June 13, 1914
RECORD AND GUIDE
1077
ciated greatly. The Rev. Dr. Leighton
Parks, rector of St. Bartholomew's, felt
some time ago that it would be advis¬
able for the vestry to sell its property
at the market price. The money ob¬
tained for this site would in a large
measure provide funds for the purchase
of a new site and the erection of a
group of new buildings. It was thought
that there might even be a monetary
balance to use as the nucleus of an en¬
dowment fund. When the opportunity
to take over the Schaefer property was
presented to the members of the vestry
they quickly availed themselves of it,
inasmuch as the new site is almost in
the exact center of the present parish
limits.
A Historic Organization.
St Bartholomew's is one of the city's
pldest and best known Episcopal
churches. It was established in Broome
street in 1835. Since the removal to
the present site, at Madison avenue and
44th street, the work of the parish has
greatly increased until the past year,
when the budget called for an expend¬
iture of over $250,000 to be used for
the maintenance of its schools, missions
and branch chapels and the extension
of its social work. This social work in
its parish alone directly reaches approx¬
imately 10,000 people.
Many of the works of art now stand¬
ing in the old building will be incorpo¬
rated and erected in the new scheme.
The beautiful bronze doors, the gift of
Mrs. Vanderbilt as a memorial to her
husband, the late Cornelius Vanderbilt,
will be reset in the new building. These
doors, architecturally and for the beauty
of their workmanship, are the equal, if
not superior, of any of their kind in
the city. The painting over the altar,
"Christ in Glory," which was painted
many years ago by Lathrop, and which
has been admired by all who visit St.
Bartholomew's, will undoubtedly be re-
hung. Statuary and tablets, the memo¬
rials of St. Bartholomew's prominent
parishioners, will be reset in the new
building.
There is no doubt that the selection
of the new site will result in greatly
widening the field of parish work and
will enrich the city by the addition of a
group of buildings which will compare
favorably in architectural beauty with
the best and newest of their kind,
namely, St. Thomas's, Cathedral of St.
John the Divine and the Chapel of the
Intercession.
Small Decrease in May Building.
Reports to Bradstreet's Journal from
137 cities of the United States show
total building expenditures of $76,338,-
749 for the month of May, as compared
with $74,748,875 during April and $80,-
776,267 in May a year ago. There is
here indicated an increase of 2.1 per
cent, over April, but a decrease of 5.4
per cent, frpm May, 1913, with 77 cities
shpwing decreases and 60 shpwing in¬
creases as cpmpared with the latter
month.
New _Yprk Citv shows something like
a turn in the tide, reporting, as it does,
the first increase in expenditure over
the same month a year agp repprted for
the last IS months. In this city (four
out of five boroughs reporting) the ex¬
penditures in May were $15,809,427, or
about one-fifth of the entire country's
total—a gain over April of 9.2 per cent.,
and an increase over May last year of
15.4 per cent.
The Tower Building Was Sound.
The investigation made by the Bureau
of Buildings when the Tower Building,
at SO Brpadway, was in prpcess of de¬
molition resulted in disclosing no uri-
usuaL feature. No instance of corrosion
of metal sufficient to impair the strength
of the building was uncovered, but there
was the usual formation of rust .between
contact surfaces, extra probability of
corrosion near the ends of beams rest¬
ing on brick or stpne work, and o.f im¬
properly cleaned iron under the paint,
and the excellent protection afforded by
cement mortar in close contact with the
metal.
As Unseed oil paint in contact with
cement becomes dry and incohesive, it
is ' considered immaterial, by Superin¬
tendent Miller whether steel thprpughly
incased in cement mortar or concrete
is painted or not.
The building, which was about 1S9J4
feet deep and from 21^ to 39^ feet
wide, had cast iron columns. The floor
beams and girders were wrought iron
I-beams with bolted field connections,
and although the outer walls of the
lower five stories were supported on
wall beams at each floor, the floor
beams in the upper five stories were
wall bearing, thus making the building
conforin only partly to the cage type
of construction. The foundations were
double rows of wooden piles driven to
hardpan. The flat side-bearing terra
cotta floor arches were sprung between
the webs of floor beams 45^ feet apart,
and did not incase their lower flanges.
The building was erected in 1889 from
plans by Bradford L. Gilbert.
Our Modern Frontiers.
In the history of every city the prin¬
cipal area of activity for original build¬
ing operations is always on the out¬
skirts of that city. Year after year the
demarcation between city and country
is steadily advanced, as tracts of land
are opened to intensive improvement by
builders. Every year the building con¬
tractor and mechanic seeking this new
work must go farther afield to find it.
Thirty years ago there were three dis¬
tinct movements in speculative real es¬
tate on Manhattan Island. One was
centered on the West Side, near 72d
street, one was in the Yorkville sec¬
tion of the East Side, and the third
principal field of operations was in old
Harlem, between Seventh and Eighth
avenues, 126th and 133d streets. These
were the frontiers of that era.' In each
of these movements a different class of
construction was in hand, and the pro¬
jects in each were conceived and car¬
ried forward mainly by operators and
builders of the immediate locality.
Landing places for brick and other ma¬
terials of construction were close by
in most cases, and the job was not far
from the shop.
