The office of the firm of Daniel Birdsall & Co. is located in No.
319 Broadway.. The firm is composed of Daniel Birdsall, Frank
Lord and George W. Bnrcham. Mr. Birdsall has been in the real
estate business since i860, at which time he was connected with John
Lloyd & Sons, the leading- brokers at that time in the wholesale trade
district. In 1874 Mr. Birdsall withdrew from the firm and organized
his present business. In it, he makes a specialty of the management
of estates and the selling and rental of property lying between the
Hattery and the residential section of the city. The special object of
the firm is to confine itself to mercantile property and that class
which will eventually be converted to business use. Mr. Lord has
been associated with Mr. Birdsall since 1875 and Mr. Burcham since
1878; the firm shows one of the oldest and most honorable records of
realty firms in the city. Its long experience through periods of
changing values fits it particularly well for the accurate appraisals of
values, and in this department it has represented a large number of
property-owners in school site condemnation proceedings and the
proceedings for the widening of College Place and Elm street. The
firm has been retained by the joint owners of the new Hall of Rec-
ords' site, at Chambers, Reade. and Centre streets, to represent them
in the proceedings to be instituted for the acquiring by the city of
this block of land. The activity of this firm in the rental market may
be judged from the fact that in spite of the great competition they suc-
ceeded in providing with premises the numerous tenants who were
disturbed by the taking for public use the site for the new Hall of
Records. The successful leasing of the Central Bank Building on an
adverse market and in competition with the numerous new build-
ings, indicates that the firm is alive to the keen competition which
has characterized the realty market of recent years. While the
nature of this firm's business tends more to the careful management
of downtown estates and the sale of investment properties, it has car-
ried out many important operations, notably, within a short time, two
transactions for the Weld estate of Boston, amounting to nearly
two millions.
The firm enjoys the distinction of possessing that reliability which
causes their clients to seek their advice and to maintain an intimacy
with regard to financial and other investments similar to the close
relations in which the English business lawyer is held by his client.
As to the firm's thorough knowledge of realty in the mercantile' and
stock districts of Xew Xork there is no better evidence than the
demand in which they are held as appraisers in those localities.
The Firm of Leonard J* Carpenter.
The Firm of Leonard J. Carpenter is one of the most reliable and
stable in New York ; indeed, there are few real estate firms which
I72 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
have attained the status and well-known reputation of this firm.
Such a reputation cannot be secured in a year or a decade of years ;
it is only by the long and faithful execution of business on hand
that it can be acquired. To-day the realty business managed by the
Firm of Leonard J. Carpenter consists, principally, of the taking en-
tire charge of property for individuals, estates or corporations, al-
though the brokerage department receives special attention. The
management of piers also enters into their business.
The name of the founder of the business, Leonard J. Carpenter,
is still -maintained. Mr. Carpenter was a most prominent member
of New York's real estate fraternity ; he had held several important
positions in the Real Estate Exchange, and his position as agent
and adviser of many wealthy families gave him a standing
that few possessed. On his death, in 1888, the business
was carried on under his name by David Y. Swainson, who
has been connected with the office for over thirty years, and
Augustus H. Carpenter, who also has been identified with the
business for more than twenty years, and Charles L. Carpenter,
who is a son of the founder of the business. It need not be said
that the reputation of the firm "is not only maintained but the busi-
ness has increased both in the agency and brokerage departments.
The present office of the firm is located at No. 41 Liberty street, in
the building which was erected by the late Mr. Carpenter, to ac-
commodate himself as well as some of his clients. Another office,
a branch, is located in No. 1181 Third avenue, near 68th street.
This office was established for the management and development
of the large number of properties which they control on the East
Side, and which are located through a large area, from 9th street to
Harlem River, comprising private dwellings, . apartment houses,
stores, warehouses and factories, many of which are of modern
construction, and have been erected under their personal supervi-
sion.
They were instrumental early in the movement which has resulted
in the rapid supplanting of so many of the old landmarks, through-
out the city, with modern fireproof mercantile structures, and un-
der their supervision a number of such buildings have been erected ;
among them the handsome store and loft building, Nos. 696 to 702
Broadway, and 5 and 7 East 4th street, for the Schermerhorn estate ;
and the store and loft building, Nos. 43 to 47 West 23d street, and
Nos. 24 and 28 West 24th street.
Floyd Clarkson & Son*
The real estate firms in the lower section of the city, particularly
in the stock and office districts, embrace many well-known and
substantial firms, some of which have been established over half a
century. They carry on their books the names of properties which
have doubled and redoubled in value and increased in value as only
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 173
Manhattan property has done in the history of American real es-
tate. The firms have managed these properties, have directed in-
vestments, and followed rather than determined realty movements,
with the result that their principals and clients repose the utmost
confidence in them. There are comparatively few such realty deal-
ers in this city, and as a result they are generally placed in the top
notch when a list of reliable and prominent real estate dealers is
made.
In this list of reputable and well-established real estate dealers in
the city the firm of Floyd Clarkson & Son, of Nos. 40 and 42
Broadway will by common consent take a prominent place. It
was established nearly thirty years ago by Mr. Floyd Clarkson, the
father of the present manager of the business, who had for several
years been connected with New York realty matters. That Mr.
Clarkson was an energetic student of values and a competent 'judge
of the trend of real estate movements was proved conclusively by
the success which attended his efforts particularly as a broker. The
properties in which he had figured as the medium of the transac-
tion soon were entrusted to his care and management by his clients.
In the course of time his agency business grew extensively as a re-
sult of his successful operations, and his clientele becoming larger,
his brokerage and agency business became one of the foremost in
the city.
In 1894, Mr. Clarkson died, and the management of his extensive
business fell to his son, John V. B. Clarkson. He was in every way
a capable and competent successor. He was familiar with the de-
tails of his father's business and enjoyed his confidence, for he had
been associated with him for ten years. The business was therefore
one which he could successfully manage. He at once infused new
energy into it ; he began to enlarge the field of his operations as a
broker, and extend the scope of the agency department. He now
operates over the whole of Manhattan Island, while his agency
department embraces the management of all classes of residential,
mercantile and storage property. He is unquestionably one of the
most energetic real estate brokers in the realty arena. To his credit,
it may be said, Mr. Clarkson has always the interests of his clients
uppermost in his mind in all his transactions. He makes loans on
bond and mortgage, and is a successful agent of insurance, both
fire and life. He is a member of the New York Board of Trade,
and is a director of the Riverside Bank. The office is at Nos. 40-42
Broadway.
Wm* Cruikshank's Sons*
The name of Cruikshank has been prominently connected with
the realty interests of New York for nearly three-quarters of a
century. The firms bearing that name have always represented
the best elements of the realty business in this city, and the subjects
of our sketch, Wm. Cruikshank's Sons, continue to maintain the
174 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
conservative and highly reputable business standing characteristic
of the firm. The business which they manage is one of the first in
the city, and the properties under their care belong to wealthy
American families. The estates and funds given to their care have
produced the best possible results, testifying in a degree to the
stability of the firm and its methods of business.
The founder of the firm was Mr. William Cruikshank, father of
William M. Cruikshank and Edward A. Cruikshank, the present
members of the firm. He entered the office of James Cruikshank,
his uncle, in 1855, and became associated with him as his partner.
At that time the real estate firm of Cruikshank was very prominent
in realty transactions in New York, and had been for many years
previously. Shortly after the partnership of William and James
Cruikshank, the latter's son, E. A. Cruikshank, entered the busi-
ness, and the firm subsequently became Win. & E. A. Cruikshank
It was known by this name for ten years, when in 1876 the partner-
ship was dissolved, Mr. William Cruikshank continuing the man-
agement of the business until his death in 1894. The care of the
business fell to his son William M., who has studied New York
realty in his father's office, and was in every way a competent suc-
cessor. In 1894, on the father's death, a partnership was formed be-
tween William M. and his brother Edward A. Cruikshank, and the
name of the firm was changed to Wm. Cruikshank 's Sons.
The business consists mainly of the management of estates and
in this respect is among the first in New York ; it consists of the en-
tire managemen of mercantile buildings and dwellings owned by
wealthy American families at home and abroad. The managament of
personal property consists of investments in bonds, mortgages and
reputable stocks for their clientele. The present firm is thoroughly
familiar with realty values in all parts of the city and are members
of the Real Estate Exchange. While the policy of the firm is con-
servative, as behooves a well-established house, yet it keeps well in
touch with various realty movements in the city. The late Mr.
William Cruikshank was one of the trustees of the estate of
William Astor and was very prominent in New York realty circles.
The firm's address is No. 51 Liberty street.
John F» Doyle & Sons.
Among the oldtr real estate firms in this city is that of John F.
Doyle & Sons. John F. Doyle, the senior member and founder of
the firm, in his younger days studied law and was admitted to the
bar in 1862. He was then in the office of Alexander Hamilton, the
grandson of the first Secretary of the Treasury, the firm being
Hamilton, Rives & Rogers. This firm was largely interested in the
management of estates which eventually came to the hands of Mr.
Doyle as agent and finally induced him to abandon law and take
up the business of real estate. The estates which fell into his hands
to manage at that time embraced among others the estates of James
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 175
M. Pendleton, Nathaniel Pendleton Rogers, Francis R. Rives, Alex-
ander Hamilton, George L. Schuyler, John Pyne March, Harriet L.
Schuyler and Morgan L. Livingston, followed later by those of
William H. Morris, Augustus Newbold Morris, James H. Jones,
John Steward, Jr., Royal Phelps, Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and
others, too numerous for mention in detail, and it is a significant
fact that the business connections thus formed in the earlier days are
intact and endure to the present time.
Although Mr. Doyle has been largely interested in the manage-
ment of estates, he has not confined himself to that specialty. The
purchasing and selling of properties, appraising, insurance, placing
of monies on bond and mortgage, and all other matters connected
with real estate have special attention. Some large and important
sales have been made by him, notably the sale to John Jacob Astor
of 150 acres of lots in the 23d Ward, a part of the estate of Wm. H.
Morris, the sale of the present site of the Columbia Building at the
corner of Broadway and Morris street, the block front embracing
No. 8 Washington place, and Nos. 15 to 19 West Fourth street,
millions of dollars worth of lots in the 19th Ward, and the great
sale of Gowanus Bay, South Brooklyn, lots in which it is said he
received one of the largest commissions ever paid to a broker.
The clientele of Mr. Doyle's office may be said to be unique in
this respect; viz., that it is composed entirely of old historical
names ; the names of families identified with the early history of the
Nation, State and City, including several descendants of the Signers
of the Declaration of Independence.
The firm consists of John F. Doyle, his sons, Colonel John F.
Doyle, Jr., and Alfred L. Doyle, and their offices are at No. 45
William street, in the building of the Liverpool and London and
Globe Insurance Company, whose real estate and mortgage in-
vestments are managed by them.
Horace S* Ely & Co*
There is no more substantial or prominent real estate firm in New
York than that of Horace S. Ely & Co., of No. 64 Cedar street and
2j West 30th street. The firm enjoys a reputation of being conserva-
tive yet progressive, while its business status is not surpassed by any
realty firm in the city. It represents the best elements of the trade,and
number among its clients many of the wealthy American families
at home and abroad. The properties managed by the firm consist
of every form of realty and are located in all parts of the city.
This firm has been connected with the real estate trade in New
York for the past fifty years. The founder of the business was Mr.
Abner L. Ely, the uncle of the present senior member of the firm.
It is, therefore, one of the oldest real estate firms in the city, and
during its long career it has been prominent in the various move-
ments which have resulted in the development of the city. In 1871
176 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Mr. Horace S. Ely succeeded his uncle, who died in that year. He
had been connected with the office for some years previous to his
uncle's death and he successfully carried on the business, which was
then one of the largest in New York, until 1894, when he admitted
into partnership Mr. Alfred E. Marling. Mr. Marling had been
closely identified with the office for upwards of twenty years and
was thoroughly familiar with the firm's methods of business. On
his admission to the firm the name was changed to that of Horace
S. Ely & Co., the present title.
The business of the firm consists mainly of the management of
estates ; this embraces the renting and care of stores, offices, ware-
houses, piers, dwellings, factories, apartments, storage houses and
various kinds of business and residential properties. These proper-
ties, as has been said, are located in different sections of the city ;
it may be added there is scarcely a street or avenue in the entire
city in which there is not some property managed by Horace S.
Ely & Co. The estates are owned by wealthy New York families
or are managed for trust companies and other financial institutions.
In conjunction with architects the firm has supervised the erection
of buildings for their clients. Many of these buildings are among
the more prominent in the city. Some of them are the Prescott
Building, John and Nassau streets; Gibbes Building, West Broad-
way and Murray street; Wilks Building, Broad and Wall street;
Presbyterian Building, Fifth avenue and 20th street ; Mohawk Build-
ing, Fifth avenue and 21st street; Bancroft Building, Nos. 3, 5 and
7 West 29th street.
Hoffman Brothers*
The tendency of the present day is towards specialization, and
this is as true, perhaps, of the real estate business as of any other.
No better example could be found of the good results of this con-
centration than that furnished by the remarkable success of Hoff-
man Bros.
From 1881 to 1884, Mr. Charles F. Hoffman, Jr., was in the real
estate business at No. 261 Broadway. During the latter year he
removed to No. 4 Warren street, the present address of the firm, and
a partnership was formed with his brother, Mr. W. M. V. Hoff-
man, the style becoming Hoffman Bros.
The new firm decided that in a city so large as New York, where
conditions and values were constantly changing, it were more ad-
visable that they should confine themselves to one locality. Con-
sequently, they gave their attention almost exclusively to the de-
velopment of downtown property, and more especially that lying
along Broadway, so far north as 14th street. From 1886 to the
present day, with occasional exceptions, they have held to this pur-
pose.
The direct results of this decision were readily apparent. They
became intimately acquainted with the growth and value of realty
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 177
in their chosen section. They have been closely in touch with
every change in condition that has taken place along Broadway
during the last twelve or thirteen years. At the same time thev
have occasionally dealt in other than downtown property, though
they have never sought trade which would take them out of their
district.
Hoffman Bros, have undoubtedly disposed of more Broadway
property than any other real estate firm in New York. To the
Weld Estate of Boston, alone, they have sold business properties to
the amount of about $11,000,000. To the Ward Estate they sold
Nos. 707 and 709 Broadway, and for them Nos. 165 and 167 on the
same avenue. Another large transaction was the sale of the property
Nos. 622, 624 and 626 Broadway, running through to Crosby street,
for about $750,000. In 1895, they sold the Hotel Logerot at Fifth
avenue and 18th street, for nearly $400,000 to Mr. A. D. Pell. The
propertv on the northeast corner of Broome and Mercer streets
was disposed of for $225,000, and that on the northeast corner of
Broadway at Howard street, for $290,000; they resold it for the buy-
er witnin a week for $325,000. There might be made mention of
other disposals of property on an enormous scale, large even for a
firm making sales of such size as those of Hoffman Bros.
In considering the fact that the success of Hoffman Bros, has
been due in no small measure to their specialization,the fact must not
be overlooked that they were, in a sense, pioneers. The centre of the
real estate business had been for vears Pine and Liberty streets, con-
seciuently, their move to Warren street was somewhat in the nature
of an experiment. How successful this experiment proved to be is
now a matter of history.
Owing to the care of their father's estate devolving upon them,
on the 1st of January, 1898, this firm retired from the brokerage
business, but has continued for the purpose of buying and selling
on its own account.
S. F* Jaync & Co.
Among the well-known real estate firms operating chiefly on the
West Side of Manhattan Island there is none so well and favorably
known as the firm of S. F. Jayne & Co. Established for many years,
its reputation for reliability has grown with the progress of years, and
from confining the field of business to the neighborhood of 8th ave-
nue and its vicinity, the firm now successfully operates in all parts
of the city. S. F. Jayne & Co. are the successors of the old firm of
J. & W. Denham, which began business at the corner of 8th avenue
and 1 6th street in 1845; in t8o7 tne location of the office was changed
to West 23rd street, near 8th avenue. The Denham brothers at that
time had succeeded in establishing the most extensive business in
what was then considered an uptown district. They conducted a
business in which the management of over 100 estates was involved,
12
178 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
and in addition built the entire front of 8th avenue, on the east side
from 37th street to 39th street. It was in their office that Mr: S.
F. Jayne learned the real estate business as a clerk, and studied
with careful scrutiny the uptown movement which began to be a
marked feature in the days of his apprenticeship. After a few years
Mr. Jayne was admitted into partnership along with two others,
Messrs. John D. Walley and George W. Mercer, and after the death
of their old employers, they continued to transact business under
the old firm's name. In 1876 Mr. Jayne withdrew and opened an
office at the present address, No. 254 West 23d street, where he kept
pace with the marvellous improvement in matters appertaining to
real estate. In 1880 he associated himself with his present partner,
Mr. Albert M. Cudner, and the name of the firm changed to S. F.
Jayne & Co. They have made their old office on 23rd street, which
is centrally located in the field of metropolitan real estate, their main
office, but in order to collect rents and to rent the houses and estates
managed by them with greater convenience they have established
agencies for that purpose in different parts of the city.
In the management of property and the many branches of real
estate brokerage the firm has been greatly successful. Mr. Jayne
is well known as an appraiser of New York real estate. He is a
charter member of the Real Estate Exchange and Board of Brokers,
in both of which his partner, Mr. Cudner, holds membership. He
is at present President of the Real Estate Board of Brokers of New
York and he has been for many years a director of the New York
County National Bank.
J* Edgar Leaycraft*
For the past quarter of a century the name of Mr. J. Edgar Leay-
craft, of No. 15 17 Broadway, has been very prominent in New
York real estate interests. His agency business is one of the largest
in the city, which, considering the fact that Mr. Leaycraft succeeded
no one in business, nor was he connected with any one in the real
estate trade, certainly reflects honor upon him as a successful real
estate dealer. It was in 1872 when Mr. Leaycraft opened an office
on Eighth avenue, near 42d street. He did not have an auspicious
commencement as one would desire, for he lacked any special
experience in the business, and he did not possess a single client *
at the outset. He was energetic, however, and gave strict at-
tention to his business. His aim, from the beginning, was to build
tip a settled business in which the renting, collecting of rent and
management of estates were the main features. He also gave due
attention to the brokerage department in which the knowledge of
values entered. According to the records of building improve*
ments, the district between 34th and 59th streets was a scene of
great activity about twenty-five years ago. Mr. Leaycraft kept
well in touch with the various movements, and as he possessed
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 179
a thorough acquaintance with the character of the district and its
suitability for various kinds of improvements, his advice was much
sought after by investors, whom he afterwards retained as his cli-
ents. To-day he numbers among his clients the largest owners and
operators in that section. He has been actively identified with the
West Side, and associated with those who have helped to develop
that beautiful section of the city. He is treasurer of the West End
Association, and has been for a number of years, and is also a mem-
ber of the Board of Governors of the Colonial Club, and treasurer
of the same, the Colonial Club being composed of residents of that
particular neighborhood.
But it must not be understood that Mr. Leaycraft has confined his
operations as an agent or broker to that, the central district of New
York. Those same qualities which inspired confidence among his
clients in his ability as a real estate agent brought him success in
other parts of the city. The properties now managed by him are
located on the East Side and West Side, from the Battery to Harlem,
and also in the annexed district.
The secret of Mr. Leaycraft's success exists in his faculty for suc-
cessfully transacting his clients' real estate affairs in a manner that
inspires implicit confidence in him. That he has never violated that
confidence can readily be judged by his continued and steadily in-
creasing success. He has made a great many sales and has placed
a great amount of money on bond and mortgage. He has, more-
over, always been identified in any movement tending to the ad-
vancement of realty interests in New York. Mr. Leaycraft was one
of the earliest subscribers to the Real Estate Exchange; when the
Board of Brokers was being organized as a separate and distinct
class of realty operators, Mr. Leaycraft was one of the small group
who advocated its establishment. He is a member of the Board of
Directors of the Real Estate Exchange, and is also treasurer of the
same. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of Brokers and of
the Chamber of Commerce, New York Historical Society, the Union
League Club and several other clubs. The Colonial and Republican
clubs and the West End Association have showed their apprecia-
tion of his ability as a business man by electing him to the office of
treasurer. He is a trustee of the Franklin Savings Bank, and is
chairman of its Building Committee.
Cord Meyer & Co,
In the realty business in New York, there are various specialties
which, at the present time the real estate broker learns to master.
The general real estate business is changing somewhat. It is not by
any means followed by a retinue such as was the case some years
ago. The tendency toward the specialization in real estate shows it-
self particularly in the case of Cord Meyer & Co., of No. 62 William
street. This firm has given the development of Elmhurst, L. L, their
180 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
special attention, and substantiated it by a wide knowledge of gen-
eral realty, and it may be truthfully remarked that they have scored
an unqualified success. .
Elmhurst has been made one of our prettiest and most suitable
suburban homes. It is practically the creation of Mr. Cord Meyer,
who for many years has been one of the leaders in the development
of Long Island. With practical foresight, Mr. Meyer perceived the
natural advantages both of its location and proximity to New York,
and for these reasons concluded it would prove an admirable loca-
tion for the homes of business and professional men within easy
communication of their offices. Four years ago Mr. Cord Meyer
purchased an immense tract of land, somewhat north and adjacent to
the old settlement of Newtown. There were in all over 1,700 lots in
the purchase when the survey was made. To the development of this
property the energies of Cord Meyer & Co. have since been directed.
It was laid out in the most advantageous manner, the streets graded,
gas introduced, water mains laid and a water company formed. The
roads are macadamized and the sidewalks paved; Cord Meyer & Co.
succeeded in placing on the market suburban lots compared with
which none were better. The company promptly set about the erec-
tion of modern dwellings, of which they have already erected tw:o
hundred, every one of which presents a different appearance. This
was done to prevent that sameness in dwellings which is so unpleas-
ant in some suburban settlements.
Cord Meyer & Co. have made it a special feature in the develop-
ment of Elmhurst that there shall be no speculative building, neither
shall they sell lots to persons unless a guarantee is given that the
property will be improved at once.
Elmhurst is three miles from 34th Street Ferry and can be reached
by two trolley systems and by the L. I. Railroad. The City Hall can
be reached from Elmhurst in a ride of forty minutes.
In addition to this they have 1,000 lots at North Woodside, at
prices from $350 and upward.
Porter & Co.
The real estate firm of Porter & Co., of No. 159 West 125th
street, is probably the oldest and best known real estate firm op-
erating in Harlem. Organized in 1867 by Mr. David F. Porter,
with an office at the corner of Third avenue and I22d street, the
business has been prominently identified with realty move-
ments in Harlem up to the present time. It can be readily
understood that Mr. Porter, the founder of the firm, was a
pioneer real estate man in that vicinity at the time he commenced
business. Harlem was dotted here and there with small dwellings,
and the proverbial Harlem goat was in evidence everywhere. Mad-
ison avenue was built up, interspersed, however, with many vacant
lots, as far as 82d street, but there was not the slightest inkling of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 181
what the future had in store for that locality, around which Mr. Por-
ter was beginning to operate. In 1875 ne moved to what was then
a more central location, and what it has still remained, the corner of
Third avenue and 125th street. The realty movement in Harlem
was beginning to take definite s'hap'e, and Mr. Porter was foremost
among those who were directing the tendencies of the investors.
The great thoroughfare of Harlem, 125th street, had begun to as-
sume a commercial aspect and was stretching itself westward. Again
Mr. Porter moved his office, to No. 173 East 125th street, and again,
to No. 77 East 125th street. In 1877 Mr. Porter associated with
himself John W. Leggett, and the firm's name was changed to Porter
& Co., under which name it still exists. The tendency westward
became so marked that in 1889 the offices were again moved, this
time across Fifth avenue into the West Side, where they have since
remained. In 1887 Mr. Leggett died, leaving the entire charge of
their large business to Mr. Porter. For the past ten years he gave
considerable attention to the management of estates, and this branch
of the business had assumed such large proportions that the broker-
age business which characterized his early career was in a measure
overshadowed. He had assumed control of a large number of
estates, many of the owners of which were his friends for whom he
had procured profitable investments. The management of estates
had sought him as their manager because of his reputation. No one
stood higher in the estimation of the business men and investors of
Harlem than David F. Porter. He was president of the Hamilton
Bank of New York City for many years, and was twice elected
Presidential elector. He died in October, 1897. His son, Mr.
Charles F. Porter, has taken the business under his management,
and associated with him as his partner is Mr. George W. Short.
Both are young men, they having been associated with Mr. Porter
for many years, and are experienced in realty affairs. They will
pursue the methods adopted by the founder of the firm in regard to
their agency department, and have also entered the brokerage busi-
ness to a greater extent than formerly. They are familiar with realty
values, and possessing a clientele of the best and most desirable
class of investors there is no question but that the records of sales
will show the firm of Porter & Co. to be as potent a factor in Harlem
realty circles as was the case some years ago when David F. Porter
was practically without competition.
Francis T* UnderhilL
The ranks of real estate dealers are being recruited to-day from a
class of men who either own considerable realty themselves or else
enjoy the confidence of property owners. The reason for this is ap-
parent when one considers the enormous rentals to be collected and
the great interests at stake. The immense trusts now reposed upon
real estate brokers have called into the profession men of the highest
182 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
standing. When, therefore, a man enters the realty arena enjoying
an extensive acquaintance of investors and those who are interested
in maintaining New York real estate, such a person holds a distinct
advantage and possesses many of the qualifications necessary to a
successful career.
Among the new firms which have sprung into prominence dur-
ing the last few years is that of Francis T. Underhill. Mr. Under-
fill entered the realty arena enjoying many of the advantages to
which we have alluded. A man of leisure previous to his entry, two
years ago, he became a real estate broker to better manage his own
property and at the same time enlarging the scope of business to
manage the estates of his friends. At the present time Mr. Un-
derhill makes a specialty of downtown business property, loca-
ted below Canal street. He does not, however, confine his opera-
tions as a broker or agent in that district exclusively, as the records
show that he has been prominent in high-class realty movements in
the residential sections of the city. A separate feature of Mr. Un-
derbill's business is out of town property. He holds probably a
larger list of Long Island cottages for his clients than any of his
competitors.
Mr. Underbill's clientele embraces a substantial class of private
investors, and his brokerage business is one of the best in the down-
town districts. He has devised for his office one of the most com-
plete systems of records that have yet been tried. It is exhaustive
and accurate, and in a few years will be invaluable. As a student of
realty values in every section of the city Mr. Underhill has no supe-
rior; he is now a competent judge of properties located from the
Battery to Harlem. His address is No. 9 Pine street.
C* G* A« Brosien*
C. G. A. Brosien, of No. 144 St. Nicholas avenue, corner 117th
street, is one of New York's oldest real estate dealers. He has been
identified with realty interests in this city for the past twenty-seven
years, and has acted in the capacities of broker and agent. His field
of operations has, to a great extent, been located at the upper West
Side, from 110th street northward. Mr. Brosien is a careful student
of realty values, and is familiar with all the investors and builders in
his locality. Besides the general real estate business, he also nego-
tiates loans and manages an insurance business.
When Mr. Brosien first entered New York's realty circles as a
broker and agent, the field in which he now operates so extensively
and successfully was covered here and there with squatters' shanties,
and the elevated railroads had not begun to carry settlements along
their route. In the early part of his career, however, he operated
downtown, but kept intimately in touch with the various movements
which less than a decade ago became so pronounced. By possessing
an accurate knowledge of the possibility of future development of the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 183
properties of which he secured control, he was much sought after
by builders and investors who relied implicitly on his judgment. His
transactions as a broker have been fraught with an unusual amount
of success during his whole career, due no doubt to his thorough
knowledge of realty values and his excellent executive abilities.
As an agent Mr. Brosien has been no less successful. The prop-
erties under his charge belong mainly to clients who have pur-
chased, sold and dealt through him as a broker in all their real
estate affairs. Their interests have always been carefully guarded by
him. It may be added that Mr. Brosien has been frequently called
to act as appraiser.
P. C Eckhardt,
There is a class of real estate men who are as muc'h a necessity to
a community as is the medical practitioner. They have studied the
value of realty in all its circumstances and positions and stand ready
to assist the investor. Such real estate dealers are a boon to a com-
munity. They have assisted rather than determined the march of
improvements. They, as a result, have been always successful.
No one would question the right of placing the firm of P. C. Eck-
hardt in this category. The records of his career as a real estate
agent and broker show that he undeniably belongs there. In 1858
he established his business which for a few years consisted in the
collection of rents, the management of estates and renting. He en-
tered the brokerage field soon after in flie locality in which his office
was situated. His knowledge of realty values became so precise,
his judgments so accurate and the business management so careful
and full of tact that his success was soon a pronounced feature.
"Nothing succeeds like success" the adage runs, and it held true in
Mr. Eckhardt's case. He extended the field of his operations both
as a broker and agent until it now covers Manhattan Island.
Throughout his career lie pursued the course of treating his custom-
ers in matters of investment as he would treat himself. He gained
their confidence and kept it through many years. His clientele em-
braces men who have grown rich under his fostering advice.
Mr. Eckhardt also operates on his own account. He has fre-
quently rebuilt houses and then resold; he has built several flat
houses in desirable residential localities. Mr. Eckhardt has acted in
the capacity of appraiser in various parts of the city for private in-
dividuals, institutions and civic authorities. He is assisted in the
management of his business by his son. His address is 693 Ninth
avenue.
Ferdinand Fish*
Ferdinand Fish began his business career as a real estate agent
in Plainfield, N. J., in 1870. In 1872 he opened an office in New
York, at No. 160 Broadway. In 1873 he went into the office of the
late James M. Taylor, at No. i\ Pine street, continuing with him
until the death of Mr. Taylor in 1882, when he succeeded to the
l&j. A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
business. He built up a large business in the renting and man-
agement of property. Among the notable transactions with which
his name has been identified, was the sale of Nos. 149, 151 and 153
Broadway, to the Singer Manufacturing Co., for $950,000, which,
at $148.62 per foot, was at that time the highest price ever paid for
Broadway property. He sold also Nos. 177 and 179 Broadway, and
No. 10 Cortlandt street to the Paulding estate, and No. 104 Broad-
way to the American Surety Co. In 1895 he disposed of the rent-
ing and collection branch of his business, and has since devoted his
time more particularly to selling real estate. In addition, he carried
on a large expert business, on behalf of the United States Govern-
ment, the City of New York, Manhattan Elevated Railroad, and a
number of corporations and estates. He organized several corpora-
tions, which have contributed to the development of properties,
among which is the Water Witch Club, in the highlands of Nave-
sink, N. J., which has been very successful. His latest undertaking
is the organization of the Aareek Country Club, which has ac-
quired a beautiful lake property at Pompton, N. J. His name also
appears as one of the directors of the Realty Developing-Invest-
ment Corporation, recently incorporated. His address is 150 Broad-
way.
R PL Gunning*
Mr. F. H. Gunning is an energetic and prominent real estate
broker and agent, with offices in No. 41 East Fifty-ninth street. He
makes a specialty of East Side residential property from Forty-
second street to Ninety-sixth street, between Fifth and Lexington
avenues. In that locality his books show the names of a very large
number of high class apartment houses, and his sales as a broker
entitle him to be placed in the highest class of operators in that
field. Mr. Gunning has been established seven years, and during
that time the records of realty transactions in that locality, of which
he makes a specialty, show him to be prominently connected with
most of the large transactions. This fact is probably the best test of
a broker's efficiency.
The change from the old style high-stoop house to the American
basement residence, which admits of a more liberal treatment by the
architect, has in a great measure been due to the efforts of Mr.
Gunning. He interested his clients in the advantages the American
basement house undoubtedly possesses and the builders and archi-
tects carried out the wishes of his clients. Not only in the respect
mentioned was Mr. Gunning's influence brought to bear, but he was
also instrumental in influencing merchant builders to modernize the
old style brownstone 'houses and develop the section in which he
operates into the most desirable residential section of the city. It
is a well-known fact that he has been pre-eminently successful in the
development of 59th street into a popular and modern business,
studio and office section. The evidence of the truth of this statement
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 185
is sufficiently ample when we consider the class of buildings which
are under his management. They are all of a most desirable class
and stand as material vouchers to his energy and successful termina-
tion of his efforts. It may he added that Mr. Gunning is an untir-
ing worker as a broker and agent. His client's interests are always
foremost and he gives his personal attention to all business entrusted
to the office.
Tohn R. Hamilton.
John R. Hamilton, real estate broker, belongs to the careful yet
energetic class of realty dealers who contribute regularly a large
quota to the sales, transfers and exchanges of the week. Mr. Ham-
ilton is a representative New York broker, who is familiar with
realty values in the sections in which he operates, and stands at any
time ready and competent to judge the values of properties which
may come under discussion. He was born in New York. For the
first few years Mr. Hamilton paid particular attention to loans on
bond and mortgage, and while engaged in this branch of the busi-
ness he became familiar with New York realty values. As a rule
Mr. Hamilton confines his operations in that section of the city north
of 14th street in the residential and commercial districts. In 1895
he changed his policy somewhat, and added to the loan department
a general real estate brokerage. In this capacity Mr. Hamilton has
met with the steady success which has characterized his move-
ments in the realty arena since he first became connected with that
business. Mr. Hamilton indulges in no policy of misrepresentation
or exaggeration of fact. His clientele embraces a class of investors
who repose the utmost confidence in him as their broker and agent.
His address is No. 206 Broadway, "Evening Post" Building.
Charles Martin.
The upper portion of the Twentieth Ward and the lower portion of
Twenty-second Ward have not to any great extent been the centre of
realty movements in the past decade. Brokers and operators as a
rule did not make that portion of the city the scene of their operation
on that account. Nevertheless there have grown up in that locality
several substantial real estate firms, among which is the firm of
Charles Martin, whose office is located in No. 627 Ninth avenue.
Mr. Martin established himself in the real estate business in May,
1889, m No. 401 West 48th street. He had at the time very little
experience in general realty, but in a practical way began to study
the general features of the business. He possessed some experience
in the matter of collection of rents, renting and the management of
estates. He passed from those rudiments of the business to the study
of comparative values of properties in his neighborhood. His suc-
cess can readily be perceived when it is learned that during the past
186 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
three years he has sold more realty in the locality in which he oper-
ates than any of his competitors.
Mr. Martin operates to a great extent as a broker in the Twenty-
second Ward. As an agent, he manages estates, rents tenements,
flats and business property, collects rents on the West Side, between
io2d and 23d streets. His success can be attributed to a careful
study of the business combined with careful management. The pub-
lic learned to rely on him, and he kept their confidences. He is now
in a position to operate on his own account. In connection with his
realty business Mr. Martin also manages a large insurance depart-
ment.
Charles Griffith Moses*
One of the youngest and most enterprising real estate firms in
the city is that of Charles Griffith Moses and Eugene S. L. Moses.
While operating to a greater extent in that section of the city known
as Washington Heights and its vicinity than elsewhere, the firm is
also very much in evidence in downtown realty transactions. To keep
better in touch with the movements in both sections of the city, the
firm has two offices, one in No. 56 Liberty street, and the other, the
main office, is located at the corner of 157th street and Amsterdam
avenue. Mr. C. G. Moses, the senior member of the firm, has been
connected with New York realty matters for many years, but it was in
January, 1894, he opened an office and commenced operations on
his own account. Seeing the great opportunities that Washington
Heights offered as a realty arena, Mr. Moses at once began to pay
special attention to realty values in that district. It is well known
that the territory referred to became greatly overcrowded with real
estate dealers, and the successful brokers were few. The status of
the firm of Charles Griffith Moses at the present time may be
judged readily from the fact that to-day the firm transacts one of
the best, if not the best, real estate businesses in the Washington
Heights district. Both members of the firm are recognized expert
appraisers in the field in which they operate, and are also thor-
oughly familiar with realty values throughout New York. It may
be added that one of the most familiar names appearing in the rec-
ords of sales and realty transactions in this city is that of Charles
Griffith Moses.
Allen W. Smith*
Real estate merchants or brokers, as the case may be, find that in
order to successfully compete in the realty arena of this city, their
preparatory experience must not be obtained after they have opened
an office and made their announcement. If, as some dealers have
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 187
found to their sorrow, they attempt to establish a business on such
a basis, there is no question but that misfortune will soon overtake
them.
We refer to this point in order to bring forth the connection of
Mr. Allen W. Smith, of No. 252 West 14th street, with the New
York real estate trade. Mr. Smith has but recently opened an office
at the address stated for the transaction of real estate business in all
its branches, both as broker and agent. He will also manage, in con-
nection with the agency business, estates that have been under his
control for the past twenty years. Mr. Smith transacted a renting bus-
iness for the past twenty-nine years, during which time he rented from
various portions of the Astor estate's entire buildings, and subse-
quently re-rented them under his management and full control. He
has, during this long period, acquired a full knowledge of the values
of realty, and is capable of transacting not only a brokerage busi-
ness in which exact values of properties is absolutely necessary, but
is also able to appraise realty, particularly on the West Side, from
Barrow street to 72d street. Mr. Smith is extremely conscientious
in his dealings, and his future as a real estate merchant in the wider
sphere is a fixed quantity.
David Stewart.
The peculiar geographical position of New York and its re-
markable growth have combined to give to the upper portion of the
city during the last few years a wonderful impetus. What is com-
monly known as the Washington Heights comprises that section of
the city north of 125th street and west of 8th avenue. Here are being
built a large number of private dwellings, for the most part of high
grade, and also some apartment houses. This is but a beginning to
the fulfillment of the idea that this locality is destined ultimately to
become a great residential section. New York has been driven
gradually northward by the encroachment of business. The great
West Side is at last almost entirely built up, and nothing remains but
to take up the march still farther north. It is obvious that Washing-
ton Heights lies directly in the path of progress and must be the first
to feel the effect of the movement. The rivers on both sides of Man-
hattan Island form and always will form, to some extent, a barrier
to the growth of the city on their other shores necessary to accom-
modate the increase in its population and business. There is only
one direction in which this growth can occur, and that is northward.
David Stewart started in the real estate business on Washington
Heights in the employ of Howard G. Badgley, in November, 1886.
He remained in charge of this office until he went into business for
himself in August, 1893. Mr. Stewart became intimately acquainted
with Washington Heights property, and, as the especial field of his
labors has since been confined to this section, he has been phenom-
1 88 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
enally successful. His sales have far exceeded those of any other
broker in that locality, running from $1,000,000 to over $2,000,000
a year. Mr. Stewart does a general real estate business throughout
Manhattan Island.
Mr. Stewart's office is at Amsterdam avenue, corner of 155th
street, and 203 Broadway, Mail and Express Building.
The Vm. S* Anderson Co.
The Wm. S. Anderson Co., of No. 954 Lexington avenue, between
69th and 70th streets, was established by Mr. Anderson in
1868, as a firm of which he was a member. In 1895 it was
incorporated as a company with Harold D. Keeler Presi-
dent; Wm. S. Anderson, Vice-President and Treasurer, and Charles
H. Stocking, Secretary. The company has inaugurated one of the
best systems yet in vogue in New York real estate. On the princi-
ple that no man can cover the Island thoroughly and familiarize him-
self with district investors and conditions thereof, the company
opened four offices in as many sections of the city, managed by mem -
bers of the company who have made that district a subject of close
study. As agents they are able to transfer their clients. As brokers
they can secure buvers or investments from a wide source and a large
field.
Jacob AppelL
Mr. Jacob Appell, of No. 271 West 23d street, is one of the oldest
realty dealers in that section of the city formerly known as Chel-
sea. He has been established since 1870, and his office has always
been located near his present address. Mr. Appell is unquestionably
one of the best judges of real estate values in the 1 6th and 20th
Wards. He has watched with an observant eye the changes from
year to year in the values of properties, and his long experience has
made him a most competent broker and appraiser. His agency
business is an extensive one, embracing the management of resi-
dential and commercial properties. It may be added that Mr. Ap-
pell has contributed largely to the commercial development of Tenth
avenue, near 23d street.
John Armstrong*
One of the best known real estate concerns with offices in the up-
per section of the city is that of John Armstrong, of 1984 Third ave-
nue, corner of 109th street. He has maintained for some years past
one of the largest brokerage businesses in that section of the city and
his energetic application to work has resulted in bringing him a
clientele of investors who bestow the utmost confidence in him. Mr.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 189
Armstrong combines both brokerage and agency departments in his
business. He operates as largely on the West Side as on the East
Side and for the purpose of better accommodating his clients he has
opened an office in No. 2270 Eighth avenue, near I22d street. His
agency department embraces mercantile buildings, flats, tenements
and private residential property in all parts of the city.
Ashforth & Duryee*
Ashforth & Duryee was founded in November, 1896, by Albert B.
Ashforth and Harvey H. Duryee. Their office is at No. 4 West 33d
street. They are associated with a number of estates, among which
are those of William Waldorf Astor and John Jacob Astor, whose
holdings are very large in their vicinity. The name of Ashforth has
been identified with these estates for the past fifty years.
Ashforth & Duryee make a specialty of business, residence and
investment property above 23d street. They have played a promi-
nent part in improving that section of the city.
Judging from the fact that they closed over one hundred leases
during their first eight months of business, beside several large sales
of investment property, it can be seen that they have made them-
selves a factor among the up-town real estate fraternity.
Franklin S* Bailey*
The real estate business which is being carried on by Mr. Frank-
lin S. Bailey, 336 Broome street, is, probably with one or two excep-
tions, the oldest established real estate business in the city. In 1832,
Mr. J. F. Bailey, grandfather of Mr. Franklin S. Bailey, opened a
realty office in which the management of estates was made the spe-
cialty. He in turn was succeeded by Henry M. Bailey, his son, and
in January, 1897, the present occupant took charge of the business.
At present the brokerage and agency are combined. Mr. Bailey is
devoting more time and study to the brokerage department than did
his predecessors, who, to a great extent, managed estates. He is
young and energetic and pays close attention to realty operations
over the entire city. His clientele is of the best class — persons
whose estates have been under his and his family's control for many
years.
Max Bargebuhr*
Mr. Max Bargebuhr, of No. 2136 Eighth avenue, is one of the suc-
cessful realty operators and agents in Harlem. He has had an ex-
perience extending over fourteen years, beginning on the East Side
and dealing largely in property from Yorkville to Harlem. Coming
to the West Side when the realty market, especially for experienced
brokers, offered good scope for one's abilities, he remained there and
190
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
has carried on a brokerage business which he was successful in work-
ing up. Mr. Bargebuhr deals in improved property. He is shrewd
and thoroughly acquainted with all New York realty. He is known
widely as a careful investor, and his client's interests are always up-
permost. He is one of the oldest established real estate firms on
Eighth avenue in that locality.
Jesse C* Bennett & Co*
Mr. Jesse C. Bennett, senior member of the firm of Jesse C. Ben-
nett & Co. (established in 1888), belongs to that class of energetic
and skilled real estate brokers who have made New York one of the
greatest real estate markets in the world. While making a special
field on the upper west side, of which Columbus avenue is the great
artery, Mr. Bennett operates over the entire city. His operations
embrace the various forms of realty, in all of which Mr. Bennett is
an expert. As an agent he manages many large estates in several
sections of the. city, but they are to a great extent located ,on the
western side of Central Park. Mr. Bennett is a thorough student of
realty movements and is frequently called in appraisals. His address
is No. 338 Columbus avenue.
Bronn & Bronn*
The entry of Miss Cecile Bronn and Miss Jeannette Bronn into
metropolitan realty circles was marked with interest, but the decided
success with which the firm has met since its establishment a year
ago, affords another example of woman's success in the realty field.
The firm carries on a general real estate business in buying and sell-
ing, renting and collecting rents, negotiating loans, etc., in their
office, No. 41 Union Square. They have made a special study of the
wants of several classes of people, and they have striven to meet these
in a way that augurs well for their future success. As a specialty,
Bronn & Bronn have entered the field of buying and selling mining
lands which are known to be as represented.
J» Romaine Brown & Co*
On the first of May, 1856, J. Romaine Brown started in the real
estate business at No. 1235 Broadway. After five years he re-
moved to 1270 Broadway, where he remained for seven years. In
1868 he moved again, this time to the south-east corner of Thirty-
third street, at Broadway, and finally, in 1885, to his present office
at No. $q West Thirty-third street, under the Alpine.
In 1887 a copartnership was formed with Mr. Alexander P. W.
Kinnan, the new firm being known as J. Romaine Brown & Co.
A large feature of their business is the management of estates.
They have charge of the real estate of the Farmers' Loan & Trust
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 191
Co. and the Manhattan Elevated Railroad. Among the estates
which they manage are those of Jay Gould, Washington E. Connor,
Charles A. Peabody, Herman T. Livingston, J. Henry Livingston,
Wm. F. Cochran, D. H. McAlpin and Warren B. Smith.
J. Romaine Brown & Co. also do a general real estate business.
Among the sales which they have effected are those of French's
Hotel — now the site of the new World Building — the property now
occupied by Hammerstein's Olympia, the Morris Race Track and
many large tracts in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards for
the Peter J. Shafer estate.
D, & M* Chauncey Real Estate Co,, Limited*
The D. & M. Chauncey Real Estate Co., Limited, is unquestion-
ably the most prominent real estate concern in Brooklyn. The busi-
ness was established in 1843, but the present concern was incor-
porated in 1889 with a capital of $150,000. They combine every
branch of the real estate business and sufficient attention is paid to
each department that every branch of the business is made a spe-
cialty. The members of the company are George W. Chauncey,
President; Cornelius Donellen, Vice-President; Ezra D. Bushnell,
Treasurer; Thos. Hovenden, Secretary. One may obtain an idea
of the business status of this firm when it is learned that the largest
appraisement ever made in New York, Brooklyn, or the entire met-
ropolitan district, was made by this company in the case of the ap-
praisal of property bordering on the East River for the Brooklyn
Wharf and Warehouse Company. Their address is No. 207 Mon-
tague street, Brooklyn.
John J* Clancy & Co*
There is probably no member of the real estate fraternity on
Broadway, from Bowling Green to Central Park, who has been es-
tablished on that thoroughfare as long as the subject of this sketch,
Mr. John J. Clancy, whose offices are at No. 1783 Broadway. In
1873, Mr. Clancy began business as a real estate agent and broker,
and since that time he has proven to be a shrewd observer of the
tendencies of the times, and as a result he himself has been as suc-
cessful in his transactions as the latter have proved to his clients and
principals. Mr. Clancy during his career has sold and resold blocks
of realty which in the early days brought him one-twentieth of what
they are worth to-day. He has operated on the West Side gener-
ally, and is intimately conversant with property from West 421!
street to Washington Heights. His knowledge of realty in those lo-
calities is so well known that he is frequently requested to act as ap-
praiser for various companies and institutions.
192 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Qarkson & Edgar*
The firm of Clarkson & Edgar is a responsible realty firm which,
besides buying and selling property as real estate brokers, makes a
specialty of negotiating large loans. Eugene Livingston Clarkson,
the senior member of the firm, possesses the confidence of many
large investors and wealthy corporations and has been frequently in-
strumental in negotiating loans ranging from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
He has bought and sold for New York and Boston estates, and has
been transacting in New York realty circles since 1865. His partner,
Herman Le Roy Edgar, has been associated with him in business
since 1890. Their office is located at No. 31 Nassau street, in the
Rank of Commerce Building.
Isaac K« Cohn & Co.
The firm of Isaac K. Cohn & Co., of No. 1479 Broadway, is one
of the representative real estate firms operating in the upper por-
tion of Broadway, and the adjoining districts. The firm consists
of Mr. Isaac K. Cohn and Mr. Arthur S. Levy, both of whom
are thoroughly conversant with realty values throughout the city.
Mr. Cohn, who has been established since 1877, has negotiated
extensive operations on the West Side, from 14th to 59th street.
Mr. Levy has been closely identified with realty interests, especially
in the downtown district, and has paid close attention to real estate
movements in various sections of the city. It may be added that
through the advice of this firm many old buildings have been suc-
cessfully remodelled, this having been made a special feature of the
business.
Collins & Collins*
The firm of Collins & Collins, of No. 566 Fifth avenue, operate
largely in the most exclusive of New York realty. The firm con-
sists of Mr. Richard Collins and Mr. Minturn Post Collins, both
of whom are owners of real estate in New York and are well ac-
quainted with present residential property in the more desirable
localities. As a result, the firm of Collins & Collins operate
largely on their own account. This fact, however, does not re-
tard their general brokerage business, which is a substantial one.
One of their largest transactions was their purchase of the valuable
plot on which is situated the old Fourth Presbyterian Church, on
34th street, near Broadway. They have disposed of it as well as
several well-known mansions on Fifth avenue. A branch of their
main office is established at No. 69 Wall street.
Frederick A* Condit*
Probably no branch of the real estate business offers a wider or
more attractive field for an energetic broker than the specialty of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
193
exchanging properties. In this line Mr. Frederick A. Condit, of
No. 132 Nassau street, has had a long and successful experience.
For thirty years he has been connected with metropolitan realty cir-
cles, but for the last fifteen years he has paid particular attention to
the exchanging of city and country real estate. His books con-
tain some of the choicest parcels of realty on the market, and as he
is an expert photographer his office is filled with pictures of prop-
erties to be sold or of those which have passed through his hands.
S* V* R* Cruger & McVickar*
The record of transactions of the business now carried on by S. V.
R. Cruger & McVickar dates back as far as 1791. It then consisted
of the management of lands of the Van Rensselaer family.
For years the business was managed by S. V. R. Cruger, a name
which has become prominent in New York Real Estate, until some
ten years ago, when Henry W. McVickar was admitted as a partner.
The original office was at 182 Grand street. From that office the
business grew to such an extent that it now has probably charge of
more large estates than any other firm in the city. Their main office
is at 187 Fulton street, with two branches, 1368 Broadway, and 246
East Houston street. The firm does also a large brokerage business.
Mr. S. V. R. Cruger is comptroller of Trinity Corporation, although
said corporation is in no way connected with the firm of S. V. R.
Cruger & McVickar.
George W. Dakin*
Mr. George W. Dakin is undoubtedly one of the best known real
estate brokers in Brooklyn. He has been identified with realty op-
erations in that city since 1875, when he opened a real estate office
and dealt in real estate generally. His operations extend not only
in the city proper, but also in Kings county, and he has been partic-
ularly successful in the Bedford section. Mr. Dakin's business for
the past decade has grown into the highest class of the realty busi-
ness, that of brokerage, in which expert knowledge of values must
be possessed. In addition, Mr. Dakin also manages estates and deals
in acreage in the 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd wards. His clients are
mainly builders and private investors. His address is No. 189 Mon-
tague street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
J* Clarence Davies & Co*
The most prominent real estate concern in what is known as the
Borough of The Bronx, is that of J. Clarence Davies & Co., of 149th
street and Third avenue. The firm has been established about ten
years, and during that time the members, J. Clarence Davies and H.
L. Phillips, have become well-known members of New York's real
estate fraternity. The Borough of The Bronx, where they operate
offers a wide field for a brokerage business, and it can be said they
13 ! ' .
194
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
have been successful in covering it. They represent the oldest and
largest estates in that section, and also maintain a very large agency
business in their locality, unquestionably a credit to the firm, when it
is considered the territory is comparatively new. Their branch offices
are located at No. 156 Broadway, and 156th street and Westchester
avenue.
Joseph P* Day*
Among the energetic younger element of New York's realty deal-
ers who have made New York the greatest real estate market in the
world, there are some whose capabilities for their position are such
that in a few years they will be found in the foremost ranks. To
this class Mr. Joseph P. Day, of No. 932 Eighth avenue, undeniably
belongs. Endowed with an energetic nature he has succeeded in
the past two years in establishing the groundwork of a future suc-
cessful business. He has made a specialty of renting and collect-
ing rents, but has already entered the higher field of buying and
selling. He operates to a great extent on the West Side around
Central Park. He manages the estates of Jas. J. Phelan, and also
that of his father, John W. Day.
G H* Diamond & Co*
Prominent among the real estate brokers and agents in the mer-
cantile districts of New York, is C. H. Diamond & Company, of No.
603 Broadway, who have risen rapidly to the front and bid fair to be-
come the largest office in their districts. Mr. Diamond is a close
student of realty conditions and has perfected a system by which his
concern is enabled to make records of those transactions and mat-
ters of importance which afterwards become invaluable. This con-
cern is already one of the largest real estate agents in the wholesale
district and along Broadway from Chambers street to 14th street.
The fact that they have figured prominently in nearly all the impor-
tant realty deals in the mercantile section, testifies in no uncertain
manner as to their status as brokers and agents.
John H* Dye*
John H. Dye, real estate broker and agent, is an example of what
can be accomplished with energy and perseverance. In 1877, ne
commenced business in a moderate way, and by strict application
to, and a thorough knowledge of, the real estate business, has placed
himself among the foremost in the profession. Mr. Dye was formerly
connected with John W. Castree, under the firm name of Dye &
Castree. Mr. Dye makes a specialty of managing and appraising
property, especially on the lower west side of the city. His office is
at 73 West nth street.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 195
Charles H. Easton & Co.
The leading real estate firm in Forty-second street is that of
Charles H. Easton & Co., of No. 116 West Forty-second street.
Mr. Easton has been operating in that locality since 1893. In 1897
he formed a partnership with Robert T. McGusty. The firm, as
brokers, makes a specialty of that district between Fourteenth and
Fifty-ninth streets bounded by Eighth and Third avenues. In that
territory every sale and every realty movement is recorded, and
there are no better or shrewder operators in that field. The
recent great improvement of Forty-second street is in a measure dut
to the efforts of the elder member of the firm. As agents their prop-
erties lie all over the island, both in mercantile and residential dis-
tricts.
E. U. EdcL
Mr. E. U. Edel, of 315 Madison avenue, near 426. street, is a repre-
sentative New York real estate broker and agent. He has
lived in this city over 30 years, and is familiar with real estate values
from the Battery to Mt. Vernon and Yonkers. Formerly Mr. Edel
was in the fancy dry-goods business, but recognizing that his knowl-
edge of the city and its realty values would be of great benefit to him
as a broker, he decided to enter the realty market. For some time Mr.
Edel was active in real estate transactions in the upper West Side,
with an office in No. 432 Columbus avenue, but in 1897 he changed
his field to a more central location. He now operates not only over
the whole of Manhattan Island and surrounding territory, but also
in all parts of the Union. One recent sale included a public sale of
property on the Potomac, below Washington. His marked success
in the realty field has undoubtedly been due to his energetic applica-
tion to business and an extensive acquaintance among private in-
vestors. As a broker, Mr. Edel makes a specialty of exchanges, hav-
ing been particularly fortunate in this branch of business.
H, G* Eilshemius,
Mr. H. G. Eilshemius, of 265 Broadway, has been connected with
metropolitan real estate in the capacity of manager of a large estate
in Arlington, New Jersey. Mr. Eilshemius has converted a strip of
land containing over one hundred acres, extending from Arlington
proper to West Arlington, into city lots, with macadamized streets
and other improvements. In this connection Mr. Eilshemius has
built residences for his clients, and has otherwise beautified this
suburban district. He has been connected with the development of
this district for twelve years.
196 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Austin Finegan,
Among the downtown real estate brokers Austin Finegan, of No.
7 Pine street, has succeeded in establishing a reputable and sub-
stantial brokerage business. In 1883, Mr. Finegan entered realty
circles, and by his energy and faithful attention to business was soon
able to transact sales of more than ordinary importance. At pres-
ent he makes a. specialty of tenements, flats and apartments, which
he buys and sells. Besides the general brokerage business he
manages estates and is a well-known agent of employers' liability
insurance, and secures bonds for contractors among whom he has a
wide acquaintance. Mr. Finegan, it may be added, is in a position
to operate in New York realty on his own account.
J* Arthur Fischer,
Mr. J. Arthur Fischer, of No. 667 Sixth avenue, is a real estate
broker and general agent. He was connected with the firm of Morris
B. Baer & Co., but six years ago decided to enter the business on his
own account, and his entry soon became a decided success. His bro-
kerage and agency business has become so extensive that the field
covers Manhattan Island and also a part of Borough of Brooklyn.
In order to keep more in touch with realty movements in the north-
ern part of the city, and to manage numerous properties now in his
charge in that section, Mr. Fischer has opened a branch office at
Lenox avenue and 1 14th street. As a broker Mr. Fischer is familiar
with values of properties over the entire city, and his agency depart-
ment embraces the management of valuable estates for prominent
families at home and abroad. Loans on bonds, mortgages and insur-
ance, also enter into his business.
Harris B* Fisher*
Mr. Harris B.Fisher is a real estate agent and broker with offices
in the Wallace Building, Nos. 56 and 58 Pine street. He has been
connected with down town realty since 1895, when he began business
in his own name. Previously Mr. Fisher bad been in the office of
Mr. George R. Read, under whose tutelage he obtained a thorough
and extensive knowledge of high class New York real estate. He
has to a great extent made a specialty of down town property, but in
connection therewith he has made many sales and transfers of
residential realty uptown. Mr. Fisher is a member of the Real Es-
tate Exchange and keeps in close touch with all realty movements.
Francis & Wilson,
The real estate firm of Francis & Wilson, of No. 353 Fifth avenue,
is composed of Mr. Arthur W. Francis and Howard Wilson. The
firm deals to a great extent in residential and commercial property
lying between 23d street and 73d street and Sixth and Lexington
avenues. As brokers, however, they operate over the entire city.'
Their clients consist of a desirable wealthy class of people.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. igy
0
Lionel Froehlich*
One of the most prominent real estate brokers operating in the
elite section east of Central Park is Mr. Lionel Froehlich, whose
office has been located at No. 169 East 61 st street, for the past twenty
years. In order to comply with numerous requests, of his patrons
and partly follow the tendency of residences, he has moved his offices
to No. 149 Lexington avenue, between 79th and 80th streets, where
he will be permanent after May 1, 1898.
Mr. Froelich is probably the oldest real estate agent in the 19th
Ward, and he undoubtedly manages the principal real estate busi-
ness in that district. He makes a specialty of private residences, and
is peculiarly successful in securing the best class of tenants for his
clients, not only in private residences, but for his flats and stores.
His substantial and trustworthy reputation makes him, especially
in his section, a successful medium for any transaction in realty.
John N» Golding*
John N. Golding, among the best known of New York's realty
merchants, began business in 1879. He first became prominently
connected with the trade as the agent of the property under the
control of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He has made a
specialty of the agency of large buildings, and now rents and col-
lects rents of the American Surety Building, Empire Building,
Commercial Union Building, Queen Building, German-American
Building, Schermerhorn Building and the Kuhn-Loeb Building
and many other large buildings. As an appraiser and broker, es-
pecially in the residential districts, Mr. Golding ranks among the
best in New York. His uptown office is located at No. 570 Fifth
avenue. His downtown address is No. 9 Pine street.
Max Goldstein*
Mr. Max Goldstein, whose office is in No. 187 Broadway, has
been in the real estate business in New York for the past twelve
years. While he is a general real estate dealer and manages estates,
makes collections and rents the houses of his patrons, yet it may
)e said that Mr. Goldstein pays particular attention to the exchang-
ng of properties both in the city and in the country. In this branch
of the realty business Mr. Goldstein has been peculiarly successful,
due no doubt to his extensive acquaintance among investors and his
own thorough knowledge of realty as an appraiser. He also nego-
tiates loans to builders and private individuals.
Guerineau & Drake,
Of the old established firms engaged in general real estate busi-
ness, none, perhaps, is better known than the firm of Guerineau &
Drake, whose office is now located at No. 11 Bible House, 8th street.
198 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
between 3d and 4th avenues. They are the successors to W. L.
Loew & Co., who operated extensively on the East Side, and in
whose employ W. H. Drake had been previous to his entering the
firm. It is now twenty-five years since the present firm commenced
operations, and since that time they have been uniformly successful.
Mr. Guerineau-was appointed an appraiser for the East River Bridge
valuations on account of his complete knowledge of property in that
vicinity.
Robert W. Haff,
Mr. Robert W. Haff, of No. 189 Montague street, Brooklyn, is one
of the energetic real estate brokers in that borough. He has bttn
actively engaged in the real estate business since 1884 and has figured
in many of the large and important realty transactions since that
time. Mr. Haff is a broker; he buys, sells and exchanges in all parts
of the United States, but confines his operations chiefly to Brooklyn
and Long Island. He has been particularly successful in Long Isl-
and property, sc much so, indeed, that he is considered an authority
on value in that district. In connection with his extensive brokerage
business Mr. Haff also attends to the agency business of his clients
arising therefrom.
Wm* E* Haws & Son.
The founder of the real estate firm, Wm. E. Haws & Son, of No.
97 Cedar street, is one of the best known dealers in the New York
realty arena. He is one of the few expert dealers now living form-
ing a link with the old-time dealers whose transactions have been
for many years a matter of history. In the beginning of his career
Mr. Haws was a real estate broker, but for the past twenty-five
years he has devoted himself almost exclusively to appraisals. Dur-
ing that time he has been retained by various corporations and indi-
viduals in every appraisal of importance that has occurred in the
city. His values are generally accepted among high-class realty
dealers as exceedingly trustworthy, by reason of his extensive expe-
rience. His son, Walter D. Haws, is now connected with the firm
and pays special attention to brokerage and insurance.
K* Hayden & Co*
The development of Washington Heights property opened a wide
field to real estate brokers some years ago with the result that the in-
flux of realty operators in that district became excessive. Compe-
tition thereupon grew from a healthy stimulating factor to the extent
that few were able to stand the pace and the survival of fittest followed.
Among the latter is the substantial real estate firm of K. Hayden &
Co., whose office is situated in 320 West 145th street. Established
in 1885, both K. H. Hayden and T. J. Hayden have watched and
studied and taken part in most of the realty transfers in their locality.
Besides making a specialty of Washington Heights property thev
manage a general real estate and insurance business. Management
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 199
of estates, appraisements, collections of rents, the renting of houses,
flats, stores, and every detail pertaining to a general real estate and
insurance business is carried on by them.
Charles M* Heymann*
Established in 1881, Mr. Charles M. Heymann has maintained
the principles of complete reliability and business integrity, to obtain
the reputations of which was his goal in the early days of his career.
Mr. Heymann has succeeded in establishing a substantial general
real estate business, in which the management of estates, the collec-
tion of rents and the selling of real estate form a large part. His op-
erations are not confined to any particular part of the city, for he is as
equally well known below 14th street as he is in the Lenox Hill dis-
trict. He is a member of the Real Estate Exchange and is looked
upon as one of the shrewdest and most successful of those operating
in the city. His offices are now located at No. 487 Fifth avenue.
Hugo F* Hoefler*
Mr. Hugo F. Hoefler is one of the youngest and at same time
most enterprising among the builders, real estate agents and
brokers in the city. Mr. Hoefler combines the building business
with a large rental and brokerage business, located to a great ex-
tent in the upper section of the city. He has been well known to
builders and realty dealers for the last five years. In five months
he completed Nos. 302, 304 and 306 West 154th street, and at the
same time was erecting four handsome flats fitted with the best im-
provements at 153d street and Eighth avenue. Mr. Hoefler is also
making preparations to erect a block of ten flats on Eighth avenue,
between 149th and 150th streets. In that locality he is a pioneer in
its improvement. Mr. Hoefler is located at No. 164 St. Nicholas
avenue, northeast corner it 8th street.
Hopkins & Van Slyke*
Operating largely in that class of dwellings in lower Fifth avenue
and in the vicinity of Washington Square, the firm of Hopkins &
Van Slyke, of No. 70 Fifth avenue, has come rapidly forward into
prominence during the past year. The firm is composed of J. Jor-
dan Hopkins and E. Sheldon Van Slyke, t\vo energetic young men
who will undoubtedly enter a large field in realty circles in the near
future. From 23d street down to Bleecker street on Fifth and Sixth
avenues and Broadway, the firm has the renting of numerous stores
and lofts, while their residential territory extends from 34th street to
Washington Square in the more desirable localities.
S* A* Horowitz & Son*
The firm of S. A. Horowitz & Son has been established seven
years. It is a typical New York real estate firm, operating almost
200 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
entirely in the brokerage department of that business. Mr. S. A.
Horowitz, the senior member of the firm has studied ATew York re-
alty in all its different conditions. He is as familiar with the mer-
cantile district below Fourteenth street as he is familiar with the
retail and residential district above that thoroughfare. Moreover
Mr. S. A. Horowitz operates on his own account, and deals to a
great extent in property, which after some improvement under his
management becomes readily marketable. The firm is held in high
estimation among downtown brokers. Their address is Nos. 60-64
Liberty street.
Hall J, How & Co.
It was about 1865 that Hall J. How founded the business to which
his own name gave the title. His first place of business was at No.
12 Pine street. In 1878 the firm became Hall J. How & Co., with
Thomas S. Walker as junior partner. Seven years later the business
was removed to its present quarters at No. 171 Broadway. Since
the death of Mr. How, Mr. Walker has carried on the busi-
ness under the old firm name. Hall J. How & Co. deal chiefly in
vacant lots, with building loans, although they also do a general real
estate business. They are acknowledged to have been the leading
lot house in New York for thirty years. Their dealings have been
confined exclusively to Manhattan Island.
Louis B* Jennings*
Among the hustling and energetic real estate men for which New
York is famed, Louis B. Jennings, of No. 36 West 1 16th street, is one
of the most active. It was only in 1893 that Mr. Jennings branched
out in the wide but keenly competitive field of metropolitan real es-
tate, but in the short time he has acquired a substantial business and
a reputation for honorable dealing which undoubtedly will be the
best bulwark for his future business career. His experience was
gained in a loan and broker's establishment, in which he became ac-
quainted with the large operators in New York realty. By his en-
ergy and perseverance and strict observance of the theory of non-
misrepresentation in the most minute detail, he rapidly won the con-
fidence of the trade. In Harlem residential property he makes a
specialty of West Side dwellings. He also has under his manage-
ment a number of large estates, embracing properties in all parts of
the United States.
J, N- Kalley & Son.
J. N. Kalley founded the business in Brooklyn in 1864. His son,
Frederick D. Kalley, entered the firm in 1885, when operations were
extended to New York, with offices at 150 Broadway, and 189 Mon-
tague street, Brooklyn. The firm has always made a specialty of
exchanging large properties — more particularly high class Brook-
lyn dwellings and unimproved properties for New York investment
properties.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 2Ol
Among their notable exchanges was that of the Stone Building
for a large apartment house in Brooklyn, selling same building some
time later to Mutual Life Insurance Company at an advance of
about $150,000; the exchange of 32 Lafayette place at $450,000, and
corner Laight and Varick streets at $200,000 for large place at
Stamford; exchange of property on Clinton avenue, Brooklyn,
aggregating $300,000, for investment properties on Warren, Wash-
ington and Wooster streets, N. Y., aggregating $600,000; the ex-
change of the Celluloid Building, Washington square, valued at
$450,000, to President Palmer, of the Broadway Bank.
John ]. Kavanagh*
When, in 1859, John Kavanagh opened a real estate office in Sixth
avenue, near Forty-second street, that was the northern limit of the
business section of the city. At that time sales and exchanges of
realty were transacted almost altogether by the owners of the prop-
erty themselves, so that the establishment of an agency or brok-
erage system seemed an uninviting experiment from a remunerative
standpoint.
Despite these discouraging conditions, however, this pioneer in
real estate, by his foresight and discrimination, succeeded in build-
ing up a large business. This was done in the face of what would
have discouraged at the outset a less determined man. In time his
son, John J. Kavanagh, became associated with him and learned in
this practical school how to conduct the business that was destined
some day to become his.
The present office is at 1031 Madison avenue.
Bryan L* Kennelly & Co*
It is generally conceded that the well-known real estate firm,
Bryan L. Kennelly & Co., of No. 66 Liberty street, have sold in the
last two years more property at public auction by order of executors
and owners in the public auction room than any other firm or com-
pany in the city. The firm is composed of Bryan L. Kennelly and
Henry J. Sills. Mr. Kennelly naturally is a real estate broker and
auctioneer. His father was the most prominent auctioneer and real
estate broker as early as 1847, and on nis deatn Mr- Kennelly
branched out for himself. Besides large business as brokers and
auctioneers, the firm makes a specialty of loans on real estate and
also builders' loans. From his long connection with New York
realty Mr. Kennelly is one of the best known appraisers for lawyers,
corporations and other institutions in the city. Mr. Sills is a son of
John Sills, of the large wholesale grocery firm of Smith & Sills.
202 . A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
William Kennelly*
Among the prominent real estate men in this city, the name of
William Kennelly, auctioneer, appraiser and broker, stands in the
foremost ranks. In 1878 Mr. Kennelly entered into partnership with
his father, whose business career in real estate began in 1847; a *ew
months after, his father died and Mr. Kennelly succeeded to the
entire business. Mr. Kennelly conducted one of the largest cash sales
in this city — that of the Albemarle, bringing $1,208,000. As an ap-
praiser he is in constant demand, especially by municipal officials.
His partner is Mr. William M. Lawrence, son of Judge Lawrence
of the Supreme Court. They are located in the basement of Trinity
Building, No. 1 1 1 Broadway.
George J* Kenny & Bro*
The firm of George J. Kenny & Bro., 80 East Houston street, is
the successor to the late well-known firm of James Kenny & Son,
278 Mulberry street, which was established in 1863. Possessing a rep-
utation of reliability and of business integrity, the present firm is one
of the most favorably known in the city. It makes a specialty of the
management of estates, and is particularly favored in this respect, as
it is one of the very few who are agents for the old Knickerbocker
families at home and abroad. The firm conducts also a large brok-
erage business. In addition Mr. George J. Kenny is much sought for
as an appraiser, by reason of his thorough knowledge of city real
estate; he is a charter member of the Real Estate Exchange.
Jacob A* King*
Mr. Jacob A. King, now located at 491 and 493 Broadway, began
his career as a real estate broker at the age of 24. He had pos-
sessed himself of the necessary experience, and March 1, 1894, Mr.
King opened a small office at No. 699 Broadway. By his untiring
energy and strict allegiance to the motto "No misrepresentation, "
his name came rapidly in prominence among those interested in real
estate in all its branches. Mr. King has made a specialty of real
estate below 23d street and is also a fire insurance agent. His busi-
ness includes the loaning of money on mortgages, buying, selling
and renting property and the management of estates. He is a mem-
ber of the Real Estate Exchange and Auction Room, Limited.
John P* Kirwan*
Among the real estate men who carry on a general brokerage busi-
ness with the agency business that arises therefrom, is Mr. John P.
Kirwan, of No. 1505 Broadway and 60 Cedar street. He operates
over the whole of Manhattan Island and the Twenty-third and
Twenty-fourth Wards. He is a stock member of the Real Estate
Exchange, and is thoroughly conversant with realty values in New
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK 203
York. Mr. Kirwan possesses a wide acquaintance among investors,
builders and operators, and his knowledge of real estate is so com-
plete that he is frequently retained as an appraiser. He maintains
one of the best systems by which ownership and values, past and
present, of properties can be learned for his own advantage and that
of his clients. Mr. Kirwan established his business in 1890, but pre-
vious to that he was connected with real estate matters as an agent
and in negotiating loans which he still continues and which is now
an important feature of his business.
Henry G* Leist*
Mr. Henry G. Leist is one of the prominent real estate men oper-
ating in the upper East side of New York, in that district com-
monly known as Yorkville. He has been established about thir-
teen years in that locality and now manages a large agency business
there. As a broker, Mr. Leist has extended his territory until it
now covers a greater portion of Manhattan Island. He keeps
himself thoroughly posted on all brokerage transactions and has
studied values of realty with the result that he is now an expert ap-
praiser. Mr. Leist operates on his own account and manages an
insurance department in connection with his real estate business.
He has acted as broker in many of the largest sales in the York-
ville district. His office is at 204 East 86th street.
George D* Lennon*
Mr. George D. Lennon, of No. 191 5 Amsterdam avenue, has been
prominently identified with Washington Heights realty ever since
the movement in that direction began some years ago. To-day he is
recognized as an expert appraiser in real estate there, and has acted
in a large number of condemnation proceedings, both for the city
and private individuals. Mr. Lennon has had over eleven years ex-
perience and during that time he has figured in some of the largest
transactions. He combines an agency business with his general
brokerage in which he gives close attention to the management of
estates, renting of properties and the collections of rents. Mr.
Lennon also negotiates loans on bonds and mortgages. It may be
added that Mr. Lennoirs advice on Washington Heights realty is
much sought for by real estate brokers who are not in touch with
the movements in that territory.
Tames L* Libby & Son*
James L. Libby started in the real estate business in 1884, on the
upper West Side. For several years he did the largest brokerage
business in dwellings in that section of the city. In i88v he formed
a partnership with Scott Bros., the name of the firm being Libby &
Scott Bros. Its office was located respectively at 146 Broadway, in
204 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE.
the Equitable Building, and at 79 Cedar street. From the last office
the firm was compelled to move on account of the building- being
torn down to make room for the Clearing House. Scott Bros, re-
tired in 1 89 1, and the firm was reorganized as James L. Libby &
Son. The present office of the firm is at 69 Liberty street.
James L. Libby & Son do a general real estate business, but deal
more particularly in business properties. They were instrumental in
the erection of the Mutual Reserve Building, at Duane street and
Broadway and the Spingler Building in Union Square. To Louis
Sherry, they leased the property at Forty-fourth street and Fifth
avenue, for a term of twenty-one years. On the site now stands the
magnificent new Sherry Building.
James L. Libby & Son place large sums of money on bond and
mortgage.
E* H* Lyons Co*
The tendency of a large number of well-known New York real
estate brokers to enter the comparatively new field of realty in the
Borough of the Bronx leads one to believe that it will be the centre
of the real estate movement in the next few years. If such be the
case, those who are well established in tliat locality and have been
successful, possess a great future. Among that class we do not hesi-
tate to place the enterprising firm of E. H. Lyons Co., of No. 2778
Third avenue, near 147th street. Mr. Lyons' experience in 23d and
24th Ward realty dates back over seven years. He has been actively
engaged on his own account for the past year, during which time his
record of sales show him to be a prominent factor in the realty mar-
ket. He deals in both vacant lots and improved property.
Henry Marks*
Mr. Henry Marks, of No. 2216 8th avenue, near 120th street, has
already attained a prominence in Harlem realty circles by reason of
his activity as a factor in many transactions, although he has as yet
not been established quite three years. The majority of his broker-
age business is transacted in Harlem, from 72d street upwards, as
far as the river. Mr. Marks is an untiring worker and his clients, it
may be remarked, find him staunchly true to their interests, with the
result that they are his permanent customers. Besides a brokerage
business Mr. Marks also manages estates, collects rents and rents
properties, is himself the owner of property, thoroughly reliable and
financially responsible in every respect.
A* H* Mathews*
Mr. A. H. Mathews, of No. 82 Nassau street, takes rank among
the old established real estate firms in this city. The business was
established in 1859 by the father of the present owner of the business,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 205
and after the death some years ago of the elder Mr. Mathews the
concern fell to his son, who has successfully managed it ever since.
While doing a general real estate business, the firm make a specialty
of the management of estates and the renting of down-town business
properties. Mr. Mathews has been particularly successful in secur-
ing for his clients a good class of tenants and has the reputation of
looking out for the interests of both. His extensive acquaintance
among investors and the substantial reputation of the firm, which
he has maintained, renders him an excellent medium as a broker.
Linton B* Matthews & Co*
The firm of Linton B. Matthews & Co. is composed of Linton B.
Matthews and J. McClennen. They are engaged in a general real
estate business in all that the term embraces, the management of
estates, rents collected, loans on bond and mortgage and general
brokerage. The firm represents some of the best insurance compa-
nies, comprehensively known as fire, plate glass, accident, life, bur-
glary, steam boiler and employers' liability. As real estate brokers
and agents the territory covered by them lies between 59th street and
Washington Heights, more particularly on the West Side. The
firm, although established but a year, has succeeded in securing the
agency of several well-known flats and apartment houses and a
large number of private dwellings. Office, No. 59 West 125th street.
Paul Mayer*
Among the high class realty dealers in the upper portion of Man-
hattan Island, there are none whose operations show a more thor-
ough knowledge of realty values than those of Mr. Paul Mayer, of
No. 251 West 135th street. He has rapidly acquired a reputation
among his fellow brokers as being most energetic and conscientious
in his operations. Mr. Mayer combines a brokerage and agency
business ; as a broker he makes no special field, but maintains an
intimacy with all transactions and movements throughout the city.
His agency business is largely in Harlem, along Columbus avenue
and the streets adjacent thereto. Mr. Mayer has a downtown office
in No. 261 Broadway, by which he keeps in touch with downtown
realty movements.
George W* Mercer*
The real estate business of the firm of George W. Mercer, of No.
266 West 23d street, was established in 1845. I* was tnen carried on
by John Denham, in whose employ Mr. Mercer was at that time,
with whom he afterwards entered into partnership. In 1879, after
the death of Mr. Denham, Mr. Mercer carried on the business in
his own name. He has been greatly successful and his reputation
for reliability is widespread. Mr. Mercer makes a specialty of rent-
206 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing houses and collecting rents, keeping the property in repair, and
his class of tenants are the best. He operates chiefly in the 8th, 9th,
16th, 20th and 22d Wards. He has the management of estates
which have been on his books since the establishment of his firm.
H* T* Metcalfe & Sons*
The founder of the firm of H. T. Metcalfe & Sons, of No. 171
Broadway, who, we regret to state, died a short time ago, was a
widely-known resident of Staten Island. He entered the real estate
trade in 1886, and besides making a specialty of Staten Island prop-
erty, he succeeded in working up a moderate business in New York
realty. The sons, of whom there are three, George, Charles and H.
T., are energetic and shrewd operators. The firm have been instru-
mental in disposing of large properties on the island and have
charge of Arrochar Park, on which they are building five houses.
Edmund S* Mills*
The real estate trade in this city comprises a branch of dealers
who make a specialty of .out-of-town property for country estates
and residences. Probably there is none who has a wider or more
exclusive patronage in this class of real estate than Mr. Edmund S.
Mills, of 479 Fifth avenue. Mr. Mills has made this business a study
for thirty years, and it is safe to say there is none more thor-
ough, nor are there any dealers who can offer their clients such a
variety and choice of out-of-town properties. Through the Mohawk
Valley, in the Adirondack Woods, and the choicest scenic districts
of New England, Mr. Mills has pre-eminently the best to be had.
Mr. Mills also deals in high-class town property on Fifth avenue,
Madison avenue, Murray Hill and Lenox Hill.
Knox McAfee*
Mr. Knox McAfee, of No. 242 West 23d street, is one of the best
known and reputable real estate dealers operating in that section of
the city, of which 23d street is the centre. He has been established
ten years, during which time he has operated both as a broker and
agent. His agency business consists of the management of estates
of wealthy families, and to this department he pays special atten-
tion. The properties which are residential and mercantile are lo-
cated almost entirely on the West Side. He has been particularly
fortunate as a broker, his success being due to his thorough knowl-
edge of realty values and an extensive acquaintance among investors.
James A. McClosfcey*
Mr. James A. McCloskey, of No. 263 West Thirty-fourth street,
is one of the live real estate agents operating in the West Side. His
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
207
field as a broker extends from Fifth avenue to the North River and
from Fourteenth street to One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street.
He makes a specialty of securing good sites for building investors,
and his intimate knowledge of properties renders him a reliable
source of information to them. As an agent, Mr. McCloskey
handles nothing but a good class of residential property, including
apartment houses and private dwellings and stores and lofts on
Seventh and Eighth avenues. His record as a broker and agent
shows him to be extremely energetic and alive in that now keen field
of realty movement in New York.
Stephen McCormick*
Among Harlem's representative high-class real estate brokers is
Mr. Stephen McCormick, of Madison avenue, corner East 129th
street. He has been established in Harlem for the past four years,
although for sixteen years previous he had been identified with build-
ers and New York realty men by reason of his connection with the
Yellow Pine Company, of Beaver street. Mr. McCormick is a gen-
eral real estate broker, operating throughout the city, and manages
property in all sections. He has a clientele to whom he is able to
transfer some of the best realty on the market. He is most thorough
and conscientious in his business principles, and never endorses a
misrepresentation, however slight it may be, that may assist him in
procuring a transfer or sale.
McMahon & Welch*
The enterprising real estate firm of McMahon & Welch, of No.
65 West 125th street, is composed of George J. McMahon and
Charles J. Welch. Both possess a thorough knowledge of real
estate values in the northern part of the city, and the records of
their sales show them to be active, energetic and successful. The
firm was established in 1894, and although of comparatively recent
origin its brokerage business, .that test of a successful broker, is one
of the largest in Harlem. The field of their operations, while to a
great extent located above 59th street, is, however, by no means
confined in that district. A separate feature of the business is that of
fire insurance, of which they have made a signal success. The firm
holds the Harlem Branch of the Norwich Union Fire Insurance
Society of England.
G* Nicholas*
Mr. G. Nicholas, whose main office is located at No. 1483 Broad-
way, manages an extensive real estate business, which comprises
both a brokerage and agency department. He has been promin-
ently identified with New York realty for the past fifteen years, and
besides buying and selling for others, he operates largely on his own
208 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
account. As a broker, Mr. Nicholas operates to a great extent in
the residential and commercial districts of the West Side from Four-
teenth street up to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth. He has been par-
ticularly successful in finding purchasers for old business and apart-
ment property. As an agent Mr. Nicholas manages estates from 34th
street up to and along the borders of Central Park. A branch office
is located in No. 617 Seventh avenue.
Joseph Oatman*
Mr. Joseph Oatman, of No. 1556 Broadway, possesses an exped-
ience extending over eighteen years in the real estate business in that
section of the city on the West Side, between 34th and 59th streets.
He was formerly connected with Mr. S. M. Blakely, in whose
office he acquired a complete knowledge of realty values in the
section referred to. In 1892, Mr. Oatman opened an office on his
own account, and by his energetic application to business he has
succeeded in establishing a brokerage business unsurpassed by
any of the Long Acre Square brokers. Brokerage is Mr. Oatman's
specialty, and as an appraiser in the locality named he cannot be
improved upon.
J* H* Octets & Co*
Real estate dealers on the West Side from 29th street northward
are reputed to be the most active in the metropolitan realty arena.
Prominent among the active firms is that of J. H. Oeters & Co., of
Central Park West, and 104th street. Mr. Oeters has divided his
business under two heads. The brokerage business, over which he
has control, and which made him prominent in many realty transac-
tions, particularly in Harlem. His son, Henry M. Oeters, a member
of the firm, has charge of the collection of rents, renting and manage-
ment of estates. Mr. J. H. Oeters has dealt largely in improved
property as well as unimproved, the latter of Which he has been par-
ticularly fortunate in disposing to builders, by Whom he is considered
a high authority in real estate matters. Mr. Frederick Schlueter is
also an active member of the firm.
Pease & Elliman*
The comparatively new firm of Pease & Elliman, 532 5th avenue,
are the successors of the oldest real estate business in that district.
Both members of the firm, Lawrence B. Elliman and Walter A.
Pease, Jr., are energetic young men and thoroughly experienced
in metropolitan realty. They make a specialty of 5th avenue general
real estate, and have done one of the largest businesses in their
neighborhood during the past year in renting and selling. They have
already many large estates on their books, and their extensive ac-
quaintance in that district will doubtlessly add much to their suc-
cess. The office is centrally located, opposite Delmonico's. Mr. N.
W. Riker, of the old firm, is still associated with the new firm of
Pease & Elliman.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 209
R, Pehlemann & Son,
The firm of R. Pehlemann & Son, of No. 493 Columbus avenue, is
one of the oldest real estate firms in the city, having been established
in 1868. The firm, which consisted of Rudolph Pehlemann, oper-
ated in East Side property in the commencement of its career, with
the office at 57th street and at 55th street and Third avenue. From
there he moved to 14th street, but seeing the possibility of Columbus
avenue as a mercantile thoroughfare, he moved to that locality. The
firm now makes a specialty in corner property, both mercantile and
residential. It has unquestionably made larger sales in that class of
realty than any other dealer in competition in that locality. Besides
this specialty the firm doe's a large general brokerage business on the
West Side and the upper West Side. Rudolph Pehlemann, Jr., is as-
sociated with his father as his partner. The firm also manage es-
tates, which have been in their control for many years.
Pell & Sutphin*
Although the firm name of Pell & Sutphin, of No. 509 Fifth ave-
nue, is comparatively new in New York real estate circles, yet the
individuals composing it are men long and most favorably known
to the trade. The firm is composed of H. Archie Pell, S. Osgood
Pell and William L. Sutphin. A partnership was formed on January
1, 1898, between Mr. S. Osgood Pell and William L. Sutphin, and
subsequently H. Archie Pell, the well-known real estate dealer, en-
tered the partnership, thus giving it additional strength. Each mem-
ber is a specialist in the various branches of the realty trade, and there
is no question but that the firm will become an important factor in
Metropolitan real estate circles. The estates formerly managed by
the individual members of the firm consisting of high class realty in
all parts of the city are now managed under one department. Brok-
erage and loans are also specialized, thus affording better results to
all concerned.
L* J, Phillips & Co*
The real estate firm of L. J. Phillips & Co. was established in
1876. It is one of the large expert real estate firms in this city, com-
bining an extensive brokerage agency and auctioneering business.
The members of the firm are Louis J. Phillips, senior, D. L. Phillips
and Lewis Phillips. The founder of the business, Mr. Louis J. Phil-
lips, senior, is recognized as one of the leading experts in New York
realty. His knowledge of values has been frequently called to the aid
of the city, corporations and private individuals in all the large ap-
praisals made for many years past. As brokers the firm operate over
the entire Manhattan Island and in the Twenty-third and Twenty-
fourth Wards. As agents, it manages many large estates, both re-
garding the renting and collections of rents and their entire super-
vision. The downtown office is located in No. 158 Broadway and the
uptown office at 72d street and Columbus avenue.
14
2IO A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Homer W. Presdee*
Among the representative real estate dealers in the upper portion
of the West Side of the city is Mr. Homer W. Presdee, of No 401
West 59th street. Combining an agency and brokerage business,
Mr. Presdee is regarded as one of the best operators in the locality
which he covers. He devotes more of his time and study to the
brokerage department, however, than to the agency business. He
has maintained a close relationship with all realty movements in
the upper West Side, and his advice, both in matters of appraisals
and the choice of sites for business or residential purpose, has been
much sought for by investors. Mr. Presdee has frequently acted as
appraiser for private individuals and corporations.
The William P* Rae Co*
The William P. Rae Company was incorporated under capitaliza-
tion of $50,000 in 1890, to continue the general real estate business
in the management of property and estates, and auctioneers in Real
Estate Exchange. Mr. Rae, who is president of the company, while
a young man, has been established as broker and auctioneer in
Brooklyn since 1879.
This company, aside from their large clientele in the management
of property, have been most active in the management in the de-
velopment of Sea Gate, transforming what was known as Norton's
Point into a most beautiful select seashore resident settlement. The
company is represented in the directory of the Norton Point Land
Company, New Utrecht Improvement Company, and Sea Gate
Improvement Company. The business offices are located at 203
Montague street and 394 Gates avenue, Brooklyn.
Thos* L. Reynolds & Co*
The firm of Thomas L. Reynolds & Co., of corner of Lenox avenue
and 135th street, is one of the largest operators in West Side Harlem
property. The business was established by Mr. Thcs. L. Reynolds
in 1886, and was conducted for some time at Columbus avenue and
104th streets. Mr. Reynolds has sold a very large amount of prop-
erty from West 59th street along the Heights, and on West Side ave-
nues and the adjoining side streets. His business done for the past
decade has netted him com/mission and profits of $40,000 to $60,000
a year. As an agent, he manages property in the locality covered by
himself as a broker. Mr. Reynolds operates largely on his own ac-
count and is known to be one of the shrewdest of our Harlem oper-
ators.
T* B* Robertson*
Mr. Thomas Brand Robertson, whose office is located in the
Mutual Bank Building, corner Eighth avenue and Thirty-fourth
street, possesses an actual experience of over twenty years in New
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 21 1
York circles. During his career he has merited and maintained the
confidence of a large clientele in his management of estates, as an
agent, executor and in other fiduciary capacities. Mr. Robertson has
a keen appreciation of values, and in his long experience has suc-
cessfully negotiated for investors and corporations many large and
important transactions. He is also agent for several insurance com-
panies, also conducts a general insurance brokerage business.
Douglas Robinson & Co*
Of the many real estate firms in New York, that of Douglas Rob-
inson & Co. has always been considered in the first rank, both on
account of the large amount of city property which changes hands
through their offices, and because of the large estates in New York
which they manage. They also pay special attention to the appraisal
of city property. Mr. Douglas Robinson, the senior member, has a
large acquaintance among the best class of investors, and the firm
is thoroughly equipped for the transaction of business through their
two large offices at 55 Liberty street, corner of Nassau, and at 500
Madison avenue, corner of 52d street. The junior member is Mr.
Frederick Winant, who has charge of the uptown office.
Wm, J* Roome.
The real estate business carried on by William J. Roome, at 410
6th avenue, is one of the oldest in the city, having been established in
1852, by the father of the present proprietor. Mr. Roome entered
his father's firm and studied New York real estate in all its branches.
On his father's death, the firm became known as W. H. Roome's
Son, which was afterwards changed to W. J. Roome. Mr. Roome
pays special attention to transactions with investors and investment
property. His knowledge of real estate is so widespread that he is in
constant demand as an appraiser for institutions and the legal frater-
nity. Mr. Roome is one of the founders of University Heights, and
is a graduate of the University of the City of New York, of the class
of '78.
Ruland & Whiting*
The list of well-known New York real estate dealers would not be
complete without the name of Ruland & Whiting, of No. 5 Beek-
man street. This firm has been established for over thirty-one years
in its present location. It has sold a large amount of valuable
land in the office district, from Wall to Duane street, although its
operations have by no means been confined to this district. The
members of the firm are Manly A. Ruland, William H. Whiting and
Irving Ruland ; the latter is a member of the Real Estate Exchange
and Board of Brokers, while Mr. Whiting is a member of the Ex-
change and Treasurer of the Metropolitan Realty Co., having its
office with this firm.
212 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Charles E* Schuyler & Co*
Mr. Charles E. Schuyler, of No. 967 Boulevard, it is generally
conceded, is the most prominent real estate dealer in the upper
west end of the city. His first office was located at 71st street and
Columbus avenue, when houses were most scarce in that locality.
He was the first in that field, and to his efforts much of the rapid
and solid development of Columbus avenue and adjacent streets is
due. A few years ago he entered again as a pioneer in Morning-
side Heights realty and has contributed greatly to the development
in high class residential property along Riverside Drive, West End
avenue, the Boulevard and Morningside. Mr. Schuyler's knowledge
of values in that locality is so thorough that his appraisals are con-
sidered as final. The business is now conducted under the firm name
of Charles E. Schuyler & Co., incorporated, near 107th street.
Sharrott Brothers*
Among Harlem's high class real estate brokers is the firm of Shar-
rott Brothers, of 2164 7th avenue, near 128th street, from whence
they removed May 1st to more desirable and accessible quarters, 2088
7th avenue, near 125th street (Hotel Winthrop). Chas. F. Sharrott
and Frank R. Sharrott compose the firm, and operate both a
brokerage and agency business. Mr. Charles F. Sharrott makes a
specialty of the exchange of properties, in which branch he is quite
successful, while Frank R. Sharrott gives attention to the sale of va-
cant lots with loans to builders. The renting department is in charge
of Edgar Sharrott, who acquired his knowledge of this branch of
the business through an apprenticeship of several years in a promi-
nent downtown office. The field where the firm has operated to a
large extent, is in upper West Harlem and Washington Heights.
Both members of the firm are men of sound business judgment and
integrity.
They are thoroughly conversant with realty values in the districts
where they specially operate.
