Jaiiuary 21, 1905





RECORD AND  GUIDE





131





to the dangers of the wastepaper basket and the carelessness of
the office boy.    _.
Most   of   our   irianufacturers   to-day   are   simply   distributing

; printed matter from the press to the wastepaper basket. Re¬
member. I am talking so far as we architects are concerned. I
suppose people do write in making inquiries for infdrfnation; and
"literature" is then in order;  but why mix drinks, why confuse

. ideas? The architect needs the reference, the applicant needs
information, and perhaps tho story about the flrm doesn't do
any harm then if thrown in.

The foregoing is one of about one thousand interviews held
by person and by correspondence with the leading architects of
the country in regard to catalogues. These interviews were
undertaken by the Architectural Record in order to appraise with





certainty the value of catalogues. The information gathered will
gladly be placed at the disposal "of any building material firm
who will send a postal card. There is not a single dissenting
opinion from the one expressed above among the entire one
thousand. As a result, the Architectural Record Co. has under¬
taken to organize a modern catalogue system—a Dictionary of
Building Materials on an elaborate scale and scientific method,
A large number of the biggest firms in the construction field are
adopting it, and arrangements have already been made to place
the system in the oflices of Five Thousand Architects, Engineers,
Contractors and others. The names of these flve thousand offlces
will be furnished. Correspondence with flrms now issuing cata¬
logues (00 per cent, waste) is solicited. Architectural Record
Co., 14 and 16 Vesey St., N. T. City; 120 Randolph St., Chicago.












BACHELOR




APARTMENT




HOUSES





D




0    They    Pay,    and




Does     the    City    N




eed   Any   More?





ACORrtKSPONDENT, who is the representative of a large
estate, writes to the Record and Guide for information
upon the standiiig and quality of bachelor apartment
houses as subjects gf investment. He slates that his own in¬
vestigations have resulted in a divided verdict. Some authorities
whom he consulted made favorable reports to him and others
the reverse. He therefore asks the Record and Guide to give
him the sum of its own observations.

By inference we take it that to build or not to build, is the
question.

"When in doubt,—don't." This is an old maxim. Like most
old sayingSj it is true sometimes. And we are willing to go
farther and say, relying on the advice and experience of per¬
sons qualified to judge, that it is true in this case. As a general
proposition we would not advise anyone to build a bachelor
apartment house expecting a larger net return from it than
from cerUiin olher forms of investment building. For the ques¬
tion Is not simply do such houses pay—^but do they pay as well
or belter than other kinds?

The bachelor apartment house, as distinct from the old-
fashioned boarding or rooming house, is a new growth. It is in
its best form, a building of flrepi'oof construction, of exterior
form similar to an apartment hotel, and specially planned for
its business. In such a building rooms are leased, unfurnished,
to men only, by the year in suites of two or three, with bath.
There mny be a restaurant, or none, in the building. Some
houses serve breakfast only, in the tenants' rooms, furnish a
valet and orrange for light mending fcr an additional price.
There are no general parlors or meeting rooms, except a re¬
ception ro.om at the entrance.

The ground floor in a number of bachelor apartment houses
is a store, rented for general business purposes, and uncon¬
nected with the rest of the building. The plans of the floors above
resemble somewhat the floor plans of an apartment hotel.

Sucii buildings are found for the most part along Fifth avenue
south of Central Park, and in the cross streets adjacent, on
Broadway, and in some other choice locations. Your rich bach'i-
lor prefers to live in a swell quarter. It might almost be said
that location is the principal merit in his eyes. An apartment
house for this sort, ir; order to succeed well, must be in the
current of the best life in the city. The strongest rival of the
bachelor .apartment house is the clubhouse.

Among the authorities consulted the paramount opinion was
that bachelor apartment houses did not pay as well, on the
average, as general apartment houses; that few of them can be
kept full £md that the tenantry is very changeable. However,
we find, as did our correspondent, that there is a diversity of
vieM's.

A FIFTH AVENUE TYPE.
~ The "Cross Chambers" is an example of a profitable bachelor
apartment house. It is representative of the modern, high-class.
Fifth avenue type. The building itself is an 11-sty fireproof
structm-e, on a plot 28x134 feet, at No. 2.10 Fifth av, extending
through to No. 11.^2 Broadway. It was erected by the Hoffman
estate from tho plans of Jonathan B Snook .& Sons, A. J. Robin¬
son & Co. being the builders, and reached completion in March,
1003. Originally the firm of Mark Cross occupied only the first
and second floors, but it has since taken the third also, proving
not that the apartments did not pay, but that business paid
better.

