Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXI.





NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 1878.





No.  512.





Publfs hed Weekly by

'€bt %m[ ^staie Sccarb g-ssoctatton.

TERMS.
ONE YEAR, in advance....Sio.oo.
Oommunicafcions should be addres.sed to

/             C.   W.   SAVEET,

NOS. .345 AKD 347 naoADw.iY





INDEX TO VOLUME XX.

With this i.ssiieof The Recori> wefurniali
a more copifms indf.x to its contents than
we have liitlierto been in tlie habit of pre¬
paring.

First—All the conveyances in Niew York
City (23fl ;ind 24tli Wards excepted) which
have lieen printed in this journal since the
1st day of .Inly la.st, have been carefully and
ac(riirately indexed in such a inaiiner as to
enulile one at a glance to And any sale of
which there is a record in the ortice of the
Register, between the months of July and
December, both inclusive. The arrangement
of the index is simple and easily compre¬
hended. Tiie name of the street or avenue
is first given, and the numbers following
refer to the pages of The Record on which
the memoranda of the conveyance may be
found. All the streets are subdivided be¬
tween certain avenues, and the avenues in
their turn are subdivided in relation to the
streets, as follows:

3.3d st, east of 3d av, pages 714, 869, 910.

2:3d st, bet 3d and 6th avs, page 949.

23d st, bet 6th and Sth avs, pages 559, 6:31, 679, S0f>.

33d ,st, west of Sth av, pages 69,5, 714, 949, 1010.

Second—An index to all buildings, plans
for the erection of which have been filed
with the Superintendent, is also given. This
will prove of immense benefit to builders,
material men and others who are interested
in aciiuiring informatittn resi)ecting any
buildings erected, or in proce.ss of erection,
during the past year. By referring to the
street as printed in the index, the number of
the page on which appears the plan of the
pro.i'ected building concerning which infor¬
mation is sought will be found, and all de¬
tails in reference to the same.

Third—A full list, properly pSgert, of all
the subjects which have becjri rfiscirssed in
the editorial columns during the year 1877
appears at the en<i of the index."





THE REAL ESTATE RECORD.
In entering upon the eleventh year of .its publi¬
cation, we deem it proper to offer to our .rea(ierg
a few cursory remarks touching the position and
policy of our paper.                              -   . :   .

. No development of the science of -journalism
presents more interesting features than do the
trade newspapers. The great daily papers, which
fumi^ ns with-news from all i>art8 of th.e,worl4, of
latest quality and in most abundant supply, are,





m some senses, a necessity and, in others, a luxury
But the application of the principles of journal¬
ism to the service of special callings and trades is
a matter of actual practical utility-, and of real
commercial value to the patrons of such journals.
The Real Estate Record is an apt and fit illus¬
tration of the pith of this statement.

An enterprise begun in inexperience, diffidence,
and amid discouragements, has at length asserted j
for itself a recognized position among the many
trade journals of the city, and is now able to
command not only the patronage, but the com¬
mendation and good wishes of a large and
increasing list of .subscribers.                                 !

A comparison of the condition of real estate |
interests twentj' years ago and as it exists to-day, !
suggests the contrast of darkness and daylight.
Then the.se important interests were totally
lacking in any press exponent whatever, failing
even in anj- prosier consideration from the daily
papers. .4.11 transactions in real estate were
covered—not exactly with a veil of secrecy, but
rather of obliviou— except to those whose busi¬
ness compelled them to study oflicial records.
The business wjis conducted wholly in the dark,
save so far as individual operators might come
together to exchange views, and communicate
information of current transactions. The least
informed person as to any variety or breadth of
transactions was looked upon as a literal prod-
igj- of research, by comparison with the dense
ignorance which characterized the great ma-
joritj- of dealers in real estate, in respect to
daily dealings. It may perhaps be said, in
explanation, that the limited volume of business
then hardly called for a representative paper. It
is certain, however, that the necessity of such a
journal became keenly felt as soon as the dimen¬
sions of business were permanentl5- enlarged,
parf.icularly in the climacteric period immediately
succeeding the close of the war.