Henry W. SherrilL
Prominent among Brooklyn's realty dealers who have contrib-
uted to the development and settlement of some particular portion of
the city of Brooklyn stands Henry W. Sherrill, whose main office is
located in No. 13 Willoughby street, Brooklyn. Mr. Sherrill is both
a broker and agent but it is by reason of his successful management
of the large estate of John Leffert that he is so prominently identified
with Brooklyn real estate matters. In the Twenty-ninth Ward adja-
cent to the beautiful Prospect Park, Mr. Sherrill has developed the
property, sold lots on which modern houses of the highest type have
been erected, and by his wide acquaintance among investors has
succeeded in procuring purchasers for the buildings. He is a thor-
ough student of the trend of realty movements, and his advice in
matters of investment in property is much sought.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 2I}
T. W. Shotwell.
Among the careful and considerate real estate brokers operating
to a greater extent in Harlem than elsewhere is Mr. T. W. Shotwell,
of No. 291 Lenox avenue, near 125th street. Mr. Shotwell has a
long experience in New York realty, an experience extending over
fifteen years, and his knowledge of the fluctuations in values of
realty and its present value is of the highest type. He operates gen-
erally above 72c! street, although he frequently transacts sales below
14th street, as his records will show. He is a successful broker
mainly because he keeps in touch with the market and knows what
can be sold and with whom the property can be best placed. His
clientele embraces many builders and private investors. Mr. Shot-
well is an energetic broker, and is thoroughly conversant with all
matters pertaining to real estate.
E. de Forest Simmons.
Mr. E. de Forest Simmons, of No. 1 East 58th street, is a real
estate broker and agent. In the former 'branch of the business
Mr. Simmons operates for his wealthy clients in residential property
and business property for investment. In this line he has secured in
realty investments large amounts of funds, not only for New York
investors, but also for Boston and San Francisco clients. In con-
nection with a partner, he sold the site of the American Surety Build-
ing, on Pine street and Broadway, a sale involving one and one-half
million dollars. As an agent he handles desirable properties in Fifth
avenue, Murray Hill and Lenox Hill. He is a careful and pains-
taking business man and has frequently figured in some large trans-
actions.
Allen W. Smith.
Allen W. Smith, No. 252 West 14th street, has completed exten-
sive alterations to his building, No. 252 West 14th street, one door
east of Eighth avenue, and has removed his office thereto, where
he has largely increased facilities for leasing, renting, collecting,
selling, managing and exchanging all classes of real estate, and of ef-
fecting loans on bond and mortgage. A renting experience of
twenty-eight years, the last eighteen of which he has rented and is
still renting property of different branches of the Astor estate, may
be considered a sufficient guarantee of his integrity and ability. It
can be readily seen that all property placed in Mr. Smith's office for
renting, collecting or management will receive the full benefit of a
long experience and perfected methods. He has also secured the
agency of many of the best and most reliable insurance companies,
and he is, therefore, in a position to make the most favorable terms
on all classes of insurance — fire, life, accident and plate-glass. He
has made it a special point in his business that all orders, delivered
personally or by mail, for selling, buying, exchanging or renting
214 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
property, or for insurance, or for loans on bond and mortgage, shall
be promptly attended to.
Frank E* Smith*
Mr. Frank E. Smith, of No. 35 Nassau street, has been connected
with the projecting element both in real estate and general contract-
ing in New York for the past eighteen years. During that time he
devoted himself to building on a speculative basis. He built, to a
great extent, in Harlem. For the past few years he has paid partic-
ular attention to realty movements below Forty-second street, be-
tween Eighth and Third avenues. He makes a specialty of promot-
ing new buildings, and his advice is sought for when a firm or cor-
poration are contemplating improvements, particularly in the mer-
cantile districts, between Twenty-third and Forty-second streets.
His wide experience in real estate greatly aids him in procuring and
influencing investments.
Thomas C* Smith*
Mr. Thomas C. Smith is a real estate broker and appraiser. Mr.
Smith belongs to the higher class of realty brokers in New York,
who have made New York realty a subject of research and study
with result that they have become experts in values. Mr. Smith has
been prominently identified with realty transactions since 1886. He
has made no special district his field of operations, but has covered
the entire island, from the Battery to High Bridge. There is prob-
ably no ward in New York proper in which Mr. Smith has not sold
or purchased property. In appraisals he has very frequently been
called to act for owners and corporations in all parts of the city.
His office is in No. in Broadway.
Stabler & Smith*
Among the old and well established firms operating on Columbus
avenue the firm of Stabler & Smith, of No. 674 Columbus avenue,
ranks high, not only in the comparative duration of its establishment,
but in the amount of business done. The firm is composed of Mr.
Walter Stabler, whose office for some time was located downtown in
the mercantile district, and Mr. L. M. Smith. Both are practical
and experienced real estate men. They make no distinctive specialty
in their business, combining their brokerage and agency depart-
ments, and giving each their proper share of attention. In the brok-
erage department they number among their clients builders, private
and corporate investors, while as agents they manage apartment
houses, stores and tenements along Columbus avenue and side
streets. The firm has been established eight years.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 21$
John B* Streeton*
There is a branch of the real estate business which confines itself
almost exclusively to the renting of mercantile buildings, offices and
lofts. In this branch there is probably no larger operator than Mr.
John B. Streeton, of No. 152 Broadway. Mr. Streeton. has had an
extensive experience in this particular line of the realty business
and is thoroughly familiar with its details. The field in which he
operates lies downtown below Houston street, in which he has a
large number of stores, offices and lofts, and of many of which he has
full control. On so large a scale does he transact his business that
there is no question but that he is able to fill the wants of a client,
no matter what the conditions and circumstances are. The business,
in which he himself has had over twenty-four years' experience, has
been established forty years.
Strong & Ireland*
This well-known firm of realty brokers was established in June,
1894, the copartnership being formed of Mr. J. Montgomery Strong
and J. de Courcy Ireland. Each had possessed a thorough training
and ripe experience necessary for a downtown real estate dealer.
The firm was able to combine all features of the real estate business.
As brokers they operate over the entire Island and are able to give
expert testimony in appraisals. Their agency departments
are no small feature of the business of managing estates and collect-
ing rents in different parts of the city. They keep a record of every
sale, transfer, lien or mortgage filed, so that they are intimately in
touch with every movement. Their address is No. 60 Liberty.
F* G* Swartwout & Co*
F. G. Swartwout & Co., of 157 East 125th street, have been oper-
ating in New York realty for the past twenty years. The company
have an extensive brokerage business throughout the entire city,
although to a great extent they have operated in the Twelfth,
Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards. In Harlem, Westchester
county and New York's annexed district the company are particu-
larly well-known, and manage a large portion of a desirable class of
property in those locations. As agents they rent and collect rents
of estates throughout the city. F. G. Swartwout is a member of the
Real Estate Exchange of New York and is considered a shrewd
realty operator. The company study all sales, transfers and realty
movements and are thoroughly well posted in values of properties.
Mr. F. G. Swartwout is very frequently retained by civic authorities,
institutions and corporations as an appraiser in their behalf.
Thomas & Eckerson*
Among the highest class real estate firms in the city is that of
Thomas & Eckerson, of No. 35 West 30th street. The firm is com-
216 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
posed of William H. Thomas and John C. R. Eckerson, both of
whom are highly esteemed in New York realty circles. The part-
nership was formed in 1880, and since that time the firm has been en-
gaged in an extensive brokerage and agency business, and also man-
ages an insurance department. As brokers, the firm makes no spe-
cial field nor deals in any particular kind of realty; the records of
their sales show the properties to be located from the Battery to
Harlem. Thomas & Eckerson have made a specialty of the manage-
ment of estates.
Thompson & Pryot*
The firm of Thompson & Pryor succeeded that of John M.
Thompson & Co. six months ago. It is composed of John M.
Thompson and S. Morris Pryor, formerly a partner of D. Phoenix
Ingraham & Co. The business of the firm consists of expert bro-
kerage appraisals and auctioneering. Mr. Thompson is a thorough
student of high-class realty movements and operates among the best
class of investors. He has made a particular study of the mercantile
realty below 14th street. In this market he is an authority and is
frequently consulted by fellow brokers before transactions are com-
pleted. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of Auctioneers.
Mr. Pryor is a practical real estate man of wide experience and is
well posted in all realty movements. Their address is No. 7 Pine
street.
W* W* Thompson*
Mr. W. W. Thompson, whose office is located in the National
Park Bank Building, Nos. 214 and 216 Broadway, is a representative
real estate dealer of this city who has accumulated a large and val-
uable record of transactions covering many years. He was a client of
the late E. H. Ludlow and Homer Morgan, and his knowledge
of values particularly in residential quarters of New York is most
authoritative. Mr. Thompson pays special attention to his brokerage
and appraisal departments, for these he regards as the most im-
portant features of his business. He is a Commissioner of the
Bureau of Street Openings. Mr. Thompson is a successful operator
having been buyer and owner by inheritance of many properties on
Murray Hill, the lower Wall street section and tracts of land now a
portion of Greater New York.
A* E* Thomson,
Among the brokers who are known to buy and sell large parcels of
land and high-class improved realty in Harlem, Mr. A. E. Thomson,
of No. 29 East 125th street, is undoubtedly one of the most promi-
nent. Mr. Thomson has been established four years in business on
his own account, although his active experience in Harlem property
antedates that period by several years. Mr. Thomson makes a spe-
cialty in his general real estate business in that he finds himself
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 217
peculiarly adapted for the selling and exchanging of realty. He
deals, to a great extent, with heavy operators. He knows Harlem
realty values, as a large operator must of necessity know them, and
his personal qualities as a broker make his transactions nearly
always successful. He negotiates building loans and advances
money on bond and mortgage.
Stephen H* Tyng, ]n
Stephen H. Tyng, Jr., is one of the prominent members of the
real estate profession. Eleven years ago he opened his first office
at 25 Pine street, which he still retains as a branch office. His
headquarters at the present time are in the Hartford Building, No.
41 Union square West. Mr. Tyng confines himself to the care and
management of estates, and deals in high-class business property
exclusively. His name has been connected with many large oper-
ations. Among his transactions was the sale for Meyer Kahn of
the Daniel Drew property, at the corner of 17th street and Broad-
way, to the Wadsworth estate. Subsequently he was responsible
for the tearing down of the old Drew mansion and the construction
and the leasing of the new Hartford Building on that site, notable
as a particularly successful uptown office building. Mr. Tyng's
clientele is one of the largest and wealthiest in the city.
S- R- Walker-
Among the enterprising real estate men operating extensively
across the Harlem River, Mr. S. R. Walker, of No. 748 East 138th
street, ranks undoubtedly among the foremost. To his efforts the
rapid development of real estate values of that section both in its
residential and business districts above 125th street on the East
Side is mainly due. He is in intimate touch with the many invest-
ors, builders and architects interested in that locality and his thor-
ough knowledge of realty values often directs realty movements.
Besides his large brokerage business, Mr. Walker manages an
agency department in which the care and full management of busi-
ness and residential property enters. He also negotiates mortgages
and is an expert appraiser in the many classes of properties. Pos-
sessing branches in different sections he keeps well in touch with
the demands of his clients.
S* de Walltearss*
Mr. S. de Walltearss, of No. 171 Broadway, is one of New York's
largest downtown realty operators. By the term "downtown," it is
not meant that such real estate men that deal only in property in the
lower end of the city, but it is in that portion of New York where
large deals are generally consummated. Such dealers are recognized
as experts in realty and to this class Mr. de Walltearss certainly be-
longs. He has been connected with New York real estate since
2l8 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
1866, when he formed a partnership with B. P. Fairchild, who at
that time was a heavy operator and realty agent. This partnership
was continued until 1888, when Mr. Fairchild's interests were with-
drawn. In 1895, a co-partnership was formed between Mr. de
Walltearss and David Rothschild, which continued until 1897, when
the latter withdrew. Mr. de Walltearss has been prominently
identified with the Real Estate Exchange since its inception ; he has
long been a director and is now secretary of the Exchange.
James Walsh*
Mr. James Walsh, real estate broker, of No. 222 West n 6th
street, has been permanently identified with upper New York's
realty interests for the past nine years. For the last three years
Mr. Walsh has confined his efforts entirely to the brokerage de-
partment of his business and has been, as is shown by the records
of his sales, one of the foremost brokers above J2& street. The
scene of his operations has been in both the East and West Sides
of the territory named, and as Mr. Walsh in the beginning of his
career as a real estate merchant bought and sold on his own ac-
count he enjoys a large clientele of the better class. He is an en-
ergetic and untiring worker, as may be judged from the fact that
he made 25 large sales of separate properties last year.
A, Ward*
Mr. A. Ward, a pioneer in the real estate business of the lower
west side, is still one of the foremost real estate dealers and apprais-
ers, not only in the district named, but throughout the island. Mr.
Ward has been established thirty-three years, with his office at the
address now occupied, No. 516 Ninth avenue. In the beginning of
his career he took charge of the Cairns and Ward estates, of which
Mr. Fred D. Tappen is still the trustee. One of Mr. Ward's main
personal business is the appraising of property located in all parts of
the city for various institutions, firms, individuals and corporations.
Ware* Gibbs & Card*
The firm of Ware & Gibbs, of No. 451 Columbus avenue, consist-
ing of William R. Ware and Albert E. Gibbs, has been in the real
estate business, as a firm, four years. Each had an individual
experience in realty circles previous to the copartnership, and
formed an extensive acquaintance among property owners. They
have made the collection of rents and renting their specialty, while
they transact the brokerage business, which necessarily follows, as
an issue. Columbus avenue property, from 59th street as the south-
ern limit and along the parallel avenues, is the location of most of
the property over which they have control. The firm is one of the
most reliable in that territory and number among their clientele a
large proportion of prominent property holders. Jas. Vandyke
Card, who recently joined the firm, has also been an operator arid
broker for 20 years.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 219
Whitehouse & Porter*
Although the firm of Whitehouse & Porter is a new one in name,
it is really a continuation of an older business. Mills, Whitehouse &
Hall was founded in 1890, with an office at No. 17 East Forty-sec-
ond street. A couple of years later the firm was re-organized as
Mills & Whitehouse, their office being located at No. 503 F fth
avenue. This firm, in its turn, was succeeded, in 1896, by Golding
& Whitehouse. Last year the firm became Whitehouse & Porter,
with offices at 509 Fifth avenue and 1 Nassau street.
Whitehouse & Porter deal principally in Fif ill avenue piopcrty
and in high class dwellings and unimproved lots in the vicinity of
the avenue. They sold No. 871 Fifth avenue to Mr. A. L. Barber
for $572,500, the largest sum ever paid for a dwelling in this city.
Other large sales which they have made are No. 8 East Sixty-ninth
street to Mr. W. D. Sloane; and the Langdon place, at Hyde Park,
to Mr. Frederick Vanderbilt.
220
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
No. 241 WEST 72d STREET,
Chas. Buek, Architect and Builder.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
221
OPERATING ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS,
AND REAL ESTATE MEN.
Philip Braenden
There has been probably no heavier builder and real estate oper-
ator in the past twenty years than Philip Braender, of No. 47 West
125th street. He has built extensively on the East Side during the
years 1877 to 1892, and has also built large fire-proof business struc-
tures below 14th street. During the last six years he has erected a
number of buildings on the West Side, from 100th to 125th street.
Mr. Braender began as a mason builder in 1871, continuing in the
contracting line until 1877, when he saw the advantages of build-
ing for the market, and he grasped the opportunity. An idea of his
work may be gained when it is said that there is scarcely a block
from East 63d street to East 125th street where he has not erected
houses for the market. Mr. Braender is a mason by trade, and has
erected, since 1877, °ver 1,500 private houses, apartments, flats and
fire-proof buildings throughout the city.
Charles Buek*
Mr. uharles Buek is the successor to the once well-known firm of
Duggin & Crossman, which dated its foundation to back before the
war. He became connected with this firm in 1870 and remained
with it until its dissolution nine years later. Duggin & Crossman
built exclusively on the east side of the city, and had a wide repu-
tation, both on account of the quantity and the quality of their work.
Mr. Buek remained in business alone as their successor for about
two years, then, in 1881, he founded the firm of Charles Buek & Co.,
with Mr. Charles Duggin, the head of the old firm, as special part-
ner. Mr. Henry F. Cook, who had also been connected with the old
firm, became another partner.
The new firm confined its work to that portion of the city along
Lexington avenue and in the neighborhood of 36th and 37tn streets,
and on Madison avenue up as far as 68th and 69th streets. Among
other residences which it built at the time, were those of Charles A.
Dana, Geo. G. Moore, Charles F. Clark, of "Bradstreet's" on Mad-
ison avenue; John A. Stewart, president of the United States Trust
Co., and Charles M. Fry, president of the New York Banking As-
sociation on Lexington avenue.
In time it became plainly apparent that the East Side was being
222 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
rapidly exhausted and that no more lots remained to be built upon,
so a change of base was decided on and in 1887 the firm moved the
field of its operations to the West Side. They built extensively on
72d street, and in all that section lying about it, participating in the
great building boom which occurred in that vicinity eight or ten
years ago.
In connection with the building operations of Mr. Buek on the
East Side, it is interesting to note the change that has taken place
in the value of real estate in that portion of the city. New Yorkers
have come to look upon Fifth avenue as such an established fact that
they naturally disassociate it in their minds with any such rapid ad-
vance as is called to their mind by the mushroom growth of the up-
per West Side.
Yet only twenty-five years ago building lots 25x100 on Fifth ave-
nue, below the Park could be bought for $25,000, while those off
the avenue and in the side streets, like 51st and 52d, brought $15,-
000. Practically the same proportion is preserved to-day, though
with vastly larger figures. At the present time a lot in the avenue
is worth perhaps $100,000, and one on an adjacent side street about
$60,000. It was only recently that a lot facing the Park by 64th
street, sold for over $130,000.
Mr. Buek has hitherto built only private dwellings and apartment
houses, and those of the highest class, but is now engaged in the
erection of a nine-story business building at No. 64 Fulton street,
and intends hereafter to give attention to fine mercantile building.
He has also erected several stables to order, notably those for
D. O. Mills, W. S. Gurnee, and Harvey Fisk.
Harry Chaffee*
Among the merchant builders of New York, there have been none
whose operations have been conducted more successfully than those
of the subject of our brief mention, Mr. Harry Chaffee, whose of-
fice is now located in one of his handsome structures, that in No. 29
East 19th street. Mr. Chaffee has built extensively in the mercan-
tile section of the city, and also in the residential sections. His pro-
jections have shown him to be a complete judge of realty values in
New York, and the style of the buildings erected on the sites chosen
have been exceedingly appropriate. He has built several store and
loft buildings, which have been finished with the latest and best
improvements.
Francis Crawford*
Mr. Francis Crawford is one of New York's most extensive build-
ers. He has been connected with the projective element for the past
thirty-four years, and has practically lined streets with houses of a
class that is a credit to the builder and the community. In the
upper Wrest Side, in that locality of which 72d street is the centre,
was the principal scene of Mr. Crawford's operations. He built al-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 223
most entirely private houses, and the ready sales testify to the work-
manship and style of houses built. In West 72d street he erected
twenty-eight houses and six in East 72d street, bringing on sale
about $2,500,000. In West 89th street, between Central Park West
and Columbus avenue, Mr. Crawford built nineteen houses, besides
many other magnificent residences in various localities on the East
and West sides of the city. His success attested his great skill as a
builder of high class houses and demonstrated his perspicuity and
excellent judgment in the selection of localities free from objection-
able elements and well adapted for dwellings of a superior character.
George C* Edgar's Sons & Co*
The founder of the firm of George C. Edgar's Sons & Co. was
Mr. George C. Edgar, a builder whose reputation for high-grade
work has since been well maintained by his sons, George and Thos.
C. Edgar, and since March, 1894, Theodore and William Kilian.
In 1889 tne firm assumed its present name, and it has, to
a great extent been instrumental in building up the West Side
from 69th street to 95th street. It is a low estimate to state that the
firm has built one hundred and seventy-five private houses of a sub-
stantial type. The best example of their work is No. 228 West
72d street, a house which has few peers, and none better in that sec-
tion of the city. Their greatest work, which will be completed Oc-
tober 1, 1898, is an immense apartment house in Central Park West
and 88th street, costing $550,000 for the buildings alone.
James A* Frame & Son*
Among the builders wbo have operated on their own account, by
which we mean the construction of buildings for sale, the firm of
James A. Frame & Son, of No. 107 East 70th street, has always been
regarded as one of the most substantial and of the best type. Mr.
James A. Frame has long been connected with the building trade in
New York and during 'his thirty years' connection he has erected
many of the costly residences and apartments located in upper resi-
dential section of the west side. His son, William H. Frame, who
became associated with his father eight years ago, is also a practical
builder with a wide experience. The structures erected by the firm
of James A. Frame & Son have exemplified in them the best of work-
manship and the ready sales which greeted the firm testified to the
appreciation of this fact by the purchasers. The well-known Prince-
ton and Palisade apartment houses on 56th and 57th streets respect-
ively, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, were both built by this
firm. For the past ten years the firm built on the west side chiefly,
between Central Park West and Columbus avenue. In 69th street,
between the avenues named, five private houses were erected, selling
for $52,000 each ; in 85th and 87th streets, five houses sold for $37,-
500; in 71st street, between Boulevard and West End avenue, ten
houses were erected, selling for $30,000.
224 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Thomas Graham*
Mr. Thomas Graham, of No. 1238 Madison avenue, is an architect
and builder who has 'been very prominently identified with the
growth and development of the upper portion of the Island of Man-
hattan. To him and other large merchant builders belongs in no
slight measure the credit of having developed the section referred
to and afforded t)he waiting capital of this and other cities a profit-
able investment in New York improved realty. Mr. Graham indi-
vidually and in connection with a company known as the C. Gra-
ham & Sons has been largely instrumental in the building of now
well-known streets and in the construction of some of the largest
hotels and residences in all parts of the city. The Holland House,
corner of 30th street and Fifth avenue, was built by the company,
and is one of the important contracts completed by them.
He began tne stuav of arhitecture in the office of Jardine &
Thompson shortly before the civil war. On its breaking out his
patriotism called him to the front, and, having served his country
faithfully through the entire war he came back to New York and
began again his study, this time at the bench in his father's car-
pentry shop. In the flush times succeeding the war, when through-
out the North handsome structures were being erected, the firm of
Gra'ham & Sons became probably the greatest stairbuilding concern
in the New World. The designs were draughted by Mr. Thos. Gra-
ham and their execution was superintended by him. When the
handsome factory on 43d street, east of Third avenue, still owned
and operated by The C. Graham & Sons Company, was to be
built, it was Mr. Thos. Graham who drew the plans and superin-
tended its erection.
At this time the building movement in New York was becoming
of great proportions, and Mr. Graham decided to enter the field.
He built in conjunction with his father and brother a number of
high class residences in 78th, 79th and 80th streets, adjacent to Fifth
and Madison avenues, in the locality generally known as Lenox
Hill. The Graham Hotel, designed by Mr. Graham, located on the
corner of 89th street and Madison avenue, was built, involving an
expense of $300,000. In 1882 he designed the addition to the Madi-
son Avenue Hotel on the corner of 58th street and Madison avenue,
which cost in the neighborhood of $200,000. In the Lenox Hill dis-
trict the residences built and designed by Mr. Graham were of the
best and most expensive type, one of which subsequently sold for
$200,000 and another, since purchased by ex-Mayor Grace, brought
$150,000. Another of Mr. Graham's compositions is No. 23 West
57th street, a residence sold for $225,000.
Mr. Graham has been particularly fortunate in his compositions of
apartment houses and flats. Many of his designs have been
used in structures of prominent merchant builders, who also have
sought his advice. The large apartment house recently purchased
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 225
by President of the Council, R. Guggenheimer, northwest corner
of 1 nth street and Seventh avenue, was planned by him; also six
private dwellings in East S26. street, near Madison avenue, now in
course of erection, and a fine residence for Dr. Geo. H. Butler, No.
964 Fifth avenue.
W. W. & T- M- Hail-
Probably the best known of New York's builders who are opera-
tors in what is termed speculative building is the firm of W. W. & T.
M. Hall, of 503 Fifth avenue. This firm has built largely in the most
desired locations, have never given a promise to pay on the ter-
mination of any contract and undoubtedly stand alone to-day in the
position of purveyor of the best class of private houses built purely
on a speculative basis. Much of this firm's success is due to the fact
that they employ none but the best architects, who specify the most
modern conveniences, and, lastly, none but the best material and
workmanship are permitted. A few of the lately constructed
houses are as follows: eleven dwellings in West 7Qth street, nine in
West 87th, nineteen in West 69th ; also, between Madison and Fifth
avenues ; two in 73d street, six in 76th street, iiind two in 80th street.
S. Haberman*
Mr. S. Haberman, of No. 1919 Seventh avenue, is one of the large
builders who have made Harlem the scene of speculative building for
some years past. Mr. Haberman 'has erected a substantial class of
buildings, which are to a great extent flats. He is a builder of
eighteen years' experience, and during that time he has built largely
from 49th street northward, keeping pace with the movement up-
town. Ten years ago he built six double flats on the corner of
Eleventh avenue and 48th street; in 121st street, between St. Nicho-
las and Seventh avenues, nine private 'houses and one double apart-
ment house adjoining; between Lenox and Seventh avenues in 116th
street, seven houses, which sold for $315,000; in Manhattan avenue
and 1 1 6th street, Mr. Haberman built fourteen houses, involving an
expenditure of $450,000; the Manning, a modern seven-story apart-
ment house and three five-story flat houses as an annex, the whole
selling for $400,000.
A* B. Kight,
Among the architects who- have made the upper portion of the
West Side of Manhattan Island their particular field of architecture,
none perhaps have accomplished so much for the general appear-
ance of that district than the subject of our sketch, Mr. A. B. Kight,
of No. 102 West 81st street. Mr. Kight has designed largely on
the extreme west of the island, generally west of West End avenue.
15
226
A HISTORY OF VEAL ESTATE,
C. P. H. Gilbert, Architect.
RESIDENCE GEORGE H. MACY, ESQ.
74th Street & Riverside Drive.
Harvey Murdock, Builder.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 227
His compositions are remarkably suitable and fortunate in design,
particularly so when one considers the conditions surrounding that
beautiful residential section. Mr. Kight has ample evidence of this
fact proved by the ready sales of the structures completed by him,
and his rapidly growing clientele, for whom he designs and builds
on contract. Mr. Kight entered the sphere of New York architec-
ture in 1891. He at once became familiar with the conditions and
demands generally met with in the construction of residences in the
section referred to, and studied the styles of architecture best adapted
for those conditions. Mr. Kight has used the Italian Renaissance,
Colonial and Modern French styles to the best advantage in his
houses, the most of which are of the American basement type. As
examples of some of his more important private residences, we sub-
mit No. 305 West 93d street; Nos. 90, 91 Riverside Drive; Nos. 315,
316, 317 Riverside Drive; Nos. 304, 306 West 76th street; No. 320
West I02d street; No. 671 West End avenue; No. 333 West 76th
street. As will be seen from the examples given, Mr. Kight has suc-
ceeded in solving each problem in a masterly manner.
D* D* Lawson*
Among those who have contributed in no small way to the erec-
tion of those handsome apartment houses and flats in the central por-
tion of the city is the well-known carpenter builder, Mr. D. D. Law-
son, whose office is now located at No. 580 West 146th street. Mr.
Lawson operated to a great extent on the West Side, and was uni-
formly successful in selling the many buildings which he erected.
He has been enabled to successfully sell on account of the thorough
workmanship displayed in all departments of the structures ; it may
be added that Mr. Lawson made perfection his goal and to that end
he gave much of his time. In West 26th, 25th and 22d streets, Mr.
Lawson erected nine houses, and on the West side also, as far up as
103d street, there are scores of residential buildings erected by
him.
Harvey Murdock*
Mr. Harvey Murdock is a representative New York contractor,
whose operations in the building line extend over Manhattan
Island and to a great extent in the residential districts of Brooklyn.
Mr. Murdock is a legitimate builder, building on contract only, and
the class of structures erected by him are uniformly of a high stand-
ard, both as regards the workmanship displayed and the materials
used. He has made a specialty to a great degree of private houses
which he builds for his customers and clients. Of these he has
erected over one hundred and eighty, situated along New York's best
residential localities, and in the most desirable sites in Brooklyn.
228 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
In the latter place, Mr. Murdock has built many of the palatial resi-
dences. His work testifies to the fact that he is a thorough builder,
and the constant supervision which he exercises over all his build-
ings is plainly apparent, when after the lapse of a few years there
are none of those annoying discoveries of patched work or con-
cealed imperfections — the bugbear of speculative building. Among
the most important of the buildings constructed by Mr. Mur-
dock in New York, are the residences of Thomas A. Mclntyre,
E. C. Homans and the late Col. W. H. Harris, on West 75th street,
and designed by R. H. Robertson, architect. Also houses for Messrs.
I. D. Fletcher, 5th avenue and 79th street; Geo. H. Macy, River-
side Drive and 74th street; Henry H. Vail, Riverside Drive and 75th
street, and L. F. Dommerich, West 75th street, designed by C. P.
H. Gilbert, architect, and residences of Jas. O. Hoyt and F. J. Stim-
son, on West 75th street, and Paul D. Cravath, on 39th street, near
Park avenue, designed by Messrs. Babb, Cook & Willard.
New York Realty Savings Company*
The New York Realty Savings Company is an incorporated or-
ganization, founded for the purpose of operating in high class New
York realty. Their operations since the inception of the company
in 1896 have consisted in negotiating loans for improvement pur-
poses and in constructing buildings as a basis of profitable invest-
ment. In both respects their operations have been extensive ; they
have made many profitable investments on bond and mortgage, and
their building projections have been attended with unusual success.
The officers of the company are men thoroughly familiar with New
York real estate. As judges of the suitability for development of a
certain piece of realty, they have no superiors; their operations
stand as actual proofs of their capabilities in that particular branch
of expert realty.
One of the greatest successes the New York Realty Savings Com-
pany has yet met with is the erection of the Royalton Hotel. It is
a bachelor apartment house and is unquestionably the only affair of
its class in the world. In size and equipment the Royalton far
outstrips anything that has yet been contemplated in bachelor apart-
ments. It is unique in this respect, in that it represents the acme of
perfection in a building, as there is no modern convenience but what
has been drawn upon to make the Royalton a most perfect hotel.
The operation involved an expenditure of an immense amount of
capital, but its success was established before the work was half
completed. Applications from literary, legal and other professional
men, desirous of occupying apartments which afforded so much con-
venience, filled more than two-thirds of the space before the struc-
ture had been completed by the contractor. As a speculative pro-
jection, the Royalton was a financial success from the outset.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
229
The architects of the building are Messrs. Rossiter & Wright.
It is constructed of stone, brick and architectural terra cotta, with
a skeleton steel frame work. The building is the most modern fire-
proof structure in the city, every resource having been drawn upon
to attain that end. It is a twelve-story building, extending from
Nos. 47 and 49 West 43d street to Nos. 44 and 46 West 44th street.
The site chosen was a most fortunate one, a result of the business
foresight of the company. It is conveniently located near the
Astor-Tilden-Lenox Library, Bar Association of New York and
the Grand Central Depot. It is the social as well as the club centre
of the city.
The management were given carte blanche in matters of equip-
ment. The result has been that the Royalton is the most perfect
example of an up-to-date building in America or Europe. Every
want of the tenants has been considered. Telephones have been
placed in every room, giving a house and general connection. The
electrical devices are the most recent, the energy being obtained
from an electric plant in the building. A novel feature which has
proved most successful is that of a circulating system of refrigera-
tion, by which the temperature of the compartments of the refriger-
ators is regulated from twenty-five to thirty-six degrees,
Fahrenheit. The plumbing is in keeping with the other improve-
ments; it is exposed and completed according to best sanitary
principles.
The officers of the company are Frederick Billings, president;
F. A. Isham, vice-president; E. G. Bailey, treasurer; G. S. Bixby,
secretary; B. S. Harmon, counsel; J. F. Merriam, general manager.
Mr. Billings is a son of the late Frederick Billings, formerly presi-
dent of the Northern Pacific Railroad, a man well known in the
financial matters of the nation. No small measure of the success of
the New York Realty Savings Company is due to the financial stand-
ing, conservatism and business sagacity of its president, Mr. Bil-
lings. To Mr. Merriam's long and practical experience in expert
realty matters, combined with his legal training, the success of the
company has also depended. The offices of the company are
located at No. 100 Broadway.
John Pettit Realty Company*
The John Pettit Realty Company, of No. 30 East Twenty-third
street, was organized by John Pettit, one of New York's most prom-
inent real estate and building men. Its authorized capital is $2,000,-
000, and its charter from the State of New Jersey is perpetual. The
company was organized for the purchase, improvement and opera-
tion of none but high class industrial real estate in the Borough of
Manhattan. The officers of the company are John Pettit, President
and Treasurer; J. W. Spencer, First Vice President; Herman De
Selding, Manager ; Alex C. Quarrier, Secretary.
230 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The founder of the company, Mr. Pettit, is a New York realty
dealer of wide and thorough experience. He has been identified
for the past twenty-five years with the 'building and improvement
of the business district of this city. During that time he has erected
over one hundred and fify of the best class of commercial buildings;
as a real estate man he has sold, among his more prominent transac-
tions, such buildings as the Electrical Exchange, Washington
street and Liberty street; Hanover Square Building; Nassau Cham-
bers to Levi P. Morton ; Downing Building, Fulton street, to West-
ern investors. He organized the present company because of the
fact that first class property in New York has become so valuable
that it requires the massing of capital and the efficiency of depart-
ment organization. The financial status of the company may be
judged when it is learned that at present it owns two of the best rent
producing properties of their class or value in the city; they are the
Bennett Building on Nassau and Fulton streets, and the Beekman
Building on Pearl and Beekman streets. The Bennett Building
was sold to the John Pettit Realty Company for $1,600,000, and
$256,000 was paid for the Beekman Building. These two properties •
have been made the basis of the John Pettit Realty Company's
stocks. The subscriptions have been very large and since the or-
ganization and launching of the company not a single adverse
criticism has been raised. The name of Pettit is in itself a suffi-
cient guarantee of bona fide transactions so long has it been con-
nected with honorable and upright dealing.
As has been stated the intention of the company is the purchase
and improvement of high grade New York real estate on a co-opera-
tive plan, thus affording stockholders the same privileges, no matter
what their wealth may be, as those which the capitalist receives by
reason of his wealth.
Petty, Soulard & Walker Realty Company*
The growth of the section of the city lying across the Harlem
River during the last few years has been remarkable. With the
appointment of the Commission of Street Improvements of the
Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards, a new life began for this
locality, for the laying out of streets and the building of sewers gave
a wonderful stimulus to building.
Perhaps the largest operator in this locality has been the Petty,
Soulard & Walker Realty Co. This company was founded in 1895
as the firm of Petty, Soulard & Walker, with an office at 73 Cedar
street. In May, 1896, they removed to 156 and 158 Broadway and
69 Liberty street, and in July of the same year they organized the
Petty, Soulard & Walker Realty Co., with a capital of $50,000.
The bulk of their large real estate business has been confined to
the Twenty-third Ward, in close proximity to the elevated railroad
stations. During the past few years they have bought hundreds of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 231
lots in this neighborhood and sold them to builders. Through their
instrumentality a great number of four and five-story flat houses
have been erected on these lots. The company's treatment of build-
ers has been such as to enable them to carry through their building
operations and make the company popular among that class of
buyers.
William H* Picken.
The promptness which characterized the sale of the private houses
erected by William H. Picken, of No. 61 West 113th street, leads
one to believe that the properties for sale were of superior merit.
Time has proved the truth of the supposition, and from various
sources we learn that Mr. Picken has made the attainment of superior
merit in the construction of his houses a goal which he was success-
ful in reaching. In 1892 he built six three-story and basement
houses on 113th street, near Lenox avenue, which sold at $16,-
000 each. In 112th street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues,
he built fourteen three-story and basement houses which sold at $18,-
000 each. He has completed eight three-story and 'basement houses
in 98th street, near Riverside Drive, three of which have been sold
for $25,000. Mr. Picken was a member and founder of the well-
known real estate firm of Picken & Lilly.
Francis J* Schnugg*
The comparatively recent development and prosperous growTth of
the upper sections of the city has, as every New Yorker knows,
been little short of marvellous. For two or three decades past,
streets lined with houses sprang up under the magic touch of our
speculative builders, and when sold or transferred the builders sought
other fields, and next year the occurrence was repeated. The Upper
East Side, and then the West Side were changed from the primitive
appearance of a settlement in a oartially deserted lumber village to
districts with beautiful streets lined with costly private residences,
spacious apartment houses and well designed flats and tenements.
There can be no question but that this marvellous change for the
better was in a great measure — many have said wholly so — due to
the enterprising builder or investor who, taking advantage
of the rapid growth in the population, built their struc-
tures, hoping to find a fortunate market. There have
been many large private investors who have played a
prominent part in the development of the middle and
upper sections of Manhattan Island. The subject of our sketch, Mr.
Francis J. Schnugg, is unquestionably one of the best known pro-
jectors in New York by reason of his prominent connection with the
improvement and consequent building in both the East and West
2y* A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Sides of the city. He has extended his operations from above
14th street to the Harlem River. His building- operations have in-
cluded the erection of numerous private dwelling's, handsome apart-
ment houses, theatres, store and loft buildings, and mercantile build-
ings and factories.
Mr. Schnugg is yet a young man. He studied the real estate
movements while a bank clerk, and became familiar with the condi-
tions which usually determine the values of realty in different sec-
tions of the city. He left the banking business and entered the build-
ing arena. Possessed of a sound judgment and giving* the whole of
his untiring energy to his work, his operations at once met with suc-
cess. His failures and drawbacks afterwards redounded to his credit
for he soon learned to profit by them and those of others. Mr.
Schnugg is now looked upon as one of the largest and most success-
ful building operators.
Special attention is called to the Avadon, a handsome apartment
house on the southwest corner of 1 1 ith street and Seventh avenue.
The Pleasure Palace, a theatre on the south. side of 58th street, near
Third avenue, was also built and leased (by Mr. Schnugg. Other
important buildings Which Mr. Schnugg has built, and in a large ma-
jority of cases sold, are the apartment house at 117th street and Lenox
avenue; northeast corner 115th street and St. Nicholas avenue, and
eighteen private houses on 95th street, between Lexington and Park
avenues.
S, W. B. Smith.
In the present record of the development of upper New York,
especially on the West Side, the name of Mr. S. W. B. Smith, of No.
28 West 120th street, evidently takes a prominent place. Mr. Smith,
during his career as a merchant builder has erected flats, apartment
houses, and private residences that beautify many of the prominent
business streets and residential districts above Central Park. He has
endeavored to place on the market structures which on completion
would reflect favor on him as a builder by reason of the workman-
ship displayed. In this Mr. Smith, it is generally agreed, has suc-
ceeded, and the high standard maintained in all his structures has
brought about many ready sales.
P» M* Stewart and Hf Ives Smith*
The firm of P. M. Stewart and H. Ives Smith, of No. 459 Boule-
vard, has been in existence ten years. It is a contracting and build-
ing firm, whose operations have been mainly confined to the erec-
tion of private houses. Both members are men of practical ex-
perience, and the class of houses they have erected have sold for
sums ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. They have built over 100
houses in the locality between West End avenue and Riverside
Drive, from 75th to 107th street. The structures are to a great ex-
tent American basement houses.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
233
Leopold R» Trcu*
Mr. Leopold R. Treu, of No. 114 West 34th street, is one of our
general contractors who builds for himself and, if the market is fa-
vorable, disposes of the structure which he has erected. H(e has been
a structural iron contractor and is perfectly familiar with that branch
of the building trade. Seven years ago, however, he entered the
general contracting field and has since superintended the erection of
his buildings in every department. He has built No. 48 University
place and No. 50 Bleecker street, both seven-story store and loft
buildings. Other buildings which he has constructed are Nos. 141
and 145 Wooster street, an eight-story building, and No. 60 Uni-
versity place, an eight-story store and loft building; also No. 7
Great Jones street, an eight-story fire-proof building.
Clarence True*
Mr. Clarence True is probably the best known New York archi-
tect designing almost entirely residential structures. He began the
study of architecture seventeen years ago with R. M. Upjohn, of No.
111 Broadway. Nine years ago, he opened an office for himself, and
his work as exemplified by his houses is a credit both to himself and
the city. It was Mr. True who originated the American basement
house which style he has used in most cases. He has designed about
four hundred houses for the West Side. Mr. True, in the beginning
of his career, practised first in the Gothic style of architecture, but
for the past few years he has taken to the Elizabethan Renaissance,
which is more free and adapts itself readily to the conditions one
meets with in building houses in New York. Mr. True is one of the
few architects who builds himself, ensuring the carrying of his plans
to a correct issue. His address is No. 459 Boulevard.
W* Ormiston Taitt
Among the architects who have helped to make the Apartment
Houses of New York the best in the world, the name of W. Ormiston
Tait, of No. 1236 Madison avenue, at once comes into prominence.
Mr. Tait is an Englishman by birth and is a graduate of the firm of
Power & Wheeler, well-known London architects. He came to
New York in 1883, and afterwards went into the. office of Hubert,
Pirsson & Co., where he became proficient in New York architec-
ture. In 1890 he opened a Brooklyn ofrice, but soon afterwards
came to New York, where he has been uniformly successful. One
of his best works is the Arbutus, an apartment house, corner of 91st
street and West End avenue.
P, "Wagner.
Among the merchant builders contributing to the rapid develop-
ment of the upper residential sections of New York, Mr. P. Wag-
234 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ner, of No. 266 Columbus avenue, takes rank among the foremost.
Mr. Wagner has built a good and substantial class of structures, sit-
uated mainly in the upper West Side of the city. He recognized
the fact that while many of the dwellings placed on the market
were of an inferior type and were a menace to the speculative ele-
ment generally, yet a high-class apartment house or private
dwelling was always in demand. To the erection of the latter class
of buildings Mr. Wagner devoted his energies, and the ready sales
of his structures testify to trie manner in which they were completed.
Rofcert Wallace*
Mr. Robert Wallace is one of the prominent builders who have
contributed to the improvement of the upper West Side. Mr. Wal-
lace built almost entirely private .housfes of a substantial class situ-
ated in desirable residential localities. His most important work has
been the handsome block of flats between 87th and 88th streets on
Amsterdam avenue. In all, he has built in private houses, somewhat
over fifty. For these he has had ready sales, the purchasers testify-
ing in a manner to the class of work completed. Some of his im-
portant rows of houses constructed are eleven houses in 88th street,
between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, eight houses in 80th
street, between the same avenues ; five houses in 75th street, between
same avenues ; six houses in 78th street, between West End avenue
and Riverside Drive; eigJht houses in 68th street, between Eighth
avenue and Columbus avenue. Mr. Wallace's office is at No. 320
West 70th street.
Weil & Meyer*
The firm of Weil & Meyer, with offices at No. 35 Nassau street,
are among the largest operators in the building line in the city.
For the past twenty years they have built, as operating builders,
not only in the apartment house districts of the East Side but have
recently entered the mercantile section of the city. The firm was
organized in 1872, but it was not until 1876 that the buying of
suitable sites for tenements and flats and the erection of the build-
ings thereon was engaged in. In the initial period of their copartner-
ship they became known to New York's building circles by their judi-
cial loans to builders, and afterwards, when they began to build on
their own account, the class of structures they completed were
generally spoken of by builders as belonging to the best class.
The first field in which they built was on 1st and 2d avenues,
above 59th street, and on the adjoining side streets. It may be
mentioned that Weil & Meyer never entered the West Side to any
great extent, but found their greatest success in the downtown dis-
tricts of the East Side. Here in the locality of Monroe, Cherry and
Lewis streets, they entered as pioneers in that dilapitated district
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 235
some years ago, destroyed the rookeries that existed there and
erected a substantial class of tenements and flats. In Monroe and
Cherry streets the firm built twenty houses in each street, and in
Lewis street eighteen houses were erected. In the Fourth, Tenth,
Eleventh, Seventh and Twelfth Wards, Weil & Meyer have erected
in the neighborhood of fifty tenements a year. It will be readily
seen, therefore, that they have erected several hundred of that class
of buildings in different parts of the city. These buildings, with
the cost of ground included, have involved an expenditure of from
$25,000 to $35,000. As example of their ventures on the West Side
we submit the block of houses on Tenth avenue, between 133d
street and 134th street, and another block on Eighth avenue, be-
tween 15th and 1 6th streets.
Weil & Meyer of late have operated to a great extent in the
commercial district of the city, between Canal and 14th streets.
The firm has completed such buildings as Nos. 585 and 587 Broad-
way, a twelve-story building, 52 by 200, which sold for $925,000;
another seven-story structure on the northeast corner of Spring
and Wooster streets, worth $250,000. They also erected the seven-
story store and loft building in No. 20 Bond street; No. 47 Great
Jones street, No. 30 Great Jones street, No. 50 Bond street, all of
which brought on sale over $100,000.
It will be seen that Weil & Meyer have contributed in no slight
manner to the development of New York. Both members of the
firm are conscientious and shrewd business men, studying care-
fully the details of all their projects, which usually have met with
marked success.
236 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
TITLES TO REAL ESTATE IN THE CITY
OF NEW YORK.
NEW YORK was first settled by the Dutch, and not by the English,
and under the names of Nieuw Nederland, Nieuw Amsterdam,
Fort Oranje, was governed by the Roman Civil Law, which was
the law of Holland and The Netherlands. In 1623 the States Gen-
eral of Holland granted all the Island of Manhattan to the Dutch
West India Company, and in 1626 that company bought up the
title of the Indians, and paid the tribe of the Manhattoes sixty
guilders, about twenty-four dollars, for the whole island. This was
not such an unfair price as it seems. The island was a wilderness,
in the midst of a wilderness, covered with forest, inhabited by
bears, panthers and other wild animals (including savages). It has
turned out to be a good real estate speculation. But if you take
$24 and lend it at interest at six per cent, per annum, in the year
1626, remembering that money doubles at compound interest at
six per cent, every eleven years, we find that that $24 would now,
in 1898, after having doubled about twenty-five times, amount to
over $800,000,000, which would be a pretty high valuation of all
the lots on this island if they were all vacant, no buildings on them ;
probably more than they would be appraised at, even after the State
Board of Assessors had "equalized" it by taking off from the rest
of the State, and adding on to New York City all that they dared.
The Dutch West India Company had the powers of a govern-
ment, its charter gave it authority to enact laws, establish courts,
and deal in land as well ; and most of the original titles to land in
this city came from that company, generally in the form of a "pat-
ent'" from the governor of the colony ; elsewhere in the State there
were a number of grants or patents of large tracts, since called
manors, to patroons, who undertook to settle them. The first
Dutch speculator in land in New Amsterdam was Isaac de Forest ;
he was a Dutchman of Huguenot descent; his ancestors fled from
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 237
France, at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, to Holland
which was at that time, as it has ever been, the land of the free and
the home of the brave: in the middle of the sixteenth century Hol-
land began to resist religious oppression, and interference with lib-
erty of conscience, and to that cradle of liberty fled all the op-
pressed, Huguenots from France, Jews from Portugal, Puritans
from England. After The Netherlands had whipped Spain, William
the Silent, in his instructions to the Dutch officials enjoined upon
them to "see that the word of God is preached, without, however,
suffering any hindrance to the Roman Church in the exercise of its
religion," and forbade the persecution of the Roman Catholics
whose ecclesiastical tyranny they had been fighting.
The Mayflower Pilgrims got to the City of Leyden, Holland, in
1609, and stayed there eleven years, learning religious toleration,
the value of free schools, the Dutch method of recording titles, and
many other points of value. I say they learned "religious tolera-
tion," because the "Pilgrims" of Plymouth Rock were not the big-
oted "Puritans" of Massachusetts Bay and Boston: the former
burned no Quakers, hung no witches, persecuted none who dif-
fered from them in theology, but they sheltered Roger Williams
as the Dutch of Nieuw Amsterdam received Mistress Annie Hutch-
inson.
About the time that the Pilgrims left Leyden, that "Goodlie and
pleasaunt citie which had been their resting place near twelve years"
as William Bradford called it, Jesse de Forest, in 1621, applied to
the English ambassador at the Hague, Sir Dudley Carleton, in the
name of fifty-six families at Leyden who wished to go to Virginia,
and asked permission and assistance of the King of England. His
petition in full, with the names of the subscribers, is given in Dr.
Baird's History of the Huguenots in America: permission was
granted but assistance refused; so in 1622 de Forest sent a similar
petition to the States General of the United Provinces of The Neth-
erlands, by whom permission was granted, and his colony of thirty
families sailed from Holland in the ship "Nieuw Nederland," in
March, 1623; they reached the mouth of the Hudson in May, and
hoisted the Dutch flag on the Island of Manhattan ; part of the col-
238 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
onists settled here, and the rest went on to where Albany now stands,
and built Fort Orange. The names of all of these families are not
known, but Jesse de Forest was one of them.
When the Holland Society of New York visited Holland in 1888,
we were entertained, among other places, at Leyden, where there
was arranged for us a remarkable historical collection of manu-
scripts, maps, printed books, pictures, and among them the manu-
script "Register of State Affairs, Vol. A. folio 123, August, 1622,"
in which was written the authorization given to Jesse de Forest for
enrolling Walloon colonists; this was dated August 27, 1622.
We were also shown the "Register of Common Affairs, Vol. L.,
folio 52," dated January 4, 1624, wherein was granted permission to
Gerard de Forest to take the dyer's place of his brother Jesse, "gone
lately to West Indies," as America was called at that time.
The court minutes of the city of Nieuw Amsterdam do not be-
gin until February 6, 1653, thirty years after Jesse got here, and by
that time he must have been an old man ; we have no record of
his death, nor of any of his dealings; but according to the list of
baptisms in the old Dutch Church, the first son of Isaac de Forest,
who was named Jesse, was baptized here November 9, 1642; ftom
this it is probable that Isaac was the son of Jesse, naming his first
son after his own father in accordance with Dutch custom. (By the
way, Isaac had eleven sons and three daughters before he got
through. Another Dutch custom). Isaac de . Forest had many
transactions between 1653 and T657, his name appearing in the rec-
ords more than one hundred times. The first time he appears as
assessed for 100 florins for the defense of the city, and the next time
he obtained a judgment against Adrian Keyser for a balance of 230
florins due him for a house and lot. Another time, in 1655, ne com-
plained that next to his house and cellar (in the present Stone street,
about 60 feet from Whitehall) there was a waste and unoccupied
lot, from which his cellar was filled with water, greatly to his dam-
age, and requested that Daniel Litschoe, the owner of the said lot,
be ordered to build on it according to the law under which the lots
had been sold, or else to have the lot appraised, in which case, he, de
Forest, would build on it ; and the court ordered Mr. Litschoe to
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 239
build on his lot, and to keep the petitioner, de Forest, harmless. He
was one of the petitioners to have Stone street paved, in 1655, and
it was the first street paved in this city. In 1656 he bought a lot
on the north side of Pearl street, about 80 feet north of Whitehall,
then known as the "Old Church Lot," where a wooden church had
been built as early as 1633, and he built a house on it which was de-
clared to be "an ornament to the city," in consequence of which he
obtained in 1664 a grant of the lane adjoining on which to build a
woodshed, etc.
The first record of the sale of city lots, according to Mrs. Lamb's
history of the City of New York was in 1642, from Abraham van
Steenwyck to my ancestor Antony Jansen van Fez, a lot on Bridge
street (which then had no name), being thirty feet front by one hun-
dred and ten deep, for the consideration of fourteen florins, $9.60!
Antony van Fez was also called Antony van Salee, because he had
lived in both places in Algiers, having been one of those Dutch
sailors called "Beggars of the Sea," who fought Spain. He finally
settled in Nieuw Amsterdam, and his daughter Eva married, in
1652, my direct ancestor, Ferdinandus van Sicklen. In 1639 Gov-
ernor Kieft granted to him, van Salee, a tract adjoining Gravesend,
ever since known as the "Turk's Plantation" ; it is now Benson-
hurst. Mr. Robert Bayles, now, in 1898, President of the Market
and Fulton National Bank of New York, has a brazier which has
come to him through the Gulick family and which was brought
from Algiers by our ancestor, the Dutch sailor, Antony Jansen van
Salee, "the Turk."
The first ordinance of New Amsterdam relating to real estate,
that I have been able to find, was passed February 7, 1650, although
a city surveyor to lay out lots properly, Andries Hudde, had been
appointed in 1642, at a salary of 200 florins, and some small fees.
This ordinance of 1650 declared all contracts and conveyances of
real estate void and of no value which should be passed and signed
after that date, Feb. 7, 1650, without the approval and confirmation
of the Director General (Peter Stuyvesant) and his Council.
But in 1664 an English fleet appeared in New York harbor, the
unprepared Dutchmen had to give up their city and province, and
240 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the Dutch Roman Civil Law gave place to the English Common
Law. One chief distinction between these two schools of law, in
relation to real estate, is the method of calculating equal degrees of
consanguinity ; for instance, under the Roman law brothers and sis-
ters are relatives of the second degree, while under the common law
they are of the first degree. This is because the civil law begins with
the intestate and ascends from him to a common ancestor, and then
descends from that ancestor to the next heir, counting a degree for
each person, each step, up, and for each person or step down; so
that an intestate's father is in the first degree, and then from the
common ancestor, the father, to his brother, another step, makes the
brother in the second degree; thus his grandfather is also in the
second degree; while his nephew is in the third degree, just the
same as his grandfather's brother would be ; while his own cousins
would be a step further, that is in the fourth.
But the Common Law rule is to start with the common ancestor,
and not with the intestate himself; so if you start with his father,
then it is only one degree from the father to the intestate's brother,
who is thus in the first degree instead of the second, as in the Civil
law. And his uncle is only in the second degree because their com-
mon ancestor was the grandfather of the intestate, from whom the
latter is two degrees distant ; and brothers, being in the first degree,
inherit directly from each other, and don't have to go back, around,
through a common ancestor.
The old Dutch grants were mostly confirmed by new grants or
charters from the English Government, and again were reconfirmed
by the proclamation of Governor Andros in 1675, when New York
was again given up to England, this time by a treaty of peace which
stipulated that both England and Holland should give back all they
had captured in the war immediately preceding; there being then
no Atlantic cable, neither nation knew, at the time the treaty was
signed, that a Dutch fleet had appeared in New York harbor in
1674 and recaptured this city.
One of the old Dutch titles still existing is that of the Hopper-
Stryker-Mott property, around Stryker's Bay, in the vicinity of
55th street and the North River.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 241
But when the English Common Law came in, not only were the
individual titles to property undisturbed, but the Dutch method of
registering or recording titles in vogue here was let alone ; and most
wisely. This was undoubtedly a Dutch system.
Andrew Yarranton, a shrewd Englishman, published over two
hundred years ago a book with the following extensive title: "Eng-
land's Improvement by Sea and Land: To Outdo the Dutch With-
out Fighting; To Pay Debts Without Moneys; To Set at Work
the Poor of England with the Growth of Our Own Lands ; To Pre-
vent Unnecessary Law Suits with the Benefits of a Voluntary Reg-
ister; Directions Where Vast Quantities of Timber are to be had
for the Building of Ships; With the Advantage of Making the
Great Rivers of England Navigable ; Rules to Prevent Fires in
London and other Great Cities; With Directions how the several
Companies of Handicraftsmen in London may have Cheap Meat
and Drink. By Andrew Yarranton, Gent., London ; printed for the
Author, by Roger L'Estrange, 1677."
Andrew had been sent abroad by eleven private gentlemen, who
paid from their own pockets his expenses, and those of an inter-
preter, that he might study and report upon all trades, manufac-
tures and improvements which he should deem it advantageous to
introduce into England. This book was written on his return. The
following extract gives his view on the subject of "Land Title Re-
form:"
"Now, I will demonstrate to all men unbiased the truth of what
I assert, and show them the condition the gentlemen and people of
England are in this day, and also the condition the Dutch are in at
this day, in all their provinces. Let a gentleman now in England,
that hath a thousand pounds a year in land, that owes four thousand
pounds, come to a money scrivenor and desire four thousand
pounds to be lent on all his land, and produce his writings, and the
estate hath been in the family two hundred years, I know at this
day the answer will be, that by the law of England, as it is now
practiced, no man can know a title by writings, there being so many
ways to encumber land privately. And therefore, the answer com-
monly is, 'Bring us security for the covenants, and we will lend you
16
242 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the moneys.' The gentleman gets such friends as he can procure
to be bound for his covenants, whom, if they accept, then the pro-
curator and the continuator have their game to play; but if he
bring not such security as they like, he goeth without his four
thousand pounds, which is a sad and lamentable case, he having
lands worth a thousand pound a year; and now he is put to his
shifts, his creditors come upon him, and the charge of law suits
comes on, all his affairs are distracted, his sons and daughters want
money to set them up in the world. At last it is possible he
gets two thousand pounds apiece of two several persons, of one at
York, and of the other at London, and mortgages all his lands to
each man. This continues private for some years; the while the
gentleman strives what he can to be honest, and prepare moneys to
pay off one of the mortgages.
"But it commonly falls out otherwise, either through 'bad times'
or decay to tenants, great taxes, or the eldest son matching con-
trary to his father's will, or oftimes it is worse — he is so debauched
no one will match with him. Now the gentleman's miseries come
on, and what must he then do? For the persons that have the land
mortgaged will not stay, because by this time it is discovered the
land is twice mortgaged. I tell you, the lawyers' harvest is now
come on, and the estate torn to pieces, and the gentleman, his wife
and family, and, it may be, creditors, too, undone. For, seeing all
is in danger to be gone, the friends of the wife trump up a former
title to the two mortgages, and fence to get all the estate that
sheriff, bayliffs, solicitors and lawyers leave, to be to the uses in-
tended or pretended in the private settlement. But you will ask me
what the poor gentleman shall do to secure his person. I will tell
you what some have done, and many more, I know, must do — even
turn over either to the Fleet or Bench. O pity and sin that it
should be so in brave England! First, pity that a poor gentleman
cannot have moneys at such interest upon his lands as the law di-
rects, to pay his just debts, and for the good and comfort of his
family. Secondly, it is a sin that a gentleman of a thousand pounds
a year should be the occasion of ruining so many families as he
does, by putting them to such vexatious suits for their moneys
lent, and it may be, at last, lose all."
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 243
"In this posture, as you see, are many poor men in England,
which cannot borrow four thousand pounds of a thousand pounds
a year land. I pray, let us see what posture a Dutchman stands in,
that hath one hundred pounds a year, and wants four thousand
pounds/'
"Now, I am a Dutchman, and I have one hundred pounds a year
in the province of West Friezland, near Groningen, and I come to
the bank at Amsterdam, and there tender a particular of my lands,
and how tenanted; being one hundred pounds a year in West Friez-
land, and desire them to lend me four thousand pounds, and I will
mortgage my land for it. The answer will be, I will send by the
post to the Register of Groningen your particular, and at the re-
turn of the post you shall have your answer. The Register of
Groningen sends answer, it is my land and tenanted according to
the particular. There is no more words, but tell out your moneys."
"Observe, all you that read this, and tell to your children this
strange thing, that paper in Holland is equal with moneys in
England. I refuse the moneys, I tell him I do not want moneys,
I want credit, and having one son at Venice, one at Noremburg,
one at Hamburg and one at Dantzick, where banks are, I desire
four tickets of credit, each of them for a thousand pounds, with let-
ters of advice directed to each of my sons, which is immediately
done, and I mortgage my lands at three in the hundred. Reader,
I pray observe, that every acre of land in the seven provinces trades
all the world over, and it is as good as ready money; but in
England a poor gentleman cannot take up four thousand pounds
upon his land at six in the hundred interest, although he would
mortgage a thousand pounds a year for it. No, and many gentle-
men at this day, of five hundred pounds a year in land, cannot have
credit to live at a twelve-penny ordinary. If this be so, it is very
clear and evident that a man with one hundred pounds a year in
Holland, so convenienced as their titles are, and at the paying but
three in the hundred interest for the moneys lent, may sooner raise
three families, than a gentleman in England can raise one or pre-
serve the family in being, for the reasons already given."
Our New York system was evidently the child of the Holland
244 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
system of our Dutch ancestors; but it grew to such dimensions
here that it had to be reformed again, and after some study, and
after the usual opposition from the forces of self-interest, inertia
and conservatism in human nature, the Block system of recording
deeds, mortgages and other instruments was put in operation in
this city, to the considerable relief of the pockets of real estate pur-
chasers, and of borrowers on bond and mortgage. While the in-
troduction of this system was most powerfully advocated by Mr.
Dwight H. Olmstead, Judge E. B. Hinsdale, and other gentlemen
of the Bar, its practical use was developed and introduced by Mr.
George W. Van Siclen, originally for lessening the cost of titles to
borrowers from the College Point Savings Bank, which Mr. Van
Siclen founded in 1873; m order to have the work done once for
all, and to avoid repetition, Mr. Van Siclen obtained and system-
atically analyzed and arranged a ledger account of the old farm
titles, partitions, transfers and mortgages of the property in the
village of College Point, in which he was most kindly assisted by
the property owners there, Messrs Poppenhusens, Funkes, Schles-
inger, Stratton and others, so that the collection of abstracts of title
of the College Point Savings Bank have annually received the
praise of the State Banking Department. The development of this
idea in Mr. Van Siclen's mind led to his drafting and obtaining in
1882 the charter of the present Title Guarantee and Trust Co., under
the name of the German-American Loan and Trust Co., with a
capital of $500,000, with which that company began business in
1883; a number of Philadelphia conveyancers bought up large in-
terests in the new company, and when Mr. Van Siclen made a
motion to invite the New York Bar to take part in it, he was out-
voted, and from growing divergence of views, he withdrew. There
have since been founded by others the Lawyers' Title Insurance
Co., now one of the largest institutions in the country, and
the German-American Title Insurance Co. The original cor-
poration has grown to have a capital of $2,500,000, with a surplus
of $2,000,000, and in the year 1897, it loaned on bond and mortgage
in New York and Brooklyn, and sold to investors over $25,000,000
of mortgages, with guaranteed titles. Its stock sells on 'change at
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 245
288 ; and it is a child of the intellect of which to be proud. Still,
real estate is not used as active capital, in this city to the extent that
it might be ; it is perfectly feasible to deliver a certificate of guaran-
teed title to either a house and lot, or to a bond or mortgage, in a
form similar to a certificate of capital stock of a corporation; and
when men of business and courage, not speculators, come to take
it up, that will be the next step in the history of real estate titles.
There are many famous lawyers, firms and individuals, whose
opinions on questions of title are deservedly sought and paid for,
among them Martin & Smith, Charles Coudert, William G.
Choate, John Webber, Theo. F. Jackson, Myer S. Isaacs, Benjamin
F. Lee, J. Evarts Tracy, David B. Ogden, Herbert B. Turner, John
T. Lockman, John Duer, Henry E. Howland, J. Lawrence Marcel-
Jus, E. W. Coggeshall, Fred, de Peyster Foster, E. Ellery Anderson,
William Allen Butler, James M. Varnum, Joseph H. Gray, B. Aymar
Sands, William P. Dixon, Truman H. Baldwin, Carter & Ledyard,
Strong & Cadwallader ; Peabody, Baker & Peabody ; George J. Kil-
gen; William C. Orr; Hoadley, Lauterbach & Johnson; Vander-
poel, Cuming & Godwin, and a score or two more, who have ex-
amined the titles to real estate in this city, either for the purchasers,
or for those who lent money upon bond and mortgage, to a total of
thousands of millions of dollars, and who have never lost a dollar
of their clients' money, so careful and accurate have been their in-
vestigations, and so correct their judgment.
There have also arisen of late years corporations which guarantee
the payment of a bond and mortgage, principal and interest, called
mortgage guarantee companies, where the title is insured by a
title company, and payment by the mortgage company. These give
almost absolute security, of course at a low rate of interest, to those
who buy their mortgages and debentures ; but they are only moder-
ately successful, so far, because their managers have failed to grasp
the condition which would insure them full success.
In addition, many people of small means have lately invested in
building and loan associations ; it remains to be seen if these will
prove more successful in their wind-up than those which were popu-
lar in New York and Brooklyn, fifty years ago, and in Philadelphia
246 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
thirty years ago, which generally, at maturity of their final series,
found the remaining shareholders obliged to take, instead of money,
pieces of real estate, which they themselves could not use, and with
which the market was overloaded.
The time will yet come when the real estate of the City of New
York will be made active capital in business. But the object of this
article is history, not prophecy.
GEORGE W. VAN SICLEN.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 247
LEADING REAL ESTATE LAWYERS.
Bowers and Sands*
The legal firm of Bowers and Sands, of No. 31 Nassau street, was
founded in 1813 by James W. Gerard. In 1838 Mr. Gerard asso-
ciated with him Mr. James N. Piatt, and the firm became known as
Gerard and Piatt. On November 1, 1849, James W. Gerard, Jr.,
and Thomas C. T. Buckley were admitted as partners, and the firm
assumed the name of Piatt, Gerard and Buckley. Mr. James W.
Gerard, Jr., retired in 1867, and in 1877, Thomas C. T. Buckley died,
the name then changed to Piatt and Gerard. In 1878 John M.
Bowers was admitted as partner, and the firm's name was changed
to Piatt, Gerard and Bowers. On September 20, 1881, James W.
Gerard retired, and the name was again changed to Piatt and Bow-
ers. B. Aymar Sands became a partner on November 1, 1885, and
on February 1, 1894, Frederick J. Middlebrook was admitted, the
name changing to Piatt, Bowers and Sands. Mr. James N. Piatt
retired on May 1, 1894, and the business of the firm has since been
carried on under the name of Bowers and Sands.
Evarts, Choate & Beaman*
There is probably no legal firm so well-known in America for the
past quarter of a century as that of Evarts, Choate & Beaman,
whose offices are located in No. 52 Wall street. In general corpora-
tion law the firm unquestionably is one of the most powerful in the
American bar. The cases in which this firm has been retained are
markedly those of national importance, testifying to the high legal
status of the firm. The history of the firm runs as follows : Charles
E. Butler, who was born in 18 18, when quite a young man became
associated in business with the late Jonathan Prescott Hall in the
practice of the law in the City of New York. In 1842 the firm of
Butler & Evarts, composed of Charles E. Butler and William M.
Evarts was formed, Mr. Hall being interested in the business as
counsel, although not nominally a member of the firm. The firm
of Butler & Evarts continued in practice until January 1, 1852,
when Charles F. Southmayd was admitted as a partner, and the firm
of Butler & Evarts became Butler, Evarts & Southmayd. December
31, 1858, Charles E. Butler retired from the firm, which then became
Evarts & Southmayd ; this firm continued for only five months, and
June 1, 1859, Joseph H. Choate and Jeremiah Evarts Tracy be-
came members of the firm, and the firm name became Evarts,
Southmayd & Choate. After about three years of absence, Mr.
248 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Butler re-entered the firm, the name of which remained unchanged.
January 1, 1874, Charles H. Tweed, Prescott Hall Butler, a son of
Charles E. Butler, and Allen W. Evarts, a son of. William M.
Evarts, became members of the firm, the name still remaining un-
changed. January 1, 1879, Charles C. Beaman, a son-in-law of Mr.
William M. Evarts, became a member of the firm, and December
• 31, 1882, Charles E. Butler again retired from the practice of the law,
and Charles H. Tweed withdrew, and January 1, 1883, Treadweil
Cleveland became a member of the firm. July 1, 1884, Charles F.
Southmayd retired from the practice of the law, and the firm name
was changed to Evarts, Choate & Beaman. Since July 1, 1884, the
firm has continued and still continues with the membership un-
changed. During the long period of upwards of fifty-five years since
the firm of Butler & Evarts was established, the firm has had an ex-
tensive practice in all branches of litigation and affairs relating to
real estate, and the important cases in which different members of the
firm have been engaged relating to both public and private inter-
ests are too numerous to mention. Mr. Evarts, as is well known,
was counsel in the celebrated Lemmon Slave Case, in important
cases arising during the Civil War, the trial of the impeachment of
Andrew Johnson, President of the United States ; before the Elec-
toral Commission ; the so-called Alabama Claims Tribunal ; the
defence of Henry Ward Beecher, and Mr. Choate was counsel in
the Del Valley case for breach of promise, in which the plaintiff
claimed $50,000, but recovered $50 ; the Cesnola Libel case, involv-
ing the general honesty of the Art Collection of Antiquities, the
Behring Sea case before the United States Supreme Court, the In-
come Tax cases, the Chinese case, California Irrigation cases and
numerous others.
Hoadly, Lauterbach & Johnson*
Prominent in the ranks of well-known legal firms, with a reputa-
tion not merely local but national, stands the firm of Hoadly, Lauter-
bach & Johnson. The personnel of the firm consists of George
Hoadly, Edward Lauterbach, Edgar M. Johnson, William N. Cohen,
Louis Adler, Ferdinand R. Minrath, William H. Page, Jr., and John
Vernon Bouvier, Jr. For many years this firm has maintained a clien-
tele worthy of its status in the New York legal fraternity. In title work
and the passing on mortgages and purchases the firm has been par-
ticularly active. Its experience in this department is especially val-
uable. This work has been under the management of Ferdinand R.
Minrath. The offices of the firm are located in No. 22 William
street.
Hobbs & Gifford*
In 1874 the two law firms of Beelbe, Donohue & Cooke, and Wil-
cox & Hobbs, of this city, consolidated under the name of Beebe,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 249
Wilcox and Hobbs, and continued under this name until 1883. In
that year Mr. Edward H. Hobbs withdrew from the firm practicing
alone until 1885, when he associated with himself Mr. James M.
Gifford, the name changing to Hobbs & Gifford. Two more part-
ners, Jesse Stearns and Charles B. Hobbs have since been admitted.
The firm has always been active in examination of titles and in in-
vestment of private and estate funds on first mortgage covering New
York City property. Special attention has been given to admiralty
and corporation law. The address is No. 56 Pine street.
Seth R* Johnson.
Among New York's legal men, who have been connected with
the bar, both in litigation, corporation law, the realty department
and commercial law, Mr. Seth R. Johnson, of No. 71 Wall street,
stands prominent in the list. Mr. Johnson entered the office of Mr.
Silas B. Brownell when a boy, was admitted to the bar in 1864, and
then entered his former tutor's office. A greater portion of Mr.
Johnson's business is, however, realty law. His large clientele
give him their investments with the power of properly securing
them, in which connection he examines titles and passes upon mort-
gages. Mr. Johnson is intimately acquainted with the history of
New York's legal fraternity for the past forty years, and is conver-
sant with the many changes which have occurred during that time.
He has been one of the attorneys for the "Record and Guide" for
many years.
Geor gfe J* Kilgen*
Among the local barristers prominent in banking, building and
loan associations, and the laws thereof, is Mr. George J. Kilgen, of
No. 100 Broadway. Mr. Kilgen was admitted to the bar in 1886,
and is a pleader in the Supreme Court of New York State, the State
of Washington, and United States Supreme Court. He was at first
associated with Melville Kellogg, at No. 18 Wall street, but on the
latter's death, Mr. Kilgen opened an office in No. 120 Broadway,
where he entered largely into the corporation laws. He is unques-
tionably one of the highest authorities on State laws affecting build-
ing and loan associations and banking corporations. Mr. Kilgen
makes loans for his clients and passes upon titles before investments
are made.
Edward E* McCall.
Mr. Edward E. McCall, of No. 346 Broadway, has been connected
with the legal department of New York realty for the past twelve
years. Mr. McCall is well known as one of the highest authorities
in general estate law, and the fact that he has been connected with
several large and wealthy corporations testifies to his high status as
a legal luminary in corporation law. He was admitted to the bar In
1886, and immediately formed a partnership with W. C. Arnold,
250 • A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
in which real estate law was practised exclusively. Shortly after-
wards Mr. McCall became connected with George F. Demorest in
the law department of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, but sub-
sequently resigned and began a practise himself. Mr. McCall's ser-
vices were again in demand, however, and he accepted from the
Equitable Life Insurance Company the responsible position of at-
torney for that company, supervising its large realty interests. He
remained five years in this capacity, but in 1892 he became the per-
sonal attorney of the New York Life Insurance and has entire charge
of the real estate interests in New York and contiguous states. In
this capacity Mr. McCall examines yearly the titles of millions of
dollars in realty. He has been for eight years one of the examining
counsel of the Lawyers' Title Insurance Co., and is one of the direc-
tors of the Lawyers' Engineering and Surveying Company. Mr.
McCall is also the advisory attorney for the Park Building and
Loan Association.
William C Orr-
Mr. Willliam C. Orr has been prominently connected with some of
the largest transactions in New York realty, and is one of the best
known men in metropolitan realty circles. He is not a broker in the
general acceptation of the word, neither is he a real estate agent.
Mr. Orr occupies the position of confidential adviser to clients wish-
ing to invest money on bond or mortgage, or on the other hand to
dispose of property. In America there is no such term by which one
could designate such an office ; in England such duties are performed
by the family lawyer.
Although Mr. Orr has placed many large properties on the mar-
ket, it has been through brokers that the sales have been made ; his
complete knowledge of realty values in all parts of the city and his
wide acquaintance with brokers and other investors render him a
successful medium for such transactions. His connection with New
York real estate has consisted to a great extent, therefore, of placing
loans on bond and mortgage settlement and management of large
estates, and as an advisor of trust companies, private individuals and
other investors.
For nearly eighteen years Mr. Orr has occupied the position of
examiner of titles for the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank; he is
one of the examiners of the Lawyers' Title Insurance Company; he
holds the responsible position of attorney of the Fifth Avenue Bank,
in 44th street and Fifth avenue ; he was Chairman of the Legislative
Committee of the Real Estate Exchange, and is a member of the
Committees on Rapid Transit and Arbitration in the Real Estate
Exchange.
Peabody, Baker & Peabody-
The firm of Peabody, Baker & Peabody, of No. 2 Wall street, is
one of New York's conservative and reputable legal firms. It was
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 251
established over thirty years ago by Charles A. Peabody, who as-
sociated with him Mr. Fisher A. Baker. Ten years after the estab-
lishment of the firm Mr. Peabody's son, Charles A. Peabody, Jr.,
was admitted into partnership, and the name assumed its present
form, Peabody, Baker & Peabody. The firm does a general law
business, in which the real estate law department is managed by
Mr. Charles A. Peabody, Jr. He is a graduate of Columbia law
school of the class of '71.
Strong & Cadwalader*
The legal firm of Strong & Cadwalader, now most prominently
known of the many legal luminaries of the metropolitan bar, was
established prior to 18 18. It was then known under the name of Bid-
well & Strong, the component members being Marshall S. Bidwell
and George W. Strong, uncle of the lately deceased member of the
firm. George T. Strong was afterwards admitted and then in 1878 the
firm became Strong & Cadwalader, the members being Charles E.
Strong and John L. Cadwalader. In 1886 George W. Wickersham
and George F. Butterworth became members of the copartnership.
From its long connection, not only in a business manner, but socially,
the firm holds many responsible positions. It is the legal adviser of
many well known New York families at home and abroad, and also
for the members of many of the oldest and wealthiest New England
families. A very large number of the immense loans made by our
wealthy estates have been certified to by this firm, particularly in
passing upon titles. In the real estate department of their law
business they are recognized as one of the highest authorities in
passing upon titles, the formation of trusts and the conformation of
wills in which deep knowledge of law is required so that the desire
of a testator is carried out. Mr. Geo. F. Butterworth is a member
of the Committee of Counsel of the Lawyers' Title Guarantee Co.,
of which the late Charles E. Strong was a director from its organi-
zation. The firm is the counsel for the Bank for Savings in the City
of New York and also for the Seamen's Bank of the City of New
York, the second and third largest savings banks respectively in
the state.
John Sabine Smith*
The well-known Republican leader and New York lawyer, John
Sabine Smith, was admitted to the bar in 1868. While prominent in
the inner circles of political movements, Mr. Smith has also attained
an equal prominence as a barrister. He has frequently been retained
as the counsel of extensive estates and large corporations and for
various companies which have invested capital in realty or other-
wise. For many years he has examined and passed upon titles for
loans and mortgages, and has acted as counsel for receivers. He
is a member of the University, Lawyers', Republican and Quill
Clubs, in this city.
252 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Vanderpoel, Cuming & Godwin*
One of the substantial and honored legal firms in New York is
that of Vanderpoel, Cuming & Godwin, of No. 2 Wall street. Estab-
lished in 1853, it has always maintained a .high reputation among
the legal fraternity both in its litigation and corporation business.
The firm was known as Brown, Hall & Vanderpoel in 1853, buttwenty
years later it became Vanderpoel, Green & Cuming, which was after-
ward changed to Vanderpoel, Green, Cuming & Godwin in 1886.
In 188$ the firm assumed its present name, that of Vanderpoel, Cum-
ing & Godwin, its personnel being James R. Cuming, Aug. H. Van-
derpoel* Almon Godwin, Henry Thompson, Richard W. Freedman.
The firm has done much general corporation work both in the mat-
ter of reorganization and organization in all its branches.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 253
TITLE, TRUST, REAL ESTATE, AND
SIMILAR CORPORATIONS.
Building and Sanitary Inspection Co.
The Building and Sanitary Inspection Company, of No. 55 Lib-
erty street, New York, was organized in May, 1897. The company
undertakes the structural and sanitary inspection of buildings in an
impartial and thorough manner. It also examines buildings for
makers of loans, thus protecting corporations and individuals mak-
ing loans against fraudulent builders. It supervises and certifies
to the nature of the plumbing and sanitary work and general con-
struction of a building. Its list of patrons includes a large number
of owners of public and private buildings.
German-American Real Estate Title Guarantee Co*
The German-American Real Estate Title Guarantee Company is
of comparatively recent origin. Its object is the same as other title
insurances, to supersede the old system which necessitates a re-ex-
amination of title with the consequent delays- and expense at every
transfer of real property. The company contracts to pay all losses
caused by defects of title to the amount insured and to defend all
actions at its own expense which may be brought against the titles
guaranteed by it. The officers are Edward V. Loew, President;
George C. Clausen, Vice-President; Chas. J. Obermayer, Secretary
and Treasurer; Charles Unangst, Counsel; Hon. Noah Davis, Ad-
visory Counsel. The chief offices of the company are at 175 Broad-
way, New York City.
Knickerbocker Realty Improvement Company*
The Knickerbocker Realty Improvement Company was organ-
ized and incorporated in July, 1897, under the laws of New York
State, with a cash capital of $100,000. The object of the formation
of this company is the erection of business buildings which are to be
constructed and operated by the company. The officers are Homer
J. Beaudet, general manager; J. Louis Hay, secretary and treasurer;
Robert Riggs, president. Mr. Beaudet is a well-known builder,
having erected and sold in the neighborhood of 300 private houses
and apartments in the northern part of the city previous to his entry
in the company. Since its inception the company have begun the
erection of an eight-story loft building at Nos. 35-37 East 20th street;
254
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
LAWYERS' TITLE INSURANCE CO.'S BUILDING.
Maiden Lane Front. Chas. C. Haight, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 255
a similar one at Nos. 30 and 32 East 21st street; also a twelve-story
Hotel, at Nos. 116, 118 and 120 West 34th street, near Broadway.
On May 1st, the office of the company was removed to the Wash-
ington Life Building.
Lawyers' Title Insurance Company of New York*
The Lawyers' Title Insurance Company of New York completed
its tenth year in 1897.
Its history has fully justified all that was claimed by its founders
as the advantages of a strictly professional title company; that is,
a company whose work is entirely professional, managed exclu-
sively by professional men.
Upon the management of a corporation must depend its success;
without proper management no fixed capital, however large, can
protect against constantly increasing risks, which, with a successful
business, must soon reach an aggregate many millions in excess of
the largest practical capital.
The character of the management of an insurance company, and
particularly of a title insurance company, under ordinary circum-
stances, will appear in the amount of its losses. The total losses of the
Lawyers' Company in ten years, having issued over 30,000 policies,
insuring many millions of dollars, has been but $12,653.37.
Financial success has necessarily followed careful and conserva-
tive management. The company's surplus on Jan. 1st, 1898, was
$684,074.44, all of which is earnings except the sum of $125,000.
which was paid in as a surplus on the increase of its capital to
$1,000,000.
While the limitation by law as to the investment of its capital
restricts its income from such investment, it nevertheless protects the
capital, and this protection is still further materially extended by a
provision of law, not applicable to any title companies except those
organized under the same law as the Lawyers' Company, which re-
quires that a sum equal to two-thirds of the capital shall be kept in-
vested in certain specific securities, to wit, first mortgages on im-
proved real estate, Government, State, City and County Bonds and
real estate, and prohibits the issuing of a policy upon the impairment
of this guaranty fund until such impairment is made good.
The advantage which the Lawyers' Company offers to its insured
of the opinion of their own counsel as well as the Company's opinion
and policy is quite evident, as without additional cost they obtain
the best professional judgment and the most adequate corporate
guaranty as collateral security.
Naturally the Lawyers' Company has attained a high and assured
position in the public confidence, and with its complete machinery
by way of plant and well tested methods seems destined to achieve
still more notable success in the future than in the past. Its hand-
some and admirably equipped building, the first erected in this city
by any title company, will well repay examination. (See illustration.)
256 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Material Men's Mercantile Association*
The Material Men's Mercantile Association, Limited, was organ-
ized for the purpose of protecting building material dealers from
builders who through speculative operations or other means
were running far ahead of their rating and credit. The Association
gives to its members the most important information concerning
builders, building contractors or sub-contractors. It keeps a record
of liens, judgments, mortgages, conveyances and all transactions "
affecting builders or building contractors. The records of the
latter are carefully preserved and the connection of builders and
those who are behind them are carefully noted. The need of such
a source of information is readily apparent, because the mercantile
agencies cannot give sufficient and reliable information regarding
them. Mr. Irving M. Avery is president of the association, and the
counsel is the well-known legal firm of Phillips & Avery. The of-
fices of both are in the Tribune Building.
New York Security and Trust Co*
The New York Security and Trust Company was organized and
incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1889. The
company is one of the strong trust companies in this city, and its
executive department is composed of practical and sound business
men. Its capital is $1,000,000, with a surplus of $1,500,-
000. The officers of the company are the Hon. Charles S.
Fairchild, ex-Secretary of the Treasury, President; ex-Mayor Wil-
liam L. Strong, of New York, First Vice-President; Abram M.
Hyatt, Second Vice President; Osborn W. Bright, Secretary; Zelah
Van Loan, Assistant Secretary. There are twenty trustees, consist-
ing of men prominent in mercantile, legal and financial circles; they
are Charles S. Fairchild, William H. Appleton, William L. Strong,
James J. Hill, William F. Buckley, Stuart G. Nelson, Hudson Hoag-
land, James Stillman, James A. Blair, Edward N. Gibbs, M. C. D.
Borden, John C. McCollough, Edward Uhl, Frederic R. Coudert,
B. Aymar Sands, John W. Sterling, John A. McCall, H. Walter
Webb, Edmund F. Randolph and F. W. Stearns.
The company performs and is authorized to perform the many
duties of a trust company. In brief, it acts as an executor, trustee,
administrator, guardian, agent and receiver. It is a legal depository
for court and trust funds. It will manage and take entire charge
of realty and personal property, collecting the income and profits
thereof and attending to details as one's lawyer or real estate agent
does. In addition it receives deposits subject to sight drafts, allow-
ing interest on daily balances and issues certificates of deposit bear-
ing interest. In its bond department the company offers its clients
the best class of securities. The company's offices are at No 46 Wall
street.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 257
New York Realty Savings Company*
This company was organized and incorporated in 1896 for the
purpose of placing loans on high class realty and constructing new
buildings on a basis of profitable investment. The field for such
a company was a wide one; the members of the concern were well
acquainted with the conditions of New York realty and had made
them a subject of study and investigation preparatory to the organ-
ization of the company. One of their methods which since has
been carried to successful termination was the selection of a suitable
site for the improvement of the property thereon, and its subsequent
sales. Along this line of investment and improvement was the
construction of the now well known Royalton Hotel, located in Nos.
44 and 46 West 44th street. As this work is unquestionably the
greatest the New York Realty Savings Company has yet completed,
it is desirable to give it more than passing notice. The Royalton
extends from Nos. 47 and 49 West 43rd street to Nos. 44 and
46 West 44th street. It is a twelve story model apartment house,
devoted exclusively to the use of bachelors. The site chosen by the
company was a most fortunate one, inasmuch as it is the club center,
as well as the social center of New York. It is conveniently located
near the Grand Central depot, the proposed Astor-Tilden-Lenox
Library and Bar Association of New York City. The building
was designed by Messrs. Rossiter and Wright. It is constructed
of stone, brick and terra cotta, with a structural iron frame work.
The ground floor was .so designed to admit of it being used as club
rooms for various clubs. Every want has been considered by the
architects, and the result is that it is complete in every respect from
a valet service in connection with the hotel to a barber shop and
bicycle room. The electrical equipment consists of the latest ap-
proved devices. A system of refrigerators has been introduced so
that air, refrigerated to a temperature of 36 degrees, Fahrenheit, can
be introduced in every room. The plumbing is in keeping with the
other improvements; it is exposed and completed according to the
best sanitary principles.
Before the Royalton was half completed, applications for two-
thirds of the space had been filled. The occupants were then per-
mitted to choose what decorations would be used and what altera-
tions they desired; in all cases they were completed by the builder.
The officers of the company are Frederick Billings, President;
F. H. Isham, Vice-President; E. G. Bailey, Treasurer; George S.
Bixby, Secretary; Benjamin S. Harmon, Counsel; J. F. Merriam,
General Manager.
The President, Mr. Frederick Billings, is a son of the late Fred-
erick Billings, President of the Northern Pacific Railroad; Mr. F. A.
Isham, Vice-President, and Mr. G. S. Bixby, are attorneys experi-
enced in realty matters, and J. F. Merriam is a practical real estate
man with a legal training.
17
258 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Real Estate Trust Co. of New York*
The Real Estate Trust Company, of No. 30 Nassau street, was
organized in October, 1890. It fulfills the duties usually performed
by trust companies in acting as executor, guardian and trustee, but
its special business is to receive deposits on which interest is allowed.
Its depositors are mainly composed of a high class of realty opera-
tors and brokers and those connected with the real estate trade. The
officers are: Henry C. Swords, president; Hermann H. Cammann,
vice-president; Henry W. Reighley, secretary; and the board of
trustees is composed of some of the largest realty owners, builders
and real estate brokers in the city. The semi-annual dividend de-
clared is 3J per cent.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
259
REVIEW OF THE MECHANICS' LIEN LAW.
INTRODUCTION.
HE history of the mechanics' lien law in the State
of New York is one of gradual development and
steady expansion in scope and purpose.
The Legislature has placed 52 Acts upon the
Statute book in its efforts to afford this method
of security to mechanics and materialmen, the first act being Chap-
ter 330, of 1830, and the present act, Chapter 418, of 1897. This
original act seems small and meagre in comparison with the present
Statute, yet, perhaps, it accomplished as much as its more preten-
tious descendant. The first act of 1830 applied only to New York
City, and was intended to secure payment to "every mechanic, work-
man or other person doing or performing any work toward the erec-
tion, construction or finishing of any building."
The thoughts of the law-makers of those days did not concern
themselves with the palaces and sky-scrapers of to-day, and did not
consider the division and subdivision of contracts, which are now of
everyday occurrence in this city. It was the mechanic, the day la-
borer, whose protection they were considering, and the method they
devised was the simple one of notice to the owner, who thereupon
stood by with the money in his hands, with which contractor and
workman arbitrated their differences.
But this apparently proved too simple, for in 1844 it gave way to
a law (limited also to New York City) which required the filing of
every subcontract in the county clerk's office, before the work on it
was begun and which discharged the lien by voluntary release on
payment or by a joinder of issues in court on written notices of claim
or set-off, served by one upon the other, and proceeding to judg-
ment in the usual way.
This also proved unsatisfactory, doubtless because of its unnec-
260 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
essary publicity, and it was repealed by a law of 1851, applicable to
New York City, which first introduced the notice of lien to be filed
and docketed substantially as we have it now, although it allowed
the notice to be filed within six months after completion.
In 1844 an act similar to the New York City act was made ap-
plicable to all cities and certain villages named, and in 1851 it was
amended to permit the filing of the contract at any time before com-
pletion and for 30 days afterwards.
Meantime, in Richmond County, a plan had been put in practice
which gave every one working on a building a lien for one year
without filing any notice and which permitted an owner to dis-
charge all liens on six weeks' published notice to present claims to
him or be barred of their liens. This plan, however, never went
beyond Richmond County and it is obvious that it could only be
successfully operated in a small community, where neighborhood
gossip could be trusted to give general information.
Provision so far had only been made for the cities. In 1851 three
counties were given a lien law, next year four more counties re-
ceived their law; in 1853 Kings County got a Special act; in 1854
thirteen counties were included under one act, and in 1858 this last
act was made general among the counties, except New York and
Erie. At this last date there were seven or more different lien
lawrs in force in various parts of the State, and from then down to
1885 tne confusion increased, as year by year new acts were passed
for special localities and this or that county or city put under the
provisions of some act or exempted from the provisions of some
other acts.
In New York City the act of 1851 gave way to the act of 1863
and that in turn to the act of 1875. In 1876 public works were
brought within the scope of the lien law by special act, and in 1885
the legislature passed the first general law applicable to all parts
of the State and repealed most of the existing statutes. However,
public works, oil wells, railroad bridges and a few other acts were
still left on the statute book. This was a good step forward, be-
cause the new act was carefully drawn in the first place, and in the
second place, as soon as uniformity and certainty were introduced
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 261
into the statute, it was possible for the courts to begin to construe
it in a logical way and to build up a series of precedents worthy
of being followed. Consequent upon this, the whole subject of
mechanics' liens has developed into a branch of equity jurispru-
dence, closely akin in its principles and rules to those governing
real estate mortgages. The act of 1897 has recodified the law in a
still more logical and orderly method.
The intent of the lien law, as clearly evidenced in the early stat-
utes, was to protect the ordinary mechanic or day laborer, whose
labor had gone to enhance the value of the owner's property but
who had no claim against the owner, and who, apart from the lien,
could not reach the fund in the owner's hands until he had obtained
judgment against the contractor. It was speedily broadened to
include the man who furnished material, and again broadened to
include all who furnished material or performed labor, no matter
how remote from the owner, and still further broadened to include
every improvement of property, in addition to buildings.
The result has been that nine-tenths or more of the liens filed
are filed by materialmen, i. e., dealers in building materials, who in
the keen competition of business are tempted to give credit to
builders or general contractors not entitled to such credit, from
lack of capital, reputation or skill, because the materialmen rely on
the supposed protection of a mechanic's lien to save them from
that which their business judgment would otherwise disapprove.
262 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE NEW LIEN LAW.
CHAPTER I.
Who May Have a Lien and What It May Be Had For ♦
The object of the lien law, from the enactment of the first statute
on this subject, has been to give some security to the mechanic or
materialman, whose labor or material has passed from his possession
by the very act of doing the labor or furnishing the material. The
operation of the rule of law which provides that everything attached
to the land passes to the owner of the land has prevented and must
always prevent the full realization of this security to the laborer and
materialman. (See second chapter on this point.)
In the early statutes the benefit of the act was confined to the
contractor and those in immediate contract with him ; but now
the rule is established that any one who performs labor or furnishes
material for the improvement of real property with the consent or
at the request of the^ owner thereof, or of his agent, contractor or
sub-contractor, shall have a lien for the principal and interest of the
value, or the agreed price of such labor or materials upon the real
property improved or to be improved and upon such improvement,
from the time of filing a notice of lien as prescribed.
We may classify all possible lienors as (a) contractors ; (b) sub-
contractors ; (c) materialmen ; (d) laborers.
Anyone may be a contractor, whether he be regularly in the
business or engage in it specially or for the first time ; in fact, the
act defines the contractor to be a person who enters into a contract
with the owner of real property for the improvement thereof. He is
free to employ any of the usual business methods and so may act
through an agent in taking the .contract or doing the work. In
fact, the agency of the agent need not be disclosed until the filing
of the lien, and if the lien be filed in the name of the principal, and
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 263
proof of thq agency be given at the proper time it is sufficient. So
a woman may be the principal and act through her husband as
agent. But the proof of agency must be clear, and there must
be no taint of fraud. It matters not where the lienor resides,
whether in the state or out of it, or where the work is to be done
or the material is to be furnished, or where the payment is to be
made, or where the contract was made, provided only that the work
or material is actually used in the improvement of the real property.
