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NEW YORK, JANUARY 10, 1914
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A MODERN RAILWAY TERMINAL HOTEL
The Biltmore Is a Marvel of Electrical and Other Mechanical Inno¬
vations—Sanitary Kitchens and a Lavish Abundance of Conveniences.
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THE Hotel Biltmore is part
of the Grand Central Ter¬
minal, a circumstance which
accounts for the more notable
features observed in its archi¬
tectural treatment, interior
layout and service plant.
The Main Station of the
terminal has an elevation equal
to about six stories above the
street. Across the narrow
width of Vanderbilt avenue
the Biltmore rises to a height
of twenty-six stories. In order
not to dwarf the monumental
effect of the principal building,
the Vanderbilt avenue facade
of the Biltmore is recessed
twenty-one feet above the
sixth floor. Furthermore,
above the sixth story the
facade is broken by a light
court seventy feet wide and
136 feet deep. The court is
equal in width to an ordinary
city street, and effectually
divides the upper two-thirds
of the Vanderbilt avenue front
into twin tower-like wings.
By these interesting expe¬
dients in the matter of design,
and by the absence of any
imposing ornamental detail in
the lower part of the facade,
the commanding impression
which a tall building covering
a city square might easily have
produced has been guarded
against; and the emphasis of
primary functional importance
rests undisturbed with the
Main Station.
The interior layout of the
hotel has been greatly modi¬
fied by the fact that the build¬
ing stands, as it were, over
the Incoming Station of the
terminal. There was no room
below the ground floor for
such departments as are usu¬
ally placed in subsurface stories,
floor space that would ordinarily pro¬
duce a direct income is therefore given
over to a variety of uses other than the
direct earning of rent. However, the
resulting arrangement, imposed by ne¬
cessity—though, following modern prac¬
tice, it would no doubt have been par¬
tially adopted as a matter of choice—
insures superior sanitation in the hand¬
ling of food.
Ihterior Plan Unustial.
Thus, not only the main kitchen and
the general refrigerator storage boxes,
but also the special rooms where the
rougher and more unsightly culinary
work is done, are on the second floor,
over the main dining-room and the
men's cafe. The place given to the
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VANDERBILT AVENUE FRONT, SHOWING INTERESTING TREAT.
MENT ADOPTED TO PREVENT DWARFING THE MAIN
STATION.
Much
kitchen is advantageous even apart from
sanitary considerations, for it means
quicker service if the waiter is in a po¬
sition to carry filled dishes downstairs,
instead of upstairs; and in the Biltmore
he is not asked to carry any load up¬
stairs, for used dishes are taken from
the dining-tables to an escalator, which
deposits them on a counter in the dish¬
washing room on the same floor with
the kitchen. Here the waste contents
are raked off and pushed into a funnel
running down to a refuse incinerator in
the basement. Another escalator brings
the cleaned dishes to the kitchen.
The limitation of subsurface space has
assured direct light and ventilation for
all processes connected with the prepa¬
ration and serving of food. Of the
many secondary kitchens, only one,
which serves the grill room,
is below the street level.
Finally, the service plant of
the hotel is reduced to a mini¬
mum, as live steam, hot water
for heating, electricity and
compressed air are furnished
from the service plant which
supplies all the buildings with¬
in the terminal improvement
zone. The only coal burned
in the Biltmore is that used
in kitchen ranges. The grime,
odor and dust associated with
the usual subsurface depart¬
ments of hotels are absent;
even garbage removal is elim¬
inated.
Situation and Surroundings.
The Biltmore occupies the
block bounded by Vanderbilt
avenue, 43d street, Madison
avenue and 44th street. The
Main Station of the terminal,
which was described in the
Record and Guide of July S,
1913, has an extension under
Vanderbilt avenue and under
the Biltmore. This extension
comprises part of the subsur¬
face space and of the ground
floor of the hotel and is known
as the Incoming Station. The
Incoming Station is continu¬
ous with the Main Station on
two underground levels. How¬
ever, it separates the incom¬
ing from the outgoing traffic,
and has its own independent
station facilities, including
waiting-room, train platforms,
concourse, cab stand and
ramps to the subway lines
under 42d street. To prevent
vibration the building columns
have been kept distinct from
the track floor steel work.
All columns are in groups of
three; the outer two take the
girders of the track floor, while the
middle one goes through the floor with
clearance, and supports the frame of
the building above.
The building stands on a plot 200 by
21S feet, and contains twenty-six floors
above the street level. The facades are
of granite, limestone, brick and terra
cotta in a modern adaptation of the
architecture of the Italian Renaissance,
and the color harmonizes with that of
the Main Station.
Good Effects in Terra Cotta.
Interesting use has been made of
terra cotta, which is the largest con¬
stituent in the fronts of the hotel. The
large panels inserted in the stonework
at the fifth story are of this material,
and illustrate a high class of artistic