But now the seats of original building
operations are riumerous and are miles
away from the center of the city. With¬
in the decade our brick builders have
finished with Washington Heights for
the time being and have reached the
Inwood section. Soon there will be no
frontier left for Manhattan. In other
boroughs the seats of original building
development have followed the lines of
rapid transit until in some directions
they have reached the city line. Were
it not for a following wave of improve¬
ment real estate developers in central
sections would be left with nothing to
dp. Every succeeding generation, how¬
ever, sees a new building campaign ad¬
vancing over old ground.
Dr. Paterno Selects Architect.
Gaetan Ajello, of 1 West 34th street,
has been commissioned by Dr. Charles
V. Paterno, president of the Paterno
Construction Company, to design plans
and specificatipns fpr the imprpvement
pf his recently purchased plpt at the
nprthwest cprner pf Brpadway and 84th
street with a fpurteen-stpry apartment
hpuse pf the highest type. The site
cpmprises about six city Ipts, having di-
mensipns of 102.5x133.5x140.7x102.2 feet.
The Ajello System of reinforced con¬
crete floor construction is to be employ¬
ed in this building for which The Build¬
ing Improvement Co. (Burchartz Amer¬
ican Floor Systems), of 17 Battery
place, recently contracted with Mr.
Ajello fpr_ his patents. ' On accpunt pf
the adoptipn pf this system which re¬
duces the floor thickness a saving of
four feet over the total height of the
building is effected which is to be util¬
ized in. the height of the first story
stores on the Broadway side. It will
be recalled that Dr. Paterno recently
sold to Benjamin N. Duke, the tobacco
manufacturer, his twelve-story apart¬
ment house at the sputhwest cprner pf
Seventh avenue and SSth street, pn plpt
100x100 feet. The building which was
held at $1,300,000, was cpmpleted last
autumn, frpin plans by Mr. Ajello, and
has a total rent, roll.of about $125,000 a
yiear.- -.• - -
Hotel McAlpin Annex.
Announcement has been made that
an addition to the Hptel McAlpin, pn
the sputheast cprner pf Brpadway and
34th street, will be erected pn the prpp-
erty adjpining the hotel on the east
which was recently acquired by the
Hotel Company. The site takes in
numbers 46 and 48 East 34th street,
which was part of the Floyd estate. It
is proposed to erect an addition which
will contain two hundred additional
bed rooms as well as extra public space.
No plans have been prepared as yet
and the full details have not been de¬
cided upon, except for the fact that
the addition will harmonize with the
original building and in fact become
an integral part of it. The building is
owned by the Greeley Square Hotel
Company, Chas. A. B. Pratt, president,
and operated by Merry and Boomer, pro¬
prietors.
New Trinity Chapel Seems Assured.
Announcement will no doubt soon be
made regarding a new house of worship
for the cono-regation of Trinity Chapel,
which has been located for many years
in West 2Sth street, near Broadway,
through to 26th street. It is said that
several available sites are under consid¬
eration and that one on upper Park ave¬
nue, near the nineties, is favored. The
matter is in the hands of the Rev. John
Mockridge, as vicar, and the Rev. Dr.
William T. Manning, rector of Trinity
parish. The matter of abandoning the
old structure has been under contem¬
plation for some time, owing to the en¬
croachment of loft buildings surround¬
ing it. Nothing definite, however, has
yet been decided.
Building for Brooks Brothers.
General contract was awarded this
week without competition to Irons &
Todd, 101 Park avenue, for the erection
of a ten-story. loft and store building
at the northwest corner of Madison
avenue and 44th street. The building
will have a granite base with super¬
structure of brick, limestone and terra¬
cotta and will cover a plot 80 by 128
feet. Plans are being prepared by La
Farge & Morris, 101 Park avenue, and
Clinton & Russell, 32 Nassau street, as¬
sociated architects, for William Ever¬
dell, Jr., and William H. Brown. The
building will be occupied by Brooks
Bros., men's clothing, who have leased
the property for a long term of years.
Two New Country Houses.
Guy Lowell, architect, 225 Fifth ave¬
nue, has been retained by C. K. G. Bill¬
ings, 42d Street Building, to prepare
plans and specifications for a residence
to be erected at Oyster Bay, L. I. An¬
other fine residence cpntemplated is the
one to be erected in the Wheatley Hills
section at Wppdbury, fpr Ottp H. Kahn,
banker, 52 William street. Plans fpr
this hpuse are being prepared by De-
lanp & Aldrich, architects, 4 East 39th
street. The erectipn of these houses
will be decided additions to the colony
of fine country houses on the north
shore of Long Island.
New Home for John T. Pratt.
Charles A. Platt, architect, 11
East 24th street, has been retained
to prepare plans and specifications for
a new residence to be. erected at 7-9
East 61st street for John T. Pratt, law¬
yer, 43 Exchange place. The house will
be built of brick and Indiana Hmestone,
and will be fireproof. It will probably
be five stories in height. Some years
ago Mr. Platt designed and superin¬
tended the erection of Mr. Pratt's coun¬
try house at Dosoris, the Pratt estate
at Glen Cove, L. I., which is one of the
largest and finest pf the many beautiful
cpuntry houses in this section.
Richmond Hill Lodge To Build.
Richmond Hill Lodge, No. 892, F. &
A. M., is preparing to build a Masonic
hall and is seeking preliminary sketches
and plans. Architects and others in¬
terested can secure full particulars at
once by addressing L. Howard Moss,
M. D., corner Brandon and Stoothoff
avenues, Richmond Hill, Long Island.
Thomas Coates, 32Q Spryce street,- is
master of the lodge,