Again, it matters not whether the lienor be a corporation, foreign
or domestic, or an unincorporated association, or a person or two
or more persons, the same test of the actual use of the work or
material in the improvement is all that is needed.
A sub-contractor is now defined to be a person who has con-
tracted with a contractor or with a person who has contracted with
or through such contractor for the performance of his contract or
any part thereof. So that it is of no importance how many inter-
mediate sub-contractors may stand between the lienor and the con-
tractor, provided he be working on part of the job. But only one
who is actually under contract for the work or some part can have
a lien, so that a person who should purchase from a sub-contractor
his right to receive money due him could not have a lien, although
if the sub-contractor turn over his contract before the work is be-
gun with the consent of the owner, the man who thus actually did
the work or furnished the material could have a lien without any
new written contract.
A materialman is a person, other than the contractor, who fur-
nishes material for the improvement of real property. Of course,
this is only another term for sub-contractor.
A laborer is one who performs labor or services to the contractor
upon the improvement of real property. This may mean more
than a day laborer, for it might include the services, for example, of
an architect or a foreman or manager.
The courts in their desire to extend the benefits of the act to those
for whom it was intended, have sometimes evolved the relation of
contractor or sub-contractor from a change of circumstances, al-
though such relations were not contemplated in the first place by
264 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the parties. Thus, if on abandonment of the work, the (iwner makes
use of building material left on the ground the courts will treat the
owner of the material so used as a contractor, and sustain a lien
filed for their value ; or it may be that a surety or endorser will be
recognized as a principal and his lien enforced.
A lienor may stipulate to waive his lien, but he cannot cut off
the right of those under him to file liens.
A lien may be assigned, and as soon as the assignment is re-
corded, the assignee stands in the place of the lienor. As the lien
is merely security for the debt, the assignment carries with it the
lien, but this will not stand against subsequent rights acquired bona
fide, unless it is recorded. The same rule applies here as in the re-
cording of mortgages.
Liens may be filed against public improvements in the same way
as against improvements of real property, and the same principles
apply, with the exception that the public money appropriated for
the improvement stands in lieu of the land.
A lien may be had for any improvement of real property, which
means any erection, alteration, or repair of any structure upon,
connected with or beneath the surface of any real property or any
work done upon such property or materials furnished for its per-
manent improvement ; and by real property is included real estate,
lands, tenements and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, fix-
tures, and all bridges and trestle work, and structures connected
therewith, erected for the use of railroads, and all oil or
gas wells and structures and fixtures connected therewith, and any
lease of oil lands or other right to operate for the production of oil
or gas upon such lands, and the right of franchise granted
by a municipal corporation for the use of the streets or public
places thereof, and all structures placed thereon, for the use of
such right or franchise. Under such definitions it is difficult to con-
ceive of any work upon real estate which would not be included, and
the decisions of the courts on doubtful points or on cases which
seemed close to the border line have been in favor of the lien. Thus
liens have been sustained (to mention a few instances) for a gas-
compressor in a brewery, for a furnace, for terracing and sodding,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 265
for grading, and for improvements for a specific purpose, when in-
tended to be affixed to the freehold.
The original contract between the owner and the contractor is
usually in writing, and if drawn in proper and unambiguous lan-
guage, defines the duties of the contractor and fixes the liability of
the owner. This contract may be seen or its terms demanded by
any sub-contractor, and the refusal by the owner or his agent to
make them known or their falsehood in stating them, makes the
owner liable to the sub-contractor so injured, and he may be called
upon to pay if a judgment against the contractor proves unavailing.
There has not been a mention of "extra work" in any lien law
yet, but a lien based on such claim is good, provided the other ele-
ments are present, such as consent of the owner, etc. The basis for
such a claim for "extra work" is, of course, a contract supplemental
to the original agreement, and the difficulties encountered on such
claims are the usual ones of insufficient proof on the two questions ;
first, of the meeting of the minds, and, second, the value of the
work or the materials furnished. Claims for extra work may arise
from two sets of circumstances ; first, where there is a written agree-
ment, definite in terms, and the claim is based on work or materials
clearly outside of this agreement, or, second, the claim may arise
out of a controversy as to whether the extra work is or is not in-
cluded in the original agreement, the difficulty being found in the
vagueness or looseness of that agreement. In such cases, lienors
frequently fall back on proof of what is the custom of the trade in
question, but it often becomes a mere question of construction of
language by the court, as where it was decided that "blasting" was
not included in "excavating." On the question of extra work a con-
tractor is not bound to furnish extra materials and labor at cost, but
may make a reasonable profit to himself.
266 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CHAPTER II.
Against Whom and What*
A mechanic's lien is security for the debt due the lienor, just as
a mortgage is security for the bonds.
Just as it is possible for one man to give the bond while another
gives the mortgage to secure it, so the contractor may owe the
debt to the sub-contractor and the lien be given (by operation of
law) on the owner's interest in the land and building. As this lien
is given by the law against the will of the owner, the conditions un-
der which it will be given are tightly drawn.
We must, therefore, determine
i. Who is the owner.
2. That he has consented to the improvement.
3. What his interest is.
4. What encumbrances are prior to the lien.
5. What, if anything, he still owes to the contractor.
First, who is the owner:
We cannot determine this question simply by finding in whose
name the deed stands, for such a person may be under contract
which would make him simply the agent for others. When such
questions first arose, the courts held that an owner who had agreed
to sell, but who had not yet given his deed, was the owner, and this
rule was embodied in the general act of 1885.
But in the new revised lien law, which took effect Sept. 1, 1897,
this rule has been completely reversed, and it is now declared that
the vendee in possession under a contract for the purpose of real
property is the owner. So that now the lien will only attach to such
right as this vendee has and still must depend on the contract be-
tween him and the owner of the fee. The very fact that the deed is
withheld by the owner for his protection will show that the vendee's
interest is only a small margin.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 267
In cases where the title stands in the wife's name, while the hus-
band is the operator, no rule can be laid down, and each case must
be determined by the facts as they are developed. A lessee or a life
tenant in possession is the owner, and the lienor cannot reach the
remainder.
Formerly, a purchaser at a foreclosure sale did not become the
owner until the deed was delivered to him, but now the lien law
has reversed this and provides that his title shall date back to the
time of the sale. The effect of this, of course, is to cut off the right
to lien, instantly on the sale.
Second, the consent of the owner:
If this be expressly given by the owner, it binds him, and it may
be given verbally or in writing ; if in writing, it cannot be explained
orally to mean something else. If the owner joins in or acquiesces
in the order given by the contractor, his consent is clearly given.
But the owner's consent once given, may be withdrawn before the
work begins, and after such withdrawal, there is no duty on the
owner to use force to prevent the work, and his consent being ab-
sent, no lien can be had.
Formerly, the tendency of the courts was to extend the consent
given by the owner, but the latest decision in the Court of Appeals
sharply limits this and declares the rule in these words: "It seems
that the requirements of the statute as to consent are not met by a
mere general agreement to the effect that a third person may, at his
own expense, make alterations in a building occupied by him. The
statute requires more. It requires that the owner shall expressly
consent to the particular alteration made or that, with a knowledge
of the particular object for which they are employed, he acquiesces
in the means adopted for that purpose. "
But consent may be implied from circumstances, or from the
terms of the contract and without proof of express consent on the
owner's part. It may be inferred from his conduct and attitude.
Actual knowledge on his part may be enough. The consent may
be given by his agent or architect. But in all such cases the burden
of showing it is on the lienor, and the lienor must satisfy himself
268 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
that the actual owner has really "consented." And, on the other
hand, if the lease forbids alterations without the owner's consent in
writing*, or if there be no clause in lease permitting alterations, etc.,
no consent will be implied, and since the rule is now that a vendee
in possession under a contract of purchase is the "owner," such a
contract is no longer evidence of consent by the holder of the fee.
Third, what is the owner's interest:
The Lien Law extends the lien to the owner's right, title and in-
terest in the real property and improvements existing at the time of
filing the notice of lien, with the proviso that a general assign-
ment for the benefit of creditors shall not prevent the filing of liens
as prior claims within thirty days after such assignment. The wis-
dom of this proviso, viewed from the standpoint of the contractor or
sub-contractor, cannot be doubted, for it reserves to them the right
for thirty days to come in on the job in advance of general creditors
of the assigning owner.
If the owner be a lessee, only his leasehold interest is covered,
and in such cases the security is, of course, small.
As the lien binds only such interest of the owner as can be sold
on execution, no lien can be acquired against a trust estate, for that
cannot be sold ; and for the same reason no lien can be had on an
inchoate right of dower.
No private agreement between owner and contractor can cut off
the sub-contractor's right to a lien, and the Lien Law now pro-
vides that if any part of the real property be removed, the lien shall
still bind the part removed and the remaining part.
When a lien is bonded or a deposit made, the owner's interest is
released, and the lien is transferred to the bond or deposit.
Fourth, what encumbrances are prior:
As the lien attaches only to the owner's right, title and interest
existing at the time of filing the notice of lien, there may be prior
encumbrances upon this interest. The Lien Law gives the lien a
preference over any conveyance, judgment or other claim, not
docketed or filed at the time of the filing of the lien ; and over any
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 269
advances made upon any mortgage or other encumbrance thereon
after such filing ; and over the claims for work not yet performed or
materials not yet furnished on a job, where the owner has made an
assignment for the benefit of creditors within thirty days before the
filing of the lien.
This cuts off all questionable or fraudulent encumbrances and
gives the liens in their order priority over everything not bona fide
existing encumbrances. The new Lien Law now adds another
preference and says that liens shall also have priority over advances
made upon a contract by an owner for an improvement of real
property which contains an option to the contractor, his successor
or assigns to purchase the property, if such advances were made
after the time when the labor began or the first item of material was
furnished, as stated in the notice of lien. So that hereafter if the
owner makes the building loan, his whole interest, advances in-
cluded, is subject to the liens. The advantages of this to material
men are apparent.
The new Lien Law also provides, in the case of conflicting liens
under an operation involving several houses, for priority upon the
separate houses, according to the actual work performed and mate-
rials furnished.
Nothing but actual payment in good faith will relieve an owner;
hence an attempt on his part to create a fraudulent mortgage is null
and void, and if he gives a mortgage to the contractor in payment,
such mortgage will be held to be in trust for the lienors. A fraudu-
lent mortgage will, on proper proof, be set aside in a suit to fore-
close a lien.
Fifth, what, if anything, the owner owes the contractor;
As the owner is not under contract with a sub-contractor there is
no direct liability on his part to such sub-contractor ; but the inten-
tion and operation of the lien law is to sequestrate such liability from
the owner to the contractor, as may remain undischarged, and to
divert this to payment of the sub-contractor. The compulsion to
such payment is effected by the giving of the lien with the right of
foreclosure and sale. Hence, before it can be known whether the
2?o A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
lien is of value, it must be determined what, if anything, is due from
the owner to the contractor.
This is the problem of greatest difficulty under the lien law, and
can only be touched upon here. Let us simply note now that under
the act of 1885 the rule by which to determine the balance due the
contractor was to deduct from the whole contract price the amount
paid the contractor plus the value of the work not yet done. The
balance was thfe amount earned and due, and hence covered by the
liens of the sub-contractors. The new Lien Law declares the rule
to be that the balance due the contractor (and hence available to
the lienor) is the sum earned and unpaid on the contract at the
time of filing the notice of lien and any sum subsequently earned
thereon. The thought is the same; it is simply another way of
stating it. The practical effect of it, however, will be to shift the
burden of proof on such questions from the owner to the sub-con-
tractors. While the rule required the deduction of the value of the
work yet to be done, it was the owner who necessarily had to bear
the burden of showing how much this was. Now, however, the rule
gives the lienors the sum earned, and they must prove what that is.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 271
CHAPTER III.
The Acts of the Owner as Affecting the Lien,
The consent of the owners as one of the elements of the lien has
already been discussed.
The act of the owner may affect the lien in four ways:
1. By shifting the title.
2. By performance on his part.
3. By collusion with the contractor to defeat the lien.
4. By election to proceed on abandonment by contractor.
First, shifting the title:
Since the lien binds only the interest, etc., of the owner, existing
at the time of filing the lien, and since the consent of that owner to
the making of the improvement must be shown, it follows that a
bona fide conveyance will destroy this right to lien, for the consent
of the new owner will be utterly lacking. The Lien Law seeks to
guard against this chance in the only way open to it by providing
that a lien may be filed before the work is done. This safeguard,
however, is completely neutralized by the ethics of business which
forbid a lienor to file his lien until in actual danger of loss. If good
faith be lacking, the conveyance is, of course, null and void and
will be set aside in the action brought to foreclose the lien.
In the case of an assignment for the benefit of creditors, the lien
law suspends the operation of the above rule for thirty days and
permits liens to be filed during that period under claim of priority.
Formerly, it was held that when the owner died there was such
a shifting of title as to cut off the right to lien, but among the
changes in the new Lien Law is one expressly providing that this
right shall not be affected by the death of the owner before lien filed,
and few will be found to question the justice of the new rule.
Second, performance on owner's part:
The only obligation resting on the owner is to pay the agreed
price, and if this be done in good faith, there remains nothing to
2J2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
which the lien can attach. When the payment is made in cash, the
question of good faith can generally be readily determined, but
when payment consists of the giving of a note, or the repayment of
a loan or an allowance in settlement of accounts, the question be-
comes involved. Thus the mere delivery of a check is not sufficient
proof of payment; and if the owner make a payment to the contrac-
tor after lien filed, but before notice has been served on the owner,
the presumption will be against the owner.
The mere agreement to take a promissory note in payment does
not cut off the right to lien, if the note is not paid when due, and the
taking of a promissory note for the amount due, does not cut off
the right to a lien, but only suspends the enforcement of it during
the period for which credit is given, and the notes being due and
surrendered at the trial, they will not stand in the way of an enforce-
ment of the lien.
Adjustment of accounts and applications of payments in a partic-
ular way will be permitted, if done in good faith, especially if the
question be simply between owner and contractor. When a con-
tractor has two claims against the owner, one secured by lien and
the other unsecured, it is proper for him to apply a payment re-
ceived from the owner on the unsecured claim, especially if that be
the older. So an agreement to pay for repairs by an allowance in
rent is computed as soon as the allowance is made and no lien can
attach. As between owner and contractor, a personal loan from
the former to the latter may be used in settlement.
But there being no contract liability on the owner's part to any
one but the contractor, payments made in good faith to the con-
tractor will cut off the right of a sub-contractor to lien ; and similar
payments to a sub-contractor will have the same effect on his cred-
itors, and this is not altered by the fact that subsequent payments
under the contract may become due to the contractor.
Third, collusive or advance payment:
Any payment made by the owner for the purpose of avoiding the
act or in advance of the terms of payment, shall be unavailing against
a lienor, and the owner shall pay the sum over again, or as much as
may be necessary to satisfy the lien or liens.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE. IN NEW YORK. 273
In such cases the presumption is against the owner, and the courts
will hold him strictly to proof of good faith ; and if by any act on his
part lienors have been induced to defer filing liens, they may recover
from the owner the amount due at the time they were lulled into a
feeling of security and deferred action.
Fourth, the owner's election to proceed on contractor's abandon-
ment:
All building contracts may be divided into two great classes ; one,
in which there is no provision for continuance on abandonment of
work by contractor, and the other in which it is provided that the
owner shall complete at the contractor's expense and deduct the
cost of completion from the contract price or in which the owner is
given his election between the one or the other. In the first class,
the abandonment by the contractor destroys all right to lien on his
part or the part of his sub-contractors. In the second class, the
owner either by virtue of the contract or at his election, completes
the contract, and in so doing becomes, as it were, the agent of the
defaulting contractor. He is, of course, entitled, first, to reimburse-
ment for his bona fide expense of completion, and after that is paid,
any difference between that amount and the sum remaining un-
paid to the contractor is available to the lienors. If the con-
tract gives the owner the right to elect to treat the contract as aban-
doned or to complete at contractor's expense, he must distinctly de-
clare the forfeiture, if he so elects, or it will be assumed that he
elected to complete.
It is not necessary that the contract be actually completed by the
owner before the liens can be enforced, for if the cost of completion
can be closely determined, and if little remains to be done, allowance
will be made and the balance applied on the liens.
18
274 T A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CHAPTER IV.
The Acts of the Contractor as Affecting His Lien*
The obligation of the contractor is to perform certain work or fur-
nish certain material, or both. If he completes his contract to the
satisfaction of the owner, there remains only the question of per-
formance on the owner's part, i. e., payment, which has been dis-
cussed in the foregoing paper.
But if it is not completed to the owner's satisfaction, resistance to
the lien may be expected. Hence we need only consider what short-
comings on the contractor's part are excusable and not necessarily
fatal to his lien.
These shortcomings are:
i. Incomplete performance.
2. Delay.
First, incomplete performance:
Of course, willful abandonment of the contract is inexcusable, and
the contractor thereby loses all rights. The unexplained failure to
comply with some condition of the contract is fatal, so if payment
be conditioned on the production of the architect's certificate, the
failure to produce the certificate, without proof that it was unrea-
sonably withheld, would be fatal. But if it be shown that the archi-
tect's certificate is unreasonably withheld, or that the owner has failed
to pay as required by the contract, or has interfered with the pro-
gress of the work, or has created conditions which make it impossi-
ble for the contractor to proceed, non-performance is excused and
the contractor may have his lien for the amount due him. In other
words, if it be shown that the contract has really been broken by the
owner, and that the contractor has stopped only because of such
breach, it will not be counted against him.
As the sub-contractor is the agent or employee of the contractor,
no excuse for non-performance on the part of a sub-contractor will
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 275
be permitted to a contractor which would not be permitted to him
personally.
But most disputes over non-performance usually resolve them-
selves into what is known as the doctrine of substantial compliance.
It is manifestly difficult to provide in the building contract and spec-
ifications the manner in which the work shall be done or the nature
of the materials to be supplied in so exact and detailed a way that all
minds shall agree in their interpretation of them. Because of this
difficulty there has arisen this doctrine of "substantial compliance/'
by which is meant a fair and reasonable compliance on the part of
the contractor with both the letter and the spirit of the contract.
Just what is substantial compliance must depend very largely on the
facts and circumstances of each case, but it has been possible for the
courts to deduce some general principles to govern them in apply-
ing the rule.
Substantial compliance, then, is enough to sustain the lien, al-
though matters of small amount or value have not been done by the
contractor according to the terms of the contract, and the question
depends on the contractor's good faith ; if he has really intended and
tried to complete, but has failed in some few points, it will be con-
sidered substantial compliance. So this doctrine will never be ap-
plied where there has been wilful abandonment, for that is bad faith
in itself.
If, then, only the final touches or finishings of the work remain
to be done, to provide which will require but a small sum in money
or effort, an allowance will be made the owner and the rule will be
applied ; but if the defects run all through the work and cannot be
remedied, or if the work was to be done in a particular way and it
has not been so done, or if substantial additions to the buildings
must be made to complete it, or if it is necessary for the owner to ex-
pend a considerable sum of money to complete some part of the
contract, the rule will not be applied, and the lien will fall for non-
performance.
In this connection it is proper to consider the effect of abandon-
ment by the contractor under a contract, providing for payment in
fixed installments, as certain stages of the work are reached. Such
2? 6 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
a contract is a series of separate contracts, rather than one contract,
and will be so regarded for the benefit of sub-contractors, though the
contractor cannot set up such an interpretation. Hence as each
stage for a payment is reached, such installment become due and
payable, and will be covered by a lien of sub-contractor, and such
lien will be undisturbed by a later abandonment by the contractor
or by the fact that it cost the owner more to complete than the bal-
ance remaining after deducting such installment.
Second, delay:
This is something which is always liable to occur and which fre-
quently does occur, and there are few things which create more hard
feelings between owners and contractors than delay.
All that can be said on this subject is that, while a contractor is
bound to use due diligence, mere delay in completion will not make
him answerable in damages to the owner, unless time has been made
of the essence of the contract, i. e., unless they have so stipulated.
It is customary now to insert a clause fixing a certain amount per
day as penalty for delay. This may be enforced against the contrac-
tor unless some act of the owner relieves him from it. An altera-
tion in the contract would be such an act, or failure by the owner
or his architect to supply needed specifications as required or the
owner's failure to keep other parts of the work, not included in the
contract, progressing at the proper rate, any one of which would re-
lieve the contractor.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 277
CHAPTER V.
The Acts of the Sub-contractor as Affecting His Lien*
Midway between the owner and the sub-contractor stands the
contractor. The sub-contractor can have no dealings with the
owner and can make no claims upon him, except through the con-
tractor. Hence to support his lien he must prove performance on
the part of the contractor, so as to show some money due him from
the owner, and then must show performance on his part, so as to
have that money applied on his lien. And as his money does not
come to him direct from the owner, but by way of the contrac-
tor, he has to face the risk of such legal disposition as the contrac-
tor can make of it instead of paying him. Looking at the question
negatively, as we did in the case of the contractor, we must con-
sider :
1. Non-performance by the sub-contractor.
2. Non-performance by the contractor and on the subject of pay-
ment.
3. Disposal by the contractor of the balance due him.
4. Payment in good faith by owner to contractor.
First, non-performance by the sub-contractor:
All that was said on this subject as affecting the contractor is
equally applicable to the sub-contractor. It is possible, however, for
a sub-contractor to be recognized under a contract which in form
is confined to owner and contractor, and if any active duty be laid
on such sub-contractor, such as obtaining the architect's certificate,
as a condition of payment, it must be performed or satisfactorily
excused.
Second, non-performance by the contractor:
There is privity of contract only between owner and contractor.
The contractor takes upon himself the burden of performance as a
278 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
condition of payment ; if payment is to be made by installments then
he must show performance of all conditions up to each installment ;
ii payment is to be made on completion, then he must show com-
pletion. The one who takes a sub-contract under the contractor is
not in privity with the owner and can only reach him through the
contractor; hence he must bear the same burden of proof of per-
formance. The fact that a sub-contractor has performed or is ready
to perform his sub-contract will not avail to support his lien; if the
contractor has not performed his part and is not entitled to a pay-
ment from the owner.
The sub-contractor has no right, as a quasi assignee of the con-
tractor, to complete on the latter's abandonment of the work and
so earn the balance due under the contract to apply on his lien,
unless the owner assents. He cannot undo the contractor's default
by his offer to complete, and he cannot sustain his lien on a claim
for the value of the work done. And if there is no clause in the
contract permitting or requiring the owner to complete in case of
contractor's default, completion by the owner in such case does not
avail a sub-contractor.
Third, disposal by the contractor of the balance due him:
Before the amendment of 1896 the power of the contractor to
dispose of the balance due or to grow due to him under the con-
tract by assignment or order on the owner prior to the filing of liens,
was one of the great weaknesses in the act viewed from the stand-
point of the material-man, and was also a cause of great incon-
venience to the owner. It benefited no one but the dishonest con-
tractor.
The benefits of the lien law only inure to the sub-contractor or
material-man on the actual filing of his lien, and as the filing of a
Hen almost inevitably precipitates the filing of other liens and the
stopping of all credit, the building operation necessarily then comes
to a standstill, and the various claimants expend their energies in
claiming priority or in other endeavors to secure themselves. This
fact, the delicate balance of the commercial side of the operation,
tends to the withholding of a lien to the last minute, notwithstand-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 279
ing the doubts and distrust of the sub-contractor or material-man
as to the solvency or good faith of the chief contractor. This for-
bearance gave the latter a free hand to dispose of the balance due or
to become due him under the contract. No liens being filed
and there being no privity between the sub-contractor and
the owner, it was a mere question of debt or money due from
the owner to contractor, and as such could be freely assigned by
the contractor. All that was needed was to have the assignment
or order brought to the notice of the owner or accepted by him, and
to have it made for a valuable consideration and in good faith.
As such an assignment was a valid transfer and one which the
owner had to recognize as soon as brought to his notice, liens filed
thereafter bound only the balance remaining after deducting the
part assigned.
The amendment of 1896 sought to remedy this condition by pro-
viding that no assignment of the contract or money due or to
become due under it or any part thereof, or any order on owner,
by the contractor or sub-contractor shall be valid, unless such
assignment or order be filed in the County Clerk's office, there to
be indexed by him in the lien docket. Thus the amendment intro-
duced two new elements into the law ; first, it gave public notice of
the assignment or order on the owner, and to that extent it had the
same effect as the riling of a notice of lien ; and, second, it estopped
the contractor or sub-contractor giving the order from disputing
the amount due, unless for mistake or fraud, which he must prove.
While the amendment does not preclude the contractor from assign-
ing the balance due or to become due him in payment of an antece-
dent debt or a debt arising outside of the building contract, yet the
publicity which must attend such an assignment would deter him
from such a course, for such withdrawal or attempted withdrawal
of the means of paying his sub-contractors out of the job in hand
would mean the instant destruction of his credit and the filing of
Hens by every one interested. As the amendment applies only to
hens on real estate, it is still open to a contractor for a public im-
provement to assign away the balance as of old.
28o A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Fourth, payment in good faith by owner to contractor:
As the lien binds only the balance remaining due and unpaid by
the owner to the contractor, it follows that if the owner has paid
the contractor in good faith there is nothing to which the lien cari
attach, and if the contractor fail to pay the sub-contractor, after re-
ceiving such payment, there remains only the debt between them
to be recovered in the usual way. But a material-man, not having
filed a lien, on receiving a payment from the sub-contractor, his
debtor, has the right to apply it in satisfaction of a prior debt, and
can subsequently file and maintain his lien for the balance due him
after satisfaction of the prior debt, if the amount due the sub-con-
tractor be large enough for that purpose.
Acceptance of notes is not payment, but merely a postponement
of the right to enforce payment; and a lien may be filed on the
maturity of the notes, and if within the 90 days it is valid.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 281
CHAPTER VI.
The Enforcement and Termination of Liens*
A mechanics' lien only arises on the actual filing of the notice of
lien in the County Clerk's office; until that is done the possible
lienor stands in the same position as other creditors, and has no pre-
ferential rights. It may be filed after the work is done and within
90 days, after completion or before all the work is done or all the
materials are furnished, provided the contract is afterward com-
pleted. And it is now provided that the 90 days shall run from
the last item of work performed or materials furnished. A lien filed
after the 90 days is utterly void, but, of course, the contract right
remains.
Priority is the rule, and the lien first filed will be fully paid before
anything is applied on a subsequent lien, provided, however, that
laborers for daily or weekly wages have preference over all other
claimants, without reference to the date when their liens are filed.
Liens are enforced on the equity side of the court by a procedure
similar to that for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate, in
which all persons who have claims upon the property are joined as
parties and the rights of all are examined, adjusted and enforced.
If when these rights have been determined and the liens found good,
they are not paid, the court will order the owner's interest to be sold
and the proceeds applied to the payment of the liens in the order
of their priority.
The notice of lien is an important paper, yet it is generally drawn
in the greatest haste in the mad rush for priority, when all sub-
contractors and material-men are hastening to file liens, because the
action of some one among them, in filing his notice of lien, has de-
stroyed the credit of the contractor in the minds of all connected
with the job.
The law prescribes a number of statements which must be em-
bodied in the notice, and without entering into details here, let it be
282 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
noted that the form and substance of these statements is materially
changed by the new law which took effect September i, 1897. In
general it may be said that the lienor is limited to the amount he
claims in his notice, and that a false statement wilfully or intention-
ally made, will render void the lien. How far the courts will permit
a lienor to go in explanation of an apparently false statement is
still undetermined, but care should be exercised to avoid the need
of such explanation. The form of verification has been changed in
the new law.
There are three ways of determining a lien on the part of the
lienor and three on the part of the owner. The lienor may —
1. Give a satisfaction of lien.
2. Neglect to prosecute it after notice to do so.
3. Fail to begin foreclosure within a year or to obtain an order of
renewal.
The owner may —
4. Deposit in court before suit begun the exact amount with in-
terest to date of deposit.
5. Deposit in court after suit begun such sum as the court shall
determine.
6. Give a bond, before or after suit begun, to be fixed and
approved by the court.
Of course in these last three instances the lien is only ter-
minated as far as the land is concerned, and is transferred to the
deposit or the bond.
The lienor's acts:
If the lienor give a satisfaction, it will be his voluntary act, and
if he fail to begin action of foreclosure within 30 days after notice
served on him it will be because he elects to abandon his lien. But
the failure to begin foreclosure within the year is often uninten-
tional on his part. He may forget the passage of time until it is too
late, or he may think that his lien is protected by action in other
ways which involves him. Thus if foreclosure be begun on another
lien against the same property, he must be joined as a party ; but the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 283
mere joinder as a party defendant will not obtain for him a de-
termination of his rights, unless he sets up his lien affirmatively in
the suit and demands protection. If for any reason which satisfies
the court he does not wish to begin foreclosure within the year, he
can obtain from the court an order extending the lien one year
from the date of the order. But the time limit runs only against the
lien on the land, and when this has been replaced by a lien on a
deposit or a bond, the latter runs indefinitely and until discharged
by legal proceedings duly had.
The owner's acts:
As the lienor's object in filing his lien is to obtain payment, he can
have no objection to the deposit of money in discharge of the lien,
save that it behooves him then to proceed promptly to foreclosure
for the small amount of interest allowed on such deposits is no in-
ducement to dilatoriness on his part.
When the owner wishes to substitute a bond for the land as se-
curity for the lien, the lienor has more at stake, for there is the
possibility that the bondsmen may not be able to respond when the
time comes. He may examine them as to their means and object to
them if not satisfied, and the court must then determine whether
they shall be accepted or not, but the lienor is under no duty to ex-
amine the proposed bondsmen, and the owner who gives worthless
sureties on a bond may be punished for contempt of court and
fined an amount sufficiently large to indemnify the aggrieved lienor
and imprisoned if the fine be not paid.
284 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CHAPTER VII,
The new Lien Law ; Changes and Amendments*
There is now in progress, and has been for some years, a revision
of the general laws of the State of New York. By this work it is
intended to recodify and arrange symmetrically the whole mass of
statute law which has been accumulating, year by year, since the
last revision. At the last session,* the Legislature received the report
of the Statutory Revision Commission on the subject of liens and
enacted it as Chapter XLIX. of the General Laws, to take effect on
September 1, 1897. Prior to 1885, the lien law was in great con-
fusion, there being a large number of statutes in force and some
applying to one county, some to another. The act of 1885 repealed
most of these and substituted one general law for the whole State.
This was a great gain, for not only was the statute an advance
upon any that had preceded it, but by making the law uniform
throughout the State it gave an element of stability to the system
of protection to mechanics by means of a lien, and, on the other
hand, enabled owners to know fully the nature of the claims to be
made on them. But useful as was the act of 1885, lt was hampered
by cumbersome phraseology, and it contained many weaknesses,
both for lienors and owners.
The new lien law has followed the act of 1885 in the main and
has incorporated also the act of 1878, relating to liens on public
buildings, and the other minor acts which related to separate sub-
jects, such as gas and oil wells. The new act has a careful fine of
definitions which does away with the cumbersome wording of the
former act and makes the meaning clearer, and the sections relating
only to practice are transferred to the Code of Civil Procedure,
where they belong.
But a number of important changes have been inserted in the
new law, some of which have been pointed out in the foregoing
♦The Session of 1897.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 285
pages. Some of these are in favor of the lienor, some in favor of
the owner, and others are simply in the way of greater certainty
and uniformity of practice.
Those in favor of the lienor are the following: The extension of
the lien to work done beneath the surface of real estate ; declaring
that the removal of any part of the real property subject to the lien
shall not free such part from the lien or affect the lien on the re-
maining part; declaring void any mortgage, lien or incumbrance
made by an owner of real property for the purpose of avoiding the
lien, etc. ; providing that the death of the owner before lien tiled
shall not affect the right to file a lien ; giving the lien pri-
ority over advances made upon a contract by an owner for an im-
provement of real property, which contains an option to the con-
tractor, his successor or assigns to purchase the property, if such
advances were made after the time when the labor began or the
first item of material was furnished, as stated in the notice of lien ;
providing that in the event of conflicting claims under an operation
involving several parcels of property, each lienor shall have priority
upon the particular building or premises where his labor is per-
formed or his materials are used ; providing that a contract for the
sale of land with a building loan and any modification thereof, must
be in writing and be filed in the county clerk's office within ten
days, and, if not so filed, the interest of each party to such contract
in the real estate affected thereby is subjected to the liens thereafter
filed.
Those in favor of the owner are: The declaration that the ven-
dee in possession under contract for the purchase of real property
is the owner; the dating back of the title of a purchaser at a statu-
tory or judicial sale to the lienor of such sale ; the requirement for
the filing of a notice of pendency of action in an action in a court
not of record ; permitting sureties to justify together in at least
double the sum named in the undertaking.
Tn liens on public improvements there are some changes in favor
of the lienor, such as the including of a contract with the State as
a subject of lien ; the permitting of the filing of the notice of lien
with the financial officer of the municipal corporation, or other
286 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
officer or person charged with the custody and disbursement of the
corporate funds; and the requirement that the deposit to discharge
a lien shall include interest for one year from the date of deposit.
The changes in favor of simplicity and uniformity of practice are:
The requirements in the notice of lien of the name of the person
with whom the contract was made and the time when the first and
last items of work were performed and materials were furnished; a
form of verification similar to that used on a complaint at law ; clear
and definite provisions as to service of a copy of the notice of lien
upon the owner and how the notice shall be served if he be absent ;
a revision of the statement required in the notice of liens on a pub-
lic improvement and a provision that if the name of the contractor
or sub-contractor be not known to the lienor, it may be so stated
in the notice ; providing for the recording of assignments of lien
and the substitution of the assignees for the original lienors ; di-
recting that liens continued by order of court shall be redocketed
as of the date of granting such order and shall contain a reference
to such order; changing the time within which to begin foreclos-
ure of lien on a public improvement from 90 days to three months ;
permitting two or more lienors to join as plaintiffs in foreclosure;
and several minor changes in practice intended to bring about
greater precision and clearness.
EDWARD L. HEYDECKER, of the New York Bar.
Hornblower, Byrne, Taylor & Miller*
Among New York's legal fraternity, who are prominently con-
nected with the legal part of the real estate business, is the firm of
Hornblower, Byrne, Taylor & Miller. The members of the firm are
William B. Hornblower, James Byrne, Howard A. Taylor and Will-
iam W. Miller. As the firm is composed at the present time it was
established in 1886, although the organization of the firm antedates
that time by nearly a quarter of a century. The firm possesses a
large clientele and carries on a large general corporation business.
The offices of the firm are located in the Johnson Building, No. 30
Broad street.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 287
THE NEW YORK BUILDING LAW.
1 HE old New York has passed into history, and the
new New York — the Greater New York, as it by
common consent is called — has come into being.
Broadly speaking, buildings make a city. People
in a city protect their lives, their health and their
property by ordinances and laws that prescribe how buildings
shall be constructed. When a building is to be erected
which is to tower above the limit of a fire department
to successfully cope with fire, the whole community has
a direct interest in demanding that it be so built as not to
burn or to topple over in a gale of wind. The humblest building,
too, is rightly a subject for public solicitation. In a frame shanty the
overturning of a lamp by the kick of a vicious cow started a confla-
gration that inflicted a loss of a hundred million of dollars upon the
citizens of Chicago, and through the distributing medium of insur-
ance upon the whole United States. A man has no natural rights in
land and buildings. It is statutory law that secures the weak and
strong alike in their peaceful holdings of property, which in the eyes
of the law is theirs. Order and safety are maintained through forms
of government established by the people themselves. It is by statu-
tory law that the people guard themselves against manifest dangers
from improper construction of buildings.
Of all the cities in the United States, New York was the first to
enact specific laws relating to the construction, alteration and re-
moving of buildings. Without going back to colonial times, the
charter of New York contains, as indeed the charter of every city in
the United States contains, provisions for the construction and in-
spection of buildings. A city charter is an Act of the Legislature,
as provided for by the constitution of the State, and confers power on
the inhabitants to govern themselves under officers of their own
choosing. The Common Council, elected thereunder, is empowered
to make, amend and repeal ordinances, rules and regulations for a
.288 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
variety of purposes, ordinarily including the power to regulate the
thickness and manner of construction of brick, stone and other walls
for buildings; to regulate the construction of chimneys; to require
unsafe buildings to be made safe or removed ; to regulate or prohibit
the construction of bay-windows, stoops and cellar -doors; to require
scuttles in the roofs of buildings and stairs or ladders leading to the
same; to require fire-escapes and other means of exit from 'buildings;
to prescribe limits within which wooden buildings shall not be
erected; to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires.
The charter of New York has been amended and revised many
times, and in some cases these revisions have been made in the face
of protests from the representatives of the political majority of the
city. Party expediency is the explanation why the powers of one
city are restricted more than another and why New York for a great
many years past was denied the privilege of enacting local ordinances
of much importance. The charter of New York immediately pre-
ceding the Greater New York charter contained minute details on
nearly every subject, enacted directly by the Legislature. What has
been commonly called the 'building law was simply one of the chap-
ters in a voluminous charter, and whenever that building law was
amended it was by amending a portion of the charter itself through
the Legislature at Albany. Whether in the crude form of the earlier
charters or in the elaboration of the later ones the charters of New
York have always provided for official supervision over buildings in
the interest of the public safety, health and comfort.
In a primitive way up to i860 public supervision over buildings
was exercised by Fire Wardens, who were elected to office by the
engineers of the volunteer fire engine companies. The regulations
concerning the construction of buildings aimed chiefly to prevent
the erection of frame or wooden structures in the down-town streets.
In subsequent years fire limits were established below which frame
buildings could not be erected. In i860 the line was placed at 52d
street, from the East River to the North River. In 1866 the line was
raised to 86th street, from river to river. The present fire limit east
of the Harlem River is 149th street, and on the west side of the city
it stretches up to 190th street. There was nothing in any law up to
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 289
1885 which prevented the removal of a wooden building from one lot
to another, nor from without the fire limits to within the same.
Through this lack of foresight any person could have put together
the frame work of a wooden building up in the northern part of the
city, and then moved it down in bulk or piecemeal to lower Broad-
way or any other street.
In i860 a separate building law for New York was enacted by the
Legislature. It created a Department of Buildings, and provided for
the appointment of a Superintendent of Buildings, a Deputy-Super-
intendent and eight Inspectors, one-half of whom were taken from
exempt firemen. The selection of these officials was made in a cu-
rious way. Three members of the Fire Department, together with
three members of the American Institute of Architects, and three
members of the Mechanics' and Tradesmen's Society met in conven-
tion and made the nominations. Immediately thereafter a return was
made to the Mayor, who was thereupon required, under the law,
to swear into office persons so nominated. The first Superin-
tendent of Buildings, under the law of i860, was Jonas N. Phillips,
who previously had (been one of the Fire Wardens. The Deputy-
Superintendent was James M. Macgregor. The technical portions of
that law were remarkably good. It is this law which has served as
the foundation for all the subsequent building laws, a guide for
framers of similar laws all over this country. It is true that the law
of i860 contains, for example, no limitation as to the height or width
of non-fireproof buildings, but the necessity for such restrictions did
not exist at that time. The great buildings, some covering a whole
block, without a division wall and some reaching high up toward the
sky, came later and were recognized as a menace, not only to sur-
rounding property but to the whole city, demanding regulation by
law. It is easier to-day to look into the future of building construc-
tion than it was then. And yet the building law of 1887 contains no
reference to the method of constructing buildings with a skeleton of
iron or steel surrounded with thin brick walls; this method came into
vogue later, and its popularity or necessity is seen in the fact that
nearly every high building erected during the past few years has been
constructed on the skeleton principle. It is, therefore, no wonder
19
290 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
that the framers of the i860 law did not see farther than they did. It
affords no excuse, however, for other framers of buildings laws not
to look ahead of their times. No law is retroactive; a building law
applies to structures erected after the enactment of amendments or
the passage of a new law. Buildings erected under old laws have to
stand as evidences of past mistakes.
To the building law of i860 amendments were made in 1862, in
many respects bettering it. The Mayor was given the power of ap-
pointing the Superintendent by and with the consent of the Board
of Supervisors of the city. Before appointment, the Superintendent
was required to pass an examination before a committee from the
American Institute of Architects, and the candidate had to be a
practical architect or builder. Macgregor became the Superintend-
ent in 1862. In 1866 the law was further amended and much discre-
tionary power was vested in the Superintendent to modify or vary
the requirements of the law. It was the manner in which these
discretionary powers were exercised that, some years later, brought
together representatives from various building trade associations in
a determined effort to get a building law that would be comprehen-
sive and fair. In 1871 the building law was still further amended. A
limitation was put to the width of non-fireproof buildings, but none
to their height. This law created a Board of Examiners consisting of
one member from the American Institute of Architects, one member
from the Board of Fire Underwriters, two members from the Me-
chanics' and Traders' Exchange, and the Superintendent of Build-
ings. There was afterwards added four other members to the
Board — one from the Society of Architectural Iron Manufacturers,
one from the Real Estate Owners' and Builders' Association, one
from the Real Estate Exchange, and the Chief of the Fire Depart-
ment, making a total of nine members. Before the Superintendent
of Buildings could give his consent to any proposed modification of
the law in alteration cases, the Board had first to concur. In the case
of a new building when there were practical difficulties in the way of
carrying out the strict letter of the law, or where the provisions of the
law did not directly atpply, or where an equally good or more de-
sirable form of construction than the law specified was desired to be
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 291
used, the Board was empowered to vary or modify the law, and the
Superintendent of Buildings was required to issue a permit in ac-
cordance with the decision of the Board.
The law of 1871 continued the great discretionary powders of the
Superintendent. It contained several new requirements. One was
that iron beams should be tested by actual weight or pressure applied
thereon before being set up in place. This was and is an excellent
provision in itself and it continues in force to this day and will re-
main ; but the method of its enforcement at the start proved very ob-
noxious to the iron founders and was the first cause of the archi-
tectural iron manufacturers as an organized body, taking up the
work of securing a proper building law, and the active interest thus
evoked has continued without cessation from that time to this. In
1874 certain amendments were made to the building law, principally
to divide the work of the Department into bureaus — a Bureau of
Inspection, a Bureau of Violations and a Bureau of Fire Escapes and
Iron Work. Again in 1881 amendments were obtained from the Leg-
islature relating mainly to legal and administrative features of the
law. But the main requirements of the building law remained without
alteration from 1871 to 1885. Macgregor had given way as Superin-
tendent to his deputy, Walter Adams, in 1873, and Adams in turn
was succeeded by Henry J. Dudley in 1878. Dudley held the office
until 1880, when he was legislated out of office, and the Department
of Buildings merged into the Fire Department as a bureau therein.
William P. Esterbrook was appointed by the Commissioners of the
Fire Department to be the head of the Bureau of Buildings. The
place of business was removed from No. 2 Fourth avenue, where it
had been located almost from the time when the Department was
created, to the Fire Department headquarters at No. 155 Mercer
street, and subsequently to the new headquarters on 67th street, near
Third avenue. Mr. Esterbrook held office for nearly five years,
when he resigned, and A. F. D'Oench was thereupon appointed,
who, after a service of four years, was succeeded by Thomas J. Brady,
in 1889.
Immediately after Mr. Esterbrook took office in the month of July,
1880, Mr. Fryer called upon him and stated that he and Mr. Charles
2^2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Mettam, the architect, and Mr. Matthias Blood-good, mason builder,
had been preparing a complete revision of the building law and of-
fered to furnish the prepared matter to Mr. Esterbrook if he would
take up the work of securing a better law. Mr. Esterbrook agreed to
undertake the task and the amendments 'were duly furnished to him.
The bill was sent to Albany in the early portion of 1881. The Conk-
ling Senatorial contest in that session of the Legislature prevented
final action on that 'bill. A new bill was prepared and introduced
into the Legislature of 1882. Opposition arose and the bill failed.
It again failed in 1883. Inspector Esterbrook, as he was then called,
issued a call, in compliance with a written request made to him by
Mr. Fryer, to the several associations which had taken an active
interest for or against the previous bills to meet at the Ashland
House and formulate a bill that would be acceptable to all. Equal
representation was given to each association, and the bill, as proposed
by the conference committee was sent to the Legislature in the
session of 1884, the bill still being known as the Esterbrook bill. Op-
position to the bill as a whole was still active, and at one time the par-
lors of two or three hotels held gatherings of builders in opposition
to each other. The requirement that new elevator shafts should be
inclosed with brick walls perhaps caused more opposition than any
other requirement. Chief Bonner has stated that it was the best
requirement that went into tbe bill. The Esterbrook bill passed both
branches of the Legislature, but the opponents of the bill had got
in so many incongruous amendments on its passage that Governor
Cleveland vetoed the measure.
The next year, 1885, the true bill went successfully through both
houses, notwithstanding much opposition, and was signed by Gov-
ernor Hill. The Fire Commissioners had tried to compass the defeat
of the bill because it had eliminated the former powers of summary
arrest. The bill was in every way a great advance step. It required
that all buildings exceeding a stated height should be constructed
entirely fireproof. It provided for the safe construction of theatres
and other public places of amusement. It was conceded that there
were many defects in the bill and Governor Hill was promised that
other advance steps and improvements would be made to the law.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
293
The builders came together again with happier results, and in 1887
an amended bill was passed by the Legislature, the only opposition
that time coming from the Fire Commissioners because the builders
would not restore the arrest clause. After a year or two's experience
with the law of 1887 it was seen where it could be improved in many
respects; indeed, it became necessary to make certain additions
thereto. A new method of constructing tall buildings came into use
subsequent to the date of the passage of the law. Application to use
that method had to be made to the Board of Examiners in each case.
If the construction is good an owner should have the privilege of us*
ing it as his right, and not as a favor. Superintendent Brady was
desirous that the law should require that all public buildings,
schools, asylums and hospitals should be of fire-proof construction.
Superintendent Brady called the builders together, and the revision
was made in entire harmony. The arrangement of the law was also
changed, and all that related to any one subject was grouped to-
gether as far as possible, in the order that a building progresses. In
1892 this revision became a law — the present law, which is continued
in force for the time being 'by the Greater New York Charter. Just
before the bill was acted upon in the Legislature the builders pre-
sented to Mayor Grant their desire that the Bureau of Buildings be
taken out of the Fire Department and rehabilitated into a Depart-
ment of Buildings, and that the bureaus of plumbing, light and
ventilation be taken out of the Health Department and put into the
new Department of Buildings. With his approval and aid the bill
was so amended at Albany as to include these features, and the bill
was promptly and almost simultaneously passed in the Senate and
Assembly and duly signed by Governor Flower. Superintendent
Brady was appointed by Mayor Grant as the head of the new Depart-
ment and established in new offices at the southwest corner of 4th
avenue and 18th street.
The present building law is the result of many years of continuous
labor by competent and experienced men, and its comprehensiveness
is therefore not to be wondered at. The betterment of the building
law was first taken in hand by individuals and trade associations, be-
cause their business interests compelled them to take some action,
294 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
and circumstances so shaped themselves as to necessitate continuous
and unremitting work. Architects, builders, fire underwriters, fire
engineers and lawyers have taken part in its several revisions. It is
the united work of a large number of the ablest men in the various
trades and professions connected with 'building operations. Among
those who have taken an active part in the several revisions of the
law may be mentioned: From the Architectural Iron Association,
William J. Fryer, J. M. Cornell, Jas. J. Burnet, J. I. Healey, A. J.
Campbell, John Cooper, A. J. Post, Wm. H. McCord and Thomas
Dimond. From the American Institute of Architects, R. M. Up-
john, George B. Post and N. Le Brun. From the Mechanics' and
Traders' Exchange, R. L. Darragh, Warren A. Conover, John
Banta, and Edwin Dobbs. From the Real Estate Owners' and
Builders' Association, Cornelius O'Reilly, Charles Buek and Thomas
Graham. From the Real Estate Exchange, Samuel McMillan, C.
W. Luyster and Morris Littman. From the Board of Fire Under-
writers, John W. Murray, F. C. Moore, Peter Notman, Wm. M. St.
John, Wm. A. Burtis and Stephen Crowell. From the Fire Depart-
ment, Commissioners Richard Croker, Henry D. Purroy, Elwood
Smith, S. H. Robbins, Anthony Eickhoff and Chief Hugh Bonner.
Building superintendents, William P. Esterbrook, A. F. D'Oench
and Thomas J. Brady. O'f lawyers, William M. Findley, George
W. Van Siclen and Clifford A. Hand were chiefly consulted. On
theatre construction, Francis H. Kimball was the principal adviser.
To these men belong the credit of formulating a just and comprehen-
sive building law, and one that stands as a model for the other cities,
not only in this country, but in the world:
In has been by a series of progressive steps that the New York
building law has been brought up to its present high standard of ex-
cellence. The art of building is progressive, and so to keep up with
modern methods the building law needs almost yearly changes.
The interests, or the supposed interests of individuals have always to
yield to the public good, but the wisdom and policy of building well
and safely is now generally recognized, and in the end builders, land-
lords and tenants are all benefited. As a matter of fact very little
opposition is longer made to requirements looking to safety from
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 295
fire; and this in part arises not from the hopelessness of opposition,
but 'because the building interests have come to recognize that the
changes in the building law emanates from men who are themselves
directly interested in buildings and who can be relied upon to do
that which is wise and good. Naturally a great many minor better-
ments can be and doubtless will be made, for no one has ever claimed
that the ibuilding law is perfect, although as a whole it is the best
law of its kind ever enacted.
Following the re-creaition of the Department of Buildings in 1892,
the administration of that department was conducted by Superin-
tendent Brady with general satisfaction to the public for nearlv three
years, and then came a political upheaval. At the municipal election
in 1894 the Citizens' candidate, William L. Strong, was elected
Mayor of New York, and he tooik office January 1, 1895. The State
Legislature passed a Power of Removals Act which enabled the
Mayor to remove at will the head of any department in the city dur-
ing the first six months of the Mayor's term. A faction of the
Democratic party, headed by James O'Brien, had taken an active
part in the Citizens' movement and claimed a reward for their ser-
vices in electing the ticket. Mr. O'Brien demanded a police com-
missionership for himself, but the Mayor refused to give him that
office. In distributing the plums of office, Mayor Strong informed
the committee representing the O'Brien Democracy that they could
have the Building Department as their share of .political patronage.
Superintendent Brady's term of six years had not half run out, and
his retention was petitioned for by nearly all the leading architects
and builders in the city, but that didn't avail. The decision was that
architects and builders were to experience "reform" as well as the
rest of the citizens, and without much delay Mr. Brady was removed
and a new Superintendent of Buildings appointed. The O'Brien
committee presented, one or two men for the place, but the Mayor
did not approve of them, but finally they hit upon Stevenson Con-
stable and the Mayor appointed him. Three days before he was ap-
pointed Superintendent Mr. Constable was an utter stranger to the
O'Brien committee and to the Mayor also. He was a new comer in
New York, and his political elevation was in the nature of an acci-
296 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
dent. He quickly proved that he was not fitted by temperament to
administer the duties of his office in a satisfactory manner to the pub-
lic. The office was managed and controlled in such a manner as to
cause great and unreasonable delay and consequent loss and damage
to owners of property and others engaged in the erection and alter-
ation of buildings. Mr. Constable was fond of giving out to news-
papers sensational statements that were injurious to real estate. In
one interview he declared that there are 36,000 buildings in New
York built in gross violation of all legal requirements In another
interview he declared that there are 3,200 buildings absolutely un-
safe. And again that there are many thousand fire traps in New
York. These kind of statements generally followed disasters that re-
flected on the efficiency of the Department of Buildings. In Sep-
tember, 1896, Mayor Strong was petitioned to remove Mr. Constable
from office. The Mayor concluded not to put him on trial, but six
months later the Mayor ordered him out of the Mayor's office and
declared that he would remove the Superintendent from office at once
if he had the power. People who had dealings with the Department
of Buildings decided that however valuable "reform" might be in
other branches of the city government, they wanted no more of it in
their business affairs if it had to be of the kind thrust upon them in
the Department of Buildings. It may be recorded as a fact that the
Constable administration of the Department of Buildings was the
most unpopular part of the Strong government, and cost the re-
form movement in the first succeeding municipal election more votes
than any other cause. In the fall of 1897 tne first municipal election
was held under the Greater New York Charter and the Tammany
Democratic ticket, headed by Robert A. Van Wyck, was successful.
On the 1st day of January, 1898, Mayor Van Wyck appointed Mr.
Brady as commissioner for the 'boroughs of Manhattan and the
Bronx (New York), and President of the Board of Buildings for a
term of six years.
. Between 1892 and 1898 the New York building law remained sub-
stantially unaltered. Within these six years the frame building dis-
trict was changed in 1895, the limit of height for non fire-proof
buildings was ohangd from 85 feet to 70 feet in 1886, and to 75 feet
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 297
in 1897, and also in 1897 certain requirements for enclosing fronts of
buildings in course of construction for the protection of pedestrians
was added to the law. A Ml was passed by the Legislature in 1897
to abolish the Board of Examiners, and to substitute therefor a
Board of Appeal, but this bill did not receive the approval of the
Mayor, and therefore failed to become a law. In the latter part of
j 895 an invitation was extended on behalf of tthe Board of Examiners
to various architectural and building trade organizations to meet to-
gether to make a general revision of the building law. While this
revision work was well under way the Legislature appoined a com-
mission to draft a charter for Greater New York. Through a su!>
committee the revision work was submitted to the commissioners
drafting the charter but the latter decided that a mass of details re-^
lating to the construction of buildings did not properly belong in an
organic law, but ought to be a matter for municipal regulation; so
they purposely omitted the "building law" and inserted in the new
charter a section which authorizes the Municipal Assembly to estab-
lish a code of ordinances to be known as the Building Code.
Greater New York includes New York, the lower portion of West-
chester County, Brooklyn, Long Island City, a portion of Queens
County, and Staten Island, and this territory was divided into five
boroughs, designated respectively: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brook-
lyn, Queens and Richmond. The charter provided for three com-
missioners of buildings, and Mayor Van Wyck appointed as such
Commissioners Thomas J. Brady for the boroughs of Manhattan and
The Bronx, Daniel Ryan for the borough of Brooklyn, and Daniel
Campbell for the boroughs of Queens and Richmond. The three
commissioners together form a Board of Buildings, and Mr. Brady
was designated as the President of the Board. Each commissioner
has administrative jurisdiction within the 'borough or boroughs in
which he is appointed. Appeals from the decision of any one com-
missioner are provided for in the new charter. In the borough of
Brooklyn and in the iboroughs of Queens and Richmond such ap-
peals are to be made to the Board of Buildings. In the boroughs of
Manhattan and The Bronx the old Board of Examiners is continued,
and appeals are to be made to that Board. The chanter provides
298 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
that until a Building Code is established the several existing build-
ing laws and ordinances are continued in full force and effect — that
is to say, the New York building law in the boroughs of Manhattan
and The Bronx, the Brooklyn building law in the borough of
Brooklyn, and ordinances in the boroughs of Queens and Richmond.
In preparing a 'building code the Municipal Assembly may appoint
and employ a commission of experts. That power is permissory,
not mandatory. When the building code is established then the old
building laws and ordinances become thereby repealed. Authority
to restrict the height of buildings to be hereafter erected in Greater
New York is specifically conferred upon the Municipal Assembly.
The "tenement house law" is incorporated in the new charter, and
being part of the charter can hereafter only be modified by an act of
the State Legislature in the form of amendments to the charter itself.
The building code, when established by the Municipal Assembly,
can be amended by that body. In the one case is home rule, in the
other is rule at the State Capitol.
The history of the New York building law has thus been brought
down to the very hour of this publication going to press. Its origin,
its development, its administration has been here recorded. Each
future year will add material for a further extension of this history of
the past. The evolution of building regulations is to be continuous ;
the requirements for safe and healthful construction in building will
be more and more defined, and as the code is amplified the art :>f
building will become largely an affair of legal rule, so that the archi-
tect or builder who knows the building law thoroughly is sure to
be of more use to his clients than the theoretical constructor. It
will be the fault of those directly interested in such matters if unwise,
useless or unjust requirements are either continued in or added to
existing laws or regulations, or if good requirements are clothed in
ambiguity or masked in too technical terms, or that the methods of
construction are so closely defined as to leave no opportunity for the
introduction and use of new processes or new materials. The full-
ness, the simplicity and the justice of future building laws will rest
with those who are willing to give their time and attention to such
matters as a duty they owe to themselves, as well as to the State.
WILLIAM J. FRYER.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 299
LEADERS IN THE BUILDING TRADE.
Thomas JL Brady*
The connection of the Hon. Thomas J. Brady with New York
building interests has been very important, both in his capacity as
an individual builder and contractor, and particularly so in his re-
lations with the Department of Buildings. As a builder, Mr.
Brady has built a class of structures which are a credit
to himself, as a result of finished and thorough workman-
ship, and to the locality in which they are situated. In his capacity
as Commissioner of Buildings for the Boroughs of Manhattan and
The Bronx and President of the Board of Buildings, Mr. Brady is ex-
ercising personal qualities of integrity and sound business judgment,
combined with his extensive experience. It was no doubt the posses-
sion of these attributes which led to his unqualified endorsement by
all the building clubs and unions in this city. It is the unanimous
opinion of all legitimate and reliable builders that Mr. Brady's
administration, already begun so auspiciously, will be attended with
results most desired, and to the attaining of this end he is bjeing
well supported. It is furthermore felt by all concerned that the
honest, efficient and just administration of the laws of Commis-
sioner Brady's department, such as he has begun, will have a most
beneficial effect on the builders and building in this metropolitan
city.
Mr. Brady commenced his connection with the building craft
in 1870. He served as an apprentice and journeyman mason until,
in January, 1, 1884, he was appointed an Inspector in the Fire De-
partment of this city. Three years later he was made First Deputy
of the Bureau of Inspection of Buildings in the Fire Department.
In April, 1889, ne was m^de Superintendent of Buildings in the
Bureau of Inspection of Buildings, which at that time was con-
nected with the Fire Department. When in T892 the State Legis-
lature passed the bill organizing the present Department of Build-
ings, by combining the Bureau of Inspection of Buildings of the
Fire Department and the Plumbing Bureau of the Health Depart-
ment, there was none so eminently fitted for the position of super-
intendent of the new department as Mr. Brady, and his appoint-
ment was unanimously indorsed. He occupied that position, ardu-
ous as it was, with honor to himself until 1895, when he entered
New York's competitive building arena as a general contractor.
A partial list of the more prominent buildings he com-
pleted, embraces the Central Mills and Grain Elevator, Eleventh
3oo A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
avenue and 63d street ; San Remo Hotel, Central Park West ; com-
mercial buildings at Nos. 736 and 598 Broadway, Nos. 25 and 27
Waverley place, and Nos. 2.J and 29 West 31st street; Hebrew
Technical Institute, Nos. 34, 36 and 38 Stuyvesant street; country
residences for Hon. ex-Mayor Hugh J. Grant and Thomas F.
Ryan, Secretary of the Metropolitan Traction Co. ; Ehrich's, Sixth
avenue and 22d street ; Macy's, Sixth avenue and 14th street.
When in Jan. 1, 1898, the old City of New York absorbed other
surrounding cities and towns, the charter of the new city pro-
vided that the Mayor of the Greater City appoint a Com-
missioner of Buildings for the Boroughs of Manhattan and
Bronx. When Mr. Brady was declared as a candidate, his candi-
dature was formally endorsed by all the building organizations in
the city. The Building Trades' Club, the Builders' League of New
York, the Mechanics' and Traders' Exchange, the Society of
Architectural Iron Workers, and all the Labor and Trades Unions,
without exception, drafted resolutions favoring his appointment.
The Building Trades' Club, the strongest building organization in
the city, formally waited upon Mayor Van Wyck and urged Mr.
Brady's appointment. With such elements of support, and pos-
sessing the fruits of his past experience, there can be no doubt that
the new administration of the Building Department will be one of
the most successful in its history.
The Firm of Luke A* Burke & Co*
The firm of Luke A. Burke & Co. have been doing business as
builders and contractors since 1884, and have in that time built some
of the largest fireproof buildings in the city; in all, over 40 build-
ings. Mr. Burke is descended from a family of builders and has no
doubt obtained his mechanical knowledge of construction from them.
He is one of the most incessant workers and can be found at any
time during the day at the buildings he is constructing, directing
his foreman. In the evening he can be found until a late hour in
his office, either estimating on plans or arranging matters for
others in their different positions. His reputation among the differ-
ent architects for whom he has built is that of a reliable and safe con-
tractor. It is a practice of his when a building is completed to ask
the owner for a letter stating how he is impressed with the building.
If he is not satisfied, the request is made just the same, and the let-
ters are kept for reference ready for any owner to see what his deal-
ings have been with others in the past. He has photographs taken
of all the buildings he has constructed with the architects' and
owners' name on same, and the letters of the owners attached,
are open for inspection in his office. He has worked himself up from
-an ordinary journeyman to his present position. Starting in at the
age of 13 years, he served his apprenticeship in New York City. He
attended the public schools and also Cooper Institute for several
years. Before he was 20 years old he had charge of very important
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 301
buildings, in church and bridge work, throughout the country for
his oldest brother. After his brother's death, he settled in New York
City, and began his successful career. He is now a member of sev-
eral clubs in the city. Among the more prominent of the contracts
completed by Mr. Burke are the Wilkes Building, corner Wall street
and Broad street; Paulist Fathers' Church, corner 59th street and
Columbus avenue ; Manhattan Athletic Club, 45th street and Madi-
son avenue ; College of Pharmacy, 68th street and Boulevard ; Co-
lumbus Hall, Orange, N. J. ; Freedman Building, Prince and Broad-
way ; Irving Bank Building, Chambers street ; Heide Building, Van-
dam street ; Ursuline Convent, Bedford Park ; Educational Alliance
Building, East Broadway and Jefferson street. It will be seen that
Mr. Burke has completed work for some of the best architects in
the city.
He has obtained an enviable reputation for thoroughness in every
particular branch of his trade. Mr. Burke is naturally very atten-
tive to detail and all his operations have shown that finish which
attention to minor matters only can bring about. As a result, Mr.
Burke possesses those attributes so necessary to the permanent suc-
cess of a builder. His career, step by step, in all his contracts,
whether it is merely a slight alteration or the erection of some tall
office building, has established these facts firmly in the minds of
both architect and owners. The address of the firm is 401 West 59th
street.
B, D* Chandler*
In the carpentry trade there are as many branches of the craft, and
probably more, as there are to be found in the different branches of
the building trades. In masonry, which is unquestionably the great-
est department of the building profession, there are those who con-
tract for the foundation and solid masonry of the bottom walls ; this
is the greatest and highest feature of masonry. In carpentry, it
is generally acknowledged that the fine interior finish and decora-
tion, together with cabinet work and stairbuilding, embrace a large
proportion of our best carpenters. The work requires complete and
long experience, and is of such a nature -that none but skilled me-
chanics attempt it. In New York fine cabinet work is carried to a
greater degree of perfection than elsewhere in the country, which
doubtlessly accounts for our possessing the best class of journeymen
in that branch. Prominent among our local carpenter builders who
have attained a wide reputation for interior and cabinet work is the
subject of our sketch, Mr. B. D. Chandler, of No. 11 Rector street.
Mr. Chandler has been actively connected with that branch of the
building profession for over thirty-two years. In the beginning of
his career he served for many years in the capacity of superintendent
of the Western Union Telegraph Company's carpenter work. For
over eighteen years he was identified with that company and travelled
from city to city superintending the erection and finishing of the com-
pany's offices throughout the country. Mr. Chandler at the present
302
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
WESTERN UNION BUILDING.
Northwest corner Broadway and Dey street. Henry J. Hardenbergh, / Architeots.
New York City. Geo- B- Post>
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 303
time manufactures and completes the fine cabinet work, the desk and
tables and all the carpenter paraphernalia of a telegraph office, and
ships the work from the factory on Rector street to its destination,
whether it be as far North as Buffalo, or to the South as far as New
Orleans, and West as San Francisco.
Telegraphic office work is, however, not the only branch of Mr.
Chandler's business. In many of the banking offices in Wall street
and in the stock district, there are to be found the handiwork of Mr.
Chandler's journeymen in the fine cabinet work and interior wood-
work decorations. Mr. Chandler has been retained by well-known
firms for many years, and the alteration work, repairing and general
overhauling that have been done for the past quarter century in those
offices have been completed by Mr. Chandler. The workmanship
displayed in all the work cannot be excelled, and the material used is
the best. On those bases Mr. Chandler has built his reputation; he
never allowed any element of cheapness to enter into any contract,
and the result that his clients hoped for was obtained. Mr. Chandler
has also completed residential interior carpenter work.
Charles A* Cowen*
There is probably no better known builder and general contractor
in New York at the present time than Mr. Charles A. Cowen. Iden-
tified with all the building trade associations in this city and holding
various offices in national associations, he has worked ear-
nestly and to a great degree successfully in the interests of the build-
ing guilds. He is one of the charter members of the Building Trades
Club, and to him belongs the distinction of having called that strong
organization into existence. It was he who at a meeting of the old
Mechanics' and Traders' Exchange drafted the resolution which con-
tained the nucleus of the future Building Trades Club. At the pres-
ent time he is one of the Board of Managers, and was the presid-
ing officer during the years 1895 and 1896. He is the first vice-pres-
ident of that historic labor organization, the General Society of Me-
chanics and Tradesmen, and fills the position of secretary of the Ma-
son Builders' Association of New York. In national building asso-
ciations Mr. Cowen represents the National Association of Builders
in the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, of which Bishop Pot-
ter is president, and is the delegate at large from the local Mechanics'
and Traders' Exchange to the National Association of Builders. Mr.
Cowen fulfils the duties of his many offices, which he has never
striven for, but have been thrust upon him by reason of his adapta-
bility, in a manner that is most commendable.
He is thorough in his knowledge of the building trade, and is
known to be one of the best experts in this city in masonry, particu-
larly in that of a heavy description. He began his apprenticeship
with his father, a well-known New York contractor, and continued
with him, familiarizing himself with all the details in the building
trade. Afterwards, from 1878 to 1885, he associated himself with his
304 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
father as a partner, and the firm carried on a successful business.
At that time the firm made a specialty of residential buildings in the
northern part of the city. In 1885 ms father died, and he
continued the business with most gratifying success. Architects
and investors have learned to know him as one of the most
thorough and capable of our local builders, and as a result some of
the large office and heavy fireproof warehouse buildings have been
erected by him. Of late Mr. Cowen has made a specialty in
this line, and he is devoting more of his attention to that branch of
the building trade. He numbers among the work completed by him
many stores, warehouses, apartments, dwellings and public buildings
throughout the city.
Among the more important contracts completed by Mr. Cowen
are: Stores and offices, 15 stories, Nos. 9-13 Maiden Lane; fireproof
stores and offices, 8 stories, Nos. 29-33 East 19th street; stores and
offices, 10 stories, fireproof, No. 708 Broadway; stores, 11 stories,
fireproof, No. 714 Broadway; stores, fireproof, 6 stories, Nos. 43-49
Bleecker; warehouse, 7 stories, No. 39 Great Jones street ; warehouse,
Nos. 571-573 Hudson street; factory, 6 stories, Nos. 341 to 351 West
26th street; clubhouse, 71st street and Sherman Square; apartments,
No. 29 West 26th street, northeast corner 91st street and West
End avenue, southwest corner 113th street and Seventh avenue; 4
dwelling houses, Nos. 11-17 East 60th street; 5 houses, southwest
corner 104th street and West End avenue; No. 8 East 61st street;
3 houses, Nos. 326-330 West 88th street; 9 houses, south side 73d
street, east of Columbus avenue; Y. M. C. A., Harlem, 125th street,
near Fifth avenue; synagogue, Nos. 20-22 Forsyth street; Man-
hattan Hospital, 131st street and Amsterdam avenue; Flower Hos-
pital and Homoeopathic College, 63d street and Avenue A.
John D* Crimmms*
Mr. John D. Crimmins, a contractor of large public and private
works and a man of national repute, was born in New York in 1844.
His father was largely entrusted with the development of the East
Side, in that locality of which 59th street is the main thoroughfare.
He opened many streets and performed other public work.
This was the means of making Mr. Crimmins acquainted with
the owners of property and gave him an early opportunity of acquir-
ing a knowledge of values. He purchased property before he was
of age. In i860 he entered his father's business. Afterwards he
added building to the contracting business, and has been engaged in
the erection of buildings from that time to the present, having
erected more than 400 houses. His familiarity with the values of prop-
erty caused him to be selected as an arbitrator, where disputes be-
tween property owners occurred as to the value of lands where the
property was to be straightened to conform to the street lines. His
valuations in every instance have been taken as a basis of settlement
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 305
of estates. He carried on successfully the direction of his father's
business for several years, and then alone for a number of years.
His brother had been associated with him in the contracting busi-
ness until January, 1897. His building and real estate operations
were on his personal account. In the contracting business he was
the first to use and apply machinery extensively. The steam drill
had frequently been attempted, but was not used successfully until
his employment of it. Having been first in possession of this class
of machinery he had no competitors for large and difficult excava-
tions for some time, and in 1874, when 30 years of age, his reputa-
tion was sufficiently established to have large works entrusted to
him, which he planned and executed for private individuals and
private corporations. Public work requiring great executive
ability and engineering skill was entrusted to him by the President
of the Croton Board, and by the Chief Engineer of the Department
of Public Works. The large public contracts which he carried on
were but a small percentage of his contracts. He was also em-
ployed in the establishment of gas plants for the New York Gas
Company, Metropolitan Gas Company, Municipal Gas Company,
Equitable Gas Company, the Harlem Gas Company, afterwards the
Consolidated Gas Company, and out-of-town companies. Mr.
Crimmins also built part of the elevated system. He built the first
subway, and all of the subways for three years after the subway law
was passed. Many of these works he carried on on a percentage
basis. He built the Broadway and Columbus Avenue Cable and the
new electric roads. Before the cold storage process was discovered
brewers sought locations where they could build deep cellars. Mr.
Crimmins was employed by all of the brewers of the city and built
many of the deep cellars and excavated several tunnels in which
beer was kept in storage. He has been chairman of the build-
ing committees of several organizations, and had the erection of
hospitals and schools under his charge. He has been a member of
all the important committees during the last fifteen years. He has
been connected with municipal celebrations. He was the treasurer
of the Property Owners' Association for the improvement of prop-
erty, both on the East and West sides. He wras one of the first
members of the West Side Association, now known as the West
End Association. For five years Mr. Crimmins was a Park Com-
missioner, serving as President and Treasurer.
Mr. Crimmins has had over 12,000 men at times directly under
his charge, and many more thousands in work carried on by sub-
contractors. He has never had a serious strike, which has enabled
him to maintain the most friendly relations with the working people.
He still continues to be active in building operations. He is on
the Executive Committee of the City and Suburban Home Asso-
ciation, and a member of the Model Tenement House Association,
and President and Treasurer of several corporations.
20
306 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
V* ). Hedden & Sons*
The firm of V. J. Hedden & Sons was established in 1881. They
are the successors to the firm of Meeker & Hedden, well known in
the metropolitan building industry for a period extending over half
a century. The elder Mr. Hedden, with his three sons — C. R. Hed-
den, L. O. Hedden, and S. S. Hedden — has carried on a most
successful business since the inception of the new firm, and as
general carpenters and contractors they have few peers and no su-
periors in New York building circles.
Their immense factory, yards and kilns are located on the Passaic
River, in Newark, N. J. The yards, in which are stored all kinds
of lumber, including fine cabinet woods, fill entirely one block and a
half. The three-storv factories, including the dry kilns, occupy a
block. On an average six hundred to seven hundred men are em-
ployed. Regarding the factory, there is none more completely
fitted with the most modern machinery with a view to dispatch
in completing contracts, and more particularly to obtain the
highest quality and acme of perfection in the class of goods manu-
factured. In the case of well-known manufacturers of house trim,
standard sizes are usually kept on hand ready for immediate ship-
ment. In the case of the firm of V. J. Hedden & Sons, they manu-
facture no stock, but what is particularly specified, and by special
detail. So immense is the capacity of their works that the firm is
enabled to complete any contract, regardless of size, within the time
limit.
There is no question that the firm has been awarded some of the
best class of building operations which have ever taken place in this
country. The reason is readily apparent when one considers that
the firm turns out work with greater facilities than any of their com-
petitors, and as builders or general contractors, they have profited
by their greater advantages. It may be well to give a partial list
of buildings completed by them: In residences, Wm. K. Vanderbilt's
on Fifth avenue and also at Oakdale, L. L, the residences of E. C.
Benedict, W. J. Hutchinson, H. G. Marquand, Fred Bronson, Green-
field, Conn.; E. D. Morgan, Wheatly, L. I. Among their office
buildings are the "Mail and Express" Building, the "Times" Build-
ing, the Havemeyer Building, the St. Paul Building, the Gillender
Building, the American Surety Building, the Empire Building, Del-
monico's downtown restaurant; the Bank of Commerce; Mar-
tinique Hotel ; among the clubs, hospitals and factories they have
built are the Metropolitan Club, the Century Club, Deutscher
Verein, the New York Hospital, the Plaza Hotel, the Fourth ave-
nue horse-car stables, Richardson-Boynton Co. factory at Dover,
N. J., the Mile End Thread Works, Newark, N. J., the Singer Build-
ing, Newark City Hospital, Gerard Foster's residence in Lenox, D.
Willis James' residence in Madison, N. J., and the Sprague Electric
Elevator Plant, Watsessing, N. J. The firm has completed work for
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 307
such prominent architects as Carrere & Hastings, McKim, Mead
& White, George B. Post, Kimball & Thompson, Ernest Flagg, W.
H. Russell, R. M. Hunt, and Peabody & Stearns. It may be ex-
plained that the firm aims to do none but the best class of work, and
have found it necessary to make no contracts but those of the larger
and better jobs.
Isaac A* Hopper*
The subject of our sketch, Mr. Isaac A. Hopper, belongs to the
class of New York builders who have attained a pre-eminence in
their trades to which only a few arrive during their career. Mr.
Hopper is a representative New York builder of the highest rank.
He has won experience from the bottom of the ladder in all the
varied stages of success and disappointment which beset one in
one's career, and he profited by it. To-day, Mr. Hopper can point
with pride to any of the contracts which he has completed, from his
first modest contract involving the expenditure of $375, to his latest
and greatest work, that of the Third Avenue bridge, the cost of
which will be $1,750,000 and is now in course of completion. He
has not confined his operations to any particular class of building
as a contractor. He was able to complete with equal ' success the
solid masonry of the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. viaduct lying north of 94th
street, and the New Netherlands, one of the three great hotels on the
Plaza; which was erected by William Waldorf Astor when the struc-
tural steel buildings were then considered experimental. His con-
tracts embrace all classes of work, varied from the routine work of
following architectural specifications of a four-story and basement
residence to the construction of the Washington Monument at New-
burgh at the Washington Headquarters. There is not a question of
a doubt in the minds of any of our prominent American architects,
but that Mr. Hopper is capable in the highest degree of taking
charge and carrying to a successful termination any of their works.
Mr. Hopper can point to such structures as the Emigrant Industrial
Savings Bank, the Koch Building, the Academy of the Sacred Heart,
the Montefiore Home, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, the 8th Regi-
ment Armory, and the power house for the Third Avenue Cable
Railroad Company, at Kingsbridge,.the latter costing a half million
dollars. For the Children's Aid Society, Mr. Hopper was secured to
build four schools which are located at No. 215 East 21st street, No.
410 East 71st street, nth avenue and West 53d street, and at No.
219 Sullivan street. In modern office buildings he has completed the
structure on the site of the old New York Hotel, known as the
Commercial buildings and the Spingler Building in West Union
Square, near 14th street. There can be but brief mention made of the
work involved in the new Third Avenue Bridge, which Mr. Hopper
is now completing ; suffice to say that the work will stand as a monu-
ment of the skill and thoroughness with which it was completed when
3o8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 309
with the march of progress the aspect of the whole vicinity will
have been changed.
Mr. Hopper has erected the famous Carnegie Music Hall in 57th
street and 7th avenue, and the recent additions which have been
made. Among hotels and apartment houses there are the Marie
Antoinette, at 66th street and the Boulevard; the Normandie, at 38th
street and Broadway; the Portsmouth, in West 9th street, and the
Hampshire, in the same street. In Trinity Cemetery, mausoleums in-
volving the highest class of masonry have been erected by Mr.
Hopper for a large number of New York's old and wealthy families.
His address is No. 219 West 125th street.
John J* Hopper*
Heavy, solid masonry and the construction of proper beds and
foundations on which large structures are erected has long
been the highest form of masonry. Since the early days in the
world's history when labor counted for nothing and kings and gov-
ernments erected temples and public buildings many of which are
yet in existence or if not entirely so the foundations and foot walls
still remain, the most important features in the construction of the
entire edifice were the bottom walls and the foundations on which
the superstructure was to rest. Great care and wide experience in
the building craft were absolutely necessary; so also was a scientific
and practical knowledge of strata of rock and what geological
formation was best adapted for foundation purposes; here also tech-
nical knowledge was called into requisition, that expert knowledge
gained only by study and practice. Out of a selected few in those
days some were chosen who were entrusted with the work. And
so it is at the present time.
The beautiful buildings o>f Columbia College, crowning the bluff
overlooking the Hudson, belong to the most important class of
masonry constructed in New York in recent years. They are so
built that when centuries have elapsed they will then have attained
the appearance of the old European universities, built cycles ago.
The Columbia authorities recognized that only the best builders of
the day were to be retained. The w7ork was of such importance
that such was imperative. Of the selected few who were chosen to
enter in competition and tender for the work was the subject of our
sketch, Mr. John J. Hopper, a man eminently qualified, both by his
practical experience and theoretical education for the work he has
now successfully completed. He has been connected with some of
the most important of the large constructive masonry work in the
metropolitan district for the past eleven years. Four years ago he
entered, on his own account, the higher contracting field in New
York. He is a graduate of Dartmouth, taking the degree of Bach-
elor of Science in 1877. He afterward took a post-graduate course
in the engineering department, and obtained the degree of Civil
Engineer in 1885. Mr. Hopper was one of the three who were per-
3io
A HISTORY OF REAL EST ATE ,
JOHN J. HOPPER.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 311
mitted to figure on the excavations, foundations and bottom walls of
Columbia College buildings, the rest of which was afterwards fin-
ished by the largest building firm in the world. He, it may be said
to his credit, completed the contract awarded him in the most scien-
tific and skilled manner. One of the engineering feats accomplished
by him was the rebuilding underneath a retaining wall twenty-five
feet high and ten feet thick and six hundred feet long, another wall
of brick of the same thickness. This was done by the Columbia au-
thorities, as it was found that the old wall was not high enough.
Another contract in which Mr. Hopper's skill is shown is that of the
heavy masonry of the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. viaduct, from 115th
street to the Harlem River, along Park avenue. Here the excavat-
ing for a solid foundation for the immense traffic of that railroad was
done under the most unfavorable circumstances. The longest time
between trains was three minutes, and the big boulders dislodged
by blasts had to be quickly removed. Not a train was delayed dur-
ing the progress of the work. Mr. Hopper has for the past year en-
tered the general contracting arena of New York, which he has
found a good sphere for his talents.
He possesses in every respect those qualifications which all first-
rate architects demand of builders. He is thorough in detail, per-
mits none but the best materials to be used, and employs highly-
skilled labor. With the reputation and attributes he possesses, Mr.
Hopper will undoubtedly make general contracting a decided suc-
cess. His address is No. 2T5 West 125th street.
Jeremiah G Lyons*
Mr. Jeremiah C. Lyons is one of the most prominent builders in
New York. Beginning in a small way, possessine no prestige as a
builder, he has succeeded in establishing for himself amidst the keen-
est competition and in this progressive city, a reputation of which
one may well be proud. Mr. Lyons' father was a mason builder, and
it was probably on this account that he first decided to learn the trade
of a mason. Unfortunately, his father died when his son was fourteen
years of age, but this did not deter him from fulfilling his desire. His
financial resources were most meagre, both his parents were dead, but
he possessed a strong will power and a determination to succeed
which afterwards profited him much. Every evening for four years
during his apprenticeship he took part in the sessions at Cooper
Union, where he acquired a technical knowledge of his trade. In 1873,
after working as a journeyman mason for a few years, he decided to
become a mason builder and general contractor. Six years after he
entered into partnership with a former journeyman friend and the
firm became known as Giblin & Lyons. At that time Mr. Lyons
paid special attention to machine and boiler setting and heavy founda-
tions generally. In this he was very successful and it is his boast
that structures erected by him have never settled even to the extent
312 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
of half an inch. About that time he successfully laid the foundation
and erected the Obelisk in Central Park and the foundation for the
United States Barge Office at the Battery, which lies wholly in the
water. In 1883, Mr. Lyons bought his partner's interest and since
that time he has carried on his extensive business alone. Shortly
after the dissolution of partnership Mr. Lyons changed his policy
somewhat and entered the general contracting field on a wider scale.
A list of some of the more prominent ones is probably the best indi-
cation of the part played by Mr. Lyons in the building trade in this
city: Mt. Morris Bank, Harlem Club, Harlem Baptist Church,
Baptist Church, 126th street and 6th avenue; Presbyterian Church,
127th street and 7th avenue; Berkeley Lyceum and Berkeley School,
St. Monica's Church, Annex to Produce Exchange, 733-735 Broad-
way, N. W. corner Broadway and 4th street; 491-493 Broadway,
592-596 Broadway, Waverley place and Greene street, N, W. corner
Bleecker and Greene streets, Y. M. C. A. Building in 124th street,
near Lenox avenue; corner South William and Stone streets, large
granite staircase at 116th street and Morningside Park, bridge con-
necting Manhattan square with Central Park, besides a large num-
ber of residences, apartment houses, theatres, churches and stables.
His address is No. 8t East 125th street.
James D* Murphy*
A builder who is known for his versatility, as well as for the quan-
tity and quality of his work, is James D. Murphy, of No. 1183
Broadway. Mr. Murphy started in business in 1882, at No. 200
Broadway. He remained at the same address until May, 1897,
when he moved into his present quarters. Mr. Murphy's work em-
braces all classes of buildings, from factories to dwellings and
churches. For New York City he has built the armory of the 22d
Regiment, the armory of the 9th Regiment and the 7th Judicial
District Court House. The churches he has built include Zion and
St. Timothy's, St. Anthony's and Rectory, in Sullivan street; Lu-
theran, 88th street; St. John the Baptist, St. Lawrence's Rectory,
and St. John's, White Plains, New York.
Although Mr. Murphy has built for the most part very large
structures, he has also erected some handsome dwellings. Notable
among these are the residences of Mr. Frederick Benedict, Mr.
Harvey Kennedy, No. 675 Fifth avenue, and Mr. Henry Behr,
Brooklyn.
There is no greater test of a builder's ability, perhaps, than the
construction of modern office buildings. On account of their
great height, the enormous amount of weight to be borne by each
floor and the peculiarity of the steel construction, they are indis-
putable evidences of the skill and technical ability of their creators.
Mr. Murphy's work in this direction may be seen in the Stevens
Building, the Banks Building, the Shultz Building, and the Mon-
tauk Building.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
313
.j0/A
o
s
3
314 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Among the general work done by this builder are the United
State National Bank, the Madison Avenue Hotel, Hotel Renais-
sance, Union Club annex, 20th street and Fifth avenue ; St. Francis
Xavier College School ; New York Catholic Protectory, Convent
A. C. J., Sharon Hill, Pa. ; St. Elizabeth's Home, Staten Island.
Other buildings are Holy Cross School, St. Monica's School,
Grammar School No. 63, 173d street and Third avenue. Also Cel-
lar Bros.' Warehouse, on West Broadway, and the factory of Baker,
Smith & Co. The size of the foregoing list, when the prominence
of the buildings is taken into consideration, is remarkable. Not
only is it a record of which any builder might well be proud, but
it shows a capacity for work and an amount of resource far removed
from the ordinary.
Mr. Murphy's success is due, it may be briefly stated, to the fact
that he is thoroughly familiar with all details of the building trade.
He, himself, a most finished and practical man as a journeyman
builder, is in every way competent to judge of work done under his
supervision. In this respect he has set a high standard to which all
his employes must conform. The result is easily apparent when
one observes a building completed under Mr. Murphy's direction.
McCabe Bros*
There has been no name that has been so prominently connected
with the better class of building in New York during the past fifteen
years as that borne by the subject of our sketch. The firm of Mc-
Cabe Bros., of 45 Liberty street, represents every element of that
class of builders who have been intimately associated with our well-
known architects and instrumental in successfully carrying out their
plans.
In the firm, as it was for a long time known to the building trade,
there were three brothers, Lawrence McCabe, Peter McCabe and
Bryan McCabe. They came to New York about fifteen years ago
and entered the severe competitive market of the metropolitan
arena. They were well equipped for their prospective competition;
they were familiar with the building trade in all its branches. They
had been graduated from the trade as mason builders and had passed
through it in all the phases of apprentices, journeymen, contractors,
and finally general builders. Combined with the practical ex-
perience, and it may be added that each member was considered an
expert at his trade, the firm collectively possessed that necessary at-
tribute to business success — executive and managerial ability. These
facts soon became apparent to the building trade of New York when
the firm of McCabe Bros, had been successfully launched in the
competitive arena referred to, and the first large contract had been
completed with the precision, thoroughness and rapidity which
characterized the completion of their contracts since. In review-
ing the list of the more prominent buildings completed by McCabe
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 315
Bros., one can readily see that the firm is in close and intimate
connection with New York's representative architects.
To the building world one can give no better evidence of the
status of a firm than by submitting a list of buildings which that
firm has completed. In the case of McCabe Bros., we can give but
a partial list, but we submit the more prominent. These are:
Woodbridge building, a fourteen-story office building on John
street ; Sheldon Building, southeast corner John and Nassau streets ;
Rhinelander Building, Duane and Rose streets; No. 232 William,
twelve-story office building; Mo'hawk Building, No. 160 Fifth ave-
nue; Mercantile Building, southwest corner 22d street and Fifth
avenue; Hoe Building on 28th street, near Broadway; Bancroft
Building, Nos. 5, 7 and Q West 29th street; West Side Y. M. C. A.,
on 57th and 56th streets; Century Club Building, 43d street, near
Fifth avenue; Academy of Music on 43d street, near Century Club;
Holland Building, on 40th street and Broadway; Ehrich Stores, on
23d street and Sixth avenue; New York Club, 35th street and
Fifth avenue; D. C. Blair's private residence, No. 6 East 61st
street; No. 13 Astor place, Clinton Hall; C. T. Yerkes' residence,
on Fifth avenue and 68th street, and the Stokes Building on Cedar
street. It can be seen that the firm has completed work for such
architects as Charles W. Clinton, George E. Harney, Wm. Russell,
Clinton & Russell, McKim, Mead & White, R. H. Robertson,
Parish & Schroeder.
In February of 1897 Lawrence McCabe died, and a month after-
wards his brother Bryan followed him, leaving Peter the sole charge
of their immense business. The name so well-known, McCabe Bros.,
has not been changed.
Norcross Brothers*
The contracting and building firm of Norcross Brothers is, with-
out a single exception, the largest and most extensive building con-
cern in America. They commenced business in 1864 in Salem,
Mass., and in 1867 moved to Worcester, Mass. The erection by
them of the larger number of the superb designs of the late distin-
guished American architect, H. H. Richardson, and many of those
of other noted American architects, has established for them a na-
tional reputation. Possessing granite quarries in Milford, Mass.,
and Stony Creek, Conn., producing granite of four different colors ;
sandstone quarries at East Longmeadow, Mass., producing sand-
stone of three different colors ; marble quarries at Tuckahoe, N. Y.,
producing a beautiful white marble ; large stone working plants at
Boston, Mass. ; Cleveland, Ohio ; Providence, R. I., and Tuckahoe, N.
Y. ; and having extensive iron and wood-working shops in Worcester,
all of which are thoroughly equipped with the most approved machin-
ery, they have most extraordinary facilities for erecting buildings in
any part of the country. They have offices in Worcester, Boston, New
•3 1 6 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
York, Providence and Cleveland, and there is scarcely a city in the
country of any prominence in which this firm has not left an* exam-
ple of its skill and greatness in the shape of an edifice of more than
local repute. On January i, 1897, Mr. O. W. Norcross purchased
the interest of his brother, and is now the sole owner. Among the
structures erected by this firm are the following:
Allegheny County Court House and Jail, Pittsburg, Pa., $2,500,-
000; Massachusetts State House Extension, $2,000,000; Rhode Isl-
and State House, $1,700,000; Exchange Building, Boston, $1,600,-
000; Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, White Plains, N. Y., $1,400,000;
Tremont Building, Boston, $1,200,000; Library Building, Columbia
University, New York, $1,000,000; Equitable Building, Baltimore,
$1,200,000; State Mutual Building, Worcester, $900,000; Banigan
Building, Providence, R. L, $900,000; Marshall Field Build-
ing, Chicago, $900,000; New York Life Insurance Com-
pany Building, Kansas City, $850,000; New York Life Insur-
ance Company Building, Omaha, $750,000; Great Barrington, "Kel-
logg Terrace," $600,000; New England Building, Cleveland, $700,-
000; City Hall, Worcester, Mass., $600,000; Corcoran Gallery of
Art, Washington, D. C, $400,000; College for Teachers, New York
City, $409,000; Trinity Church, Boston, $390,000; St. John's Epis-
copal Church, New York City, $412,000; Schermerhorn Hall, Co-
lumbia University, $450,000; Stack Building, Princeton University,
$500,000; Ames' Washington Street Building, Boston, $625,000;
Lawrenceville School, New Jersey, $320,000; B. & A. R. R. Station,
Springfield, Mass., $420,000; Albany City Hall, Albany, N. Y.,
$295,000. At Harvard University, Norcross Brothers completed
the Agassiz Laboratory, Gymnasium, Law School, Sever Hall, Per-
kins Hall, Conant Hall and the Fogg Art Museum.
Peter Schaeffler & Son*
The name Schaeffler has been connected with the better and more
substantial class of building in New York for the past forty years.
The original builder and founder of that name of the firm was Mr.
Joseph Schaeffler, who started as a mason builder and general con-
tractor in i860. He afterwards admitted his son, and the firm's
name was* changed to Joseph Schaeffler & Son in 1881. Mr. Peter
Schaeffler started for himself in 1874, and in 1891 Mr. Joseph
Schaeffler retired. After 1891 Peter Schaeffler and Joseph
Schaeffler formed a co-partnership under the name of P. and J.
Schaeffler. On July 1, 1897, Mr. Joseph Schaeffler retired from ac-
tive business, and the management of the firm's future career fell
to Mr. Peter Schaeffler, who has since taken his son, Mr. Frank C.
Schaeffler, into the business.
The office of the firm of Peter Schaeffler & Son is now located in
No. 75 Bible House.
In reviewing the class of work which this building firm, whether
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
317
under the name of its founder or under its present name, has ob-
tained and brought to a successful completion, one will observe that
there is nothing of the cheap, temporary class of work which for
many years has been the bugbear of the investor. The Shaefflers, be
it said to their credit, have built thoroughly, substantially and with a
view to permanency. They never entered into a ruinous competi-
tion with builders who, in order to secure contracts, sacrificed every-
thing to cheapness. Messrs. Schaefflers figure on using the best ma-
terial; brick dealers are aware of the fact that none but the best
qualities can be sold them; cement, lime and lumber dealers know
from experience what to send the firm, Peter Schaeffier &
Son, for the reputation of the firm for the best class of building is
widespread. During its connection with the New York trade, the
firm has built many churches, factories, hospitals, and breweries. A
partial list of these which we give cover the more important of their
contracts. St. Nicholas Church, East 26. street; St. Joseph Church,
East 87th street; Pitt Street Church; Holy Redeemer School, East
3d street; School St. Mary Magdalen, West 49th street; Convent of
St. Dominic, East 2d street; New York Mothers' Home, East 86th
street; St. Joseph Institute for Improved Instruction of Deaf and
Dumb Mutes, Throgg's Neck; St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, foot
89th street, near Avenue A; wall paper factory in 71st street; two
large silk mills and four wholesale cigar factories. In breweries there
are the breweries of the John Eichler Brewing Company ; Peter
Doelger, J. L. F. Kuntz Brewing Company, Henry Zeltner, Henry
Clausen & Co. The firm also built the Florida Flats, the Cameron
apartment house; warehouses for Sonn Bros., Maurice S. Herman,
and Ludwig Baumann, on 36th street, near Eighth avenue. It is no
high estimate when it is stated that the Shaefflers built in the 17th,
nth and 10th wards over one hundred and twenty-five tenement
houses.
