6o8
RECORD AND GUIDE
April 4, 1908
BUILDING OPERATIONS.
Particulars of Battery Park Realty
Co. Building.
Plans were completed this week by
Messrs. Clinton & Russell, 32 Nassau st,
for the 31 and 3S-sty office and tow^er
building, to be built connecting with the
Whitehall buiiding by a wide court, front¬
ing 206.3 feet on West st and 107.5^^ ft.
on Washington st. Taking in the present
Whitehall building, the new structure
will measure 264.31^ ft. on Washington
st, SOe.llVa ft. on West st, and rear di¬
mensions of 179,11^ ft. The materials
will be light brick, with trim of granite
and terra cotta with tile roofs. The cen¬
tral tower connecting with the Whitehall
' building will contain 36 stories, rising to
a height of 44G,9 ft- The west wing on
West st will have 31 stories, and the east
wing on Washington st It! stories. The
tower roof will have a low peaked dome,
with an ornamental balustrade arched
in the centre of the spah. The specifica¬
tions will call for a group of thirty elec¬
tric elevators, four express to the 36th
story, seven to the SOth story, and the
balance local to the 16th floor. Floors,
Roebling filling, terra cotta cornices and
coping,, copper and iron wire glass sky¬
lights, and the foundations wili be of
caissons on rock, with brick above.
Seventeen old buildings on the site will
be demolished- The estimated cost is
placed at $4,000,000. The Battery Place
Realty Co. and the Century Investing
Co, are the owners. W, H. Chesebrough
is president of both companies; Oakleigh
Thorne is treasurer Battery Place Realty
Co.; John M. Stoddard, 135 Broadway,
secretary; R. G. Babbage. Ill Broadway,
is secretary and director of the Century
Investing Co-
HamiiiersteiD Starts Pliiladelpliia
Opera House.
Under orders from Mr. Oscar Hammer¬
stein the work of demolishing the old
buildings al the southw-est corner of
Broad and Poplar sts, Philadelphia. Pa.,
began this week. On tbis site he is to
begin at once the erection of a new opera
house. As announced in the Record and
Guide of Sept. 2S, 1907, the dimensions
of the plot are 240x160 ft,, and it is con¬
sidered an admirable site for a large
theatre, having a frontage on three
streets, being one square south of Girard
av and the Hotel Majestic. The new
building will contain a seating capacity
that will equal in size and magniflcenee
of its appointments any similar structure
in the world. It is planned to b;ive tbe
structure ready to open by next Novem¬
ber or December, Wm, H. McElfatrick,
of No. 1402 Broadway, Manhattan, is the
architect. Mr. Hammerstein is also con-
temp'atlng the erection of an opera house
in Chicago, to cost nearly -^1,000,000. A
site on the south side of Michigan av.
near 12th st, as a suitable location, is
under consideration, but it ia not thought
probable that this project will be under¬
taken, until after the completion of the
Philadelphia structure.
New Factory for J. F. Blanchard
Company,
LONG ISLAND CITY.—Work is to start
immediately for the new fireproof model
factory building which the J. P. Blanch¬
ard Co., of Borden av, is to erect at Nos.
229 to 241 Borden av. Long Island City,
about three blocks from the company's
present factory. The George A, Puller
Company has obtained the general con¬
tract, and is to complete the structure
ready for occupancy by September 1, 190S,
The construction is to be absolutely fire~
proof, not a foot of wood being used
throughout the structure. In size it will
measure about 175x185 feet, containing
seven stories in height. Architect Paul
C. Hunter, 17 Broadway, Manhattan, pre¬
pared the plans.
Clias. T. Wills to Build Provident Loan
Building.
4TH AV.—Chas. T. Wills, Inc., No. 156
5th av, bas received the general contract
to erect the new Provident Loan Society
Building on a plot 39,0x75 ft., at Nos,
314-340 4th av, to cost in the neighbor¬
hood of $100,000. The structure will con¬
tain four stories, stone and marble ex¬
terior, tar, tile and copper roof, steam
heat, and two buildings will be demol¬
ished, James Speyer, 105 East 22d st, is
president of the company. The society
purchased the site in April last through
L, J. Phillips & Co. Messrs- Renwick,
Aspinw-all & Tucker, 320 5th av, are the
architects. â–
Crow Constructiou Co. Get West Side
Contract.
RIVERSIDE DRIVE,—The contract for
tile general construction M'ork in connec¬
tion with the additions and alterations to
the residence of Mr. S. Schinasi, on the
property, 100x125, at the southeast cor¬
ner of Riverside Drive ana SOth st, has
been awarded to the W, L. Crow Con¬
struction Co., No 2S9 Fourth av. Work on
the new building and the alterations to the
present structure will be begun imme¬
diately. C. P. H. Gilbert. 1123 Broad¬
way, is architect.
C- P- H. Gilbert to Plan Duke Residence
5TH AV.—Architect C. P, H. Gilbert.