Just before the establishment of this paper, a
feeble and inelTectual attempt had been made to
serve this great interest, but it may be truthfully
said that it found no adequate or satisfactory
service until the publication of The Real Estate
Record, in 1S(»S. The faithful, reliable, and ac¬
curate publication of the current matters of
record affecting real estate, has probably given
this paper its highest value, a value, too, that
will continue to attach to it for all time to come
as a book of reference, truthfully mirroring
every item of fact that finds ofTicial record. As
our readers are aware, the first conception of this
jounial was cast in an iron mold, from the gen¬
eral form of which there has since been scarcely
any variation. Though our ideas of its particular
function and service were crude and inchoate at
the start, we have steadilj- persevez-ed in our
efforts to render our records more intelUgible,
accessible, and reliable as the j-ears roll by. At
the present time we hold the journal up in its
completeness as a model register of real estate
affairs. For the future we intend to spare no
effort to retain the confidence and good will of
our large circle of readers; and no practical'or
yaltialSle improvements that may occur to us, or
Ije suggested, will be overlooked or left imtried.
ft w6Ma afford us satisfaction to be able to print





in full the Ust of our subscribers, in order to give
the public some idea of the widespread interest
which is taken in matters of real estate. It would
be wholly an inadetiuate conception that limited
the patronage of this paper to those directly con¬
cerned in real estate dealings. The mercantile
element is largely repre.sented among our sub-
stu-ibers, while the interest of banking, insurance,
and other corporate institutions is abundantly
testified by their liberal representation in our
list. We can claim a.s subscribers almost every
prominent individual in any wa3- connected with
real estate interests, and the distribution of our
paper extends largely among tho.se who lay lu.
claim to the dignity of great operatoi-s. but are
representatives of small and well managed es¬
tates.

Touching the policy of our paper, past and
present, we have onlj- to say that we repel
with contempt the insinuation that we cater to
the interests of either the bull or the bear ele¬
ment. The absurdity of such reflections is too ap¬
parent to admit of argument. The ebb and flow
ofxeal estate values are determined, like the ocean
tides, by influences quite remote from newspaper
criticisms. In the absence of requisite financial
and commercial conditions, the united iutellectnal
force of all the journals in the country would
fail to produce any perceptible impression on
the current of real estate values. Like the winds
they travel whithersoever they list. A sturdy
and heroic band of speculators, willing to risk
enormous capital may artificially swerve the in¬
dex of the real estate compass for awhile, but it
is sure in time to readjust itself and regain its
legitimate bearings. The tactics of which the
terms bull and bear are typical, are inapplic¬
able and impracticable in matters of real es¬
tate. The broad distinctions that we do recognize
in our special domain are simple and easily de¬
fined—to wit: the principles of Centralism and
Disintegration. The advoaites of Contrali.-^m in
real estate believe it is desirable for the future
of this city, and its legion of inhabitiints, that
property should be rapidly concentrated in as
few hands as possible, and that power should be
conferred upon this select body of property-
holdei-s to define the prices and rents of property
upon scales to suit their own interests and pur¬
poses; high prices, difficulty of negotiation and
heavy mortgages being considered favorable to
the promotion of these views. The advocates of
Disintegration in real estate believe that' the
true interests of this city, and of its inhabitant.s,
lie in breaking up the titles of its property into
the smallest possible fragments,' and distributing
them widely among the largest humlier of owners
in order that every representative member of the
municipal family may be Unked to our destiny
by the strong tie of land tenure. It is requisite,
nay, indispenpble, that this widespread owner¬
ship should be based upon a scale of price."?
reasonably and relatively low, and that it should
be enjoyed subject to little or no incumbrance,
with every possible facility of easy.negotiability.

These two parties are tlie .representative and,;
recognizable ones in real estate circles, so far as
theoretical distinctions are concerned. They bi¬
sect the great natoral and tmiversal divisions of