James Baker Smith*
The name of James Baker Smith, builder, has been intimately
connected with the New York building industry for upwards of
half a century. During that time there have been probably greater
changes in the craft than in any other corresponding length of time
in its history. Mr. Smith, however, has clearly established
his capability of maintaining himself in the front rank of builders
at a period when changes and constant innovations in his trade
were the order of the day. He has plainly established this fact
whenever he enters into competition with other builders by suc-
cessfully securing the contract.
Mr. Smith has been successful because he has been thorough in
all that the word implies. He not only learned his trade at a time
when to be thorough was an object to which special attention was
paid, but he learned that to be successful one must keep abreast of
the times, if not a little in advance of them.
3i8 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Mr. Smith was twenty-one years of age when he entered into part-
nership with the firm under whom he had served his apprenticeship.
It was a substantial firm — one of the best in the city — and it may be
mentioned that Mr. Smith in his capacity of an active member of
the firm built the dry goods store of H. B. Claflin & Co., and one
for Bowen & McNamee. He also built the dwellings for Judge
Edwards Pierrepont, Dr. Peckham, Thomas H. Faile, Wm. F
Carey, W. H. Butterworth, Griffith Thomas and Dr. Delafield, all
of which are located on Fifth avenue.
In i860, Mr. Smith received the contract for building a large
hotel at Nassau, which was being erected by the Colonial govern-
ment there. He had decided to remain for the winter only, but
he found the opportunities for a builder of the better grade were
so numerous and the field so large that he remained six years
in the Bahamas. During that time he built light-houses, the prison,
docks and bulkheads for the government ; and residences-, theatres,
warehouses, hotels for the people. ,
He returned to New York and again entered the field of building.
He soon established a reputation for him: elf, which he has since main-
tained, as one of New York's most prominent builders. Probably it
was the manner in which the contract of the Equitable Life Assur-
ance Building was carried out that first gave Mr. Smith his present
high rating. He has built many of New York's largest and most
important buildings. Among these are: Havemeyer Hall and Engi-
neering Building of Columbia University, American Lithographic
Co.'s Building, American Museum of Natural History, Western
LTnion Telegraph Co.'s buildings at Broadway and Dey street, Fifth
avenue and 23d street and Broad street; Consolidated Stock and
Petroleum Exchange, Morse Building, American Safe Deposit Co.'s
Building, Welles Building, Freundschaft Club, New York Athletic
Club, 55th street ; New York Hospital, Roosevelt Hospital, N. Y. C.
& H. R. R. R. Co.'s Storage Building and many others throughout
the city.
The Louis Weber Building: Co*
Louis Weber was born in Germany, but has spent the greater
part of his life in New York City. He entered upon his professional
career during the year 1867, 31 years ago. He had a very thorough
architectural and engineering knowledge, having been educated in
one of the leading polytechnic institutes of Europe, of which he is a
graduate. He left the university and came to America, where his
business life in this city began under the most auspicious circum-
stances. Through personal energy and integrity he rapidly advanced
into the foremost ranks of mason builders. During his long connec-
tion with the building interests, he has been equally successful in all
branches of the trade, enjoying the implicit confidence of all his
patrons.
Among the many buildings he has erected the following are a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
319
few of the more prominent: American Tract Society Building,
Havemeyer Building, Staats-Zeitung Building and University
buildings, Annex to Deaf Mute* Institute, Edison Electric Illu-
minating Co.'s buildings on Elm street, New York, and on Pearl
street, Brooklyn ; the Union Railroad's electric power houses, the
gas tanks for the Consolidated Gas Co., New York and Brooklyn,
and gas works of Elizabeth, N. J.; Grammar School, No. 77, Har-
lem Depot of the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R., Hebrew Orphan Asylum,
and the New York terminus of the New York and Brooklyn
Bridge ; Ballantine's, Newark ; Beadleston & Woerz's, Chas. Clau-
sen's, Hy. Clausen's, Consumers', Geo. Ehret's, India Wharf,
(Bklyn), Jacob Ruppert's, F. & M. Schaeffer's and David Yueng-
ling's breweries ; Neidlinger & Sons' and Chas. A. Stadler's malt
houses ; De La Vergne Refrigerating Machine Co.'s, New York
Hygeia Ice Co.'s and Jacob Ruppert's ice manufacturing plants ; A.
& S. Blumenthal's, Wm. Zinsser & Co.'s (58th street and 10th ave-
nue), August Zinsser's (Hastings-on-Hudson), and Sohmer's piano
factories ; also the Astoria Silk Works, Boettger & Hinze's Silk
Dyeing and Finishing Works, and the warehouses of Johann
Hoff Malt Extract Co. (Newark), William Steinway (Astoria)
and Wm. Zinsser & Co.; Broadway, Empire, Irving Place
theatres, rebuilding the Metropolitan and Grand opera houses,
Koster & Bial's 23d street, and Theiss' music halls, and the Lex-
ington Opera House ; Dr. Frederick Lange's Private Surgical Hos-
pital ; residences of Geo. Ehret, Cord Meyer, Jacob Ruppert, Wm.
Zinsser, also Nos. 962 and 963 5th avenue; the Bolkenhayn, Hol-
yoke and Weber apartment houses; Jas. McCreery, 23d street;
Bloomingdale Bros., 59th street; Mahler, Fr. Hollander & Co.,
125th street, buildings; and Stern Brothers' stable.
Mr. Louis Weber is a member of the Building Trades Club,
Mason Builders' Association and the Mechanics' and Traders' Ex-
change. It will be seen from the above list of buildings Mr. Weber
ranks as a legitimate builder among the foremost in the metro-
politan district. The address of The Louis Weber Building Co. is
No. 427 East 61 st street.
Chas. T, Wills.
Mr. Chas. T. Wills comes naturally by his taste for 'building, as
his father was a builder of considerable prominence. After finishing
his education, at the age of eighteen, Mr. Wills came to New York.
Here he was apprenticed to Mr. John T. Conover to learn the trade
of brick-laying. He showed such intelligence and aptitude and made
such excellent progress that, while still an apprentice, he was given
the responsible position of foreman, and had the superintendence of
important works. After holding this position for a number of years,
he next went into partnership with Mr. George Sinclair. This part-
nership continued for five years. Then the firm was dissolved. Since
that time Mr. Wills has carried on the business by himself.
320 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Mr. Wills has built a number of the largest and best-known build-
ings in this city. A few of them are the American Surety Building,
corner of Pine street and Broadway; the Johnston Building, Broad
street, Exchange place and New street; the Gillender Building, Wall
and Nassau streets; the Bank of Commerce Building, Cedar
and Nassau streets; New York Life Building, Leonard street and
Broadway, and the Presbyterian Building, No. 156 Fifth avenue.
A list of the buildings erected by Mr. Wills a few years ago, included
many of the most prominent buildings of the day, and shows him to
have been one of the leading builders at that time. This list includes
the American Bank Note Company's Building; the Montauk Club
House, in Brooklyn; the New Jersey Central Railroad Depot, in
Jersey City; the same company's building, Liberty and West streets,
this city; the Judson Memorial Church and Buildings, on Washing-
ton square; "The Yosemite," 62nd street and 4th avenue; the Pierce
Building, Franklin and Hudson streets; All Angels' Church; the
Brooklyn Tabernacle, in Brooklyn; the Mail and Express Building,
Broadway, at Fulton street, and the residence of the late Gen. U.
S. Grant. Mr. Wills has just completed the new Delmonico Build-
ing, corner of 44th street and 5th avenue, and is engaged at present
in the construction of the University Club, on the old site of St.
Luke's Hospital. It is impossible to mention, except in brief, what
Mr. Wills has done in connection with the building trade aside from
the actual work of construction. He played a prominent part in the
great nine-hour strike of 1889. He was also a member of the Build-
ing Committee appointed by the New York Athletic Club in con-
nection with the building of their new club-house. Mr. Wills' office
is in the Presbyterian Building, corner of 20th street and 5th avenue.
John T* Brady*
In New York, the civic authorities are widely reputed to be ex-
tremely zealous of the interests of citizens with regard to all classes
of buildings erected and the materials used. This tendency
to place strictures on builders has brought the standard of construc-
tion in New York to a high degree of efficiency, and as a result the
successful New York builder has no superior in this or in any other
continent. In a prominent position in the list of successful local
builders Mr. John T. Brady, the well-known mason builder and gen-
eral contractor, undoubtedly belongs. For a quarter of a century he
has been identified with the building industry, and during that time
he has acquired a reputation for reliable work that cannot be sur-
passed. Beginning when a boy he learned masonry in all its
branches, and afterwards became proficient as a journeyman brick-
layer and mason. When he first opened an office he made a
specialty of mason work in residences; he has been most success-
ful in that branch, having erected more than 250 dwellings of the
better class in different parts of the city. Probably Mr. Brady's
greatest work, however, and one that will make his name one not
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
321
to be soon forgotten is the completion of Grant's Tomb, overlook-
ing the Hudson. Among his other contracts are Nos. 35, 37 and
39 Bond street, and the Lotus Club, 46th street and 5th- avenue.
Mr. Brady also makes a specialty of converting old style buildings
into the more modern type. His office is at No. 22 East 42d street.
H* W. Boreham*
The building trade in New York embraces many classes of build-
ers, but there is none in which the field, limited as it may be, is so
filled with budding, future contractors as that of the overhauling or
s Iteration branch. It appears to be the first step to be taken in their
career, and their anxiety to make a success of it leads to an excessive
lowering of prices and a consequent deterioration in the work done.
As we have stated, the field is greatly overrun, but as is the case in
all industries, crafts or professions, the thorough and expert succeed
no matter to what degree the adverse conditions may exist. The sub-
ject of our sketch, Mr. H. W. Boreham, whose office is located in
N°- 1559 Broadway, is one of those who have attained the top notch
in the jobbing, overhauling, and repairing branch of the building in-
dustry in New York. He is a carpenter builder of the kind produced
years ago, when learning the trade of carpenter consisted of some-
thing vastly different from that into which it has since degenerated.
He has built and superintended the erection of buildings in and
around New York for the past forty years. Five years ago he de-
cided to become a carpenter-jobber and alterer. His success is due
no doubt to his thorough knowledge of his trade and the class of
work which he completed. Mr. Boreham finds now that contracts
seek him by reason of his reputation as a reliable workman. There
is no question but that he will enter the higher field and will meet
with the same success.
Andrew Brose*
In the large field of enterprise which New York affords in the
building line, it can be truthfully said that none have succeeded unless
thoroughly well qualified by practical experience and native ability.
Among the comparative few who are recognized as successful, is
Andrew Brose, No. 1 Madison avenue. Mr. Brose obtained prac-
tical experience in mason building in all the different branches, rising
from the lowest rank to that of mason employer. He commenced
business in 1887 for himself. He possessed an extensive ex-
perience and he had native ability. He applied himself energeti-
cally, with most favorable results. He is now in a position to un-
dertake the contract for erecting any kind of building. Some of
Mr. Brose's recent contracts have been: the erection of the Kellar
Building, a nine-story building in No. J22 Broadway; Cammeyer
Building, Carmine and Bleecker streets ; Bohemian National Hall,
Nos. 321-325 East 73d street; German Lutheran Church at 22d
21
$22 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
street, near Eighth avenue ; Dutch Reformed Church at 68th street,
near First avenue; a large Odd Fellows' Home in Westchester.
Mr. Brose is a member of the Mason Builders' Association, and has
long been associated with several large companies who have helped
the building industry in New York, particularly in the more popu-
lated districts.
Cosgrove Bros*
On August 2d, 1897, Cosgrove Bros, succeeded Thos. J. Bren-
nan, with whom they had been connected for a number of years. It
was to their ability and enterprise that was due, in no small measure,
the success of the old firm. Consequently, when they succeeded to
the business with which they had been intimately connected for so
long a time, it was by no means an experiment, but the continuation
of a long-established and well-known firm. The experience which
they received, each in a different branch of the trade, has already
proved of incalculable value to them in their new undertaking.
The firm of Purcell & Brennan was founded about twenty-eight
years ago. They were succeeded by M. Brennan, who in turn was
succeeded by M. Brennan & Co. This firm was followed by Thos.
J. Brennan.
Cosgrove Bros, do all kinds of free-stone work. They have every
facility which the latest and most improved machinery can give for
doing the very highest grade of both plain and ornamental work.
The work which they are engaged upon at present includes a large
office building at the corner of Bleecker and Elm streets, George
Keister, architect; a dwelling at 40 West 58th street, for John R.
Thomas, the architect ; also a number of contracts for Gillespie
Bros., the builders, and Richard Deeves & Son, builders.
E* F» Dodson & Company*
The main office of E. F. Dodson & Co., one of the leading firms
of general contractors and builders, has been located in New York
for the past two years. Previous to the establishment of their New
York office, they had done a large building business in the West,
principally in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The senior
member of the firm, Mr. Emory F. Dodson, is a thoroughly practi-
cal contractor and builder in all branches. In Chicago and the
West, where he is widely and favorably known, he was successful
111 securing a large part of the best class of work to be done. It
was in Minneapolis, Minn., that the contract for the first steel con-
structed fire-proof building ever erected in that State was awarded to
and entrusted to Mr. Dodson, who carried it through to a success-
ful completion. It may be remarked that at the time of its con-
struction there had been no buildings of that character erected in
New York City.
Mr. Dodson built the first fire-proof building in Eau Claire, Wis.,
and also the first one in West Superior, Wis., for which Mr. Charles
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 323
i^l^m
47 & 41) West 4:M Street.
"THE ROY ALTON.
(1N!)7.)
Rossiter & Wright, Architects.
E. F. Dodson & Co., Contractors.
324 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
C. Haight, No. in Broadway, was the architect. E. F. Dodson &
Co. located in New York, being attracted East by the large field in
fire-proof and structural iron-work, in which they have been so
successful. The firm have erected a number of high-class build-
ings in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts and New York. In New
York City one of their representative contracts is that of the Royal-
ton Hotel on 43d and 44th streets, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
At the present time the firm are building a steel constructed fire-
proof hotel in Pittsfield, Mass.
The offices of E. F. Dodson & Co. are at No. 1133 Broadway,
New York Rooms 817 and 819 St. James Building.
T« P* Galligan & Son*
The business now carried on by T. P. Galligan & Son was estab-
lished in 1858 by Mr.T. P. Galligan, Sr. It has grown from the mod-
est circumstances surrounding its commencement to a 'business oi
great proportions, the counterpart of which there is not to be found
in America. The business has resolved itself into different branches
as it grew. The important divisions, however, are the excavating,
shoring, the wrecking department, and the house moving depart-
ment. In the first branch of the business, the firm is probably the
most reputable and reliable firm in that class of work in the city.
They have made the necessary excavations for such large buildings
as the Empire Building, corner Broadway and Rector street, the
Manhattan Life Building, No. 66 Broadway; the Syndicate Build-
ing, Park row ; the new Astoria Hotel, in which was the largest
excavating work ever done in New York ; the New York Life Insur-
ance Building; the Central Bank Building; the Commercial Build-
ings between Waverley place and Washington place on Broadway,
and in fact all the important work of this nature has been entrusted
to this firm. They possess every facility for rapid work; 80 well
groomed heavy draught horses are kept constantly at work, and their
wagons are models of perfection; the stables and plants cover 20 city
lots, and at a moment's notice 50 to 75 men can be turned out as a.
wrecking gang. The address is 528 East 17th street.
Hugh Getty*
Prominent in the ranks of mason builders, Mr. Hugh Getty is
equally as well known in New York building circles as a master
carpenter. It is this fact, that Mr. Getty is able to combine masonry
and carpenter work under his personal supervision, which no doubt
accounts for his substantial success as a builder. He is perfectly
familiar with details of both crafts, and now, as a general contrac-
tor, he finds it is not necessary for him to sublet the masonry or the
carpenter work, which is so frequently done.
Mr. Getty has been in the business of general contracting in New
York for twenty years. Beginning in a small way, he made a spe-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
325
326 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
cialty of general alterations and small residential contracts. His thor-
ough work, combined with the fact that he never permitted any delay
in his work, soon acquired for him a reputation that many older firms
had not obtained. He had been in business only three years when he
secured the large contract for the erection of the Hotel Vendome, at
41st street and Broadway. The successful completion of this work
gave Mr. Getty a rating in local building circles which placed him in
the front ranks. Since that time he has finished such buildings as
the Hotel Marlborough; the $1,000,000 warehouse of the heaviest
fireproof construction, at Washington and Charlton streets; the Cas-
tree Building; the Dennison Building; James T. Pyle's residence,
53d street and Fifth avenue, besides a large number of other resi-
dences in the city and country. The address of his factory is 276-
280 Ninth avenue, and the office, 274 Ninth avenue.
Gillespie Brothers*
Prominent among the better class of mason builders and general
contractors in the Metropolitan District, few are more favorably
known than the firm of Messrs. Gillespie Brothers, the members of
which are Mr. Michael H. Gillespie and his brothers, Mr. Thomas
A. Gillespie. Both partners are thoroughly practical men, having
served an apprenticeship with their father, who was a well-known
New York contractor. In 1880, Mr. M. H. Gillespie commenced
business on his own account, and four years thereafter his success
justified forming a partnership with his young brother, which con-
nection exists at the present time. Too much space would be re-
quired to mention even a small part of the numerous business prop-
erties, apartment houses, private dwellings, warehouses, etc., which
have become "things of beauty" under the skillful handiwork of this
firm, many of which have been of full fire-proof construction, and
from five to fifteen stories in height. A complete knowledge of the
details of the trade, together with the executive ability of the senior
partner, and the untiring application of both members of the firm,
fully justifies the measure of success they now enjoy. The offices of
Gillespie Brothers are located at No. 134 West 23d street, near Sixth
avenue, also at No. 1 172 Fifth avenue, corner 98th street, New York
City.
The C Graham & Sons Company*
In referring to New York's high-class builders the list would be
incomplete if the name of The C. Graham & Sons Company, of
Nos. 305, 307 and 309 East 43d street, was omitted. Charles
Graham established the business in the year 1852. He conducted
a stair-building and interior house trim business for a number of
years, his sons John and Thomas being in the meantime admitted
into the firm. They did a large business in this line and became
widely known. In the year 1880 the firm erected its present fac-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 327
tory and entered extensively in the building business, and carried
same on until the year 1888, when the firm was incorporated under
the laws of the State of New York, with Mr. Charles Graham
president, and his two sons, John and Thomas, actively engaged in
the concern. In the year 1881 Mr. John Graham became president
of the company, a position which he has since maintained, and he is
now the only member of the original firm connected with the com-
pany, his father, Charles Graham, being dead for some years, and
his brother, Thomas, having sold out all his interest.
It it hardly necessary to refer to the company's reputation, but
we will simply mention the fact that it has built some of the highest
class private residences in New York ; also the Holland House,
Fifth avenue and 30th street ; the addition to the Buckingham
Hotel on 49th street, and a number of other buildings too numer-
ous to mention in our limited space. It is now completing the
Church of Divine Paternity, of which Mr. William A. Potter is the
architect, and the Knox Memorial Church, of which Mr. Edgar K.
Bourne is the architect.
J* C Hoe's Sons*
This building firm was established in 181 7 by the grandfather of
the present members of the firm. During the lapse of years the name
has been preserved, although during its career there have been four
changes in the personnel of the firm. In 1830 William Hoe, the
founder, was succeeded by J. C. Hoe ; in 1880, after fifty years, J. C.
Hoe & Co. took charge, and in 1881 A. C. Hoe & Co. succeeded;
the last change was made in 1887, when the present members,
George E. Hoe and his brother, William A. Hoe, took the manage-
ment of this well-established business. The firm is a carpenter build-
ing one and the style of work done, as is evident from the structures
"completed, is of the best class. Their facilities are excellent. The
firm owns and operates a steam wood working factory at Nos. 52,
54 and 56 Gansevoort street, while a well stocked lumber yard is lo-
cated in No. 831 Greenwich street.
The firm possesses a reputation for integrity and honorable work
which can be gained only by a long and successful connection with
the trade. As an example of some of the more important contracts
completed by this firm there are such buildings as the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, the Sloane Maternity Hospital and the W.
J. Syms Operating Clinic, all of which are situated in West 59th
street. The firm also completed the carpenter work of Tiffany's
store at 15th street and Union Square, Tiffany's house at 72nd street
and Madison avenue, Merchants' and Manhattan Co.'s Bank Build-
ing in Nos. 42 and 44 Wall street, alterations for A. Young's resi-
dence in No. 15 West 56th street, and a similar contract in M. C.
D. Borden's residence in Nos. 25 and 2J West 56th street.
328 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
T* J* McLaughlin.
Mr. Thomas J. McLaughlin, of No. 167 East 60th street, is a
mason builder and general contractor. He has been prominently
connected with New York building trade for the past twenty years,
and was associated with his father in the same line. Mr. McLaugh-
lin has been a thorough and careful builder, giving minute attention
to detail with the result that his career has been marked with uni-
form success. At the present time he has divided his business under
two heads, both of which are, however, under his close supervision.
Mr. McLaughlin entered the projective building market some years
ago, and he has erected some handsome apartment houses in desir-
able residential localities. These structures are located in the upper
part of the city, and are equipped with all modern improvements.
One of the finest of his houses is the Palacio, a seven-story stone
and brick apartment house located at the corner of 65th street and
Park avenue. The other portion of the 'business is carried on un-
der the name of T. J. McLaughlin Co. Under its management the
contracting of mason work, general overhauling, painting and dec-
orating, and building operations in general are conducted. Mr.
Charles A. Steuerwald, who is associated with Mr. McLaughlin as
the manager of this department, is a practical and efficient man, as
the work done under his management testifies. The handsome
residence of Isaac Rosenwald, of No. 44 East 60th street, in which
the cost of carving amounted to $1,500, was completed by the T. J.
McLaughlin Co.
Quincy & Crawford*
The mason and contracting trade of New York embraces many
prominent and reliable builders, but there are few in fact who possess
a more substantial reputation as a mason and general contracting
firm than does Quincy & Crawford, of No. 125 West 42d street.
The senior member of the firm, Mr. Samuel Quincy, has been inti-
mately connected with New York building operations for more than
thirty years. His partner, Mr. William Crawford, is a college bred
young man, possessing both an extensive theoretical and technical
knowledge and practical experience, having worked as a journey-
man mason and served his apprenticeship at the trade. The firm do
not make any particular line of building their specialty, but have
completed some excellent examples of stone and mason work. Their
reputation for thorough work is borne out by the class of
work which they have completed. During the career of the
senior member of the firm, Mr. Quincy, he has built in the neighbor-
hood of 300 private houses on the West Side, all of which were com-
pleted on a legitimate basis for customers. Grace M. E. Church in
104th street, between Amsterdam avenue and Columbus avenue, a
handsome edifice, was completed since the present firm was estab-
lished four years ago. The Mineola stables in 84th street and Boule-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 329
GRACE M. E. CHURCH.
North side 104th Street, bet. Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues.
Cady, Berg & See, Architects. (1S95.) Quincy & Crawford, Builders.
33o A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
vard, considered the best stables on the West Side, was also built by
this firm; another of their works is the artistic bridge over Park Lake
in Central Park, near 59th street and Fifth avenue. For Clinton
& Russell they completed alterations in No. 148 West 14th street;
they also built Miss Pauline Hall's handsome residence in West 71st
street, and P. Nathan's house in No. 35 West 86th street. The firm
has also completed numerous warehouses and mercantile buildings
in different parts of the city.
Murdo Tolmie*
The building contracting firm of Murdo Tolmie, of No. 245
West 12th street, is the successor to the old and well-known firm of
Wood & Tolmie, of which Mr. M. Tolmie, of the present firm,' was
a member. '1 he new firm came into existence two years ago, on the
death of Mr. Wood, when the construction of a large school house
was on the point of completion. Mr. Tolmie, the surviving mem-
ber, assumed charge of the affairs of the firm, and has conducted
its business under his own management since that time. He has
infused much of his energy and aggressiveness into the business,
and it is needless to state that the measure of success he has met
with has far exceeded that attending the firm's efforts before.
He is a general contractor, but has made a specialty of carpentry
work. The firm has completed several important jobs, among which
are Grammar School No. 94, the carpentry work of the Model Tene-
ments and the raising of the roof of the Normal College. This was
a work of considerable importance, and wras accomplished without
a single hitch.
Mr. Tolmie is a practical member of the building craft, and is
thoroughly conversant with its details. In the metropolitan building
arena, particularly, where competition is so keen, the demands made
upon knowledge and experience of a builder are so pronounced that
he must conform to the standard required or else be relegated to
the rear. The -successful New York builder, however, such as, we
are pleased to state, has been the status of Mr. Tolmie, can operate
and compete successfully anywhere in the country, for he has been
able to merit success under severer conditions of competition than
prevail elsewhere. It may be added that the contracting firm of
Murdo Tolmie has completed a large amount of public and munic-
ipal work.
Peter Tostevin's Sons*
The name of Tostevin has been identified with New York building
operations for the past forty years. The founder of the firm, Mr.
Peter Tostevin, established himself as a builder in 1850, and on his
death in 1880 his two sons, Mr. Henry M. Tostevin and Mr. Peter
L. P. Tostevin succeeded to the business, and have carried on a
mason building and general contracting trade. The work done by
the Tostevin Brothers has always been known among the legitimate
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
331
trade as mason work of the best class, in which no element of cheap-
ness ever entered. Mr. Henry M. Tostevin is President of the Build-
ing Trades' Club, which numbers amongst its members the best
class of builders in the city. They are also members of the Mason
and Builders' Association and the Mechanic and Traders' Exchange.
As examples of the more important contracts completed by the
Tostevin Brothers, we give a partial list comprising the large Hoff-
man House annex, Bowery Branch Y. M. C. A., the Arnheim store
on 9th street and Broadway, the seven-story mercantile building at
Grand and Elm streets; Baudouine Building, Broadway and 28th
streets; storage warehouse for Third Avenue Cable Road, at 129th
street, 'between Third avenue and Lexington avenue; office building
at No. 143-145 Fifth avenue, besides warehouses and grain reposi-
tories in different parts of the city. The firm's address is No. 11 33
Broadway, St. James' Building.
John Acker*
The builder who superintends the erection of a structure and con-
trols the mason, carpenter, glazier, and the many other departments
of the building trade in that structure which he is completing for
sale, must in truth have a minute knowledge of the building trade.
Mr. John Acker, by reason of his long experience as a builder, justly
lays claim to the possession of these qualifications. He has been a
builder for the past twelve years, and his experience in trade dates
beyond that period many years. He built largely in the suburban
districts in the beginning of his career, and meeting with unquali-
fied success, he came to New York City proper. Here he has also
met with success, due, no doubt, to the high standard of workman-
ship displayed in all his structures. His greatest work is a hand-
some block of flats at 114th street and St. Nicholas avenue. His ad-
dress is No. 528 East 71st street.
Jeremiah Altieri*
In the various branches of the building craft, there is the excava-
ting department, which, while of minor importance, still requires
executive ability, besides practical and wide experience. Mr. Jere-
miah Altieri, whose yards and office are located in No. 434 East
109th street, is a master employer of laborers, who are experienced
in this branch of the building trade. His contracts embrace various
classes of work, from the simple cellar excavation to that of the
larger and more pretentious jobs. The work completed by Mr.
Altieri has been carried on with dispatch and rapidity which is
greatly desired by the builder. In this way Mr. Altieri has ac-
quired a wide reputation for rapid work. He is now engaged with
buildings on 115th street, between Madison and Park avenues, and
80th street, between Pafk and Lexington avenues.
332 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Bunn, Carey & Nase*
The enterprising firm of Bunn, Carey & Nase, of No. 1123
Broadway, is composed of C. H. Bunn, C. P. Carey and M. H.
Nase, all of whom are comparatively young men and thoroughly
experienced mason builders and general contractors. They have
been successful in securing contracts, not only in New York, but
in New Haven, Providence and Philadelphia. In New York
they have established a reputation for honest work and work
of such a quality that their future success as a building firm is
a fixed quantity. During the past season they have completed sev-
eral important alteration contracts on Fifth avenue. Another im-
portant contract completed by the firm is that of Mr. Frank Mun-
sey's eight-story building in New London.
W- C W- Childs,
Mr. Childs has had years of experience and is a thoroughly prac-
tical constructor, having been employed by other firms before he
began business for himself, seven years ago. He is a member of
the Mechanics' and Traders' Exchange, the Building Trades' Club
and the Manufacturers' Association.
Prominent among the buildings completed by him lately are the
ten-story fire-proof hotel, corner of 93d street and Madison avenue;
the remodeling of the Harmonie Club Building on 42d street, the
two-story addition to southeast corner Fulton and Nassau streets,
Nos. 463-469 5th avenue, besides many other fire-proof structures
and other buildings requiring heavy construction. Mr. Childs's
office is at No. 1 125 Broadway.
Robert Christie*
Robert Christie and William Dykes founded the firm of Christie
& Dykes in 1867. After a successful career of over twenty years, in
May, 1889, Mr. Dykes retired, and Mr. Christie decided to carry on
the business under his own name. The office of Mr. Christie is at
No. 122 West 29th street. The work done by him embraces nearly
every kind of building. At Nos. 321-325 West 56th street he
planned and built the Church of the Disciples of Christ. Some
of the dwellings erected by him are Nos. 29 and 31 West 72d street,
for Dr. C. F. Hoffman ; on the northeast corner of 82d street and
Riverside Drive, for Mrs. Ackerman ; Nos. 6 and 8 West 126th
street, for Mr. George Taylor and Mr. John Wilson ; the office
buildings of the Northern Assurance Co., at No. 38 Pine street,
and the Manice Building, No. 46 Pine street, corner of William.
He has built for Mr. D. L. Einstein stores at Nos. 93, 95, 97 and 99
Greene street, and twenty other store buildings in the warehouse
district of New York. Mr. Christie has also completed many im-
portant contracts involving office and cabinet work.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 333
T* Cockerill & Son*
The firm of T. Cockerill & Son has long been connected with the
New York building trade. Thomas Cockerill, the founder of the
firm, was a well known mason builder and general contractor a
quarter of a century ago. Three years ago he died and his son,
John F. Cockerill, who had been associated with him for some years,
took charge of the business, but maintained the old name. The
work completed by this firm has been throughout of a substantial
class; it has completed many warehouses, factories, breweries,
office and mercantile buildings. For some years past the firm has
completed much public work, notably two additions to the Museum
of Natural History, one of which is in course of completion, and a
large number of public schools throughout the city. The firm's ad-
dress is Nos. 550 and 552 West 41st street.
John Darragh*
The subject of this sketch, John Darragh, is probably better
known among New York mason builders in connection with the late
company of R. L. Darragh & Co., than as an individual contractor.
The fact that Mr. John Darragh was connected with his brother's
company in the twofold capacity of partner and superintendent, is
well nigfh sufficient evidence that he is in every respect a compe-
tent and reliable mason builder. He entered his brother's firm in
1886, and was actively engaged in the many important contracts
completed by that company until its dissolution in 1891 ; another
company was formed, of which Mr. Darragft was a member.
In 1894, Mr. Darragh branched out for himself, and has since been
in mason building and contracting trade for himself. His address is
No. 1533 Broadway.
J, W. Doughty.
Mr. J. W. Doughty, of No. 1 1 Rector street, is a painter and dec-
orator of wide and varied experience. He learned his trade and
afterwards became connected with the firm of Mead & Taft, high-
class wood workers, under whom he acquired a knowledge and
familiarized himself with the best class of graining, painting and
decorative work. It may be added that Mr. Doughty was for some
years the superintendent painter of that firm of their work through-
out the entire country. Seven years ago he entered the field him-
self, and has proven himself by the high grade of work done to be
a competent workman. He has completed work for Bruce Price,
James Brown Lord and other architects. Mr. Doughty has done a
large amount of work for the American Express Company and the
Western Union Telegraph Company.
Dowd & Maslen,
Among the well-known legitimate builders in the upper portion of
New York is the firm of Dowd & Maslen, of No. 247 West 125th
334 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
street. Established in 1890 they have operated in the best class of
mason and general contracts in the district lying between 59th street
and 150th street on the West Side, although their operations were
not wholly confined there. They have built the Majestic, the West-
minister and Wellesley apartment houses, besides over 100 private
houses of the better class. Both members of the firm, Michael J.
Dowd and Richard R. Maslen, are practical and thorough masons.
Thomas Dwyer*
It was some thirteen years ago that Thomas Dwyer founded the
firm which bears his name. His first office was in East Twelfth
street. Almost from the first he made a specialty of public buildings,
both municipal and state. Among the structures which he has
erected in this city may be mentioned the public schools, Ninety-
third street and Amsterdam avenue and One Hundred and Fiftv-
seventh street, near Courtlandt avenue ; the Aquarium in Castle
Garden; the engine house in West Sixty-eighth street; the boiler
house of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and the reception hos-
pital at the foot of East Sixteenth street, foundations for high
service works, High Bridge, N. Y. Besides these there are the
State Military Building, Peekskill, N. Y. ; the workhouse on Black-
well's Island, built for the State of New York, and Spring Point
Ledge Light House, Portland Harbor, Me.
Recently Mr. Dwyer has devoted h'mself to a considerable extent
to granite work. He owns and operates the famous granite quar-
ries on Dix Island, Maine, which furnished the stone for the New
York, Philadelphia and Charleston post-offices and the Treasury
Building in Washington. It is stated on reliable authority that the
United States government has already paid upwards of $30,000,000
for granite from these quarries.
W- E, Elderd.
In recording the names of New York's carpenters and general
contractors, one finds the name of W. E. Elderd, of No. 2281 Third
avenue, corner of 124th street, standing high in the ranks of builders.
Some of the contracts that he has already completed are the Postal
Telegraph Building; the Third Avenue R. R. Depot, 129th and 130th
streets and Lexington avenue; the Manhattanyille R. R. Depot;
the Seminary of St. Jerome ; Edgemere Hotel, cottages, stable, bath
houses, R. R. station, etc. ; W. E. Uptegrove & Bros\ Building, 10th
street and East River; St. Catherine's Church, 69th street and First
avenue, and many others.
John W. Ferguson*
John W. Ferguson, whose office is located at No. 253 Broadway,
is one of our large Eastern builders. Mr. Ferguson came to New
York three years ago from Paterson, N. J., in which locality he was
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 335
widely known as an expert contractor. Since bis coming to the
metropolis he has entered with much success in the larger field, as is
exemplified by the many successful contracts which he has com-
pleted. Some of the more important of these are the Kings County
Electric Light and Power Company's plant in Brooklyn ; New York
Sugar Refinery's new7 plant at Long Island City; warehouse at
Greenwich and Jane street. Mr. Ferguson has completed many
other important contracts for New York investors, engineers and
corporations.
John Glass & Son*
The well-known 'building firm, John Glass & Sou, of No. 426
West 23d street, has been established since 1847, and Mr. John Glass,
the founder of the firm, has built a large number of private dwel-
lings, stores, mercantile buildings and apartments throughout the
city. In the early days of his career he built to sell on a favorable
market, as well as for a private investment. He has built an excel-
lent class of houses, and always found, when he placed his buildings
on the market a ready sale. The Adams Hotel on West street, and
Glass Hall are among the prominent buildings erected by this firm.
One of the contracts just completed by the firm was the private
stables of Siegel, Cooper & Co., on West 17th street.
Edward Gridley*
Edward Gridley, carpenter and builder, has been associated with
the New York building industry since 1846. He learned his trade
in those days when a journeyman carpenter possessed, probably, a
more thorough and extensive knowledge of his trade than what is
now required of one. Mr. Gridley's reputation for thorough work
is well known. He has been located at his present address, 240
West 27th street, for the past 28 years. During that time he has
completed such contracts as the roofing of the City Hall and its
cupola ; school houses throughout the city, a large number of
stations on the Third Avenue Elevated road, Vanderbilt's stables at
86th street and Madison avenue, and other large stables, Lester
Studio Building, Madison avenue and 56th and 57th streets ; Van
Dyke Studio Building, Eighth avenue and 56th street, and other
important buildings, besides innumerable residences.
Grissler & Son*
The firm of Grissler & Son was established in 1861, being then
known as Grissler & Fausel. In 1884, Mr. Fausel retired, and in
1889 Mr. Grissler associated with himself as his partner, his son.
They are unquestionably one of the best class of carpenter builders
in the city, having all the facilities for manufacturing the materials
used in their well equipped mill in Nos. 632-636 East 17th street.
The firm has completed many large and important carpenter con-
tracts. This firm is one of the few who have the reputation of man-
ufacturing all their materials.
336 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
William A* Hankinson*
For a quarter of a century Mr. Wm. A. Hankinson, of No. 116
West Thirty-third street, has been building in this city private dwell-
ings, churches, stores, warehouses and stables. In most instances
he has taken the entire contract, while in some cases he has con-
tracted for the carpenter work alone, for Mr. Hankinson is a thor-
oughly experienced carpenter, and is one of the most successful in
that branch of the building industry in the city. Mr. Hankinson
has made a specialty of repairs and alterations, particularly in pri-
vate houses. He has a large number of customers for whose estates
he has the entire charge of such work. In addition to the carpenter
work, Mr. Hankinson is able to superintend all kinds of mechanical
work for his clients.
Michael Hanlon*
Mr. Michael Hanlon, whose office is located at No. 122 Bowery,
is a mason builder and general contractor. Mr. Hanlon is a practi-
cal member of the building craft, having learned his trade and grad-
uated from his apprenticeship to the position of journeyman, and
from that to his present position of general contractor. He has
never entered the field of speculative building, but has always ad-
hered to the legitimate trade. He has built a large number of mer-
cantile buildings, stores and warehouses in the mercantile section of
the city. His reputation as a builder rests on the class of work done,
which is generally recognized as equal to that of any done in this
city.
Hogenauer & Wesslau*
The building firm of Hogenauer & Wesslau has been prominently
connected with the New York building industry since 1889. ^n tnat
year Mr. A. Hogenauer and Mr. A. E. Wesslau, both practical
builders, joined forces, and began to operate in the lower part of the
city. Here they built improved tenements, but in 1892, finding the
Harlem residential district a better field, they accordingly began to
build there. The houses, flats and apartments completed by this
firm are of the best class, and no element of cheapness was allowed
to enter in their construction. As examples of the more important
structures, we submit the following: private houses, Nos. 308 to 314
I02d street, between West End avenue and Riverside Drive. The
firm's address is No. 348 Willis av.
William Home*
William Home, carpenter and general contractor, of No. 245 West
26th street, has been connected with New York building trade for
over six years. He served his apprenticeship and worked as a
journeyman carpenter under some of the most prominent of our local
builders. Afterwards his progressive tendencies prompted him to
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 337
open an office and enter the sphere of general contracting. In this
he has been greatly successful, not only in securing contracts for
stables, residences and apartment houses, but he has completed a
large amount of municipal work. Mr. Home has also bought and
improved property which he then placed on the market.
The Hydraulic Construction Co*
The Hydraulic Construction Co., with a paid-up capital of $250,-
000, was organized in 1888 and incorporated in 1895. The president
and chief engineer is Mr. Wm. De H. Washington, who is well fitted
for his position by reason of his thorough and extensive knowledge
of hydraulics and general engineering. Besides building and main-
taining municipal water-works, the company furnishes manufactur-
ing establishments with plants for condensing purposes ; in addition,
they have built some of the largest caisson foundations for the most
massive structures on land and for docks and lighthouses in water.
We can give but few of the many successful contracts completed by
them, among which are the water-works of Bayonne, N. J., and
Lowell, Mass. ; condensing plants for the Metropolitan Traction Co.,
and the Wallace Brewing Co.; Brooklyn Heights Cable Railway
Co., Hyde Park, Walpole, New Utrecht ; foundations for the Siegel-
Cooper Building and the Northwest Point Royal Shoal Lighthouse ;
Johnson, Meyer-Jonnason, Spingler.
George G* Jackson*
Mr. George G. Jackson, of No. 208 West 17th street, is a carpen-
ter and builder who has been connected with New York's building
industry for twelve years. During that time Mr. Jackson has been
engaged in the capacity of jobber for the Rhinelander estate and
has paid special attention to jobbing, repairing and general altera-
tions. Mr. Jackson has also built on a speculative basis in the West
Side, between 14th street and 34th street. The class of buildings
which he erected are generally a combination of business and resi-
dential structures. Two of his best examples are those of No. 311
West 15th street, and No. 314 West 16th street. He also erected
No. 278 West 19th street and Nos. 168 and 170 Eighth avenue.
Amund Johnson*
Among the successful builders who have bought unimproved
property and built thereon for sale stands Mr. Amund Johnson,
whose office is now located in his handsome eight-story office build-
ing at No. 114 West 34th street. Mr. Johnson is a carpenter, builder
and general contractor. In 1886, having previously perfected himself
in metropolitan carpentry, he opened an office and entered the car-
penter building trade, in which, by his thorough work and attention
to detail he became eminently successful. He perceived the growing
need for office buildings in the commercial portion of the city, and
22
338
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
he at once began to purchase suitable sites, on which he afterwards
erected office buildings. Some of the more important are Nos. 9 and
11 East 1 6th street; Nos. 60-62 East nth street; Nos. 50-52 West 3d
street; Nos. 64-66 East nth street, and No. 114 West 23d street.
Jones & O'Connor*
The firm of Jones & O'Connor, of No. 71 West 10th street, has
been in existence two years, although both members of the firm have
been identified with building operations in New York for many
years. The firm takes general contracts and from the many clients
for whom this firm has completed work we learn that it is held
in the highest esteem. For some time past the firm has completed
many school contracts and has been lately awarded the contract
for Grammar School No. 44, on Hubert street, near Hudson, in-
volving an expenditure of $200,000. Jones & O'Connor have al-
ways adhered to legitimate building. They have established for them-
selves an excellent reputation for prompt and reliable work.
Thomas B* Leahy*
As general superintendent and clerk of the works in the construc-
tion of the Waldorf Hotel, the Manhattan Athletic Club and the
Wilks Building, Broad and Wall streets, Mr. Thomas B. Leahy-
needs no introduction to the building trade of New York. Possess-
ing an intimate knowledge of detail in each of the many branches
of the building trades, Mr. Leahy entered the field of general con-
tracting in 1892. Since that time he has made a specialty of altera-
tions, in which line he has been eminently successful. He has secured
a large portion of the more important alteration work of late, of
which the following is representative: Shanleys, No. 1476 Broadway;
St. Cloud Hotel; the row of houses on Broadway, Nos. 1497-1513.
His address is No. 350 West 31st street.
Lewis & Jones*
There is no more reliable building firm in New York than the firm
of Lewis & Jones, of No. 2 West 14th street. The history of the
members of the firm is sufficient guarantee of their reputations as men
of sterling worth. Mr. John J. Lewis has been intimately connected
with the building trade of this city for- 50 years, and his partner,
Thomas Jones, for more than 25 years. During that time, individ-
ually they have completed many large contracts; together, since
1887, when the partnership was formed, they have finished such con-
tracts as the Fulton Building, Fulton and Nassau streets ; the office
building for Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Pine street; the Coffee Exchange
Building, rebuilding the Manhattan Bank, Wall street, besides a
number of mercantile buildings on Beekman street and residences
and stables throughout the city.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 339
List & Lennon*
The firm of Alexander List and Thomas Lennon was formed in
1877. Both are practical mason builders and together form one of
the most substantial contracting firms in New York. They have
built many classes of structures in masonry from the simple resi-
dence to the elaborate heavy masonry of some of our most important
buildings. They have many factories in the mercantile portion of
the city below 14th street, and a large number of apartment houses
and buildings. Their address is No. 301 West 59th street.
R* McArtney*
Mr. R. McArtney is a carpenter builder and contractor of over
twenty years' experience. He makes a specialty of store and office
work, as well as high class cabinet work. He has completed the
carpenter work in such prominent buildings as Matthiessen &
Wiechers' sugar refinery in Jersey City; Mt. Morris Church, 127th
street and 5th avenue; Dr. Simpson's Tabernacle, at 43d street and
Eighth avenue; Bracca Home, connected with the Tabernacle; Cy-
rus Clarke's residence at 90th street and Riverside Drive; Holly-
wood Flats, at No. no West 39th street; Van Tassel's grain ele-
vator, 116th street and 3d avenue. Mr. McArtney also does a large
amount of Postal Telegraph Company's work. His address is No.
66 West 58th street.
S* K* McGwire*
The reputation for reliable work held by Mr. S. K. McGuire, car-
penter and builder, of No. 151 West 28th street, dates back nearly
half a century. In 1856, the present business was established bv Mr.
McGuire, who had associated with himself a partner; together they
carried on a successful business for 30 years. Subsequently the part-
nership was dissolved, and to Mr. McGuire fell the management of
a well-established business. He has operated very largely in high
class residences, located on Fifth avenue and Madison avenue.
Among mercantile buildings and stores he has also been successful
in securing contracts. A few of his more important jobs are: H.
O'Neil & Co.'s Store, Sixth avenue; New York Cotton Exchange,
Beaver street; Colonial Clubhouse, West 72d street; Christ Church,
West 71st street; Grace M. E. Church, West 104th street, and New
York Savings Bank, Eighth avenue and 14th street.
James McMillen,
Mr. James McMillen, of 1123 Broadway, succeeded in accomplish-
ing what very few builders from outside New York have done. Com-
ing to New York from the Middle West, Minneapolis and afterwards
Duluth, where he ranked as one of the foremost carpenter builders
and general contractors of those cities, he entered the metropolitan
field in the spring of 1897 at a time when competition in the building
340 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
line was at its keenest for many years. He succeeded in capturing
the entire contract of the Royalton bachelor apartment hotel, a con-
tract involving an expenditure of $500,000, one of the best contracts
awarded that year. He has managed its construction successfully,
and it was ready on January 1, 1898. Mr. McMillen will probably
continue as a general contractor in New York.
Harry McNally.
It would be an incomplete list of successful New York mason
builders and general contractors in which the name of Mr.
Harry McNally, of No. 287 Fourth avenue, did not appear. Mr.
McNally has been connected with the building industry in this city
for a number of years; he has built residences, stables, ware-
houses, mercantile buildings, and apartment houses in different
parts of the city. For the past four or five years he has devoted his
attention more particularly to municipal buildings, and in this he
has been very successful. One may judge of his success in this line
when it is learned that at the present time he has in course of con-
struction four school houses, costing $250,000 each, and over 500
men in his employ.
Mapes-Reeve Construction Co*
The Mapes-Reeve Construction Company is a corporation organ-
ized for the purpose of managing all kinds of structural work in the.
building line under one head. x When a contract is taken the mason
work, the carpenter work, the electrical work and all the depart-
ments of building is severally managed by the company as the head.
The individual members have been connected with the New York
building trade for over twenty years. The officers of the company
are L. O. Reeve, pres.; F. H. Reeve, vice-pres. and treas.; D. H.
Mapes, gen. mgr.; C. W. Reeve, sec. The company possess a repu-
tation of doing none but high grade work, and it is well known they
will turn away contracts and refuse such wherein cheapness is what
the investor or architect seeks for. The company have built largely
in the city, not only in large private residences, flats and apartment
houses, but also schools and hospitals. The company's address is
No. 150 Nassau street.
D, Mitchell*
Mr. D. Mitchell, of No. 155 East Forty-fourth street, has been
connected with the New York building industry for twenty-five
years. Mr. Mitchell is a carpenter builder, having during his career
completed numberless subcontracts of varying size throughout the
entire city. He has also secured the entire contract of some import-
ant mercantile buildings in the lower part of the city. But the
greater part of Mr. Mitchell's building is done in connection with
some of the estates of old Knickerbocker families. He has built,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
341
repaired, altered and rebuilt for the Van Buren, Sloan, Clark,
Stevens, Schermerhorn estates. The fact of Mr. Mitchell having
been connected so long with those estates is ample proof of his thor-
oughness as a builder.
Charles E* Moore*
Mr. Charles E. Moore, of No. 81 Morningside avenue, is a rep-
resentative builder in the upper districts of New York. He has
made Harlem the scene of his operations, and during his connection
with the building trade he has contributed in no slight measure to
the general development and progress made in the residential and
business thoroughfares above Central Park. Mr. Moore is a practi-
cal builder and is familiar with its many details, obtained only by
experience. As an employer, he requires the utmost attention to de-
tail from his workmen, believing that general excellence can only be
obtained in such a manner. As an example of Mr. Moore's crafts-
manship we submit the handsome apartment house at No. 81 Morn-
ingside avenue.
Murphy Bros*
. The firm of Murphy Bros., whose office is located at No. 407 East
101st street, is composed of Sylvester A. Murphy and Edward S.
Murphy. Both men are very well known in New York building
trade circles, not only on account of their success as builders in mer-
cantile and residential structures, but also in the large number of
municipal and public buildings which they have erected. The firm
was established in 1882, succeeding Sylvester Murphy, the father of
the present members of the firm, who was a well-known mason
builder. Among the many buildings erected by them are: police sta-
tions in different parts of the city, and public schools ; the Erysipelas
Pavilion, Isolated Pavilion, boiler house and laundry at Bellevue
Hospital; handsome residences at Irvington and Larchmont; the
Harlem Clubhouse, and the Musical Union; also a large number of
warehouses and mercantile buildings.
Edwin Outwater*
Mr. Edwin Outwater, of No. 510 West 24th street, is a general
contractor who combines mason and carpenter work under his sup-
ervision. He began as a carpenter contractor in 1881, and his opera-
tions met with such uniform success, that he entered the larger field
of general contracting. He has always built for his customers in a
legitimate competitive manner as a contractor. His chief success as a
builder has been in large overhauling and alteration contracts, al-
though he has built some prominent mercantile and office buildings.
Among the jobs which he has just completed this year or are in
course of completion, are two handsome residences in Nos. 6 and 8
East 76th street, for Mrs. M. T. Ludlow and Mr. Henry Parish; the
342
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
p
o
H
< c
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 343
carpentry work of the Gill Building, Nos. 9, 11 and 13 Maiden
Lane; a residence for Harvey Fish in No. 230 West 72A street;
also for Mr. J. W. Roosevelt, in No. no East 31st street; the
overhauling of No. 34 West 52d street for J. Oakley Rhinelander.
One may glean from the above list the extent of Mr. Outwater's
business since he commenced building.
James O'Toole.
Mr. James OToole, of No. 348 East 84th street, is one of New
York's reliable mason builders and general contractors. He is a
practical and experienced member of the craft, having been connec-
ted with it in the capacity of contractor for nearly twenty years.
During that time he has erected numerous structures in different
parts of the city, comprising warehouses, residences, stores, besides
a large amount of public and other work. Probably his greatest
contract is one which has been recently completed, that of a muni-
cipal building in Crotona Park, Borough of the Bronx. Mr.
O 'Toole has also completed some fine specimens of brickwork
and masonry on Ward's and Blackwell's islands.
John Peirce*
Mr. John Peirce has a national reputation as a contractor. His
operations have extended over the greater part of the United States,
and include many magnificent structures, both public and private.
His building enterprises have been highly successful, a circumstance
due to the fact that everything is done under his personal direction.
Mr. Peirce is President of the New York and Maine Granite Paving
Block Co., at No. 5 Beekman street. He is also the largest stock-
holder of the Hallowell Granite Co., and many other concerns, in-
cluding the Bodwell Granite Co., of Rockland, Me., the Mt. Waldo
Granite Works, of Frankfort, Me., and the Stony Creek Co., of Stony
Creek, Conn.
Pizer Bros*
The firm of Pizer Bros., of No. 249 West 133d street, composed of
Leon Pizer and Jacob Pizer, has been connected with the New
York building trade for ten years. The firm has built generally
on a speculative basis, but the structures completed by them are
above the ordinary type usually built for the market. In the be-
ginning of its career, the firm built tenements in the
lower section of the city, but attracted by the larger field
in the upper section of the city, the firm commenced to
build in the upper East Side. In all, Pizer Bros, have
completed in the latter locality seven flats, but their best
work is that which is just completed — the handsome apart-
ment house extending the entire front of Lexington avenue, be-
tween 79th and 80th streets, and single flats on the adjoining corners.
344 ' A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The Ponce De Leon and the Brunswick are unquestionably the peer
of any apartment house on Manhattan Island. Fitted with the best
and most improved conveniences in plumbing, dumb waiters, re-
frigerators and gas ranges, they form model apartments. The stairs
and halls are marble ; the plumbing nickelled and exposed and beau-
tifully designed. Mantels fitted with bevelled French mirrors add
to general effect. Pizer Bros, expended $400,000 on this handsome
work, none of which sum consisted of a building loan. The archi-
tect, Mr. George Pelham, designed the structure, and the light, air
and general comfort have been carefully thought of.
John G. Porter & Co*
Messrs. John G. Porter & Co., No. 36 Beekman street, are mason
builders and general contractors of over 28 years' experience. Dur-
ing that time they have completed many structures of various kinds,
ranging from the alteration and jobbing work to the more elaborate
work of an office or mercantile building. In connection with their
general contracting work, Messrs. Porter & Co. have been especially
successful in constructing foundations for the heavy printing
presses of the large New York dailies. Mr. Stephen Hatten, who
is associated with Mr. Porter, has charge of this division of the
work. Messrs. Porter & Co. have completed a very large alteration
contract for Clinton & Russell in No. 35 Park avenue, costing
about $125,000. The firm is also retained by some of the best
houses in the city for their jobbing and alteration work.
George W* Prodgers.
Mr. George W. Prodgers has been actively engaged in New York
building since 1883. He is the successor of the firm of Smith &
Prodgers, of which his father was the leading member. Mr. George
W. Prodgers acquired his practical knowledge under his father's
tutelage, and became proficient in the higher class of building. Mr.
Prodgers has confined his operations to a substantial class of build-
ings in which there is no speculative nor cheap element entering.
He has built a variety of structures in different parts of the city
thoroughly excellent as to quality and thoroughness of work. His
address is No. 1125 Broadway.
Paul B* Pugh & Co-
The controlling force in the firm of Paul B. Pugh & Co., of No.
476 West 145th street, is Mr. Paul B. Pugh himself. Mr. Pugh
started in business as a carpenter contractor in 1890. In 1894, he
formed a co-partnership with his two brothers, the firm taking its
present name. Since its inception, the company has taken many
first-class contracts and the manner in which they have been execu-
ted testifies to the high esteem with which this company is held in
the building trade. Mr. Pugh is a painstaking and conscientious
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 345
employer, and the work completed by him is ample evidence of that
fact. He has completed the trim work on the Hotel Endicott, Hotel
Gerard, 10-story mercantile building at Howard street and Broad-
way, and another in Washing-ton square. The company have com-
pleted trim work for a large number of private dwellings and have
also built on their own account flats and private dwellings. Mr. Pugh
has just completed the Albemarle apartment house, in No. 361 West
27th street. The firm will now enter the general contracting field.
Stephen M* Randall*
There are few builders who have been able to successfully com-
pete in New York building circles, and in addition to carry on a
most successful general contracting business in Brooklyn. Mr.
Randall established his business in Brooklyn, where his main office
is yet located, in the year 1868. He built very largely in Brooklyn,
and finally came to New York. In the metropolitan field his energy
and ability have found their scope, and it is only right to state that
Mr. Randall has proved himself to be one of the most able and suc-
cessful competitors in the arena of the building industry in this city.
His New York office is located at 1125 Broadway.
Edward F* Roach*
In the ranks of mason builders and general contractors in New
York there is none who possesses a more thorough knowledge of
the details of the craft than does Mr. Edward F. Roach, of No. 218
West 2 1st street. Mr. Roach is a capable and well-known builder,
and all the structures completed by him show by their general finish
the master builder. He has completed various contracts from the
alteration of a residence to the erection of stores, warehouses and
other mercantile buildings. In the residential districts he has built
chiefly on the West Side, although generally speaking his opera-
tions have extended over the entire city.
Peter Roberts*
One of the well known mason builders and general contractors in
the lower section of the west side of the city is Mr. Peter Roberts, of
No. 276 West Broadway. He has operated largely in the dry goods
district for a large clientele of merchants, overhauling, repairing and
making modern some of the old style stores. Mr. Roberts has also
remodeled many residences in Fifth avenue and adjoining streets
for mercantile purposes. But probably Mr. Roberts' greatest work
has been in Montclair, N. J., where he converted a wide stretch of
country propertv into a suburban park for a realty coporation. Mr.
Roberts built at Irving Park, as the suburb is called, eight hand-
some dwellings costing $15,000 each.
346 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Thomas B* Rutan*
Mr. Thomas B. Rutan is one of Brooklyn's most prominent build-
ers. The class of work which he has completed embraces some of
the largest and most important ever completed in that city. Mr. Ru-
tan has been a mason builder and general contractor since 1865;
he had previous to that date entered the building trade, but on the
war breaking out he enlisted . On his return he recommenced and
during his career he has completed such structures as the Mechanics'
Bank Building, Court and Montague streets, considered the best of-
fice building in Brooklyn; the Fourteenth Regiment Armory at 8th
avenue and 14th street; Prospect Water Tower; Brooklyn City Rail-
road Building; St. Augustine Church; Thomas Jefferson Building;
Phoenix Building; People's Bank Building; Central Presbyterian
Church; National City Bank; Baldwin Building, and a large number
of the high-class buildings. His address is Nos. 4 and 5 Court
square, Brooklyn.
Clarence L* Smith*
The business carried on by Mr. Clarence L. Smith, of No. 1 Mad-
ison avenue, since 1885, is a large and extensive one. Mr. Smith is
one of the large contractors doing excavating work, and in addition
he manages a large building material supply business. In connec-
tion with those branches of the building trade, he operates one of
the largest trucking departments in this city. Some of the largest
excavating contracts completed by him are those of the Metropoli-
tan Life Insurance Building, in No. 1 Madison avenue. Sherry's
Hotel, 44th street and Fifth avenue, Havemeyer Stores, Prince
and Broadway, Schermerhorn Building, 4th street and Broadway,
the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and the two wings of
the Museum of Natural History. The building materials for the
latter building and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Building were
supplied by Mr. Smith.
Edward Smith & Co*
Among the well-known carpenter jobbers doing a high class of
work in that branch of the building trade is Edward Smith & Co., of
No. 46 Ann street, and No. 116 West 39th street. The business was
established in i860 by Mr. Smith, but since the formation of the com-
pany Messrs. Thos. J. Thompson, Valentine Lynch and William F.
Birmingham have been admitted as partners. The company pos-
sesses a large clientele for whom carpentry jobbing has been done for
many years. Store and office fitting and interior decoration work
are specialties in which Edward Smith & Co. unquestionably excels.
Among the concerns for which the company does work are the Pos-
tal Telegraph and Commerce Cable companies.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 347
G* F* Tausig.
Among the high-class, reputable builders and general contractors,
in New York, is the well-established firm of G. F. Tausig, of No. 256
West 28th street and 257 West 27th street. Mr. Tausig has been
connected with the building industry for sixteen years, and pre-
vious to that acted in the capacity of foreman for New York's
leading builder for five years. Mr. Tausig is one of our best
carpenter and cabinet workers, having a wide experience
in both branches. As examples of his capacity as a builder
we name the large factory at 146th street and Railroad avenue,
and the fine cabinet work in the residence of Dr. H. Holbrook Cur-
tis, of which Mr. Tausig completed the entire contract. He has
completed the cabinet and carpenter work of the two Western Elec-
tric buildings, at Bethune and West streets, and the New York Eye
and Ear Infirmary. The carpentry work of the northeast corner of
Broadway and Eighth street, an eleven-story building, and of
many other mercantile buildings has been completed by him.
Terry & Tench Construction Co*
The skeleton framework of some of our large office and public
buildings now being erected in all our larger American cities requires
a technical engineering knowledge, together with a practical experi-
ence in structural iron work. Among the best known and
probably first among the largest of the Western bridge constructors
who were attracted to the center of structural iron work in the East
is the now highly reputable firm of Terry & Tench Construction Co.,
of No. 1945 Seventh avenue. Coming to New York from Oregon
in the spring of 1895 they have succeeded in establishing a reputation
for reliable and rapid work that is sim/ply wonderful considering the
short time the firm has been connected with New York building
circles. Among the buildings constructed and supplied by this firm
are the Mills House No. 1, Central National Bank, Cushman Build-
ing, Grand Central Station, Sherry's new building, 44th street and
Fifth avenue, and the Hudson Building.
Henry Turner*
Mr. Henry Turner, whose office is located at No. 113 West 96th
street, is a representative New York contractor, whose structures
testify to his ability as a builder. He is thoroughly familiar with all
branches of the building trade, and it is his attention to detail and
high class workmanship required of his employees that have brought
about in all the buildings completed by Mr. Turner a high standard
of excellence. He has built to a great extent on the upper West Side
of New York, although his operations have not been confined there
exclusively. He is a practical member of the craft and is recognized
as one of the most careful and thorough builders. Mr. Turner exer-
cises a personal supervision over his work with the result that it is
all that could be desired.
348 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
C H* Van Aken*
While the New York building industry embraces many particular
ramifications, there is no branch in which sound judgment and wide
experience is so necessary to attain success as in that branch in which
a contractor figures on a job where there is a thorough overhauling
or repairing to be done. Mr. C. H. Van Aken, of No. 148 West 4th
street, while not devoting his attention wholly to repairing and over-
hauling, is one of the most successful and reliable contractors in that
line of work in the city. He is a mason builder, and previous to his
entry into the general contracting field in the city served as journey-
man, and for many years acted as superintendent to some well-known
builders.
E* Van Houten*
The list of New York's mason builders and general contractors
comprise many able and experienced men. The name of Erskine
Van Houten, of No. 1181 Third avenue, comes prominent in the
list, for Mr. Van Houten is one of New York's most reliable
builders in the legitimate trade. He has been connected with build-
ing matters for many years, during which time he has built various
structures and completed extensive alterations in different parts of
the city. While not confining his operations to the upper East
Side Mr. Van Houten has built in that locality to the greatest
extent. He is a practical builder, and understands the craft thor-
oughly.
H* H. Vought & Co.
The building firm of H. H. Vought & Co., of No. 159 East 54th
street, is one of the most substantial high-class building firms in the
city. They have been connected with the building trade since 1882.
The best evidence one can produce regarding its efficiency as a
building firm is the list of structures completed by them. Among the
more prominent are the woodwork on the new Third avenue Cable
Building, 66th street and Third avenue; Convent Sacred Heart, 133d
street and Convent avenue; Skin and Cancer Hospital, 19th street
*nd Second avenue; Batchelor Apartments, 32d street and Madison
avenue; West End Chapel, 105th street and Amsterdam avenue;
St. Thomas Church, 60th street, First and Second avenues ; build-
ing for Mr. E. H. Laudon, 44 East 66th street; building for Mr.
John Eastman, Tarrytown.
F* H* Wakeham,
Mr. F. H. Wakeham, office 175 West Houston street, belongs to
the younger element in the mason and general contracting trade in
this city. It was in 1890 that Mr. Wakeham decided to open an of-
fice and enter the arena of competitive contracting. He
was well qualified for the work. He possessed a thorough
knowledge of the building trade in all its details; he had
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
349
served his apprenticeship under his father and grandfather,
both of whom were builders in this country and in Europe,
and he became proficient under them. Previous to his opening
his office, Mr. Wakeham had served as foreman and superintendent
to several of the more prominent and substantial builders in the city.
Mr. Wakeham is identified with the Mechanics' and Traders' As-
sociations and is a member of the Mason Builders' Association of
New York. Some of the more important contracts which he has
completed were the masonry of the $300,000 alteration to the Hotel
Albemarle and the erection of factories at No. 118 Hudson street
and No. 137 Mulberry street; residence at No. 11 East 61st street,
and apartment house at No. 967 Western Boulevard.
James G* Wallace*
James G. Wallace, of No. 56 Pine street, is a well-known New
York builder of the better class. He has had wide experience ex-
tending over eighteen years, and during that time he has completed
such buildings as the Taylor Building, the Wallace Building and the
Beard Building. Each of them is a twelve-story, modern office
building situated in the office section of the city. For the past ten
years Mr. Wallace has confined his building operations to the mer-
cantile portion of the citv and many of the warehouses in Greene
street and that section have been constructed by him. Previously
Mr. Wallace built extensively in the middle portion of the upper
East Side, that territory between 26th and 59th streets. In that
section he built many tenements, flats and apartment houses.
Thomas G* Wallace*
Thos, G. Wallace was associated with his father, William Wallace,
in the building trade for fourteen years. Four year ago he started in
business for himself at No. 130 Lexington avenue. Mr. Wallace is
a general contractor, but he makes a specialty of remodeling build-
ings. A list of the buildings which he has erected includes the Cen-
ter Court Apartments in West 28th street; the Hotel Bernard, in Lex-
ington Avenue, at 30th street; Dr. John R. Conway's house, in Gram-
ercy Park, and his present office building, in Lexington avenue. He
has done work for such architects as Clinton & Russell, Renwick, As-
pinwall & Owen, Parish & Schroeder, John B. Franklin, Hill & Tur-
ner and Charles Bull. Although Mr. Wallace is comparatively
a young builder, he has served a long apprenticeship under the very
best of masters. A practical knowledge of the trade is very essential
in building as may readily be seen. While the architect's technical
knowledge may be in a large measure theoretical, in the case of the
builder this must be supplemented by experience in actual con-
struction. There are many fine points connected with the erection
of a building which cannot be learned from text-books, and, as a
mere matter of safety, cannot be learned by experiment.
350
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
P. Walsh.
Mr. P. Walsh belongs to the solid and reliable class of carpenter-
builders and general contractors who have contributed in no slight
manner to the building and 'house construction in New York. He
has been established since 1872, and has built to a great extent in the
lower section of the west side. He is a legitimate builder and has
built on contract many factories, churches, mercantile buildings and
private residences. Among the more important contracts comple-
ted are the Temble Beth El, Bowery Branch Y. M. C. A., churches
of St. John the Evangelist and the Sacred Heart, Ursuline Convent,
in Bedford Park, St. Elizabeth's Academy, Home of Little Sisters
of the Poor, in 106th street, anc|^a mercantile building on 34th
street and Tenth avenue.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
351
« £
0 2
Is
3S2 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
A REVIEW OF BUILDING IN
NEW YORK CITY.
HOW New York City has grown to its present dimensions is one
of the most interesting and instructive of studies. Why it is
in process of reconstruction now and what forces are shaping
its future are matters of concern not only for the city fathers but for
every property-owner and every man who is engaged in the great
work of reconstruction and extension.
It was said by an architect only a year or so ago that he could
trace the growth and expansion of the city by its architecture, be-
ginning at the Battery with the old Dutch brick walled, tile roofed,
houses, part shop and part dwelling, and tracing its periods through
the changing phases of Colonial, Greek, Gothic, French, French
Mansard, Queen Anne, Romanesque, and again French Re-
naissance orders and styles of architecture. Perhaps he
would still be able to do so, but the monuments by which he
would proceed are fast disappearing. In a little while he will not be
able to trace the growth of the city by architectural periods, for the
city is undergoing transformation. The old orders and styles are
passing out of use. The buildings of more than twenty-five years of
age are all doomed to destruction. The millions upon millions
that they represent are, have long been, merged in the value of the
land, and the recognized requirements of the future city are calling
for buildings of an order that is new to architecture and construc-
tion. One of the most beautiful, elaborate and expensive office
buildings the city could boast, built just thirty years ago and of the
most massive, fire-proof construction, was torn down two years
ago and replaced with one not more beautiful or architecturally
true, but "up to date" in its capacity, equipment and provision for
modern requirements. The New York Life building operation is
an extreme example, not likely to be followed by individuals or
many other corporations, but it is illustrative of what is in progress
all over the city. To be able to appreciate the movement at its full
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 353
value we must go back a generation and examine the conditions of
construction as they existed at that time.
Building in New York has from the beginning been largely in-
fluenced by economic considerations. Ever since the city outgrew
its colonial character and took on metropolitan characteristics it
has been a profitable field for the builder and real estate operator.
In no other city in the world has so much capital and such an array
of forces been employed in producing homes and places of employ-
ment in anticipation of immigration and the natural increase of pop-
ulation. This combination of capital and labor in productive forces
operating in a single industrial field has grown with the growth of
the city until its annual capacity in the production of new buildings
amounts to more than the annual cost of provisioning the entire
city. In times of national prosperity there has been profitable em-
ployment for all these forces and by their efforts vast sums have
been added to the permanent wealth of the city. But there have
been lean years as well as fat ones, and in them competition has at
times dealt harshly and severely with these forces. Yet out of this
competition have grown some notable advances and improvements
in the arts and systems of construction.
Twenty-five years ago the system of construction, no less than
its architectural design, was in a state of transition in New York
City. There had been several years of practice in the French Re-
naissance style, with modifications now and then in its application
to commercial construction, and there had been attempts to estab-
lish some forms of the passenger elevator in the higher buildings.
But in the fall of 1871 the Chicago fire raised, among other things,
some important questions regarding the fitness and sufficiency of
materials for certain uses, the economy of non-fire-proof construc-
tion, and the possibility of a larger use of the area to be built upon.
All of these wrere essentially economic questions, having refer-
ence in their final solution to the main question of income in its re-
lation to the investment. For, although New York has many nota-
ble examples of ecclesiastical, academic, institutional, domestic and
civic architecture, the greater portion of its construction has been
commercial, and in this class of construction the economic consid-
23
354
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
P d
H 2
P *■«
H
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 355
eration, from an incidental relation, has grown to be the first. Many
years prior to 1872 New York City real estate had taken on a mer-
cantile quality rarely found in real estate operations before, and had
become a favorite medium of investment for persons of surplus
means. The question in all such cases is, first, "how much will it
cost?" second, "how much will it pay?"
As we look over the last quarter century of real estate and build-
ing activity in New York it seems as if every effort in commercial
architecture and construction has been addressed to the solution
of these two questions. And the effort to solve them favorably to
the speculator and the investor has resulted in some very remark-
able changes in the art and system of construction. The evidence
is conclusive that in and through it all there has been a conscien-
tious and persistent effort in the direction of improvement. This
effort, we now see, was not always wisely or intelligently directed.
The conviction in course of time entered the minds of our builders
that beauty, in its relation to construction, possessed the element
of commercial value, and the effort to apply beauty to their stereo-
typed forms of construction resulted in some grotesque creations.
But at the beginning of this period of review the architect was
just emerging from a position of subordination to the builder and
architecture began to be considered as something more than a bar-
ren ideality. Our builders had previously been their own architects,
a fact which produced at least one satisfactory result from the point
of view of the present; their works in general are so simple and in-
expensive that they count now as simple encumbrances of the soil,
like old stumps and field stone. In sales of property that was im-
proved more than thirty years ago the buildings seldom figure, either
as assets or liabilities, in the present value of the property. They
are utterly unsuited to the requirements of our modern day, yet they
cost nothing to remove. The emancipation of the architect nat-
urally resulted in a broadening of the whole field of construction.
In their day every novelty in design or materials was deemed an
improvement, and in one respect at least they were entitled to the
distinction, for they served to raise from Manhattan Island the re-
proach of brownstone monotony, that had justly attached to all its
356
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
H
O
Z
<j
X
o
X
H
S8
£ CO
o
Q
c
H
W
H
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 357
works for a generation. For commercial, domestic and institutional
building the material of the fagades was always the same, the ever-
lasting brownstone. Here and there, indeed, the one inevitable
design was occasionally worked out in the more expensive grey-
stone, a tacit acknowledgment of the general indictment.
Originality in design and materials was under these circum-
stances at a premium, and the man who designed the first Renais-
sance fagade, with its columns, pilasters and arches, its deeply
recessed openings, its mansard roof, became the leader of
a new dispensation, with imitators and followers of all sorts
and gradations. Brownstone was abandoned. The new de-
sign called for new materials. Nova Scotia freestone, light grey in
color, fine and firm in texture, yielding readily to the carver's chisel,
was used to some extent, but our more pretentious buildings were
worked out in a light, cream-colored marble, a small quarry of
which was uncovered at Tuckahoe, up in Westchester County.
Cast-iron, moulded in all the architectural forms necessary to the
most elaborate fagade, was frequently employed for commercial
fronts. The French design was employed indiscriminately, for
dwellings, for commercial buildings, for public buildings, for fac-
tories and for stables — for structures for which it was well adapted,
and for those for which it was in no way suitable. It was even em-
ployed for wooden houses and cottages, with wood shingles stained
or painted in imitation of slate. Many a man who had up to this
period been content to be a practical carpenter or mason builder
now wrote himself down an "architect." There was no legal pro-
hibition, and, really, our only American school of architecture up
to this time was the field of practical building operations, one in
which experience was the schoolmaster. The mansard style, as it
was generally termed, had a brief but extensive run in this country.
Its sombre wooden examples exist in crumbling monuments still
in every town that can boast an existence of thirty years.
The close of this first French period in the building history of
New York had been nearly reached when the period of our present
review began. We had already in existence, as examples of this
style, the Park National Bank, in Broadway, between Ann and Ful-
358 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ton streets; the New York Life Insurance Company's building, at
Broadway and Leonard street; the A. T. Stewart retail store, at
Broadway, 9th and 10th streets and Fourth avenue; the first Equit-
able Life Assurance Society's building (with a passenger elevator),
from which the present imposing structure has been evolved ; the
A. T. Stewart mansion, at Fifth avenue and 35th street; the Do-
mestic building, at Broadway and 14th street; the Lord & Taylor
and McCreery stores in Broadway; the Masonic Temple, at Sixth
avenue and 23d street; the Grand Opera House, at Eighth avenue
and 23d street; Booth's Theatre, at Sixth avenue and 23d street;
the St. James Hotel, at Broadway and 26th street, with a steam
passenger elevator ; the Gilsey and Grand Central Hotels, farther
up Broadway; the Park avenue, over in Fourth avenue, designed
at first for a working women's hotel ; the Smith building, in Cort-
landt street; the old ''Herald building, at Broadway and Ann
street; the "Sitti" building, and, one of the last of its type, the
Drexel building, with passenger elevators, at Wall and Broad
streets. There were many others, of generally less importance, for
the five years from 1867 to 1872 were productive of $180,000,000
worth of buildings on Manhattan Island. Some of these were faced
entirely with cast-iron, some partly with cast-iron and partly with
white marble, some with granite and marble, some with Nova Scotia
sandstone and some entirely with Tuckahoe marble.
We were already engaged upon the New York Post Office (for
which our beautiful City Hall was dismembered), then generally
considered the most imposing sample of the French type of our
public buildings. It is significant of the state of the public mind
at this time, and of our advance as a nation in our conception of
architectural art, that the public prints and reviews in general ap-
proved the structure and its location, and there were only a few
cultured souls among us with courage enough to protest against
the perpetration of such an enormity. We see now that it was the
magnitude of the structure, then quite the biggest thing in the
country outside of Washington, that won the approval of the picto-
rial press, and with it the mob. It is so even in our own times. Many
an architectural monstrosity has gained a permanent location and
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 359
2
Q
O co
00
H
Q
«!
O
^
£
T3
CO
360 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
public approval in the American metropolis that has little besides
its monumental proportions to recommend it. Things need only
to be bigger than common to gain the approval of the majority,
and in a democracy, of course, the majority always rules.
Quite a considerable number of the buildings of the French
mansard type were of nominally fire-proof construction ; that is,
they were constructed with broad and massive foundations and
walls of masonry, with iron floor beams and girders resting upon
these walls and upon cast-iron interior columns or brick piers, and
with floor arches of set up brick or corrugated iron, each leveled
up with concrete. The stairways were either of stone, encased in
brick, or of cast-iron in open hall court. Up to this time (t868-
1872) construction for commercial or office purposes seldom ex-
ceeded five stories. The economic line was generally drawn at the
fourth floor. Above that, except in newspaper offices, only the
youthful and cheaper classes of operatives were expected to go. The
effective force of the average office and warehouse employee would
stand two flights of stairs without complaint, three flights with mur-
muring and some loss of effective force, but four flights only in se-
dentary employments. In other occupations the loss of time and
energy in climbing four flights of stairs was not compensated for
by the cheaper rents or other advantages of top-floor locations. In
most commercial buildings the top floor was used for light manu-
facturing or bulky storage and packing purposes. In office build-
ings the inevitable janitor had his residence on this floor, his flower
garden, truck patch, back yard and summer house on the roof.
In all the commercial buildings erected during this period there
were elevators, for freight, worked by hand, with a geared hori-
zontal windlass that was suspended from a wooden frame at the
top of the elevator shaft. It was a slow affair, but it answered its
purpose without improvement for many years. But it was also the
germ of the present passenger elevator system, the main factor in
the most momentous revolution in building known to modern times.
Two events happening at about this time brought the French
mansard style of that period and its nominal fire-proof methods of
construction to a test which it could not stand, and it was almost
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 361
Fifth Avenue, New York City.
TEMPLE EMANU-EL.
(1868.)
Leopold Eidlitz, Architect.
362 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
as suddenly and completely dropped as it had leaped into favor five
or six years before. The bringing of the passenger elevator to con-
ditions of practical utility threatened the future of high-class com-
mercial and hotel construction, before even the great fire of Chi-
cago, on October 9 and 10, 1871, subjected building materials then
in use to a crucial test, the result of which was to forever discredit
some forms of construction then extensively employed and to rele-
gate some materials long held in high favor to inferior positions.
Chicago at the time of its famous fire contained the larger propor-
tion of wood construction common to Western cities, and a consid-
erable amount of nondescript cheap brick and wood construction,
but it had also at the time many nominal fire-proof buildings of the
French mansard style, and more cast-iron front commercial build-
ings, with wooden interiors and flat roofs. For her more preten-
tious buildings she had a fine, close-grained, tough, buff limestone,
called Lamont marble, the product of quarries found within forty
miles of the city in two directions. The conflagration swept the en-
tire business portion of the city and large parts of its choicer resi-
dence sections completely out of existence. Over 18,000 buildings
were destroyed, involving losses aggregating $200,000,000, which,
through the ruin of many insurance companies, was distributed
indirectly pretty much over the entire country.
Certain results of this historic blaze made lasting impressions
upon construction in all great centres of population. The loss of
capital through the ruin of insurance companies and of mortgagors
compelled a study of the means of prevention of such fires, and this
study, as a matter of course, began with the materials and systems
of construction. A few of the fire-proof buildings held out valiantly
against the consuming element and were not entirely destroyed,
though every particle of combustible material contained in them
was destroyed and much of the iron work was so warped and
twisted that it had to be taken out. Cast-iron, for the fronts of
buildings, in streets of less than a hundred feet in width, was found
to be most treacherous. In several instances these fronts expanded
and buckled and fell into the street from the effects of the intense
heat radiating from burning buildings on the opposite side of the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 363
CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY.
Madison Avenue, New York City. (1870.) Leopold Eidlitz, Architect.
364 A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
street, before their combustible interiors had taken fire. Lime-
stone proved but a poor resistant of the heat, cracking and crum-
bling quickly upon exposure ; granite was better, some qualities, con-
taining larger proportions of quartz, giving way quicker than
others. The freestone fronts, of which there were several, from In-
diana quarries, best withstood the heat test, among the building
stones, but brick alone proved a perfectly reliable resistant in the
wall mass. Among the Chicago clay pits, however, were some that
were largely impregnated with iron and sulphur, and the phenome-
non was observed, after the fire, of apparently perfect brick, the in-
terior contents of which fused and run out, leaving only the hollow
shell remaining. In other mounds of ruins iron, glass and clay were
mixed in solid molten masses. It was also observed of the free-
stones that such as were laid on their natural bed in the wall with-
stood the effects of heat and water better than where the stone were
set on edge. In the latter case it frequently scaled off in large
flakes, necessitating sometimes the taking down of the entire wall.
Investment in Buildings*
All of these facts, the apparent certainty that the elevator had
come to stay; the failure of many materials to stand the heat test,
the necessity for better protection against fire, and one other fact,
the lowering financial skies that broke a year later in the most dis-
astrous panic this country has ever experienced, brought the build-
ing movement of 1868- 1872 to a practical cessation and inaugu-
rated a period of extremely conservative business in the real estate
and building lines in New York. The maximum of construction
for this period was reached in 1871, when 2,782 buildings, costing
$42,585,391, were erected. From this the decline was rapid to
1874, when the year's production embraced only 1,388 buildings,
costing $16,667,414. In the following year the great Park Avenue
Improvement, a joint operation between the New York Central
Railroad Company and the city, by which the rapid transit tunnel
was constructed and the open cut through which the railroad ran
from 49th to 1 06th street, was closed and converted into a tunnel,
was completed. This induced a slight recovery from the stagnation
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 365
CHICKERING HALL.
Fifth Avenue, New York City. (1874-5.)
Geo. B. Post, Architect.
366 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
of the previous year, and building to the amount of $18,227,000 re-
sulted. But the recovery was not sustained. The operations of
builders fell off in 1876 to $15,904,000, and in 1877 to $13.365,000 —
a drop of 70 per cent, from the figures of 1871 !
But this was bed-rock year with the building trades, as well as
with all the other principal industries of the country. From 1877
dates the revival of the building industries. The factor which con-
tributed more than any other, perhaps more than all others, to the
revival of building which began in 1878-79, was the construction
and inauguration of the elevated railroads. After the period of de-
pression, which extended from 1873 to 1879, ancl which ended with
the resumption of specie payments on the 1st of January of that
year, building began to greatly increase in activity. It was slow at
first, 1878 showing only $15,209,000 worth of work laid out, but in
1879 there was $22,567,000 worth; in 1880, $29,115,000 worth, and
in 1881 the figures of 1871 were again exceeded, with a total of
$43,391,000 worth of work planned for. The effects of the panic
and the long ensuing season of depression were past and the spirit
of industry again was buoyant. But values were no longer specu-
lative. The lesson of experience had been a bitter one, but it had
been thoroughly ingrained. Values were thereafter to be deter-
mined only upon productive capacity and actual demand for con-
sumption. So they have ever since continued, which is largely the
reason why, during and since the panic and prolonged financial
stringency of 1893-94, real estate suffered a less depreciation than
any other property. If a vacant, unused lot is worth $10,000 in the
market it is because when improved in the manner of surrounding
property it will readily sell for that sum. If an improved business
property is worth $100,000 in the market it is because it pays 6 per
cent, net or more per annum in rentals or would do so if reimproved
and will in reasonable probability continue to do so. These in gen-
eral are the principles which govern values in these days and which
give stability to the market in trying times.
The cost of new buildings continued to grow without important
fluctuations from the figure of 1881 until 1886, when it jumped from
$46,000,000 to $58,500,000, and to $67,000,000 in 1887. I*1 J888
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 367
came another season of financial depression, and building dropped
to $47,000,000, only to grow again with the disappearance of the
depression to $69,000,000 in the following year and to the highest
total ever reached in the history of construction in any city, up to
that time.
Mechanical Appliances in Building*
There were few changes in the systems, methods and materials
oi building from 1868 to 1873. On some of the more important
business and institutional buildings, the mason builders had experi-
mented with steam platform elevators (after having discarded the
horse power-boom derrick, which was used to some extent in the
'50s, with half-barrel scoops in which the bricks and mortar were
raised and dumped wherever wanted on the building), but this was
not an economical method, except on large buildings of four or
more stones. The platform elevator with a single pulley hoist, for
which the power was furnished by a horse walking away with the
line to lift and backing up to allow the platform to drop by force of
gravitation, was the hoisting system generally employed for raising
brick, mortar and wooden beams above the first story. Stone and
iron were raised by derricks operated by hand windlasses, an ex-
ceedingly slow method, until larger buildings came to be built. The
first derricks in this city on which steam was used for the motive
power, were used by Builder Jeremiah T. Smith, in 1870, in con-
structing the foundations of the new Post-office.
The first application of steam power to derricks used for the rais-
ing of iron, was on the Morse Building, in Nassau street, by Post &
McCord, in 1878. One day Mr. Post, of that firm, sat impatiently
watching the incalculably slow motion of the derrickmen in hoisting
a girder. He began to think about plans for getting up some show
of speed in that branch of the work, and, after figuring a little on the
problem, very promptly concluded that steam power was what he
wanted. That same day he purchased a boiler and engine, and the
next day had it in operation on the job. In speaking of it, Mr. Post
said: "I saved the cost of the boiler and engine on that job."
It was in 1870-71 and '72 that the chain-ladder elevator came into
368
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
369
X
o
o
o
PQ
t>
o
o
Q
o
J,
o
Eh
o
§8
24
370 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
use. The tradition of this matter is a little contradictory, but from
the best information obtainable, it appears that the chain-ladder
type of hod-hoisting machine was first employed in the construc-
tion of the Post-office. In its original form, it was operated by a
hand windlass from below, but after falling bricks had indented the
skulls of a few operators, the windlass was shifted to the top floor.
This machine was slow of operation and, therefore, grew but slowly
in favor. It was not until the application of steam, in the late '70s,
that the hod-hoisting machine began to exert a marked and im-
portant influence in lessening the cost of construction. In its present
form it is one of the most effective — if not the most effective — of
labor-saving devices in the building industries. With the steam
derrick for the hoisting of stone and iron, and a modern hod-hoist-
ing machine, and a platform elevator for fire-proofing and wheel-
barrows and small materials, the labor cost of construction has been
reduced by from 50 to 80 per cent — according to the height of the
building. Really, if builders were bound to the slow and tedious
processes of hoisting and handling materials that obtained twenty-
five years ago the cost of construction of twelve and twenty-story
buildings would be well-nigh prohibitive. Then a block of stone or
an iron beam would be moved by aid of wooden rollers and pinch-
bars to a point directly under the derrick, and when the clamps were
applied four men would apply themselves to the cranks of the wind-
lass, another would tend the guy rope and often another would tend
the tackle from the top of the building. In tedious course of time
the stone would reach the top, and with much tugging and pulling
would be brought to position. Now the stone or beam is grappled
at any point within reach on the sidewalk, a lever is turned, the
steam windlass revolves twenty times, where formerly it revolved
once, the top is quickly reached, another lever lifts the boom and
guides it to desired position and the stone is dropped just where it is
wanted. Twenty times the amount of work can be done with this
appliance that was formerly possible with the hand derrick. If the
cost of fire-proof buildings has declined from $3 to 35 cents per
cubic foot in twenty-five years, as some maintain, no small part of
this economy has been effected by the steam hod-hoisting machine,
the steam platform elevator and the steam boom derrick.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
371
<
2
S
H
m
►J
<:
£> CO
egg
O rH
O
M
O
O)
372
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
o
O
o
PQ
o
o
Q
o
I
m
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 373
Passenger Elevators*
The rapid development of the passenger elevator has had an im-
portant and far-reaching result upon construction, mainly in this
country, but also in foreign lands. After the trial of the vertical
screw elevator in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, years prior to 1868, there
was a long period of some six or seven years, during which the in-
ventors and manufacturers of passenger elevators received but poor
encouragement from builders or the general public. The history
of their early trials and tribulations is a lesson in the value of perse-
verance in well-doing. The first of the suspended steam elevators
of the Otis type was put in the St. James' Hotel in 1866, two years
before the beginning of our period of review. This type came into
pretty extended use during the next seven years, but it never
attained to popular approval. The jerky motion that was well-nigh
inseparable from them and the accidents that attended their intro-
duction were factors inimical to their growth in popularity.
Then the water-balance elevator was invented. It was a great
improvement upon the steam elevator, but in its original form — a
cage in a shaft, suspended over a pulley by a wire cable, at the other
end of which was a wrought-iron bucket a little less weighty than
the cage, and which was filled at the top of its cylinder with water
from a tank, and when the brake was loosened would descend by
gravity and pull the cage up, and at the bottom of the cylinder was
emptied and threw the balance of weight to the cage, which would
then descend and pull the bucket up — it was liable to escape from the
control of the operator and produce startling and unpleasant if not
injurious sensations. It was first placed in this form in this city, in
the new Western Union Building, in Broadway, in 1873, and con-
tinued in service there until the fire in that building in 1891 de-
stroyed it. The fastest speed ever developed in passenger elevators
was by this gravity system.
Europe was, about this time, experimenting with direct acting
hydraulic ram elevators, which required the construction of a ver-
tical cylinder in which the plunger operated, beneath the car and as
deep in the earth as the elevator shaft was high above it. It was safe
enough to overcome the scruples of even the Europeans, but it was
374
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
'3
E
d
d
w
a
c
o
H
X
H
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
375
2
02
C x
X
03
.a
o
376
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 377
very costly, slow and impracticable for buildings of more than five
or six stories. Some were constructed in this country, but few of
them are now used, and these only in Europe.
In an effort to obviate the difficulties of the hydraulic-ram ele-
vator the telescope cylinder was invented, and one of these was
placed in the new Post-office Building in this city. But it was un-
certain of action and difficult to keep in repair, and was therefore
abandoned. Then came the vertical cylinder hydraulic elevator of
the modern type, and lastly the electric elevator. These have prac-
tically superseded all former types, and are in general and rapidly
extending use in this and other countries. It would be folly now for
anyone to construct an office building or hotel or apartment house of
even ordinary size without them, and business buildings are behind
the times that are not equipped with them.
The effect of this development of the passenger elevator upon
modern construction has been revolutionary. Buildings like the
Park National Bank and the New York Life Insurance Building,
constructed in 1868 and 1869, were not designed to use elevators.
Before this time there was no object to be gained in building office
buildings more than five stories high, for above this they would not
rent. When they began to be increased in height, in consequence
of the improvements in the elevator, the first ventures were but
moderate. The steam elevator of that period was a disagreeably
pulsating affair, and builders had their misgivings as to what would
come of it. However, the Equitable Building, the first section of
which was built in 1869-70, was an elevator building. Passenger
elevators were not only recognized as a necessity for new high build-
ings, but for the older buildings with any pretensions to size, they
were equally necessary.
Fireproof Buildings*
One of the results of the great fires in Chicago and Boston was to
test building materials as they had never been tested before, and in
that test many preconceived notions were unsettled and removed.
Fronts of cast-iron received their death blow ; granite was shown to
be a poor resistant of heat ; limestone stood the ordeal better, but
378
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
X
6
O
O
w
3
o
u
o
o
Q
o
I
- a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 379
scaled and flaked badly wherever it was set in any degree off the
level of its natural bed ; sandstone, of all the stones, to which family
belong our brownstones and graystones — such as the Belleville,
Greenville and Long Meadow and Nova Scotia varieties — best with-
stood the action of the intense heat. But better by far than all
stones, was brick. Brick, hard and well made, again demonstrated
its superiority as a building material in the trial by fire ; though even
these did not always resist the action of the crucial element.
Fire-proof construction, as it had been known up to this time,
was found to be no security against such an ordeal. Wooden doors,
door frames and window frames and unprotected glazed windows,
afforded easy ingress to the fire, which once inside the fire-proof
building found plenty of material — wooden partitions and trim,
wooden floors, office and store furnishings and fittings, combusti-
ble merchandise, often wooden elevator shafts and wooden Mansard
roofs, with outside coatings of slate. These facts were not over-
looked by New York architects and builders. They made their im-
pression upon the craft in every city of the civilized world, and led
to the revolution of building construction. The fire insurance com-
panies, those which survived, instituted many new safeguards
against fire and by differentiating their tariffs, charging high rates
where they were ignored and reducing in proportion where they
were adopted, led to their widespread adoption even in this city.
A list of the fire-proof buildings in this city (or to be exact, in
the Borough of Manhattan) would be an almost endless one, but
making brief reference to the earlier ones of modern construction in
their chronological order, the Park Bank was constructed in 1868,
and the old New York Life Insurance Building in 1869. The
Equitable building was constructed in 1870; it was built with gran-
ite front walls, in the prevailing French style, with Mansard roof.
The interior construction was of masonry partition walls, iron beams
and segmental brick arches. It was originally five stories high.
Jer. T. Smith was the mason, J. G. Batterson the granite contrac-
tor, and J. B. & J. M. Cornell the iron contractors. In 1887 the
building was enlarged to its present symmetrical dimensions, Geo.
