Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXiV.





NEW YOilK, BATUliDAY, iSEPTEMiiEU 2U, 1879.





No. GOl.





Published Weekly by

W>\n %titd €statc Eecor^ ^^ssanaimit.

TERMS.
OWE YEAR, in advance....SIO.OO.
Communications should be addressed to

C.   XV.   SWEET,

Nos. Sib AND li47 Bkoadw.w





ABOUT THE RE.JlL ESTATE RECORD.

It is now certain that Ibe next si.x or seven
years will see an activity in real K^tate. not only
in this city, Iiut all over the country, such as has
not been known since 1S:17. The census of next
year will give ns a iiopulation of over lift}'
millions, nnd the facts brought out bj* the enumer¬
ation will inako it evident Hint tho next decade
will show a pbenoiniiKil increase in the number
of inhabitants of the United States. This addi¬
tion to our population will manifest itself more
particularly in the groat nianufncturing and
commercial centres, and the great foi tunes made
out of real estate will be from investniDiils in tbe
neigbborliood.s of now large and still growing
cities.

AVbi:epn3'ing more attention tban ever to our
local markets, it is the intention of tho proprietors
of The Real Estate Rkcoud to give tbe paper a
greater .scope than it has had heretofore. AA'^e
propose to make it tbo organ of the real estate
interest of the wdiole counlry. It is our intention
to ninke it an indispensable necessity for archi¬
tects, real estuto agents, builders, luniber mer¬
cbanls, and dealers in all building material
throughout tho United States. The gigantic
scbemes now incubating for organized coloniza¬
tion from Europe require a proper medium and
expoueiit ill this citj', and this field Thk Real
Estate Recokd proposes to liil to the best of its
ability. A lilo of the IlEcnni) will bo found
hereafter at every important consular ofilce in
Europe. AA'lien the inoprietor of The Recoud
was abroad last year be found that tbe Ameri¬
can consuls were being applied to by emigrants
for information respecting the be.';t locations for
settlement in tbis country. Ho found that even
then plans were on foot to send organized colonies
to settle on different portions of the soil of the
United States. Tbo inquiries were directed
mainly, though not exclusively, to points north¬
west of tbe IVIississippi River and .southwest of
the Missouri. Hereafter the consuls can refer
their inquirers to tbe oflice of Tiis Real Estate
Record for tbe names of real estate agents
throughout tbe country who have tbe latest and
most complete iiiforniatioii respecting choice
lands iu the trans-Missi.s.sippi region. In this
connection we have opened a directory of real
estate dealers Northwest, AVest and Southwest.
We confine these announcements to one, from
eacb city or section. We have been making in¬
quiries for some time past for the most trust¬
worthy real estate agents in all tho A\''estern
towns and cities, and wo do not propose to allow
any names in our Directory which are not of the
highest repute in their respective neighborhood,
nor do we propose to give more than one name
for each locality. We expect, moreover, to
form and indeed are forming business relations
with the promoters and organizers of colonies iu
Europe and in this country. Agents who have
■valuable land for sale, as well as railroads with





unused land grant.s, will do well to comnuinicato
with thi.s oiiice, as we sell nolbing ourselves but
only tn'oposc to bring Ibo agei.t and investor
together.

Our local patrons need not be afraid Ibat this
new feature will involve any clinngo in the
excellence of Ihe various dcparlnienls of The
Reciird. Tbis was the lirst paper to publish llie
ollicial transfers of real esluto, the mortgage.^,
and tbe jiidginonl.s. Our sulwcribens by this time
know what pains have bt en taken to make the
iiiforniation full, iiccuratc, and reliable in all
re.*pec's. Our luniber and building material re¬
ports will be, if possible, more complete than
ever. Hereafter, it is our intention, in connec¬
tion with Iho odli'ial prices of real estate, to give
tbo previous ollicial price at which tho property
was sold; that is lo say, in giving the prices en¬
tered for la.st week, we will also give llie previous
sale of the same iiroperty, if anj^ has occurred
within say five or six j-ear.s' time. This will bo
of unusuiil interest to local real estate dealers, as
it will show the Ibictuations in the price of prop-
ort}' and will have a tendency to correct tbe too
comnion habit of making false and exce.«sive
statements of the jirices of tbo sale of realty.
We have other iinprovoments iu contemplation
which will be announceil in due time.

THE NEW FASHIONABLE QUARTER.

