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Vol. LXXXVI
JUNE 3, 1911
No. 2255
RAZING OF BUILDINGS NOW A BUSINESS SCIENCE.
What Becomes of the Material Taken Out by Wreckers—Tremendous
Chances Taken in HandHng Big Jobs—A Study in Commercial Economics.
PHRENOLOGISTS point to a promi-
nence behind the human ear and
call it the bump of clestruclion. II! they
were to seek the outward visitile sj'inbol
of the housewrecking craftsman's occu¬
pation their first clue would he a notice-
aljle protrusion directly over the subject's
money poclcet. This, however, would not
necessarilj' indicate affluence; merely tlie
reward of enterprise and ingenuity, qtiali-
ties, distinctively American.
The hotisewrecker's calling' is too new
for him to have inherited any experience
from others, because in the last genera¬
tion, his vocation was comparatively un¬
known and entirely undeveloped. He is
tlierefore the product of the agre; the
creature of increment and the skyscraper.
He is the very imliodinient of sagacity,
nerve and shrewdness and by the appli¬
cation of these three business attributes
he has turned topsy-turvy the first rule
of science that destruction signifies only
waste. His is the mighty hand that
sweeps away "white elephants" from the
path of Capital, and makes possible the
changing of losing investments into
profitable ones. The niche he occupies
in the construction world is therefore,
an honorable and important .one.
In the last twenty-one years the pur¬
chases of old buildings in New Tork City
By ALLEN E. BEALS.
Some idea of wrecking values may be
gathered from the fact the hospital build¬
ing at Twenty-third street and Lexinston
avenue was sold to one company for
$250, with the understanding that it
would be removed from the site in twcn-
was a massive brewery containing vast
tonnages of machinery.
Buildings are razed in New York al¬
most before tlie cement in. the mortar
joints is fairly set. "When realty values
reach levels that prohibit ow-ners getting
rentals commensurate with the value of
their property the buildings must make
way for larger and taller ones with more
modern facilities.
Within the last ten years S,O0O build¬
ings have been demolished in IVIanhattan
alone. Some of these have been indi¬
vidual structures, although there have
been times ivhen whole areas have been
swept away, notably, the Hudson term¬
inal site, the two square blocks upon
which the Pennsylvania station now
stands in Seventh, Eighth and Ninth ave¬
nues, from 32d to 34th streets, the Grand
Central station site covering almost half
a square mile in the heart of Manhattan,
the various bridge plazas, the Municipal
building and the Woolworth building
block.
Until the last ton years it was a rarity
to encounter a steel skeleton building be¬
ing razed. The flrst conspicuous build¬
ing of that type to come down was the
predecessor of the Heidelberg tower at
Broadway and 42nd street. The Gillender
building is the most recent example. This
THE SCOPE OF THE HOUSE WRECKERS' BUSINESS. â–
At the left is a view of doomed buildings covering a square block aod a half. Tbe Gillender building, 22 stories high, of steel skeleton construc¬
tion stood only 15 years and was razed in -15 calendar days. Oq the right is shown a part of the spa.ce cleared by wreckers for the new
Grand Central Station.
by wreckers, aggregate more than $25.-
000,000. This represents an average of
about $1,190,000 a year, but, as will be
seen by the table at the end of this article,
the heaviest volume of this kind of busi¬
ness has been done within the last ten
years. Fully SO per cent, of the buildings
wrecked were in Manhattan.
It will be noticed that the real de¬
velopment of the wrecking business came
within the last seven years, Eight years
ago there were only seven housewrecking
companies in the city. To-day there are
200. Some of them do a gross business
of $200,000 a year. In this, as in other
business enterprises, system and organi¬
zation count.
ty-one days. It proved to have a steel
grillage foundation worth $1,500. The
same company will, on June 1, begin to
tear down the Hospital for the Ruptured
and Crippled, the Grand Central Palace
and twenty other four and five story
buildings running from Depew place to
Lexington avenue, and from 42d street
almost to 44th street. All these build¬
ings represent a Ti'recking value of about
$10,000. When the Delancey street plaza
was bid in by wreckers, one company took
the contract at $54,000. The Gillender
building, was sold to wreckers for $50,-
006, although it cost $500,000 to build.
One company tore down forty-two build¬
ings in fifty-two days, and among them
structure stood where the Bankers Trust
Building is now going up at Wall and
Nassau streets. It was twenty-two sto¬
ries iiigh and was built not more .than
flfteen years ago. It was brought to
street level in forty-five calendar days.
Although tlie Pennsylvania site was
cleared by a score of small companies
working on individual buildings, only one
company cleared the way for the new
Grand Central Terminal buildings. This
was an operation that took one year and
was completed only four weeks ago. The
old Grand Central station and fifty-five,
other structures were demolished. Within
a fortnight work will begin on tearing
Out the remainder ol the plot.