494





RECORD  AND  GUIDE





March 1. 1913





Materials  in  the   Hotel   McAlpin.

The exterior of the New Hotel McAlpin on
Greeley Square is an interesting example of the
application in feeling of detail of the sprit ot
the Italian Renaissance to the modern type
of tall building construction, and Is character¬
ized throughout by a well-regulated use of col¬
ors and texture in the materials employed. The
base of the building is constructed of Bedford
stone, which supports the shaft of the design,
constructed of golden brown tapestry brick,
the mass of which is relieved by balconies of
terra cotta or ot iron, imparting to tbe struc¬
ture the semi-residential character which dif¬
ferentiates the hotel from a purely commer¬
cial building. The crowning member of the
design consists ot a series of arched openings
running through several stories in height, sup¬
porting a cornice and attic story, the whole be¬
ing enriched with polychrome terra cotta. It
is interesting to note one feature which largely
influencee the plan and arrangement of the
first and second stories, an arrangement which
marks a distinct departure from tbe established
New York type of hostelry. This feature con¬
sists in the utilization of the valuable retail
store renting space facing three streets and the
location of the dining room and restaurant
service of the house one story above street
level, all of which has been accomplished while
still retaining sufficient space on the ground
floor to provide the hotel with the largest lobby
in the city. This arrangement gives a very
attractive outlook and street perspective from
all cafe windows, while at the same time plac¬
ing them above the dust and confusion ot the
sidewalk.

The furnishing of the lobby is of marble, ex¬
ecuted in Italy, with seat cushions of red
tooled leather, while distributed about the vari¬
ous points of interest are marble pedestals,
vases and  other decorative features.

The entire western aisle of the lobby, for a
distance of 90 feet, is faced by a bronze and
marble railing, enclosing the cashier, room
clerk, key clerk, information desk and other
departments.

At the corner of S.Sd street and Broadway
on the second floor is located the ladies' cafe.
This room being irregular in shape presented
a particularly difficult problem in interior arch¬
itecture and decoration, and is, therefore, of
particular interest. The ceiling is very or¬
nately decorated in a combination of relief
ornament and fresco and is probably the most
interesting example to be found in this country
ot this manner of decoration. The blending of
the ceiling with the woodwork, side walls hung
in Ardoise blue, with specially designed capi¬
tals of columns, mooels of which were made
by Philip Martini,  is most pleasing to  the eye.





motion to the car. have low cost of mainte¬
nance and high efficiency. It is logical to use
a gear reduction.                                                       -

"Our long experience In the manufacture 01
spur and worm gear machines eliminates these
types of gearing from any consideration. A
careful study of all known types of gearing
brought us, by a process of elimination, to the
herringbone helical type, which is the one used
in the Gurney Type Traction Elevator. We de¬
termined that this type satisfied economically
and  efficiently   every   condition  ot  the   problem.

"An investigation will disclose the fact that
all principles and features involved in the con¬
struction and operation of this machine are
sound, logical developments, based upon theory,
which has been justified by a safe period of
practical application. This machine has a
higher efficiency than any other. It is beyond
the scope of this bulletin to treat of all the
principles or features ot this remarkable ma¬
chine, but a discussion or deduction of one or
two, with a proof of what can be accomplished
in quick acceleration, may prove interesting
and   perhaps   instructive."





■Weathering of Marble.

The assertion has frequently been made in
these columns that nothing will stand the
weathering, the test of time and the various
other elements which go to work destruction
like properly burned clay. We'have evidence
of this tact now and then from various sources
and lately it is a special bulletin from the
United States G'eological Survey which tells
how poorly marble gravestones stand the weather
in our climate.

"The effect on white marble of such a cli¬
mate as that of New England, outside of the
cities, can be observed in many country church¬
yards and cemeteries. -As the epitaphs on
tombstones and monuments give the aproxi¬
mate dates of their erection, the amount of dis¬
solution by weathering in a century can be cal¬
culated. On a marble stone in horizontal po¬
sition in the cemetery on Burial Hill, Ply¬
mouth, Mass., dated 1825, the lettering is almost
effaced, and one of the same year in vertical
position is badly weathered."

Also it is said that tbe weathering of marble
in the smoke-laden atmospheres of great cities
and the industrial centers is hastened not only
by the action of atmospheric acids but also by
the sulphuric acids arising from the smoke of
railroads, factories, foundries and steam plants
where soft coal is used.—"The Clay-Worker."





Decorating Modern Bathrooms.