Therefore, but eight floors devote?, to apartments remain, and
a part of the top floor is used as a grili-room where the tenants
■may be served with meals. There are four suites on a floor, each
comprising parlor, two bedrooms, and a bath. They are thor¬
oughly equipped with all modern conveniences, such as electric
elevator service, electric lights and bells, telephones, steam heat,
mail chute, open nickel-plated plumbing, and porcelain baths
and fixtures. They are elaborately and luxuriously finished and
decorated.

The  building,  architecturally,  is  in  the  style  of  the  French





Renaissance, the exterior being of gray limestone. On the interior
the trim is of mahogany throughout, the floors of quartered oak,
those in the hall being of terrazso, while the walls are covered
with silk. The apartments are practically all outside ones, as
the building overlooks on the north the old Delmonico building,
at 2Gth st, now the Cafe Martin, which will probably not be
raised or replaced with a taller building for many years, as there
is a long lease to run. The building represents an expenditure
of over $200,000.

Mr. Crulkshank, of the Crulkshank Co., agents for the build¬
ing, said, in speaking of the "Cross Chambers":

"Yes, It pays. The apartments rent from $800 to $1,600 a year
and out of (he twenty-four v/e have only 3 vacant and these we
expect to fill before long. The ■'hst floor store rental in itself
is a fine proposition. The inquiry and demand for apartments is
good, and no fault can yet be found with the location, though the
clubs have gone further up town. What is the best location?
Anywhere from 23d st to 59th st and a block east and west ol
Fifth avenue. Investors appreciate this fact and more bachelor
apartment bouses will be built."

Old dwellings altered for business on the first, or first and sec¬
ond stories, with apartments above, are the most numerous
sort found along Fifth av, Madison av and in the cross streets
near the avenues. Next in point of number come those new
buildings, built for the purpose and having stores on the ground
floor. The other kind and least in number are those built for
apartments only. In regard to location we might say there is
the Fifth avenue type of which the above is a good example,
the Broadway type and the downtown type.

That 23d st is not the southern limit.of the profitable zone is
shown by the "Benedick," at Nos. 79-80 East Washington Square,
the oldest and the most popular of the really typical New York
bachelor apartment houses. It was built in 1879, by the Tuck-
erinan esiote, from plans by the Ihen young flrm of McKim,
Mead & White, and in 1S90 passed into the ownership of Sonn
Bros., who hold it to-day. It is a G-sty red brick building, on a
plot measuring about 55x125, with an "L" 25x55, to 4th st.
There are 54 apartments, T'enting from $180 to $G12 a year, un¬
furnished, and none is ever vacant.

"There is always a waiting list," says Mr. Sonn, "the build¬
ing is so popular." The tenants are mostly writers, architects
and brokers. The building now has one store on the ground
floor in Ihe 4(h st wing, but the rest is occupied entirely by
apartments. The location is, of course, the chief attraction. It
not only has the charming outlook over Washington Square,
with its air of old-time elegance and respectability, but it Is.
accessible to both the downtown and uptown business centers,
though the clubs have long since moved fsr away.
A BROADWAY TYPE.

The "Alpine." on the northeast corner of Broadway and 33d st.
is a good example of the Broadway type, and of the prosperous
bachelor ncuse given over on the ground floor to retail shops.

Mr,  A. H, Sirong, the manager, remarked;

"Out of c:ur ninety-one apartments v/e have but seven vacan¬
cies, certainly Ihat looks prosperous. Yes, the Alpine pays, that
is, it ijays well on the original investment. If the owners were
obliged to buy the property to-day they could not rent the
apartnierts at the present flgures, from $350 to $900 a year. Thf
suites are m.ade up of various conibinations, from one room anil
bath TO fi\e rooms with two baths. They are all good-sized
rooms, none being of the small hall-bedroom style ko common in





the





■ bo





"Of course, the renting season is practically over by October
20th, but we have no complaints to make. There will be an in¬
creasing demand for bachelor apartment houses ar.d everywhere
below 50th st and not too far from Fifth avenue will be a favora¬
ble location."

The Alpine was erected in 1886 by the D. H. McAlpin estate,
from the lOans of D, & J, Jardlne, since become Jardine, Kent
&  Jardiu'^   It is  an  S-sty brick building,   on   a plot  wieasuring