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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 6, no. 146: December 31, 1870

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. yi. NEW YOKK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1870. No. 146. Published Weekly by TIIE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION. .. !.' . TERMS. Ono year,in advance......................$6 00 All communieationa should be addressed fco 105 Bro.a-uway. con. OK Pine stbkkt. The Recouu is regularly maUed to subscribers every Friday night at eleven o'clock, and should be deUvered by the Post Office aufchorifcies on Safcurday morning early. Any subscriber nofc receiving his paper in due season may rely upon ifc fchafc fche fault is entirely w-ith the canier, and a complainfc lodged eifcher wifch the Post Office aufchorifcies or afc the Recobd office w-ill remedy fche inegularifcy. Any carrier deUvering fche RECORD later than Saturday moming ia remiss in his duty. THE BEOADWAY TJNDESGROUKD EAILWAY. Wbcile tlie pent-up inhabitants of our city- are longing for some sure and rapid mode of transit from one end of the island to the other; while people are busy suggesting all sorts of schemes as' to how the difficrdty cart' he over¬ come, it is both ludicrous and vexatious to know, that the problem ?ias been solved, and that nothing now deprives us of the long-desired object but the granting of such a charter by our Legislature as vrill enable it to be carried into full execution. But few of our read¬ ers, in spite of all that has been said and written upon the subject, are proba,bly aware that we have actually had a comfort¬ able passenger car running smoothly and safely under Broadway for some months past. The distance is certainly not very fai", being only from Warren to Murray street—a length of some 300 feet—but quite enough to prove to the most scientific or imleamed the perfect feasibility of the plan, and that it is just as ea,sy, by the sanie appliances, to go from the City Hall to Harlem in 15 or 20 niinutes. W^e recommend all those who have 25 cents to invest for a charitable fund to go and take a ride under BroadAvay, by the car of the " Beach Pneumatic Transit Company," the entrance to which is under Devlin's store, at 260 Broadway, comer of Warren Street. No one can -visit it without being astonished that a work of such magnitude and importance could have been car¬ ried on below the most crowded portion of the city, with its busy thousands constantly pass¬ ing to and fro, not only perfectly unmolested, but- utterly unconscious that such a -vvork was even in progress. Descendii^ into the hand¬ somely furnished office, the visitor is conducted by wide folding-doors on the right-hand side to a large and beautiful waiting-room or " Sta¬ tion," well furnished with sofas and settees, and adorned.with pictures, a fountain, and even a piano. The rear end of this Station leads directly, by a short flight of easy stairs, to the brilliantly Hghted tunnel, nine feet in diameter, —the base of which is twenty-one feet, and the summit consequently twelve feet, below the sur¬ face of Broadway, low enough to avoid all interference with the sewers and water and gas pipes of the city. Neatly fitted to this tunnel is the passenger car, of the same circular shape, prettily and comfortably finished, and capable of holding ten people. Front and rear is a platform Avith breaks, like ordinary street cars. Seated in this car, fche visitor is literally blown along, as smoothly as he might be in a boat on sfcill water, at the rate of seven miles an hour, by a strong blast of air, Avhich is sup¬ plied by a gigantic bloAving machine called an "aeoler." This speed, could, of course, be quadrupled easily in any long distance, but running just now only from Warren to Howard Street—a lengfch of some three hundred feet— greater rapidity would be inconvenient. We found the. atmosphere agreeable, thoroughly well ventilated, and entirely free from all the dust and dirt inseparable from above ground traveL As to the accidents incidental to all railway travelling, this system would seem to preclude even the possibility of such occurring. The Company claim that their BroadAvay Rail¬ way demonstrates the foUoAving points:— 1. That they can build railAvays under the streets without invading private property; Avithout interfering with private vaults; and without serious disturbance of the water pipes, gas, sewers, or the surface of the streets. 