B. Post being the architect and David H. King, Jr., the builder. In
38o
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
New York City.
TOWER OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.
(1889.) McKim, Mead & White, Architects
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
38l
o
H
in
tf .2
382 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the first section the floors were constructed of common brick arches
between iron beams and furred underneath with metal lath, plas-
tered, to get level ceilings ; the minor partitions were of angle-iron
studs, covered with metal lath and plastered. In the added portions
of the building the floors were of hollow burnt clay flat arches, be-
tween iron beams, and the partitions were of burnt clay blocks. The
next fire-proof building of importance was the Drexel Building, at
Broad and Wall streets. It was built as an elevator building, seven
stories high, in 1872. It was one of the last of the French type of
business structures, was built of white marble, with fire-proof inte-
rior construction, and with a Mansard roof. Two other office build-
ings were built in Wall street about this same time and to about the
same height. These were equipped with steam elevators, without
which they would not have been built so high. The Western Union
Building, at Broadway and Dey street, was the first of the really
large office buildings to be erected. It was built in 1873, ten and
a-half stories high, the three upper of which were in a mansard roof.
Geo. B. Post was the architect and Smith & Rogers the builders.
It was equipped with two elevators, one of them a water balance
(the first to be built in this city) the other a steam elevator. Two
months later the Tribune building, from plans by Richard M. Hunt,
was started, Peter T. O'Brien being the builder. It was planned as
an eight-story building, with two steam elevators, for which hy-
draulic elevators have since been substituted. For many years the
Tribune building, with its tall tower, was the most conspicuous
architectural work in the down-town section of the city. But this
wras in the midst of the long period of depression in the building
trades, and the construction of buildings influenced by the improved
passenger elevators did not begin in real earnest until the resump-
tion of investments in real estate about five years later, in 1879.
Then came in order as named the Boreel building; the Morse
building, in 1878; the original Temple Court, in 1878-9; the United
Bank building, in 1880; the Mills and Potter buildings, in 1881-82;
the Produce Exchange, in 1881-84; the Welles building, in 1881 ;
the Western Union Telegraph building, at Fifth avenue and 23d
street, in 1883 ; the Standard Oil and the Washington buildings,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 383
l YORK SIM A/ID CANCER HOSPITAL
Mew BU1LD1/40
(1897.)
Cady, Berg & See, Architects.
New York City.
HUDSON STREET HOSPITAL.
(1897.) Cady, Berg & See, Architects.
3^4
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
o
m
H
G
CD
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 385
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.
New York City. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
(1889.)
386 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
in 1884; Aldrich Court, in 1886; the United States* Army building,
in Whitehall street, in 1886-88; and the Consolidated Exchange,
in 1887. These buildings were all of the fire-proof type of office
building, with solid masonry walls, iron or steel beams and gird-
ers, and iron or masonry interior supports. The floors and parti-
tions and the material of construction partook in each instance of
the very great improvements which characterized this period and
which, after 1875, greatly lessened the cost of construction in each
successive case, as we shall see later on.
Compared with the cost, of construction in 1868-69 the build-
ings constructed on the fire-proof plan, and designed to be used
with elevators, in the period from 1874 to 1880, were cheaply built.
Wages had declined to $2.50 and $3 for bricklayers; the same for
carpenters; $2.75 to $3 for stone masons; $3 for plasterers; $2.50
for painters, and $1.75 to $2 for laborers. These were less by from
25 to 50 per cent than they had been. Materials, too, were cheaper
by about the same percentages. Brick that ten years before ruled
from $7 to $12 per thousand, sold now at from $5.25 to $8.25.
Cement had declined from $1.75 to $1.10; lime from $1.25 and $2 to
$1 and $1.15 ; pine lumber from $22 and $25 to $17 and $18; hem-
lock in about the same proportion; spruce remained about the
same; granite declined from 75c. and $1.50 to 60c. and $1.25;
freestone from $1.15 and $1.40 to 75c. and $1 ; marble from $2 to
$1.25 and $1.50, and other materials generally in similar propor-
tion. Iron was high, American pig ruling at $3.3 and $34 per ton,
and wrought beams selling at 4.6 cents per pound. The average
cost of the buildings declined from $19,021 in 1873 to $9,102 in
1878. They jumped from the latter figure, however, to $17,381
in 1882 and to $21,282 in 1893, not on account of any increase in
prices or labor, for the increase had not yet taken place, but rather
because larger and better classes of buildings were being erected.
Notwithstanding these facts, from the present point of view all
of the buildings which have been mentioned, as all that were built
previous to 1889, were of very expensive construction. Although
the interior construction was much lighter than would have been
the case had masonry supports been used, the main walls of all
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 387
THE HERALD BUILDING.
Herald Square, New York City. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
(1892.)
PROTESTANT HALF-ORPHAN ASYLUM.
Manhattan Avenue, New York City. Cady, Berg & See, Architects.
(I0J7O.)
388
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 389
390 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
these buildings were necessarily of very heavy construction. This
fact imposed restrictions upon the height of buildings which even
the steam elevator could not overcome. The object planned for,
then as now, was rentable floor space. Except in a few cases the
lower floor produced the highest income from rents and the rent-
als grew less as they progressed towards the top floor. The
higher the building the thicker and broader the walls had to be,
and thick walls consumed the greater amount of space in the most
valuable parts of the building. There came a point, therefore, at
which the consumption of floor space in the lower stories more than
offset the productiveness of the increased floor space at the top of
the building. This difference in the rentable value of the floors
was largely equalized by the perfection of the easy and rapid mov-
ing hydraulic elevator, and the later structures of this character are
accordingly the loftier.
But about the time that the fact became clearly demonstrated that
there was an active and growing demand for offices in the upper
stories of the tallest buildings, the last and greatest improvement
in the system of construction of office and business buildings — the
steel skeleton construction — made its appearance. A framework
of steel is embedded in masonry and carries all the floor loads, to-
gether with the outer walls themselves, or the steel cage may be so
placed as to carry the floors only, leaving the outer walls to sustain
themselves independently. The powerful incentive of saving
space required by the old method of solid walls soon secured the
adoption of the skeleton construction for high buildings. The
goodly number of tall buildings — including the Manhattan Life,
the Cable, the American Surety, the St. Paul's, the Bowling Green,
the Empire, the Syndicate — that have been erected within the past
few years on the skeleton principle make it manifest that we are as
yet only in the infancy of tall building construction. Unless the
law, for public sanitary reasons, shall interfere to prevent their mul-
tiplication, there is every reason to believe that their construction
will go on to increasing altitudes and until the entire business dis-
trict is covered with them. New York is peculiarly the home for
such structures. Here they may have the solid rock for their foun-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 391
dations and broad waterways on either side of the island insure for
them better climatic surroundings than they would have anywhere
else in the country. The demand for such structures, moreover, is
greater in this city than in any other, and the values placed upon
the naked ground require that it shall be improved with this class
of buildings to make it productive.
But it is not alone in office buildings that the combination of hy-
draulic fast passenger elevators and steel skeleton construction has
worked a transformation. Hotel construction has been very ma-
terially affected by it. When the Fifth Avenue Hotel was built, in
1859, six stories high, it was esteemed a wonderful building. The
central section of the Hoffman, seven stories high, was opened in
1864. Then followed the St. James, at 26th street, with steam ele-
vators, in 1866, and in 1874 the Gilsey, a seven-story building, at
29th street. The last two were of the French Renaissance, Man-
sard-roof style, and were the most popular hotels in town in their
day. The Windsor, at Fifth avenue and 46th and 47th streets, still
considered one of the best hotels in the city, is a seven and eight-
story building. The Buckingham, at 50th street, six stories high,
was built in 1876; a new section, towards the middle of the block, is
thirteen stories high, in the new style, and fire-proof. As the city
grew towards the north and west other hotels of scarcely less mag-
nitude and importance were built along the line of Broadway, and
in Fourth avenue, notably the Murray Hill hotels, and
hotels in Fifth avenue. They were all, as popular fancy required,
elevator hotels, but they were all of the old type— solid masonry
walls and not of fire-proof construction. Even the Plaza Hotel, fin-
ished in 1890, was but eight stories high. In the following year,
however, the steel-skeleton system began to be applied to hotel
structures as' well, and the Savoy, of eleven stories ; the New
Netherland, of seventeen stories ; the Waldorf, of twelve stories ;
the Astoria, still higher, and the Imperial, Holland, New Bucking-
ham, Manhattan and others, of nearly equal importance, have fol-
lowed and added greatly to the importance and even more to the
beauty of our city.
Perhaps th* most notable departure from the stereotyped form of
392
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
E
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
393
1/2
H
S
H
Q
g
o o
O CO
CD
o w
H
U
H
Q
w
H
C
H
H
O
H 2
394 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
residence was in the building of apartment houses. The first of
these were built in 1869. It was not, however, until thirteen years
later that the most noteworthy of these houses were built — notable
as much for the scheme which brought them forth as for their ex-
tent and splendor. These were the so-called Spanish Flats, on
58th and 59th streets and Seventh avenue, opposite Central Park.
Spanish names were given to them — Madrid, Lisbon, Cordova,
Valencia, Barcelona, Granada, Salamanca and Tolosa. Jose F. de
Navarro was the originator of the scheme for their construction.
This was a purely co-operative scheme, represented by a stock
company, in which the owners of the stock we>e to become the
owners of suites of apartments respectively, and contribute pro-rata
to the cost of maintaining the property and of general expenses,
such as heating, janitor's services, elevator service, water supply,
etc. The design of the houses is Moorish, with many balconies,
bays, arches, courts, grand entrances and halls and staircases. The
walls are of red pressed brick with brownstone trimmings, and the
roofs are of many ga'bled and turreted slate construction. Through
mismanagement and chicanery the co-operative scheme fell
through, the stockholders were foreclosed and the property fell into
the hands of J. Jennings McComb, the mortgagee, who completed
the houses according to the original plans, at a cost for the whole,
land included, of over $4,000,000. The suites of apartments are so
arranged in these houses as to furnish to each family all of the con-
veniences of a separate and independent dwelling, all on one floor.
In the richness of their interior construction, appointments and
finish, these houses are unsurpassed anywhere in the world. At
about the same time the far-famed Dakota apartment hotel, at Cen-
tral Park West and 72d and 73d streets, was built by the Clark es-
tate, followed in the same period, 1881 to 1884, by the Knicker-
bocker, at Fifth avenue and 28th street, and the Chelsea, in 23d
street, between 7th and 8th avenues — the latter a co-operative
scheme, that has proven successful. This type of apartment house
has been many times repeated in all parts of the residence section
of the city. And from the high type represented by the Spanish
Flats, the apartment house has been multiplied in an endless variety
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 395
of grades, diminishing rapidly until they are merged in the common
tenement type or "cold water" flats. There is no arbitrary rule by
which the distinction between the apartment house and the im-
proved flats may be drawn. Perhaps it is the passenger elevator
which in present general acceptance determines the difference —
those being apartment houses in which there are passenger elevat-
ors, and flats in which there are none. But the original apartment
houses — the Stuyvesant, in 18th street — were built and still remain
without elevators. In these later years, since 1882, when the hy-
draulic elevator reached the plane of practical perfection, it has been
more economical to equip apartment houses of more than five stor-
ies with elevators than to dispense with them ; but a generally more
substantial construction and a more elaborate design and finish are
given to apartment houses than to flats. Except in the higher type
of these houses, as in the Dakota, the Chelsea, the Spanish Flats,
Shoreham, Grosvenor, Osborne, the Nevada, Knickerbocker, Gren-
oble, Yosemite, Randolph, Beresford, Earlscourt, the Gramercy
Park and the Florence, fire-proof floors and partitions have seldom
been used. Since 1892, however, the lower floors of all apartment
houses and flats are required to be of iron or steel beams with fire-
proof floor arches, so that such houses as are not built entirely fire-
proof are required to have a fire-proof covering over the lowest and
most dangerous of their stories as a precaution against fire.
Brick — Clay Products*
It is significant of the period under review that within it are em-
braced all that is distinctively American in the materials and meth-
ods of construction. What materials we worked with at the begin-
ning of this period were common to all the world and the methods
of their treatment were such as were common to the countries from
which our population was recruited. The retrospective view shows
that in all that has been esteemed worthy of the achievements of
the ensuing period, America has led the world ; and, if we have not
created a new system of construction, if we have not invented a
new order of architecture, we have at least advanced a long distance
on the lines that lead toward a national structural system.
396
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
New York City.
NO. 4 WEST 58TH STREET.
(1881.)
Geo. B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 397
RESIDENCE.
Northeast corner Fifth Ave. and 56th Street. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
398 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
For the first four or five years of this period, as we have already
observed, the changes in the methods of building were of no import-
ance, and the records show the employment of no new materials.
Marble continued to be king of building stones, in business and
office buildings often figuring in combination with cast-iron in the
fronts — the iron for the lower stories, the marble for the others.
This was also the period of the cast-iron front, and it was in this
period, from 1868 to 1873, that the major part of the iron front mer-
cantile warehouses, in the style of the French Renaissance, that line
both sides of Broadway, from City Hall Park to Madison square,
were built. The French style, with the Mansard roof, continued to
hold the public favor, though not without protest from the small
band of cultured architects who were struggling to gain a place for
their profession in this country even at that time. In the construc-
tion of churches, libraries, colleges and other public buildings, they
found their opportunities, and they did not fail to plant examples of
the classic styles wherever they could.
Changes came after the results of the Chicago and Boston fires
became generally known. The materials most in favor before that
time for the fronts of the larger business buildings — iron and mar-
ble— gave the poorest account of themselves in that test, and lost
their popularity. Hard brick and freestone, that had best endured
the action of the heat, came more universally into favor, and were
used here in combination — of much brick, with freestone for trim ;
as witness, the Western Union, Tribune, Delaware and Hudson
Canal, Boreel, Temple Court and Vanderbilt buildings. In some of
these heavy masses of granite were used for the basement storits,
that much concession having been made to architectural appear-
ance. In some of them, notably the Western Union, the Mansard
roof was preserved, and the walls were even more massively built
than in the structures of the French type. But effort was made
and with some success to overcome a serious objection to all the
office buildings of the Post-office type. This effort was to enlarge
the window openings.
In the buildings of the French style, with their many-pillared
fronts, their massive entablatures and deeply-recessed windows,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 399
the imposing architectural effects were obtained only at a very great
loss of window space and light, or the stories were built so much
higher than was otherwise necessary in order to obtain that light.
The consequence of this construction was that either the building
was so expensive that it would not pay, or the light was so poor
that they would not rent, and in either case the results were the
same — an insufficient income to justify such an expense of con-
struction. In the newer buildings, beginning with the Western
Union, the fronts were of less expensive style, and being elevator
buildings, a much greater floor space was secured, but the massive
walls were still an obstacle to large window openings, and, although
there was some improvement in this respect, the better light was se-
cured by placing the windows well to the front of the walls, and by
liberal allowances for light courts.
For the interior construction of these buildings iron came more
into use than ever before. In the Equitable Life building the main
partition walls were of masonry from bottom to top, with arched
openings. These and the side walls carried the iron beams of
which the floors were framed, and these were filled in with seg-
mental brick arches, which were evened up with concrete and
topped with wooden sleepers and wood or marble floors. In the
Post-office the interior floor supports were of cast iron columns,
rolled iron girders and iron beams. The floors were also of seg-
mental brick arches. In all of the newer buildings the weight of
the floors as of old was borne on the side walls and on interior sup-
ports of iron columns and girders, with now and then, as in the
case of the Sweetser, Pembrook & Co. building, masonry archer
instead of the iron columns and girders. While the masonry sup-
ports took up more room, they were cheaper, for rolled iron during
this period was from four to five cents per pound.
But the return to red brick fronts was not an altogether agree-
able one, and the architects, who by 1873 had gained the upper
hand of the builders and were the first to be consulted in the erec-
tion of a building of importance, began to lay about them for other
materials. The brown and red freestones, marble and other light
stones were satisfactory for dwellings and the smaller* class of mer-
400 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
RESIDENCE.
50th Street, northeast corner Fifth Avenue. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 401
No. 17 East 77th Street.
RESIDENCE.
(1897.) Clinton & Russell, Architects.
26
402 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
cantile structures, but for elevator buildings, churches and other
large structures, something was needed to give freshness and vari-
ety to the tone of our architecture. Out West they had the far-
famed Milwaukee cream-colored brick, but they were expensive
there and the freight charges made them well-nigh prohibitory
here. At this juncture the brickmakers of the Perth Amboy dis-
trict began to produce the light shades of brick. Of their ability
to produce them they had been a long time aware, and as early as
1867 had placed them experimentally on the market.
Messrs. Sayre & Fisher it was who furnished as early as 1870 the
light brick used in the rotunda of the County Court House. Al-
fred Hall, also at Perth Amboy, began to manufacture light-colored
brick about the same time. About the first example of these brick
in exterior walls was in the Post building, in Exchange place, but if
the success of the brick had been dependent upon this example they
would have failed. The mistake was made of taking the brick from
: several different makers, some even from Milwaukee. The result
was that there was not only a variety of shades, but some were po-
rous and others non-porous, and their varied characteristics are ex-
pressed in a variety of shades. The artistic sense finds no fault
with this, even the pale green colors that have developed in some of
the porous bricks being a welcome touch of color, but the builder
. looks first for perfect harmony of color in all the brick and after
that for its more substantial merits.
It was not until 1883 that these light shades of brick were pro-
duced with satisfactory success. In that year and the following
the Dakota apartment hotel was built of them, from plans by Ar-
chitect H. J. Hardenbergh. About $225,000 were used for the ex-
terior walls and about 280,000 for the court. They were from the
yards of Sayre & Fisher. The firm had owned the claybeds from
which they were obtained since 1845. For the production of light
shades of brick the clay must be free from iron and sulphur. The
iron in clay is what produces the red color, and the sulphur the
mottled effect. After 1885 the light shades of brick grew rapidly in
popularity and were used for all classes of buildings with pleasing
effect. They are made now in a variety of shades from perfect
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 403
white to dark gray and old gold. Some of the principal buildings
built with fronts of light brick are the N. J. Central Building, the
Colonial Club, the Manhattan Athletic Club, Hotel Brockholst, Ger-
mania Building, Postal Telegraph Building, Madison Square Gar-
den, Hotel Imperial, Holland House, Cable Building, Judge Build-
ing, Century Club, Renaissance Hotel, Metropolitan Opera House,
Manhattan Life Building, Cotton Exchange, Home Life Building,
and many subsequent buildings. The various shades of brick of
this class have ranged in price between $35 and $70 per thousand.
Those in the County Court House were supplied at $40 per thou-
sand ; some old gold colored in the house of Lloyd Phceriix on 33d
street, near Madison avenue, built in 1882, cost $70 per thousand.
Milwaukee brick sold at that time at $50.
Another important advance in the manufacture of fancy front
brick was scored early in the '80s. This was in the production of
semi-vitrified brick of mottled brown shades, locally known as the
Tiffany brick, from having first been employed in the Tiffany chateau
at Madison avenue and 72d street. They were moulded in Roman
shapes and thoroughly burned. These brick rose immediately into
permanent popularity. They were especially preferred for high-
class town houses, but were also largely used for mercantile and
small office buildings. Those in the Tiffany house cost from $55
to $60 per thousand. The same quality and shapes through the
larger production and competition can now be had for $40, and the
1^x4x12 in size for $35 per thousand. These new shades and
styles of front brick have grown in popularity until now they oc-
cupy first place in the choice of materials for the fronts of many
kinds of dwellings, for stores, for small office buildings, for storage
warehouses and for institutional buildings. They answer better
than any kind of stone the requirements of fire-proof construction,
and blend nicely, in their various shades, with all the shades of
stone, terra cotta and granite used.
But more important still, perhaps, than the fancy front bricks,
has been the development of architectural terra cotta. It is not
at all improbable that this will be considered the greatest among
the improvements in materials of construction during the quarter
404
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
FOSTER RESIDENCE.
Riverside Drive and 102d Street.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
405
406 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
century. Terra cotta, painted in imitation of stone, was used on
the Trinity building as early as 1853; but architectural terra cotta,
as such, and not intended to be an imitation of any other structural
material, but dependent for its acceptance solely upon its individual
merits, did not come into use in this city until 1877, nearly a quar-
ter of a century later. Then it was employed by George B. Post
for the front of a handsome residence, in 36th street, near Madison
avenue. But the example of terra cotta work in that building has
not been repeated. In that instance the blocks were moulded
square and partially dried, and then the designs were engraved
upon them by hand with wooden tools ; then they were fired. Ex-
clusive designs might still be produced in this manner, and doubt-
less the work would look more like sculpture than do the conven-
tional designs produced ever since by the plastic process. Terra
cotta is produced in all shades from white to buff, drab and red,
and is moulded in all forms desired for ornamental structural work.
(See Chapter: Architectural Terra Cotta.)
Next at least in importance among the materials of high-class
construction to come into existence and use in this period are the
hollow bricks and terra cotta lumber intended for fire-proof floor
and wall construction. They are made in a variety of shapes, suit-
able for the various forms and sizes of buildings and openings they
are intended to accommodate. By their aid flat-floor arches have
been made possible and partition walls that occupy less space than
was possible with even the slightest of studding or brick-work be-
fore. The hollow brick began to be employed in the early '70s,
being first used in the Post Office building, but they were used in
nearly every strictly fire-proof building in a few years thereafter.
The terra cotta lumber, or porous terra cotta that is produced by
mixing sawdust with the clay of which the blocks and slabs are
made, the sawdust being consumed in the firing and leaving a por-
ous fire-proof slab, which may be sawed, chiseled and nailed like
lumber, did not come into use until about eight years ago. It has
been employed very extensively ever since wherever light fire-proof
partitions were wanted, and for floor arches instead of hard burnt
clav.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 407
Cements and Plaster*
Of only less interest to the architect and builder are the great
improvements which have been made in the manufacture of ce-
ment sand plasters. The increased demand for hydraulic cements
that followed sharp upon the building boom of 1871-72 and 1873
stimulated the manufacture of cements in this country, and they be-
gan to be produced in considerable variety and large quantity. Up
to the time mentioned nearly all the cement used had been im-
ported, but the domestic article was so greatly improved and the
foreign article was suffered to degenerate so about this time that
the order was soon reversed and by far the greater amount used
was of domestic manufacture. It is not even now claimed that
America produces as good cements as are made in some parts of
Europe, but it is maintained that the domestic product has been
greatly improved of late and answers the requirements of all ex-
cept some kinds of exposed work, where smooth, hard, durable
surfaces are required. In like manner the plasters have been im-
proved upon to such an extent that they form a new reliance for
protection against fire, and when applied on any of the many forms
of expanded metal or other fire-proof lath do certainly operate to
prevent the spread of fire. They also make harder and better look-
ing walls than the common stucco plasters.
Plaster boards made in various forms, some of which are in-
tended as a substitute for lath and may be nailed directly to the
studding, and can be fully finished with a rough and a smooth coal
of plaster, have found a large market.
Cement floor fillings between iron beams, as a substitute for the
heavier arches of brick and burnt clay blocks, in a variety of novel
forms, such as the Roebling, the Metropolitan, the Columbian and
the expanded metal systems, have been used in many recent build-
ings, including some of the largest and highest ones.
Plumbing*
Sanitary plumbing is also one of the achievements of this period.
At its beginning but little thought was given to the subject, and as
4o8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Riverside Drive and 108th Street.
RESIDENCE.
(1889.)
Frank Freeman, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
409
with most other reforms the pioneers gained little save personal
satisfaction from their work. But after a time the sanitary senti-
ment that had long been prevalent among the physicians and the
cultured laity was organized in a Board of Health, and what had
been everybody's business and, therefore, nobody's business, be-
came the business of this board. Thereafter the public took up
the study of sanitation in house drainage through the newspapers,
magazines and public lectures, and those who were wise quickly
learned the relation between typhoid, pneumonia and other malar-
ial diseases and bad drainage. Regulations by the Health Board
found popular support and plumbers began to vie with each other
in producing the most scientific and artistic house plumbing. The
best work found the readiest support from the public and the
plumber's craft became one of the most profitable and important
among the building trades. The use of iron instead of lead pipes,
the trapping and ventilation of all waste pipes, the adoption of the
cistern for flushing out closets, the use of marble, porcelain, crock-
ery and enameled bath-tubs, lavatories and sinks and the exposed
system of pipes are the achievements of this quarter century. The
craft has become an industrial art and it is difficult to see in what
direction it will be possible to find occasion for further improve-
ment. . • - .
Interior Finish.
In no wise inferior to structural advances and improvements in
the materials of construction, if not superior to them, have been
the advances and improvements in the materials and art of interior
finish and decoration of all sorts of buildings. First to make itself
manifest was the universal concession to the new idea of aesthetic
environments of which Oscar Wilde was the prophet. Home
decoration became a popular fad and ran to ludicrous excess, but
out of it all grew a vital art sentiment, whose chief expression was
manifested in the rejection of gloomy massive, plain walls and
trim, and the adoption of light, decorative hangings and mould-
ings. Black walnut gave way to the lighter colored woods, and
these were polished so as to develop the beauties of the natural
grain. Red and white mahogany, quartered oak, birds-eye and
4io
A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
RESIDENCES FOR W. W.
N. E. Cor. Fifth Avenue and 50th Street. (1898.)
ASTOR.
Clinton & Russell,
Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 41 1
plain maple, cherry, hazel, sycamore, ash, birch, box, poplar, chest-
nut and the other native hardwoods, have been used almost uni-
versally since 1878-79, and where pine has been used it has also
been finished to show the natural grain.
The manner in which these woods have been used has also un-
dergone very great changes. At the beginning of this period the
carpenter and joiner were all-sufficient for the finishing of any
interior. They received the mouldings direct from the mill and
cut, framed and built up the base, door and window trim, the stair-
cases, vestibules and such little wainscoting as was used: Every-
thing was plain, and richness was expressed in massiveness and
multiplication of the mouldings. With the use of the hardwoods,
however, came the cabinet-maker into alliance with the building
trades. Wainscoting came into use for halls and dining-rooms;
paneled walls and ceilings were required for vestibules, halls and
some dining rooms ; marble and slate mantels gave way to mantels
of hardwood to match the trim ; sideboards were built into dining-
rooms, parquette floors were required for main halls, dining-rooms
and bath-rooms ; fret-work and scroll work arches were hung from
the ceilings over staircases and between parlors and music-rooms ;
book-cases were built into the libraries ; boudoir dressing-saloons,
with the most sumptuous cabinet trim that could be devised, be-
came the indispensable adjuncts of all high-class houses ; the cere-
monial dining-room took the place of the back parlor, and then an
elaborately-trimmed butler's pantry became a necessary adjunct
of every New York town house. In office construction the re-
quirements were simpler, of course, but the trim was not less
sumptuous, and in most of the retail stores the art of the cabinet-
maker was made manifest wherever possible. This artisan is a
shop workman. The plans of the architect for the wood decoration
of a dwelling, office or store, a church, public building or hall, are
turned over to him, to be executed in given kinds of wood. He
puts them together in sections of various sizes, ready to put in
place. Then the wood finisher takes hold of them, and with his
gums, his oils, his varnishes, his pumice stone, his rubbing imple-
ments and his strong arms, puts upon them a polish through
412
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 413
which the natural beauties of line and form and color appear like
pictures. It is the carpenter's business to put this finished work
into place, and generally he is capable of it; but sometimes, as in
the laying of parquette floors, the fitting of timbered and paneled
ceilings and walls, the construction of buffets, mantels and arches,
it becomes necessary to call in the cabinet-maker. Then an anom-
aly in trades-unionism appears. The cabinet-maker, though a
higher artisan, has not yet been able to win the rate of wages and
the short day of which the carpenter is the beneficiary, and when he
invades the carpenter's field of endeavor either he passes for a car-
penter and receives carpenter's pay — or there is a strike. In 1891
the cabinet-makers struck for the third time for an eight-hour day
and higher wages, but after hanging out for five months at a loss
to themselves of over half a million in wages, and to the builders
of a still larger sum in delayed work, interest and lost opportunities,
they had to yield again to their employers.
Interior iron work for inclosing elevator shafts, for railings on
stairs, and for window and door grilles improved in design and
finish under the general demand for elaborate treatment in every
part of the structures erected fairly without regard to total cost. (See
Chapter: Ornamental Iron Work.)
Part of the aesthetic movement out of which grew this develop-
ment of artistic interior construction and finish, consisted in the
manufacture and application of wall hangings. The finer papers
were at the beginning of this period imported, chiefly from France
and Germany. The domestic manufacture was in its veriest in-
fancy, and the product was of the simpler and cheaper qualities and
patterns. Even of these the designs were copied from foreign
patterns. It was in 1869-70 that two of the factories had their be-
ginnings in this city, which are now the largest in their lines in this
country. The industry has^ grown to very great proportions, and
has assisted greatly in fostering and supporting native schools af
art and design. Out of it also has grown the interior decorator.
He is an artist artisan, whose counsel is sought by everybody and
whose work is never too. highly compensated. He will take your
house fresh from the builder and select the hangings and tapestries,
4I4 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the carpets and furniture, all to harmonize, and hand over to you a
domestic retreat, as perfect a composition in form, style and color as
a Parisian Easter hat.
The developments and achievements here enumerated, includ-
ing the perfection of the passenger elevator; the hollow brick in-
terior construction ; the renaissance of architectural terra cotta ; the
manufacture and use of light-colored and mottled brick ; the evolu-
tion of sanitary plumbing and drainage ; the application of natural
woods, lincrusta walton, marbles, tiles and plasters and ornamental
iron work to the interior finish of buildings, and the steel skeleton
construction are the accomplishments of the past period of only a
little more than twenty-five years.
Electricity*
This review would hardly be properly comprehensive without a
reference to the important achievements of electric science in the
period reviewed. Like all other great inventions, it has had its chief
support from the large centres of population. New York city has
dealt very liberally with the electricians. The first achievements of
the science found here the financial backing which made them
practical and gave them to the world. It was at the very begin-
ning of this period that Cyrus Field, aided by all the world, cele-
brated the successful completion of his Atlantic cable. Since then
have arisen Gray and Bell and Edison, and the arc lamp, the in-
candescent lamp, the telephone, the phonograph and the electric
power and traction systems have become practical facts. Our big
buildings are made light as day by the electric light; offices are
placed within speaking distance of distant factories and shops by
the telephone, and elevators, street cars and ventilating fans are
operated by the noiseless, colorless, odorless, intangible and mys-
terious power. The effect upon construction it is difficult to over-
estimate. In has made available the darkest recess of every build-
ing; it has enabled the manufacturer and merchant to concentrate
the office parts of their establishments in attractive, healthful of-
fice buildings and still maintain direct and easy communication
with their distant warerooms and factories, and it has provided a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 415
new and rapid and inoffensive system of street travel, by which
the possible field of operations of the individual has been vastly
enlarged. Thus office buildings have come more in demand and
all their rooms have been made available ; trades have concentrated
in their respective localities, and communication has been rendered
easy. In other words, the use of property in every direction has
been greatly enhanced by the electric inventions of this period.
Unless the acme of achievement in this direction has been reached,
which it is impossible to believe, the marvels of imagination will be
eclipsed by the accomplishments of another quarter of a century.
The Builder*
A necessary result of all this development and elaboration of ma-
terials and methods of construction has been the specialization of
the building trades. Twenty-five years ago our builder was an "all-
round man," capable of handling almost any kind of a structure
from the digging of the foundations to the papering of the walls.
And beyond the few buildings of the French style that had been
constructed during the few previous years, and some of the larger
churches, there was nothing in the existing systems of construction
to call for more than average mechanical skill. Not so now.
There is no such thing as an "all-around man" among the building
trades now. We have in his place the "Captain of Industry," per-
haps the nearest approach to him, but the "Captain of Industry"
does not himself build, but directs the army of specialists who work
under him. Even the architect is no longer alone at the head of
the science of construction. The new problems, new and relatively
gigantic works of construction; new materials and new require-
ments have developed a new class of experts in the Engineer of
Construction. The most experienced architects recognize in the
engineer who is versed in the problems of iron construction a valu-
able ally ; one whose assistance insures safety and economy of con-
struction, where, in some examples known of all architects, the art
and science of the architect have been insufficient. Sub-contract-
ing has become universal. The builder of a row of dwellings will
let in separate contracts the excavating, the foundation and brick
416 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
work, the stone work, the plumbing and gas-fitting and electric
wiring, the carpenter work, the lathing, the cabinet work, the con-
creting of cellars and areas and sidewalks, the furnace or steam
heating and piping, the plastering, the glazing, the painting and
the roofing. After he sells a house the buyer will contract for the
papering and decorating. On office and other large buildings of
fire-proof construction, besides all the foregoing, the following
specialists are likely to be employed; the housesmith, the marble
worker, the tile setter, the sanitary engineer, the electrical contract-
or, the fireproofing contractor, the elevator builder, the vault-light
and skylight contractor, the tank builder and the stained glass
worker. In addition to this the mason often sub-divides his work,
letting sub-contracts for the foundation work, the rough brick
work and the front brick work. The stone contractor sub-contracts
the carving. The plumber sub-contracts the baths and closets.
And the roofer and iron worker "job" out parts of their work. It
is the task of the architect to lay out his work so that all these
workmen can labor together or in their proper order in harmony;
and of the Captain of Industry to mass these sub-contracts into
one, and so direct the work of each that all shall at last result in the
finished structure, the materialization of the architects' plans. Many
of the larger buildings have been constructed by these master
builders, or "Captains of Industry" upon a percentage of the gross
cost, the master builder undertaking for his part to stand with re-
lation to all the sub-contractors and his own workmen in the place
of the owner. This fact shows to what dignity and responsibility
the craft of the master builder has attained in the period in which
we have reviewed his work.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
417
LEADING BUILDING MATERIAL FIRMS.
The Architectural Sheet Metal Works*
The Architectural Sheet Metal Works, of which Mr. M. F. Wester-
gren is the proprietor, are located in a handsome five story building,
65x100, with commodious yards in the rear in East 144th street. In
the plant are manufactured anything used in the building trade made
of sheet metal. This embraces particular designs of cornices, orna-
mental designs stamped in sheet metal for the decoration of build-
ings, metallic skylights, roofing, fire-proof doors, window shutters,
partitions and all classes of corrugated iron work generally. The busi-
ness owes its inception to Mr. Westergren, who with two partners,
started in a modest way, with moderate capital about ten years ago.
Mr. Westergren was an experienced and capable workman. He
was possessed of all the qualities essential and necessary to a busi-
ness career. He is both energetic and progressive, and the history
of the success of his business brings out strikingly the influence of
his progressive tendencies and his energetic application to business.
One of the partners retired shortly afterward the establishment of the
business and the other died a few years ago. During the first de-
cade undergone by this concern the equipment of the plant has
changed wonderfully. From the few rather crude machines which it
possessed at the outset, it has become the best equipped shop, not
only in the metropolitan district, but in this country. Some of the
machines which have facilitated and improved the manufacturing of
corrugated iron and other articles in this line have been invented by
this concern. Mr. Westergren, always progressive, recognized the
utility of improved machinery and was always ready to test the im-
provement. Among the machines used in the plant is a large
sheet metal press, the largest of its kind in existence. It is eighteen
feet in length over all, weighs twenty-five tons, and is capable of ex-
erting a pressure of three hundred tons. It enables the operators
to bend sheet metal in lengths of thirteen feet. This machine is
but a type of the general equipment of the plant.
There is no question but that a plant possessing the latest and im-
proved machinery, operated by skilled mechanics, can turn out the
best class of work. This the Architectural Sheet Metal Works have
been doing for some years past, and the buildings completed by them
stand as references of the best kind. We can publish but a few of
the more prominent, which are the Carnegie Music Hall, Metropol-
itan Club, skylight work on the new Criminal Court House, Siegel-
Cooper Building, Cancer Hospital, Decker Building, C. P. HunN
27
4i8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE SHERRY BUILDING.
5th Avenue, corner 44th Street. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 419
ington's conservatory, interior and exterior sheet copper work in the
Sherry Building, cornices and sheet metal work of Mills House, No.
2, the public schools in Rivington and Hester streets, and the sheet
metal covering of many of the piers along the North and East
Rivers.
When the firm concluded to build some years ago, on account of
the great growth of their trade they selected the present site in Nos.
433, 435 and 437 East 144th street as being a most suitable one. The
building was so constructed that all the requirements of a sheet metal
establishment were fulfilled. One of the features of the plant is a
large elevator capable of lifting a loaded truck from the street to
any floor, loading and unloading whatever is wanted.
Atlas Cement Company*
Among the manufacturers and producers of high grade cement in
this country, the Atlas Cement Company, of No. 143 Liberty street,
stand, pre-eminent, by reason of the superior quality of cement man-
ufactured. Their product has been used by the prominent builders
in New York and other large cities, and they have given the Atlas
Portland Cement their unqualified endorsement. In impartial and
unbiased tests made it has been found that its tensile strength is
greater than that of any other cement, domestic or imported. It
has been used not only in the construction of important edifices, but
also in lighthouse work, both submarine and terrestrial, in the con-
struction of docks and bulkheads, and by railroads for various pur-
poses in preference to imported cements.
For many years it was considered that the German and other
foreign cements were superior to any American product. Such may
have been the case, but the statement can be no longer admitted in
truth. The Atlas Cement Company have by their own efforts placed
on the market a brand of cement, the quality of which has been en-
dorsed by the large users to be the equal of any and superior to a
majority of imported cements. The company was organized in
1889, and the mills at Copley, Pa., and Northampton, Pa., were
equipped with improved machinery. The quality of the cement al-
ready well known to the engineering and building world was
brought more prominently into notice. The capacity of the mills,
however, soon became unequal to the demand, and despite the con-
stantly increased facilities, the supply has remained unequal to the
demand. The company intend to increase their present capacity of
3,500 barrels per day to that of 10,000 barrels ; this will be accom-
plished within 12 months. A partial list of the important buildings
in which the Atlas cement was used is as follows: St. Paul Build-
ing, George B. Post, architect; Havemeyer Stores, George B. Post;
Equitable Life Building, George B. Post; New York Life Building,
McKim, Mead & White ; Sherry Building, McKim, Mead & White ;
Townsend Building, C. W. L. Eidlitz; Fidelity and Casualty Build-
420 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing, C. W. L. Eidlitz ; American Surety Building, Bruce Price; Pres-
byterian Building, J. B. Baker; Bank of Commerce Building, J. B.
Baker; Gillender Building, Berg & Clark; New York Central rail-
road bridge over the Harlem River; Arbuckle Sugar Refinery,
Brooklyn, Newhall Engineering Company, engineers ; Power House
Edison Electric Light Company, Brooklyn. To the above list of
architects, the engineers who are large users of the Atlas Portland
Cement embrace the foremost in the United States.
The officers of the company are J. R. Maxwell, president; J. F.
de Navarro, vice-president ; A. de Navarro, second vice-president ;
Howard W. Maxwell, treasurer; Henry "Graves, Jr., secretary.
Booth Brothers and Hurricane Isle Granite Co*
The Booth Brothers and the Hurricane Isle Granite companies
were two of the largest granite manufacturing concerns in the coun-
try previous to 1891, when in that year the two companies were con-
solidated and incorporated as one company under New York State
laws. The officers of the new company are: William Booth,
President; Charles Mitchell, Treasurer; W. S. White,
formerly general manager of the Hurricane Isle Granite
Company, Secretary and Eastern General Manager. The
output of the quarries embrace all the different colors
which have been in greatest demand and many of the quarries are
so well known among the trade that they have given their name
to the output. The quarries are all located in Maine with the ex-
ception of that wherein "Connecticut White" granite is quarried; it
is located in Waterford, Connecticut. A list of the other quarries
with their names and location is as follows : The famous Hurricane
Isle granite is quarried in Knox county; the steel blue "Long Cove,"
so admired in monuments, is quarried at Tenant's Harbor; "At-
lantic" at St. George; "State Point" at St. George; "Granite Island"
at Vinal Haven; "Pequoit" at Vinal Haven; the rich "Jonesboro
Red" at Jonesboro; "Jortesport Red" at Jonesport.
All the main quarries of this company have been in course of op-
eration ever since the granite industry in America began to assume*
definite proportions. The history of its growth is in brief the history
of the rise and rapid development of the Booth Brothers and the
Hurricane Isle Granite Co. Any architect, when interviewed as to
the reason why he specifies the output of that company's quarries, will
state that as they have been the longest in process of operation they
are unquestionably the best. There need be no delay in the course
of manufacture, as the company possesses every facility to obtain
dispatch and the workmanship displayed is of the best type. As an
example of the progressiveness of this firm it may be mentioned
that the first locomotive derrick ever brought into this country was
first used in one of the yards of the company. It was manufactured
in Scotland, but at the present time all the travelling cranes used
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 42 1
in their yard are now manufactured in this country. The cost of
working granite was, up to the past few years, so great that it was the
great drawback to its more general use. The advanced development
of machinery and devices for its 'manufacture, many of which owe
their introduction and consequent improvement to this company,
have, however, greatly reduced the cost. As a result a mere glance
at the structures now 'being erected in many of the large American
cities reveals the facts that granite is being extensively used, espe-
cially among commercial buildings, to obtain that solid, substantial
appearance the use of granite gives. In New York, the Empire
Building, the most massive office building in the wTorld, is being con-
structed of granite. The Betz Building, in Philadelphia, near the
City Hall, is an example of the output of the quarries of this
company. In St. Louis, granite is used in the Post Office and Cus-
tom House, a most substantial looking building. The Booth Bros,
and Hurricane Isle Granite Company also" covers all branches of
monumental work; the Goldenberg and Rothschild mausoleums in
New Union Field, L. I., are examples of that class of work. The
New York yard and works are located in 137th street and Madison
avenue. The principal office is located in No. 207 Broadway.
Bradley &c Currier Co*
In 1867, Edwin A. Bradley and George C. Currier formed the firm
of Bradley & Currier, and established their business at 44 Dey street.
They at once took position in the front rank of manufacturers and
dealers in doors, windows, blinds, mouldings and building materials
generally. Their business so increased that they acquired additional
stores until they occupied five entire buildings. It must be recorded
that to these men more than to all others is due the credit of the
development of the trim business in New York. In 1885 was organ-
ized the Bradley & Currier Co., Limited, with a capital of $100,000,
and in 1886, to obtain the necessary facilities for doing their con-
stantly increasing business, they moved to the premises, corner of
Hudson and Spring streets, where they remained until 1897, when
they established their office and showroom in a more accessible loca-
tion in 23d street, near Sixth avenue. Here they have the finest
showroom in the world, and visitors, whether prospective buyers or
not, are cordially welcomed and shown through the establishment.
In 1897, a reorganization was made under the title of Bradley &
Currier Co., with a capital of $200,000.
The company has, until recently, made the manufacture of doors,
sashes, blinds and cabinet trim the principal part of their business,
but as they have developed the manufacture of wood mantels they
are now the largest mantel and tile house in the city. They have a
great advantage over all other mantel houses as they manufacture
all their goods and can consequently guarantee their quality.
When the new process for fire-proofing wood came t<~> their notice,
422 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
after satisfying themselves of the value of the discovery, they at once
took a large interest in the Electric Fire-proofing Co., whose plant
is situated at the foot of East 19th street. The method employed to
make the wood fire-proof is its infusion with a chemical solution
which renders it absolutely non-combustible. The woodwork and
cabinetwork in the Dun Building, at the corner of Reade street and
Broadway, is treated to this fire-proofing process and was supplied by
Bradley & Currier Co.
Their factory at Hudson and Spring streets employs over two hun-
dred men, and is the largest of its kind in the city. Bradley & Cur-
rier were, in a sense, pioneers in their line, and were the first to issue
a price list for doors, windows, and blinds — a class of goods which,
up to that time, had been made exclusively by carpenters.
Robert C Fisher & Co*
The history of the growth of the marble industry in America is in
brief the story of the growth of the firm of Robert C. Fisher & Co.,
of Nos. 97-103 East Houston street. At present it is the best known
marble manufacturing, concern in the United States, as it is the old-
est; its facilities and equipment for manufacture cannot be excelled;
its experience and wealth of knowledge of the different quarries in
every marble producing province or Kingdom in Europe and every
State in the Union enables this firm to draw the 'best obtainable from
the vast resources. It is unnecessary to use superlative epithets in
describing the career and present status of the firm; the work com-
pleted under its management is ample evidence of its high merit and
its recognized ascendancy over its competitors. The firm was estab-
lished in 1830 by John T. Fisher and Clinton G. Bird, being known
for fifty years under the name of Fisher & Bird. During that time
the marble work consisted mostly of monumental work, tiling and
mantel work. About five years after the establishment of the firm
it had risen to the most prominent position in the trade. Both mem-
bers of the firm were practical men and the standard of work set by
Fisher & Bird soon began to be followed by the trade. In i860
there was a change in the personnel, but the name remained Fisher &
Bird; in 1859 Mr. John T. Fisher died and a year later his partner
followed him. The successors were Robert C. Fisher, a son of the
founder, and Clinton G. Bird, the elder Mr. Bird's nephew. In 1881
the firm changed to Robert C. Fisher, and in 1888 to Robert C.
Fisher & Co., Edward B. Tompkins being admitted in 1893. Rob-
ert C. Fisher died and his son, of the same name, was admitted, the
style of the firm being the same; in 1893 it again changed to Rob-
ert *C. Fisher & Co., the firm being composed of Robert C. Fisher
and Edward B. Tompkins; the present Mr. Robert C. Fisher is a
grandson of the founder of the firm.
In that quarter of a century before tjhe Civil War there was com-
paratively no fine interior marble work completed in the North.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 423
The South created whatever demand there was and to the North
the rich Southerners came to secure the contracts. In New Orleans
and Charleston, Fisher & Bird completed at that time what was con-
sidered the finest examples of modern marble, work in this country
in the custom houses of those cities. When the wave of prosperity
wras felt after the war in the North and New York became the
metropolis and center of wealth in the United States, Fisher & Bird
still maintained their supremacy, as the firm Robert C. Fisher & Co.
continues to do so. Their work is seen from San Francisco to Bos-
ton and from Cincinnati to New Orleans. The highest example of
modern architectural marble art in this or any other country in the
world has been completed by them as the court of Metropolitan Life
Insurance Building, at Madi'son avenue and 23d street, testifies. The
handsome marble interior of the New York Life Building, on Broad-
way and Leonard street, was also manufactured in the company's
works, on Houston street. It is unnecessary to specify any of the
private residences which have become famous throughout the United
States, the work of which was completed by this firm ; suffice to say
that the marble work of a great number of important buildings, pub-
lic and private, has been done under the supervision of this firm.
Goss & Edsall Company*
There is probably no business identified with the building trade
which comes so little before the general public, and of which so lit-
tle is known, as that of the building material supplies. A structure
of national repute may be completed, the name of the architect her-
alded over the country, and the name of the contractor or builder
becomes prominent. It is seldom the public inquire as to the
sources from which the material used in its construction came. They
do not know that just as careful and experienced a management is
required in the supplying of the materials as the builder exercises
in superintending its construction.
One of the best known of the building material supply companies
in this city is that of Goss & Edsall Company, 358-360 West street.
Incorporated February 1, 1891, the young company astonished the
building trade by the boldness of its well-prepared plans. It had
been incorporated hardly a year when it tendered for one of the large
insurance companies' office buildings down town. Among the old
dealers it was questioned whether a young company could fulfill a
large contract, the term of which might extend over a period of two
or more years. Goss & Edsall Company, however, was not made
up of inexperienced men. Wright D. Goss and William H. Edsall,
the leading officers of the company, were well known, and had been
prominently identified with the building trades in connection with
the old firm of Peck, Martin & Company. The young company se-
cured the contract and carried out each detail with unquestioned
424 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ability. The successful completion of so extensive an operation
proved the competency of the new organization to handle any con-
tract however large.
The policy of the company is determined by its President, Wright
D. Goss. Mr. Goss is a man of much executive ability and great
will power. His individuality at once commands friendship, and to
his personal qualities much of the company's success is no doubt
due. He is a member of the Building Trades Club, Building Ma-
terial Exchange, Mechanics' & Traders' Exchange and numerous
other organizations. William H. Edsall, Treasurer of the company,
manages the financial and office work, and is thoroughly experi-
enced, having been connected with the building material trade for
more than twenty years. The other directors in the company are
Clayton S. Goss, Willis J. Barto and James G. Robinson.
When the history of the building trade of the last decade shall be
written, the name of Goss & Edsall Company will be found to figure
in almost every building operation of any prominence. The sup-
plies for such noted structures as the Mutual Life Building, Man-
hattan Life Building, Central Stores, United States Appraisers'
Stores, Hotels Gerard, Savoy and Vendome, Bowling Green Office
Building, Syndicate Building (Park Row), Wool Exchange, Cable
Building, Tiffany's Manufactories at Forest Hill, N. J., New York
Sugar Refinery and Grant's Tomb, were furnished by this corpora-
tion. This list of buildings proves that no contract is too large for
Goss & Edsall Company to assume, and to guarantee its intelligent
handling and satisfactory completion, while the smallest orders in
their every detail receive the closest personal and systematic atten-
tion. The thorough comprehension of the conditions incident to
the conduct of this business, together with the determined purpose
to conscientiously and promptly fulfill its every obligation, places
this corporation foremost among dealers in masons' building ma-
terials.
John P* Kane Company*
It is seldom one finds a career in the mercantile world paralleling
that of Mr. John P. Kane, the well-known dealer in masons' build-
ing materials. There are no doubt numbers of successful business
men in New York who can look back with pride and point to the
time when they began their careers as clerks, and probably office-
boys in the same establishment in which they now hold the most
responsible of positions as heads or partners in the firm. But they
are few indeed, who, having risen to that hard-earned position, then
suffer by an overwhelming stroke of misfortune the loss of the
fortune which they had accumulated by years of faithful work, have
then commenced the struggle again, and have risen to an eminence
greater in fact than they had previously attained. Such, in brief,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 425
JOHN P. KANE, ESQ.
426 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
is the story of Mr. Kane's efforts since his introduction into the
keenly competitive mercantile trade of New York.
Mr. John P. Kane is the leading spirit and active manager of the
John P. Kane Company, organized and incorporated in 1893 under
New York State laws. He was previously connected with the firm
of Canda & Kane, the largest mason building material supply
dealers in this country. It was formed in 1879, and had grown
almost solely through Mr. Kane's efforts from a comparatively in-
significant affair to one of almost gigantic proportions with branches
in different parts of the metropolitan district. After the commercial
panic of 1893, the firm ceased to exist. In November of that year
a company was organized and incorporated with Mr. Kane as its
manager, and the policy under him was greatly changed. Profiting
by his previous experience, Mr. Kane had decided to adopt the
principle of buying solely for cash, obtaining thereby all available
discounts, and enabling him to sell the consumer at prices which
could not be undersold.
A partial list of buildings supplied by this company is probably the
best criterion by which one is enabled to judge of the company's
business. They are the American Surety Building, Presbyterian
Building, United Chanties Building, Kennedy Building, New York
Life Building, Siegel-Cooper Co.'s store, Carnegie Hall extension,
9th Regiment Armory, American Tract Society Building, the hotels
Savoy, Netherlands and Waldorf, the residences of Cornelius Van-
derbilt and C. P. Huntington. At present the company are com-
pleting the Empire Building and the University Club.
The nature of such a business as the supplying of brick,
cements, lime, etc., is such that it requires a great amount of atten-
tion, because of its being so full of detail and requiring the utmost
attention. Mr. Kane attributes his great success to the fact that he
gives his business his unlimited attention, and he imparts an energy
to those around him which cannot help but bring the best results.
The storage depots of the company are the largest in New York.
They are situated at the foot of East 14th street and 96th street and
North River. The main office is located at the northeast corner of
22d streets and Fourth avenue.
Henry Maurer & Son*
There is probably no better known firm in the fire-proof building
material trade than the subject of our sketch, Henry Maurer & Son,
of No. 420 East 23rd street. Established in 1856, when the tendency
to fire-proof buildings was yet in its infancy the firm has grown
with the enormous increase in use of the articles manufactured by
them, and has in no slight measure aided their growth. The firm,
literally speaking, is a pioneer in the manufacture of fire-proof build-
ing materials, and many of the great improvements in the hollow tile
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 427
and porous terra cotta work have been launched on the market from
the plant of this firm after having been duly experimented upon.
They have introduced year after year some new feature in fire-proof-
ing which has become standard and is now imitated. One of the
best improvements which the firm introduced about three years ago
is that of the "Excelsior" end construction flat arch. It not only
received the endorsement of all the leading architects and promi-
nent builders, but it is uniformly conceded to be the best system of
fire-proofing ever presented to the building trade. By the most
severe tests it has been proved that the arch is 25 per cent, lighter
and stronger than the old style flat arch ; it adds a saving in construc-
tive iron and the distance between the iron beams can be increased.
The works are situated at Maurer, N. J., on Woodbridge Creek
and Staten Island Sound. They control large water frontage and
dock room, and possess every facility for shipping by either railroad
or boat. The plant covers an area of seventy acres, while the clay
banks which contain the best quality of fireclay and are practically
inexhaustible cover an area of about 500 acres. It may be mentioned
that no plaster, cement, lime or ashes are used in the course of man-
ufacturing their many fire-proofing materials. The talent employed,
especially in the experimental department, is of the best and most ex-
perienced type. In every division of manufacture there is close atten-
tion given to details, and it is also attended by intelligent supervision.
The members of the firm are experts in regard to the knowledge of
the characteristics of different clays. They made it an object early
in their career to place on the market the best manufactured articles
in their line and they have succeeded. The product of the Maurer, N.
J., plant has been used in almost every building of any prominence in
New York City and vicinity. Their superiority over the articles man-
ufactured by others is so clearly manifested that architects make a
positive specification of their use. The facilities for turning out
large contracts are easily equal to the demand and the result has
been prompt delivery and excellent service. We can give but a few
of the many structures the fire-proof material of which were supplied
by this firm. Among the office buildings are the Empire Building,
Bank of Commerce, Townsend Building, American Surety Com-
pany Building, Astor Building, New York Produce Exchange,
Wilks Building, Tower Building, Times Building, Potter Building,
and ninety others in New York and surrounding cities. In apart-
ment houses there are the Don Carlos apartments, Navarro
apartments, Knickerbocker apartments, Marie Antoinette
apartments. In residences the firm has completed those of W. H.
Yanderbilt, Fifth avenue and 51st street; Cornelius Vanderbilt, Fifth
avenue and 57th street; Henry Villiard, Collis P. Huntington,
Whitelaw Reid, Isaac Stern, Peter Doelger and H. H. Cook, all on
Fifth avenue. The warehouses, breweries, hospitals, colleges, banks,
clubs, theatres, hotels, factories, churches and stores completed by
this firm are among the best class of structures in the city.
428 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Otis Brothers & Co.
In a brief sketch of the part played by this company, not only in
America but throughout the civilized world, it is possible to deal
only in generalities. It is sufficient to say that the rise, development
and gradual perfection of standard elevators and hoisting machinery
in this country and Europe has been the story of rise and successful
career of the Otis Brothers & Company, Potter Building, Park Row.
The founder of the present company was Mr. Elisha G.
Otis. In 1867 the present company was incorporated. At that
time elevator machinery was beginning to be more largely
used, and later, in 1873-74, various scientific and trade journals
recommended, without exception, the use of the Otis elevator ma-
chinery for the reason of its having reached the highest point of
excellence. As years passed and the development of the crude ma-
chines of those early clays into the much more perfect ones of to-day
progressed, the Otis Company succeeded in maintaining this suprem-
acy. During its long career, it holds the proud record of there
having been not a life lost by a defect in its elevator machinery. It
is now the largest concern in the world manufacturing elevators and
hoisting machinery. Its plant is located at Yonkers, where 600 men
are daily employed. It has branches and selling agencies in every
city in the Union and in all principal cities of the world.
It is safe to say that three-fourths of the elevators used in New
York have been manufactured by this company, and those elevators
carry daily more passengers than the elevated railroad system.
The continued success of this company is due to the fact that its
reliable reputation is world-wide. This reputation was attained by
the use of the best grade of material and the best of tested improve-
ments. Of the latter, the Otis Governor Safety Stop is probably the
greatest. Their hydraulic elevators havo been placed in nearly all
the governmental buildings. Hotels, stores and offices advertise the
use of the Otis Elevator to their patrons.
Electric elevators were first introduced by this company about
nine years ago, and they have now about 1,700 in successful opera-
tion in this country and in Europe, and for moderate speeds, espe-
cially where they can be operated from electric power lines in the
streets, they give very good service. The controlling devices which
this company has recently patented and introduced for house eleva-
tors are the most perfect of their kind, being automatic in their action
so far as stopping the elevator and unlocking the doors are con-
cerned, and making it impossible for an elevator to be moved from
the floor at which it is standing until the door is closed, thus doing
away entirely with the difficulties which have been heretofore met
with by inexperienced persons in safely operating and controlling
dwelling house elevators.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 429
The Okonite Company*
The Okonite Company was organized in 1884. The term "Oko-
nite" is the trade term used by the company for the past fourteen
years and has become an imprint, signifying excellence in the arti-
cles which bear that name. The company itself has grown to im-
mense proportions and is generally recognized as one of the largest
manufacturers of rubber insulated wires and cables of the highest
grade for electrical purposes. The managers of the company are
Willard L. Candee and H. Durant Cheever; George T. Mason is
General Superintendent and William H. Hodgins, Secretary.
The factory is located at Passaic, where over 200 men are em-
ployed. Its capacity exceeds 80,000,000 feet of wire a year, and with
facilities and equipment unsurpassed the product of its manufacture
is the best that modern skill has yet brought forth. The Paris Ex-
position of 1889, when the company was established but a short time,
recognized the superiority of its submarine cables, telephone cables,
and other insulated electrical conductors, and awarded them a gold
medal on that account. In this country, and wherever their product
has been introduced, practical electricians and electrical experts
have endorsed their use, and the record of their use, whether sub-
marine, subterraneous or aerial, has substantiated what the Okonite
Company justly assert. The principal ingredient of the Okonite
composition which is used as the insulator is fine Para rubber, which,
after mixing, is put on the wire or cable by machinery. In some
cases the wire or cable is then braided by machinery operated by
skilled women operators. The high insulating quality of their pro-
duct results in the use of less electrical energy, and the well-known
durability of the Okonite Company's product further increases its
popularity.
The following is a partial list of buildings completed by them in
New York and Brooklyn:
Building, 10th street, near University place; addition to Museum
of Natural History, New York City; Gillender Building, corner Wall
and Nassau streets; the Havemeyer Stores, Prince street and Broad-
way; E. T. Gerry's stable, in No. 39 East 626. street; Y. M. C. A.
Building, 57th street, between 8th and 9th avenues; Gerken Building,
Chambers street; St. Ignatius' Church, 84th street and Park avenue;
Schermerhorn Building, 96 Broadway; Astor Library, 8th street and
Broadway; St. Boniface Building, 5th avenue and 21st street; West-
ern Electric Co. Building, Greenwich and Thames streets, Aurora
Grata Building, Madison street and Bedford avenue, Brooklyn;
Brooklyn Warehouse and Storage Co., East River, Brooklyn;
Church Clubhouse, 85th street and 1st avenue; Commercial Cable
Building, Broad street, near Wall; Brooklyn Art Building, Park
Plaza, Brooklyn; Queens Insurance Building, northwest corner of
Cedar and Williams streets; Horse Exchange, southwest corner of
Broadway and 50th street. In addition they have furnished the Pos-
430 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
tal Telegraph Cable Co. with the cable running across Great South
Bay, a stretch of six miles. The company also supplies other tele-
graphic companies and all the telephone companies.
William E* Quimby ♦
The screw pump invented by William E. Quimby and placed on
the market in July, 1892, has met with the high approval of archi-
tects and engineers in the New York district and elsewhere in the
United States and abroad. Mr. W. E. Quimby has his office at 141
Broadway, New York, and has established agencies in San Fran-
cisco, Chicago, Buffalo, New Haven, Montreal and in London, Eng-
land. He is a graduate of Steven's Institute of the class of 1887. Mr.
Quimby's energy and business ability have been successfully exer-
cised in securing wide recognition of the remarkable superiority of
his unique screw pump. Wherever his house service pumps or his
larger pressure pumps for elevator or other uses have been intro-
duced, their advantages in respect of simplicity, durability and effi-
ciency have at once become apparent.
The Quimby screw pump can be successfully used for elevating
any fluid under conditions where efficiency is the main requirement
and especially where freedom from noise or vibration and a contin-
uous pulseless delivery are demanded. Under such conditions the
Quimby screw pump stands pre-eminent, since carefully conducted
tests prove that in handling any fluid that can pass through a pump
greater economy can be secured with this pump than with any other
yet devised. The screws of the Quimby pump operate as a contin-
uous piston, collecting and pushing the fluid from the suction to the
discharge in a stream of uniform size. It is a well known law of
hydraulics that the less a moving column of water is disturbed and
the more nearly the channel through which it flows can be kept of
uniform size the less will be the friction encountered and the less will
be the power required to keep it in motion. It is self-evident, there-
fore, that in the Quimby screw pump, wherein the power is con-
tinuously exerted in the same direction and wherein the channel is
practically of uniform size, the friction is less and the power ex-
pended in operation is less than in the case of any form of recipro-
cating pump, wherein the Channels are of varied size, wherein valves
are required and wherein power is necessarily exerted in merely re-
versing the strokes of the plunger. For house service, where noise
or vibration are especially objectionable, the Quimby screw pump,
by reason of the absence from it of any reciprocating parts or valves,
and because of its pulseless delivery, is the only pump now on the
market which can be satisfactorily used. Rotating noiselessly at
comparatively higtfi speeds, the Quimby screw pump lends itself with
peculiar facility to direct connection with an electric motor, with a
resulting simplicity and compactness of construction which have
given it a wide field of usefulness in the building trades. The ap-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 431
proval which it has received from prominent architects and en-
gineers, both for house service and elevator work, is indicated by
the subjoined list of a few of the representative buildings in which
the Quimby screw pump is used:
Residence C. P. Huntington, 5th ave. and 57th st, New York;
residence T. Wyman Porter, 25 East 56th st., New York; residence
Levi P. Morton, 681 Fifth ave., New York; Astor Estate Building,
2 and 4 West 33d st., New York; Livingstone Building, South 5th
ave. and 3d st., New York; Kent Estate Building, 28 Union square
East, New York; City Hall, Albany, N. Y. ; Municipal Building,
Brooklyn, N. Y.; First National Bank, Paterson, N. J.; Hotel Clu-
ney, Boston, Mass.; Haddon Hall Hotel, Boston, Mass.; Bank of
North America, Chestnut st., Philadelphia; Illinois Eastern Hos-
pital, Kankakee, 111.; Riverside Trust Co., Riverside, Cal.
John W* Rapp.
After the great Boston and Chicago fires, in the early seventies,
there came a sudden realization that the use of inflammable material
in building must be done away with. The outcome of this was the
beginning of the modern fireproof construction. The greatest source
of weakness in a building was the flooring, and to remedy this a num-
ber of methods for the construction of this particular portion were
put forward. The materials used were non-combustible, and con-
sisted chiefly of iron and brick. With the use of these new materials
came a new method of construction — namely, a series of more or less
flat arches having their bases in horizontal iion beams, and being
covered with brick. In many cases arches built entirely of brick and
supported in the same manner as the iron ones were used. Parti-
tions, also, began to be constructed in a fireproof manner. Iron net
work superseded lath and the plaster was laid directly on the brick.
A method of floor construction which has come into considerable
prominence during the last year or so is that known as the Rapp
Patent System of Fireproof Floors. John W. Rapp, the inventor
and patentee, established himself in business, some thirteen years ago,
at No. 201 East 66th street. He has been in his present office, at
No. 315 East 94th street, for the past eight years. At the official test
of Mr. Rapp's flooring, made by the Department of Buildings, in Oc-
tober of 1896, it fully justified all the claims of its inventor.
A partial list of the buildings constructed or in course of construction
in which the Rapp Patent System of Fireproof Floors has been or is
being used includes Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre, the J. S. Lind-
say Building, 103 Fifth avenue; the Daiker Apartment House, St.
Nicholas avenue and 145th street; the first and second floors of the
Don Carlos Apartment; the Hotel Majestic, 72d street and Central
Park West; the T. K. White apartment, 118th street and St. Nicholas
avenue ; the Model Tenements in West 68th and 69th streets, of which
Mr. Ernest Flagg was the architect; a warehouse for Weil & Maver,
432 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
at 30 Great Jones street; the First National Bank, Hartford, Conn.;
the Old Man's Home, Philadelphia, Pa. ; and the Blind Asylum , also
in Philadelphia. The agents for John W. Rapp are Moffat & Hewitt,
156 5th avenue, New York City, and F. E. Bailey, Harrison Build-
ing, 15th and Market streets, Philadelphia, Pa.
The component parts of the Rapp system of floor construc-
tion, which are common to the various forms of floors, are steel T's
rolled cold from the flat placed between floor beams, brick laid
between these T's and cinder cement concrete grouted and tamped
over to the necessary height. The various forms of floor construc-
tion in the Rapp system are the arch construction, panelled con-
struction and the segmental brick arch. The latter mode of con-
struction is particularly commended and endorsed by New York
architects and builders. It also complies with the New York build-
ing laws to the letter. It may be added that the Rapp system in
general is remarkable for its adaptability to all circumstances. The
fire-proofing of the roof of a building at any angle, of irregular
work, domes and upright work can be easily accomplished. One
of the recent contracts completed is the seventeen-story building
of the Real Estate Trust Co. in Philadelphia.
Richardson-Boynton Company*
It is said the best evidence a manufacturing firm can produce to
show real merit in the character of its output, is the favor with which
it is received by the people. Judging the Richardson-Boynton
Company by this criterion, it appears that the warm air heating fur-
naces and the cooking ranges manufactured by that company must
possess unusual merit, for they have met with unusual favor from the
public generally for many years. The reputation of the company has
spread to every State in the Union, and there is not a city from New
York to San Francisco in which there is not an agent who makes
a specialty of the Richardson & Boynton furnace.
The company was established in 1837, and for the past 35 years the
offices of the company have been located in Nos. 232 and 234 Water
street. In 1882 the company was incorporated, with Mr. H. T. Rich-
ardson as its president.
The foundry and shops have, until the past year, been located in
Brooklyn, near the Atlantic docks, where they occupied a square of
city property. But with the march of success, the company out-
grew the former spacious workshops and was compelled to enlarge
them greatly at the new site, Dover, N. J. The new factory and
yards are fitted with the most modern machinery and are the most
extensive of the kind in this country; four of the buildings are each
500 feet long, and about 450 men are employed.
The company does not confine its trade to the manufacturing of
hot air furnaces and ranges for metropolitan trade only; its trade
has extended to such an extent that its reputation is continental ; the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 433
requirements of the Chicago market, the Denver market and the
Louisville market have been thoroughly considered by the firm's ex-
perts, with the result that the name of the Richardson & Boynton
Company is almost as familiar in those cities as in New York. An
evidence of the merit of the furnace made for local trade is that archi-
tects particularly specify their furnace, and a large portion of the
business done in this city is the removing of other makes of furnaces
and replacing them with the Richardson & Boynton manufacture;
this has been done in scores of cases, chiefly on account of the in-
efficiency of the other make of furnace.
There is no doubt but that the success of this company is due in a
great measure to the employing of the best possible talent in the mat-
ter of design and experience in workmanship. The name "Perfect"
is used in case of each article manufactured, whether it is a furnace
or a cooking range; it is registered and is used as a safeguard against
imitations.
The other officers of the company are A. P. Richardson, Vice-
President; D. S. Richardson, Treasurer; F. B. Richardson, Secretary.
John H. Shipway & Brother*
The advances made in marble working in this country during the
past quarter century have been phenomenal. Before the civil war
whatever marble was manufactured in the North was mainly on the
contracts of Southern clients. With the great increase in demand
from all parts of the Union after the war closed came a demand for
increased facilities. Young but enterprising firms sprang into ex-
istence and met with such a measure of success that astonished
firms who had been doing business for many years. The enterprise
and progressive genius of the younger firms equipped their plants
with more modern machinery, adding dispatch to the high quality
of work done. First among the marble working firms in New York
who have attained a prominence not merely local, but national, is
that of John H. Shipway & Brother, whose mills, office and wharf
are located at 136th street, near the East River. The firm is com-
posed of John H. Shipway, Charles M. Shipway, Robert H. Reid
and Peter J. Conlon.
The plant of the Shipway firm is the largest and best equipped
in the country and it is generally regarded as having no superior in
equipment or completeness in the world. Particular attention has
been given to modern machinery for marble working, for Mr. John
H. Shipway is not only an expert in that particular line, but has in-
vented and patented machines for improved marble working. The
plant covers an area of seventeen city lots, having a deep water
bulkhead with a depth of water sufficient to moor the heaviest
draueht ocean steamship afloat. The firm in this respect possesses
facilities and advantages for dispatch in receiving cargoes and ship-
ping that no other metropolitan firm has. Cargoes imported from
28
434 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
European countries can be received at the wharf and in a few min-
utes, if necessary, the process of manufacturing the rough marble
can be begun in the factory. The latter is a three-story modern
brick factory building, the first and second floors of which are de-
voted to the manufacture and polishing of marble. The third floor
is reserved for the mosaic workers exclusively. In this branch of
their industry, John H. Shipway & Brother undoubtedly occupy a
prominent position in the front rank of mosaic workers. In the
scope of business done in mosaics, and the quality of workmanship,
the firm is not excelled by any American concern. They are the in-
^ntors and sole users of an electric polishing machine for working
marble and onyx. A portable electric rubbing machine for polish-
ing the surfaces of marble and mosaic floors in buildings
is also an example of the progressiveness of the firm.
The following is but a partial list of the buildings completed.
Standard Oil Building, St. Paul Building, Lord's Court Build-
ing, Mutual Reserve Life Fund Building, Produce Exchange An-
nex, Mail and Express Building, Sampson Building, New York
Clearing House, Central National Bank Building, Columbia Col-
lege Gymnasium Building, Science Building, Physics Building;
Barnard College, Teachers' College, Manhattan Hotel, Sherry
Building, Hoffman House, Buckingham Hotel, Hotel Vendome,
Hotel Marlborough, Hotel Regent, Hotel Empire, Yale College
Gymnasium, St. Luke's Hospital, Bloomingdale Asylum, Metropol-
itan Club, Fine Arts Society Building, residences of John H. In-
man, J. H. Flagler, R. M. Hoe, J. J. Emery, Dr. Gill Wylie.
Wm» E* Uptegrove & Bro.
A short time ago the newspapers reported the opening of the
Chicago & Northwestern Ry. Co.'s offices, at Broadway and Grand
street, which took place in the presence of a notable gathering oi
railroad men. The feature of the offices which received most com-
ment was the rich mahogany trim and appointments. In connec-
tion with the account of the opening it was stated that the company
proposed, as occasion arose, to refit all its principal places of busi-
ness throughout the country with mahogany. The choice of this
wood for the purpose was not dictated merely by a desire for deco-
rative effect, but chiefly by considerations of economy. The larger
part of the cost of woodwork falls to the labor account, and re-
mains the same whether the wood is expensive or inexpensive.
The price of raw mahogany is only two-and-a-half times that of
quartered oak. On the other hand, mahogany never warps. In
other woods, if the finish is marred, the pores fill with dust, and
the finish cannot be restored. That of mahogany can be restored
by the simple process of refinishing. Mahogany is the only wood
which improves in appearance with age. Furthermore, it lends it-
self to a greater variety of colors in decoration than any other trim.
In fact, "no wood possesses like advantages of combined sound-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 435
- AAERICAN-SVRETY -COMPANY-
Bruce Price. Architect
(1894.)
436 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ness, large size, durability, beauty of color, and richness of figure."
It is interesting to note that the general introduction of mahogany
trim dates from the erection of the Wm. H. Vanderbilt residence
in 1880. Its lavish use in this conspicuous instance was promptly
imitated in the better class of private houses. About this time also
the modern luxurious type of office building came into existence,
and it did not require long experimenting to discover that mahog-
any, with its peculiar fitness for rough service, was the wood par
excellence for this class of structures.
The excellent reputation which mahogany enjoys as cabinet wood
and trim for public offices, railway coaches, and private houses
is due in a large measure to the careful selection of the
raw material by the firm of Wm. E. Uptegrove & Bro., Nos.
457 to 475 East 10th street, the largest dealers in imported hard-
woods in the country, for such architecturally notable buildings
as the Wm. H. Vanderbilt mansion, the American Surety, the Mu-
tual Life, and the Standard Oil Buildings, as also for the Wagner
Parlor Car Co.'s famous coaches.
Gillis & Geoghegan,
Established in 1866, the firm of Gillis & Geoghegan, of No. 537
West Broadway, has sustained a reputation of unquestioned supe-
riority in the manufacture of steam and hot water (heating and ventil-
ating apparatus, not only in this city, but throughout the entire coun-
try. This fact has been established time and again by the repeated
orders from the large building estates, corporations and private in-
vestors testifying in a manner to the superior 'merit of the appliances
manufactured by Gillis & Geoghegan. The firm has also erected a
large number of important steam heating plants in all parts of the
West and South, including plants in large buildings in Memphis,
Galveston, St. Paul and Kansas City.
In New York very many buildings of importance, both public and
private, are heated and ventilated by apparatus manufactured by
this firm. It holds the unique position of standing so far ahead of
its competitors that it largely controls the desirable class of trade in
the metropolitan districts. Some of the more important buildings
treated by this firm are the immense Astoria Hotel, the Manhattan
Life Building, Empire Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Hotel
Netherland, Plaza Hotel, Broadway Theatre, Presbyterian Hospital,
John Jacob Astor's handsome residence, Catholic Club, Stern Bros.'
store.
Patterson Brothers*
The birth of the greater city of New York marks the fiftieth anni-
versary of the establishment of the hardware business of that well-
known and reliable firm, Patterson Brothers, of No. 27 Park row.
It was established on the Bowery fifty years ago, and ten years later,
the building having been destroyed by fire, it was re-established in
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 437
its present location. It was conducted by William Turner, Edgar
C. and Henry A. (brothers), until 1878, when William Turner with-
drew, and was succeeded by M. C. Kellogg. It was incorporated-
in 1884. At present the members of the firm are Edgar C. Patter-
son— the surviving brother — Minot C. Kellogg, David J. TingleyV
Denis Nunan, Edward Stagg, Robert N. Brundage and Milliard
F. Griffiths, the six last mentioned having been identified with the
business from twenty to forty years. They are men of high charac-
ter and of recognized ability in their various departments, and, to-
gether, form a strong business combination. Their credit has ever
been maintained even in periods of greatest depression. They are
reputed to carry the best assortment of miscellaneous hardware,
adapted to the wants of everyone, of any retail house in the world.
Their sales range from a few cents to hundreds of dollars. Their
builders' hardware is found in many of the largest office buildings,
and in nearly every prominent building in New York, besides thou-
sands of residences in city and country. Their telegraphic supplies
are used from New York to San Francisco ; all railroads coming to
this city have dealt and continue to deal with them, and their ship-
ments are consigned to nearly every part of the civilized world. Their
customers include every class of mechanics, contractors, corpora-
tions and individuals.
David Shuldiner*
Among the prominent and successful dealers in glass in this city,
Mr. David Shuldiner, of No. 961 Sixth avenue, unquestionably
ranks among the first. Mr. Shuldiner is one of the largest local
dealers in polished plate glass, French and American win-
dow glasses and mirror plates. He has entered into competi-
tion for the glazing work of some of the largest structures ever com-
pleted in this city, and in all cases where the architect or owner
requires high class work rather than extreme cheapness it is found
that Mr. Shuldiner has been successful. In many of the large of-
fice and mercantile buildings on Broadway and in the lower section
of the city now in course of construction and completed will be
found examples of his ability as a glazier.
Mr. Shuldiner learned his trade in St. Petersburg, studying un-
der the tutelage of his father, who was a glazier merchant in that
city. When he came to this country he saw it was necessary to
study American styles and methods, and he entered the ranks of
journeymen glaziers. In 1889, having mastered his craft, he estab-
lished himself in business in an office in No. 947 Sixth avenue. By
his strict attention to business and its detailed promptness in deliv-
eries and in completion of contracts, together with high-class work-
manship in their execution, Mr. Shuldiner has long since made his
venture a pronounced success. In 1893 ne was compelled to open a
brancli in No. 134 West 54th street, and a year later he again found it
438 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
necessary to enlarge, this time opening what is now his main office,
in No. 961 Sixth avenue. Mr. Shuldiner's success is due in.a great
measure to his firm belief in the principle that it is more advan-
tageous to do a large amount of work at a small percentage of
profit than doing little work at a large profit. Mr. Shuldiner's con-
tracts embrace all kinds of glazier work, from the decoration of a
residence to the inserting of window glass. Some of his more im-
portant contracts are the New York Life Insurance Building, Mills
Hotel, Washington Life Insurance Building, Western National
Bank, Lord's Court Building, Manhattan Savings Bank, Wood-
bridge Building, American Lithograph Co.'s Building, Weil and
Meyer's block of stores, between Prince and Houston streets, Uni-
versity Church, 54th street and 5th avenue, besides a large number
of private residences in the Fifth avenue district, and buildings in
the mercantile sections of the city.
Henry Steeger*
The pioneer firm in copper plumbing work in this city is that of
Henry Steeger, who is now located at No. 143 East 31st street. The
early reputation which this firm acquired for sterling merit in all
articles it manufactured has been maintained, and the imprint of the
stamp of Mr. Steeger is a warrant for genuineness that none can
gainsay. The firm was established in 185 1 by Mr. Steeger's father,
who had learned the trade of a coppersmith in Germany. At that
time comparatively little copper was used in this country, but people
were beginning to become aware of its superiority in appearance,
especially in plumbing materials. The plant of the first Mr. Steeger
was situated in a basement on 3rd avenue, between 17th and 18th
streets. The thorough workmanship exhibited in all his articles of
manufacture, together with the fact that he never deceived the public,
rapidly acquired for him an extensive trade. Several times he moved
to enlarged premises to accommodate the rapidly growing trade, and
each time he found himself cramped for space. Finally he erected
a plant at the present address, which has proved adequate. Mr.
Steeger, who learned the trade with his father, has kept pace with
the great strides taken in all lines of manufactured goods during the
past decade, and it can be truthfully said that the best class of trade
in New York seeks him rather than vice versa; he has completed
large contracts for all the wealthy metropolitan families, and there
is hardly a large structure erected in this vicinity in which the copper
work has not come from the workshop of Henry Steeger.
Whittict Machine Co*
The Whittier Machine Company, of Boston, have for many years
enjoyed the reputation of manufacturing one of the best class of ele-
vators on the market. Every year there have been improvements
**n the hydraulic or electric elevators that have been introduced by
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 439
the Whittier Machine Company with a view of adding to their
strength, durability and safety. The company's reputation extends
back over forty years, and during that time they have kept pace with
the rapid improvements and the enormous growth in demand of both
the hydraulic ar\d electric elevators. In New York there are over
100 elevators of the Whittier design in use, and in Boston they are
most extensively used. During the whole career of the company
there has not been a life lost nor a serious accident resulting from a
defect in their machines.
In New York Whittier elevators are used in the Waldorf Ho-
tel, Metropolitan Life Insurance Bldg., Schermerhorn Bldg., Wilks
Bldg., Prescott Bldg., Wells Bldg. In Boston the following is a
partial list: State House, Court House, City Hall, Exchange Bldg ,
Tremont Bldg., Touraine Hotel, Bell Telephone Bldg., Exchange
Club, Brazer Bldg., Washington Bldg., Houghton & Dutton Bldg.,
Parker House and Converse Bldg. The Whittier elevators are used
in Washington, St. Paul and Chicago. The New York office is lo-
cated in the Potter Bldg., Park Row.
American Enameled Brick and Tile Co*
This concern has slowly but steadily fought its way to the front in
a market flooded with poor domestic imitations of the old English -
standard glazed brick.
It is to their credit that the English importation has been stopped
by the combined quality and price of their output now sold to the
old importers of English brick for their trade to the entire exclusion
of the imported article.
Where other manufacturers make their enameled brick in de-
partments of larger works, devoted mainly to other interests, their
whole time and attention are devoted exclusively to the manufac-
ture of Enameled Brick and Tile, and to the filling of very large
contracts on time.
The large contracts, which have been placed with them, show the
excellent confidence in their ability to fill same.
American Encaustic Tiling Co*
The sanitary features of tiles have made them a necessity wher-
ever non-absorbent floors and walls are looked for, be it in hospitals,
be it in office buildings or private residences.
Great progress has been made as regards artistic floor and wall
decorations in tiles, which on account of their vitreous body are
vastly superior to marble, besides allowing the introduction of a
great many more artistic shades and colors than can be obtained in
the latter.
The largest tile plant of this country is that of American Encaus-
tic Tiling Co., Ltd., of Zanesville, Ohio, and their ceramic and art
mosaic tile floors, as well as their plain, gold, palissy, or hand deco-
440 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
rated glazed tiles rank among the finest products ever placed on the
market, both here and abroad.
The New York office of this company is in the Townsend Build-
ing, 1 123 Broadway, northwest corner of 25th street.
Bedford Quarries Co*
To sell Indiana limestone direct to the dealer instead of through
a broker was the object which led The Bedford Quarries Company
to establish its Eastern Office on January 1, 1897, at No. 1 Madi-
son avenue, New York. The Mutual Reserve Fund, Constable,
Hotel Majestic, Presbyterian, Manhattan Hotel and other notable
buildings in New York and elsewhere are built of stone from these
quarries. The company is the largest producer of Oolitic limestone
in the world and furnishes upon application an interesting pamph-
let describing the quarries and the manner of producing and ship-
ping the stone. The company also has an office at No. 185 Dear-
born street, Chicago, and its quarries are located at Bedford, Ind.
The Boynton Furnace Co.
The name Boynton as applied to furnaces, steam heaters and hot
water apparatus has represented to the American people the acme of
perfection in that class of goods since Mr. N. A. Boynton began
their manufacture in 1849. At present the company is the largest
manufacturers of heating apparatus in this country and their trade
represents not only the most desirable in this country, but an exten-
sive one in Europe. The Boynton Heating Apparatus is used in the
residences of D. O. Mills, W. C. Whitney, F. W. Vanderbilt, Chaun-
cey M. Depew, Russell Sage, J. P. Morgan and Miss Helen Gould
besides hundreds of other prominent people.
Fred* Brandt*
Reliable and thorough in all branches of the roofing trade, Mr.
Fred. Brandt, of No. 169 East 85th street, has succeeded in main-
taining the reputation his father held for fifty years in the same busi-
ness. As a slate, tin and metal roofer, Mr. Brandt has a long and
extensive experience; he employs none but the best class of mechan-
ics and as a result his work cannot be excelled in this or any other
city. Mr. Brandt has progressive tendencies. He does not main-
tain a line of action similar to that he adopted years ago, but is al-
ways improving some branch of his business. As an example of this
he has secured profitable patents for stationary zinc wash tubs, com-
binations of bath and wash tubs; besides he has effected a large num-
ber of improved devices in cornice, skylight, roofing and sheet metal
work.
Michael Caravatta*
Concrete and artificial stone work in our apartment houses,
stores, office buildings, factories and stables form no inconsiderable
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 441
part of the general contract. The sidewalks, cement flooring, fire-
proof arches, pavements and watertight floors in cellars are but
fading features in the work. The recognized importance compels
the general contractors to permit none but experienced and reli-
able sub-contractors to do this work.
One of New York's leading concrete and artificial stone con-
tractors is Mr. Michael Caravatta, of No. 239 West 69th street. He
learned his trade in Switzerland, where concrete working is carried
to a high degree of proficiency. Ten years ago he opened an office
in New York and began to contract for concrete work of all de-
scriptions. During this time he has completed many important
jobs, a partial list of which is as follows: Concrete work in City
Hall ; sidewalks and cellars at northwest corner of 26th street and
Broadway ; sidewalk and watertight cellars for Electrical Exchange
Building ; sidewalk at corner of Barclay and West streets ; entire
concrete work at 69th street and Eighth avenue, at 68th
street and Eighth avenue, 69th street and Boulevard and
83d street and Riverside Drive; two corners at 101st street
and West End avenue, and two corners 43d street and 10th
avenue; concrete work at 106th street and Columbus avenue ; cor-
ner 104th street and Manhattan avenue; block extending from
101st to I02d street, on Manhattan avenue; watertight floors at
30th street, corner 13th avenue, besides innumerable other jobs.
Colwell Lead Co*
Colwell, Shaw & Willard was the firm name when established in
1865. One year later they incorporated as the Colwell, Shaw &
Willard Manufacturing Company. In 1873 the name of the corpo-
ration was changed to Colwell Lead Company. Their office and fac-
tory is now and has been for many years at 63 Centre street, New
York, where their old shot tower, near the Tombs, is one of the city's
landmarks. They manufacture lead pipe, tin-lined lead pipe, sheet
lead, shot, and also carry a complete stock of plumbers' supplies.
The officers are B. Frank Hooper, President; Alva S. Walker, Vice-
President ; George L. Knox, Secretary and Treasurer.
Coppcrsctt Roofing and Paint Co*
The Coppersett Roofing and Paint Co. was established in 1885.
They have made a successful specialty of roofing, in iron, tin, slate
and felt. But it is as the sole Eastern agents for the famous Alcatraz
Asphalt Paint that the company is so widely known among New
York builders and architects. The superiority over the metallic
paint has been clearly established, so that the municipal departments
require it to be used in almost every public building. Two repre-
sentative contracts which this firm secured are the roofing and the
painting of the immense Third avenue power house at Kingsbridge ;
also the roadbed of the New Third Avenue Bridge.
442 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
F. W« Devoe & C T* Raynolds Co*
This well-known paint house dates back one hundred and forty-
four years. It was established in 1754. It undoubtedly occupies the
position of being the largest paint manufacturing concern in the
United States. It has offices at the corner of Fulton and William
streets and employs over seven hundred men in its four factories in
New York, Brooklyn, Newark and Chicago. Here in the com-
pany's factories are manufactured everything in connection with the
paint trade, even to the boxes, barrels and tubes in which they are
sold. Its varnish is used by all the great American railroad com-
panies and boat builders.
Dimock & Fink Co*
The Dimock & Fink Co. conducts one of the largest plumbing'
supply trades in this country. It is an incorporated company with
Otis K. Dimock, president; Martin D. Fink, treasurer; A. L. Per-
kins, secretary. It was originated in 1882 and incorporated in 1896.
Its wholesale trade is not only metropolitan, but extends through-
out the State of New York and far into the New England States.
The main New York office is located in the handsome six-story
building in Nos. 220 and 222 East 125th street; and its Jersey City
branch at Nos. 283 and 285 Warren street, control the outside trade.
One may gain an idea of the magnitude of the company's business
in New York alone when it is learned that in the yards at the foot
of East 125th street, on an average, 200 tons of pipe are stored. The
Jersey City branch office controls a trade as extensive as the New
York office.
Dunbar Box & Lumber Co*
The Dunbar Box & Lumber Co., with yards and offices at No.
282 Eleventh avenue, corner 28th street, was incorporated in 1877.
Its origin, however, dates back nearly half a century, when Joseph
A. Dunbar founded the business. It is one of the prominent New
York lumber concerns, its factory and yards covering 33 city lots.
Besides maintaining a large stock of lumber and timber, the com-
pany are well-known manufacturers of packing boxes, mouldings;
floorings, ceiling, and all kinds of house trim. They have many
times been called upon to furnish the lumber and trim for the most
important New York constructions, and have dealt and continue to
deal largely with the best class of local builders. Mr. Thomas T.
Reid is the president of the company.
The East River Mill and Lumber Co*
The yards and mill of the East River Mill and Lumber Co., lo-
cated at the foot of 92d and 93d streets, East River, occupy a portion
of three blocks in that vicinity, with a dock frontage of one block.
The company was established in 1889, with Mr. George H. Troop,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 440
president, and Thomas J. Crombie, secretary-treasurer. In the yards
are kept all kinds of rough and dressed lumber, yellow pine flooring
and step plank, and every description of lumber and timber used in
the erection of dwelling houses. Although not confining its trade
to Harlem, Yorkville and West Side builders, yet the company pays
special attention to their requirements. It may be mentioned that
all the lumber required by the companies constructing underground
trolleys was supplied by this company. A well-equipped moulding
and planing mill is operated in connection with the yards.
Fordham Stone Renovating Co*
The Fordham Stone Renovating Co., of which Mr. E. A. Moen
is the manager, has been established fifteen years. The company,
during that time, has cleaned, repaired or painted thousands of
brick and stone residences, office and mercantile buildings. The
exterior of any building from dome to pavement will under the
management of this company be repaired, cleaned or painted in the
most efficient manner. It has had a long and varied experience in
this line of business, and its reputation, as endorsed by our well-
known architects and builders, is a credit to the company that bears
it. Among the many buildings renovated with their process are
the New York Produce Exchange Building, Hoffman House,
Drexel-Morgan Building, St. Cloud Hotel, Albemarle Hotel,
Grand Central Hotel, Union League Club, St. Denis Hotel, Bank
of New York, and the Western Union Telegraph Co.'s Building.
The address is No. 54 William street, and Greenwich Savings Bank.
Church IL Gates & Co*
Among the important lumber concerns who possess a substantial
reputation, Church E. Gates & Co. stand prominently in the list.
The company operates two yards, one located in 138th street and 4th
avenue, where the main office is located, and another yard in Bed-
ford Park. A full supply of hard and soft woods can always be ob-
tained, and of the best quality. The members of the company are
Mr. J. F. Steeves, Mr. H. H. Barnard and Mr. B. L. Eaton. These
gentlemen, by their business ability and energetic attention to detail,
now manage a large trade with builders, particularly Harlem build-
ers, and the retail trade generally throughout the city.
William Hall's Sons*
The general house-trim factory conducted by William Hall's Sons,
at 106th street and East River, is one of the largest and most com-
plete in the metropolitan district. It was established by William Hall
over 30 years ago, and its gradual growth from the small factory to
the present concern testifies in a manner to its reputation for reliable
work. The yard and factory occupy 38 city lots, with a frontage of
a block on the river. Thomas R. A. Hall and William H. Hall, sons
444 , A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
of the founder of the firm, now carry on the large business. The
firm has manufactured the hardwood doors, mouldings and general
house-trim for a large number of the big hotels, apartment hoiises,
hospitals, colleges, public institutions and office buildings. The firm
employs on an average nearly 400 men.
J, H* Havens & Son*
In the list of well known and reputable lumber firms in this city
comes that of J. H. Havens & Son, of No. 825 nth avenue.
It has been established for over a quarter of a century and during
that time the many carpenter contractors, wood workers and others
who have been its patrons recognize that it has maintained a high
reputation for honest dealing. In the yards are kept a full stock of
soft woods, including spruce and yellowr pine timber, and a good
grade of hardwoods. The ample sheds enclose the better grades.
Mouldings are also kept in stock and the firm possesses the facilities
for filling orders on the shortest notice. The yards are situated on
the northwest and southwest corners of 56th street and nth avenue.
George Hayes*
Established in 1868, Mr. George Hayes, of No. 71 Eighth avenue,
has been the most prominent manufacturer of metal lathings in this
country, and has undoubtedly perfected more appliances for uses
in the building art than any other person. The Hayes metal lathings
have a wide sale in Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, and
have been introduced in every civilized country. Mr. Hayes is the
inventor and patentee of the Hayes Metallic Skylights, and other
glazed structures, blinds, architectural, hygienic and mechanical
appliances. Over one hundred medals have been awarded him
for his inventions. It may be added that the Hayes metal lathings
have been used in nearly all the prominent buildings in New York.
Thomas Hill, Jr.
Mr. Thomas Hill, Jr., of No. 81 Pine street and No. 128 Water
street, is one of New York's brightest and most promising experts
in theoretical electrical knowledge and the practical appli-
cation of electrical energy. Mr. Hill, although a young-
man, has been connected with several of the largest metro-
politan electrical concerns, in some of which he acted in the capacity
of superintendent and foreman of the general electrical construction.
