848





The Real Estate Record.





to Albanj- rather than cross the river to the
Grand Central Depot. Hence, we look for quite
a diversion of travel from the Hudson River
liailroad. But this west side road will bring in a
larger amount of land lor farming and building
purjioses, and it will call the attention of New-
Yorkers to proiierty Ijing back of Nj-ack and
around Rockland Lake. There are some charm¬
ing locations for villas, as well as good business
locations for manufacturing along the line of
this road now being constructed from Jersej-
Citj- to Albanj-.—Ed. Real Estate Record.





Editor Real E.state Record :

Is there uo probabilitj- of an advance iu Staten
I.«-land propertj- ? Surelj-, as the butiiiess popu¬
lation of the lower part of New York becomes
denser, as the resident population are crowded
further up-town, the unequaled advantages of
Staten Island for residence purposes will be seen
and apin-eciated. Staten Island is as beautiful
as the Isle of Wight, and yet real estate is a drug,
and people will not buj' to settle on any part of
it except the north shore.                     Islakdeii.

AxswER.—Staten Island ought to be worth
treble the price it could now be purchased for.
What is needed is some comprehensive scheme of
drainage to rid the island of chills and fever.
Tho North Shore is so far the favorite place for
residences, becau.se the hills through the centre
of the island shut off that portion from the
malarious districts, south and west. Great lack
of wistioui has lM?en shown bj' the inhabitants in
resisting anj- attempt to thoroughly drain the
island. We agree with our correspondent as the
business population becomes more dense on the
lower imrt of New York, that many people will
be tempted to purchase residences on Staten
Island; but no one acquainted with the facts will
advise their friends to live anj-where on Staten
Island except on the North Shore. It is a
real pity that this charming region cannot be
reclaimed and made healthful. It ought to have
ton times the population it has to-daj-, but it
seems impossible to induce the property holders
to consent to the necessary taxation to make the
island healthful.—iU Real Estate Record.





LEGAL DECISIONS.
mortgagor—dower right of   infant mort-

GAGOIt.

The Supreme Court has decided the follo%ving:

One M. desired to raise monej' to pay off cer
tain mort^ges executed bj- him prior to his mar¬
riage. This he succeeded in doing. The prior
mortgages were, in fact, unsatisfied of recoid
when lhe moneys were advanced on the new
mortgages, although it was understood that such
monojsshould be, and they were in fact, applied
to the iiajnient of such prior mortgages, and
thej- were thereupon satisfied of record. At the
time of the execution of the new mortgages M.
had married, and his wife, who was an infant,
but which latter fact was unknown to the mort¬
gagees, joined in the execution of the mortgages.

The wife defends the foreclosure of the new
mortgages upon the ground of her infancy at the
time of their execution.

Judge Van Vorst decides that it is equitable
and just that the prior mortgages, which were
satisfied with the moneys raised on those ex¬
ecuted by M. and wife, should be revived, so
as to effectuate what, was intended at the time,
to wit: the release of her dower right, and that
the same should be postponed until the mortgages
last executed are satisfied.

Dower is a moral right and, as such, is favored.
But there is no reason why the wife's claim
should be absolutely preferred to a mortgage ex-
ecutwi before her right attached, and which was
sati>fied through moneys raised with the under¬
standing that the person advancing the money
should, in reality, have a hen, in so far as the
dow er right was concerned, equal to that which
was discharged.

PROMMISSORT   NOTK—ACCOMMODATION ENDORSE¬
MENT BY ONE MEMBER OK A FIRM.

The Supreme Court, of Michigan, recently de¬
termined the following :

Three i>ersons were in co-partnership; one of
the firm endorsed the co-partnen^ip name for





the accommodation of third parties, who, in
tuni, delivered the note so endorsed for their ac¬
commodation to an execution creditor. The
Court hold, that the execution creditor is, of
course, not a bona fide holder, and must be sup¬
posed privj' tp all the facts. He knew he was
taking the endorsement of the firm for a debt
of a third person, and if the partner who endorsed
the firm name had stated at the time that his
firm was to or did receive some consideration for
the endorsement, it could not bind his copart¬
ners. A partner's declarations maj' bind his
associates in partnership matters, but not in con
corns foreign to the partnership; and he cannot,
bj' his mere admission or declaration, bring a
transaction within the scope of the business when,
upon the facts in proof, it appears to have no con¬
nection therewith.





WHEN SURETY WILL BE   HELD LIABLE  AS   PRIN¬
CIPAL.

The Supreme Court of Missouri, in a recent
case, say:

If one who is but a surety execute a note as
maker, or accept a bill intending to be held as
principal, and the security is so taken by the
endorser, he may be treated in the character he
assumed on the face of the transaction, notwith¬
standing the holder, when he received the
security, was aware that the maker, or acceptor,
had become so for the accommodation of the
drawer of the bill or endorser of the note.





THE NEW BUILDING FOR THE  LONG  ISLAND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

T'lie Lonpr Island Historical Society building on the
corner of Pierrepont and Clinton streets, now ap¬
proaching completion, will be an ornament to the city
of Brookljn. Without being pretentious in appear
ance, its entire construction at once reflects the pur¬
poses for which it is to be used. The three principal
stories will be devoted to a lecture room, to a library
and to a museum, the latter in the upper storj'. The
walls, which are four feet thick and elaborately
trimmed with terra cotta, are started on a bot¬
tom of Wyoming Valley stone—a greystone of ex¬
cellent qualitj-. which i.s susceptible of very fine
carving. The brick of the walls are all laid in
black oil putty instead of in black mortar. Along
the front wall will be the heads of Michael An¬
gelo, Beethoven, Columbus, Shakespeare, Franklin
and Guttenberg, by Warner, of this city, and Bartlett
of Boston, both sculptors of repute. In the spandrels
will be represented the various agricultural products
of the country, such as Indian corn, wheat, etc., while
all along there will be terra cotta panels. The entire
structure is to be surmounted by an ornamental
tower, 100 feet from the ground. The lecture room,
will be finished in ash and cherrj-, the stained glass
furnishing a most pleasing light to this story.