1123 Broadway, has been commissioned
to prepare plans for the handsome new
residence which Benjamin N. Duke will
erect at tbe southeast corner of 5th av
and SSth st. on a plot 60x100 feet. The
exterior facades will be of light stone,
but nothing definite has yet been de¬
termined, with regard to equipment. Work
wil! not be started for some time yet.
Hale & Rogers Plan $1,200,000
Buildiug.
Messrs, Hale & Rogers, architects, Nos-
11-15 East 24th st, Manhattan, have re¬
cently been appointed architects to de¬
sign plans and prepare speciflcations for
a 3-sty limestone postofhce building to be
erected by the United States Government
at New Orleans. La., at a cost of .'pl,200,-
(100. not including the site. James Knox
Taylor, Treasury Dept.. Washington, D.
C, is supervising architect.
A 184th Street Project.
Messrs. Neville & Bagge. 217 West
125th st, are preparing plans for a o-sty
high-class apartment house to be erected
on a plot fl.8xS6,ll ft., on the north side
of 184th st, 100 ft. west of St, Nicholas
av, to cost about $150,000. Wm. J, Ca¬
sey, 1953 7th av, is the owner.
Aiiartuient House for 69th St.
OOTH ST.^The Silvermann-Jones Con¬
struction Co., 17 West 17th st, will erect
on the north side of 69th st, 205 ft. west
of Amsterdam av, on a plot 80x87.5 ft,,
a 6-sty high-class apartment house, to
cost in the neighborhood of .fl75.O0O_.
Messrs. Schwartz & Gross, 347 5th av,
are preparing plans.
To Make Record in AVrecking.
"We intend to make a record job in
the demolition of the Madison Square
Theatre and the Pifth Avenue Hotel
frora the standpoint of ]>Qt'ii ingenuity
and speed," said Mr. John Rheinfrank.
of the Rheinfrank House Wrecking Com-:
pany. 620 East 14th st, when he was
asKed about the conditions gt the con-.
tract awarded to his company to tear
down these two structures as the pre¬
paratory step for the erection of the
Pifth Avenue Building.
The contract has clauses tbat are very
binding, emphasizing the necessity of
speed to the extent of putting the wreck¬
ers under a penalty of $1,000 a day after
the time that they are required to turn
over the site to the building company.
Work was started on the razing of the
theatre last week, so that the United
Engineering and Construction Company
would be able to proceed with the exca¬
vating for the foundations and the con¬
struction of the same.
This company has the contract for all
of the construction work up to the under¬
side of the steel construction, including
the caissons. Its special bucket trucks
have been leased by the Rheinfrank Com¬
pany to be used under the supervision of
the United Engineering Company in order
to facilitate progress. These buckets take
the material to be removed direct from
tho structure and flt on the trucks. A sec¬
ond handling is not required, the buckets
being hauled to the dump and returned
to the scene of operations for another
load.
Speed was the principal demand of tbe
promoters of the building to be erected,
and to insure this they did not secure es¬
timates, but gave the contract direct to
a large and reliable company that could
guarantee the cleanest and most expe¬
ditious work.
The wrecking company will not be per¬
mitted to start on the hotel until May 1,
when the western part will be vacated
and turned over to the workmen. This
part of the structure will be razed while
the other part, in which the stores are
located, will still be used until the leases
expire. The entire structure is to be
demolished Aug. 1. Incidentally there
ivill be little saved from the theatre.
Mr. Walter G, Earl, superintendent for
the Rheinfrank Company, said that prac¬
tically all that would be of any further
use would be the floor beams and a few
odds and ends. In the desire to hasten
the completion of the work the brick will
not be cleaned, but will go direct to the
dump. It would impede progress to clean
them on the site and at the present price
of new brick it would not pay to haul
them away to be cleaned. The flooring
and other woodwork w-ill go to tho fire¬
wood pile. The gallery railing has been
saved and it will probably be changed,
the plush removed, repainted and sold to
some property owner as part of a porch
front. The erection of the new building
on such a valuable lot involves so many
millions of dollars and heavy loss
through taxes while the work of demoli¬
tion is in progress that every available
device to hasten the razing and cleaning
to the street level will be requistioned by
the Rheinfrank Company.
Apartments, Flats and Tenements.
MANHATTAN.—Pred Ebeiing, 420 East
Oth st, is planning for alterations to the
flat buildings Nos, 405-407 East 19th st,
including new plumbing,
MANHATTAN.—J-icob Simon, 72 East
Broadway, will make .$4,000 worth of
changes to the tenement building. 26x63.6
ft., 19 East Tth st. O. Reissmann. 30 1st
st, architect.
MANHATTAN,—W.' T. Walton 255
West S4th st, owner^ John H, Knubel,
318 West 42d st, architect, are planning
for extensive alterations to the tenement
building 803 Sth av.
MANHATTAN.—W. . J. Conway, 400
Union st, Brookljm, iSf planning for $5,-
01)0 worth of alterations to the 5-sty ten¬
ement, 224-230 West 18th st, owned by
P. R, Kgndal], 1 East 60th st,