In 1896 he opened offices at his present address, and by his thorough
knowledge of detail he has succeeded in establishing a growing busi-
ness. He has wired the Montauk Theater, Brooklyn; Scarboro
Mansion, N. Y.; Association Hall, Brooklyn; Pettit Bldgs., N. Y. ;
St. Peter's Church, Brooklyn. Mr. Hill's laboratory is located in
No. 502 Fulton street, Brooklyn. He is not only a student of re-
search, but possesses the faculty of making his researches of practical
benefit to himself.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 445
Interior Conduit and Insulation Co*
This company was incorporated in 1890. Briefly stated, the com-
pany provides a most complete system of electric wiring, which has
never been excelled in America or Europe. The system, the credit
of which is mainly due to Edward H. Johnson, president of the com-
pany, has received the unqualified endorsement of every leading
architect, electrician, insurance inspector and fire underwriter board
in the country. Every building of prominence, whether residential,
church, office or mercantile, during the last six years has been wired
by the Interior Conduit and Insulation Co. The works are located
in No. 529 West 34th street, and the main offices in No. 20 Broad
street. The officers are Edward Johnson, president; Everett W.
Little, vice-president and general manager ; Charles P. Geddes, sec-
retary and treasurer.
C* D* Jackson & Co*
C. D. Jackson & Co., importers of all kinds of marble, of No. 1
Madison avenue, are sole representatives and importers of many of
the best and most desired marble, which are in vogue to-day.
It is safe to say that all the important American contracts of mar-
ble are filled through their hands.
Their specialties are Fabbricotti's C. F. and other best brands of
Carrara Marble and Paonazzo Marble.
Blanc P. Marble for statuary and church work ; Tyrolean Marble
for monuments and exterior finish ; Istrian Marble for Altars ; be-
sides French, Spanish, Swiss and Belgian marble.
The firm recently secured the contract of Carrara C. F. brand and
Old Convent Quarry Siena Marble for the Baltimore Court House,
in which 20,000 cubic feet, the largest contract ever given, are re-
quired.
V* C & C* V* King Co*
The well-known plaster manufacturing concern of V. C. & C. V.
King Co., of Nos. 509, 511, 513, 515 and 517 West street
was established in 1839. In 1876 it was organized as a company, and
at the present time the Knickerbocker Plaster Mills, as the works are
widely known, are under the management of C. Volney King, Presi-
dent, and Vincent C. King, Jr., Secretary. Calcined plaster, land
plaster and ground marble are manufactured, and the quality cannot
be surpassed in this or any American city. It 'has been used in
hundreds of the best class of residences and public buildings in the
city. The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a type of the fine finishing work
done by the output of this company.
A* Klafeer*
Chief among the high-class marble workers in this city is the well-
established firm of A. Klaber, of Nos. 238-244 East 57th street, who
has been connected with New York's marble industry since 1859.
446 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
He is a thoroughly experienced member of the trade and some of
the best class of interior marble and onyx work ever done in New
York has been completed under Mr. Klaber's supervision. The Em-
pire and Knickerbocker theatres, two of the best in New York, were
completed by him ; the natatorium of the New York Athletic Club,
the most handsome affair of its kind in the world, was also done by
him.
John Lanzer*
The business conducted by Mr. John Lanzer is that of manufac-
turing sash, doors, blinds, and general trim. It was established in
1875, with his office in No. 2895 Third avenue. Mr. Lanzer operates
his factory at Unionport,. Westchester, and employs on an average
60 men. Mr. Lanzers business has grown steadily larger each year,
because of the fact that builders of the 23d and 24th Wards, with
whom he is intimately acquainted, have learned to rely almost en-
tirely on him on account of the high and excellent class of goods
manufactured. Mr. Lanzer carries probably the largest stock of
goods of general house trim of any other concern north of the Har-
lem River. His office and salesroom are located near Third avenue,
in No. 660 East 151st street. Mr. Lanzer also possesses facilities for
scroll sawing, turning and band sawing.
Anton Larsen*
One of the best known manufacturers of dumb waiters, elevators
and refrigerators in this city is Mr. Anton Larsen, of 134th street
and Brook avenue. He has been established since 1881, and since
that time he has made and patented numerous improvements in
the manufacture of refrigerators and dumb waiters, of which he
makes a specialty. A device for the circulation of air in refrigerators
and an automatic stop in dumb waiters are among the more im-
portant of Mr. Larsen's improvements. One hundred of his refrig-
erators, almost perfect from a sanitary view, have been placed in the
Hotel Royalton, the chemical laboratory of the Board of Health
Building, the Metropolitan Apartments, a block of handsome resi-
dences between 80th and 81 st streets on Riverside Drive.
Manhattan Concrete Company*
The Manhattan Concrete Company is an incorporated concern
with a capital stock of $50,000, of which Ross F. Tucker is the
president and manager. Its business may be divided into three parts:
the fine concrete and ornamental concrete work; fireproof floors,
arches and ceilings, and fireproof partitions of iron metal frame,
plastered on both sides, the latter being known as the expanded
metal system. The company is undoubtedly the most prominent do-
ing that work in this country. As an example of fine concrete work,
the colonnades and balustrades of the University of Virginia have
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 447
MILLS HOTEL.
Bleecker, Sullivan and Thompson Streets.
(1800.)
Ernest Flagg, Architect.
448 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
been completed by this firm; the D. O. Mills Hotel No. i was
fire-proofed throughout by this firm, also. Their address is 156 Fifth
avenue.
Meeker, Carter, Booraem & Co,
The business of this firm has been long established in the trade at
their office, 14 East 23rd street. They have there on exhibition
large panels of ornamental front brick, enameled brick, paving
brick, architectural terra cotta, flue lining and fire clay products
manufactured by the largest and best equipped clay plants of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio, for which they are agents.
Their facilities for quick delivery are unexcelled, as shown by the
enormous quantities which they distribute during the year.
Their catalogue shows details of many styles of special designs,
colors and shapes manufactured. Among the most recent buildings
completed are the University of the City of New York, Gould House,
Fordham Heights, Columbia University Buildings, New York Ath-
letic Club; office buildings, R. G. Dun, Cushman Building, Singer
Building, 9-15 Maiden lane; warehouses, 56 Bleecker street, 9 to 15
Murray street.
Andrew Mills*
In 1872 Andrew Mills established a stone-cutting yard in Thir-
ty-fourth street. Subsequently, he has been located at Sixtieth
street and Eleventh avenue, and for the last fifteen years at the foot
of West Fifty-seventh street. At the time of his establishment, Mr.
Mills probably had the most complete plant for stone-cutting in
New York. Many labor-saving innovations are due to him, prin-
cipally the introduction of the travelling crane in a stone-yard. Mr.
Mills may also be credited with the introduction of eleven new stones
in this city. One of these stones, Indiana limestone, has obtained
an enormous popularity.
A few of the principal buildings for which Mr. Mills has furnished
the stone are the U. S. Army Building, in Whitehall street; the
Standard Oil Company's Building, at 26 Broadway; the Murray
Hill Hotel, Fortieth street and Fourth avenue; Manhattan Savings
Bank, Bleecker street and Broadway; the Boreel Building, at 115
Broadway; the First Baptist Church, Seventy-seventh street and the
Boulevard; the Pottier & Stymus Building, in Fifth avenue,
between Forty-first and Forty-second streets, and the Liverpool,
London & Globe Insurance Co., in William street.
Moen's Asphaltic Cement Co*
Moen's Asphaltic Cement Company, of No. 103 Maiden lane, N.
Y., business established in 1854. It has been found that during its
long career, that architects have specified their asphaltum and own-
ers, builders and others have adopted their method of rendering
cellars, damp basements, vaults, arches, basement floors, etc., water-
tight and damp-proof, Their reputation for this class of work, to-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
449
gether with the fact that they are the oldest users of asphaltum,
makes it clearly evident that they are the most reliable house in the
city. Other features of their business being rock asphalt, flooring,
brick, tile and gravel roofing. Among the contracts recently com-
pleted are those of the Delmonico Building, underground walls of
the American Surety Building, water proofing and tile roofing at
the Columbia College Buildings.
Moeslein Ceiling "Works*
The Moeslein Ceiling Works, of which Valentine Moeslein is the
general manager, has been established since 1892. Mr. Moeslein per-
ceived that the tendency toward fire-proofing interiors was becom-
ing stronger each year, and seeing the many advantages of metal
ceilings, side walls and wainscoting, he fitted up a complete plant for
manufacturing the best class of this work. Mr. Moeslein, being a
practical mechanic, is capable to please his customers in designing
as well as solving problems in any new construction. He has since
invented a device for fastening metal ceilings and sidewalls without
wood furrings or the use of nails. He has patents pending for a de-
vice by which he will fasten his materials already decorated to walls
and coverings by the use of cement ; this he hopes will take the place
of glass, marble and tile decorations. Mr. Moeslein's trade has grown
to such an extent that in addition to a very large local trade, he ex-
ports to foreign countries. His address is No. 420 East 48th street.
Morstatt & Son*
The Morstatt blind, manufactured by the firm of Morstatt & Son,
of Nos. 227 and 229 West 29th street, is generally recognized as the
acme of excellence by builders, architects and owners. The firm has
been so long connected with the blind supply trade in New York,
and its reputation is so well known that the firm receives support
from the best elements of the trade. Besides of superior design, com-
pared with other blinds on the market, the Morstatt blind possesses
an unrivalled beauty of finish, and an expert mechanical execution.
The product of Morstatt & Son's factory has been used in many
prominent public buildings in this city ; one of the latest of the large
contracts completed by them was the furnishing of the new hotel
Astoria, Fifth avenue and 34th street.
James Murtaugh*
The hand-power dumb waiters and elevators manufactured by
James Murtaugh have reached a standard of excellence not only in
this country but throughout Europe. He is the modern Nestor in
his line. Since 1855 he has been placing dumb waiters of such marked
superiority on the market that it would be untrue to state he has
had competitors. Over 100,000 of his make are now in use in all
the prominent hotels, clubs, public and private institutions, apart-
29
450 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
nient houses, residences and hospitals throughout the United States
and Europe. Ninety per cent, of the hand-power dumb waiters and
elevators in use on Fifth avenue and Murray Hill are of his manu-
facture. It may be added that Americans in all parts of the world
have sent for the Murtaugh dumb waiter when building in foreign
countries, and during his long business career there has never been
a fatal or serious accident resulting from the use of his hand-power
machines. His office is at Nos. 202 and 204 East Forty-second
street.
Augustus NolL
Since 1883, Mr. Augustus Noll, of No. 8 East 17th street, has suc-
cessfully conducted a business as an electrical engineer. Pre-
viously he had been connected with the Edison Parent Co., in the
capacity of superintendent. He is thoroughly conversant with
electrical energy in all its varied mechanical applications, besides, he
possesses an extensive theoretical knowledge. As superintendent he
had charge of many important contracts, not only in the city, but
throughout the country. Since he began business for himself, his
reputation as an electrical expert has spread widely and he has been
most successful. His representative contracts are: Broadway The-
atre, Proctor's Theatre, Aldrich Court, Astor Building, Beadleston
& Woerz Brewery, Broadway Car Stables, the steam yachts "Tillie"
and the "Corsair," new Delmonico's, Union League Club, Almeric
Paget's residence, J. P. Morgan's residence, Altman's store, besides
a large number of hotels, apartment houses and public institutions.
Thomas Nugent*
Nugent's hot air furnaces, manufactured and patented by Mr.
Thomas Nugent, of No. 214 East 80th street, have long been known
to householders and builders to be as efficient and economical as
any in the market. The inventor, Mr. Nugent, is a man of thorough
and wide experience in hot air appliances, and the general appro-
bation with which his goods have been received testifies to their
worth. In 1885 and 1886 the American Institute awarded his make
of furnaces a medal of superiority over all entered in competition.
The furnaces have been placed in a majority of the best modern
houses constructed in this city, also elsewhere.
E* M* Pritchard & Son Company*
Prominent among New York's manufacturers of window frames,
sash, doors, blinds and all kinds of trim, is the old and highly
reputable firm of E. M. Pritchard & Son Co., of 138th street
and Mott avenue. The founder of the business, Mr. E.
M. Pritchard, is a man of sterling business qualities and
undoubted probity. His large clientele of builders and others
recognize the fact that their interests as his clients are
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 451
foremost with him always, and to this fact is due his continued
success. His son, who was most intimately connected with him in
the business, died a year ago, but the name of the firm remains un-
changed. One of the special features of the well-equipped factory
is the E. M. Pritchard patent fire-proof doors and shutters which
have won much favor among architects and builders.
J* Reeber's Sons*
The well-known firm of J. Reeber's $ons, dealers in second-hand
building material, whose yard and show rooms are located at Nos.
409 to 431 East 107th street, was established in 1870, by Mr.J.Reeber.
It is well known that Mr. Reeber was the originator of the business
of storing the salable material of dismantled buildings. His sons,
Geo. A. Reeber and Wm. C. Reeber, now successfully manage the
large business which necessitates an intimate and extensive knowl-
edge of the building trade. Their main premises occupy twenty-one
city lots, while an equally large affair is conducted as a branch at
139th street and 3d avenue. In both yards there are two acres in
all. The firm has always made it their main object as a business
principle never to misrepresent, and their ever increasing business
is ample evidence of the confidence in which they are held.
George L Roberts & Bros*
The enterprising firm of George I. Roberts & Bros., of Nos. 471
and 473 Fourth avenue, was established in 1887. It is probably
the best known engineering supply house in the city. Besides car-
rying a complete line of steam, gas, water and electric goods, it
makes a specialty of engine room supplies. The enterprise and
progressiveness of this firm is shown in all its operations; they have
equipped their shops with steam and electric motor power, and are
ready to repair and accommodate patrons with utmost dispatch
should an accident occur in either day time or night. They issue a
monthly magazine devoted to the interest of stationary engineers
and are in intimate connection with that body. They carry a most
complete stock, supplying the smallest and largest dealers alike. The
firm is incorporated with Mr. George I. Roberts, President; Edwin
H, Roberts, Treasurer, and J. L. Wilder, Jr., Secretary.
G* L. Schuyler & Co*
The lumber firm of G. L. Schuyler & Co., whose office is located
at 98th street and 1st avenue, is one of the largest in the city. It was
established in 1835, and the name to-day is sufficient guarantee in
itself among the trade for reliability and square dealing. The pres-
ent firm is composed of Walter G. Schuyler and James E. Schuyler.
In the capacious yards are carried a large stock of kiln dried Georgia
and North Carolina pine, quartered oak, walnut, cherry and yellow
pine bridge timber, besides a full supply of other classes. The com-
pany has been successful in securing contracts for supplying lumber
452 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
for some of the largest buildings erected in this city. Among the
most recent are: the new Dun Building, Columbia College, Town-
send Building, and the Postal Telegraph Building.
Sedgwick Machine Works*
This firm, with offices at no Liberty street, manufacture a com-
plete line of dumb waiters and elevators for all purposes. Mr.
Alonzo Sedgwick has been engaged as a mechanic and manufac-
turer for forty years, and has invented and perfected elevators and
dumb waiters which in detail and design are superior to any make
on the market. Mr. Justus I. Wakelee, the junior member of the
firm, is also a thorough mechanic, and familiar with all details in the
business ; he manages' the business in the Metropolitan district. The
company manufactures several different makes of elevators and
dumb waiters, fitted with various improvements, the most widely
known of which are the Lane automatic and Sedgwick automatic
dumb waiters. These elevators have been particularly specified by
our most prominent architects in New York and elsewhere.
The Smith Premier Typewriting Company*
The Smith Premier Typewriting Company, whose New York
office is located in No.' 337 Broadway, was organized eight years ago.
The growth and popularity of their typewriter is phenomenal, and is
constantly increasing. Their shops are now larger than any other
typewriting machine plant in the world.
The record of the Smith Premier Typewriter has been one of
improvement from year to year, and there is no question that in the
qualities of durability, simplicity, its adaptability and its mechanical
construction it is superior to any other machine in the world.
This fact is proven by its unequalled sales, not only in America but
throughout the whole civilized world, and where civilization is merely
approaching. Some of the superior improvements introduced by
the company are its ball-bearing carriage, compound automatic rib-
bon feed, paper guides, durable and perfect alignment, removable
platens, duplicate keyboard and the type cleaning mechanism.
Smith Woodwork Company*
The woodworking concerns of this city have suffered somewhat by
ruinous competition from outside places, and it was to a great ex-
tent only those whose products could not be excelled survived.
Among the successful New York firms is the Smith Woodwork Co.,
of Nos. 312-316 East 95th street, formerly of Howard street. The
business is in the hands of men of long experience in New York
trade, and the career of the concern testifies in a measure to their
ability. The plant required for the manufacture of cabinet work,
doors, windows and house trim in all woods is most modern and
complete. The Smith Woodwork Co. has completed contracts of
trim and woodwork for some of the large downtown office buildings,
besides a large number of prominent buildings throughout the city.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 453
W* W. Vaughan,
The mason building material supply firms which had been estab-
lished prior to 1885, wondered no doubt that a firm could enter the
brisk competitive trade of this city with such success as fell to the
lot of Hoagland, Robinson & Vaughan. The initial success of
this firm has become an established fact in this city. With a com-
modious and well-equipped yard, at the foot of 37th street, East
River, and the reputation for dispatch of which the firm makes a
special feature, they are readv to enter bids for any contract, no
matter of what magnitude. They have already furnished mason
material for some of the largest buildings erected during the past
two years. A few are: the New York Commercial Building, Gil-
lender Building, Bank of Commerce, Havemeyer Building, New
Third Avenue Bridge at Harlem, the Kingsbridge Power House, St.
James' Building, Hudson Building and the Johnson Building. The
business is now carried on by W. W. Vaughan.
William Williams & Company*
The firm of William Williams & Co., of corner 131st street and
Western Boulevard, has been established since 1894. It is com-
posed of William Williams and L. G. Johnson, and under their man-
agement the manufacture of dumb-waiters, 'hand-power elevators
and refrigerators of all descriptions is carried on. Both are practical
men of thorough experience and have made as their goal, which they
are rapidly attaining, the establishment of their name as the manufac-
turers of the best class of articles in their line. Mr. William Williams
looks after the outside business while 'his partner, Mr. L. G. Johnson
manages the factory. The class of work completed by them has
been used by such well-known builders and architects as John P.
Leo, Charles Buek, John Casey. Their elevators and dumb-waiters
have been placed in innumerable apartment houses in the city.
Willson, Adams & Company*
The Willson, Adams & Co., dealers in hard and soft lumber, are
probably the largest general yard dealers in this city. The firm was
established in i860, being then known as Smith & Willson; their
yards were located at 39th street and East River, but after a few years
they moved to larger quarters at 426. street, and subsequently to
their present location in Mott Haven. Two yards are conducted by
the firm, the hardwood branch being located at 138th street and
Girard avenue, and the builders' lumber department at 149th street
and the Harlem River. Their yards cover a space of 180 city lots, on
which are situated sheds with a capacity of over 3,000,000 feet, and a
large mill for dressing lumber. The members of the firm are: Charles
H. Willson, Chas. L. Adams, Allen W. Adams, W. W. Watrous and
J. S. Carvalho, all employees of the old firm of Smith & Willson.
454
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Wm* P* Youngs & Bros,
The lumber house of Wm. P. Youngs & Bros, was established in
1866 ana is one of the best known and substantial lumber firms in
this city. They purchased, in 1892, their present site, on the corner of
1st avenue and 35th street, containing 21 lots, with a frontage on the
East River. Particular attention is given to the arrangement for
ready handling of lumber and the firm unquestionably possesses the
largest and most orderly yards on the island of Manhattan. In com-
nection with the yard, the firm operates the Dry Dock Moulding and
Planing Mills, at No. 432 East 10th street, which are extensively
known since the early shipping days, when it was the largest ship-
joining plant in New York. The firm has a big stock of pine, spruce,
hemlock, all kinds of kiln dried hardwoods and makes a specialty of
plain and quartered oak.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
455
A REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF
STRUCTURAL IRON.
;T has been said that history is largely a collection of
controversies, and there is no happening so recent as
to escape dispute or error. It is even so with what
concerns Architectural Iron Work in this country,
although the record of that industry extends over a period of
time covered by only two or three generations of men. The
use of iron for buildings has grown from an exceedingly small be-
ginning to enormous proportions. But this is also true of every
other branch of manufacture. Step by step, keeping pace with the
rapid growth in population and the general advancement in the
arts, buildings multiplied in number and size, and iron played a more
and more important part with each recurring year. Indeed, it is due
to the use of iron that wide and .high buildings are made possible, for
such buildings must be made available from a commercial stand-
point, and meet business and domestic requirements, or their con-
struction would be useless and unprofitable.
Fortunately, it is not necessary to trace back the history of mak-
ing wrought iron or cast iron. The antiquity of working in brass and
iron is well established, and the modern method of remelting pig-
iron and pouring the molten metal into plastic moulds, there to solid-
ify, fairly antedates the voyage of Christopher Columbus. Starting
with colonial times, the village blacksmith forged from English-made
iron the few pieces that the earlier houses required. The first brick
houses on Manhattan Island, built with brick brought over from
Holland, could not have contributed much to the prosperity of the
blacksmith by the demand for a few anchors or straps. As time
went by the supplying of forged work for houses — railings, gratings,
shutters, stairs, etc.,— was separated from horseshoeing, and a special
branch of blacksmithing was established, known as housesmithing.
456 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
It was the housesmiths who were the contractors for the iron work of
buildings up to less than fifty years ago. When cast-iron columns,
beams and girders were required in buildings, they were procured
from the foundries by the housesmiths. In due time housesmiths
added foundries to their smithshops, and the cast-iron branch of
their establishments became of the greater importance. Cast iron
had its day, and now with the turn of the wheel of time it has fallen
into a secondary place, and rolled steel, under the head of structural
iron, takes the lead.
The larger of the old Eastern cities, New York, Boston, Philadel-
phia and Baltimore, have substantially the same earlier history of
iron work for buildings. New York, however, from its more rapid
growth than the other cities, and its greater demand for buildings,
coupled with the high values of land, especially in the commercial
quarters, has afforded the best field for the development of architec-
tural iron work. It has held and still holds the first place in the col-
umn of cities where important advances in the methods of using iron
in buildings have originated and been applied, and, therefore, it is
within the confines of this city that the record can be traced with
reasonable accuracy.
The pioneer iron foundry which made a specialty of castings for
buildings was established in 1840, by James L. Jackson, in New
York. The Jackson foundry, now the Jackson Architectural Iron
Works, a corporation, was started to manufacture grates and fenders
— then a new industry in this country, for at that time such articles
were all imported from abroad — and during the nearly sixty years
of its existence has continued the grate and fender manufacture as
one of its principal branches in light castings. Columns, lintels,
beams and girders were cast as orders were received from the house-
smiths. Some years later, when the principal housesmiths built foun-
dries of their own, the Jackson foundry added to itself smithshops,
and thus it came about by individuals or firms engaged distinctly in
the working of wrought iron adding foundries, and others engaged
distinctively in making castings adding wrought iron shops, that es-
tablishments termed Architectural Iron Works were created.
The use of one-story iron fronts with rolling iron shutters to the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
457
door and window openings was increasing. Entire fronts of cast
iron was the sequence. The usual method of treating the front of a
commercial building was to make the first story of cast iron, and
for the stories above to use stone ashlar, with a moulded architrave,
around each window opening. Stone was expensive, for at that
time modern methods of using machinery in planing and shaping
THE FIRST CAST-IRON FRONT.
Erected in 1848, at the Corner of Centre and Dilane Streets, New York.
stone had not been devised to reduce the cost of hand manipulation.
Round columns, mouldings, cornices, ornaments could be executed
in cast iron at an expense not to be named in comparison with stone.
The first complete cast iron front ever erected in the world was put
up in 1848 by James Bogardus, a civil and mechanical engineer, on
the corner of Centre and Duane streets, New York. It was five sto-
ries in height above ground, and covered an ordinary city lot, 25X
100 feet.
The building was removed in 1859, when Duane street was wid-
ened, the ground 011 which it stood being included in the street. It
was whilst in Italy, contemplating there the rich architectural de-
signs of antiquity, that Mr. Bogardus first conceived the idea of emu-
lating them in modern times, by the aid of cast-iron. During his
458 A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
subsequent travels in Europe he held it constantly in view; and cher-
ished it the more carefully as he became convinced by inquiry and
personal observation, not only that the idea was original with him-
self, but that he might thereby become the means of greatly adding
to our national wealth, and of establishing a new, a valuable and a
permanent branch of industry. It did not take long for cast-iron
fronts to come into popular favor, for the erection of the first few
practically demonstrated the various points upon which predictions
of failure had been based. The greatest bugbear that had to b£ over-
come was the assertion as to the expansion and contraction of the
metal. Events proved that the temperature of our climate, through-
out its utmost range, from the greatest cold to the greatest heat, ex-
erts upon cast-iron no appreciable effect, and therefore, for use in
buildings is practicallv without expansibility.
Among the earliest cast-iron fronts designed by Mr. Bogardus
was that for Messrs. ' Harper & Brothers, publishers, on Franklin
Square, New York, built in 1854. This is still standing, and ap-
parently the front is as sound as the day it was erected. It may be
said to be one of the oldest existing cast-iron fronts.
The castings for Mr. Bogardus' first fronts were made bv the
Jackson foundry; and it is a singular circumstance that the same
iron works were the manufacturers and contractors for the iron
work that entered into the construction of what is believed to be the
first of the unique structures of very recent times, the skeleton
building.
Almost contesting honors with Mr. Bogardus came D. D. Badger,
who moved from Boston to New York in 1845 and engaged in the
foundry business. He put up his first entire cast-iron front in 1853.
No man connected with the business ever did as much as Mr. Badger
to popularize the use of cast-iron fronts, and in the famous establish-
ment which he founded, the Architectural Iron Works, men of talent
were gathered as designers.
New York for a long time supplied the demand for iron fronts in
the other cities in the United States, East, West and South, but
finally their manufacture was taken up in every section of the
country. The cast-iron front business in New York reached its
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 459
ONE OF THE EARLIEST CAST-IRON FRONTS.
That of Messrs. Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, New York; Erected in
1S54— (From a print issued in 1863.)
greatest proportions in the early seventies. It was mostly done by
five concerns, viz. Cornell's Iron Works, Badger's Architectural Iron
Works, the Excelsior Iron Works, the Aetna Iron Works, and Jack-
son's Iron Works. Of these five only Cornell's and Jackson's Works
are in existence to-day. For many years cast-iron fronts were over-
loaded with enrichment, but a period ensued when they were made
plainer and more massive, as shown in the cut of one of the later
cast-iron fronts.
One of the largest of the cast-iron fronts was that erected -by the
Cornell Iron Works for A. T. Stewart's store, New York, covering
the entire block bounded by Broadway, Ninth and Tenth Streets
and Fourth Avenue, in size nearly 200 feet in width, by 328 feet in
depth. In its dress of white paint, Mr. Stewart used often to liken
his iron front to puffs of white clouds, arch upon arch, rising 85
feet above the sidewalk. The first section of this store front was set
up in place in 1859. Mr. Stewart was an enthusiastic advocate of
cast-iron fronts for commercial buildings, believing that the material
had in its favor unequalled advantages of lightness, strength, dura-
bility, incombustibility and ready renovation. In 1870, when he
460
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
A REPRESENTATIVE CAST-IRON FRONT OF A LATER DATE.
On both sides is seen the older prevailing style of store fronts for
. commercial buildings.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 461
built his Woman's Home on Fourth Avenue, Thirty-second and
Thirty-third Streets, New York, a fireproof structure, he adopted
cast-iron for the fronts, and that without any desire to save in the
first cost of the building which he generously intended should be a
gift to the public.
There came, almost suddenly, a change in the style of fronts;
architects struck out on a new line of design, cast-iron was aban-
doned except for the first story, and brick with terra cotta and light
stone for trimmings was substituted for the upper stories in fronts
for commercial buildings.
Rolled iron for certain purposes rapidly superseded cast-iron, and
when steel displaced wrought iron, and the price of rolled steel
beams cheapened, fireproof buildings multiplied. Up to the time of
the Chicago and Boston fires there were hut a very few private fire-
proof buildings within the limits of the United States. The chief
number of fireproof buildings belonged to the Government. A desire
to occupy structures something better than tinder boxes commenced
to take a firm hold on the public, and now there are thousands of
fireproof warehouses, office buildings, hotels, apartment houses and
dwellings. In the first examples of fireproof buildings the floors
were formed with groined arches of brick. Beams of cast-iron were
sometimes used with brick arches between to form floors, and in
some cases riveted plate beams were used for the same purpose.
In 1854 Peter Cooper's Trenton, N. J., Mills rolled the first solid
wrought iron beam ever used for the floors of any building in this
country. These beams were of a shape very similar to what is now
commonly known as deck beams, having a bottom flange, a
web and a bulb at the top, much resembling a railroad rail,
only deeper in the web. These beams were to be used in the
Cooper Union Building in New York, but they were diverted
by request of the U. S. Government and used in that year in
the U. S. Assay office building on Wall Street. The next building
in which such beams with brick arches between were used was that
for Harper & Brothers, publishers, a fireproof building erected that
same year. It was the following year, 1855, that deck beams were
used in the Cooper Union building, the very first building for which
they were manufactured.
462
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
I
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 463
A little more than five years later, just prior to i860, the first "I"
beams were rolled in this country. Cooper's Trenton Mills and the
Phoenix Iron Co. of Pennsylvania beginning their manufac-
ture at about the same time. The double-flanged or "I" beams
met with great favor from the start. Elaborate tests of their
strength were made by an army officer, Captain Anderson, who
afterward became famous as the defender of Fort Sumter.
As the demand for "I" beams increased rolling mills in
different sections of the country took up their manu-
facture. The first size rolled was seven-inch, and gradually all sizes,
from four inches up to twenty-four inches, were put on the market.
The facility and promptness with which rolled beams can now be got,
their admirable shape, by which the greatest strength is obtained
with the least weight of metal; their reasonable price; the preference
of architects and engineers to use rolled instead of cast metal when
the load imposed tends to separate or tear the metal asunder; the
concise and simple tables of the bearing strength for the respective
sizes and various lengths, freely circulated by the manufacturers of
beams; and the growing knowledge of how to build fireproof in a
much less expensive manner than was formerly the custom — all this
has contributed vastly to the increased amount of rolled work used
in buildings.
The era of high buildings began with the year 1870. The ad-
vantage of building higher than the conventional five or six stories
was being recognized. It was seen, however, that if buildings were
to be carried to a height beyond the ability of a fire department to
successfully cope with fire, such buildings must be constructed with
something better for floors, partitions, stairs and roofs than a mass of
wooden beams, studs, plank, furring and lathing more admirably
arranged to burn than a pile of kindling wood, because of the in-
numerable air vents and spaces surrounding all and connecting from
cellar to roof.
It was the elevator that taught men to build higher and higher.
Up to 1870 the elevator had not been used to any great extent for
passenger service. The first passenger elevators used in this country
had vertical iron screws extending the whole height of the elevator
464 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
wells, and passed through a sleeve in the centre of the car. They were
comparatively slow in moving, but safe. Improvements rapidly fol-
lowed, and great speed and almost absolute safety were attained. In
buildings equipped with passenger elevators the offices on the upper
floors commanded larger rents than on floors farther down, while just
the reverse conditions existed in buildings where the occupants had
to climb stairs. With the incoming of high buildings came a safer
construction. Under the requirements of law, buildings above a
height that sufficed for five or six stories had to be constructed fire-
proof. Eight to ten stories in height above the sidewalk seemed to
be the limit, however, that it was advantageous to go, because the
extremely thick walls necessary in the lower stories used up too
much of the rentable space on the first or most valuable story, and
also made the cost for foundations too great. Therefore, for a num-
ber of years, ten-story buildings were considered extremely high
buildings, now and then one reaching the altitude of twelve stories.
Then came a jump in height through an apparently new and novel
method of constructing buildings, but which upon close examina-
tion simply illustrates the slow progress by which the human mind
makes its advance in discovery. It was rather startling at first to
see fifteen, twenty, twenty-four and thirty-story buildings, but the
surprise has passed away, and it is generally expected that build-
ings of still greater height than any so far put up will be erected, for
it is conceded that there is scarcely a limit to the height that a build-
ing cannot be carried on the new lines of construction.
The popular name early given to these towering structures was
"Sky-scrapers/' Among architects and builders the new method
was first called the "steel-cage" construction. In the "Record and
Guide" 1892 edition of the New York building law, as a heading
for a portion of the text in one of the sections, there was for the first
time introduced in the written vocabulary the words "skeleton con-
struction, " and this term has been recognized as being so correctly
expressive that such buildings are now generally called in the trade
"skeleton buildings," and in some building laws of a later date are so
referred to. What is understood by "skeleton construction" is a
frame work of iron or steel columns and girders which carry the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 465
weight of the outer inclosing brick walls, together with the floors,
down to the foundations at initial points. In contradistinction, the
"cage" construction is a frame work of iron or steel columns and
girders which carry the floors only, and do not carry the outer walls.
In the skeleton construction the outer walls are in panels, each panel
extending horizontally from column to column, and vertically from
girder to girder, acting as curtain walls, sustaining nothing, and be-
ing carried, each panel, om a girder. In the cage construction the
outer walls are independent walls, from the foundation to the ex-
treme top, sustaining themselves and themselves only, and, therefore,
the walls are made less in thickness than if they had to bear the
floors as in ordinary buildings such walls would have to do.
To trace the cage construction is an easy matter. In great num-
bers there are wide-span buildings, where the iron trusses of the roofs
are supported at the ends by iron columns instead of resting on brick
walls; the object being to save the room that brick piers of adequate
strength would occupy. Time and again the ends of girders carry-
ing floors have been supported on iron columns, so as to relieve too
thin walls of the concentrated weight and to obviate the reinforce-
ment of the wall with brick piers or buttresses. Where window open-
ings were numerous in a brick wall or the piers between the win-
dows too small to carry the load that the ends of weighted girders
imposed a common method was to place a line of columns to take
the ends of the girders. Sometimes these columns were placed di-
rectly against the brick wall, sometimes let into the wall for their
depth, and sometimes entirely concealed within the brick work. With
a problem of going higher than eight or ten stories in height the cage
construction was the natural one to adopt, particularly in Chicago,
where the compressible bottom will not safely sustain lofty brick walls
except by special provision. As a matter of fact, the first high build-
ings erected in Chicago were of cage construction. An eleven-story
building of the cage construction for the Home Insurance Company,
of New York, was erected in Chicago in 1884, by Architect W. L. B.
Jenney, of Chicago. The World Building in New York, erected in
1890, is a notable example of the cage construction, and its architect,
Mr. George B. Post, strenuously insists that the cage principle— the
30
466 "A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
outer walls built self sustaining and independent of the frame work
of iron or steel columns and girders which support the floors and
roof — is better than the skeleton principle, in which the outer walls,
together with the floors, are carried on the frame work. The build-
ing law in New York has always made but a very slight difference in
thickness between bearing and non-bearing walls, therefore the outer
walls, non-bearing walls, for a cage building in New York had to be
of great thickness, for the thickness of walls is required to be in pro-
portion to their height. Chicago did not have many restrictions and
requirements relating to buildings, so an architect in that city could
do much that an architect in New York would not t>e allowed to do.
In New York a cage construction only very moderately increased
the available inside room through the slight saving in thickness of
walls. The old saying that necessity is the mother of invention ap-
plies to the method of making the frame carry panels of brick work to
form the outer walls and at the same time carry the floors, when an
architect was confronted with a problem of putting a high building
on a narrow lot, and to avoid destroying the practical usefulness of
the lot worked out the construction that is now quite generally
know as "skeleton" construction.
Great as was the apparent novelty of the skeleton conception in
the first high building, as widely as it has been adopted in construct-
ing high buildings in the larger of the American cities, it lacks, how-
ever, the dramatic feature of a birth from onjs inventive brain. Like
the cage construction it may be said to have been incubated, rather
than invented, and the simple, triumphant method of constructing
the most marvelous of modern buildings is found upon examination
to be but an enlarged use of preceding methods. It, too, proves that
any one step in advance of the former state of things is hardly per-
ceptible, because it will be found that just before there was something
very nearly the same in existence.
Without likening the skeleton to a cast-iron front buried in a brick
wall, its immediate predecessor is to be found in the many building
examples of columns placed in small piers, with girders between the
columns, extending across the window openings to carry the floor
beams. Of course, such a construction was used only in parts of a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 467
building. There are many examples of cast-iron fronts on the gable
or side street portions where#certain of the openings are filled in with
brick, particularly on the first story, these brick panels being
supported by the same beams that support the floors. But the col-
umns of a cast-iron front boldly stand out in evidence of their ability
to sustain weight; no one had hidden from sight a cast-iron front with
a veneer of stone or burnt clay to make the construction appear
something different from what it really was. Brick walls of courts
in buildings had frequently been supported on iron columns and gir-
ders, and walls carried on iron girders supported by iron columns,
the latter encased in masonry work, were not uncommon. The ques-
tion of the expansion of cast-iron and wrought iron in buildings had
years previously been determined, so that no serious thought had to
be given to that matter. The essential features of a skeleton build-
ing had been repeatedly used. Nevertheless, there remained for
some one to construct an entire building in the manner that parts of
buildings had been previously constructed. The necessity for such
a treatment arose, and an American architect proved equal to the
occasion.
In the Building Department in New York, there was filed on
April 17, 1888, by Mr. Bradford L. Gilbert, architect, plans for the
erection of an eleven-story building on lot No. 50 Broadway, the
building to be 129 feet in height, from the sidewalk to the main roof,
with a frontage of 21 feet 6 inches, and a depth in the narrow por-
tion of about 108 feet. This narrow and high building was for the
purpose of giving a Broadway connection to a building of much
larger area on New street. The side walls were to be constructed
in a peculiar manner. Instead of solid brick walls, vertical lines of
cast-iron columns were placed at varying distances up to about 18
feet apart, having at the foot of each line a cast-iron shoe resting on
the foundation walls at the basement floor level. These columns
were in part to extend up to the level of the eighth-story floor, and
in part to extend up to the roof level. The columns were in lengths
corresponding with the heights of the several stories, and bolted to-
gether. On top of the seventh story columns a line of wrought-iron
girders was placed, and from that point upwards were used solid
468
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
brick walls, twenty inches thick
for a height of three storied, or
about 32 feet, and 16 inches for
the balance of the height, or about
25 feet. Between the columns
and connected thereto at the level
of each floor up to and including
the seventh floor, and including
one section on each side of the
building up to the roof, rolled
£?£■ beam girders were placed both to
; support the floors and to carry the
panels of brick work twelve inches
in thickness. That is to say, the
brick panels forming the side or
curtain walls from the basement
floor level up to the eighth story
floor level were twelve inches in
thickness, while above that the
side brick walls were of a greater
thickness, but in one section iron
girders were placed betwreen the
columns at all the floor levels
above as well as below the sev-
enth story to carry the corre-
sponding portions of the floors
and roof, and there the twelve-
inch thick brick curtain walls ex-
tended from the basement to the
main roof. The wind pressure
||g^|3^^ was provided for by diagonal
bracing carried across between
each of the vertical columns, and
so constructed as to transfer to
the foundations a possible 116 tons of wind pressure when the wind
blows at a hurricane rate of, say, 70 miles an hour.
THE TOWER BUILDING,
No. 50 Broadway, Bradford L. Gilbert,
New York City. 'Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 469
THE TOWER BUILDING.
(Side View, Showing Iron Uprights.) Bradford L. Gilbert, Architect.
4/0 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
As the building law did not provide for any such composite con-
struction, the application of the architect for a permit to build was
referred to the Board of Examiners in the Building Department, a
board empowered by law to grant or reject applications in cases
where the provisions of the law do not directly apply or where an
equally good or more desirable form of construction is proposed
than that required by the law. The writer, a member of that board,
full well remembers the discussion evoked in the board, consisting
of seven members at that date, when Mr. Gilbert's plans were pre-
sented for action. The strong preference of some of the members
for solid masonry work, coupled with their prejudice against iron
work in general, made it very doubtful for a time whether they would
sanction this particular combination of iron work and brick work,
but finally the board approved of the application and a permit to
build was issued. The records in the Building Department show
that the work of building was commenced June 27, 1888, and com-
pleted September 27, 1889. The building was named the "Tower"
building.
Recently the building adjoining the Tower building on the north
was torn down, enabling the north side of the Tower building to be
photographed. Although not plainly shown on the picture, between
each column are horizontal girders placed at each floor level, as be-
fore stated, to carry the floor beams and to carry the panels of brick
work forming the side walls. The reason why these horizontal gir-
ders do not show in the picture is that the greater number of the
girders are encased on the outside with brick work. The Jackson
Architectural Iron Works were the contractors and manufacturers
of the iron work of this building, and the constructional drawings
made by that company, and from which the work was executed,
show the intermediate girders which the photograph could not
reveal.
Had Mr. Gilbert followed the usual method of constructing the
Tower Building, the thickness of wall specified by law for a height
of eleven stories would have left no room available beyond a hall-
way on the first story, which would have been a costly way of using
an extremely valuable Broadway lot to reach a rear building. Had
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
471
he used independent side walls of the thickness he would have been
required by law to have made them, and then placed cage construc-
tion on the inside to support the floors, the interests of the owner of
the lot would have been made to suffer nearly as much. He thought
out a better method, and to him belongs the credit of being the first
in the world to construct a building in which the weight of the walls,
as well as the floors, is transmitted through girders and columns to
the footings, and New York City has the honor of being the birth-
place of what is in effect a new method of building. This skeleton
construction is being used in all the larger cities of the United States,
and is now taking root abroad. In years to come the desire to give
proper credit to the man who first conceived the idea of the skeleton
building will be greater than at the present time. The popular ver-
dict will be based on broad principles, and the minor steps taken
preliminary to the accomplishment of a complete skeleton building
will be brushed aside and forgotten in the generous praise that the
world will bestow on the individual who first practically worked
out the skeleton idea for lofty structures.
About the time the Tower Building was completed, or, *to be ex-
act, on September 11, 1889, plans were filed in the New York Build-
ing Department by Messrs. J. C. Cady & Co., architects, for a ten-
story skeleton structure, to be erected on a lot 24 feet 2 inches front
by 74 feet 4 inches deep, No. 25 Pine street, for the Lancashire In-
surance Co. The building was commenced in October, 1889, and
finished in May, 1890. In this building steel Z-bar columns were
used.
Plans for the third skeleton building erected in New York city
were filed in the Building Department January 2, 1890, by Messrs.
Youngs and Cable, architects. This building was completed in May,
1 89 1. It is known as the Columbia building, No. 29 Broadway,
n. w. corner of Morris street; is twelve stones in height and has a
frontage of 29 feet 9 inches on Broadway. The columns are of steel,
and the curtain walls are twelve inches in thickness. Up to the
time of its completion this building was the most prominent and
successful of the skeleton structures erected in New York. The
drawings for the steel skeleton were prepared by Mr. P. Minturn
4/2
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
s<i ' -.,.W-v Vf'V '
I '• l»
.1 I . ••;-
THE AMERICAN SURETY BUILDING.
(In course of construction.)
Broadway and Pine street, New York City. Bruce Price, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
473
Smith, the President of the Union Iron Works, and it was chiefly
through his instrumentality in showing its safety and economy of
floor space that the owner of the Columbia lot was induced to adopt
the skeleton construction.
Other skeleton buildings, of greater area and greater height fol-
lowed in rapid succession in New York, among which may be men-
tioned the Manhattan Life, seventeen stories, with a height of 242
feet to the main roof, above which a dome and tower rises 108 feet
more; the American Surety, 21 stories, 312 feet high; the
Park Row Syndicate building (now in course of erection) 26 stories
to main roof, and a total of 386 feet in height to top of towers, and
the Empire building, s. w. cor. Broadway and Morris street, 21 stor-
ies and about 300 feet in height. The height for all buildings is
taken above the street curb line, and the stories below the sidewalk
level are never counted in making a statement of height in feet, or in
enumerating the number of stories to imply the height.
One or the other of two methods is generally used in the skeleton
construction. In one the girders are placed between the columns
at each story and carry both the curtain walls and the ends of the
floor beams. In the other the girders between the columns carry
the curtain walls only, and are placed at every second or third story
or at each story; the floor beams are supported by girders placed at
right angles to the columns.
In the accompanying cuts the two arrangements are clearly shown,
but the small details of bolting, etc., have been omitted, as these
474
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
would add nothing to the information that the drawings are intend -d
to convey. In each case it will be noticed that the weight of the side
walls and the weight of the floors are transmitted through girders to
the columns, which latter in turn transmit the weights to the footings.
The self-evident fact has been noted in this historical review that
lofty buildings are feasible only through the use of the elevator
Another feature in making lofty buildings financially feasible was the
use of a new system of constructing fireproof arches between the
iron floor beams. For years after the intro'duction of rolled beams,
the method of filling in between the iron floor beams was by means
of common brick arches leveled up on top with concrete, and floored
over. On the under side the bottom surfaces of the iron beams were
left exposed and painted white. A ceiling of a room, then, consisted
of a series of arches between iron beams, altogether very unpleasant
in appearance. If a level ceiling was determined upon it had to be
obtained by wood furrings and wood lathing fastened up to the un-
derside of the beams and then plastered, thus greatly detracting
from the fire-resisting qualities; or by iron lath stretched from beam
to beam and plastered. The heavy weight of the brick arches was
thus further increased by the weight of the level ceiling arrangement
underneath. An American citizen, Balthaser Kreischer, a well-
known manufacturer of fire-brick in New York city, invented and
patented in 1871 the use of hollow-tile flat arches between iron floor
beams. His was not the invention of a flat arch in itself, but of a
flat arch whose end sections abut against rolled iron floor beams and
recess around the bottom flanges of the beams, having on top wooden
sleepers and floor beams, thus forming a level ceiling underneath
and a walking surface above. The flat-arch system provided a level
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 475
THE EMPIRE BUILDING.
(In course of construction.)
Broadway and Rector street, New York City. Kimball & Thompson, Architects.
476
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ceiling at once, at less cost and with much less weight of material
than before; the iron beams were covered in and protected from the
effects of fire, and the side walls had a lighter load to carry.
oooa
moo
It was in the U. S. Post Office building in New York in 1872-3
that for the first time in this or in any other country was introduced
hollow tile flat arches between iron floor beams. In the same year,
3872, the Kreischer floor arches were placed in the Kendall building,
corner of Dearborn and Washington streets, Chicago, through the
instrumentality of Mr. George H. Johnson, a civil engineer who had
previously been connected with Badger's Architectural Iron Works
in New York. A new impulse was given to fireproof construction,
and soon the flat-arch floor system came into general use for fire-
proof buildings all over the country. In a legal contest that lasted
for a number of years, it was finally decided in the U. S. Circuit
Court that the Kreischer patent was void for want of originality un-
der the crucial test of publications from all parts of the globe that
a patent must sustain when the law is invoked in its behalf. The
decision prevented Mr. Kreischer from realizing the profits of his
supposed invention, and it deprived him of the honor of having made
the invention which abroad is recognized as an American system of
fireproof floorings.
The stamp of American genius, however, is on all three of the prin-
cipal elements of lofty building construction:
1. The modern passenger elevator.
2. The flat-arch system for fireproof floors.
3. The skeleton construction.
All three are in unity for a common purpose, that of making it
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 477
possible to construct buildings of any desired height, and the start-
ing point of each has been stated, but in constructional features none
have remained stationary. Elevator cars are moved by electrical
power, by hydraulic power, by direct steam power. To fill the spaces
between the steel floor beams various devices, such as corrugated
iron bent to arch shape and filled in above with concrete, and wire
cloth embedded in cement mortar, have been introduced, to reduce
still further the floor loads transmitted to the foundation. Steel col-
umns in a variety of forms have been invented as substitutes for cast-
iron columns in skeleton buildings.
Undoubtedly there is an increasing preference by architects and
engineers for the exclusive use of riveted rolled steel columns to
the suppression of cast-iron columns in fireproof buildings. Good
cast-iron is better fitted to resist compressive strains than rolled steel,
but owing to the liability of defects occurring in the process of manu-
facturing cast-iron columns, the shifting of the cores which entail
variations in the thickness of opposite sides, concealed cavities, blow
holes, cinder, imperfect union of two currents of metal in the mould,
and initial strains due to unequal cooling, added to the opportunities
for intentional departure from specified thicknesses, and the use of
inferior qualities of pig-iron on the part of unscrupulous founders,
have quite naturally created a decided preference for built up .col-
umns of rolled steel, as the thickness of the steel is uniform, and can
be measured and weighed in detail. The connections between riv-
eted steel columns are generally liked better than the connections of
cast-iron columns, -being more rigid and stable in the one case than in
the other, especially desirable where unequal or eccentric loads are
placed on columns.
Some constructors advocate the use of cast-iron as the only ma-
terial for the columns of skeleton structures. When columns are
built around with brick work they are permanently buried out of
sight. Between the columns and the outer air there are only a few
inches of masonry work, through which dampness or rain finds its way.
In wrought iron rust is insidious, and it honeycombs and eats entirely
through the metal. Mild steel, such as riveted columns, are made
of, rusts faster than wrought iron at first, then slower. Cast iron, on
478 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the contrary, oxidizes on the surface in damp situations ; rust does
not scale from it, and the oxidation when formed is of a much less
dangerous kind, extending only a little way into that metal, to about
the thickness of a knife-blade, and then stops for good. There are
other dangers to be apprehended — gases and creosote from flues,
escaping steam from defective pipes, leaks or an overflow of water,
all quite possible to reach the columns. Wrought iron is seriously
affected by such mishaps, cast-iron practically not at all. Mild
steel has come into use so recently that time has not yet enabled ex-
perts to speak positively how long or how short it can retain its in-
tegrity in adverse situations. Damp plaster and cement corrode
wrought iron and steel; lime is a preservative. If from any cause a
column is affected in one place the entire structure above it is weak-
ened, but if a girder is affected the trouble is local, for any one girder
in a skeleton construction only carries a portion of the floor of one
story and the bay or portion of the curtain wall which extends up
to the next girder above. While failure in a girder would be far less
disastrous than failure in a column, either trouble would be serious
enough, and fully warrants every precaution being taken in the first
instance to avoid possible bad results. Advocates of riveted steel
columns insist that such columns, when properly encased in fireproof
and waterproof materials, as the intent always is that they shall be,
are protected permanently from injurious influences. High build-
ings are erected for permanency, to last for centuries. Years from
now the question will be practically determined whether skeleton
structures are a wise or foolish method of building, whether they
are stable and lasting, or secure and reliable for only a comparatively
short number of years.
Columns built of plate and angle irons combined in suitable forms
and riveted together, common in bridge construction, came grad-
ually into use in the construction of buildings. There seems to be
no record of where the first wrought iron column was used in a build-
ing, nor where the first plate girder was used. The Phoenix Iron
Company placed on the market over thirty years ago closed round
columns formed of segments riveted together.
The Proenix column has enjoyed great popularity, and been exten-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 479
H
sively used in building work and in bridge work. It is obvious that
rolled iron or steel can be put into a variety of shapes in forming
columns, and much ingenuity has been displayed
in this direction, one of the best liked of such com-
pound sections being the Z-bar column.
The practice of engineers in bridge building has cleared the path-
way for architects to follow in overcoming difficulties incident to
constructing great buildings. Particularly is this so in the matter
of foundations. First came footings of stone or concrete laid upon
the eartih, whereon to build the foundation walls. In soft or marshy
places, where the safe sustaining strength of the ground was inade-
quate, ranging timbers were resorted to or piles were driven to solid
bearings. Inverted arches were used between isolated piers where
the nature of the ground and character of the building made it neces-
sary to well and evenly distribute the weight of the superstructure
over a goodly stretch of ground. Later came the use of rolled steel
rails and beams in the form of grillage, resting on a bed of concrete,
expanding still later into the use of the grillage work over the entire
area of the lot or area of the building, a raft upon which to erect the
superstructure. Lastly came the crowning feat of carrying piers
down through wet and soft earth of great depth to hard pan or bed
rock by the pneumatic caisson process.
Small caissons had been sunk by mechanical means without the
use of compressed air in the working chambers in putting in the
foundations of the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, Mr. Francis H.
Kimball, architect, in 1892. The pneumatic caisson sinking for
buildings was first used for foundations of the Manhattan Life In-
surance building, New York, Messrs. Kimball & Thompson, archi-
tects, in 1893. It was imperative in the Manhattan Life case that the
construction and duty of the foundations should not jeopardize nor
disturb the existing adjoining heavy buildings which stand close to
the dividing lot lines on either side. The mud and quicksand were
likely to flow if 'the pressure on the earth was much increased by
heavy loading or diminished by the excavation of pits or trenches.
Special foundations were, therefore, necessary. The foundations
extended about 55 feet below the street curb level, and the average
480
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
distance that the caissons were sunk below the bottom of the main
excavation was 32 feet. After the caissons were sunk to bed rock
they were filled with masonry.
The side columns of the skeleton frame were located so near the
dividing lot line that if they had been directly supported by the piers
MANHATTAN LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING, NEW YORK.
(Sinking the Caissons for the Foundations.)
in the caissons they would have loaded the piers eccentrically and
produced undesirable irregularities of pressure. This condition was
avoided, and the weights transmitted to the centres of the piers by
the intervention of heavy plate girders extending continuously across
the building and resting on bolsters centrally placed upon the piers,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
481
31
482 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the overhanging ends of the girders acting as cantilevers and sup-
porting the side columns of the skeleton superstructure.
Brief as is this description of the construction of Manhattan Life
building, it records the first use in buildings of reaching rock bottom
for foundations through the use of pneumatic caissons, and the sup-
port of side walls by cantilever girders. Surely enough to the credit
of one building! Let the reader not forget, however, that any rea-
sonably correct statement of historical facts will be assailed by
charges of inaccuracy, but prominent and successful accomplish-
ments in every walk of life overshadow and swallow up small and un-
important doings, although the little events may be cited to discredit
the greater.
The manufacture of iron roof trusses, heavy riveted girders, and
similar iron, or rather steel, structural work, has, to a great extent,
gone from the distinctively architectural iron works to the rolling
mills which are no\v pretty generally fitted with machinery and ap-
pliances for putting together plates and angles and other shapes of
rolled steel into various forms. Methods of rapid erection of struc-
tural steel work by the use of steam appliances have quite naturally
superseded hand hoisting by derricks. The change from hand power
to steam for hoisting purposes applies also to all kinds of building
material, to 'bricks and mortar, to stone, etc., and is an evidence oi
the greater rapidity with which buildings are erected than formerly.
One of the most useful and novel applications of iron in buildings
was that of illuminating coverings over areas and vaults and for sky-
lights, by inserting small glass discs in perforated iron plates. This
invention was made by Thaddeus Hyatt, an
American, and patented by him in 1845.
€>©€) €>©©© .
°€) €>©€>€)©€>
©©©'©.©.©©I
°©€>©©€>#©
©©©©€©©t
The patentee reaped a large fortune by the
extended use of his invention, but it was
only after long and costly litigation that his
rights were legally established. In those suits
evidence was adduced that there existed in the floor of some old cathe-
dral in Europe iron gratings with small squares of glass inserted in
same, to light the vaults under the main floor, and it was only through
the technical skill and ability of lawyers in a special line that the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 483
Hyatt foundation patent was saved from being" void for want of nov-
elty. It adds but one more instance of the truth of the old saying
that there is nothing new under the sun, and yet, among- the thou-
sand things that stir the pride of the American people, the name of
Hyatt will always 'be remembered as the inventor of illuminated tiles,
just as the name of Howe is remembered in connection
with sewing machines, the name of Morse in connection with teleg-
raphy, and as the name of Gilbert will be in connection with skele-
ton structures, although in each of these cases and in many others
the line is scarcely distinguishable between what they really did and
what had been done previously by their respective predecessors.
Great have been the achievements in every division of architectural
iron manufacture. It may now be asked, What of the future? With
the progress of the past to encourage, and the conditions of the pres-
ent to assist, it is reasonable to expect that the advance will continue
at an accelerated pace, and result in securing greater safety to human
life and property, and an increase of comfort and happiness to occu-
pants of buildings.
WILLIAM J. FRYER.
484 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
LEADING STRUCTURAL IRON FIRMS.
Cooper, Hewitt & Co*
Shortly after Peter Cooper, of philanthropic memory, built the
iron works at Trenton, the firm of Cooper & Hewitt was established ;
this was more than half a century ago. The members who com-
posed the firm were Mr. Edward Cooper, son of Mr. Peter Cooper,
and Mr. Abram S. Hewitt, Now the firm of Cooper, Hewitt & Co.,
with offices as No. 17 Burling slip, controls not only these works,
the business of which is carried on in the names of the New Jersey
Steel and Iron Company and the Trenton Iron Company, but other
important iron concerns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
It is hardly necessary for us to state that the firm of Cooper,
Hewitt & Co. has played a most prominent part in all the various
branches of constructive work in America, where iron and steel are
composing elements on the one hand, and where iron and steel wire,
wire rope, chains, etc., are used also, for the Cooper, Hewitt Co.
at their works manufacture both from the raw material. One is
able to form but a slight estimate of the extent of this business when
it is learned that the iron is received in its crudest shape, handled and
carried through the many processes, finally assuming the shapes that
commerce buys and uses for constructive work. It is not here, how-
ever, that the business of this concern stops. The wrought iron and
steel beams, channels, angles and tees, and the other familiar shapes
are taken to some of our great cities where some towering skyscraper
or the arched roof of an auditorium is to be erected. To the re-
sources of the firm belong a corps of highly skilled and practical en-
gineers who have become experts at this class of work. It may be
that the beams are taken to some western city on the banks of a great
river, which is to be bridged. On the other hand the wire ropes and
cables may be carried to 'mining regions, or wherever wire rope
tramways, hoist-conveyors, hauling and hoisting apparatus, power
transmission by wire rope, may be used. In this latter work the
Trenton Iron Company have furnished the wire rope and necessary
apparatus for the purposes named in all parts of North and South
America, having used with marked success the Bleichert system
of wire rope tramways. A great feature of the New Jersey Steel and
Iron Company's business has been the construction of bridges for
different railroads from points between New York and the Rockies.
Among the largest of these are those at Burlington, la., over the
Mississippi River, at Bellefontaine over the Missouri River, at Sec-
ond avenue over the Harlem River, and at Trenton over the Dela-
ware River. Cooper, Hewitt & Co., through the New Jersey Steel
BUILDING' AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 485
& Iron Co., have also constructed many miles of elevated railroad
structures and viaducts, including seven miles of the Brooklyn El-
evated Railroad and various sections of the New York "L."
Jackson Architectural Iron "Works*
The Jackson Architectural Iron Works, of No. 315 East 28th
street, ranks among the most prominent manufacturing plants pro-
ducing all kinds of iron bronze and brass work. It stands unsur-
passed in facilities for production, manufacture and in the quality of
its output. The success of the concern has been contemporaneous
with the growth in the demand and use of structural iron and steel.
The successful completion of the contracts by the Jackson Archi-
tectural Iron Works, whose reputation for reliability was well known
for many years, did much for the maintenance and subsequent rapid
development of structural iron work in this city.
Their records show that the business was established in 1840 by
Mr. J. L. Jackson. It is, therefore, one of the oldest iron working
concerns in the city. The first site of the shops and foun-
dries was located on Goerck street. The business was carried
on there for seventeen years with such success that in 1857, the busi-
ness demanding more space, the firm found it necessary to obtain
new and larger premises. The present site on East 28th street was
chosen, but in i860 the plant had again to be enlarged. The busi-
ness of the firm had grown so extensively in the quarter century that
followed that in 1885 it was deemed advisable to organize it into an
incorporated company. This was accordingly done, and Mr. Wm.
H. Jackson was the first president of the company. It was previous
to the organization and incorporation that the movement in the
growth of structural and ornamental iron work was giving evidence
of a permanency which it has since maintained. At no time in the
history of the Jackson Architectural Iron Works did it occupy a
position other than in the front rank, and this position was to be
maintained in this new era of structural and ornamental iron work.
To-day there is no contract of this nature from the fireproofing of a
modern residence to the erection of the highest of the tall office
buildings that they are unable to complete in the most approved
manner. Their facilities are unsurpassed and the equipment of the
plant is up-to-date and suitable for producing work rapidly. The
plant covers forty city lots, with shops five stories in height, and on
an average one thousand men are employed.
The many facilities possessed by this company gives it a distinct
advantage in competition for the different kinds of work. It has ex-
ecuted many of the best contracts ever completed in this country
and Canada. A partial list includes: Bowling Green Building, Met-
ropolitan Life Insurance Building, Museum of Natural History,
Metropolitan Telephone Building, Edison Electric Light Building,
Players' Club, Progress Club, Carnegie Music Hall, Puck Building,
486 . A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Jackson Building, Western Union Building, Tower Building, New
Criminal Court House, Hotel Endicott, Good News Theatre, of Bos-
ton; Belgravia Hotel, Potter Building; hotels San Remo, Majestic,
St. Andrew's Hoffman; American Surety Co. Building, American
Lithographic Co. Building, the ornamental work in the Washington
Life Building, Cable Building and St. James Building. The officers
of the company are: Wm. H. Jackson, President; Henry A. Wilson,
Vice-President; David Pettigrew, Secretary; John H. Hankinson,
Treasurer.
Post & McCord,
The firm of Post & McCord, whose main offices and works are
located at Clay, Dupont, Provost and Setauket streets and Paidge
avenue, Borough of Brooklyn, is one of the largest engineering
and contracting firms in New York. It is in every way a representa-
tive firm in the constructive iron work business, and has kept well
in the van in all the many developments and impiovements in struc-
tural iron work.
To-day, the iron work in a building of any importance is the
most important factor in its construction ; the steel grillage founda-
tion in its multiplicity and variety and the steel skeleton construction
form the base and framework — the essential parts of the building. So
important then is the successful engineering of the iron work of a
building that architects are loath to place the contract in any but tried
and reliable hands. Any observer of building movements in this
city cannot help but notice that all our prominent buildings erected
during the past decade have been completed by but a comparatively
few engineering and contracting iron working firms. This has
been due to the fact that so great have been the strides in improve-
ments made during the past ten or fifteen years that the rank and
file have not been able to catch up with the leaders, and it may be
added architects could not be found who were willing to give con-
tracts to any but experienced and prominent firms.
As we have stated, the firm of Post & McCord ranks easily
among the first as a responsible iron contracting firm in this city. Es-
tablished in 1877 by Mr. Andrew J. Post, civil engineer, and William
H. McCord, the firm entered the steel and iron constructive trade
when it was almost in its infancy. Both men possessed technical and
theoretical knowledge besides practical experience. The growth of
their business has been contemporaneous with the growth and
development of the steel and iron constructive trade in America.
From a small but complete plant, the business has grown so that
the works now cover an area of three and one-half acres, and have a
capacity of one hundred tons of structural iron and steel a day. The
facilities which this firm possesses for rapid work are unsurpassed.
A corps of highly skilled engineers trained in special and general con-
structive iron work are kept constantly at work in the office and at
the scene of the work.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 487
Post & McCord have erected over two hundred and fifty well-
known buildings, comprising banks, office buildings, public build-
ings in New York and other cities, apartment houses and dwellings,
clubhouses and theatres, stores and warehouses, stables, piers,
depots, mercantile buildings, armories, churches and factories, ex-
amples of which are too well known to need special description.
The Manhattan Iron Works*
The Manhattan Iron Works, of Nos. 212 and 214 East 99th street,
under the management of Mr. A. Busse (who also is the proprietor),
are well known to the building trade. Mr. Busse is an old hand at
the business, and to his practical experience and business ability is
due the rapidly acquired prominence which the firm enjoys. His
shops are equipped with every facility for manufacturing structural
and ornamental iron work, and particular attention is given to stair-
cases and elevator enclosure work. Some of the more important
contracts are the iron work for municipal building in Crotona Park ;
two 6-story apartments corner 115th street and 7th avenue; St.
Stephen's Church in Kingsbridge ; 7-story apartment corner 94th
street and Boulevard; 6-story apartment corner 105th street and
Boulevard, and many others.
George H« Toop*
Iron and casting foundries in New York have been practically
eliminated on account of the peculiar conditions of competition from
outside places. A survival of the fittest has been brought about and
now the number of foundries does not exceed half a dozen. Among
those who by superior quality of workmanship and careful manage-
ment have stood the severe test is the well known firm of George H.
Toop, of Nos. 406 to 414 East 91st street. He has been established
in the foundry and wrought iron business since 1871. At the present
time his premises cover five city lots and on an average seventy men
are employed. All kinds of cast and wrought iron work are manu-
factured in the most approved manner. Mr. Toop has been specially
successful in manufacturing the iron columns and pillars for store
fronts and large apartment houses. Mr. Toop is President of the
East River Lumber Company.
488
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE MANHATTAN HOTEL.
42d Street a/nd Madison Avenue. (1.81)7.) Henry J. Hardenbergh, Architect.
GRILLE OVER ENTRANCE, BUILDING 890 BROADWAY.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. J. B. Snook & Son, Architects.
A REVIEW OF ORNAMENTAL IRON WORK.
I
RON work for decorative purposes was thought worthy of the
best ability of the artist-smiths from the fourteenth to the eigh-
teenth centuries, and the many beautiful examples to be seen
abroad illustrate how great was the skill of workmen in
olden times in producing the most delicate details of forged iron
work. Along the streets in the older quarters of nearly every city
in Europe can be found numerous examples of ornamental wrought
iron which are admirable in design and execution, and which would
be a difficult matter to copy by the workmen of to-day, even regard-
less of the cost of production. In the multiplicity of wants in our
new country, economy of time, and consequently of cost, become a
compulsory matter from the very start. The little ornamental iron
work that was first used in the United States was forged work, and
some excellent specimens are still to be seen in the streets of
colonial cities, the production of men who had erriigrated to the
New World. The use of cast-iron for ornamental iron work, even in
copying designs especially intended for wrought iron, was natural,
and, under the circumstances, quite excusable from the standpoint
of enforced economy, but unfortunately most of the early designing
in foundries was done by men who were simply carpenters or pat-
490
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ENTRANCE GATES, BUILDING 4S9 5th AVENUE, NEW YORK.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. Pottier & Stymus, Designers.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 491
tern makers, and, therefore, much that was intended to be of an ar-
tistic nature was simply barbarous. Alike with ornamental iron
work, this was the case with nearly all trades furnishing articles for
building, such as cabinet work, mantels, wall papers, carpets, etc.
In course of time came advances in industrial art, every trade re-
flected the refining influences of decorative art, and perhaps none
more so than the craft of iron workers, so that to-day such simple
things as guards for doors and windows, gates, railings, crestings
and finials, lamp-posts, fountains, vases, etc., display really artistic
treatment in outline and in ornamentation.
In New York, along East Broadway and in Henry and other
streets of that ultra-fashionable neighborhood of fifty or sixty years
ago, are still to be found some very creditable specimens of ham-
mered work in railings and newels. One of the favorite designs for
the tops of newels on stoops was leaves crowned with a pineapple,
all in wrought iron. In the lay-out for the streets of the city every
lot was given an area line, and as the open area had to be enclosed
by a railing and the sides of the high stoop to be protected, the de-
mand for railings and newels became very great in supplying houses
for the rapidly growing city. Most naturally these railings and
newels came to be made of cast-iron, being cheaper and more showy
than wrought iron. Coupled with a large demand for house rail-
ings came a great demand for railings in cemeteries. At that time
it was thought to be the proper thing to fence in a grave plot. An
old story is told of an appeal being made to a certain rich man for
a contribution to put up an iron railing around a church burying-
ground ; he bluntly refused to give a single cent, on the ground that
those who were in couldn't get out, and those who were out didn't
want to get in. Anyway, cemetery railings, house railings and rail-
ings to enclose public parks and private grounds constituted the
basis for the first growth of ornamental iron work manufacture.
Garden vases came to be in considerable demand, and then statuary
for out of door purposes, lions, dogs, deers and other animals.
By a steady growth along the lines of natural progress, several
foundries in New York became extensive manufacturers of orna-
mental cast-iron work. Janes, Kirtland & Fowler, the firm who did
492
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ENTRANCE GATES, CORN EXCHANGE BANK BUILDING.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. R. H. Robertson, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
493
the iron work of the dome of the Capitol in Washington, drifted ex-
clusively into the ornamental branch, but finally went out of business
entirely. J. L. Mott's foundry, established to manufacture pipe,
plumbers' fittings and hollow ware, but incidental to the original
business, its several branches of ornamental iron work, increased to
enormous proportions, and The J. L. Mott Iron Works of the pres-
ent time is entirely in the line of light castings of an ornamental
character. J. L. Jackson's foundry established in 1840 to manufac-
STAIRWAY, CONSTABLE BUILDING.
Wm. Schickel & Co., Architects.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works.
ture grate
and fender
castings,
soon after its start branched
into making castings for
buildings, and led the way to
make light architectural cast-
ings, such as window lintels
and sills, Corinthian leaf capitals, newels, balusters, railings, etc.
The Jackson Architectural Iron Works still carries on all of its
several early branches, its foundry for light castings being dis-
tinct from its foundry for heavy castings. In making light cast-
ings, a different grade of sand is required, a different class of
moulders employed, a different mixture of pig iron used, and,
indeed, a separate moulding shop necessary than in making heavy
castings.
494
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
STAIRWAY, NEW YORK CLEARING HOUSE.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. R. W. Gibson,
Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW.. YORK. 495
No matter how good a design may be, its execution in cast-iron
may be entirely spoiled by falling into the hands of incompetent me-
chanics. The difference be-
tween a beautiful line and
one which has no beauty
whatever, is very frequent-
ly so undefinably small that
it can scarcely be described,
although it makes itself
felt. To secure the best re-
sults in cast-iron requires
a combined technical
knowledge of architectural
detail, of artistic pattern
work, of foundry practice,
and withal a business pride
and enthusiasm in the di-
recting head of the con-
cern. Est ablishments
which become great under
one management may de-
cline or become obsolete
under another. Each gen-
eration has its own devel-
opment, and for this rea-
son the field is always open
to skill, enterprise and
courage. In ornamental
iron manufacture first was
the period of blacksmith-
ing,then the period of cast-
iron, and now both
branches flourish under a
growing public taste and
an ability to pay the price for the most artistic productions in each
kind of metal. Conditions change, and opportunities broaden and
become diversified.
PASSENGER ELEVATOR ENCLOSURE
(part of, about 1-6 of one story).
AMERICAN TRUST BUILDING.
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works.
496
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
PASSENGER ELEVATOR ENCLOSURE, LORD'S COURT BUILDING.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. John T. Williams, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
497
PASSENGER ELEVATOR ENCLOSURE, CONSTABLE BUILDING.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. Wm. Schickel & Co., Architects.
32
498 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
In buildings where the floors are constructed with wooden
beams, there is comparatively little inside iron work. In buildings
where rolled iron or steel floor beams are used, the stairs are of iron
and comparatively little wood is used. When fire-proof buildings
commenced to increase in numbers the contracts for the iron work
required therefor^ were taken as a rule by foundry firms. As such
buildings increased in height and area, the increasing use of iron in
buildings began to attract the business attention of men not con-
nected with architectural iron establishments, but who were pos-
sessed of engineering knowledge, and in some instances with ex-
perience gained in rolling mills and in bridge building work. When
the height of fire-proof buildings took. a sudden jump from eight or
ten stories to twelve, fifteen, eighteen and twenty stories, a most in-
viting field was opened and seized upon by individuals and firms as
contracting engineers for skeleton structures, and so a large propor-
tion of important contracts for the iron work was thus taken by men
who were without shops of any kind, and who depended on sublet-
ting the whole, the steel work to rolling mills and the cast-iron work
to foundries. Obviously the new class of contractors preferred to give
the light and ornamental parts to those who were not their natural
competitors and opponents, and therefore the opportunities for an
increase of business came to the proprietors of such foundries as
confined their manufacture to light ornamental work, and who did
not seek or desire heavy structural wrork.
In particular, one firm, Poulson & Eger, the Hecla Iron Works of
New York, was available and acceptable to the engineering class of
iron contractors. Both Mr. Poulson and Mr. Eger had thoroughly
learned their business during their early manhood days in the draft-
ing room and in the shops of Badger's Architectural Iron Works,
and when, in 1876, they started together on their own account, with
modest capital, and with a small shop, in Brooklyn, their ability as
artistic designers and mechanical constructors, their close attention
co details, and the superiority of their productions, soon brought
them great business success. The expansion of their business and
accumulation of capital affording better opportunities, they bent
their energies in all ways to improve the character and quality of
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
499
PASSENGER ELEVATOR ENCLOSURE (part of), CENTRAL NATIONAL
BANK BUILDING.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. John T. Williams, Architect.
500 " A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
their production, sparing no expense that could be safely and profit-
ably employed to that end. Again and again their factory space was
increased, until now it covers 35 city lots, and is supplied with the
best modern appliances, apparatus and machinery, much of it being
of special construction, adapted to the new methods introduced from
time to time. Special attention was constantly given to improve the
finishes, which early resulted in the establishment of an electro-
plating plant capable of plating the largest pieces of ornamental iron
used in buildings, thus opening up a practically new field. Next
came the introduction of the Bower-Barff process for the protection
of iron surfaces from rust, this process consisting of exposing the
articles to be treated to the action of superheated steam in muffles,
thereby covering the surface with a permanent film of magnetic ox-
ide of beautiful blue-black or ebony appearance, and suitable for
exterior or interior work. The Bower-Barff process had been intro-
duced in Europe several years before, for the treatment of water
pipes, but it was at the Hecla Iron Works of Messrs. Poulson &
Eger that the apparatus was perfected and made adaptable to orna-
mental iron work. Still later on the Hecla Iron Works installed a
large electro-deposition plant for the production of galvano-plastic
copper-bronze ornamentation, not only for small articles such as
mouldings, plaques and panels, but for columns, cornices, statues
and other large pieces.
It is largely due to the skill and enterprise of the proprietors of the
Hecla Iron Works that nowhere else in the world can be found as
artistic interior iron work in modern buildings as in this country.
Types of iron work unknown twenty years ago, and which would
have been impossible of production by any processes of manufacture
then in vogue, are to be seen now in nearly every first-class modern
building in New York, and in other large cities in this country. The
influence. of the artistic labors of Messrs. Poulson & Eger has spread
far and wide, and the methods initiated by this firm are being fol-
lowed by many other manufacturers.
The business of manufacturing ornamental iron work has become
a very complex one. Iron foundries, brass foundries, forging
shops, fitting shops, plating shops, modelling shops, buildings for
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 501
ELEVATOR CAR, NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE CO.'S BUILDING.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
502 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
drafting, for photographing — these enumerate only a portion of the
various branches of industry brought together to make up a com-
plete plant. Few other American industries have grown with such
rapidity as ornamental iron work, and but few other manufactures
better illustrate the history of the progress of the American people
in skill and refinement.
WILLIAM J. FRYER.
C0AT-0F-ARMS AT PORTALS OP CENTRAL
BRIDGE OVER HARLEM RIVER.
A. B. Boiler, C. E., Engineer of Construction.
Executed by Hecla Iron Works.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 50.1
a
2
3
j
3
pq
H
o
5
H
<
504
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
•*mpn
NO. 41) WEST f)TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY.
Howard & Cauldwell, Architects.
(18H8.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
505
LEADING ORNAMENTAL IRON FIRMS.
The Hecla Iron Works*
The pioneer architectural and ornamental iron and bronze work-
ing concern in America is unquestionably the Hecla Iron Works,
formerly known as Poulson & Eger. To this firm and its successor
a great measure of credit is due in having brought about the pres-
ent high standard of excellence in ornamental iron and bronze
work. To the trade and others familiar with the recent advances in
this line of work, it has become a truism that all improvements suc-
cessfully launched for years past emanated from the Hecla Iron
Works or their predecessors, Poulson & Eger. In 1876, when the
old firm was established, there was but little ornamental iron work
manufactured in America, and what little was done was hammered
out by hand. Bronze work was a comparative crudity; grille work
and the elaborate mesh work of elevator enclosures and stairs were
matters that had yet to be evolved. During these early years it is
but justice to the subjects of our sketch to say they did not possess
a single competitor. To-day they still maintain their reputation of
producing ornamental and architectural iron work superior in con-
struction, artistic appearance and finish to any that has yet been
manufactured on this side of the Atlantic. Architects and others
duly recognize the product of the Hecla Iron Works as the Ameri-
can standard of excellence in architectural iron work, because no
efforts have been spared to maintain the vantage which they have
held so long.
As has been mentioned, the company is always foremost in
the introduction of improvements. The first open elevator en-
closure, in which there was the mesh and grille work, now so
important a feature in that class of work, was produced by
this company. Previous to that time the enclosures consisted
mainly of sheet iron, but the open casting which this firm
substituted for the sheet iron door became at once a great
success. The first iron elevator passenger car with its beautifully
ornamented iron work was also built by this firm. It has also in-
troduced metallic finishes, now perfected, which have undoubtedly
increased the demand for ornamental iron work. The more im-
portant of these are electro-plate finishes, Duplex Electro Plate
Finish, Bower-Barff Finish and the Galvano Bronze Work, by which
latter process is produced every conceivable kind of ornamental
work such as statues, coats-of-arms, commemorative tablets, doors
and mouldings, at the same time possessing the indestructibility of
bronze.
506 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
A partial list of the important buildings in which the Hecla Iron
Works have furnished ornamental iron or bronze work includes:
American Tract Society Building, New York Life Insurance Co.'s
Building, American Surety Co.'s Building, Equitable Life Assur-
ance Society's Building, Corbin Building, Continental Fire Insur-
ance Co.'s Building, Commercial LTnion Fire Insurance Co.'s
Building, United Charities Building, Constable Building, Gillender
Building, Lawyer's Title Insurance Co.'s Building, Metropolitan
Telephone and Telegraph Co.'s Building, Park Row Building, Sin-
ger Building, Produce Exchange, Delmonico Building, Lord's
Court Building, Gallatin Bank Building, National Shoe and Leather
Bank Building, Corn Exchange Bank, Bowery Savings Bank, Bank
of Commerce Building, New York Clearing House, Bank of Amer-
ica Building, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Hotel Savoy, Plaza Hotel,
Dakota Apartment House, Navarro Apartment House, Chelsea
Apartment House, Columbia College Buildings, American Fine
Arts Building, Knickerbocker Theatre Building, New University
Club Building, Post Office, World Building, Herald Building,
Tribune Building, Times Building.
The Hecla Iron Works have also executed work of greatest im-
portance in Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Pittsburg, Boston,
Philadelphia, and for all the prominent architects in the United
States.
Richey, Browne & Donald*
A representative company of the highest class among manufactur-
ers of architectural iron and bronze work in the United States is that
of Richey, Browne & Donald, Borden and Review avenues, Long
Island City. The company was organized on February I, 189 1, at
the time when the growth in the use of architectural iron and bronze
was no longer considered experimental. The active members of
the company, Mr. A. S. Richey and Mr. R. B. Browne, were not un-
known to the architects and building fraternity of New York and
vicinity, having been connected with the Hecla Iron Works of
Brooklyn. They brought with them into their venture all the quali-
fications which are necessary to success; on the one hand, Mr. Brown
possessed a thorough and practical experience in actual draughting
and designing, while Mr. Richey brought with him unqualified exec-
utive abilities as a financier. The shops at 218 North nth street,
Brooklyn, were outgrown after two years, and the works were moved
to larger quarters on the corner of Setauket street and Paidge ave-
nue. The company was meeting with greater success than they had
anticipated. Beginning at the bottom rung they were working suc-
cessfully to the higher ranks; from the first contracts of the architec-
tural iron work of the Rhode Island Hospital and Trust Co, in Prov-
idence— a small contract — the company were now recognized as a
serious competitor in the largest and most difficult jobs in metropoli-
tan trade. On June 30, 1896, this enterprising company suffered a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 507
total loss of its plant by fire. The blow could have well nigh shattered
the business expectations of a much stronger firm than this; in the
midst of a large contract, the iron work of the Townsend Building,
all the patterns and designs were destroyed; just then bids were be-
ing called for two of the largest contracts of architectural iron and
bronze work which had ever been specified in America. The com-
pany had decided to make a determined stand to secure one or both
of these contracts, but now they were seriously handicapped -by hav-
ing no plant. But, Phoenix like, they literally rose from the ashes
of their destroyed plant, captured under fire the contract of the archi-
tectural iron and bronze in the great Astoria Hotel, and the new edi-
fice for the New York Life Insurance Co., and carried to successful
termination the work on the Townsend Building. A few of the im-
portant contracts completed by the company are as follows: Castle
Square Theatre, Boston; Canada Life, Montreal; Fidelity Mutual
Life Association, Philadelphia ; Sampson Building, Wall street ;
Beresford Hotel, Gerard Hotel, St. Luke's Hospital, Empire Build-
ing, Manhattan Life Building, all in New York.
Jno* Williams*
Of the firms engaged in architectural bronze work throughout
the United States, there is none whose reputation for first-class work
is more generally known than the firm of Jno. Williams, of No. 556
West 27th street, New York. Wherever it is exhibited, whether in
the cities on the i\tlantic coast or on the Pacific seaboard, if the
manufacture bear the imprint of the name of Jno. Williams, the ar-
chitectural designers know that their designs have been faithfully
reproduced and in a manner not to be excelled in this or in any Eu-
ropean country.
Like many of our great businesses of the present day, the origin
of the firm of Jno. Williams was an humble one. Its head, John
Williams, was connected with Tiffany & Co., as a workman in the
brass and bronze department over 25 years ago. He had learned
the trade and had become a proficient workman, when he began
to study the prevailing conditions of the trade in bronze work in
New York. A quarter of a century ago its manufacture was limited
to chandeliers, sconces, mirrors and a few figures; there was com-
paratively none of that beautiful bronze work which we now see in
our churches, residences and public buildings. France was the
market almost entirely from which America bought its bronze arti-
cles. John Williams was a characteristic American, possessing
both energy, brains and business ability ; he arrived at the conclu-
sion that New York should be able to produce the same work that
was done in Paris.
In 1872, with four men in his employ, the firm of Jno. Williams
was launched. The reputation of its output gradually spread and
as a result the growth was steady. It was in the early '8o's that ar-
chitects began to specify more largely the use of bronze for decora-
5o8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
tive purposes in public and private buildings. The increased de-
mand for architectural bronze work materially benefited the firm and
it rose equal to the demands made upon it. The bronze doors, caps
and bases, grilles, crestings, gates, bank counters, furniture trim-
mings produced were equal, and, in many respects, superior to the
imported article. In 1887, recognizing the wants of architects for
artistic wrought iron work, a department was organized for its man-
ufacture. The success of this department has been fully as great
as that of the bronze department, and some of the most beautiful
examples of iron work of any country have been produced by the
firm. The class of work which Jno. Williams has completed may be
judged from the following: The bronze caps of columns of Columbus
University Library, probably the largest bronze caps in the world;
the doors and candelabra of W. K. Vanderbilt's Marble House at
Newport ; the two doors of the Congressional Library at Washing-
ton ; the wrought iron entrance gates to Harvard College; the
Mapes Memorial Gates at Columbia University; gates and rail en-
closing residence of Mr. Theo. Havemeyer, of this city. These are
the highest class of bronze and wrought iron work manufactured in
America.
■ffiWW'itinMm^
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 509
A REVIEW OF ARCHITECTURAL
TERRA-COTTA.
! N the spring of the year 1870 a young architectural
clay-worker, who had recently landed, was walking
up Broadway with a venerable and white-haired
old gentleman, who at that time was well known
and respected in New York. They were engaged
in a study of the various materials used for the exteriors of the build-
ings on that thoroughfare. The old gentleman was Marcus Spring,
a retired dry-goods merchant.
While standing on the east side of the street, looking up at old
Trinity Church, Marcus Spring was recognized by an influential
and popular architect, who was then conducting an extensive and
lucrative practice. To this architect Mr. Spring explained the ob-
ject of his presence at that place, and requested him to give his pro-
fessional opinion concerning the probability of success attending any
attempt to introduce architectural terra cotta work into New York
and its vicinity. The reply was prompt and positive:
"My dear sir, there can be but one opinion upon that subject. It
would most surely fail. Terra cotta has been tried over and over
again, and every attempt has resulted in loss and vexation to all par-
ties concerned. We know all about that material ; it is useful enough
in Europe, but it will not withstand the rigors of our American cli-
mate. If that young man intends to continue his trade of terra
cotta making I would strongly advise him to return to England, for
he will find it impossible to earn a living for his family at that trade
in the United States. Our architects and builders will most certainly
refuse to make any further experiments with the material. "
This emphatic opinion, from one who had apparently given the
subject consideration, was very discouraging to Marcus Spring.
But it did not so impress the clay-worker, for looking over at the
Trinity Building, north of the graveyard, he said, "that looks to me
5io
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
like a brick building, and if brick will stand the climate of New-
York terra cotta most certainly will, because I hold that terra cotta
is only a higher grade of brick-work." The true significance of the
value of the Trinity Building in helping to demonstrate the perma-
nent utility of terra cotta was not then apparent, for the
grotesque animal heads which form the keystones to the
The First Terra Cotta Building Erected in New York City.
East 36th street, near Madison avenue. George B. Post, Architect.
(1877.)
window arches, and the modillions which decorate the main
cornice of the building are actually made of terra cotta, the material
being hidden under a coat of paint, which had been used to make
the terra cotta resemble brown stone. This very building, therefore,
was one of the few successful attempts, but our friend, the advising
architect, did not know of it or he might have reconsidered his opin-
ion. The terra cotta work used in this building is still perfect, al-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 511
RUSSELL & ERWIN BUILDING.
New Britain, Conn. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
One of the earliest buildings in which light-colored terra-cotta was used.
512 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
though it has been found necessary to recut the damaged and disin-
tegrated faces of the brown stone work in the walls and mouldings.
Here let us define the difference between "terra cotta" and "archi-
tectural terra cotta/'
"Terra cotta" is simply "baked earth," a term technically distinct
from porcelain; it may be lacquered, painted or decorated in any
color to represent various materials. But "architectural terra cotta"
presents itself in the natural color which it receives from its con-
stituent ingredients during the process of being burned into an im-
perishable material. It does not represent any other material, it is
not an imitation of stone or iron or wood (although attempts are of-
ten made to make it such), it is a recognized building material hav-
ing its own quality and purpose, and when used ought to be distinctly
recognizable. Therefore, although Richard Upjohn did use terra cotta
in the construction of Trinity Building in the year 1853, he did not
use architectural terra cotta. He simply used a material of burned
clay painted to make an imitation of brown stone.
A very earnest contemporary of Richard Upjohn in that early ef-
fort to produce terra cotta was Mr. James Renwick, who was an
earnest worker and a believer in the value of architectural terra cotta.
No one did more than Mr. Renwick to introduce terra cotta work
into New York, and one of his most successful efforts still remains
in the window trimmings of the St. Dennis Hotel, located on Broad-
way, opposite Grace Church. No architect recognized the higher
claims of architectural terra cotta more thoroughly than he did. It
is an interesting fact that Mr. Renwick has been personally identified
with all the progressive history of terra cotta work in New York
City from 1853. The architectural firm of Renwick, As-
pinwall & Russell designed very many special uses for
this material. One especially good example of decorative
terra cotta work is the altar and reredos of St. Mark's Church, at
the southwest corner of Avenue B and 10th street, New York. This
was made in Boston in about 1882. It is designed in early English
Gothic and is exceedingly well executed in both modeling and color.
Another design by Mr. Renwick that called for especial care in con-
struction and detail is the Church of All Saints, erected on
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 513
RESIDENCE.
No. 55 West 10th St., New York City. Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell, Architects.
33
5i4 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the northeast corner of Madison avenue and 129th street, New
York. The traceried rose and mullioned windows, the pinnacles and
gables, .have all been made of gray terra cotta.
In 1870 the New York architects and builders certainly were not
ready for the reception or use of architectural terra cotta, and there-
fore no organized effort was made at that time to manufacture it in
this vicinity; yet old clay-workers, such as John Stewart, of West
18th street; Henry Maurer, of East 23d street, New York; and C.
W. Boynton, of Woodbridge, N. J., can very well remember that the
subject was submitted to them at the time, and that they agreed
with the architect who said it would not do to make any new at-
tempts.
The first American city to welcome architectural terra cotta work
was Chicago. The Western metropolis teems with men who, like
the Athenians of old, are ever on the lookout for some new thing.
The cost of stone, the rusting of iron and the danger of wooden
structures to city property led them to cheerfully welcome a mate-
rial that would conjoin with their vast brick-making industries, and
give them a decorative and useful building material.
W. Boyington, John Van Oxdell, Burling & Adler (later Adler
& Sullivan), Carter, Drake & White, W. L. B. Jenney, and Burn-
ham & Root, were the pioneer architects who first recognized the
utility and advantages of architectural terra cotta. The great fire
at Chicago, in 1871, converted the real estate owners and builders
to a belief in its usefulness, and they used it very extensively in the
rebuilding of the city, so that the manufacture grew in demand rap-
idly. Especially was this true of the trade in the outlying Western
cities, as Des Moines, Omaha, Milwaukee and others — for its light
cost for freight and the scarcity of skilled labor rendered it desirable.
In 1877 Architects Geo. B. Post, of New York; Whitney Lewis,
of Boston; H. H. Richardson; and Messrs. Stone & Carpenter, of
Providence, (began to use the material. Messrs. Stone & Carpenter
used it for the Brown University and the City Hall in Providence,
R. I. H. H. Richardson used it upon Trinity Church, Boston.
Whitney Lewis used it upon a large residence on Commonwealth
avenue, Boston. G. B. Post used it upon a residence on West 36th
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 515
Nassau, northwest corner of Beekman Street. Silliman & Farnsworth, Architects.
(1879.)
516 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
street, New York. These formed the Eastern foundation upon
which the vast architectural terra cotta industry of America has been
organized and developed.
To Geo. B. Post belongs the honor of having erected the first
strictly architectural terra cotta building in the City of New York.
This is located on the north side of West 36th street, near Madison
avenue. It was built by Jas. B. Smith, in 1877, and is a good evi-
dence of the weather qualities of terra cotta, all of its detail being as
perfect to-day as when it was set up twenty years ago. The orna-
mentation of this work is worth especial notice, for we believe it to
be the only example in New York City of that description of work.
It was not modeled as clay ornamental work is generally done, viz.,
in a plastic condition, but the slabs were formed solid, and when
partially dry the designs were carved with wood-carving tools, no
hammers being used: Isaac Scott, of Chicago, was the originator
of this method of producing ornamentation, and it met with great
favor among the Chicago architects. The terra cotta for this building
was made in Chicago by the man who, in 1870, had been advised
not to attempt to induce New York architects to use the material.
New York now has two large establishments employing more than
six hundred men. It has more than half a million of dollars of cap-
ital invested in the business, and is producing upwards of eight hun-
dred thousand dollars worth of building material per annum. Bos-
ton, Baltimore and Philadelphia also have extensive works engaged
in the same industry, and there are many small concerns in various
places spread all over the United States. All these are the direct
outgrowth of the Chicago Terra Cotta Works.
The next step in the progress of this industry was made by Silli-
man & Farnsworth when they introduced it (in the erection of a
large commercial building) in connection with moulded red and
black brick-work; this was done in the Morse Building, at the cor-
ner of Nassau and Beekman streets, erected in 1879. In this build-
ing the raised or protected vertical joint was first used. This form
of joint prevents the rain from scouring out the pointing mortar,
and it is an important and necessary precaution which ought to be
used upon all exposed surfaces.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 517
Brooklyn, N. Y.
DNG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
(1878.)
Geo. B. Post, Architect.
Si8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
HARRIGAN'S THEATRE (NOW THE GARRICK).
I5th St., East of tith Ave., New York City. F. H. Kimball, Architect.
(1890.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. $l9
When once the architects of New York began to recognize the
use of architectural terra cotta they caused a vast amount of devel-
opment in the production of it. Having no precedent, they made all
kinds of demands, such as had not hithertofore been required or ex-
pected; but these very requirements have tended to lead the makers
into new channels, which have produced successful results in re-
gard to color, ornamentation, construction and surface treatment,
^00^
^VXkrfcftS*
•i t^jtrt *■■■
~^fo'U!-.:£Li;ii
New York City.