In doing away with the cabinet work about
the tub and other fixtures, the wainscot has
naturally suffered the same fate. The custom
has grown up to finish the walls of bath¬
rooms with tiles, or at least to make a dado
of tiles, and to paint the wall above, using as
little woodwork as possible. But tiles are ex¬
pensive and people of moderate means are often
compelled to forego the luxury of having them.
Still they want the effect of tiles upon the
wall. To meet this, many wall paper manu¬
facturers have put upon the market papers spe¬
cially designed for bathrooms having tile flg¬
ures and being finished with a varnished sur¬
face that makes them perfectly waterproof.
They answer the purpose fairly well, but are
not "so permanent as a painted wall. They are
more difficult to hang than ordinary wall paper,
and to do a first-class piece ot work requires
that the wall shall be first covered with white
lining paper, in order to make a perfectly
smooth job and to keep the joints of the var¬
nished paper from separating after drying.
Probably the most satisfactory painted treat¬
ment of bathroom walls is in stenciled tile ef¬
fects. The entire wall may be given this tile
effect or the tile design may be carried up as a
dado to a height of some five feet where It
should be capped with the border, and the wall
painted in a plain tint above. For these
tile designs light colors should be used in Imi¬
tation of the tiles most generally used in bath¬
rooms. Delft colorings are very popular, either
dull blue or dull green on white or ivory white.
Blue green on a background of pale cream is
very pleasing, or a more pronounced green on
a pale pink ground. Very light lemon yellow
might be used as a ground color with the design
stenciled in a light ochre tint. The color should
be mixed so as to dry with a gloss. A good
result could be obtained by mixing the color
very thick for the last coat and adding a cer¬
tain proportion of varnish, then stippling it
on the wall in such a manner as to give a
roughened effect. A coat of outside or flowing
coach varnish over this would give tbe work
the mellow tone that many ot the art tiles have.
It is remarkable how conspicuously the tiniest
bit of dust that may get worked into the var¬
nish will show up when the work is finished,
and great care must therefore be taken that
dust   is   not   present.—Practical   Decorator.





The Gurney Traction Elevator.

The Gurney Elevator Company, of 62 West
45th street, is sending out to the trade Bulle¬
tin No. 5 as an engineering supplement to Bul¬
letin No. 4 under date of July, 1912, describing
the Gurney type traction elevator. The con¬
tents treat of "Demonstration of Rope Trac¬
tion," "Comparison of Efficiency of Low Speed
and Normal Speed Electric Elevators," "A
Treatise on the Theory and Advantages of
Herringbone Gears" and "Deduction of Torque
Requirements for Gurney Type Traction Ele¬
vator System." These articles are technical In
character and describe fully and clearly cer¬
tain   mechanical   factors   in   elevator  efficiency.

H. F. Gurnev. M. E., president ot the com¬
pany, writes the following foreword which is
of didactic value to everybody concerned with
elevator operation;

"In planning an elevator machine for ele¬
vators which are to travel to great heights
and at high speed, we recognized that it was
our duty, as engineers, to use the labor and
material available, economically and efficiently,
and to produce a machine that was absolutely
safe.                                                                  ^. ^   ,

"The gearless. or one-to-one type, ■which Is
the only type heretofore used for this service,
had no patented features which would have pre¬
vented our adopting it. After an exhaustive
study of the problem we determined that a gear
reduction was tbe proper solution. While there
is at flrst sight an objection to the use of
gears where they can be avoided. It is necessary
here, as in other branches of engineering de¬
sign, to balance various forms of construction
one ' against the other, and by a process of
elimination to select the design which best sat¬
isfies the demanils that the particular machine
will be called upon to meet. The use ot gears
eliminates many undesirable features. There¬
fore, if gears can be made that will be safe,
durable, operate silently, give absolutely smooth





An Experience in School Building Com¬
petitions.

A number of years ago the Board of Edu¬
cation of a thriving city in one of tbe Middle
States was confronted with tbe problem of a
new school building. Upon deciding to have
a competition for the selection of an architect
the members of the board retained Walter
Cook, now president of the American Institute
of Architects, as professional adviser.

Mr. Cook relates his experience in the Archi¬
tect  and  Engineer:

Tbeir first statement was that "public opin¬
ion demanded that all should have a chance."
When the dangers of this course were pointed
out to them and competition between a limited
number of architects of proved ability was rec¬
ommended, they finally, with perhaps some re¬
luctance, agreed to a compromise. The compe¬
tition was advertised, and the announcement
was made that any architect desiring to com¬
pete should submit his name and qualifications
to the board. From these names a number, not
to exceed fifteen, who seemed to promise tbe
best showing, should be allowed to compete, and
no other. The competition proceeded in due
course, one of the competitors was appointed
and  the schoolhouse was built.

Some years afterwards tbe same board had
another schoolhouse to build and again con¬
sulted the writer. "We have concluded." they
said to him. "that you were right in your ad¬
vice. For this competition we are only going to
invite five or six architects, all of whom we
know are good men. and whom we shall pay for
tbeir services." The competition was held, and
it happened that the winner was the same arch¬
itect who had built the former school.

Again, some years later, a third school was
to be erected. The Board of Education then
decided that, even though the results ot the
former competitions had been successful, a com¬
petition in this case was neither necessary nor
desirable; and the same architect was again
appointed.

It seems as though this little story in three
episodes is instructive and valuable, as showing
that an enlightened and intelligent public body
only needs to know the real conditions to arrive
at the same conclusions as those of the great
majority of architects. In this particular In¬
stance knowledge was gained by experience—
an experience which might easily have been a
disastrous one. It is sincerely hoped that other
Boards of Education, in other cities, may profit
by this experience, without Incurring the dan¬
gers sa. happily escaped in this case.





