Real Estate Record

AND     BUILDERS'    GUIDE.





Vol. XYII.





NEW YOEK, SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1876.





No. 418.





Published Weekly by

THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION.

C. W. SWEET...............Pkesident and Tbeasuber

PRESTON I. SWEET...........Seceetaby.

L. ISRAELS.........................Business Ma.nageb

TERMS.
ONE YEAR, ill advance....$10 00.
Communications should be addressed to

C.   SV.   STV-IEJET,

Nos. 345 and 347 Bboadwatt

OUE BUILDING MATEEIAL.





THE THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, IN SIXTH
AVENUE—ITS WORKMANSHIP, ETC., ETC.

Our attention haying been called in laat week's
issue by "An Admirer of Kuskin" to super¬
abundance of excellent building material found
in this country, we must admit that there exists
no excuse for the cities of the United States not
to present the iinest specimens in the entire
world. From the Atlantic to the Pacific there are
exhaustless deposits of granite, marble, and the
various sand stones are found in easily accessi¬
ble localities. Our exceedingly variable climate,
particularly in the Northern tier of States, ren¬
ders marble one of the least appropriate mate¬
rials for exterior walls on account of its dis¬
coloration. The Concord, N. H., and the Quiney,
Mass., granites have been favorite materials for
a number of years; but they cannot withstand ex¬
posure to intense heat, as has been unfortunately
demonstrated at the Chicago and Boston fires.
Notwithstanding the long rows of brown stone
dwellings in the city of New York have made
that stone peculiarly popular in our midst, it
begins to be admitted, now more and more, that
th^ dark color of the stone detracts from the
effect of arehitectaral ornamentation. It scales
off, also, and crumbles, and a considerable por¬
tion of it cannot resist the action of the elements.

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick furnish a
free stone which has come into quite general
adoption within a few years. The drab color of
the Dorchester stone is quite popular, especially
in the dry goods districts, many buildings in
Church and adjacent streets having been built
with that stone. There" it has stood the test of
years, like the building of H. B. Claflin & Co.
The Mechanics' Bank now stands twenty-two
years ; thp limes buildiiig nineteen years, and
so are numerous others built from this stone.
Some of the best descripitions of sand stone
come ftom the Western States, where they have
long been extremely popular for building pur-
posiBS. Ohio is particularly rich in sand stone
formations. With the increase of transportation
facilities, this m&terial is coming rapidly into
greater use in various sections of the. country.

The finest quality of Ohio stone is quarried in
the northern part of the State, within a few miles
of Lake Erie, between Cleveland and Sandusky.
There are nanierous quarries, some of which have
been worked for more t]^an fifty years.   The three





leading varieties of this stone are knovm by the
names of "Berlin," "Amherst" and "Berea"
sand stones. The Berhn stone possesses a fine
and firm texture, rendering it durable and par¬
ticularly adapted to ornamental purposes. Its
color is a light gray tint, and when used for
trimmings it affords a pleasing contrast with
brick or a darker stone. It withstands a press¬
ure of over 10,000 pounds to the cubic inch—a
degree of strength superior to that of many
kinds of marble. As it can be wrought into the
most ornamental designs for capitals, pediments
and other architectural decorations, some of our
best architects have selected Berlin of all sand
stone for their finest edificas. The latest in¬
stance of this kind wiU be found in the

THTRD TODICIAIj DISTBICT  C0T7ET,

where the architect, Mr. F. C. Withers, has
used it to a great extent—^to such an extent, in¬
deed, that the stone bands, which look so orna¬
mental, form themselves an intricate part of the
wall, and are not simply ornaments. This build¬
ing is probably one of the very few ever erected
in this city which has been honestly built for,
and in behalf of, the municipal government. It
will be an ornament to that section of the city,
but also a credit to those connected with its
erection, from the Commissioners down to the
meanest mechanic. The Messrs. J. K. & J. A.
Horgan, whose contract calls for over $116,000
of masonry and brickwork, state that,in all their
experience of twenty-seven years, they do not
know of a single building where every detail is
so accurately watched, where every expenditure
has been so carefully weighed. From early
morning till evening they can be found at the
building, personally superintending the brick¬
laying which is progressing finely, and by next
fall they hope to have their contiract fulfilled to
the very letter. Messrs. M. C. Henry & Co., the
stone-cutters, speak in excellent terms of the
Ohio stone above aUuded to, enabling them to
give a sharp, clear outline, even to the most deli¬
cate designs, and,the architect points particu¬
larly to this stone-cutting work as the best ever
done in this city. We add a complete descrip¬
tion of the buUding, as furnished to our reporter
from official sources:

The Court House, bell tower and prison of the Third
Judicial District, New York, for the erection of which-
Messrs. Heinry Hobart Porter, Edward Berrian, and
William Dodge were appointed Oommiasioners, in
December. 1873, by the late Mayor Havemeyer, are now
approaching completion on the triangle formed by
Sixth avenne. West Tenth street and Greenwich avenue.
The entrance to the Court Rooms will be on Sixth
avenue, through a large, ornamental archway into a
porch, 16 feet square; from thence, on the left> through
a vestibule of the same dimensions, to the Police Court
on the gronnd floor, and, on the right, by an octagonal
■tone staircase, to the Civil Court above. Each of the
rooms will be CI feet by 37 feet; the former 20 feet, and
the latter 38 feet high.

The Judgea' benehes will be placed in the rear, so as
to.be. as far away as .possible from the noise of .:the:ave-
nue.   Aq e.xamination room, 37 fe^t b^ 24 feet, ^s pro¬





vided In connection with the Police Court, with a room
for oflBcers in charge of those awaiting trial, for whosi
two large rooms are arranged—one for males and the
other for females.

The Police Magistrate's entrance will be on Tenth
street, where offices for himself and his clerks are lo¬
cated. The rooms for the Judge of the Civil Court will
be on the second floor, adjoining the Court Room, with
an entrance under the small tower on Sixth avenue,
which leads also to the rooms for the janitor in the third
floor. The clerks of the Civil Court will reach the ofaces
provided for them by the principal staircase, and in the
third floor, over these offices, and in communication
with them by a small turret staircase, there will be a
fire and burglar proof room to hold the records of the
Court. Water closets for the public wiU be located near
the principal entrance, on the ground floor, and on the
second floor, adjoining the landing.

The tower for the fire bell, called for by the Act of
the Legislature, will be placed at the acute angle formed
by the junction of Tenth street with Sixth avenue. |The
room for the lookout will be reached by a separate
spiral stone staircase, with a private entrance on Tenth
street, the floor of which will be nearly one hundred
feet from the sidewalk, and therefore above the ridges
of the roofs, so that an uninterrupted view of the neigh¬
borhood may be obtained. Over this room wUl be
placed tho fire bell, and the whole will be surmounted
by a pyramidal roof, with a total height to its apex of
one hundred and seventy-five feet. Between the build¬
ings occupied by the Courts and the prison will be an
inclosed yard, entered by an archway, so that the pris¬
oners can he conveyed to and from the prison without
publicity. The public entrance to the prison will be on
Tenth street, and will lead directly from the porch into
a guard room, 24 feet by 14 feet. Adjoining this will be
a room for the Keeper. On the same floor will be two
large waiting rooms for male and female prisoners. Ac¬
commodation wiU be provided for twenty-nine female
and flfty-eight male prisoners in separate cells, each 8
feet by 5X feet. Those for the females will be on the
second floor, arranged in two tiers, and those for the
males on the floor above, ia four tiers.

The cells will be placed back to beck, the dividing
wall being used for ventilating purposes, separate flues
being carried from every cell to a large central shaft, in
which is placed the iron smoke-flue from the furnaces. An
elevator worked by steam, eight and a half feet by six and
a halt feet, will be used to convey the prisoners to their re¬
spective quarters, as well as to carry up the food from
the kitchen, which is to be in the basement. The cells
will be eight feet from the outer walls, which are set
back ten feet from the street line, and contain the large
windows for general light. A fence-wall fourteen feet
high will surround the building.

The rooms for the keepers are arranged at the entrances
to the male and female quarters, and, in connection
with each, there will be two larger cells for the detention
of such persons as it may be considered advisable to
keep separate from the ordinary class of prisoners. A
small airing court, 30 feet by 20 feet, is provided in the
roof, so that those prisoners who are detained for any-
length of time may be able to take.iiir and exercise with¬
out the possibility of escape or communication with any
one outBide. Provision will be made for the cleanliness
of the inmates, bath-rooms and lavatories being pro¬
vided.

The buUdlpgB are in the Gothic style, adapted to
modem uses, and, while rich and ornate, so far as the
Court House is concerned, will be free from everything
meretricious.

The foundations are of granite. The walls above are of
brick, built hollow, and faced with Philadelphia preesed
brick, with a Iree use of Ohio stone dressings to
doorways, windows, gables, &c., &c. The Ohio stone has
beea fumlBhed by Mr. Charles P. Williams. The princi
pal entrance will be flajiked with life-size statues of Law





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