It is a matter of a good deal of importance to
real e.statc dealers to know where the "West End"
of New York is to bo located. Tliafc is to say,
where will tho millionaires of the next twenty
years liU\' in order tobuihl their lionies ' For tbe
present the fashiomibic ipiartor is Fifth and
Madisiiii avenues, and tbe better cla.ss of bouses
arc still being built uptm thi.s central zone of New-
York Island. Tho most cosily houses now under
way are to l.'o found east of the Central I";irk,
liut a visit to tliat region, wdiere building aclivity
is griatest, will convince anyone that tlie.se new
houses fl5 not rejircsciit the coiuing era of pros-
•perity, bnt rather that which is passing uwa}-. The
new buildings aro mainly of the browii stone
front variet}-, such as cliaraclerized tbe iiio.st de¬
sirable bou.sos erected during the last quarter of
a century. The bii ge roomy brick building maj-
bo .said to represent the (uuiiibus era of New
Y'ork city; the brown stone front is typical of tho
horse-car era, but tbis rapid traii.^it era will uii-
(picirtioiiably develop a higher order of domestic
architecture, and on a more extensive scale than
anything which has'preceded it. With cheaper
land and n wider choice, due to rapid transit
facilities, the future millionairo will indulge in
the luxury of fine grounds as well ns costly
house.s. There is no longer any nocessitj- for
being tied up to twcntj-'five or even fifty feet
front. Quarter acivs, half acres, naj', one, two,
three acres are now available for citj" residences,
and once the fashion is established, the west side,
from Soveiity-soconcI street up to Yonkers, will
be filled with beautiful and costlj- residences, em¬
bowered in trees, and surroiiiuled by gardens and
grounds. There will also be some effort at indi-
vidualitj'. AVe have repeatedly pointed out the
desirability of artistic novelty in architecture.
Last week we gave an account of three houses
in Seventry-fiist street, near Lexington avenue,





which found ready sale because of their tasteful-
iie.ss in architecture and design. Dr. Buiusteed's
bouse in Thirty-eighth street, near Jfadi.son
avenue; the charming brick and stone structuro
in Thirty-fourth street, near Fourth avenue; ilrs.
Steven's house, on Fifth avenue, and the
ornate dwelling at the corner of Park avenue
and Thirt}--niutli street, would all of tbem sell at
much higher figures than houses built in the
ordinarj^ '^'>iiy, siinplj' because of the fine artistic
sense which presided over their coiustriiction.
A\'e are pleased to see that in the new apartment
hou-ses architects have been allowed great liberty
of design b>- tbe capitalists w bo have emploj-ed
them. A very fine specimen of Ibis class is the
new apartmant palace (wo use this phrase ile-
signedlj) attho corner of Broadwaj-and Fiftj-
third .street. Combinations of brick and stone
admit of very tasleftil contrasts, and .some of tbo
structures erected of these materials are veiy
creditable to their architects and designers.

AVo are ipiite willing to admit th.-ft for the next
five j-cars tbe principal residences erected tvill be
on tho ceiitiul zone east of the Central Park,
and will be mainly brown stone front hou.ses,
siK-b as have come down to us from tbe horse car
era, but the first-class resiliences of tho fuiure will
not be of browii stone, and tho newly made rich
men will, we judge, seek fi-r and establish a
fashionable quarter for the metropolis west and
northwest of the Central Park,





INFLATION.
There is now a real danger that we are on the
eve of a jierilous iiillation of prices. This inonlh
will see twenty-five millions of gold and silver ar¬
rive ll' re from Europe. The national banks are
is-uiiig currency rapidlj'. The NewYork institu¬
tions which have been surrendering Iheir circula¬
tion aro now calling fur it again: W'nil street is
clamoring for the silver certificates; new banks
are starting in the iliddle ami Eastern States;
tbe silver dtdlars arc beginning to puur out of tlie
United States Treasiirj-, while the gold eagles
and double eagles will, in time, be whirled along
in the great flood of currency which is pouring
throtigli all the channels of trade. The Secretarj-
oi the Trcasurj' cannot in anj- waj' check an
over-activitj- of the currencj". He is prohibited
bj- law from redii<ing the greenback issues, the
refunding oi tbe debt has been compleied ami all
he can do is to pnj- out his gold for the " called "
boinls, thus adding to the plethora of money."
All these signs promise well for the immediate
future of bnsiiies.s, but are v.-e not getting along
too fast? The imnicn.se business nt the watering
places this summer .-hows that there is a universal
belief in prosperous times tbis fall and winter.
Tbe rapid advance in the price of iron, the sharp
upward movement in stocks, the strikes of tho
laborers in everj- direction niaj-, naj-, will, have
some adverse results. A general rise in prices
will hasten the time when we will stop exporting
our manufactured goods to Europe. AA'hile we are
marking up tho value of our goods Europe is
marking the value of their's down, and this, in
a short time, will increase our imports and de¬
crease our exports. What we fear is, that the
sudden reversal from low to high prices may
bring on a reaction that in the end will be injur