THE PRODUCE EXCHANGE.
(1888.)
George B. Post, Architect.
so that now there is no reasonable doubt that architectural terra
cotta as it is designed and made and used in America is far better in
many respects than the best products of European factories.
The Brooklyn Historical Society's Building was designed by
Geo. B. Post in 1878, and it was the first important or public build-
ing in which the material was used by a New York architect. This
was followed by the Produce Exchange Building, the Cotton Ex-
change Building, and many others by the same architect, to whom
the clay-worker owes a large measure of thanks for his practical as-
sistance in the development of this industry.
520
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
The introduction of highly ornamental work in terra cotta was
begun by F. H. Kimball and Thos. Wisedell about 1880, when they
designed the New York Casino, 39th street and Broadway. In this
specimen, which is of Moorish design, it was shown that terra cotta
Broadway and 39th Street.
THE CASINO THEATRE.
(1882.)
F. H. Kimball, Architect.
was capable of elaborate decoration at moderate cost. This capa-
bility has been constantly put before the public by F. H. Kimball in
the various buildings which he has designed, viz., the Catholic
Apostolic Church on West 57th street, which has an elaborate rose
window, in which several features were introduced that had not be-
fore been attempted in America. The Corbin Building at the cor-
ner of John street and Broadway is another example of profuse dec-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 521
New York City.
DOORWAY OF THE CASINO.
(1882.)
*£&
Kimball & Wisedell, Architects.
522
A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
oration of surfaces, which, together with the color of the terra cotta,
produces effects at once agreeable and varied, and almost unattain-
able in any other material. The Montauk Club House furnished
still another opportunity for taking advantage of the facility which
the use of terra cotta furnishes the designer. The name of the club
*mmmm#m*mm*'>
CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH.
West 57th Street, New York City.
F. H. Kimball, Architect.
(1885.)
gave an Indian significance to the design which the architect made
use of, and the result is an ensemble of Indian trophies and imple-
ments utilized in decorative features that are both pleasing and sug-
gestive, while the sculptured friezes enabled the architect to record
in a durable material many incidents of Indian life and customs
which makes this structure an object of interest to the general pub-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 523
CORBIN BUILDING.
Broadway, n. w. cor. of John Street. F. H. Kimball, Architect.
(1888-1889.)
524 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
lie. The facade of the Garrick Theatre was treated in the
same spirit, and subjects connected with Mr. Harrigairs successes
were used as motifs for the decoration. For this purpose there is
no other material so useful to the architect, because it permits of
UPPER STORIES OF C0RBIN BUILDING.
Broadway, n. w. cor. of John Street. F. H. Kimball, Architect.
the original sketch models being burned and used (a process which
prevents the defacement and mutilation incident to remodeling and
casting).
The subject of "color" in terra cotta was first brought under con-
sideration by, and it received its present importance from, Eastern
architects. Previous to 1877 almost all American architectural
terra cotta was of a stone color. Joliet limestone being the Chicago
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 525
ideal, grayish buff was the prevailing color of Chicago terra cotta.
Eastern architects, however, demanded other colors. Geo. B.
Post asked for red, Whitney Lewis called for yellow buff, while
Messrs. Stone & Carpenter wanted brown. Thus the old fashion
passed away and the polychrome prevailed, and is now the present
Brooklyn, N. Y.
F. H. Kimball, Architect.
MONTAUK CLUB.
(1890.)
demand. This has done very much towards increasing the demand
for architectural terra cotta, and Architects McKim, Mead &
White were perhaps the foremost leaders in this branch of the busi-
ness; certain it is that to them belongs the credit for the introduc-
tion of the Pompeian or mottled color which they used on the Tif-
fany House, also a neutral reddish color used for the Russell &
Erwin Building (New Britain, Conn.), and the white used upon the
Hotel Imperial, the Madison Square Garden and other buildings.
K26
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. ^ 527
One of the most serious problems in the proper use of architect-
ural terra cotta was the treatment of its surfaces, and this quality has
been most successfully developed by Architect Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz.
The bold and massive character of his style (Romanesque) forbade
the use of the usual old-fashioned smooth surface. Therefore he
made a study of the subject, and the result of his efforts was the in-
troduction of the combed or crinkled surfaces, by a method which
he personally devised, and which method is now the common prop-
erty of all clay-workers. It has helped greatly to improve the ar-
tistic value and appearance of terra cotta work. This surface treat-
ment was used upon the Art and Library Building in Buffalo which
is made of red terra cotta ; also upon the Telephone Building, Cort-
landt street, which is of a warm reddish buff, and upon the Racquet
Clubhouse, which is of dark or so-called Pompeian color. In all of
them the advantage of the surface treatment is apparent. It is a
truly distinctive feature, which shows clearly that it is done in plastic
material and therefore indicates terra cotta work.
Thus have the architects of New York urged on the terra cotta
makers, compelling them to new efforts, and in many instances these
efforts have been successful, so that by the co-operation of the archi-
tects and the clay-workers architectural terra cotta in America is
probably in many respects in the van in comparison with older coun-
tries.
It would be impossible to mention all the architects who have
made this progress and development possible, and we must he con-
tent to specify a very limited list of buildings that are especially in-
structive to the architectural terra cotta makers as suggestive of
various matters of detail which may prove profitable to them if ex-
amined in an inquiring mood, with a view to the improvement of
their processes of production. Such lessons may be learned by a
study of the Astor Building, Wall street; the Western Union Build-
ing, Broad street; the Schermerhorn Building, corner Great Jones
street and Lafayette place — H. J. Hardenbergh, architect; the De
Vinne Press Building, corner of 4th street and Lafayette place —
Babb, Cook & Willard, architects; the Church of the Messiah
Brooklyn; the Railroad Men's Reading Rooms, Madison avenue
528
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
and 45th street; the Lincoln, and other office buildings on
Broadway, between 14th street and 18th street — R. H. Robertson,
architect; the Carnegie or New York Music Hall, corner 57th street
and 7th avenue — W. B. Tuthill, architect; the Colonial Clubhouse,
72! street and Boulevard; the West End Presbyterian Church, 105th
street and Amsterdam avenue — Henry Kilburn, architect; the Col-
legiate Church, corner 77th street and West End avenue — R. W.
Gibson, architect. Upon this spirit of co-operation depends the
future development of this industry, and doubtless it will lead to
greater advancement in the future than that it has produced hitherto,
because the improvements hoped for are to be based upon so much
good work already done.
JAMES TAYLOR.
UPPER STORIES OF FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE.
New York City. F. H. Kimball, Architect.
(1891-1802.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 529
LEADING TERRA-COTTA FIRMS.
Celadon Terra-Cotta Company, Limited*
Charles T. Harris, Lessee.
The Celadon Terra-Cotta Company, whose works are located in
Alfred, N. Y., is recognized as the producer of the best roofing tile
made in either America or Europe. The company was established
in October, 1888, with a capital of $10,000; since that time its paid
up capital has been increased to $150,000. The prominence
which the product of this company has attained is due in a great
measure to the connection of Mr. George H. Babcock, the famous
American inventor, with this company. He interested himself in
the improvement of the roof tiling industry in this country and
studied the uses and application of the roof tile in Southern Europe,
where it is so largely used. On his return he patented over twenty
different styles and designs of tile. In 1891, he became president of
the company and continued in that position until his death, in 1894.
He invented machinery for making tiles which has never been ex-
celled, and with which in fact none has ever compared. The results
have been that the Celadon Terra-Cotta Company manufacture
roofing tiles superior in design and manufacture to that of any ever
produced. In 1894, the patents, property and good will of the com-
pany was leased by Charles T. Harris, of Chicago, who had been
identified with the roofing tiles made in this country for fifteen years,
and a copartnership was formed with William R. Clarke, who had
been connected with the company since its inception. The New York
office is at No. 156 Fifth avenue.
Excelsior Terra-Cotta Company*
The Excelsior Terra Cotta Company, of No. 287 Fourth avenue,
is one of the large terra cotta manufacturing concerns in Eastern
United States. Its plant at Rocky Hill, New Jersey, is equipped
with all possible facilities, with the result that it is thus enabled
to handle any contract with the utmost dispatch. The company
manufactures architectural terra cotta exclusively, and the product
of the Excelsior Terra Cotta Company's plant may be seen in many
of the prominent buildings, not only in New York, but in Boston,
Philadelphia and other cities. In New York, the terra cotta used in
the Commercial Cable Building on Broad street, of which Harding &
Gooch are the architects, is the product of this company. Some of
34
530 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
the principal buildings completed in New York City by this com-
pany are as follows: The Commercial Buildings on Broadway,
between Waverley place and Washington place, Robert Maynicke,
architect ; addition to Carnegie Music Hall, 56th street and Seventh
avenue, W. B. Tuthill, architect. In Philadelphia the company has
completed ,the Philadelphia Dental College and the Dobson Build-
ing. The Boston office, which controls the New England trade, is
located in No. 3 Hamilton place. In Boston, the Converse Build-
ing, of which Winslow & Wetherill are the architects, has been com-
pleted by this company. It may be added that in Lynn, Hartford
and New London several large and important contracts were com-
pleted.
Standard Terra-Cotta Company*
The Standard Terra Cotta Company, of No. 287 Fourth avenue,
was incorporated in 1892. It was the outgrowth of the Architec-
tural Terra Cotta Works, which had been organized as a firm the
year previous. Trie company began with modest resources, but with
practical and energetic business men at the helm. In the short time
it has been before the building world, it has acquired a reputation
for honorable dealing and business integrity that has placed it on a
substantial basis. The officers of the company are: Albert
Bollschweiler, President; H. P. Engelhardt, Vice-President; Jacob
G. Gerns, Secretary; George Haar, Treasurer. The output of the
works, which are located at Perth Amboy, N. J., consists entirelv of
architectural terra cotta in the various colors that are used. The
equipment of the plant is such that the largest contracts can readily
be handled. As examples of the class of work done by the Standard
Terra Cotta Company, there are the Jefferson Building, on 23d
street, of which Wm. Schickel & Co. are the architects ; 10 residences
in Brooklyn, R. H. Robertson, architect; seven-story mercantile
building in No. 37 Great Jones street, Bruner & Tryon, architects ;
Nos. 586-590 Broadway, Buchman & Deisler, architects; Newark
Gas Company's Building, Newark, N. J., H. J. Hardenberg, archi-
tect, and about fifteen of the public schools recently completed. The
Standard Terra Cotta Company is now regarded as among the
largest in the East.
New Jersey Terra-Cotta Company*
The New Jersey Terra Cotta Company, of No. 108 Fulton street,
was organized in 1888, Mathiasen & Hansen being the name of the
firm until 1893. The Matawan Terra Cotta Company, of Matawan,
N. J., is also controlled by this company. Karl Mathiasen is presi-
dent of both companies and E. V. Eskesen is secretary and treas-
urer. The company has furnished architectural terra cotta for many
prominent buildings throughout the Eastern States.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 531
Perth Amboy Terra-Cotta Company.
The Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, of No. 160 Fifth avenue,
is the pioneer terra cotta manufacturing concern in this country.
The various stages in the development and perfection of terra
cotta can be traced directly to this company, and many
of the now competitive terra cotta producers have been
graduated from its employ. It is the largest firm in the
United States, with a reputation extending from coast to
coast, and its product enjoys the distinction of being par-
ticularly specified by the leading architects in various large Ameri-
can cities. The company has been in existenge since 1846, but it
was in 1879 the present company was incorporated for the manu-
facture of terra cotta. It completed the first important contract of
terra cotta in this country— that of the Long Island Historical So-
ciety Building in Brooklvn, of which George B. Post was the archi-
tect. Since that time it has completed the largest and best class of
terra cotta work in Eastern United States. Some of the best exam-
ples of the company's manufacture are to be seen in the New York
Produce Exchange, the largest single contract of terra cotta yet ex-
ecuted, the Madison Square Garden, Metropolitan Opera House,
Park Row Syndicate Building, the New York Life Buildings in
Omaha and Kansas City; Ponce de Leon Hotel, in St. Augustine,
Fla. ; Safe Deposit Co., Chicago ; Harrison Building, Philadelphia.
The contracts mentioned are but representative ; the class of work
usually done may be judged from the fact that the company are
looked upon as the most responsible terra cotta producers by such
architects as Carrere & Hastings, R. H. Robertson, George B. Post,
McKim, Mead & White, Bruce Price and Cope & Stewardson, of
Philadelphia ; Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, of New York.
The officers of the company are Edward J. Hall, Jr., president;
William C. Hall, vice-president and general manager; George P.
Putnam, secretary and treasurer. The works are located in Perth
Amboy and are the largest in the United States. The gradual
growth of the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company may be gauged
from the fact that in the commencement of the manufacture of terra
cotta, in 1879, only three kilns were used, and at the present time
the company operates forty-six kilns. The plant and yards,
equipped with the best that capital and science has yet devised,
cover eight acres, while the clay banks extend over one hundred
and seventy acres. There are as yet none who have in any respect
become a serious competitor of the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta
Company. They stand alone as the representative of the high-
est class in the manufacture of terra cotta. One of the best examples
of recent terra cotta work being- executed by this company is the
Church of the Holy Trinity, in East 88th st. "
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
PQ
d
o
o
W
o
<3
a
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 533
ARTISTIC HARDWARE.
r^W" " "
NTIL about twenty years ago, no real
attempt had been made to give any artis-
tic character co the metal work used in
buildings in the United States, or, in-
deed, to any metal work whatever. The
cast-iron stoves were often crowned or
incrusted with what the makers of them
^N** "' _;-% imagined to be ornament. But nothing
could be cruder, more inappropriate,
or to an educated taste, more offensive than these applications.
They were even cruder than the British product of the same
period, and it was doubtless the crudity of this product that led
Ruskin to say that "no ornaments are so cold, clumsy and vulgar, so
essentially incapable of a fine line or graceful shadow, as those of
cast iron." As we shall see, the critic spoke, as he has so often done,
in his haste, and transferred to the intractability of the material what
was really the incompetency of those who had undertaken to handle
it for any purpose but that of strict utility. Cast iron, setting aside
its liability to oxidation, is as available a material,
as "capable of a fine line or graceful shadow" as
cast bronze, and as available not alone for purposes
of ornament, but as the Russian founders have
shown, even for figure-sculpture. Forty or even
thirty years ago the American who was sufficiently
cultivated to be revolted by the false pretence of art
in the metal fittings of his house had no resource
but to deny himself any pretence of art, and to take
refuge in an absolute simplicity, which was only
the absence but not the negation of the artistic ele-
ment. In costly houses the hinge plates and door
knobs and escutcheons showed plain surfaces of
metal, of which the utmost pretension was to be
silvered when they were applied to the solid ma-
*We are indebted for the illustrations cf this article to The Yale & Towne Mfg. Co.
About 1870.
534
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE
hogany doors of the period. In the less conspicu-
ous rooms the knobs and their roses were of brass,
or still oftener, of smooth white porcelain. The
effect was not in the least artistic, but it was highly
respectable. Meanwhile, it was the cheaper work
which was known to the trade and to the public as
"fancy." In this it was attempted to make up for
the lack of evidently costly material by the addition
of ornament. This was not art for the reason that,
as has been well said, "art is something done by an
artist." This ornament was designed by the pattern-
makers who were entirely untutored either in the
'" principles or in the historical examples of ornamental
design. They were as incapable of conventionalizing natural forms
with due regard to the purpose of the design and the material of
which and the processes by which it was to be executed as they were
ignorant of the distinguishing features of historical styles. Their
work accordingly could be neither pure nor peaceable, and could
have none but a degrading effect upon the taste of those who had
its results continually before their eyes. It is only "something done
by an artist" that can educate the public taste to demanding some-
thing better than is supplied to it, and in this department there were
no artists at home, and no examples imported from abroad and so
exhibited as to have any educational effect upon manufacturers or
purchasers.
Up to 1870, it may be said almost without reserva-
tion, there was no choice for the purchaser of hard-
ware except between work which was simply unre-
lated to the sense of beauty and work which was re-
volting to it. In order to see what the state of things
was, it is necessary to resort to illustration. It is un-
necessary to reproduce any of the plain unpretentious
and inoffensive work for the reason that there is noth-
ing in it to illustrate, and also for the reason that it
continues to be made and to enjoy a considerable
vogue. There are cultivated but timid owners who
desire to be on the safe side, and who are con- About 1876.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
scious that entire simplicity is safe. They know
that it is inoffensive and that what used to be
the "fancy" articles submitted to them in this
line are abominable, and they are unaware that
positively artistic and attractive work is to be
had. If the choice were still between work neg-
atively inoffensive and work positively repulsive,
they would be quite right. It would be a mis-
take to suppose that such work has been alto-
gether expelled. In some very recent trade cata-
logues "fancy" hardware, as crude at that of 1870 ,^u\ f7?;
continues to be offered, and to be offered at high prices, and obvi-
ously it would not continue to be offered if it did not continue to be
demanded. Again, there are architects who, although they can
scarcely help being aware that there is now a choice between what
is inoffensive and what is attractive as well as between what is in-
offensive and what is repulsive, do not take advantage of their
knowledge, and are still content to be "safe."
Although the crude and unconsciously grotesque "fancy hard-
ware" of the last generation continues to be made, it is no longer
familiar to those who would be likely to be offended by it. Some
typical examples are accordingly presented, culled for the most part
from old trade catalogues, but some also, as will be seen, almost as
bad as the worst, from catalogues found almost within the present
decade. It will be seen from the illustrations
that these attempts were as irrational as they
were inartistic, and that the most suitable and
convenient forms which were adhered to in
the common commercial work were aban-
doned in the fancy work for forrrjs that were
practically inconvenient. Rather, their irra-
tionality was a part of their ugliness. A great
critic has said "a thing has style when it has
the expression appropriate to the uses,"
and this expression, though it may be height-
About 1877. ened by modelling and decoration, cannot be
About 1878.
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
attained at all unless the object has in the first place
the form appropriate to its uses.
It was in 1870 that the first definite promise of bet-
ter things was made. This was in the work of the
Russell and Erwin Manufacturing Company. It con-
sisted, as is evident, in the employment of a trained
designer, in the first place, to rationalize, and, in the
second place to decorate, the forms which had been in
the first place distorted and in the second defaced,
with no more rational or artistic purpose than to pro-
duce something "fancy." Function, material and
process are recognized in these essays and that recognition is the
beginning of progress. These early attempts may now seem crude
enough, but it is to be borne in mind that the vast improvement
which has been since effected is not alone an advance in design. It
is an advance also in the mechanical execution of the design, in
which mechanical labor has risen into artistic craftsmanship. This
advance is dependent upon the cooperation with the artistic designer
of an enlightened manufacturer who is willing to take trouble to se-
cure better results, and to make expenditures upon experiments, and
the process takes time as well as trouble and money.
Undoubtedly, however, the main stimulus to the Renaissance, or,
rather, the "Naissance" in this country of artistic handicraft
in this branch, as in so many
other branches, was the Cen-
tennial Exposition of 1876
The notion that the general de-
sign of a dwelling might be
carried into its details and fit-
tings, so that all the parts
should be "of a piece" was
practically new to most visitors.
Only in churches and public
buildings, especially in churches,
had it been attempted there-
tofore, and even in these it had
About 1880.
About 1884.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
537
been very imperfectly performed. It was precisely
in the particular of metal fittings that the short-
comings were most manifest, and this for the rea-
son that the architect had not had the co-operation
of the manufacturer. In masonry and in woodwork
the designer could secure the execution of his de-
sign. But in cast metal the cost of a special set of
castings for an ordinary dwelling house or com-
mercial building was quite prohibitory. The archi-
tect, even when he was consulted, was forced to
limit himself to what could be found "in stock." As
there was nothing there that was exactly suitable to his purpose, he
was forced to abandon the attempt to make these fittings a positive
enhancement of the effect of his work, and taking refuge in the
plainest and simplest objects that could be had, to content himself
with the humbler attainment of mere inoffensiveness.
The first essays in the direction of making the hardware of a house
conform to its furniture and fittings were not very successful, for the
reason that they were experiments in a passing fashion. The Gothic
revival was at that time in full possession of the architectural field
in England, and commanded also the sympathy of the most thought-
ful and progressive American architects. But the attempt to apply
the principles of Gothic art to furniture constructed
by modern methods had resulted only in what was
called "Eastlake furniture," which was even then sus-
pected and is now generally recognized to be ugly
and cumbrous. The Eastlake hardware was an im-
provement upon what had preceded it in that it was
designed with reference to the materials and the pro-
cess employed, but its forms failed to commend them-
selves as beautiful or appropriate and now appear
hopelessly antiquated. Nevertheless, in so far as they
proceeded from a real consideration of material and
function they contained the germs of progress. Later
wrork upon the same lines showed a real development,
and it continued to be made by some firms and with About 1890.
School : Romanesque.
538 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
increasing success down almost to the present decade.
But meanwhile a much more comprehensive move-
ment had been begun, and it had been begun under
happier auspices. That is to say, it was marked by
the co-operation of artistic designers and of manufac-
turers who were willing to take trouble and spend
money in securing artistic results. It was about 1883
that the Romanesque revival, stimulated by the suc-
cess and vogue of the works of Richardson had begun
to make its way over the country and had enlisted the
active-minded and progressive young architects, the sc^^cionial
successors of those who, in the previous decade, had given themselves
to the advancement of Victorian Gothic, and in some cases the same
persons. The Romanesque had taken almost undisputed possession
of the West, and along with those of its practitioners who followed it
simply because it was the fashion, there were others who believed in
it, and who were earnest in following out its possibilities. Chicago
was the centre of this cult in the West, and several of the most capa-
ble of the designers of Chicago became interested in the efforts of
the Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company to produce much
more artistic work in cast metal than had been produced thereto-
fore. Among these were John W. Root, Louis H. Sullivan and W.
B. Mundie. Many of the designs procured from them are
still current and among the standard products of the com-
pany for which they were made. They were so manifestly
superior to anything that had been done before in this
country that a distinct demand for artistic hardware fol-
lowed upon the supply of it. The demand thus created
soon stimulated other manufacturers to follow the lead
thus opened ; sometimes through more or less direct imi-
tations of successful designs, more rarely by the same
means by which those designs had been produced ; that
is to say by the employment of com-
petent designers.
But, although the results of this
employment were so gratifying
About 1894.
School : Italian Renaissance.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
539
they were not at this stage completely satisfactory.
A main charm of artistic handicraft is that in such
handicraft the designer is also the artificer. No exe-
cution of an architect's drawing by a mere me-
chanic never so highly skilled can replace the attrac-
tiveness of the work in which the workman is shap-
ing the creation of his own mind. It is this which
distinguishes the stone capitals, the wooden furni-
ture, the metallic grilles and hinges and latches of
the best mediaeval work from the most successful
modern reproductions or imitations. Of course
this method is not directly applicable to modern
manufacturing conditions in which the artistic end
must be attained within a predetermined limit of
cost. The closest approach to it is made when the
designer works in the closest possible connection
v . oat 1892. fe
School: It. Renaissarce. with the workman; when he does his design-
ing in the factory in which it is to be executed, and ac-
quires by daily contact an intimate, almost an intuitive,
knowledge of the possibilities of the means by which his
design is to be reproduced. This is the first condition of
progress in industrial art. Moreover, in cast work there
is necessary the intervention between the design and the pro-
duct of a sympathetic and highly skilled artisan in the
modeller, whose intelligent co-operation is required for
the interpretation of the design. After the casting is
produced, hand work is again brought into requisition
for the finishing touches. In work of the highest
class, and also necessarily of the greatest cost, there is
scarcely any limit to the extent to which this finishing
work may be carried. When handchasing is applied
by an artistic artisan without restriction of time or
money, the result even of a casting is an original work
of art. But evidently for the production of such work
by modern industrial methods, it is necessary that the
employer should himself be appreciative of the value A bout l895-
School: Empire.
54o
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
6, V*f\'
of artistic effect, and willing, as has been said before, to
bear the expense of experiments towards improving them.
When all these conditions concur, the result is the closest
approach possible in our modern wholesale and commer-
cial production to the art work of ancient craftsmanship.
Happily, all these conditions concurred in the case of the
Yale and Towne Manufacturing Co., the unchallenged
pioneer in the production of artistic hardware in America,
and as a consequence the work of this kind produced here
within the present decade by them, and others who have
followed them, far surpasses in artistic merit that produced
in any other country, excepting only in France. France
is our only competitor in quality ; in cheapness of produc-
tion, and, therefore, in general acceptability,
there is no .competition, so much larger is
here the use of labor-saving machinery, and
to extensively has it been invoked by
American manufacturers without detriment
to the artistic quality of the product.
In range and variety there is no com-
parison between what may be seen in the
catalogues or in the show-rooms of the
leading American manufacturers. The ad-
vantage on the part of the American manu-
facturers in variety of design comes in part from the
much greater variety of the architectural styles ha-
bitually employed by American architects. While in
Europe the different rooms of a dwelling of much pre-
tension may be finished in different styles, or in dis-
tinct modifications of the same national styles, there
is no such variety, either in domestic or in commercial
architecture as obtains in this country. Greek, Roman-
esque, Colonial, Moorish, several phases of the Gothic
and several national varieties of the Renaissance, with
several subdivisions of each, are all current modes of
, .-j. School:
building to any one of which the interior fittings may It. Renaissance
About 1895.
School : LcuisXIV
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
541
be required to conform. Of each of these there are to be
had the objects of which "builders' hardware" consists,
designed and executed with archaeological accuracy
and with high artistic skill. Considering the fewness
and simplicity of these objects, escutcheon plates,
knobs, handles, hinges, etc., the wealth and profusion
of design which have been applied to them are wonder-
ful. The choice is no longer, as formerly, between
things plain and merely inoffensive and things "fancy"
and revolting. It is a choice between adornments that
are positively attractive, and the sum of which consti-
tutes one of the most striking and successful of Ameri-
can achievements in "applied art."
Although twenty years almost covers the period of
this artistic development, it has had many phases. At
the beginning of it the best that could be
had in this way was a costly material treated
with the utmost plainness. The refuge is
still regarded as the only safe one in some
parts of the United States, and, rather curi-
ously, especially in Boston, where the artis-
tic treatment of common objects might have
been expected, if anywhere, to receive a
welcome. As a matter of fact, the West,
which, as we have seen, was very largely Scll°o1 :
& J Romanesque
concerned through its designers, in the production of
this phase of household art, is still much in advance of
the East in its appreciation.
Costly materials, even the precious metals, are still
employed, but even in these "the workmanship sur-
passes the material," and equally beautiful results are
obtained from the humbler metals. The dictum of Mr.
Ruskin, which we quoted at the beginning of these re-
marks, has been triumphantly refuted by the work of
American foundries. Bronze is still the metal most
employed, but the adaptation to ornamental hardware
About 1896.
School : French
Renaissance.
542
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
of theBower-Barff process, which, if it does not ren-
der iron absolutely "rustless," at least very greatly
retards .and mitigates its oxidation, has given to
cast-iron a new availableness. This adaptation was
successfully made, after a series of experiments, by
the Yale and Towne Company, and unpainted and
confessed cast-iron thereupon became a noble as
well as a useful metal. In beauty of surface, in
plasticity, in "capability of fine line and graceful
shadow," it appears, for places and purposes to
which its use is appropriate, the most beautiful of
a11 This peculiar beauty it owes to the "dead
finish" which it is especially capable
r • • , * About 1805.
of receiving and to the successful school : E.kabethan.
efforts which have been made to attain a characteristic
treatment in design as well as in the details of execu-
tion.
The variety of surface finish which has been at-
tained is one of the most remarkable results of the
artistic development. When this began, the one sur-
face finish employed was the glittering generality of
a plain burnished surface, brass or bronze, and in work
of especial pretension and costliness silvered. For the
cheaper work the surface was japanned, with bright
ornament, relieved against a dull matte. Now, ex-
cept in iron work, a choice of three finishes is offered
to the purchaser. The first is burnished as before, the
second, a dead finish, and the third a texture given by
the employment of the sandblast, which is in some
cases and with appropriate designs the most attractive
of all. There is also a "clouded" effect obtained by
staining, and when this is applied to copper or bronze
in conjunction with the variety of surface obtained as
already explained by a simple manipulation of the
mould, a well-designed object takes on a picturesque
About 1895. and antique appearance. The word bronze, as em-
School : German
Renaissance.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
543
ployed in this industry, connotes a great variety of ef-
fects, extending apparently to the substance itself. In
some cases this variety is due to a real difference in
material resulting from a difference in the proportions
of the ingredients of the metal. In others it is the re-
sult of a chemical treatment of the surface. The brown
"statuary bronze," so called, appears as quite a different
materia^ from the yellow metal more commonly de-
noted. But perhaps the greatest achievement in the
treatment of bronze is the imitation by chemical pro-
cess of the patina which is the result in antiques of the
slow verduring of time. It is scarcely fair to describe
it as an imitation. Rather, it is a reproduction, ob-
tained by chemical agencies which apparently repeat
and accelerate the process of time. In the Bower-Barff
About 1892.
School : Colonial, process of treating iron, the whole material undergoes
an actual chemical change which protects it against
oxidation. The patina artificially produced upon
bronze is a deposit which affects the surface only;
but the evidence seems to be that it is the same
patina as that produced by centuries of exposure.
The common imitations of this patina by pigment
are untrustworthy, transient, and some of them
seem to be actually dangerous to health. The patina
chemically produced is the thing itself. It may be
produced in several different ways, and with cor-
responding differences of effect, and it is one of the
highest achievements of the American development
of artistic hardware, which in turn is one of the most
important contributions of this country to the ad-
vancement of industrial art.
MONTGOMERY SCHUYLER.
About 1893.
School : Louis XV.
544
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
. 8
5 «
o
Oh
o
H
H
H
O
H
O
£ GO
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 545
PROGRESS IN LOCK-MAKING AND
ART METAL-WORKING.
OF these two allied arts, rightly classified among the many
handmaids of architecture, the first has been revolution-
ized and the second practically created during the period
since 1870.
Lock-making in America has largely been influenced by national
character and environment. The locks first made here naturally fol-
lowed European practice, but almost from the beginning a differen-
tiation began by the substitution of cast for wrought metal. The
European locksmith has always worked chiefly in wrought metal,
fashioning it by hand into the finished product, whereas in America
the higher cost of labor has precluded the employment of artisans
of this type and compelled resort to less costly methods of produc-
tion. Influenced by these facts, the American lock-maker turned
naturally to cast material in place of wrought, stimulated thereto by
the superior quality of American cast iron. This change of material
greatly reduced the cost of production, and soon led to changes in
design from which was developed the now familiar American type of
lock. The methods of production thus adopted minimized labor by
producing in the foundry castings practically ready to be assembled
and requiring only a trifling amount of drilling, filing or polishing
to convert them into finished locks. But few machines were re-
quired, and these of the simplest character. The product was hand-
some in appearance, of good mechanical action and admirably served
its purpose. Thus stood the art in 1870. The leading lock makers
desired and sought steadily to improve their product, but unfortu-
nately influences were at work to pervert their methods of manufact-
ure and to deteriorate the product. Competition, always active,
prompted efforts to reduce the cost which ended in great debasement
of quality, especially in the cheaper grades of goods, and under these
conflicting influences the mechanical advancement of the art halted.
35
,546 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
At about this time there was quietly introduced in the American
market a novel lock product destined to revolutionize the industry.
This was the outcome of the invention, by Linus Yale, Jr. (then the
leading American maker of BankLocks),of a key-lockfor general use
of the tvpe now known throughout
mfim^ the world as the Yale Lock. Its
/^^x^^-^™^ most striking feature was its key,
. L.Y^:EE;li|||ii;piiL^lf .
' w\sf ilpP^ the original form of which is shown
M|||pl^ by Fig. i. The mechanism of this
Fig. i.
lock precluded its production by
ordinary methods and necessitated the employment of machinery of
the same type as that already adopted in the manufacture of firearms,
sewing machines, etc. The makers of the Yale Lock were therefore
forced to evolve new methods of production suited to the new pro-
duct, and this fact in turn had a marked influence upon the product
itself. The new product was thus subjected from the outset to two
dominating influences, emanating from the characters and aims of
the men by whom the enterprise was started, viz., that resulting
from the application of new ideas and inventions involving radical
departures from accepted lines of construction, and that resulting
from a higher ideal of mechanical execution and the utilization for
this purpose of improved machinery and processes.
The standards adopted in connection with the new product thus
begun have since been so generally incorporated into American prac-
tice as to call for a brief reference to their origin. The new industry
was organized in October, 1868, at Stamford, Conn., by Linus Yale,
Jr., and Henry R. Towne. The former died prematurely in Decem-
ber of the same year and the enterprise, under the corporate name
of the Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., has since been conducted by the lat-
ter as President ; its work, which originally required only thirty em-
ployees, now requiring, under normal conditions, over fifteen hun-
dred, and its products now embracing a vast variety of articles.
The fundamental features of Mr. Yale's invention were (1) a small
flat key; (2) the combination of this key with pin-tumblers; (3) a
tumbler case or "cylinder" bearing- a fixed relationship to the surface
of the door and connecting with the bolt work in the lock case; and
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 547
Fig. 2.
(4) the adoption of heavier parts and better proportions in all import-
ant details. Among the many features since added by those who have
carried forward the work so well begun by Mr. Yale are (5) the
adoption of a high standard of mechanical design; (6) the employ-
ment in manufacture of the most modern machine tools and pro-
cesses, and <f) the application to the visible parts of locks and other
hardware of the true principle of
decorative art, which was accom-
plished by seeking the co-operation
of architects and other professional
designers in this field.
The original flat key of Mr. Yale
was superseded about 1882 by the improved Corrugated key, shown
by Fig. 2, and this in turn, about 1892, by the still better "Paracen-
tric" key now used with all genuine Yale Locks and shown by Fig. 3.
The principal features of the
Yale system, the "cylinder," pin-
tumblers and key, are shown in
their proper relationship by Fig. 4.
At first conditions involved im-
plied, unavoidably, much higher
cost for the Yale Locks than for those of ordinary character, but this
difference has steadily diminished until to-day the Yale Lock is the
accepted standard for all uses where excellence or security are the
requirements. Recog-
nizing the fact that, for
many uses, locks of less
elaborate character are
needed, the makers of
the Yale Lock undertook,
years ago, to elevate the
character of common locks by designing and making a complement-
ary line of Builders' Locks having the same high quality of design
and workmanship as the Yale Lock, but comparing in cost with locks
of the ordinary type. To this end they introduced, about 1873, tne Kne
of "Standard Locks," the features of which, proving to be sound and
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
548 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
correct, have since become a standard in the trade and have been re-
produced more or less closely by all of the leading manufacturers, and
about 1890 made a further advance by introducing a mortise door
lock made of Wrought Steel in place of Cast Iron, which immediately
proved popular and was quickly followed by a line of wrought metal
locks made by the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, which
also have enjoyed large sale. Still later the Warner Lock Company
introduced a very attractive line of wrought steel locks, the popular-
ity of which has confirmed the soundness of this change in material.
Recently the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. has made a still more
radical advance by the introduction of its line of "Vulcan Locks," in
which every part is formed of wrought material, made by machine
processes end therefore interchangeable, and which embodies also
improvements in lock mechanism almost as radical as those of the
original Yale Lock. Other lock makers have followed many of the
leads thus opened, and. the whole product stands to-day on a higher
plane of design and execution than ever before, and the work of
American lock makers easily excels that of all others.
Comcidentally with the development of the art of lock-making in
America during the past twenty-five years, which has 'been traced in
outline above, there has occurred an equal, and in some respects more
surprising, development in the application to the hardware of orna-
ment (especially to that used with locks), of true principles of artistic
design. This subject is discussed elsewhere, and by more competent
authority, as to its artistic qualities and affects, but a few words con-
cerning it may be permitted here as to the mechanical developments
which made it possible.
The earlier efforts at decoration in hardware were feeble, crude and
meretricious. Credit is due to the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing
Comoany for being the first to perceive the onoortunity for better
things in this field and, by the introduction of their designs in "Com-
pression Bronze," about 1872, to introduce ornamental hardware thor-
oughly excellent in design and admirable in execution. A little later
further progress in this field was made by Hopkins & Dickinson, but
for some reason, possibly 'because the time was not yet ripe, these
early efforts were not persisted in and the advance was not main-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 549
tained. The stimulus of the Centennial Exhibition in 1876 upon
American art was speedily felt, however, in the field of hardware, and
soon resulted in a development of far-reaching character, described
elsewhere by the authority above referred to. In this, as in the line of
mechanical advancement, the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Com-
pany took the leading part, being greatly aided by the improved
methods of production which it had been forced to devise in accom-
plishing the improvements in design, workmanship and finish em-
bodied in its mechanical products, as already explained. Aided by
that experience, it found effective means for producing economically
the elaborate, beautiful and varied work of decorative character sug-
gested by the drawings of the architects and skilled designers whose
professional assistance it sought. In the attainment of this end it
made use of all the processes and appliances known to the arts of the
modeller, the molder, the chaser and the finisher, supplementing
them wherever advantageous by those of the metallurgist, the me-
chanic and the chemist.
Out of this union of old-world skill and training in the decorative
arts, and of new-world ingenuity and facility in the mechanical arts,
has sprung an entirely neAv product, rivalling in artistic qualities the
best work of the past and produced at a cost which makes it available
for almost every purpose of use or embellishment, thus bringing, in
this field of decoration, the true principles of art literally to the doors
of all classes in the community, and thereby contributing in no small
degree to the education of the people, both in the appreciation and
the employment of true art in all its forms.
We have mentioned here only the names of those who have been
leaders in the evolution of American locks and hardware during the
past twenty-five years towards higher mechanical and artistic ex-
cellence, but the efforts of these leaders have been greatly stimulated
and re-enforced by those of their competitors. It is true that in-
terested motives underlav these efforts, but in a certain sense that
statement applies equallv to all artistic work, and credit is none the
less due to those who have borne their part in the advancement of
this important national industry whose record we have endeavored
to trace in this brief outline.
HENRY R. TOWNE.
5 SO A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
LEADING HARDWARE FIRMS.
Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co*
The Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co., of No. 43 Chambers
street, is one of the foremost hardware producing concerns in Amer-
ica. It has in a great measure been instrumental in developing the
trade in artistic builders' hardware, to which branch its special at-
tention is given. It has not only kept pace with the wonderful de-
velopment of architectural detail in builders' hardware, but it has
been among the van in creating a demand for special and orig-
inal designs.
The works of the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Co. are located
in New Britain, Conn., where 1,600 hands are employed; a branch
plant is also operated in Dayton, O., and offices are situated in Lon-
don, Eng. ; Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, and the main office
in New York. The export trade is very large, and the high grade of
goods produced by this firm is as well recognized in Europe as
in America. Nearly sixty years have elapsed since the establish-
ment of this concern as a firm, and in 185 1 it was incorporated un-
der its present name. Pioneers in the production of wrought steel
door locks, which have now become so widely used, the company
has always maintained a progressive supremacy in the general hard-
ware trade. The directors are William G.Smythe, George J.Laigh-
ton, Louis H. Wales, Andrew J. Soper, Frank L. Hungerford,
Frederick N. Stanley, Daniel R. Howe, R. W. Parsons, Frederick
P. Wilcox. Mr. George J. Laighton is President; Louis H. Wales,
Treasurer; Theo. E. Smith, Secretary; Isaac D. Russell, Assistant
Secretary.
The Mallory-Wheeler Co*
The reputation of the Mallory-Wheeler Co., manufacturers of
door locks, door furniture and padlocks, is continental. The pro-
duct of this concern can be found all over the United States, not
only on account of its long establishment and connection with the
trade, but by reason of the unquestioned superiority of the articles
manufactured. The plant of the company is located in New Haven,
Connecticut. The business which was established in 1834, is now
the oldest lock manufacturing one in this country.
The main office from which the trade is directed is located in
New Haven.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 551
Sargent & Co*
Sargent & Co., who are about to remove to 149-153 Leonard
street, are one of the largest hardware firms in the world. The busi-
ness was established in 1852 by the brothers, Joseph B. and George
Henry Sargent, and has gradually grown to its present enormous
extent. Their factory in New Haven covers eight city blocks, and
is a thoroughly complete and "up-to-date" establishment, where al-
most all varieties of hardware are made, with special attention given
to builders' hardware in all the different styles and designs of the
present time. They are always at the front!
White, Van Glahn & Co*
The hardware establishment of White, Van Glahn & Co., of Nos.
15, 16, 17 Chatham Square, is one of the city's landmarks. It was
established in 181 2, and has never moved from that location. Sev-
eral generations have managed the business and have maintained for
the establishment a reputation which only age and honorable deal-
ing can attain. At the present time Edward C. Van Glahn is the gen-
eral manager. The company makes a specialty of builders' hard-
ware, their show rooms of which is generally considered to be the
finest display of that branch of hardware in the city. They have
furnished such buildings as the Central Syndicate Bldg., Sampson
Bldg., Woodbridge Bldg., Lord's Court Bldg., Hoffman House,
Daniel's Bldg., Sheldon Bldg., Stevens Bldg., besides a large num-
ber of churches and private houses.
552
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Lafayette Place.
COLONNADE ROW.
Alexander Jackson Davis, Architect.
(Built 1836.)
A REVIEW OF ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF WORK DONE IN NEW YQRK CITY
DURING THE LAST QUARTER OF A CENTURY
SOME persons, whose opinion of such matters we must always
respect, declare that Architecture with us is not a living art,
in the sense that Painting and Music are living arts, and
that, therefore, it is worth but little attention. Probably few will
deny that this opinion is in great measure correct. There would be
something hazardous, the most confident admirer of modern archi-
tecture must feel, in selecting even a single building in New York
City as indubitably of permanent, intrinsic value as fine art.
But, if Architecture as an enduring expression of the Beautiful
is dead, there is another sense in which it is as truly alive. Un-
questionably, it is a very vivacious, contemporaneous document. It
speaks the vernacular of our particular day as faithfully as ever
Gothic spoke that of the Middle Ages, or Doric that of the noon-
time of Greece. To be alive in this manner, and so to breathe with
the multitude the air of the street, may be to live poorly and dully
and ineffectively, but, distinctly, it is to live, and, therefore, to be
of some historical importance.
Now, if we recognize that Architecture in New York City dur^
ing the last generation has been "alive" in this sense, we are pre-
pared to find that its development has been directed, if not con-
trolled by the dominant factors of the history of the period.
Whether a work of art, or the art of a school, or of an age can be
accounted for sociologically, that is, by a study of the prevalent cir-
cumstances under which it was produced — the "general condition
of mind and of surrounding customs," to use Taine's famous for-
mula— is contestable, no doubt ; but nobody who will study the de-
velopment of Architecture in New York City during the last quarter
of a century will fail to observe how completely it reflects the chief
social facts of the time — the great growth of population, the amaz-
554
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CONTINENTAL BANK BUILDING.
Nassau Street, New York City.
(18G5.)
Leopold Eidlitz, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 555
NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING.
Broadway, s. w, cor. Leonard Street. Griffith Thomas, Architect.
(As planned in 18C8. Was remodeled in 1879.)
PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL.
(1870.)
East 70th and 71st Streets. The late Richard M. Hunt, Architect.
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Park row New York City.
THE TRIBUNE BUILDING
(1873.)
The late R. M. Hunt, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 55;
113-119 Broadway.
BOREEL BUILDING.
(1878.)
Stephen D. Hatch, Architect.
558 A HISTOKY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing increase of commercial energy, the rapid increment of wealth,
the marvelous development of mechanical ability. No adequate ac-
count of our Architecture can be given if a consideration of these
facts be omitted.
From this point of view it is interesting to look backward and see
the sort of conditions in which the professional practice of archi-
tecture, as we understand it to-day, began in New York.
It is not necessary to fix upon a precise date. Certainly, if we
place the beginning of the modern era in matters architectural some-
where about the middle of the century, we date it accurately enough.
A year or two is of small account, for in 1850, and for some time
before and after, architecture in the United States was at its lowest
ebb. It was virtually extinct. The early forces that had produced
the "Colonial" work and the "Greek revival" had quite spent them-
selves. The "Gothic revival" had hardly set in. It is
usual, we know, to - date the beginning of that, our third
architectural dispensation, from the erection of Trinity Church
in 1846; but really, the influence of the English renascence
of Mediaevalism was not fully felt on these shores until
many years after the completion of Upjohn's work. In-
deed, in 1850, there were few architects practising w.ho possessed
either the sane -predilections of talent or the ready appreciation con-
ferred by sound training, necessary to make them susceptible to the
gospel of the Victorian Gothic. We were in a state that required
the attention of the missionary with his simple preaching of the ele-
mentary decencies, rather than the doctrines of the English evan-
gelists. Even the small body of serious designers at work at that
time — and how few they were! — were without tradition or common
standard, or intellectual co-operation of any effectiveness. Un-
iiecesssary to add, there was no educated public. In New York
City, the "Brownstone Period" had set in, and there must always
be something pathologically curious about the mental condition
of a community that could regard with positive satisfaction the ex-
tension over acre after acre of a stereotyped repetition of the utterly
trivial details of "the brownstone front."
Let us not be misunderstood when we speak of a beginning. We
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 551;
are not referring to any clearly defined event. In 1850 no St. Au-
gustine of a new art landed on these shores. Our beginning
amounts simply to this: If we trace back the forces that to-day
control architectural design we find them in a merely nascent
condition about the middle of the century. Many years elapsed
before the new influences manifested themselves decisively in archi-
tectural practice. Indeed, so far as actual design is concerned, the
beginning of the modern era might be carried down to the years that
immediately followed the war — for convenience sake let us say 1870.
Few buildings of any architectural importance erected prior to that
date remain in the city, and so completely have conditions changed
that the structures themselves that do remain are, we may say, posi-
tive encumbrances upon the land. It is extraordinary how extreme
a "modern instance" New York is and to how great an extent
one generation has been compelled (due mainly to geographical re-
strictions) to tread down the abodes of its predecessors in the forced
northward march of population and in the necessitated shifting
of trade centres which has accompanied the expansion of the city.
In the very nature of things the bald and monotonous repetition
of the Brown Stone Age could not satisfy perpetually even the bar-
barians that produced it. There was a revolutionary force in the
mere increase of population and wealth which has always been a
prominent social phenomenon in the United States and which was
markedly present in the middle of the century. New require-
ments and different standards of life were forming. There is a
restlessness and a spirit of impermanence in activity, and it was
inevitable that a community that was growing rich, beginning to
travel greatly up and down the earth, coming into closer touch
commercially and intellectually with the rest of the world, develop-
ing and building much, should sooner or later make new demands
upon the architect.
Adoption was the only method of escape from the barrenness of
eighteen-hundred-and-fifty. Originality, in a primitive sense, is al-
ways out of the question. The idea of a "great American style" was
not unknown at the time we speak of, but it was as impotent then
as it ever will be. As to innovation — that second sense of originality
560
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE MORSE BUILDING.
Nassau St., northwest corner Beekman St. Silliman & Farnsworth, Architects
(1879.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 561
Broadway, New York City.
36
THE GUERNSEY BUILDING.
,0_ The late R. M. Hunt, Architect.
(1881.)
562
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
p»^
^^^R^
jgBfct|jMte i '"'"-?
^mB
|^^^^^^ i "~\~
*^Ij? ^f^^jffi^Mf
iPliSisMHHfiSsiiilLi **
^K^l?l1Bi
Hull
H^fiP^aF
\Jm
jPfefflf
Mis
^^^^tg^^^^a »«r pi
iiyiyj!
"mum'-/ •■■■ -T®.
IPifll
iip!
^^uP^ti^^P^lK^^K^^^SFwi^ a . j*m* H
|jppf
,:a.;_«ffli
JBHliyBinfcJBmi TP*n* ^ti* ^fc£
a^^K 1 I f i '
IE8rSE»l
'.' H/ W k/ $?$/'&
Wss^
If W apl!i!i§
ML
SRIK? $^
i i* L- .!-• c. Ii.,
s^B t„
KEUli
Kr^
^^^^■p^
K(!
1 U 1
-•■■ "firs, |
i'fljf It*
1 ii i i I i 1
^^S»ri!iu.T
ipj^e^ps^^
IFB^K^K^bIjH
' 1 m
5 : >i
l{'i! U
r— ^
1 ™
^H
!! ^
-,. -v* .fen
^H ^
'••■- V ^
■^•^r:
■■•'■
THE POST BUILDING.
Exchange Place, Broad Street and Hanover Square.
(1881.)
George B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 563
<
m
o
<
a
o
X
H
H .
O ,
PL,
W
564 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
— it, to be fruitful and more than left-handed work, must be a final
process, a step after the very last acceptance of human experience
has been profoundly made. As matters stood in these United States
in 1850, there was extremely little to accept; indeed, scarcely
anything to serve as a basis for solid artistic work.
Yet how important is the basis, the tradition with which
the artist begins! We often hear talent and genius spoken of as
though they were free agencies, capable of producing their effects
as completely in one place as in another, "out of their own heads,"
as children say. Scarcely ever is the fact recognized that position —
the point at which the individual is started on his own career by the
previous labors of others — determines decisively the product of
p-enius. Art, it has been said, is an invention, and it advances
by passing on the gains of each generation to those that follow.
The artist who begins work low in the scale of development may
excel in his generation and greatly influence those that follow him,
but his creations must fall far short of the highest standard. To
realize how important the traditional element is we have only to
imagine two writers of equal native talent, one reared in Finland,
the other in France, and then estimate the difference that would ex-
ist between the value of their respective work.
In 1850, so far as architecture is concerned, the United States was
Finland. We had no stock of native precedents, no fund of fruitful
ideas, no developed training; in a word, no fecund tradition such as
we have been talking of. There was really nothing at home for the
architect of talent to begin with. He was forced to act as the colo-
nists had acted before him — import.
There were two sources of inspiration to which the architect
turned: England and France. Given a choice to-day there is no
doubt which would most attract an American. Forty years ago,
however, the United States was not completely an artistic colony of
France, and our kinship with the land which is facetiously styled
the "mother country" was not the remote and attenuated connection
it has since become. We were still centered in England. The hered-
itary instinct for the old home was not yet dead. Besides, at the mo-
ment England was stirring under the stimulus of perhaps the most
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 565
vehement development of architecture in modern times— the Gothic
revival. This mediaeval renaissance was in 1850 approaching its
meridian. A. W. Pugin's career was almost ended. W. Butter-
field, J. L. Pearson, G. G. Scott, had been busy for many years.
Barry's Houses of Parliament were nearly completed, and Ruskin,
who had already published "The Seven Lamps of Architecture,"
was preparing the "Stones of Venice/' which appeared in 1861.
The Gothic revival was the product of so much enthusiasm, ear-
nestness and aspiration that it would have been curious had
our impoverished architects remained uninfluenced by it. The
American phase of the Gothic revival, however, was not fully de-
veloped until after the war. We might use George Meredith's
phrase and say only its "progenitorial foundation,'" belongs to the
earlier period we are here considering.
Trinity Church unquestionably awoke local interest in the new or
reviving style. That building, for the period, was an important un-
dertaking, and, especially when conjoined with the historical asso-
ciations of the site on which it was placed, was of a nature to render
particularly conspicuous the innovations of its architect. But, alone,
it was insufficient to count for much, even as a contributary cause, in
the production of a phenomenon so great as the Gothic revival.
The force that really was at first effective in America, more so in
this country than in England, was not architectural but literary.
There were no Gothic monuments in the United States
to inspire study or provoke imitation. The architectural
associations of even the Episcopal Church in the New
World were not with Gothic, but with the classical forms
that Wren made popular. The mediaeval spirit, so far as
architecture is concerned, never touched our soil. We possessed
none of the picturesque remains and gray solemnities which sur-
vived throughout England to authorize, as with the force of an an-
cient decree, the acts and doctrines of the Gothicists. At first it was
through letters, especially through the writings of Ruskin, that the
Gothic revival reached these shores. Later on, indeed, our archi-
tects felt the direct influence of English architectural example; but
then a reaction was commencing abroad, and other ideas were turn-
;66
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Broad Street, New York City.
MILLS BUILDING.
(1882.)
George B. Post, Architect
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 567
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY'S BUILDING.
Broad Street.
(1883.)
Henry J. Hardenbergh, Architect.
568
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
a
u
Z
H
Q
w
H
m
t-i CO
pq ci
Ss
H ■
n ^
E oo
>
o
o
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 569
THE MUTUAL LIFE BUILDING.
Nassau Street, New York City. Chas.
(1884.)
W. Clinton, Architect.
570 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ing the profession in England in new directions. Despite the talent
it enlisted, the revival in the United States was never more than a
secondary and derived effort — the exotic of an alien sentiment. It
was doomed in England because its strength was of the past. It was
doomed here, as all purely imitative efforts must be, because if
possessed no native element. We could not say even this much with
the Englishman:
"and yet, and yet —
How could it be? We strove not to forget;
Rather in vain to that old time we clung,
Its hopes and wishes round our hearts we hung,
We played old parts, we used old names in vain."
The other importation, made about the middle of the century,
which was nearly as alien and for as many years after its first adop-
tion quite as infertile as the Gothic, came from France. It was in 1855
that the late Richard M. Hunt returned to New York from his pro-
fessional apprenticeship abroad. We do not know whether Mr.
Hunt was actually the first American student at the Ecole des
Beaux Arts. There can be no question, however, that he was the
first to use effectively in the United States the results of Parisian
scholastic training, and his professional success and personal force
undoubtedly contributed greatly to "advertise" the great French
school among American architects. When Mr. Hunt returned
home, current Continental ideas and traditions had scarcely more
force in American architecture than they received from the work
of men who came to the United States from the other side,
and Whose hereditary instincts, if not their training, were European,
men such as Leopold Eidlitz, who by the way worked as draughts-
man on the designs for Trinity church, the late Henry Fernbach, the
late Detlef Lienau and others. We speak here of Mr. Hunt's exam-
ple merely for its chronological significance. Many years elapsed
before his influence was powerfully felt in his profession, and then
his example had been reinforced by one greater than he, for it was in
1862 that H. H. Richardson made his first return from Paris, start-
ing his active professional career afterwards in New York in 1865.
Native talent might begin with worse materials than those obtained
by a hospitable eclecticism. The weakness of modern American
architecture is not due to the borrowed capital it has used, but to the
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 571
insignificance of the subsequent national contribution to the original
stock. We have remained borrowers. That is the trouble. Our his-
tory is, in the main, an affair of other people's currency. Instead of
persistently and consistently developing our own ideas, even though
it be from a starting point of some one else's ideas, we have per-
sisted with nothing. We have been satisfied with importing some new
"style" every decade. We have impressed it upon churches,
residences, mercantile and governmentail 'bHildirigs, exhibited it in
stone, clay and iron, covered the land with it, then summarily dis-
carded it for some fresher importation. This is not the development
of an art: it is merely the method of the milliner, qualified by longer
"seasons" and more durable "old clothes." Gothic, Queen Anne,
Romanesque, Classic, Academic French — how tiresome the enumer-
ation of these superficial renderings of European ideas that have had
their vogue with us for a time! Not one left any permanent resid-
ium, or contributed any element to the inherent artistic possessions
of the nation. We know more "things" now than we did in 1850.
We are more facile ; perhaps we can choose better — but that is the
net result of our efforts. It is merely a matter of readier draughts-
manship. Evidently, in 1850, we were in Timothy Tickler's frame
of mind: "For many years I lived very comfortably without a wife;
and since the year 1820 I have been a monogamist. But I confess
that there is a sameness in the system. I should like very much to
try polygamy for a few years. I wish Milton had explained the
duties of a polygamist ; for it is possible that they may be of a very
intricate, complicated, and unbounded nature, and that such an ac-
cumulation of private business might be thrown on one's hands
that it could not be in the power of an elderly gentleman to overtake
it."
Certainly, polygamy is the system according to which we have
lived, and our practices have resulted in an accumulation of intricate
and complicated business, quite beyond the artist's talents. It does
not do to noise the statement abroad, but the fact is acknowledged
frankly by those to whom the noble art of architecture is a matter
of real concern, that the history of the last quarter of a century is,
in great measure, the history of the process whereby the Architect
572
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY'S BUILDING.
(1884.)
Fifth Avenue and 23d Street. - Henry J. Hardenbergh, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 573
COTTON EXCHANGE.
Hanover Square, New York City. George B. Post, Architect.
(1885.)
574
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
LINCOLN BUILDING.
Union square, New York City. R. h. Robertson, Architect.
(1885.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 575
THE GALLATIN BANK BUILDING.
Wall Street, New York City. Cady, Berg & See, Architects.
(1886.)
576 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
— the artist — has been ejected from the profession. Terms of cour-
tesy long outlive their original application. We may therefore con-
tinue to speak of the practice of architecture as a profession, but in
strict truth it is become more of a business than a profession, and a
very severe business, conducted under conditions and upon prin-
ciples exactly paralled in pursuits which are regarded as purely
mercantile. The age selects the type, and the man for the times
has not been the artist but the architectural "drummer," the fellow
with the commercial instinct well developed.
In 1850, as we have seen, architecture in this country started on
its modern course in a second-hand way. Progress was slow. For
twenty years, perhaps we might say for twenty-five years, the bulk
of the work done was of the dull mechanical Renaissance type
which received its most grandiose expression in the designs of
Griffith Thomas and John Kellum. Conspicuous relics of it are
the Park Bank Building on lower Broadway, and the old A. T.
Stewart mansion on Fifth avenue. That sort of work was produced
with the prolificness and the capacity of machinery for repetition.
It was admired. There is, we know, nothing in the whole reper-
toire of architecture that captures so completely the "fellow in the
street" as the Corinthian column and its stereotyped accessories.
These are the flowers— the immortelles— of architectural rhetoric.
The illiterate never tire of them. The architects who were capable
of producing this sort of work in abundance figured as the "suc-
cessful architects" during the period of which we are speaking.
The more serious, considered work of the time, the National Acad-
emy of Design on 14th street, for example ; the old Produce Ex-
change, Temple Emanu-el on Fifth avenue, the Brooklyn Art Build-
ing on Montague street, was cavaire to the general. The attempts
to naturalize Gothic and adapt it to secular purposes were never
accepted. Few buildings of the "revival" remain in New York,
and they serve merely as monuments of a lost cause, and as witnesses
to the first artistic purpose that was manifested in our architecture
after post-Colonial days.
Given sufficient time and steadier conditions, perhaps something
vernacular and permanent might have resulted from the attempt
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 577
to re-establish Gothic. As much may be said, of course, of any of
our many revivals and importations. Hammered at long enough, a
native element might have been welded to the borrowed material.
But the time necessary for the process was not given. The outbreak
of the war checked the course of architecture in the United States
as it checked all other pursuits of peace. The years of conflict were
lost years to the art, years, we may well believe, of irretrievable
value, because when the nation returned to its interrupted vocations
the resumption was attended by intensity and pressure previously
unknown. Had American architecture been more firmly estab-
lished, richer in tradition and ideas, surer of its direction, the
tremendous call made upon it after the close of the war would have
been an opportunity of vast value. As a matter of fact, our archi-
tects were in no way prepared for the multitude of problems thrust
upon them. The profession was recruited in haste, and the work
done has been necessarily of the nature of a gigantic improv-
isation. We have been obliged to borrow and adapt instead of
creating and developing. The immense amount of work to be
dealt with has necessitated the acceptance of the easiest and speediest
processes. How vast this work has been may be seen from the
following table of the plans filed in New York City alone:
Period. No. of Buildings. Cost.
1868-1872 11,223 $180,008,999
1873-1877 6,916 89,099,913
1878-1882 11,248 155,086,823
1883-1887 17,287 256,667,648
1888-1893 15,992 305,791,124
1894-1897 (4 years) 13,095 291,090,215
But the pressure of the times is not revealed even by these large
figures. We must take into account also the revolutionary force of
innovations. This period has witnessed the general adoption of
the elevator, the introduction of the apartment house, fireproofing,
skeleton-construction, the sky-scraper, electric lighting, in addition
to a multitude of radical improvements in the sanitation, heating
and general equipment of buildings. In a score of directions the
mechanical activity of the age has operated powerfully upon and
greatly intensified the problems of architecture. Moreover, the in-
37
57*
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Hudson and Beach Streets.
WAREHOUSE.
(1880.)
Kimball & Ihnen, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
579
O
H
Q
<
H
w
00
GO
00
Ul
a
58o
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING.
Park Row, New York City. George B. Post, Architect.
(1889.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 581
LANCASHIRE FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY'S BUILDING.
No. 25 Pine Street, New York City. J. C. Cady & Co., Architects.
(1889.)
582 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
crease of travel and the enormous addition to wealth which have
occurred in the last quarter of a century, have profoundly affected
public taste. The most luxurious standards of European life have
been, as it were, by a common impulse set up in this country and
democratized. As a consequence, our architects have been called
upon in this direction also to satisfy requirements which barely ex-
isted in 1850.
While considering architecture and the work of the architect, we
must be careful not to run into any confusion as to exactly what the
matters are with which we are dealing. There is a great deal oi
loose talk current about modern American architecture. It is com
mon to attribute to Architecture much that is really Engineering.
The skyscraper, for instance, in the sense which it impresses most
people, is not an affair of Architecture at all. The architect is
scarcely more responsible for that daring type of construction than
he is for the cantilever bridge. One or two men, it is true, just with-
in the limits of the profession, but whose ability and training were
far stronger on the mechanical side than the artistic, took part in
the inception of the idea of skeleton-construction. The develop-
ment of the system, however, has been the work of the engineer.
It is entirely in his hands to-day. This is also true of the elevator,
that other innovation which has played an equal part with the steel
framework in the production of what is par excellence the type of
American structure. With the development of sanitary appliances,
the improvement of building materials, the introduction of electric
light and power , the use of fireproofing, and so forth, the architect
has taken a decidedly subordinate part. He has rarely been the in-
novator. So far as the affair of actual invention goes, that is
natural enough. But in another direction, wherein he might
properly be expected to have exerted an influence, he has not done
so — these improvements have not in any great measure been the re-
sult of his demands or of his perception of the requirements of his
clients. He has not subjected himself, as the Engineer has wholly,
to the force of the actual needs of his day. He has been content to
deal with these at second-hand while he has been busy, too exclu-
sively in the judgment of many, with the superficial side of design.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 583
Problems that should have been of prime concern to him have been
left to others for consideration and solution. We are not referring
only to mechanical matters. Take, for example, the plan of the tene-
ment house in New York and the plan of the city residence. The
types, now almost fixed, are principally the work of the contract
builder and the builders' draughtsman. While these Philistines
have been laboring, and laboring successfully, with the intracta-
bilities of the 25-foot lot and the task of housing with some com-
fort the population of a little village within arbitrary areas, the
chief contributions of the "elect" of the profession have been the ex-
amples from which the illiterate "artchitect" has derived the misap-
plied features of his disturbing exteriors.
This is not the place to discuss the proper function of the Archi-
tect. Perhaps by a natural differentiation of pursuits his function
has necessarily suffered limitation. This limitation, however, is a
cardinal fact in the history of the last quarter of a century. Few of
our architects have possessed any original talent for construction
or evinced any decided ability for the scientific side of their pro-
fession. All that appertains thereto has been rather bothersome.
It has been necessary to deal with it, and so it has been dealt with,
for the most part intelligently and often skilfully. But the treat-
ment has been rather executive and supervisory than direct and per-
sonal. The modern building is a product of many brains,* and the
architect's contribution consists in the main of administration, the
general plan, and the exterior design.
The exterior design is the element the architect has most cared
for In it he has been interested above all else. He has willingly
given study, thought and time to it, committing to others the diffi-
culties of engineering, sanitation, construction and similar utilities.
He has preferred the role of dilletante, which in architecture runs
*It has been calculated that there are forty- four distinct mechanical services in-
volved in the complete equipment of a modern office building, as follows.
1 Power supply. 16. Fixtures. 31 Filtration
2 BoHers 17. 3-wire system. 32. Fire service.
3 Chimney 18. Edison connection. 33. Janitor's service.
4 Grates 10. Gas. 34. Hot water.
5'. Fuel and storage. 20. Dynamos. 35. Ice water
6. Drainage and blow-offs. 21. Engines. 36. Telephones.
7. Labor fnd staff. 22. Piping. 37. Interior telephones.
8. Foundations. 23. Lagging. 38. Speaking tubes.
9 Elevators. 24. Steam heating. 39. BeLs.
10 Freieht e'evator 25. Automatic heat control. 40. Messenger service.
11 Sidewalk 'eleva.or. 26. Condensing. 41 Ticker service.
19' aX hoist 27. Feed heating. 42. Burglar alarms.
13' cSes 28. Ventilating fans. 43. Watchman's clock.
14 Indicators. 29. Office fans. 44. Time clocks.
15.' Electric wiring. 30. Water supp.y.
5«4
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE HOLLAND HOUSE.
(1889.)
Fifth Avenue and 30th Street. George Edward Harding & Gooch, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK, 585
WESTERN ELECTRIC BUILDING.
Church Street, New York City. C. L. W. Eidlitz, Architect.
(1889.)
586
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
g 2
CZ2 TO
<S
o .g
ps 6
H
o ;
PQ £
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 587
West 43d Street.
ACADEMY OF MEDICINE.
(1SS.9.)
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
588 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
invariably to history and studies in the externals of "styles." Its
practical result is draughrimariship and paper designing. Logical,
organic, substantial architecture requires more solid foundation.
Under these conditions it is natural enough that a very great part
of the work of the last quarter of a century is only very loosely re-
lated to structure. The architect has produced his pictures and
stylic essays, and these have been built as facades devoid of radical
correspondence with the internal disposition, and construction of the
buildings they enclose.
That is a poor way of doing architecture, but it is all the
poorer if the designer is pressed by the amount of work
he has to accomplish and harrassed by a perpetual demand
for something new. That has been the position in which our ar-
chitects have found themselves in an intensely busy and competitive
age. The task of- getting commissions and executing them
with the celerity clients demand has been in itself a consuming busi-
ness, particularly as the successful members of the profession
placed no limit upon the amount of work they were willing to
accept. Their draughting rooms have been converted into veritable
workshops. Conditions favorable to artistic study or production
have been replaced by the air and bustle of the banking house.
What with clients, contractors, material-men, the disbursing of
large sums of money, the urgency of work, the necessity for organi-
zation and a large staff of employes — the pursuit of architecture has
undergone a pretty thorough commercialization. The mercantile
spirit has conquered the studio, and "Art" there has become a com-
modity, a high-class commodity, it is true, but one such as is dealt in
in china factories and the workshops of silversmiths and furniture-
makers. Under conditions of this sort "styles," "novelties,"
"fashions," become matters of prime concern. They are competi-
tive elements. They impress the customer. They are of immense
importance too in "holding trade" and maintaining prices. In the
political economy of the tailor and milliner this fact has long been
accepted. Fashions are cheapened by time, but the "seasons" re-
establish values. Architecture, as a commodity, has .been subjected
to the same law, and step by step, as the profession has been com-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 589
mercialized in the last quarter of a century, greater attention has
been given to "styles."
Social changes rarely come about consciously. Men do not plan
for them. They are quietly imposed upon the individual whose
methods and ideas are insidiously moulded into conformity with the
new order. No announcements are made. The work is done, we
may say, diplomatically, by minute conversions and perversions of
the established order. The old activities of men continue, but they
tend to different results. The last matter to be touched is the out-
ward appearance of things. "Revivals," "reformations," all the pro-
cesses of return by which men imagine they may more firmly es-
tablish the doomed regime, only contribute to its downfall. It must
not therefore be imagined that the conditions we have just outlined
have been consciously produced by the architect. He is scarcely
aware of their existence. They have come despite him. His hard-
est struggle has been to be artist, and the irony of circumstances
has evolved from his efforts the fashionable shop, and a commer-
cialized profession. Even the pursuit of styles has been, on his part,
a labor to discover a solid foundation for his art. Gothic, Queen
Anne, Romanesque, Classic.
"Old things repeated with diminished grace,
And all the labored novelties."
each, alike, was enthusiastically adopted as a permanent basis for
modern work. Entirely hopeless the quest has been. The more we
have changed, the more we have remained the same. Not the in-
dividual but the conditions control, and as we have seen the condi-
tions of our day are too mechanical, commercial and rapid for the
artist. There is little place for him in the profession. The
sharp, practical executive with, perhaps, some taste for decoration,
is the successful man. In this fact we see the reason why the
Renaissance and the so-called "Classic" styles have persisted during
the last quarter of a century despite all attempts at innovation. The
formal elements of these styles have been completely stereotyped.
They can be produced mechanically. They constitute a set of
standard patterns or molds that anyone can use. They exactly suit
an age whose idea of progress is centered in interchangeable ma-
chinery and whose appreciation of art is chiefly a susceptibility to
magnitude and show.
59°
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CLINTON HALL BUILDING.
Astor Place, New York City. George E. Harney, Architect.
(1890.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 591
(1890.)
592
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE UNION TRUST BUILDING.
Broadway, south of Wall Street.
(1890.)
George B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
593
THE UNION TRUST BUILDING.
New Street front. George B. Post, Architect.
(1890.)
o'8
594 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Further on will be found tables in which are given lists of typical
buildings, planned for since 1868, and the chief work of some of the
more prominent architects of the day, chronologically arranged. The
tables, of course, are in no sense exhaustive. They are merely in-
tended to furnish a sufficient number of examples of current work
from year to year, so that any who may be interested may study in
the concrete the course of architecture in New York City during the
last quarter of a century. Some buildings are included in the list
solely for the personal interest attached to them as the work of men
who, a quarter of a century ago, were the celebrities of the profes-
sion, but are now forgotten, and, conversely, others of little intrinsic
merit are recorded because they represent the early efforts of men
who won for themselves later a prominent position in their vocation.
We have not deemed it necessary to go further back than 1868 —
the close of the war — for reasons already given. Although 1850 may
be regarded as the beginning of the modern era, very little work was
produced for twenty years of any particular architectural signifi-
cance. Besides, most of what was done, deserving even passing con-
sideration has been pulled down. A few buildings remain, however,
that deserve to be mentioned. Of Trinity Church we have spoken.
Trinity Building, No. in Broadway, remains as a belated
specimen of an old-time office building. It dates from 1853. Tne
Astor Library may be regarded as typical of the best class of build-
ing of its day devoted to public service. The south end was built
in 1854 and the middle part in 1859. The north end is much more
recent, dating from 1881 only. This building reminds us of the mid-
century interest taken in mediaeval things architectural, for, though
strictly speaking it is not a product of the Gothic revival, its design
is evidently based upon Gartner's Library in Munich, and so recalls
the Bavarian Romanesque movement of sixty years ago. St.
George's Church (1846- 1850) in Stuyvesant Square, is one of the
oldest ecclesiastical buildings remaining in the city and may be stud-
ied with Trinity Church as representing the best that was done in
the early period of which we are speaking. To a later date, 1856, be-
longs the old Produce Exchange that stood on the site on Whitehall
street now occupied by the clumsy Army Building. Some years
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 595
later, in 1862, the Academy of Design, 23d street and Fourth ave-
nue, was produced. A new edifice for the academy is now building
uptown, and it cannot be long, in the ordinary course of things, be-
fore this, the most interesting secular work produced by the Gothic
revival, is pulled down.
We are able to give a picture of the first townhouse designed by
the late Richard M. Hunt — the Rossiter residence, No. 11 West 38th
street, built in 1855, and demolished some time ago. See page — .
It represents not only the earliest product in New York of Parisian
training, but will serve as an example of design rather above the
average of its day. The Studio Building, West 10th street, also done
by Mr. Hunt (in 1856), remains, and may be studied as representa-
tive of a more utilitarian type of structure. r
With these "ensamples," the student who is not inflicted with
merely historical curiosity may be content. There is little more of
artistic value for him in the city dating earlier than 1868 and later
than 1850. With the close of War the real business of modern archi-
tecture began, and it began, as he will see from our tables, with the
florid Renaissance work of Griffith Thomas, Kellum and others,
such as the Park National Bank and the old New York Life Build-
ing, with the "iron front" structure of which the Gilsey Hotel and
the Tiffany store are examples, and with t/he final productions of the
Gothic revival.
It would be interesting to trace at some length the personal side
of architectural history, but too much space would be required. We
must mention, however, that Mr. Hunt, who had spent the troublous
years of the Rebellion in European study, had returned, in 1868, to
New York to resume the practice of his professiorlj*and Mr. George
B. Post was about to receive his first important commission— as en-
gineer rather than as architect — that for- the Equitable Life Build-
ing, associated, with Messrs. Gillam & Kendall. We mention Mr.
Hunt and Mr. Post because it may fairly be said they represent per-
haps more notably than any other two individuals the thoroughly
trained and technically educated element which, about thirty years
ago, commenced to gain an ascendancy in the profession. It is, per-
haps, invidious to select these two names from a list that includes
596
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE
"*'iOl
TELEPHONE BUILDING.
Broad Street, New York City. C. L. W. Eidlitz, Architect.
(1890.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 597
East lfith Street, New York City.
MARIA LOUISA HOME.
(181)0.)
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
598
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ENTRANCE TO THE CENTURY CLUB.
(18IK).) r
West 43d Street, New York City. McKim, Mead & White, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 599
EDISON BUILDING.
Broad Street, New York City. Carrere & Hastings, Architects.
(189.1.)
600 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
R. M. Upjohn, James Renwick, Chas. C. Haight, Russell Sturgis,
Edward H Kendall, but Mr. Hunt and Mr. Post attained at an early
date a prominence which came to others either later or in a some-
what lesser degree. It happened, moreover, that both of them ar-
rived on thq scene at the very moment when modern conditions were
first making themselves felt and just at the time when the novelties
and innovations, artistic and mechanical, that are the most conspic-
uous elements of modern architecture were about to be introduced.
Mr. Hunt and Mr. Post possessed, the one an artistic, and the
other a scientific preparatory training which have since become
requisite to good professional standing if not to financial success.
It so happened that both these men were called upon early in their
career to produce buildings that without unnecessary qualifications
may be considered new, as to type. In 1869 Mr. Hunt filed plans
for the Stuyvesant Apartment House on 18th street, 100 feet west of
Third avenue. These were the first flats in New York City, the
forerunners not only of a vast change in the social life of the city, but
of new problems for the architect. It is true the Stuyvesant flats
wTere produced by the reconstruction of old houses, but nevertheless
they were the first embodiment of new ideas, which were afterwards
more completely worked out. Perhaps the first building in the city
planned as an apartment house and constructed for that purpose
from cellar to roof, was The Jardine, still standing, in West 56th
street. It was designed by Mr. Jardine, of Jardine, Kent & Jardine,
in 1872, and was first occupied by tenants in the fall of that year.
For five years after 1868 very little architectural work of any in-
terest* was produced in the city, except in church design. Lord &
Taylor's store, on Broadway, corner of 20th street; the Seamen's
Bank for Savings, Wall street ; the Kemp Building, William and Ce-
dar streets ; the Drexel Building, Wall and Broad streets (one of the
first fire-proof buildings in the city), represent what was then con-
sidered first-class commercial buildings of more than average artis-
tic merit. In 1870 Mr. Hunt commenced the Presbyterian Hospital,
a restless building which exhibits a conflict between the Gothic
vogue of the day and Mr. Hunt's earlier training. The Lenox Li-
brary, another of Mr. Hunt's works, dates from 1871. It is a cold
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6oi
and stark building, but it possesses a stately and monumental char-
acter, which was a new element in American architecture at the
time. Its good qualities are French.
In 1873 the development of the high modern office building com-
menced, and the first steps — the Western Union Building and the
Tribune Building — were made by Mr. Post and Mr. Hunt. Both of
these buildings much overtopped the highest commercial struc-
tures then existing. Indeed, for many years they remained signal
examples as to altitude. Yet, undoubtedly, they indicated the new
requirements of the city, and would have been followed quickly
by other buildings of nine or ten stories had it not been for the long
depression that followed the panic of '73.
It is interesting to note that in these two designs the office
building was carried at a single bound to the utmost height made
commercially possible by the elevator. The old Western Union
Building was some ten stories high, and this was not exceeded by
more than one story, if by that, until the introduction of skeleton
construction.
Eighteen hundred and seventy-five is notable as marking the pass-
ing away of the old florid Renaissance type of design. The Dime
Savings Bank, 32d street and Broadway, and the Greenwich Savings
Bank, 71 Sixth avenue, were among the last important essays in this
species of mechanical design. Two or three years later the Gothic
tradition vanished as an element in general practice with the Metro-
politan Trust Co.'s Building, 37 and 39 Wall street, and the begin-
ning of Columbia College buildings by Mr. C. C. Haight. After
1878 a rather nondescript Renaissance was dominant for some years,
but in the lighter work of the period appeared what Freeman has
somewhere described as "that absence of style, called Queen Anne."
About 1880, the restless interest of the profession in "something
new" led to a rapid series of adaptations which has made American
architecture of the last twenty years the "thing of shreds and
patches" it is. For instance, in 1879, plans were filed for the Union
League Club and for the 57th street part of Cornelius Vanderbilt's
residence. In 1880 plans were filed for the Dakota Apartment
House, the United Bank Building, the Post Building, and for the
602
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
MORRIS BUILDING.
64 and 68 Broad St., New York City.
(1891.)
Youngs & Cable, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 603
.GcncftAi-orncc- duilding-
• DCLAVMt- LA(RAWAnnA-&-YVDTCf\h-I\-r\-0 •
C6 CXCHAM6C-PL-
•IVY-CITY.
(ISJll.)
L'C-Holocn • AncMiTur*
604
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Nos. 211 to 215 West 57th Street.
n •! .
AMERICAN FINE ARTS BUILDING.
(1891.)
H. J. Hardembergh, j
V. C. Hunting, . Architects.
J. C. Jacobsen, )
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6oq
West 44th Stret, New York City.
THE RACQUET CLUB.
(1891.)
C. L. W. Eidlitz, Architect.
606 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
office building at No. 55 Broadway. In 1881 plans were filed for the
Mills Building, for the Produce Exchange, for the Casino Theatre.
In 1882 the Union Theological Seminary was commenced, as well
as the Washington Building, the Villard residence, the Tiffany resi-
dence, and the Navarro Apartment houses. The chaotic list in-
cludes pretty nearly every style from Moorish to nondescript. Two
tendencies, perhaps, are noticeable in these examples. In one direc-
tion we may see the advent of a more accurate and scholarly render-
ing of the Renaissance styles than we had hitherto known, and
in another direction the struggle to retain the free picturesque qual-
ities of Gothic work, while discarding Gothic forms. The Tiffany
house, the Vanderbilt residence, the Union League Club, the office
building at 55 Broadway, are examples of this latter tendency. The
Post Building, Mills Building, Metropolitan Opera House (1881),
the Knickerbocker Apartment House (1882), Villard residence, the
Mutual Life Building (1883) represent the opposite tendency to-
wards the formal, the balanced — in short, the classic.
In the end the latter tendency proved to be the stronger of the two,
or, perhaps, we should rather say, it better suited the conditions of
the hour. Roman architecture and its Renaissance derivatives are
essentially styles of pomp and show, and pomp and show are essen-
tially the articles that the modern public seek when they go into the
market to buy "art," either for their homes or their places of busi-
ness and recreation. That is one reason for the success of the "clas-
sic" and cognate types, the forms that Clough had in mind when
writing,
"I, from no building, gay or solemn,
Can spare the graceful Grecian column."
That is one side of the matter — the public love for pompous and
rhetorical form. The other side of the matter is esoteric and profes-
sional. It is this: the successful architect to-day obtains an amount of
work quite beyond his capacity as artist. To retain this work and
execute it a large staff is necessary, and this force, if it is to accom-
plish work speedily, economically and without hitch, must operate
along clearly understood and well-defined lines. It is plainly impos-
sible for the head or even the heads of our great architectural estab-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 607
lishments to personally design more than a small part of the build-
ings intrusted to them. They cannot do more than direct and ad-
vise subordinates. For counsel to be easy on the one hand, and
prompt and sure of result on the other, it is requisite that the archi-
tect and his assistants should deal with a thoroughly understood
order of facts. Now, "classic" furnishes just such an order of facts.
It has been thoroughly methodized. It is taught in all the schools
as the alphabet of architecture, so that it is become really a species of
labor-saving device for the pressed and hurried architect. There is
nothing else that can possibly take its place in this regard. No large
office could be so thoroughly regimented and organized with any
"free" style as the basis of operation, hence in the last few years
architect after architect has discarded old predilections and adopted
"classic/' The only men who have been able to resist are a few
strong individuals, who, through fortune or misfortune, are not over-
burdened with commissions.
Near the middle of the eighth decade appeared what has been
called "The Romanesque Revival" in New York. For a brief space,
until 1890 or later, it dominated architectural practice. Romanesque,
of course, was not a new thing in this country at that time, but the ex-
periments of earlier days were quite forgotten. The later popular-
ity of the style was due to the brilliant success of H. H. Richardson
with certain Provencal ornamental details which he adopted, modi-
fied and used with remarkable effect. It was natural enough that his
famous Trinity Church at Boston (1877) should influence ecclesias-
tical work, but the adoption of the author's Romanesque manner in
a wholesale degree for residences, office buildings, stores and ware-
houses, is a very pointed example and proof of what has been said in
these pages about "fads" and "styles," and the modish nature of mod-
ern architectural practice. The best examples of the style in New
York are the Times Building, the United States Trust Building, the
Union Trust Building (1889), Market and Fulton Bank (1888), the
Telephone Building, Cortlandt street (1887); St. Agnes' Church
(1889). To these must be added the later works of Cyrus L. W. Eid-
litz, such, for instance, as the Raquet Club (1891), on West 44th
street ; the Telephone Building, Broad street ; the Bank for Savings
6o8
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
RHINELANDER BUILDING.
Rose Street, New York City.
(1892.)
Clinton & Russell, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 609
RHINELANDER BUILDING.
Rose and Duane Streets, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1892.)
39
6io
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE PIERCE BUILDING.
Northwest corner Hudson and Franklin Sts. Carrere & Hastings, Architects.
(1892.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6ll
^^■."jWNkKji^^,
THE POSTAL TELEGRAPH COMPANY'S BUILDING.
Broadway, cor. Murray Street. Harding & Gooch. Architects.
(181)2.)
612 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
(1893-4), 22d street and Fourth avenue. Long before the latter date,
however, the profession had utterly discarded the style which it
had so enthusiastically taken up.
Following the Romanesque revival, the profession returned to the
Renaissance, if, indeed, we may speak of a "return" to forms which
had never been dropped by many practitioners. Much of the new
work that was done was patterned after Italian buildings of the six-
teenth century. The transitional details of the period of Francis the
First, were also received with favor. The latter may be seen in build-
ings, such as the Home Life Building (1892), the addition to Corne-
lius Vanderbilt's residence (1893), the residence of John Jacob Astor
(1893) — the last important design of Mr. R. H. Hunt — the Fahy's
Building (1894), etc. At the same time, largely through the influ-
ence of McKim, Mead & White, the use of strictly Roman details
became popular. The Bowery Savings Bank (1893) is a good ex-
ample of this work. From 1893, moreover, may be dated the im-
portation of the Academic Beaux-Arts manner, which is now the
latest mode in architecture. Carrere & Hastings, it is true, designed
the Pierce Building on Hudson street as early as 1890, and the Mail
and Express Building in 1891, but these buildings were rather
French than Academic. The Life Building (1893), tne Scribner
Building of the same year, the Herter residence (finished 1894), the
Young residence (1895), the Hotel Renaissance (1895), and the Sin-
ger Building (1897), are prominent examples of a fashion which is
likely to be in great favor for a year or two to come, but which is as
sure to be superseded by some other adaptation as was the Gothic,
the Queen Anne, and the Romanesque and those other departed
"fads" of which we have spoken.
WILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 6l 3
Cortlandt Street, New York City.
HAVEMEYER BUILDING.
(1S<)_\)
George B. Post, Architect.
614
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
CORN EXCHANGE BANK BUILDING.
Corner Beaver and William Streets.
(1892.)
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
615
o
GO
O
CQ
<
y
a.
H
O
H
GO
y
a
o
o
2
o
u
20
to
00
o
*ti §
2 -° 02
43
H
a;
2 •
•r-> J-, O
<d a3 o
o .
O 1-3
4 S
p o
be p
& i
3 5 5 &
■— < ah -m rr^ ,_i
<" r
Hi Ll,
3 ^
43
o
m Hi ^ ft
«« „• >> Ph .,•
T3
£3 S3
rj CD
O \A
CO W
cc ed
s B „
o? D Id °8 W
g^w
i M
£ £ M W '«
«M ^
bo
£ O
P W
02 £J •
^ JC r
T5
ccj
1-3 O O 1-5
o ^
o ^
43 Oi '
P +J o
£*
^ cc
2 b
£ C
CI
43 a
w
1 a rH 02
o
>
co
43
-M -(-' k-H
LO 1£j 1^
CD _
> g <u
d g c
<-. CD CD
o
e? CO
CO <D
co £
£ co
^ o «w
S> O
re) 72
o ?
o co
00
co ce
£ "3 *
^ «M O
O
r-( 6 -M
O t* d)
o ° o 0)
+j r, r-i -m
w CO
4J '2 W
-O C ^J
cd 4J"
M CO
CO
1"!
^ 1-;
'E °
^ .2
3 be be bJD be &JD
2 a c c a c
« 2 2 S 2 2
o 2 S 21 S 2
^ (D <D <D CD 0)
^ * * £ * *
a; ^
ft aJ
ft CQ
PQ
«M CO CQ
be be . £ bo
0 h °
^. rt ^
CQ !> PQ
o3 to
^ ^ C
CU T3 «H ^ ^
bo 3
CD (-4
p ^
02 P
.„ -J co
2 2 W to 2 O
* * ^ X S 2
•° -0 .s s ,2
^ ^ ^ ^ b
-M 4-> X -t-* -^ t>
m xsi P 02 02 p-
,0
CO
o
U
O
O r^
A £
u 2
43 ^ ^
c *
O & l
J2 K t
5!
U 02
4->
O
C
CO
be
Eh
*2
0
'3
42
O
0)
O
0
J2
0
€
02
O
ce ^ d
rg T3 rg "i
oj rt cj -
C p o 5
PQ PQ PQ K
o
s § a
£ PQ O
CD r-H W
<w -^ fl
•q CO
J S5 <«
^ Pm
o
be 0 bo
•2 s .2
^ ,c tJ
^ +j 42
>^ ,j«4 -w -w 'V fll
23 r^i m m —! ir
bo bo
2 2
T3 rg
CD
CO
2 *
w 0 w
o cq o
€ 2 .
o 02 1
Si*
CO O)
P. CO
•£3 ca
s41
o <u
® s
as
Q»CJ
1-1 a)
^6
PQ OS
^B
*■* o
S^
v be
O) C
03*
* -a
6i6
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
hJ
a*
CD
30
co co tn
7j T3 'O n3
u d d »-i
. 2 oJ oj oj
2 ^ Ji O) W
| g <*} og Qg
44
^ «'<« .2 2 o g O
e d
O H > * tf tf
>
C<3
m §
^ .5
O <L>
X 4h d ^
«,^
o§hS
£ > > 80
ro o o u_r
., .2 .2 M
s5 ^ ^ rr«
* S 5 S
Oh £ S £
03 CQ
s s
* 08 S
X x 2
■2 ^ s
d d ^
•0; CD 0j
M « O
3 W 3
0) 3 ^ O
5 -a £ o
S S « = I*
02
5 ^
aT C
o3 d
a 2
a to
s 3 • •' *
o3 *-" _
~ o p <y
d w
2 0) o <v
>
3^
0i
S e ^
^ £ 0 W
02
en
co QQ
3 w
H tf
o3
CO O
o
oi <v
co
•° o £
" £ M ^r
CQ (-I 3 co
.J CO ^
43 T3
,3 +-> (M
§^
f-i O
o o
g 5
3 -2
oj .
c« o3
15 »S
02
CO
t. ^ JS -M
*5
^i o
> S > "
<h CD ^1 X
o3 o3
03 03
^ o ^*
3
CQ
ft ^ «M
* c °
o .a
CO o
3 £
O W2
w to K g
5 3 5 §
•i5g
o3 o3
o3 o3
o o
CQ
o
o
^
CD
CO
rH
lO
u
aT
l-
o
ti
co"
o
o3
co"
<D
3
d
o*
CO
d
OJ
^J
+J
„
d
CO
CO
>
o
£
JZ
'3
o
£
^
D
^
iO
lO
;8S
5 CO
CO
O so
> w
* >
o3 3
3 -£ &
Ci QC LO
aj W
•« .5
5p a c
43 ,d '
a a
CO CO .
o o
Ha H3
s ^ ^
u d
3 "3 °
3
«v o M
^2.SJ
O CQ
O
O V
o 2 -m
. ^ PQ
O w °S^
o ^3
'" o3
be to
d d
be co ffi w •. w
C *W <C «M
_ *o a 5? « m
4) <D
bo be
3 d
co to
be be
d d
Q P
a3
ft
d CO
d bo
CO rH
> b
>> cu
2 *
02 P
3UILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 617
6i8
A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
>m^:}}-mmm
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 619
II' jf" ;/! i|
620
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE STOKES BUILDING.
No. 47 Cedar Street, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1893.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 621
MAIL AND EXPRESS BUILDING.
Broadway and Fulton Street, New York City. Carrere & Hastings, Archtects
(1893.)
622
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
o
g
<v
M,
flM*
8?*
G ?
>>«! P
* ~ 8
d fl g e d
fe tf 02 tf C5 tf
<tf
-d
G tH
O CQ
PQ
«n "2 «d c
f-h eg |3 -M
xn eg ww
bo b
-d
■S Q
^43
o «
Ph
So*
2
L" G
« o
CO T3
G
o O
Ph .
o cc
CD 43
co ^ th
05
!> +->
CO ^
2 -
m S
w
w o ^
. . CO
o eg
G A
t-
iO eg
c oi M -5 - .,- +J -m g «
c re , to -e m m tm ^ -e
_ CO W — <
43 o o o r;
3 £ fc £ £
*a
d o
55 55
'd
^ Z5 X ^
a
4*
02
d.
u
Q
P3
<H
M
>
»3
ee
c3
CQ
PQ
c no
"SI
i *
O 02
be ~
a bo
o 2
25
^ 2 s
'3 -g §
M 5 M
•^ n-. "2
l— <M k;H
CO CO ^
eg >>
a p
ft 0) bo
cu 2 c
« 9 -2
H m O
PI
a
<D CD
3 O
bo
bo 5
* fa
>>o
02 fc
CD
CD P*
Pk w
CD ?h
^ 5
3 s
o
■ • c
« bfl
wg§
cd cd
02 ^
S PM
bfl £ 3
y c 3
P3 H fe
^J +J +J W2
fl fl G
3 J3 d
W M W
a ^^
c^
XL.
%®
cj oj oj
^ ^3 ^
a o o
S 5 S
^d
aj
o
m
? °
^ w "
-d o §
\o Z Z
CD
CD
^
S-l +->
O tH
CD
s §
- s
M c
■ r o
bo
S 8
d 5
O co
O CD -M -G
CD CQ ^
f CD
§2^
g 1 §-2 «■
as in
M w » o
5 o
> >
J fe fe u
^ 43 *43
cc 7? 'd
ffl § g
43 ^
*J O O
02 02 fa
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
623
CARYATIDES— MAIL AND EXPRESS BUILDING.
Broadway and Fulton Street. Carrere & Hastings, Architects.
(1893.) F. Martiny, Sculptor.
