AND   BUILDERS'   GUIDE.





VoL.L]





NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 1868.





[No. 12.





Published Weekly by
\ C. W.   SWEET  & CO.,      ;,,,

Roo.Ai B, World Building, No. 37 Pabk Row.
TERMS.

Six months, payable in advance..................   8 00

PRICE OF ADVERTISING.

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We have at length secured permanent quarters in Room
B, Avhich is immediately adjoining, the offico^^^rccently
occupied. Our address, therefore, her.eaft^^^^pRoom
B, No. 37 Park Roav.                    -.- Jf^^^^^

The feature avc introduced last Aveek," All about the
Streets," has been received Avith very great favor by pro¬
perty-holders, ond has proved, so attractive that Ave Avill
shortly commence a similar record for Brooklyn. We are
rapidly adding all tho large real estate holders of Noav
York and Brooklyn to our subscription lists, and expect
to hove 6,000 of this class of the " solid men " of the me¬
tropolis and its principal suburb before the 1st of August
next. To such, this list of the property matters before the
tAVO Common Councilsis indispensable. To keep track of
them heretofore, it Avas necessary to wade through the
oflicial proceedings, Avhich not ono person in tAventy of
those interested has the time or patience to do.

We are constantly in receipt of suggestions from sub¬
scribers, pointing out means Avhcreby the Recobd may be
mado more useful and valuable than it is at present.
Some of these avo have taken advantage of, but others,
equally valuable, Ave have no room for at present. We now
give far more matter than avo intended to do at first, and
still more news presses upon us. By midsummer there
Avil! not be the same pressure, and then avo can prepare for
a splendid start in the fall.





BETTER  BUILDINGS  WANTED.

The recent experiments of the Messrs.
Hoe, with a view of illustrating a new and
economical mode of construction of buildings,
is destined to mark a new era in the history
of our city and country.

The primary object has been, and still is, to
a large extent, in the erection of a building,
to put it up as cheaply and as quickly as pos¬
sible. So long as it possesses the outward
show and beautiful interior finish of decora¬
tion, it makes no difference as to what the
walls are composed of, or how thick they are.
"Whether they will be durable or permanent
does not seem to enter into the heads of many
of our builders, contractors, and owners of
property. Eush them up, finish them just as
fast as possible, and sell them out.

This subject was forced upon us recently,
'ivhile riding in one of the avenue cars lead¬
ing to the upper part of the island. We ob¬
served huge props placed against the north¬
erly side of a row of buildings now going up
on the avenue a little above Yorkville. We
suppose that, in the haste to get up the ex¬





terior walls, very little attention was given to
the possible contingency of a storm, and in
the midst of that which prevailed a week be¬
fore last (not very violent, either), this wall
was shaken from its propriety about eight
inches; hence the necessity for the artificial
props. We have a Bureau for the Survey and
Inspection of Buildings, and doubtless its
%ork is well performed, certainly as well as the
present laws upon the subject Avill admit. Bu^^
the fault is not in the laws, but in the false
education of the people. They do not build
their houses with a view to their perpetuity
or permanency. If a house lasts the life-time
of an individual, that is supposed to be long
enough; but hoAV much more economical
would it be in the end, if the object sought
for was a laudable desire to build so that
future generations might learn something of
the wisdom of their ancestors from the char-,
acter of their structures and public edifices.
The old countries of Europe are far in ad¬
vance of us in this respect. The7'e are to be
found buildings of every description, both
public and private, that have stood defying
the storms of centuries. The ruthless hand
of ignorance, and the devastations of war,
have laid Avaste and destroyed many valuable
monuments of antiquity, on which the utmost
exertions of human genius have been em¬
ployed, but, nevertheless, there still remain
standing many, attesting the wisdom and skill
of our ancestors, and which to-day are objects
of interest, and even veneration, to the stu¬
dent as well as the tourist.

The structures of modern times are mere
shells, and the adornments mere tinsel, com¬
pared with those of the'Old World.

From the ravages of fire, as well as the
destructive effects of storms, they are the
least guarded.

Almost invariably, in the event of the oc¬
currence of a fire, whole roAvs of buildings are
destroyed by the ravenous element, immense
amounts of property sacrificed, misery in¬
describable endured, and sometimes death,
even, ensuing, because of the flimsy, frail,
and false protection which our new and
modern-styled houses afford.

In the cities of Paris and London no such
contingencies can possibly happen, for the
buildings are required to be so constructed
that, even if a fire occur in one portion of a
building, the inmates of another can rest se¬
cure in the certainty that it will not extend
to them.

The construction of these miserable apolo¬
gies for houses should, therefore, be discour¬
aged and discountenanced; and it should be





the aim and the effort of those who build, to so
erect their buildings that neither storms nor
fires- can weaken or destroy.

In truth, it is a hideous Avaste of capital to
build houses which last only a few years. If
we would enrich our children let us erect
edifices which will outlast their lives as well
as our own.





HEALTHFUL HOMES.

Mr. Robert Bonneu's very honest advertise¬
ment, that the home he wished to sell near
Tremont, Avas situated in a fever and ague
district, may not be very palatable to people
liAong in that locality, but it ought to lead the
large property holders in Westchester County
to take immediate measures to drain the malari¬
ous localities under their controL It is es¬
timated that about one-third of Westchester
Coimty is entirely free from malaria, that
another third is occjsionally subject to aguish
diseases, Avhile the remaining portion is as " bil-
Uous" a region as any of the river bottoms of
the West. People Avho vnah. to sell property
do not wish this fact to be knoAvn, buj; it ia a
fact nevertheless.

The wise thing to do is to take immediate
measures to drain the unhealthy portions of
Westchester County which lie nearest New
York. A million dollars spent in scAA-ers and
drains would in five years' time add twenty
millions to the value of property in Westchester
County. Had the property OAvners of State
Island tAventy years ago thoroughly drained it
so as to insure it against the intermittent f ev
Avhich prevail there to day, it Avould have be
one contiauous city. It is a splendid regi
naturally; but sensible people AAdU not res
where their families sicken and die.

The same remark is true of Westchester
County. "When steam roads are constructed,
the loAver portion of that locality Aivill practi¬
cally form a part of the metropolis; but before
poptilation becomes denser, we hope that the
Westchesterians Avill make the future homes of
onr citizens healthful and habitable.







The widening of BroadAvay is a subject that
has called forth a great variety of opinions; of
one thing we may be sure, that if done at all, it
will cost less noAA'than five, ten, or fifteen years
hence. As the grand entrance to the Boule¬
vard and the beautiful drives through the Cen¬
tral Park, it Avould seem that it Avere best to
make the improvement noAV.

The idea that it Avould be unsuited for business
purposes, entertained by many, is not in point
of fact correct. The Boulevards of Paris are
lined Avith some of the most magnificent stores
in the world. For Avholesale business purposes
narrow streets may be best, but for the busi¬
ness that is carried ou in BroadAvay above