Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 17, no. 414: February 19, 1876

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Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XVII. NEW YOEK, SATUEDAY, FEBEUAEY 19, 1876. No. 414. Published Weekly by THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION, C. W. SWEET...............President and Treasurer PEESTON I. SWEET...........Secretary. L. ISRAELS.........................Business Ma.nageh TERMS. ONE YBAU, ill advance___$10 00. Communications should be addressed to C. SV. SITTEET, Nos. 345 AND 34^ Bboadwat THE PEOPOSED BUEEAU OF AE- CHITECTUEE. FUETHEE INTEEVIEWS WITH AECHITEOTS—THE BILL IN FULL AS INTEODUCED IN CONGEESS. We continue to-day the report of interviews had with leading New York architects in rela¬ tion to the proposed New Bureau oi" Architect¬ ure, and "at the same time give a complete copy of the bill in the shape it has been introduced in the lower house of the Federal Congress. Mr. Eichard M. Hunt, President of. the New York Chapter of Architects, waa seen at his house in Thirty-fifth street. In answer to a request for his views on the subject, he said: Why, bless your heart! it's a splendid thing, and shoidd have been inaugurated long ago. The matter has been agitated since the Govern¬ ment first began to erect these public buildings. Why, just think of one architect undertaking to do justice to works extending from Dan even unto Beersheeba, as one might say. You might aa well talk of one lawyer doing ail the business of the country, or one doctor doing all the business of a continent. This is not the way things are attended to in England, which is about the size of New England. It would be more consonant with common sense if there was but one man in a small country like England, but there they manage matters the same as this bill provides for. The idea of one man doing all the architectural work of a mighty continent like this! It can't be done, I teU you. The work itself is very good, but they pay twice as much for it as they ought. Now, take the case of the New York Post-office. Five firms of us here were requested to prepare a design. Well, we met and drew up a design, but'when it was submitted to Mullett, and when he saw our estimate—three millions and a half—he said it ought to be built for three millions; and what do you think they have actually paid for it? Why, they have paid every dollar of seven millions for it. And then look at the ax-grind¬ ing and wire-pulling that ensues under the present system,- or, rather, under the system as superintended by Mullett. When our measure was about to be introduced into Cpagress, we heard that the gentleman from Maine, for in¬ stance, would not vote for it unless such a man in his constituency had the granite, work. And then another would not vote for it unless the iron work was assured to a friend of his. WeU, when I saw how the thing was going, I got out of it. I was not going to be made a cat's-paw of, I can tell you. I think this bill ought to pass; though, to tell you the truth, I don't expect it will. They will regret it to their dying day if they don't pass it. Why, it is a physical and mental impossibility for one man to do aU the work, and supervise so that the community wUl not suffer extortion from the payments. A few yeara ago I had about forty different things going on at once in my office, and I nearly run myself under the ground in attending to this immense business. And as regards jobbery, there was Mullett, who had about thirty to forty millions of dollars worth of work going on in his ofiBce in the course of a year. But everything of this kind is provided for in the bill, and I really think it ought to pass. Mr. Griffith Thomas, 346 Broadway, New York Life Insurance Company's building, was seen at his office. He said he had not read the bill, but the gen¬ eral idea was good. He did not belong to the American Institute of Architects, nor would he. His old friend, just deceased, Mr. Astor, and Moses Taylor, and Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Cisco, all told him not to belong to any society when he commenced practice. He thought that their system of per centages on the cost of building was not the right thing, for it almost always led to extras, on which they also got their per centage of three or five per cent. There was no reason in-the world why there should be an extra of $100 on the architect's plan, if he were at all competent. As he understood the bill, it was that each State should have control of the Government build¬ ings erected therein. That is, if New York wanted a Custom-house, the architects of the State of New York should be requested to pre¬ sent their plans, and the body of experts at Washington would then pass upon the best. That, he thought, would be a good thing. If it prevented the ' 'extra" system itwould be a good thing. As for himself, he never charged on ex¬ tras. When he altered the old Astor House, lately, of course in the alteration it was impos¬ sible to avoid extras, and there were only five thousand dollars of extras on the two hundred thousand dollars that it cost to put the building in its present state. But he had erected build¬ ings costing half a million aad a million of dol¬ lars, and there have not been a hundred dollars of extras on the whole thing. There was no ex¬ cuse for an architect to have any extras at all. Mr. Stephen D. Hatch, of 119 Broadway, thought that the bill was good in its general idea, but that second clause in it which tended to create a ring in the American Institute was open to criticism. It seemed tp ignore the fact that there were just as good architects outside of that body as in it. He should advise that the Government Architect be appointed from among those of so many years' standing. This would do away with the chance of having any more Mulletts to supervise our pubhe buildings. CABD TBOItl MB. JASDISS. New Yoek, Feb. 12, 1876. To the Editor of the Beal Estate Record: Sib: In your article, "A Talk with Archi¬ tects," my remarks to your reporter have been somewhat misconstrued. I told him that I had not seen the proposed law, knew nothing about it, and therefore did not wish to be quoted as giving an opinion as to its merits. I did not even know that the bill was drawn by a Com¬ mittee of the American Institute of Architects. Far be it from me to impute to the gentlemen of that Association anything savoring of dishonor, which the term "Eing" implies—I believe them to be above suspicion.. The "Bill for the Admeasurement of Build¬ ings," erroneously so called by your reporter, was the proposed Building Law for New York City, and which was not passed by the Legis¬ lature. As to the question of iron and wooden columns, my meaning was that Mr. Eenwick would not be likely to recommend wooden columns in fire¬ proof buildings, although, of course, cast iron for that purpose is objectionable. The question of the relative merits of iron and other materials for building purposes in general was not broached. Yours respectfully, J. Jabdese, of D. &"J. Jardine, Architects. The foUowing is the BUJi TO ESTABIASH A BXIBEATJ OF ABCHITECTTJBE. Be it enacted hy the Senate and Housp- of Repre¬ sentatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled: Section 1. That, for the purpose of securing artistic merit as weU as intrinsic value in the public edifices to be erected by the Government of the United States, a Bureau of Architecture in the Treasury Department be, and the same is hereby created by authority of law, for the pur¬ pose of providing for the discharge of all the duties appertaining to the general supervision, inspection, decoratioh and repairs of all the buUdings and grounds of the Government of the United States, exclusive of military and naval structures, such as fortifications, docks, arsenals, navy yards and lighthouses. Sec. 2. That this Bureau shall be under the charge and direction of one chief, to be named and styled the "Government Ai-chitect,'' who shaU be appointed by the President of the United States from among the Fellows or As¬ sociates of the American fiistitute of Architects, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen¬ ate, and with special consideration and regard to his professional capabUities and accomplish¬ ments. The Government Architect shall receive a salary of------dollars per annum, and he shaU be allowed an assistant architect of his own ap¬ pointing, whose salary shall be------dollars per annum; and the Government Architect and his assistant shaU be allowed, in addition to their salaries, their actual traveling expenses when traveling on duty. It shaU not be lawful for the Government Architect or his assistant to en¬ gage in private practice. Sec. 3. That the Government Architect shall be and he is hereby authorized and directed to appoint and employ in the said Bureau one chief clerk, with a salary of------doUars per annum, and a further clerical force not exceeding------; also------messengers and watchmen, and their salaries shaU correspond with those of clerks and employes of equal grade in other Bureaus. Sec. 4. That, in addition to the clerical force, provided for in the foregoing section, the Government Architect shaU be authorized to employ the services of technical assistants and experts, whenever required for the public in¬ terest, wto shall each be paid at the rate of not exceedfrig------doUars per diem. The Govern¬ ment Architect shaU render to the Secretary of the Treasury, immediately preceding each ses¬ sion of Congress, an annual report, the said report to embrace estimates of the amounts re¬ quired for the expenses of his Bureau, during the year next ensuing. Sec. 5. That the Government Architect shall institute and cause competitions to take place for the design of aU and any architectural work under his jiirisdietion, except in case of alterations and repairs of public buUdings, and he shaU estab¬ lish uniform and equitable rules for a regular sys¬ tem of such competitions, of which the principal