3. That they can effectively operate railways under the streets -without shaking the adjoin¬ ing buildings; without subjecting the passen¬ gers to foul and poisonous gas, cinders or dust, and Avithout'detentions from snow, ice, or storm. 3. That they can contract and operate rail¬ ways under the streets that shall be secure from accident, rapid for transit, and safe for passengers. Most assuredly, any Company that can speed¬ ily supply pur population "with a mode of transit embracing all these advantages would, in so doing, confer a vast amounfc of public good; and that the present Company are capable of fulfilling all they promise is sufficiently guar¬ anteed by the proofs they have already given of their skill and enterprise. THE NEW COUET-HOUSE. Whatever faults architectural criticism may have hitherto found with the New Court¬ house, that building most ceriiainly, in aU its details, has so far adhered - to what is usually recognized as a rigid plassical style of architec¬ ture, that any tampering with it, in any of the more fantastic style§, would only be likely to produce a hotch-potch of absurdity. In these remarks we allude to the rumored question of placing a Mansard roof over the whole build¬ ing, in lieu of the central dome which was originally contemplated by the architect. It is to be hoped that such a change will not be at¬ tempted. We all knoAV the iiicturesque'beauty of a well-designed and well-applied roof of the kind, bufc ifc is not every where and to everything thafc it can be successfully used. Had the de¬ signer originally intended any such covering to his building, he certainly would not have placed a cornice of the same form and solid dimensions as the present one around it. It would have been something lighter and more in keeping than the regular architrave, frieze, and cornice, which go to form an orthodox classical entabla¬ ture. We have seen many attempts to convert a building, after its erection, frcm fche original intent of the design, but rarely one that did not end in artistic failure. The incongruity is sure to make itself felt in one way or another. If the question be one merely of expense, we can hardly imagine that the public would be satis¬ fied, in a building that^has already cost so very largely, to see it at last utterly ruined in ap¬ pearance for the sa-ving of a few thousands of dollars. MECHANICS' LIENS AGAINST BUUDINGS IN NEW YOEK CITY. Dec. 23 ElGHTY-THIKD ST., N. S., 13 HOUSES, bet. Sth and 9th avs. James Shan^ non agt. John Carlin............. ^1725 23 POBTT-NINTH ST., N. S., i HOOSES, commencing 250 e. of Sth av. E. A. Bradley et al. agt. Sam'l Stewart.. 600 00 27 Forty-fifth st. , s. s. (Nos. 550 and 552 W.). Joseph Jakeway agt. J. B. Vanderbeck................... 32 CO ' 27 Forty-third ST., n. s. (No. 329 W.). Thos. Maher agt. EUzabeth Taylor 30 00 27 FOBTT-SIXTH ST., N, S., 4 HOUSES, commencing,100 e. of 2d ay. Fran-- cis McNamara agt. William H. Ar- noux............................. 2,057 50 27 Forty-third st., s. s. (No. 410), befc. 9th and 10th avs. William Martin agt. Mrs. Grant........... 773 43 29 Fifth av., e. s., 70 n. 21st st, James W. Duncalf agfc. Miller & Doe.............................. 299 90 29 Same property. B. N. Blaokwall agt. ---------....................... 64 00 29 Jane st., n. s., com. 125 e. Hudson St., running 50 ffc. John Eitel agt. Frederick Lutz................... 12 00 29 Same property. Ferdinard Rie- del agt. Frederick Lutz.......... 23 34 29 Same property. Henry Wearroll agt, Frederick Lutz...;........... 16 63 29 Same property. John Rauscher agt. Frederick Lutz,............. 47 00 23 Lexington-AV. and 78th st., s. e. cor. Henry Brann agt. John Mc- Glyn et al........................ 68 50 23 Lexington av. and 83d st., s. e. cor. S. R. Scotfc et al. agt. Fran¬ cis Conrad....................... 62 00 24 Laurens st., w. s. (No. 181). M. ' H Howell agfc. Jos. Frick......... 86 50 29 Ludlow st., e. s. (Nos. 16 & 18). Bradley and Currier agt.. Joseph Lauer-..........;.......-......'.... 1,800 00