Oil Mixed Concrete.





A bulletin of the Department of Agriculture.
Offlce of Public Roads, has recently been issued
which describes investigations of the effect of
mixing oil  with  concrete.

While experimenting in the Office of Public
Roads in an attempt to develop a non-absorbent,
resilient and dustless road material, one ca¬
pable of withstanding the severe shearing and
raveling action of automobile traffic, tbe writer s
Investigations led him into a very promising
discovery. He found that when a heavy resi¬
dual oil was mixed with Portland cement paste,
it entirely disappeared in tbe mixture, and,
furthermore, did not separate from the other
in-'retiients after the cement had become bard.
The possibilities of oil-cement mixtures for
waterproofing purposes were recognized and ex¬
tensive laboratory tests were immediately be¬
gun to determine the physical properties of con¬
crete and mortar containing various quantities
of oil admixtures.                                ...  .    j  «   „

Manv valuable data have been obtained from
tbese investigations. The damp-proofing prop¬
erties ot concrete mixtures containing oil have
been demonstrated very definitely by laboratory
and by service tests which establish this ma¬
terial as one of great merit for certain types of
concrete construction. It has also been shown
that the admixture of oil Is not detrimental to
the tensile strength of mortar composed of 1
part of cement and 3 parts of sand when the oil
added does not exceed 10 per cent of the weight
of the cement used. The compressive strength
of mortar and of concrete suffers slightly with
the addition of oil. although when 10 per cent,
of oil  is  added the decrease in strength is not

^''concrete mixed with oil requires a period of
time about 50 per cent, longer to set hard than
does plain concrete, but tbe increase in strength
is nearly as rapid in the oil-mixed material as
in the p'lain concrete. Concrete and mortar con¬
taining oil admixtures are almost perfectly
non-absorbent of water, and so they are excel¬
lent materials to use in damp-proof construc¬
tion Under pressure, oil-mixed mortar Is very
efficient in resisting the permeation of water.
Laboratory tests show that olLmlxed concrete
is lust as tough and stiff as plain concrete, and
furthermore its elastic behavior within working
Umits of stress is identical to steel remforce-
ment is much decreased when plain bars are
used. Deformed bars, however, and wire mesh
or expanded metal will reinforce this material
with practically the same efficiency as In or¬
dinary   concrete.





Approximate  Times  for   Removing
Forms from Concrete.

As a guide to practice in concrete work, the
following rules are suggested by  Building Age:

Walls in Mass Work.—One to three days or
until the concrete will bear pressure ot the
thumb without indentation.

Thin Walls.—In summer, two days ; in cold
weather,  five  days.

Column Forms.—In summer, two days; cold
weather, four days, provided girders are shored
to prevent appreciable weight reaching columns.

Slabs up to 7-ft. Span.—In summer, six days ;
in cold weather,  two weeks.

Beams and Girder Sides.—In summer, six
days;  in   cold weather,  two  weeks.

Beam and Girder Bottoms and Long Span
Slabs.—Tn summer, ten days or two weeks ; in
cold weather, three weeks to one month. Time
to  vary  with  the  conditions.

Archee.—If not small size, one week; large
arches with heavy dead load, one month.

All these times are, of course, simply ap¬
proximate, the exact time varying with the
temperature and moisture of the air and the
character ot the construction.

In removing forms, one large builder—C. A.
P. Turner—requires that a 20-penny spike
driven into the concrete must double up before
it has  penetrated one  inch.





Time Should Be Utilized.

"It is bad policy to start in on a transaction
that will probably require several Interviews to
close, on Saturday or before a holiday," ad¬
vised W. W. Hannan. of Cleveland, In an ad¬
dress. "It is dangerous to leave open days
when no aggressive progress is being made. It
gives some other man a chance to knock your
proposition if he is so inclined. Almost any¬
thing may happen to the best kind of a prop¬
osition   between   Saturday  and   Monday.

"One great essential to success in real es¬
tate operations is the ability to concentrate
your mind and energies on the matter in hand.
As you take up your work Monday morning
have a well thought out, carefully defined
plan in mind of certain things which you intend
to accomplish. Say to yourself, 'Today I will
try to close this matter, then I will take up
th'is and try and close it, then this, and so on.
But all the time you must be alert to the
businese of the moment. Don't make tho
blunder of letting a new matter get by you
because vou had decided to specialize for the
time being on something else. The old Scrip¬
tural admonition : 'This ought ye have done ana
not to have left the other undone,' Is as timely
and applicable in business as  in morals.

"Business in common with the social side or
life has its fads and fancies. There is some
good to be found in most of them As stated
a moment ago. tbe man of tbe hour m the
business world today is the efflciency expert.
To admit that the particular ln<^ustrial con¬
cern in which you are a stockholder has not
felt the probing touch of tbe efflciency expert
s to admit in effect not only that you are old
fashioned but that while your business may
be~ In a bad way. still you don't believe any¬
one can tell you what Is "ne matter, and If
they could you don't want to know.—National
Real Estate Journal."