March 4, 1905





RECORD AND   GIJIDE





463





90% WASTE





^ Ninety per cent, of all  Catalogues sent out are dropped

at once into the Waste Paper Basket.
^ That is the present Method—extremely wasteful.
1" There is a New Modern Method—prevents the Waste—

saves the  life of   the   Catalogue—keeps  it  all   the  time

right by the Customer's Elbow.
T[ Will  gladly   tell   you all   about  it.    Ccsts you   Nothing.

INDEX DEPARTMENT,
THE ARCHITECTURAL RECORD CO.,

14-16 Vesey Street,   New York;                           120 Randolph Street,  Chicago,  III,





Altman Building Plans  Filed.

5th av.------Trowbridge & Livingston, 724 5th av, to-day filed

their plans for the new Altman store in Fifth av. The chief
point of interest is that the size of the plot to be occupied is
given. The building will extend to No. 13 East .Mth st^ being
wihin 145 ft. of Madison av, and to No. 10 East 35th st, within
1)5 ft of Madison av in that thoroughfare. It will be 8 stories
in height and is estimated to cost $2,500,000. Marc Eidlitz &
Son have the general contract.





Ready  for  Delivery   Next   Week.

The annual number of the Record and Guide Quarterly for the
year 1904. containing the records of conveyances, mortgages,
leases, auction sales, projected buildings and alterations; also
a high-priced realty table, and a directory of real estate cor¬
porations, will be ready for delivery next week. The volume
contains nearly eight hundred pages and has the records an¬
notated and arranged alphabetically and numerically. Price
$20 a year. Published by the Record & Guide Co., 14 and 16
Vesey st.





Hoffman House-
Francis S. Kinney, of 19 West 54th street, president of the
Hotel de Luxe Co,, with offices at 135 Broadway, has bought the
older portion of the Hoffman House adjoining and surrounding
the Alhemarle, which he also owns, Mr. ICinney, through his
secretary, imnounces that he has no plans for a new holel
for the site or for any alterations to the existing buildings. Tt
will be recalled that the Hoffman estate, who owned this part
of the Hoffman house, a year ago had plans drawn by Messrs,
Barney and Chapman for a fine new structure to cover this
plot. However, Mr. Kinney says these plans have been flnally
abandoned. In 1899, be built on the northwest corner of
Madison avenue and 56th street a 12-sty hotel from the plans
of Howard, Caldwell and Morgan, who were then associated
at No, 10 East 23d street. This portion of the Hoffman House
fronts about 50 feet in Broadway between 24th and 25th
streets, with a wing in 24th street having a frontage of 48 feet
in that street. This latter is the famous "Hoffman House
Cafe." Tbe Alberraarle occupies the corner plot and is not
connected with the Hoffman House.





A New Con-pany.

The Hydrex Felt and Engineering Company affords the latest
example of the tendency of the times toward specialization. This
company, which has just commenced business at 120 Liberty
street. New Tork City, devotes its energies exclusively to the
subject of waterproofing. This is a branch of engineering which
lias hitherto been comparatively neglected, but with the great
activity in tunnel building and in structural work requiring
deep foundations, and with the growing tendency of the en¬
gineer to burrow underground, and also to keep the water from
his superstructures, the importance of the subject now warrants





the attention of specialists. This is the first company wbich,
besides offering waterproflng material, also draws up plans and
specifications and attends to the engineering details of this class
of work. The manager of the new company is Edward W. De
Knight, who has taken a prominent part in preparing the plans
for waterproflng a number of large engineering enterprises^ Tfte
new company is an off-shoot of the old-established concern of
F. W, Bird & Son, East Walpole. Mass. The Hydrex Felt and
Engineering Company starts business under favorable auspices,
as "hydrex" felt has been specifled for the Pennsylvania tunnel
under New York City, the B. & O. Pennsylvania improvements
at  Washington and other important projects.





Owl's Head Park.

Of.the three-million park appropriation made by the Board of
Estimate last week, $900,000 goes to Brooklyn, and will be
spent on two parks, one of them Owl's Head, this being of the
greatest importance and beneflt to the Bay Ridge section. The
cost of Owl's Head Park, overlooking tbe bay, is estimated by ■
Chief Engineer Lewis, of the Board of Estimate, at $1,600,000,
but Borough President Littleton informed the Board that the
land could be bought from the E. W. Bliss estate, the present
owners, for $625,000, as the portion under water owned by and
adjoining the estate is not needed by the city. The residents of
Bay Ridge, who for years have been agitating the purchase of
this beautiful spot for park purposes, are congratulating them¬
selves upon their success.





Increase of Capital.

At a special meeting of the stockholders of The Title Insurance
Company of New York held on Tuesday, February 28, 1905,
it was voted to increase the capital stock of the- company
from ten thousand shares of the par value of one hundred dollars
each to twenty thousand shares of the par value of one hundred
dollars each, and It was also voted to offer the stock to stock¬
holders of record on March 8, 1905, share for share, at one hun¬
dred and flfty dollars per share.





The Fort Hamilton  Reservation.

The enlargement of tbe military reservation at Fort Hamilton,
as planned by Colonel G. G. Greenough, the commandant, and
fathered in Congress by Congressman Edward M, Bassett, has
called Borough President Littleton to Washington to consult
with the War Department and safe guard tbe interests of the
city. It is proposed to make 92d st the interior land boundary
for the extreme length of the reservation, instead of as it is at
present only for a short distance and then 117th st.

The military authorities are said to be quite willing to throw
open to the public, as a park, the reservation, except a certain
section, in which are located the largest batteries. The Borough
President with Mr. Bassett will try to obtain for the public a
driveway through the entire reservation, to connect with Cropsey
av, Bath Beach.





Brooklyn Block Turned Over to tlie   City.

On March 1st, in condemnation proceedings, tbe City of New
York took possession of the triangular block at the southeast
corner of Ashe-st and Manhattan av, Greenpoint, to be used as
a part of tbe Brooklyn approach to the high level roller lift
bridge over Newtown Creek. Tbe. work of tearing down 'be
buildings, raising the grade and the building of retaining wails
for the southern approach will be started at once. The creosoted
timber is being carried across the creek, to be used for the plank
roadway for the Long Island City movable arm of the bridge.
The Chelsea Jute iMiils will extend their vaults up to the new
ground. It is expected that the bridge will be ready for trafRc
by Juiy 1st, 1905.





Four Hundred Lots At Bayside.

The Bay Side Land Association has conveyed to a syndicate
of Manhattan capitalists a tract of land consisting of 411 lots,
located south of Broadway and west of Bell av, in the heart oi
Bay Side. The new purchasers, it Is announced, will at once
commence the erection of houses. The purchase price is re¬
ported to be $25,000.





The public auction, as a method of disposing of real estate, is
giving some strong proofs of its effectiveness. The sale by
Bryan L. Kenneiiy of 7 Pine st, on Wednesday was a proof of
this. Mr. Bauerdorf, (of Deyo. Duer & Bauerdorf), of 115
Broadway, tbe attorney, expresses himself as well pleased witb
the result, as the prices obtained were more than expected.
Thirty-one parcels, al! improved, as advertised in last week's
Record and Guide, were sold.