It should be added, in connection with a description
of this building, that it is the first time that terra
cotta has been used to any considerable extent in
place of stone. The manufacture of terra cotta is in
fact an entire new industry in this country. It was
started two years ago in Chicago, and, owing to its
being more and more regarded as an excellent build¬
ing material, terra cotta factories have since been
started in Boston and South Amboy, where the well-
known Halls are constantly receiving large orders for
thia material. Mr. George B. Post, the architect of
the Long Island Hostorical .building, considers terra
cotta the best flre-proof material extant, in fact he
regards it as indestructible, and yet it is nothing but
very hard-burnt brick, of extraordinary good quality.

Mr. David H. King, Jr., is the contractor for this
building, the Halls of Perth Amboy. as already stated,
furnish the terra cotta, and Mr. A. Schweizer supplies
the'.iron work.

We have above merely outlined the leading divi¬
sions of the building, as they indeed form the princi¬
pal room for the Society's requirements, but there
are, of coui-se, any number of offlcers' and directors'
rooms in various parts of the building.
-----------------------------------------»■»>

THE VANDERBILT METHOD OF BUILDING.
Not long since, Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt made up
his mind to rebuild the northwest corner of Fifty-
seventh street and Fifth avenue. Two houses stood
there which had to make room for the new palatial
mansion which young Cornelius, the son of Wm. H.
Vauderbilt, intends to erect there. His architect, Mr.
Geo. B. Post, suggested that instead of seUing tbo old
material tbe houses be talKn- down, piecemeal, and





placed on the corner ot Madison av. and Fifty-sev¬
enth St., where Mr. Vanderbilt had acquired a suffic¬
ient quantity of ground. The proposition was ap
proved by the owner, and now Mr. David H. King, Jr.,.
the builder, is constructing the new Madison avenue-
corner with the material of the old Fifth avenue
houses, every part having been previously marked
and numbered so as to fit in the same spot where it
has done service before. The houses, according to
this arrangement, are rapidly approaching comple¬
tion at the saving of about fifty per cent, on the cost,
of construction.





COURTLAND STREET IMPROVEMENTS.
The site of the; old National Hotel in Courtland'
street will be occupied shortly by a new fire-proof
ofllce building which will add still further to the-
increased facilities which that thoroughfare nowr
offers to the multifarious business interests of t!!iis
city. Located as this new building is, next door to
the Coal Exchange, it cannot fail, when completed,,
to at once being occupied by tenants. It will be six
stories high, covering a plot of ground 65x12-3, and
will be fire-proof throughout. The front will be of
Indiana lime stone, which has been tested as an
excellent building material and quite pleasing to the
ej'e. The ground fioor especially will be elaborately
ornamentfed and the upper offices will all have ample
light and ventilation. The contract for the construc¬
tion of this edifice has been entrusted to Jas. B.
Smith, Prodgers & Co., a guarantee that the work wfil
be well done. Mr. Geo. B. Post is the architect of this
building, which belongs to the U. J, Smith estate.





THE VICTORIA HOTEL.
The Stevens Apartment.House, on the corner of
Fifth avenue and Twenty-seventh street, having
changed hands, will be reconstructed as a hotel and
on and after December 1st will be known as the Vic¬
toria. Mr. M. M. Stanley and Mr. Frank Wrislej-, for¬
merly of the New^ York Hotel, are the new lessees.
The entire building is to be remodeled. There always
was a lack of fight in this apartment house, and, to
remedy this, the partitions on all the floors will be
removed, which wfil not only give more light but more
air. The dining room is being enlarged and two
other buildings on the Fifth avenue side are to be
added. Fuller details of tho reconstruction of this
weU known apartment house will be given in a future
number of The Record.





THE SALE OF MONTAUK POINT.
The great Indian reservation and peninsula, known
as Montauk, the southeastern extremity of Long
Island, on which stands the Montauk Lighthouse, con¬
taining 11,500 acres, including land and water, was
sold at auction on Wednesday, for §151,000, to Mr.
Arthur W. Benson, President of the Brooklyn Gas
Light Company. The sale took place at East Hamp¬
ton, in the'presence of a large number of people. Th©
East Hampton people are rather disappointed at the
result of the sale, as they reckoned on over 5200,000
being realized. It is thought that there will be little
delay in furnishing this eastern end of Long Island
with railroad communication, and making it a choice
watering place.





AUTOMATIC PARLOR ELEVATOR. "
One of the great centres of attraction at the Fair
of the American Institute, around which a crowd i >
continually standing, is the Automatic Parlor Eleva¬
tor, manufactured and exhibited by H. Y. I>asear, of
No. 8 Gansevoort street. It is simple in its construc¬
tion, acts noiselessly, is absolutely safe, is not liable
to get out of repair, and fn any building where the
traffic is not enough to pay for the running expenses
of a steam elevator, it is just the thing. A lady or a
ten-year-old child can manage it with the utmost
safety.





COUNTRY LANDS.
In connection with our list of reliable real estate
agents, we are constantly receiving particulars from
them of special opportunities to investors that occur
in their respective districts, which we shall at all
times be pleased to .show to capitalists and others
seeking investments; and for parties wishing to locate,
we have particulars of several very eligible opportu¬
nities.-    Atoong thera° are' some sent by out corre»-