624
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
to
* £
J3 .C A £ C
^ (J
73
N to n m
m -^ o ^ to
« -o O -d g
o « a- s s
cq 73 73 ,— i
So >> O 0)
H P. ■ - -
5 £
. .s ,c a; ^ a; P <d
T3
a
o
o
u
0J J3
^ OH
*£ °
o c .to
° ^ m .5
£ tf £ 3
O
O
&«
£
•-< IQ oj w o
£ o 2 ce c o
£ & m £ p £
1 ^ ,3
o a
£x^
25 u °
050
of <u
» ci M
£ -^ -^
c— +-> +->
IO O iO
to
o s
o
a
tot;
.2 -°
e £
O 3
So
J3
£i to to
to
S I I '3
PQ ^ 2
£ +2 +■*
oJ « 8 j>
* i S H
<d > c a
S c
r^ *
w O
i3 2 °
O -£ *2
£ 02
3 ^5
pCS « O
.fi
O <p
to «a
CO
^ § C3
i *P
g 0 <
> .s
•—>
E M
O DQ CO
w
to
'to .S 42
6 ^1 -*-)
to ■
a
^ 3 s ?>
% fa CQ fa
^ .S M'
2 w
% u
O cd
O o
CI fl
T3 ^ . ti
W
t4 tn <P fn
to d
.2 8 .2
tf o «
fa w
EOh
01 O
J s W
2 ^ T3
c fl
a w
fa ^
o
U
a a
o3 d
p o
S S
O Qi
id
<D
c
00
C3
>>
^
cd
O
O
cd
a
oj
PQ
■*->
73
r-!
(M
Vx
ce
Gj
00
S
0
O
CO
w
0
(h
u
O
0
0
yA
m w J? ^ »
3 fl
?oo ^§
>; cs c
^ o >
T3 OQ oj
PQ a S
T3
fa ^
2 -
§ «
^ 3
fa o
* r^ 5
H «
o to
g to s
m 2
o w o
o °s
c -a c
? 5 ^
09 $
i wag
> <U
fa £ Q
to^
01 rt
^ w w
72
V a 3 -S
r" .5 aJ "
^ ^ >>
s ^^ ■
to sh . .
3 o c ^
tf fa fa H
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 62-
Broadway, New York City.
MANHATTAN BUILDING.
(1893.)
Kin:ball & Thompson, Architects.
40
626
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Broadway entrance.
MANHATTAN BUILDING.
Kimball & Thompson,
(1893.)
Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 627
New Street entrance.
MANHATTAN BUILDING.
Kimball & Thompson, Architects.
628
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
be
o3
H O
S
G
o3
o
oo CO
aa in
o o
2 w
Q
£
2
02
e*
+->
i
<u
s
u
C 43
H H
So
■H <U 2
43 <1> 43
<D O $-> <V *-
O Ph O O C to
> «
02 CO 9
43
^00
is O
^S8
TO ^ >D
S "ft £ * *
?1 H M L'j ^ C*
43 S
£ m
TH -M.
CO
4*
03
02 C
=; £ w
as
43
bfl rj
O Q
CD
00
C p
^1-g
S «
"2 w
s % fi
(1)
s .
£
o
43
eg H
C H B - S * 3
43 03
10 tJ
s
u
o
o
<D O
©
c
o
43
u
O <v
2 -°
. § 43 3
02 03 -u 13
01 O ^ O
02
02
m id
O rg
02 5
J3 OS
o
O ^
O CD
*"§
02 03
* * 43
43 05 -^
!W§
; ©
•S ri »"M nj O £ °
0) c3
-M o
■£» H ^ 9
- *s t: 5
<5 Ph
?3
42
^ <D
43 h
J3 <^ c ^3
a> 43 B -j
O U <J <<
8 ^
QO
43 . S M
■— . -M 02
L- . 02
® • ^ 43
CD 02 O §
CD CO ^
W rt C
<P ^ 03
43 o §£
b£ d>
{3 02
J3 ^ 3 £
*bo€
3 3 g g
g 02
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
629
00
0
£ >;
en ^
9 d
-t-5
S"
d -^
fa ^
«w
d S>
dQ
3 3
O DQ
OQ Ha
3
„ .. d
-M H CO
O
is c
^ is
.O
d >»
« S
o s>
a w
43
c 10
M 8
Is
<D O
PQ £
be
2
'3
PQ
0)
bo
60
O 5
S 3
d
ffl £
U X
9 £
3
O ffl £ fa
05
30
(1) r-t C
73 O
d w
o .
>> 2 W
bo o
- X2
PQ
O d
O fa
w
CD $-■
bo d
^ X!
O ^
_- CD
S fa
5
5 .S « «
O tf S £
c +^
d w
° as »d
O CO (N
d
10
CO
o o
u o
. d o3 rt
o 3 3 5 5
£ kO JO »o io
d
-g
t CO
6 £
•o 2 '
2 £
bo s->
G CD CD
5 * ^
2 bo d
PQ m ^
02 P t>
ij rQ .73
€ 2 8
5^
d
X
30
. bo
1 JO
?i <D O
nd d
d
>> hi ^
o >> ^
d £
,G
d
d
•+->
O
'O
T3
Xi
^j
C3
C
bo
d
cc
<d
<D
"3
ffl
c
Oh
M M
0
O
m M pq
! ,0
Ph HI W pq
W W J3 « d 6
T3 »o o °^
bo cd
d
*f
02 og
Z &
d X2
43 d
O PQ
* £
5 «
O ^
bo c
X3 +->
2 S
d +j
0 fl
Jh a;
PQ O
gPQ
j* -d
. d
> rH ^
3
PQ
0) O CO o
j ^ a z
^ O S
p 10 it:
^ CD
0) « ^
03 <1> B
CO
b fe >
tf ri oS
5 5^
LC LO ifl
d co
£ io ^ "^ "^
m O
CO
fl TO Xx
w -S 3
^ W *M
•-J <D CO
•a
d
o
o
60 hn &
^5 2 h3
•° S c
W o
CD ^
c o o
C dn hQ
si
4) ?j K
^ O <D
to 2
o £
fc fa
» >» .b <i
•S o
fa fa ffi
d ^3
3 ^
630
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
FULTON BUILDING.
Nassau Street, New York City. De Lemos & Cordes, Architects.
(1S93.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 631
Front Street.
OFFICE BUILDING.
(1893.)
Henry J. Hardenbergh, Architect-
632
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
MUTUAL RESERVE FUND BUILDING.
Corner Broadway and Duane Street. W. H. Hume, Architect.
(1894.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 633
THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY'S BUILDING.
Cedar Street, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1894.)
^34
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
ce
43
o
ffl ffl
S3 j3
r3 O
43
ce o
OOffif^hfl
U M
43 »o
C CD
g'4
o3
43
be
<v
42
{3
0)
T5
03 »d
03
£o
03 ,Q
e a
43 +J
cc ffi
H 5
OS TfrH
CQ W M |> ft
o o J*
xn xn o
-M +■> .^5
^ ^ 43
CD 0) o
■§■§»
* * s
w »' I
tf tf %
wS«
5P §
O CD
PQ M
o3 ce
CD
02 .
o o
42
H O k
M H
u °
o ^
« GN
op
*S
^ fe
^ £
02
>> w 43
§ 43 »
2 * «
0)
bo
el
ce
bo *
I«
3 a,
« §
ce xn
^ (3 5 ' 1
oils
° W t>,
43 00
-t-» CO
02
C +> 5
o3
*!
ce fl
Ah P
^ I g
43
O O 43
bo bo
o
u >» >?
d) g «
a) 3 2
^ '3 e
3 m o
o w
3
* 0)
<d bo
o CO
° O 5
cer^
H I >
<V P o
fl S S
«D G ™ .
2 ^
ft 9>
P3 C
ce m
ce • s
o ,
2 ■*
ce ^
Is
2 i S s
^ K o ft
as
bo M § ,2
w ^ w ^
+? ^
S ce
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 635
X
00
a a o g £
£ w p ffi a
PhO^oO
636
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
FIDELITY AND CASUALTY BUILDING.
Church Street, New York City. C. L. W. Eidlitz, Architect.
(1894.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. ^ 6y/
d
CO
o
>
<
to
o <
fe <
«
H
M
H
H3
638
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Maiden Lane.
THE STEVENS BUILDING.
Chas. W. Clinton, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 639
THE JOHN WOLFE BUILDING.
Maiden Lane and William Street.
(1895.)
Henry J. Hardenbergh, Architect.
640
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE
X>
A
be
u
<D
* fl
<x>
<v
£ * *' ! * 3
SSSOoh
cC
73
?i e
M Bit! ^
Ctf »" |_|
C ft •
^ to be
W 0 O
» <D D
bo 7^ "£
3 oj c«
Quo
£ 02
co" <v
m cm
35*
^ ft 9 so
> J4 ^
o3 £
<L» Oj O O
£ »0
ffl ft £ &
05
s ~
K, CO
CO
2 6
£*
£SS
00 p
CO ft
CO
p
CQ bo
62
,/ « ft
w 8! » d)
02 rf g £
» 13
o
3*
g -2 %
■M OB -♦->
BUS
2 &-■
3
O
A
CD
Ctf
C
*
If if
fi 13
«$ rrj
be ^
O P ft ft
00
<„ ~ Qj ffi tf
to * . .
So d h §
O ft
O fc w
^ £ 3 »
CO
o
CO
^> fl CO ►>
», 03
^ -° s
CO ft
« ? 2! S §
VI
VI . 02 CO* 'O
C O O O 3
fc ^ J5 Z W
5r -^
rq 5 pq o
fe 5 ^ -m
CO
C cd
CD
w
^5 c-c
CD
bO
G
efl
1 B fl g
CJ ^
& .
'£* -
! ft . ra
« ^ c
bx> <i> ^
s cc ■ g I £ $
o
3 o
^^
c
o r. e<3
*-* £ "•"'
be <ri
w,S
a!
&
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 64 r
to m
£
g .5?
- ocj
'x
u «
a* a
W ? m « o « p tf
c H
ft
<D
<J
"S
'8
<D
a)
ti
*H
ft
>>
5
CO
HHfl
Eh ft
1
51
co
~ £
M ° m
" CU _i dJ "
^ S ti - -
3 ° 2 cw 3 1 3
O ^3
PQ
- ce
o
^ ^ w <u <d
cu
cu ^
aJ O
43
ce s
o Hi o & o
a? W
■x^ u
.9 n
ESS
02 CO
CD
SO r-j
rH
o o
CO 13
CO § fl
o
*0 ^-j co
o t t-
« ° °
a? <u °
« c "
CO
»S +-> ,a
<N O +3
rH rH TJH
3
fe
5 -^ ko
-M (T) *h CD U
a> 2 o «q o
Ld r-^ iii r lit .
>
ai ^
Ph Z
- a;
aj +j
S rn S «
CO O W _-
£ -^ ilS >
83
o « <J
" CO
bJD o
« E«
6 3 ft
o pq 0
2 § S g
Cj S +"> r£3
5hh
a
O . 3
a
0
p cu
£ > >;
s S ^
c 5 S
E o .2
cS o
3 o
" OQ
^ « >»
1 p5 ?
CQ Ph GQ
642
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES T. YERKES, ESQ.
Fifth Avenue and 08th Street. R. H. Robertson, Architect
(180G.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 643
Maiden Lane.
FAHYS BUILDING.
(1896.)
Clinton & Russell, Architects.
644
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
if
k^A^jM
jfHU B Wirt
1HITF I ifffffirif
nit-n i irir
si
THE GERKEN BUILDING.
West Broadway and Chambers Street, New York City. Harding & Gooch, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 645
d
TOP OP AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY BUILDING.
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
(1896.)
646
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
* 2
be M
cu
pi
C . 3
o a *-■
02 § 00 .
S bca8 §
O O fl DQ
45
H^WtfWWtftf
3D ^H O j
0
co
£
£
_»_r
T3
02
cc
O
u
PQ
g
£
0
ti o o
O 02
t! * 1
2 ^»-
^j »d
£ CO 1
13 t-
w O
bo
■§ 8
-d £
5 S
ce h
*d _^
5 «
o, <v
O'O
co d
PQ .a
02
o
to be
a Pn
O
fHEtt
»d ■d
,* <u
P. >.
X
X
£ W K J
~ £> cc
.d.
be
o
O
tf^Hi
5 ^ ^
3*
ffl
w
£ fc J
rQ O
s ^ j : 0 P4
»d £
W u
•-3 >-5
£CDo 3
o o
o o
* * o
(h 03 ^
0$ 0$
O rC ^5 +J
^ 4-> -i-> X
(^ 10 10 cc
•d
c
-m a ^ S -S
O
I g W g" S
<5 hJ « ca S
J3
ft
O +J 00
-tl 02 X
C aS fl
r}i CO X
CO
Shin
a>
<D
:*
02 o
X
! ^
CD
> CD
a3 t-
O <m
O CD
<D ^
cc
02
OOO
z z z
~ ^ ft "
& ^ iJ «
»d •« >. a
CC CO CO <D
O O <m <D
^ Jh CO ?H
PQ W A O
^_r a a> -m a
^ W5
<^ 02"
§ .22
•d
J3 CO
CD ^
»d
■m" .j- H
02
02
05
'd 4->
CO ""
£ ^ PL,
be
to?
be k
35
S 'd
>
^ ^*
o o
o
<v co r i!
DQ
0 — ^
o 'd <v
02 ^;
3 H °
•§ • -S
d) (D 3
a a pq
be
.S
be 3
I*
P5
r-T °
02
f5 >h 02
bO CO CU
H ^ ^
89
TO U "
•d -r
CO ii *
A 02
O O
S w
* d
°l
•3 ^
CO <D
° ^
Cj ,Q
02 02
w • d
? 02 -S
0 5
(1) M
2 ^
72 CO
0) P*
> ^ Zj
h 0< Eh
s «
CO <u o
!> fi h
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
647
^ w w ■*->
■a o o pj a
d QLi Qj ^2 S
^ DQ CQ •
<D <U r^ r^ r^ ri
bo bo . .0 .
u u ra to ,Q n
o o d d d H
a; <d & & qj
o o o o
2
3
d £ O
££
08 be
^
Pk 02
«3 08 5
£ o .
■0 .
fcu
d .
o
tf Q hI
6
°8 °8
O
rd itf
<3
d d
N
s s
3
0
=3
2 ;2
d
o
,Q +J +->
o o o
tf k k
O C
O o
03
»0 O
W £ A A N ^ ^
kj « . a> .00
d
+->
d
W £
ffl ^
d
& *. m
^ •
O
o
SfflStJM
rt Q0 +J o >, :£
" b- WH ]?0^
«&
to >|
* „• S
02
v. ti (
O) £ '
6 6
£6
d d
d 5
o
§5
g >>s
; 0
d
.2 c
*8
^j
*
2 d
d +5
i w ^ ^ o w a _
i pi ^ ^" ^ « si h;
^5
> d
d H
£S
^ d
1 52 ^ <
^V r-l
s w :
! >
d
d CO ^3
l^ ±J
sw.
So
:-bc w
S'gi
05 ^
O ^f
o
:*
2 ^
03 ^
fQ -t->
CO o
d ^ r^
C ^ d
o m g
rr-t 71 "— !
3 £3
C5 S tH
b- t O
rH ^
. d
5 5°
.2 w
R 00
00
o
tH
O
8 ^ o
CQ O)
02 >
d
2»
d
3
m
bo m
2 O
bo fl
a d
1 bo ai
! ^ bo
1 M .S
>
d
be to
.2 -2
^5 T3
« .2 g ^ o5 § £
pq
. ^ 2 -
d
^3
§ a h m g ^ 5
^ a .2
r^ P4 U
S .2 ^ E «
' d .
l§5
5 bX) 0) g
o PI " u
bJD t>
<D
£ ft PJ
* 2 s
: m
0 5
fl 5 CJ
5-S^
be ^
O *J
8 "2 ■« -•
n <u w 02
^5 bo < <
r^ ffi 02 BQ
to Ph r5 kO
o O
u s
.»_> d
OQ 02
o <
o ^
II
a>
fl
B
s
05
<U
*m
a*
(->
K
0)
6
d
O
.
K « W
648
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
44th Street, near Fifth Avenue.
BAR ASSOCIATION BUILDING.
(1S9G.)
C. L. W. Bidlitz, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 649
RESIDENCE OF R. M. BULL, ESQ.
No. 40 East 40th Street. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1S97.)
65c
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE ST. PAUL BUILDING.
Broadway and Ann Street, New York City. George B. Post, Architect.
(1897.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 651
jl!|iF3
Fi c3 1 r St J- f ll-i^
THE ST. JAMES BUILDING.
Broadway and 2Gth Street, New York City.
(1897.)
Bruce Price, Architect.
652
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
bo
u
S
<v
73
fcg
be ^
N
W £ d rf
w -° _ ."£
>• o C* ^ 3
2* -8 SS
m
H ai J
cq -t->
to
•d
. bo .
H^^S
Z H O O ffi 3 d
8sgg
^ I© iO ©
O 00
d ce
^H ,H 02 .
+» +J lZ !+J H W
io io £ io 3 O
g 03
■s-5 s
-M
£005
3 t-io
J o «d
£3<o *
ce 05 b-
<D CO iO
«l 5 8
< z &
o
S s
s o
U Ph
•»"s _ -»->
02* 02
bo bo
• -S £ c
<D -M -M g
S 3 3 S
m 1) J) W
2 $-. U "
o ce aJ j
>h U O tf
n d
Is.
02
ce
2
£
42 .2
2 °3
J g
d W
. ce
fa J
43
02 _
bo 'd
fl O « 3
£0
§0^
£ «d
B § ,
3 ? §
HJ £
>*
•o >d
o o
o o
PQ d
oo^SM
o o o o
^ » » ^
X
X
o
CQ
-M 02
<D d W
^ W o
^ » W
bo
2
PQ
<u
bo
Is
2S
§§3
aa S u o
o *d
H h3
bo
g
§
'3
PQ
bow
fl .0)
is I
I*
PQ <D
^ bo
bo PQ
S3
bo
CQ
g « .
^ 0) 0)
rrt TO
w n 3
W^<jg(S^pimdd(Spd
3
eg
S 4J Q,
'd rC CQ
^W|W
• CQ ©
5 M 5
bo ^
.2 -^
•d
ij oq
O cS
05 ~
PQ ro
oJ
ca
"S
3 43
« a
■ I
5 a &: Q
^ rK *" ..
Pi
^s5&?
bo
1 »
PQ 2
o c
O O
bo
bo§
•SB
2 PQ
'3 4>
PQ &
>'» o
•g "to
.2 ^ o
•o o o
5 b
CM TO*
' 50 tH
05 co
CQ d
-t->
it: s
X2 ,Q
3 J3
«-
<b o
X3 O
O 3 » W aj
S a
2 ^
" .2
cd o
TO rtl
E
2 ^ °
O «M
t <* «
CQ ^
> 02
lO X
02 ^ O
* fl ^
5; > ^
» si >
,* ^j ce
o
^ ^ «
o g ^
PQ
bo jC
ce m
d; <D <d
O CJ o
fl e c
D 4) S
[d [d r£
CQ CQ 'rQ
h b >.
gS
•d
£3 -4-» . * -M V ^ "^ *^ .i-i
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 653
be
A
02
O
Pn
PQ
cc
4-> -t->
u u
O O
d
2
0
02
0
-d
CO
a
bo
0)
tf tf
tn
s
s
0
WW
0
A
3
0»
cc
<V
0
0 O tf tf J
Q 8
.2 *s
co M ^
TO
S °
CO In
+» PQ
'd
rj CO . - v"
I 055
U fc »S tH
. . O 3 cj
^J O h H J
o pq
<p 02 Gj
3 IC
be
c
co
rC 03 .
o w w
w fc £
02
nj *d in
cc co "O
>> £ cc
^ h o
^ fl S
fl cc ce
2s ^ «j
S3
d
0>
O
02
-M
$-<
1j£
"E
,£3
3
OJ
bo£
0>
.a
0
. bo
A 3
bo-c
CQ
kg
>^8
Fh CO
PQ £
3> ra"
bfl 3
fl PQ
ffl ft
£ §
* —
cc co
hri £
bo bo
£ •£
PQ PQ
_H C O A
2 tf
. bo '3
tf .S pq tf
. d
ifc ~ +2 o5
O 0)
J SI'S
bo
§
M
o bo
o PQ
S 02
3
ffl
^5 d
s o c .
- fe
o
5?
bo
d
2 2 •§ tJ tl
o £4 a* ,q ^
d ^ w o o
N og 03 pc; tf
W W 1 || « « 0 ^; 6
tf fe 5 tf h! tf tf O ffi 0 tf Eh* O ffi tf
02 5J -M
A 0
•d
+j Th
pj
b-
o3
02
•d
co
co
•d
a
-M «2 - ^
rH <1> ^
3 02
o o
PQ %
co -g
o $
+* PM
02 rj
0
02 M
Is
M 02
^ P5
^ ffi K
B
2 «
»h 02
CQ O
H
<D .
02 <V
J*
5 E
T3
(N
eS U >
O o3
02
6 g 0
S? io ^
bo fl
5 2
£ : -
o 5 fl
<D O
C °
0 «
* 02
& ^ ^
CO
'd £ -m
^ S* C3
3 & I
" o o
PQ O
CO
w
"^ £ iJ 4-»
«U £s CQ £
^3
8
02 -ri
CD ,Q
43 $
PI C
rd jd
e 53
ri o
o
02 S3
co fd
o >> ^
co i: co y 3 • lt ^ •
a
^3
ft
O
0
U
CO
Pk
£
6
73
•d
X3
0
ft
0
0
43
0
3
02
3
0
J3
ft
£3
<b
O w
O
P5
6.54
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Nos. 20 and 22 West 73d Street.
RESIDENCES.
(1S97.)
Clinton & Russell, Architects.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 655
WOODBRIDGE BUILDING.
William St.. bet. John and Piatt Sts.
(1898.)
Clinton & Russell, Architects.
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
WESTERN NATIONAL BANK.
Nassau and Pine Streets, New York City.
(1898.)
George B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 657
EXCHANGE COURT.
Broadway and Exchange Place. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
42
658
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
x
43 43
08 <3
S «S fl
o . a "O s
0> t3
H
CD
a*
- t» S
5 5
T5 fl
^ : <*
0> +J °0 ~ S
o >>
s 0 z a 0
« 2
a; co
3 fcj
c fH
0 ^
o3 g
w»
S5
0 g
0 s
si
£ £
-? £
«.*
- c
>> >>
>> cj
ce oj
03
£ £
5*
•O T3
ce o*
* »
CO aJ
s £
■3 » £ | B B K
2 bfl be
£ c c
C fl
a3 2 2
0 0
a> co co
CO CO
±i d oi
™XX
42 42
0 0
ti ti
08 =8 3
0 0 -a>
. o
tf ffl
42
CJ M -J-t
. <U o3 oj
ti ti ti O O
0) CO
o »
>'d
S3 o
°3
o 0
« CO
£ o
I*
o3 a;
o co
u o
CQ PQ £ fc W tf
1- £
bo v
a bo
3 s
w
0?^
PQ *
•o £ o
fc q £
0)
43
O
<M
u
to
U
0
Tf
O
0
_g to
1 s §
4-» l*H
" 03
<U « » W »0
02 oq m m g
43 43
-t-> +->
to to 1-
• «-» 3 g
2= sS
m -o ^ =a
C 0) 43 oi
O ffi ti Ph
o
»d be
bo S .
C 3 d
§ m §
'3 w 2
pc s o
^ „, *
-h «M {^
^ J *,
l g S
R ?! Jh
3 § ol
cu 3J
43 43
o3 d
., r-i
43 02 CO* .
£000
fc: fc fc fc
? Ti £ 2 ° « 4)
^ ^ co oj ^ 'd c:
^ 3
03 42
0
m w ^
^, 'S3
a; <u
Z^ ^
c
5 « «J 43 ^ a O
ti O tt Ti ffi ^ U
0^0
ti ti
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 659
05
30
43
d
CO
CU
Si
o
O
& 0 ci
M
CO m
<v
£00
o
O . !
i <% bo :
IT
bo 6
, B °
43
°3
•^ »> JH O £
O
CO d
CO «
O
u CO
pq «
x "2
O -MO
" « § «
» ai S b
o o r o
£ B £ 15
CO -
0) 02
« K
O 'd
O 0>
*°
s3
£ w
' 02
mg
CO w
3 rH
rH 30
c CM
*>°
S d
T3 fd
co fl
"3 5
~ co
M CO
X
<5
CM CD
h-
rH lO
00 <M
CO °?
-CD
02
>> CO <U
02
CO w' . *5 O ^
u o is a a s pa
lit)
CO
02 02
O O
o o
3.5 «
§S»o
> ° to
OJ CO rH
*d »d r_l
«i Cj •
O O 2
^ u o
pq pq £
'd <d
CM '
CM
§3
3 3
3 og
£ s
-J «*
PH J
. aJ fe
43 C
bo 3
"3 W
CO o
M 02
bo tj
a
.73
§
3
pq
'3
02
m
ci
02
U
J3
rH
02'
a
<D
M
<M
<U
3
+->
fl
H
co
^
.2
co
<d
,£3
>>
a
^
CO
CO
S
J
bo
G
'B .
bo S
^ PQ
•g m
WO
^ . •
A 02
co PI ^
pq M (
0) U
bo r
bo bo
jG
CO
a
k{
2
a
0
CJ
-M
^
c
0
0
0
0
bo
S *d »o
^rH
«*"§ - S
02 * e 2
> ** > *
rf CO 05
A o •£ o
02 -M 1J
O
c
o
O §
3 c •
(S-
43
O I
2 w
k; . ^ 0 0 k .t; • u . <d
M fc, w
rH
§^
10
<D CM d) O
O X
> -M
CO 02
oq pq pq o r3
«, H ?
bS § .«
<^ * OJ fi <v
© 5 S 3 5
oq t> m * w
bo
.S
2
'3
pq
.*
CO
pq
u
^ to &
$ * S
^ 2 > t
§W^2
• o co ^S
B m pq a
< Z
<W2
O 02 c3
O^ 02
^ M >
rS U ^
* CO
« ^ c
is s£
- o ?
pq
73
C cd ■§
2°5
J ,. o S
si*5 -
0 ** ** i2
o O m ffi
ft
o co
02 ^
> ^
co ^
r^B
d
t^ 02
'8
^CO
o ^
co o
02 £
02 *£
02 ^ t+I
^ > x
cm 'd ^ M -m
rH CM <; ^ i-O
>3
§ §Ph
W o 02
Wfflg
> CO
'd c
> t- CM
COrH W
>
0
co
02
13
O
>
02
co
<&
CO
i3
S
I*
° c s
• ??*
&g
O >>
P^
"3 ^
•»-l -»-» HH
ft -s ° ^
M ^ ^ ffi ^ QQ ^
CD
5 °
^ w
0 s
.2 .2 -c
2
bo r cy
5 S u
6^^
02
5 CD
- tS 5 «r n
8310 « fl
« § ^ -
,_, co 36 02 02
. . . r3 r3
0 ° o £ ij
0)
a> <u 0
o o c
<y 0 *d
2 2 »
TO S 0
a>
'd
co .«
£! bO ^
Q D C
- 3 £
O -
a> _
H O k;
c ** s
& ^ ^
O ^ ~
^ 0) CO
pq Jh pq
c
Si S2
^ 2 S 33
. 02 »d ?
_0 2 BO ^
C a f-1 **
66o
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE SAMPSON BUILDING.
Wall Street, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 66 1
UPPER STORIES OF SAMPSON BUILDING.
Wall Street, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
662
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE HUDSON BUILDING.
Nos. 32 and 34 Broadway, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 663
Si ®l B* frwwm «iSJSiu«Muiuil^^ U'ti>>i;j&iiu5&ij>"ja
K^Miiii is? 11
..,.,„. JK, gill \t^mmir9¥¥$wwm^wm^m_
THE FRANKLIN BUILDING.
Nos. f> to 1." Murray Street. New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1S9S.)
664
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
t
3 d- ™
* S 2
<£ O Ph
m d
fi-g
43
^ _: *>
0) 0) <D N
** 02 02 rj ;p
jg >; P P S -r)
o
g >; p 5 <u -rj
•w • O O
^ «m . £ £
02 d
d 'd
03 c
d rf
w ni H m
.2 8
oj <v °
° &
>™ O
* o ^
. t- Hi
CO
o _r
rH ft
o
p
d
s %
d P
P d
5? «>s »s
. 03 03 C
.^ o 05
•£ £ £ H
8 « S
rH <d ©
»-^
55 P DQ
bo «
-S P
Tj O
p w
PQ be
p
S 'c
% £
o p
00 «
bo
£
DQ to
.5
d ' .
P >>
ft ft^
^ bo d
o 43 ^
> 2 r-
^ 5 rH
2 ^ © .*
P .
d so .
s g $
* «8 °8
0) $
bfitf
2 W
< £
S3 *2
^ ^ .s
03 02
^ bo p
fn w "£ f>
O oq 03
43 P d
W
M W
^3
OJ
. o -D o ^
- b ^
o u u cm
ti O * U •■ .L ~ j>
OM^CQp&^5
a5 a; ^ m
> 'H r« J3
k5£
?H>0
N ^^
o w
P m «
O CO tH
rH IO L-
^ _
w p
•3 w
S £
09 iO ^
t-1- ^, ic:
^5 Hi CO
£ CM M
<i t- I-
Hi rrj
^ (N
03
o o ,
6 0
p bo
43 P
u d
43 »
o O
- ^ S >>
ce 23
a) "S ^3 ?„ te W) bi) r^ 2
.. P
^ cq
<D
^ C '^ P -M
P
d
•r" r t^ ^^
Ah J5 < Z
C P
p — _, .^
d « 2 -d
43 S3 -p .73
0 3 £ P
* w n «
"«%
o ^^ ^
2 r? 43 rfl
' P
d <u
a
>> p
•5 -a,
<d <i> q) 43 n>
P
43 ft
M ■■-<
" o
5^
P *>
p
<^sss
p
<^ rrj
P
p »6 a? 0 g "g
.5 <i>
o 6 "O
MPfaO
43 tH
&3
^ S £
02
CD
03
0
P
O
03
r>>
TJ
ft
P
d
0
a>
s
u
0
0
43
m H h H
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
665
30
A
*
01 W _^ 01
02
CD
£ S
° M eg « P5
2 d
0)
S Pm
>1
m
o & S
£
-d
^3 □ m £3
j w « « <$ ?
be co
M 2 *
f3 CD
2 o
bo £
bo t,
m * £
^fa o
pH -4-> "
O « 3
>> 'd H
CO CO £
| M$:o
TO ?S
fc d "2 S
>^ ~ ^ O
Co +j prt
o n on oa
£ o o o
CQ fc £ £
w +J
CO r^
2 §
Mm
CM w
CM co
rd °°
S'S
o o
CM CO
01 >*
rj Sh CO
^ 3 5
o
-M1
CD w
II'
N 05
O co *h .
W P4 H tf
1 £ ^
° -M
la
ii £
m - S !
.22 a) K/i 5
rt £ « .
Ph
^ 5
1 ce
PQ
• 2 i» +j
-'-> CO rr>
s *
00 *r 1
10 (
d- o
1 _, 01 01
) g d o
O O • ■ w w
55 ^o ^ Z
cm
CO 10
CM (M
o o
£ CM
CO
W <N
. o
>» ^
^ 00
£ CM
S m o
o
a> o
CO <M
CD 5
CO
> CO
CO
C CO
8 «
CP
O O CO o
& ^ Ph fc
bx)
3 'd
2
I wo
cu bo co
*H "° "3
^ § s
2:^6
C " T3 .73 ,Q
id d ^ 3 "*
§ s
5 H
« 1 o id r<
J, o aj
bo
bo 'd
£3 ^3
§ W
W £
'd
O c3
P5 33
CD
bo
£3
ft
o
>-* CD "— •t?
3 . ft
d£U
■H S 53
(3 •— 1
00 ^.
d
P3
si
-t-> w
1«
§«s
f3 »d S
d
CO .
.3 ^
tf^
o .
«1°
CD
CD
2
2
"53
*CQ
CD
CD
^
u
bo
0
M P3
v. o
S s
PQ co
666
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
THE GRAHAM BUILDING.
Duane and Church Streets. Clinton & Russell, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 667
THE DUX BUILDING.
Northeast corner Broadway and Reade Street. Harding & Gooch, Architects.
(1898.)
668
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
5-
it
it
it
il.
11
I I*
l»
H
1
l i!
- A r r~~.
Pf*
III .t,
> IffWi
™ JLTTTf
vfjfcffi
57f
THE COMMERCIAL CABLE BUILDING.
Broad Street, New York City. Harding & Gooch, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTUIUL IN NEW YORK. 669
THE BANK OF COMMERCE.
Nassau Street, corner Cedar.
(1898.)
J. B. Baker, Architect.
670
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
O
02 ft
a £
<a o
o3 <3
to
CD
-I
3 8 o W
W o d O PO
03 PQ
Pn k
« 02
73 3
• °8
c °
g o
Si*
to
to m e 2
cd
PQ PQ
to to
to to
cd cd
Hog
02
<< to
to
fflSJfl
*r • 3 ^ j « 4; <u C .
o .a
TOW ' J_
~ ~ .9 1
fe fe ,hf
s ;
o o $
i 73
£ 02 fl
£ c
cd cd cd d
£ £ £ £ 3 t£
rtf 73 73 73 •* ™
cd cd cd cd • Z2
O o O O « oj
m pq m « £ £
S •**
CD rH
CO
73
CO
CO >>
W £ 3
£ 5 ce
* of
_ L CO
73 r^ £
co <M
^
T3 a
„ „ 0)
m
* CO
O 1-3
73
-*-»
a"
CO
2
is
CD
OQ
0
5h
°8 °3
=3
w
73
h
OJ
CO
to
CO
<v
°8
02
%
73
CD
c
c
3
M
02
u
s
a
CO
$1
CO
0
0
W
s s
<" 09 -
<r> ft
'I £ ;
CO O '
^ 'S 5 ?
CO iH t-
5 cj m ^ B;
x £
! .0
§ PQ ffl PQ 10
f3
PQ
to
CJ 73
cd to s
PQ e ?j
- g «
ce 3 ^
CO
0)
3
2 g
3 £
PQ o
- O
to o3 *h
& > ^ 3 ii c
S C ^ r>-3 S cd
O W W H PQ O PQ
to to
.S -5
^3 jd
'3 '3
to PQ PQ
2 •£ ^ to
J3 o o -J
pq <D o 73
« " s
o o .5
Z Z Ph
73 ^
CO ^
r w .w2
! ^ IO H 02
CO 02* 02 s!
o o o .5
^ fc ^ tf
> c s
CO
• ■ O CM
Sh ^j-
3
o
g
S cj ,H
73
w c o
cy +j o to
^ 02 CO »-i
„ 5 i o o
Pfi PQ 2 Z Z
5 5
to PQ
W to^
3 2*
o -2
to
'B to
I> ^ IO
v.- ^ -2 CM
^ W CI
«- S-> 02 02*
g CO 0)
cd Pk ^ A
u "3 _, ■,J
CU CO rH m
C (D O i
cu o
•s ^ •
ft (t> I
M 73 to -^
<v cd r*> ,
OQ £ H
PQ 5
O g 02
a 3 *
<J Q ^
tj PQ
02 <D
H to
<u 3
o ft
•s ^ 2
0) dJ
o «
cu
S 5 > fl <^
^ c a 3 «)
d;
02 2
" o
1^
ft
0 o
a fc S
^ a o 5 £ . S
2 • • °
M Z ^ ffi
3
to
o
to to
cd fl
Ft) a)
02 3 S
- PQ ^
0) 73
$ * "5>
02 a ?i
0)
'^
cd 73 'S
4) 3 2
7J CO U
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
671
5 to
2 to
H 5
5 S -C
d
a; ^ +J g !>
s * js § k- &■* ti
bo
a i3
•° =3
►erg &
Mead
. Eidli
C. Ha
Potte
& Ch
Mead
. Gilbe
c 9
a; .5
0
«* ^
w £
I II
J M co
£ J
'S Of ^
£ £ £ 0
GO fl !
u
Jh Jh O O
be
g
2
'3
PQ
<u
a bo
^ S
S3 3
be w o
2 bo o
^ J3 £
tt <(J
0 .2
* 2
a _ <«
S|3
£5
s
1 »d
' p.
! 9
2 ^
•d .
$3 •
>
5
3
"au
5
1
02
>»
C
1
0
<D
"C
>
<v
C
£
h3
<J
cS ©'."JO
02 ,C '
02 LO
02 X
43
2
fc i~ P
o
■a Sw' :
$3 .-3 a) a)
" ss §
^ tf o ^
3 fl ^
goo 5
<H «M — ^
^ O <JJ «
C(J -1 ft •
P< *-■ CO -rH
M 3 a >
Wo S 3
^ ?
o '
0 b
43 g
672
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
*
i
1
1 If --1 ^-1 wj.-^-1 ^U--
1 ii j[__ i J _ 1 ji
* £> ■.*.; ■■*'.'. ■'■•■'■ .<::ffc* .'J'M.i^/'/j
SUBJ
1 fl ffi! iS i^i IS- ^ ^ 'v
ipi|r»-i'V>.t;-...r»
8 *fS 1 jS
j if
: xj
1
J nisi
Ill /'&
mm I ;#te*
lis |i
JJ
f -ft
Ljy
jx|
1 1 i
LJJ
» 1 f»r»
mi I «*
am 1 **&
» mum I iiws
a: SIMM i ^SW
»• kbum 1 mm
*, smsm I ;««*
B
S 1
B
r ,^p^^,*
ffl
[ w;V
1 $i« "i mm
I 1 f '
|Js|
i±§
[ . \
1 1 '.iff "1 "i
1 -.1. 0 ...I~ J
l i Af 1 §
!..,jl.f
1 I lp 1 Pit 1 1- ■;.;' ^ ;;;;.
k M&Mm4MSmii 7:iimM •>■-■" '*■■■ •■ :^:-
j] 1 ifef 1 111 I I8S 1 ::t:
I :Ei i. i;i:: ,1 -f
«'■' 1 Is
-' .,f..j>
' .)
k -«ap^' $ 'Sisk 1 58tSu
*$»»« ^^m^mm- mmmm'mm ^»vm^hk
«f mm '-€m :^ [#~
^J
It--
CHESEBROUGH BUILDING.
(Now building.)
Pearl and State Streets, New York City. Clinton & Russell, Architect:
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 675
THE CHIEF WORK OF NEW YORK ARCHITECTS,
BABB, COOK & WILLARD.
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1880 Residence Mrs. F. R. Brown, 104th st.
1880 Warehouse, 173 and 175 Duane st.
1881 Office building, 55 Broadway.
1885 Factory, Hanan & Son, Centre st, cor of White st.
1889 Residence Theo. L. De Vinne, West End av, cor W. 76th st.
1891 De Vinne Press Building, Lafayette pi, cor 4th st.
1895 Studio for J. D. Smillie, 15G E. 36th st.
1895 Residence James Otis Hoyt, 310 W. 75th st.
1896 Residence F. J. Stimson, 312 W. 75th st.
1896 Residence P. D. Cravath, 107 E. 39th st.
1897 Residence Fredk. B. Pratt, 225 Clinton av, Brooklyn N. Y.
1898 Printing House, N. Y. Life Ins. Co., Townsend and Elm sts.
1898 Alfred Corning Clark Neighborhood House, Rivington an<8
Cannon sts.
J. B. BAKER.
1892 United Charities Building.
1894 Presbyterian Building.
1896 Johnston Building.
1896 Extension Manhattan Co. Bank Building.
1897 Bank of Commerce Building.
1897 Extension to United Charities Building.
1898 Tower Building.
CHAS. I. BERG.
1897 Ambulance Station and Vaccine Laboratory, foot E. 17th st~
1897 Spenser Building, 28 W. 30th st.
1897 Coster Mausoleum at Woodlawn.
1898 Manhattan Building, Wall and Nassau sts.
BERG & CLARK.
1886 Seven houses, cor West End av and 75th st.
1886-92 Huyler's Candy Factories, Irving pi and 18th st.
1887-8 Four apartment houses for Wm. Whitehead, n e cor 135th st-
and 7th av.
1888 Five houses, W. 82d st, n s, bet West End av and River-
side Drive.
1889 Five houses for R. Deeves on Manhattan Square North.
1893 Darling Building, 208 5th av.
1894 The "Arena," 39 W. 31st st.
1896 Gillender Building, Nassau and Wall sts.
WORKS OF CADY, BERG & SEE.
1882 Metropolitan Opera House, Broadway.
1883 Bridge in Central Park.
1885 Gallatin Bank, Wall st.
1887-1898.. .Museum of Natural History.
1887-1890. ..Presbyterian Hospital (additions to).
1889 St. Andrew's Church, West 76th st.
1893 Protestant Half -Orphan Asylum, 110 Manhattan av.
1894 Hudson St. Hospital.
1897 New York Skin and Cancer Hospital. 243 East 34th st.
1897 Home for Old Men and Aged Couples, Momingside HeightSL
43
674
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
EMPIRE BUILDING.
Broadway and Rector Street. Kimball & Thompson, Architects.
(1898.)
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 675
CARRE RE & HASTINGS.
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1892 Office building, Franklin and Hudson sts, for Walter Baker Co.
1893 Mail and Express Building, Pulton st and Broadway, for Elliot
P. Shepard.
1894 Life Building, 19 W. 31st st, for Life Publishing Co.
1894 Residence, 11 E. 71st st, for R. M. Hoe.
1894 Residence, 819 Madison av, for Dr. C. A. Herter.
1895 Residence, 15 W. 56th st, for Mrs. Albert Young.
1896 Residence, 9 E. 72d st, for Henry T. Sloane.
(ASSOCIATED WITH W. B. CHAMBERS.)
1896 St. Nicholas Skating Rink, in 66th st.
1897 Fire-engine House, West 170th st.
1898 Fire-engine House, Gt. Jones st.
1898 Residence of O. G. Jennings, in 72d st.
a R. CHAS. W. CLINTON (OP CLINTON & RUSSELL).
1876 Five houses opposite the Cathedral, 5th av and 50th st.
1876 Seventh Regiment Armory, Park av, 66th to 67th st.
1878 Metropolitan Trust Co.'s Building, Wall st.
1882 H. R .Bishops house, 5th av, bet 69th and 70th sts.
1882 Wm. H. Guion's house, 47th st, n 5th av.
1883 Knickerbocker apartment house 5th av and 28th st.
1884 Mutual Life Building, Nassau, Cedar and Liberty sts.
1885 N. Y. Athletic Club, 55th st and 6th av.
1887 Central Trust Building, Wall st.
1888 Mrs. Herter's house, 70th st and Madison av.
IS'89 Wilks Building-, Wall st.
1889 Bank of America, Wall st.
1889 Mutual Life Annex, Cedar and Liberty sts.
1890 Mechanics' Bank, Wall st.
1891 Farmers' Loan and Trust, William st.
1894 Continental Ins. Co., 44 and 46 Cedar st.
1894 Sheldon Building.
1893 Stokes Building.
MR. W. H. RUSSELL (CF CLINTON & RUSSELL).
1892 and 1893.
The Rhinelander Building, cor Rose and Duane sts.
Residence of W. W. Sherman, cor 65th st and 5th av.
Row of 18 houses in W. 70th st for Hoffman estate.
Apartment house 28th st, for Mrs. Catharine Roche.
Warehouse for Rutherford Stuyvesant, 13th st.
CLINTON & RUSSELL.
1894 Building for Society for Juvenile Delinquents, Randall's Isl-
and, N. Y.
1895 Foff Lodging House, W. 53d st.
1895 Prescott Building, Nassau and John sts.
1896 Warehouse, 38-44 Laight st.
1896 Pahys Building, 29-31 Liberty st, and 54 Maiden lane.
1896 Sampson Building, 63 and 65 Wall st.
1897 Rhinelander Power House, Nos. 232-238 William st.
1897 Building for New York Society for Improving Condition of the
Poor.
1897 St. Bartholomew's Parish House Annex, E. 42d st.
1897 Five residences, Nos. 12 to 20 W. 65th st, for a syndicate.
1897 Four residences, 56th st and 5th av, for William Waldorf Astor.
1897 Buildings for Children's Aid Society, 527 and 529 E. 16th st.
1897 Residence, No. 20 W. 73d st for Thomas Diamond.
1897 Residence, No. 18 E. 77th st, for L. K. Wilmerdin-
1897 Residence, No. 23 E. 56th st, for T. W. Porter.
1897 Residence, No. 24 W. 55th st, for Dr. Geo. A. Quinby.
6;6
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
p
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 677
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1897 Residence, No. 16 W. 52d st, for Joseph Fahys.
1897 Residence, No. 40 E. 40th st, for R. M. Bull.
1897 Residence, No. 22 W. 73d st, for Dr. C. F. Hoffman.
1898 Graham Building, Duane and t Church sts.
1898 Woodbridge Building, William, Piatt and John sts.
1898 Black, Starr & Frost Building, s w cor 39th st and 5th av.
1898 Hudson Building, 32 and 34 Broadway and 69-71 New st.
1898.. Exchange Court, Broadway and Exchange pi.
1898 Franklin Building, 9-15 Murray st, for Nathalie E. Reynal.
1898 Residence, No. 4 E. 62d st, for Wm. A. Read.
DE LEMOS & CORDES.
1884 Eden Musee, 23d st.
1887 Thomson Building, 38 Wall st.
1888 ..Store building, s e cor Grand and Forsyth sts.
1888 Store building, 143 Greenwich st.
1888 Building, n e cor Centre and Leonard sts.
1888 Arion Club House, Park av and 59th st.
1889 Store building, 215 E. 19th st.
1889 Store building for Eimer & Amend, 18th st and 3d av.
1889 Building, n e cor 11th av and 67th st.
1889 German Hospital, extension, 4th av and 77th st.
189* ) Armeny Building, Fulton and Nassau sts.
1890 Building, Leonard st, extending to Baxter st.
1890 Residence for Mr. John Eichler, 169th st and Fulton av.
1891 Store building, 102-106 Wooster st.
1891 Building, Nos. 241-249 Centre st and Nos. 167-171 Elm st.
1891 Industrial Building, Lexington av and 43d st and 44th st.
1892 Building, 128-138 Mott st. >
1892 Building, 127 Fulton st.
1892 Residence for W. Zinsser, 119 W. 57th st.
1893 Rothschild Building, West Broadway and Leonard st.
1893 Fulton Building, Fulton and Nassau sts.
1893 Office building, 15 Spruce st (former Recorder Building).
1893 Eagle Building, 41 and 43 Franklin st.
1893 Stone Building, 24 and 26 W. 13th st.
1894 Office building, cor Ann st and Park row.
1894 Building, 15 Walker st.
1894 Kuhn-Loe-b Building, 27 and 29 Pine st.
1894 Store v building, 704-70& Broadway.
1894 Building, 193 William st.
1894 Building,* 70-80 Beekman st.
1894 Building, s w cor Bleecker and Broome sts.
1895 519-521 W. 58th st.
1896 Department Store Building, for the Siegel-Cooper Co., 6th av,
18th and 19th sts.
1897 Office building, s e cor Bleecker and Broadway.
1897 Building, 128-138 Mott st.
1897 Building, Vandam and Hudson sts.
1897 Residence for James Speyer, 257 Madison av.
JOHN H. DUNCAN.
1870 Residence of Richard Cunningham, 29 W. 74th st.
1887 Residence of J. Boskowitz, 20 W. 72d st.
1890 Residence of Hon. Oscar S. Strauss, 27 W. 74th st.
1892 The Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society's Orphan Asylum,
150th st and Grand Boulevard.
1892 Memorial Arch and columns at drive entrance to Prospect
Park, Brooklyn, N. Y.
1892 Residence of Kalman Haas, 7 East 69th st.
1892 Residence of J. C. McGourkney, 6 E. 69th st.
678
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
fa
a
fa
fa
O
fa
o
Q
fa
o
6fl
a
I
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 679
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1802 St. Marguerita apartment house and residences and apart-
ment opposite, Madison av and 84th st.
1892 Residence of Mrs. L. Lavanburg, 20 W. 77th st.
1893 Residence of Messrs. Shillito, Blair, McGowan and Nichols
60th st. near 5th av.
1895 Residence of Mrs. Wm. A. Perry, 3 E. 56th st.
1895 Residence of Theo. Seligman, 37 W. 57th st.
1895 Carriage house, stable, etc., 105th st and Boulevard.
1896 The Court House on W. 54th st, prison on W. 53d st, near
8th av.
1896 Residence of J. C. Hoagland, 27 W. 51st st.
1896 Residence of Hon. Nathan Strauss, 27 W. 72d st.
1896 Residence of Jas. W. Whitney, Riverside Drive, bet 90th and
91st sts.
1897 The Grant Tomb, Riverside Park.
1897 Residence of Mrs. O. H. Kahn, 8 E. 68th st.
WORKS OF CYRUS L. W. EIDLITZ.
1887 Telephone Building, Cortland t st.
1889 Western Electric Building, Thames st.
1890 Telephone Building, Broad st.
1890 Residences on West 86th st.
1891 Racquet Club, 44th st.
1S92 Black Building, William st.
1894 Bank for Savings, 22d st and 4th av.
1894 Fidelity and Casualty Building, 99 Cedar st.
1896 Townsend Building, 25th st and Broadway.
1896 Telephone Building, Dey st.
1896 Bar Association, 44th st.
1898 Soc. of Civil Engineers' Club, West 57th st.
WORKS OF LEOPOLD EIDLITZ.
1846-50 St. George's Church.
1856 Old Produce Exchange.
1857-58 Office building, Broadway and Cedar st.
1864-65 Office building, Nassau st.
1868 Temple Emanu-el, 5th av.
1870 Church of the Holy Trinity, 42d st and Madison av.
WORKS OF ERNEST FLAGG.
1893 St. Luke's Hospital, Morningside Heights.
1893 Scribner Building, 5th av and 21st st.
1896 Residence of R. Fulton Cutting, Madison av and 67th st.
1897 Singer Building, Broadway and Liberty st.
1897 D. O. Mills' Hotel, No. 1, Bleecker, Thompson and Sullivan
sts.
1897 D. O. Mills' Model Tenements, Sullivan st.
1897 City and Suburban Homes Model Tenements, 69th st.
1897 Mills Hotel, No. 2, Rivington and Chrystie sts.
R. W. GIBSON.
1889 U. S. Trust Co.'s Building, 45 Wall st.
1890 Fifth Avenue Bank, 530 5th av.
1890 Warehouse, 88 White st.
1891 N. Y. Ear and Eye Infirmary, 2d av and 13th st.
1891 St. Michael's Church, Amsterdam av and 99th st.
1892 Greenwich Savings Bank, 6th av and 16th st.
1892 Banks Building, 103 Front st.
1892 Collegiate Dutch Reformed Church, West End av and 77th st
1894 Buckingham Hotel, extension, 615 5th av.
1894 Church Missions House, 4th av and 22d st.
1895 Coffee Exchange.
1896 N. Y. Clearing House Exchange Building, 77 Cedar st.
1898 N. Y. Botanical Gardens, Museum, and other buildings, Bronx
Park.
6&)
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
•X
^
tf
O
3UILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 68 1
CHAS. C. HAIGHT.
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1878 Columbia College Buildings, 49th st and 4th av.
1880 Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, 41st st and Park av.
1882 Apartment house, Trinity Corporation, Charlton and Kings sts.
1882 Warehouse, Trinity Corporation, 440 Canal st.
1884 Brooks Building, 22d st and Broadway.
1884 "Warehouse, Trinity Corporation, Vestry and Desbrosses sts.
1885 Bar Association Library, 8 W. 29th st.
1885 Warehouse, Trinity Corporation, Hudson and Spring sts.
1880 Apartment house, R. P. Cutting, E. 14th st.
1886 Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn.
.1880 Trinity Vestry offices, Fulton and Chapel sts.
1886 Down Town Association Club House, Pine st.
1887 General Theological Seminary, 20th st and 9th av
1887 Cancer Hospital 106th st and 8th av.
1887 House, Geo. Hoadly, 33 E. 50th st.
1887 House, Hon. Edward Mitchell, 31 E. 50th st.
1888 Warehouse, 149 Franklin st.
1890 Warehouse, 55 and 57 N. Moore st.
1890 House, H. O. Havemeyer, 66th st and 5th av.
1890 House, D. Willis James, Park av.
1896 Warehouse, Garvin Co., Spring and Varick sts.
1896 Orthopoedic Hospital, 59th st and Lexington av.
1897 Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled, 42d st and Lexington av.
HENRY J. HARDENBERGH.
1883 Hotel Albert, University place.
1883 Western Union Telegraph Co.'s Building, Broad st.
1884 Western Union Telegraph Co.'s Building, 5th av and 23d st.
1884 Dakota Apartment House, Central Park West.
1885 Astor Building, Wall st.
1887 Adelaide Apartment House, 635 Park av.
1890 London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Co.'s Bldg., William st.
1892 Warehouse, Broadway and 51st st.
1893 Office building, Front st.
1893 Hotel Waldorf.
1894 Warehouse (Flint & Co.), W. 23d st.
1895 John Wolfe Building, Maiden lane.
1896 Astoria Hotel.
1896 Manhattan Hotel, 42d st.
A. O. HODDICK.
1882 Nine-story apartment house, n w cor Madison av and 28th st.
1883 The Hawthorne apartment house, ten stories, 59th st, bet 6th
and 7th avs.
1883 The Hubert apartment house, ten stories, 59th st, bet 7th and
8th avs.
1884 Twelve-story apartment house, Madison av and 30th st.
1884 Mt. Morris apartment house, nine stories, 130th st, near 5th av.
1885 The Chelsea apartment house, twelve stories, W. 23d st.
1885 The Central Park or Navarro apartments, eight buildings,
fourteen stories, 7th av, 58th and 59th sts.
1886 Lyceum Theatre, 4th av and 23d st.
1886 Ten private dwelling houses, Lexington av and 89th st. ,
1887 The Croisic apartment hotel, 5th av and 26th st.
1887 Six private dwelling houses, 79th st, bet Columbus and Am-
sterdam avs.
1888 Five private dwellings, 80th st, w Lexington av.
1889 Apartment house, Nos. 1773 and 1775 1st av.
1890 Six private dwellings, 87th st, bet 1st and 2d avs.
1890 Six-story warehouse, 28 City Hall pi.
1891 N. Y. College of Music, 128 and 130 East 58th st.
682
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
A 500-FOOT OFFICE BUILDING.
George B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 683
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1891 Four private dwellings, 21 to 27 E. 77th st.
1891 Office building, 110 W. 4Cth st.
1892 The Milano apartment house, 125 W. 58th st.
1892 The Sevillia apartment hotel, 13 stories, 117 W. 58th st.
1893 Cammeyer Building, 6th av and 20th st.
1893 Apartment house, 8th av and 19th st.
1894 Eight-story store and loft building, 6th av and 15th st.
1897 Apartment house, 122 and 124 E. 83d st.
1897 Seven-story store and loft building, 27 and 29 W. 31st St.
HOWARD & CAULDWELL.
1896 Public Shelter for Corlears Hook Park.
1896 Residence for E. J. de Coppet, 314 W. 85th st.
1896 Shelter for Troops, Van Cortlandt Park.
1896 Hotel Renaissance, 43d st and 5th av.
1896 Gapstow bridge, over Smith pond, Central Park.
1896 Public Shelter and Overlook for Mulberry Bend Park.
New Building. .Public Lavatories at 72d st and 107th st and R verside
Drive.
Fire Apparatus House, Forest av, above 160th st.
Young Woman's House, S. C. U., 49 W. 96th st.
WM. H. HUME & SON.
1887 Hotel Normandie, Broadway and 38th st.
1889 Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 49 and 51 Chambers st.
1889 Asylum St. Vincent de Paul, 211 W. 39th st.
1891 Wynkoop Building, cor Pearl and William sts.
1892 North River Savings Bank, 266 W. 34th st.
1893 Hotel Netherland, 5th av and 59th st.
1893 Lotus Club, 556 and 558 5th av.
1893 Store Building for H. C. Koch & Co., 132 to 140 W. 125th st,
through to 124th st.
1894 Mutual Reserve Building, Broadway and Duane st.
1895 Scotch Presbyterian Lecture Hall Building, Cen ral Park West
and 95th st.
1896 First Church of Christ Scientist, 137 W. 48th st.
1896 Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Amsterdam av, 136th to 138th st.
1897 Spingler Building, 5, 7 and 9 Union Sq W.
WORKS OF RICHARD MORRIS HUNT.
1855 Roesiter residence', West 08th st, New York City.
1856 Studio Building, 51 West 10th st.
1870 Presbyterian Hospital, East 70th and 71st sts.
1370 Victoria Hotel, Broadway and 27th st.
1870 Bronson residence, Madison av.
1873 Tribune Building, Park Row.
1874 Coal Exchange, Cortlandt st.
1881 Guernsey Office Building, 160 Broadway.
1881 Marquand residence, Madison av.
1883 Statue of Liberty (pedestal and base).
1885 Ogden Mills' residence, 5th av and 69th st.
1891 Elbridge T. Gerry's residence, 5th av and 61st st.
1893 John Jacob Astor residence, 5th av and 65th st.
GEORGE MARTIN HUSS.
1879 Interior alteration, Rhinelander estate, 171 6th av.
1880 Addition to Sheppard Knapp's store, 105 W. 13th st.
1880 Office building, Rhinelander estate, 155 W. 14th st.
1881 Warehouse, Wm. R. Renwick, 166 West st.
1881 Capt. Geo. Chatterton, Westmoreland Cafe, 17th st and 4th av.
1882 Warehouse, Wm. R. Renwick, 112 Murray st.
1882 Residence Wm. Schauss, 238 5th av.
684
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
DESIGN FOR PROPOSED "SUN" BUILDING.
City Hall Square, New York City. Bruce Price, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 685
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1882 Eight dwellings, n s 86th st, e 2d av, estate of Wm. C. Rhine-
lander.
1882 Warehouse, R. M. Stivers, 31st st and Lexington av.
1882 Residence Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Thompson, 104th st and New av.
1882 Residence Abner Osborn, 52 E. 81st st.
1883 Warehouses, Mrs. M. C. King, 218-220 Greenwich st.
1884 Residence E. P. Durant, 115 E. 18th st.
1884 Row of apartment houses, Col. A. P. Ketchum, 128th st and 2d
av.
1884 Club house, Citizens' Bicycle Club, 313 W. 58th st.
1884 Apartment house, executors estate Wm. R. Renwick, 89th st
and 3d av.
1884 Apartment house, Mrs. M. C. King, 88th st and 1st av.
1884 Apartment house, Thos. Patten, 89th st and 1st av.
1885 Warehouse, Thos. Patten, n w cor Reade and Hudson sts.
1885 Residence H. H. Butler, 410 W. 69th st.
1886 Stable, Fred. G. Bourne, 68th st and 10th av.
1886 Office of Dr. J. Morgan Howe, 58 West 47th st.
1887 First elevated ring riding academy of New York, 75th st and
Lexington av, Thos. Patten.
1888 One of the four successful competitors for the great Cathedral
of St. John the Divine, on Morningside Park, N. Y.
1889 Residence Mrs. Clara Harrison, 56 E. 53d st.
1890 Apartment house, Garret Van Cleve, 149th st and Walton av.
1890 Residence Dwight P. Clapp, 111 Hicks st, Brooklyn, E. D.
1890 Parish house, Emanuel Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., Rev. Henry
Ormond Riddell.
1890 Residence Mrs. Julia Morss, 42 University pi.
1890 Residence Dr. Aimee Raymond, 116 E. 30th st.
1890 Residence Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Buel, 131 E. 116th st.
1890 Residence Mrs. Emma A. Marson, 133 E. 16th st.
1890 Pope Mfg. Co., Schwalbach Cycle Co., Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
1892 Residence Lewis Morris, 12 W. 53d st.
1893 Drinking fountain, Peter Cooper Park, 4th av and Bowery.
1894 Estate of John Hooper, drinking fountain, 155th st, Edgecombe
and St. Nicholas avs.
1894 Residence Mrs. W. Evens, 52 W. 10th st.
1894 Residence Mrs. G. Taylor, 103 W. 14th st.
1895 Alteration, Madison Avenue Baptist Church, cor 31st st.
D. & J. JARDINE & JARDINE, KENT & JARDINE.
1866 Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 46th st.
1869 Fifth Avenue Theatre (burned down).
1869 Stage, stable and armory, 9th av and 27th st.
1870 Office buildings, 317 and 319 Broadway.
1870 St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, West 53d st.
1871 Adelphia.Hall, 7th av and 52d st.
1871 Residence of Mrs. Keyser, 57th st., bet 5th and Madison avs.
1872 Residence for Griffith Rowe, 685 5th av.
1872 Presbyterian Memorial Church, cor Madison av and 53d st.
1872 Baptist Home for the Aged, 68th st and Park av.
1872 Bedford Presbyterian Church, Bedford, Westchester Co.
1872 Residence A. Van Valkenbergh, 5th av, bet 64th and 65th sts.
1872 Jardine apartment house, 203 and 205 W. 56th st.
1873 Synagogue Rodoph Sholom, Lexington av and 63d st.
1873 Opthalmic Hospital and Homeopathic Medical College, 3d av
and 23d st.
1874 Fourth Reformed Church, 48th st, n 9th av.
1874 Harlem Presbyterian Church, 125th st and Madison av.
1874 Residence of Hy. Knickerbocker, 830 5th av.
1875 University Medical College, 410 East 26th st.
1875 Citizens' National Bank, 401 Broadway.
1876 Park & Tilford's store, 917 Broadway. >
686
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Park Row, New York City.
THE PULITZER BUILDING.
(1892.)
George B. Post, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 687
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1876 Kerbs & Spiess's factory, 2d av and 54th st.
1876 Castle Garden (rebuilt after fire.)
1877 Apprentices' Library, 18 E. 16th st.
1877 Mathews Block, 6th av and 45th st.
1877 National Broadway Bank (rebuilt), 237 Broadway.
1877 N. Y. County National Bank, 8th av and 14th st.
1877 University Medical College, 410 E. 26th st.
1877 B. Altman & Co., 6th av and 19th st.
1878 American Sugar Refining Co.'s offices, 115 Wall st.
1878 Residence of J. A. Bostwick, 800 5th av.
1878 Danser Mausoleum, Greenwood Cemetery.
1879 Sturges' Surgical Pavilion, Bellevue Hospital, New York.
1880 St. Marc Hotel, 5th av, 38th and 39th sts.
1880 Residence John L. Riker, 19 W. 57th st.
1880 Wholesale store, 370 Broadway (John Jay property).
1880 B. Altman & Co., 6th av and 19th st.
1880-1 Residence Adolph Bernheimer, 7 E. 57th st.
1881 Stage stable, 42d st, n Park av.
1881 Office building, 106 Wall st.
1881 American Horse Exchange, Broadway and 50th st.
1882 Office building, 110 Wall st.
1882 Residence G. W. Kidd, 853 Fifth av.
1882 B. F. Spink, apartment house, 14 and 16 E. 125th st.
1882 Palermo apartment house, 125 E. 57th st.
1883 Cornell Memorial Church, E. 76th st.
1883 Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, 121 W. 105th st.
1883 Emanuel Baptist Church, 47 Suffolk st.
1884 Park & Tilford's store, 5th av and 59th st.
1884 Residence Adolf Kerbs, 988 5th av.
1884 Office building, 47 Broadway.
1884 Scoville Mfg. Co., warehouse, 423 Broome st.
1885 Evelyn apartment house, cor Columbus av and 78th st.
1885 University Medical College Laboratory, 400 East 26th st.
1885 "Dundonald" Flats, 71 W. 83d st.
1886 42d St. R. R. stables, 42d st and Park av.
1886 Methodist Episcopal Church Home, Amsterdam av, 92d and
93d sts.
1886 Little Sisters of the Poor( Home for the Aged), 106th st and
Columbus av.
1887 Belt Line Car Stables, 10th av, 53d to 54th st.
1887 Alpine Building, Broadway and 33d st.
1887 Warehouse, 13 Harrison st.
1887 Warehouses, 13 to 17 Jay st.
1888 Wilson Block, stores and flats, cor 125th st and 7th av.
1888 1. & S. Wormser, six buildings, 20 to 30 W. 84th st.
1888 Van Tassell & Kearney, sale stables, 12th and 13th sts, near
4th av.
1888 Training school for male nurses, 431 E. 26th st.
1889 Marcella flats and stores, 125th st and 5th av.
1889 Cutting Building, rebuilt, 15 and 19 William st.
1890 "Wilbraham" Building, n w cor 5th av and 30th St.
1890 Cutting Building, rebuilt, 18 New st.
1890 Residence, J. A. Bostwick, Nos. 801 and 802 5th av.
1890 Amos R. Eno, warehouse, 108 to 114 Wooster st.
1890 N. Y. Life Ins. and Trust Co.'s warehouse, 50 and 52 Lafay-
ette pi.
189Q a. B. Darling, stores and factories, 23d and 24th sts, bet 6th
and 7th avs.
1892 Bradbury Livery Stable, 117 and 119 W. 46th st.
1893 W. D. F. Manice office building, n w cor Pine st and Will-
iam st.
1894-5 Yonkers Board of Education, two school houses.
688
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 689
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1894 Bonfils Building, n e cor 5th av and 21st St.
3895 Morosini Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery.
1896. Store building, 718 5th av, cor 56th st.
1896 Gousset Building, 137 to 141 Prince st.
1896 Office building, 252 W. 138th st.
1896 Apartment house, 269 W. 136th st.
1896. Board of Education, Rye, N. Y., school house.
1897 Scotch Presbyterian Church Manse, 10 W. 96th st.
HENRY F. KILBURN.
1888 Mt. Morris Baptist Church, 5th av, 126th and 127th sts.
1889 Cyrus Clark's house Riverside Drive and 90th st.
1891 Park Presbyterian Church, Amsterdam av and 86th st.
1892. West End Presbyterian Church, Amsterdam av and 105th st.
1892 Colonial Club House, Boulevard and 72d st.
1894 Boulevard Baptist Church, Boulevard and 104th st.
1894 Mrs. James E. Martin's house, 803 5th av.
1894 Wm. V. Brokaw's house, 825 5th av.
1894 Mrs. C. L. Kernochan's house, 826 5th av.
1896 D. S. Brown's house, Riverside Drive and 102d st.
LAMB & RICH.
1880 Residence for H. O. Armour, 5th av and 67th st.
1881 The Harlem Club, Lenox av and 123d st.
1884 De Forest Building, 513-517 Broadway.
1885 The Mechanics' and Traders' Bank, Broome and Broadway.
1885 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y.
1889 The Berkeley School, W. 44th st.
1889 Mt. Morris Bank and Safety Deposit Vaults, 125th st.
1889 Residence for C. O. Gates, Brooklyn, N. Y.
1890 Apartment House, 31st st and Broadway.
1890 Residence for Geo. Tangeman, Brooklyn.
1891 The Germania Fire Insurance Co.'s Building, Pine and Cedar
sts.
1891 Residence for John Matthews, Riverside Drive and 91st st.
1893 The Veltin School, W. 74th st.
1895 Residence for Frank Tilford, W. 72d st.
1896 The Syndicate Building, Liberty and Nassau sts.
1896 La Rochelle apartment house, 75th st and Columbus av.
1896-7 Barnard College, 119th and 120th sts, Boulevard and Care-
mont av.
1897 The Union Assurance Co.'s Building, 35 Pine st.
LAURITZEN & VOSS.
1889 Residence for M. E. Smith, Bedford av and Rodney st,
Brooklyn.
1890 Union League Club, Bedford av and Dean st, Brooklyn.
1890 Residence for W. Toerge, St. Marks av, n Kingston av, Brook-
lyn, N. Y.
1891 The Manhattan A Club, Madison av and 45th st, N. Y.
1891 Hanover Club, Bedford av and Rodney st, Brooklyn.
1891 Offerman Building, Fulton and Duffield sts, Brooklyn.
1891 Residence for W. G. H. Randolph, Hancock st and Marcy av,
Brooklyn.
1892 Smith, Gray & Co., Fulton, Nevins and Flatbush av, Brooklyn.
1894 Batterman Building, Broadway, Flushing and Graham avs,
Brooklyn.
1894 Vigelius Building, Broadway and Myrtle av, Brooklyn.
1895 The Smith Building, 24 E. 23d st, N. Y.
1896 Crescent A. Club, 25 and 27 Clinton st, Brooklyn.
1896 Residence for F. Mollenhauer, Bedford av and Taylor st,
Brooklyn.
1896 Brooklyn Fire Dept, nine engine and truck houses.
44
690 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1896 Wm. Dick apartment house, S. 9th st and Driggs av, Brooklyn
1890-7 Kings Co. Hospital, Dormitories, Storage and Administration
Building.
1896 Residence for Jost Moller, St. Marks av, n Nostrand av,
Brooklyn.
1896 Residence for Miss A. Moller, St. Marks av, n Nostrand av,
Brooklyn.
1896 Residence for J. H. Dick, S. 9th st and Driggs av, Brooklyn.
1S97 Recreation Pier Building on Dock, foot of N. 2d st, Brooklyn.
WORKS OF JAMES BROWN LORD.
1891 Delmonico's, Beaver and South William sts.
1891 Grosvenor, 10th st and 5th av.
1894 Bloomingdale Asylum.
1897 Delmonico's, 44th st and 5th av.
1897 Appellate Division of Supreme Court, 25th st and Madison av.
J. B. McELFATRICK & SON.
1884 Bijou Theatre.
1885 Standard Theatre.
1888 Broadway Theatre.
1888 Amphion Theatre, Brooklyn.
1889 Harlem Opera House.
1890 Columbus Theatre.
1890 Y . . Park Theatre. , "
1892 Koster & Bial's.
1892 The Gayety Theatre, Brooklyn.
1893 Knickerbocker Theatre.
1893 Metropolitan Opera House (interior).
1893 Empire Theatre.
1893 The Bijou, Brooklyn.
1895 Olympia.
1895 Pleasure Palace.
1895 Montauk Theatre, Brooklyn.
1896 Murray Hill Theatre.
1896 Brooklyn Music Hall.
1897 Theatre Metropolis.
GEORGE B. POST.
1870 Braem House, n s E. 36th st.
1871 Equitable Life Assur. Society's Building, Broadway (construc-
tion only).
1871-2 Residence of Wm. R. Morgan, 8th av, cor 61st st.
1872 Black Apartment house, 28th st and 5th av.
1874-5 Chickering Hall, 5th av, n w cor 18th st.
1874-5 Western Union Building, Broadway, n w cor Dey st.
1875-6 New York Hospital, Nos. 9 to 21 W. 15th st.
1878-9 Brooklyn Long Island Historical Society.
1879 Cornelius Vanderbilt's stable, s s 58th st, e Madison av.
1879-80 Smith Building, Nos. 3 to 7 Cortlandt st.
1880-1 "Post" Building, Hanover st, w s, Exchange pi to Beaver st.
1880-1 No. 4 W. 58th st, Hutchinson (now Alexander) House.
1881 Produce Exchange.
1881-2 "Mills" (office) Building, Broad st, n e cor Exchange pi.
1882 Cornelius Vanderbilt's house, 5th av, n w cor 57th st.
1883-4-5 .... Cotton Exchange, in Hanover Square.
1884 "Mortimer Building," east cor New and Wall sts.
1884 Flats for Auchmuty (his sketch), 62d st and 2d av.
1884-5 Hamilton Club, Brooklyn.
1886-8 Equitable Life Insurance Co., lower Broadway (reconstruction
and addition.)
1888-9 Times Building, Park row.
1889-90 Union Trust Building, Nos. 78 to 82 Broadway.
1890 Stores, Broadway, cor 4th st, for W. August Schermerhorn.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 691
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1890-1 Brooklyn Hay Exchange.
1890-4 C. P. Huntington's nowise.
1891-2 Theo. A. Havemeyer's Office Building, Dey to Cortlandt and
Church streets.
1892-3 Cornelius Vanderbilt, addition, 5th av, s w cor 58th st
1892 Pulitzer Building, Park row.
1896 Addition to Equitable Life Assurance Society's Building (law-
yer's club).
1896 Crotona Park, N. Y., Municipal Building for Street Depart-
ment for Department for Annexed District (unfinished).
1896 Weld Building, Broadway and 12th st.
1896 Stores, Broadway, cor Prince st, H. O. Havemeyer.
1896 S teres, Nos. 636 and 638 Broadway.
1896 Western National Bank, n w cor Nassau and Pine sts.
1897 St. Paul Office Building, Broadway, cor Beekman st.
R. H. ROBERTSON.
1883 Y. M. C. A. Building, N. Y. C.
1884 Madison Avenue M. E. Church, 60th st and Madison av.
1885 Lincoln Building, 14th st and Broadway.
1885 Studio Building, W. 55th st, city.
1887 St. James Church, Madison av and 71st st.
1889 Rutgers Riverside Church, Boulevard and 73d st.
1889 Academy of Medicine, W. 43d st.
1890 Mr. John H. Inman's house, 5th av.
1890 Maria Louisa Home, E. 16th st.
1892 Corn Exchange Bank Building, cor Beaver and William sts.
1892 St. Luke's Church, Convent av.
1892 Mendelssohn Glee Club, W. 40th st.
1894 American Tract Society Building, Nassau st.
1896 St. Paul M. E. Church, 86th st and West End av.
1896 Chas. T. Yerkes' house, 68th st and 5th av.
Park Row Building, Park Row, N. Y. C. (now building.)
N. Y. Savings Bank, 14th st and 8th av (now building).
W. WHEELER SMITH.
1872 Collegiate Dutch Church, 45th st and 5th av.
1882 W. & J. Sloane's store, Broadway and 19th st.
1884 Residence of H. H. Cook, n e cor 78th st and 5th av.
1885 Manhattan and Merchants' Bank, 40 Wall st.
1886 College of Physicians and Surgeons, 59th st.
1888 Sloan Maternity Hospital, 59th st.
1889 Vanderbilt Clinic, 65th st.
1892 Wm. J. Syms Operating Theatre of the Roosevelt Hospital.
1894 Metropolitan Realty Building, William and Rose sts.
1896 Roosevelt Hospital, private pavilion.
ALFRED ZUCKER.
1883 Nos. 31 and 33 W. 57th st. (S. Rothschilc).
1884 Nos. 126 and 134 Greene st.
1885 Nos. 28 and 30 E. 72d st (Chas. and Jos. Liebmann).
1885 No. 163 Greene st.
1885 No. 95 Bleecker st.
1885 Sidenberg Building, cor Crosby and Houston sts.
1885 Park av and 57th st.
1885 No. 433 Broadway.
1885 Bleecker and Greene sts, s e cor (burned).
1886 No. 2 E. 80th st (L. Weissmann).
1886 N e cor 22d st and 2d av.
1886 No. 126 Bleecker st.
1886 No. 85 Greene st, cor Spring.
1887 Industrial and Art School to Deaf Mute Institution on Lex-
ington av and 67th and 68th sts (fire proof).
. 692 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE.
Bldg. Completed. Location.
1887 Nos. 159 and 161 Greene st.
1887 Eight houses on W. 120th st, off Mount Morris Park.
1889 Nos. 171-177 Greene st.
1889 No. 2 E. 78th st (Ed. Lauterbach).
1889 No. 6 E. 78th st L. M. Hornthall).
1890 Nos. 97 and 99 Bleecker st.
1890 Nos. 98 and 100 Greene st.
1890 Nos. 190 and 190y2 Greene st.
1890 200 and 202 Greene st.
1890 One block on n w cor 59th st and Columbus av.
1890 No. 716 Broadway.
1890 Nos. 551 Broadway and 120 Mercer st (Rouss Building).
1890 The Progress Club, n e cor 5th av and 63d st.
1891 Nos. 5 and 7 Washington place, cor Mercer st.
1891 N w cor Broome and Wooster sts.
1891 Cohnfeld Building, 92-94-96 Bleecker st.
1892 Nos. 22, 24, 26 Lafayette place.
1892 The Geraldine Building, 5 and 7 E. 16th st.
1892 No. 18 Waverley place.
1892 No. 12 Waverley place.
1892 Nos. 20 and 22 Waverley place, s e cor Greene st and Washing-
ton place.
1892 The Banks Building, n w cor Bleecker and Wooster sts.
1892 Nos. 492 and 494 Broome st.
1892 No. 235 Mercer st. -
1893 No. 27 Downing st!
1893 No. 27 Jay st.
1893 Nos. 28 and 30 Waverley place.
1893 Nos. 18 and 22 Washington place, cor Greene st.
1893 No. 712 Broadway.
1893 Cossitt Building, 495 and 497 Broadway and 60 Mercer st.
1893 No. 139 5th av.
1893 No. 256 5th av.
1894 Gray Building, cor Laight and Varick sts and St. John's lane.
1894 McCreery Building, 66-68 W. 23d st and 22d st.
1894 Decker Building, 33 Union square.
1894 Hotel Majestic, Central Park West, 71st and 72d sts.
1895 The Bolkenhayn, n e cor 5th av and 58th st.
1895 Hoffman House Laundry.
1895 Nos. 7, 9, 11 Marion st.
1895 No. 124 W. 23d st.
1895 University of the City of N. Y., Washington Square East.
1896 No. 458 Broadway, cor Grand st.
1896 Nos. 39 and 41 E. 62d st.
1$96 The Merck Building, s e cor Clinton and University places.
1896 Baudouine Building, s w cor Broadway and 28th st
1896 New Hoffman House, Broadway and 25th st.
1897 Borgfeldt Building, on Wooster st, bet 3d and 4th sts.
1897 Annex to Deaf Mute Institute on 67th st.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 693
West -10th Street, New York City.
MENDELSSOHN GLEE CLUB.
(1892.)
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
694
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
o
O
a s
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
695
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY BUILDING.
(1894.)
Nassau Street, New York City. R. H. Robertson, Architect.
696
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE
60th Street and Madison Avenue.
MADISON AVENUE M. E. CHURCH.
(1884.)
R. H. Robertson, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 697
PROMINENT ARCHITECTS OF THE DAY.
Buchman & Deisler ♦
The well-known firm of architects, Buchman & Deisler, of No. 1 1
East 59th street, has been in existence since 1887. It is composed
of Albert Buchman, a graduate of Cornell University, and Gustav
Deisler, who is a graduate of the technical schools of Stuttgart and
Munich. Mr. Buchman, after his graduation in 1880, entered the
office of Mr. A. J. Schwarzmann, well known as the architect of the
Centennial buildings, Philadelphia. After six years he opened an
office and began designing in his own name. Later Mr. Gustav
Deisler, who had also been associated with Mr. Schwarzmann, joined
forces with Mr. Buchman, and the union has been marked with un-
usual success.
In reviewing the work of Buchman & Deisler, it can readily be
seen that in the Mercantile District of New York along Broadway
and the adjoining streets between Duane and 14th streets, this firm
has done much to add to the artistic appearance of the city. The
firm has been especially successful in its plans for commercial build-
ing. In No. 714 Broadway, there is an eleven-story building on a
twenty-five foot front ; the solution could not be excelled. Another
of their noteworthy works is that magnificent row of double stores,
located at Nos. 580-596 Broadway. Other works are Nos, 610-618
Broadway; 628 and 630 Broadway, both six-story structures; the
Montefiore Home, and Jacob SchifFs residence on Fifth avenue.
C P, H. Gilbert.
Among the noted architects in New York whose reputations
have become not only prominent in the State, but also throughout
the entire country, Mr. C. P. H. Gilbert, of No. 18 Broadway, ranks
among the first. His compositions embrace various well-known
structures, all of which have been treated in a masterly manner.
The compositions consist of no set architectural style, but are varied
to best suit the solution of the problems. Mr. Gilbert's work is
scholarly, refined, and in many cases eminently picturesque, as the
numerous buildings, public, mercantile and residential, which he has
designed, testify. In residences, all of the best type, Mr. Gilbert has
been eminently successful.
H* J* Hardenbergh*
Mr. H. I. Hardenbergh unquestionably ranks among America's
foremost architects. After studying seven years with Mr. Detlef
698 A HIS10RY OF REAL ESTATE,
Lienau, of New York, a pupil of the famous Henri Labroste, of
Paris, Mr. Hardenbergh began to practise alone. One of the first
of his successful compositions was the Geological Hall, together
with the Chapel and Library of Rutger's College. Since that time
he has designed such structures as the Astor Office Building, Wall
street; Hotel Albert, Dakota Apartments, Western Union Build-
ing, the Waldorf Hotel, Hotel Manhattan, Astoria Hotel, John
Wolfe Building, American Fine Arts Society Building, London
and Lancashire Fire Insurance Co's Building, and an apartment
house at Park avenue and 66th street. Mr. Hardenbergh has given
New York some of its finest designs in French and German Renais-
sance.
Francis H* KimbalL
In the list of noted architects who have made New York the fore-
most architectural centre in America, Mr. Francis H. Kimball has
long occupied a prominent place. He entered the office of his
brother-in-law, a builder and contractor, in Haverhill, Mass., in
1862. There he acquired a knowledge of plain drawing, and an ac-
quaintance with the practical side of building. In 1867 he entered
the office of Louis P. Rogers in Boston, who within a few months
after the beginning of Mr. Kimball's apprenticeship formed a part-
nership with Mr. Gridley J. F. Bryant, and in their office Mr. Kim-
ball began the study of architecture. After eighteen months' ser-
vice he was sent to Hartford by Bryant & Rogers to take charge of
their Hartford office. In this capacity he prepared working draw-
ings for the building of the Charter Oak Life Insurance Company,
a granite structure, two hundred and seventy-five feet in length.
During the construction of this building the firm was employed to
build another business block for the Connecticut Mutual Life, wrhich
was to be fire-proof. For this building Mr. Kimball also prepared
drawings. Three years after, he was engaged by Mr. James G. Bat-
terson, of Hartford, and employed upon a competitive design for the
State Capitol of Connecticut. On its completion he went to London
to aid Mr. Burges, who had been appointed by Trinity College to
design new buildings for it. Mr. Kimball was employed as the local
architect, and in London he familiarized himself with the plans, so as
to be able to supervise their execution on their completion in Amer-
ica. While the new buildings of Trinity College were being built,
he was employed on other work in Hartford, the most notable of
which was the Orphan Asylum.
In 1879, Mr. Kimball came to New York under an engagement
to remodel Hoyt's Theatre, then known as the Madison Square
Theatre. In the same year he formed a partnership with Mr. Thomas
Wisedell, which lasted until the latter's death in 1884. During the
copartnership the firm designed Harrigan & Hart's old theatre in
Broadway; the Casino, Broadway and 39th street; the Yonkers
Opera House ; the Goodwin Building, in Hartford, and a new build-
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 699
ing for Trinity College. From 1884 to 1893, Mr. Kimball practised
alone. During this period he designed many country houses, the
Catholic Apostolic Church, the Montauk Club, in Brooklyn; the
Corbin Building, Broadway and John street, and theatres in New
London and Middletown. In 1893, Mr. George Kramer Thompson
formed a partnership with Mr. Kimball, and together they entered
into a competition for a new building for the Manhattan Life In-
surance Company. Their plans were adopted. The principal works
of the firm of Kimball & Thompson are the Manhattan Life Build-
ing, the Standard Building for the Standard Oil Company, the Em-
pire Building, extensive alterations in the store of Messrs. B. Alt-
man ; costly mansion for Mrs. Waldo, at ?2d street and Madison
avenue ; a store in Philadelphia, and a pumping station for the In-
dianapolis Water- Works.
The offices of the firm are located in the Manhattan Life Building,
No. 66 Broadway.
David W. King*
It is an axiom among those who are in any way familiar with the
building trade that the architect of the present day must combine
the general knowledge of the engineer, mason, carpenter, and other
members of the building craft, and possess in regard thereto business
knowledge and capacity for management. The designs of an architect
to a great extent depend not only on his creative abilities, but also on
his power to comprehend practically the requirements of his clients.
It will be seen, therefore, that the architect to be successful needs
possess original creative faculties, experience and executive powers.
The college training, whereby theoretical knowledge is to a
great degree obtained, usually is supplemented by a course of prac-
tical work in the draughting rooms of an active and progressive
architect. A thorough training in more than one architectural office
results in wider experience.
The subject of our sketch, Mr. David W. King, possesses the
qualifications of which we have made mention. He was graduated
from Cornell University in 1877, having taken a scientific course
with a view of becoming an architect. On his graduation he en-
tered a New York architectural office and familiarized himself with
the different practical branches of the profession. During his pre-
paratory career he was connected with prominent architectural firms
in various capacities. He has served in the draughting rooms of
Babb, Cook & Willard, Gambril and H. H. Richardson, Thayer &
Robinson, W. H. Miller and S. S. Beeman. In each of these of-
fices he became acquainted and perfected himself in the knowledge
of thaf special branch of architecture in which the firm was most
successful. In October, 1896, Mr. King opened an office at No.
202 Broadway, and afterwards at No. in Fifth avenue. The
building trade recognized soon that Mr. King was a thorough
and capable architect. In the initial period of his career his compo-
7oo
A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
mm
625 BROADWAY.
(1898.)
David W. King, Architect.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK.
701
sitions were largely heavy constructive work, in which warehouses
and coal pockets and similar structures entered largely. In the next
few years dwellings, municipal and business buildings formed a large
share of the work. As an example of Mr. King's free treatment of
French Renaissance the mercantile building No. 625 Broadway is
probably one of the best. It is a twelve-story store, loft and office
building, of skeleton construction. The foundations are of canti-
lever construction and heavy grill work. The Broadway front is
of limestone, while the Wooster street front is of light brick, trimmed
with limestone. The ground floor, in which a restaurant is located, is
elaborately finished in mosaics and marble, with a special design in
frieze work. While the treatment is free a good effect is produced.
He is the architect for the new ten-story building now in process
of erection at the northeast corner of Fifth avenue and 20th street.
N* Le Brun & Sons.
The firm of N. Le Brun & Sons, of No. 1 Madison avenue, is one
... * .
of the prominent firms of architects in this city. It was established
by Mr. Napoleon Le Brun in Philadelphia, in 1843. He had studied
under some of America's foremost architects for six years, prepar-
atory to his beginning work for himself. In Philadelphia, his most
prominent works are the Academy of Music and the beautiful Ro-
man Catholic cathedral. In 1868 he moved to New York, where
his designs for the Foundling Asylum and the Masonic Temple
were chosen. In 1880, his two sons, Pierre and Michel, were ad-
mitted into the firm, and the partnership formed proved very
strong. The Home Life Insurance Building, the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Building, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which
are among the important buildings in the city, are a few of the nota-
ble designs of the firm.
McKim ad & White*
The firm of McKim, Mead & White, of No. 160 Fifth avenue,
composed of Charles Follen McKim, William Rutherford Mead
and Stanford White, stands pre-eminent in the ranks of great
American architects. Each member of the firm, after graduating
from an American university, studied architecture in the different
art centres of Europe, and it was in 1880 the present firm was estab-
lished. Although each member was comparatively young, the com-
positions emanating from their office won marked favor throughout
the entire United States. At the present time the firm employs
over one hundred men in the draughting and specification depart-
ments. As the purpose of this sketch is not to record all of even the
important works of this firm, it is enough to mention some of the
firm's designs that illustrate the magnitude and importance of the
firm's contribution to American Architecture : In Columbia College,
the Library, Schermerhorn, University, Havemeyer, Physics,
702 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
Engineering and University Hall buildings; the University
of the City of New York; University of Virginia; Rhode
Island State House; New York Life Insurance buildings in
Kansas and Omaha; Madison Square Garden; Brooklyn Institute
of Arts, Century, University, Algonquin, Metropolitan and Har-
vard clubs; Whitelaw Reid's residence; Imperial hotel; Tiffany
residence ; Cable Building, (Houston and Broadway) ; Boston Public
Library; Washington Arch, in Washington Square Park; Mrs. El-
liot F. Shepherd's residence, at Scarsboro ; Judson Memorial
Church ; Warren Building, (Broadway and East 20th street) ; Vill-
iard Houses, and the Deutscher Verein.
George B* Post*
Mr. George B. Post is an architect of national reputation, and his
work forms one of the important chapters in American architecture.
He has designed such buildings as the St. Paul Building, Equitable
Life Assurance Building, Produce Exchange, Cotton Exchange,
Times Building, World Building, Union Trust Building, D. O.
Mills Building, on Broad street ; Havemeyer buildings, on Broadway
and Prince street, and Church, Dey and Cortlandt streets ; C. P.
Huntington's residence, on 57th street and Fifth avenue ; Cornelius
Vanderbilt's residence, on the opposite corner of the same street;
Erie County Savings Bank, one of Buffalo's most imposing build-
ings, and the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, at the great
Chicago World's Fair. It may be invidious to say that Mr. Post's
name is to-day the one best known by profession and laity alike,
but it is probably the fact. Mr. Post's reputation is closely con-
nected with the development of the "sky-scraper" in this country.
He designed the earliest examples of that type of structure — the
chief office of the Western Union Telegraph Co., the Mills and the
Post Buildings, for example. Those were among the first notable at-
tempts to produce buildings that depended strictly upon the eleva-
tor for their serviceableness. They were startling innovations a quar-
ter of a century ago, and the fact that they have been so far surpassed
in the meantime is due in a very great degree to Mr. Post's inge-
nuity and activity.
BUILDING AND ARCHITECTURE IN NEW YORK. 703
The Singer Building*
It was somewhat surprising, not to say remarkable, in this
epoch of the tall but unsightly office building that a ten-story struc-
ture should be built on so central and costly a site as that on which
the new Singer Building now stands. But the course taken by the
SINGER BUILDING.
Northwest Corner Broadway and Liberty Street.
Ernest Flagg, Architect.
Singer Company in providing a home for itself has met with a pro-
portionate amount of commendation from architects, builders, Broad-
way property owners, and the public generally. In the structure
now almost completed the company can justly pride itself in hav-
ing erected a building the architectural beauty of which is all the
more remarkable in comparison with the monstrosities which have
MmM
704 A HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE,
recently been erected. The Singer Building, it is generally con-
ceded, is the best specimen of an architectural composition in the
lower section of the city.
The problem of erecting a ten-story building with a frontage of
sixty feet on Broadway and one hundred and ten on Liberty street,
was entrusted to Mr. Ernest Flagg, of No. 35 Broad street. The
style chosen was that of the French Renaissance of the nineteenth
century. The employment of this style of architecture admitted a
treatment on a much larger scale than is usually employed. The
grand and dignified appearance which strikes the observer at once
is the evident result of this method of treatment. The building is
fire-proof, and the material used in the basement and three lower
stories is buff Indiana limestone, while red brick and limestone
trimmings are the material used in the upper stories. The basement
and first story can be used by a banking or some similar institution.
The three top floors form the suite of offices of the largest manu-
facturing concern — the Singer Co. — in the world. The remaining
stories comprise the rentable offices. Separating the three lower
stories from above there is a rich and heavily ornate stone balcony,
supported by ornamental consoles. The next story serves as a ped-
estal for the great windows extending through two stories above.
The windows are filled in with an ornamental framework of cast-
iron, each mounted by a pediment surrounded by heavy and rich
architraves. The windows in turn support the stories above till we
find a frieze of consoles carrying a balcony around the whole build-
ing, which supports a plain brick story, on which in turn is sup-
ported the curved roof.
The interior of the building is in keeping with the beautiful out-
side. The offices are most conveniently arranged and the well-
known reputation of Mr. Flagg, the architect, is a sufficient voucher
that the equipment of the building is the best to be obtained. The
elevators are unusually large, and are built by the Otis company.
The ventilation has been so arranged by Mr. Flagg that the atmos-
phere in every apartment will be changed every fifteen minutes.
The arrangement of the large windows and halls afford excellent
lighting qualities. As there are no inside offices, every office has
direct light and ventilation. The architect has maintained through
the whole interior of the building a style in harmony with the ex-
terior, producing none of the petty economies of space. The of-
fices as a result are unquestionably among the most desirable in the
downtown business district in New York, and are especially adapted
to banking, insurance and law offices, where large spaces, quiet sur-
roundings and perfect elevator service are desired, together with
easy access to all of the large corporations, law libraries, postoffice,
and surface and elevated railroads, and ferry facilities.
The. offices are being rented for the most part in suites of from
two to four offices each, tht^s limiting the number of tenants on each
floor and avoiding the consequent confusion so common in large
buildings.
De Selding Bros, are the renting agents for the building.
DATE DUE
\L
-.mViuVi
A/>'
— $3
*™fi
*»*
k V.V*',,
$ss
m
a&Sfe
HD 268.N5H5 1898
A history of
3 1518 096 552 983
I'D
NoH5
u ostrt^ record association.
A history of real estate.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American Libraries
TV News
Understanding 9/11