Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 44, no. 1129: November 2, 1889

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November 2, 1889 Record and Guide. 1465 e^ ESTABLISHED ^ NVftRpH 31'^ 1968. De/oteD to fW- Estme , BuiLDifJO ^r,cKitectui\£ .Household DEeoRAnort. B^/5I^iESS AfbTheses of Cej^er^I 1;^t£i\es-[ PRICE, PER YEAR HN ADVANCE, SIX DOLLARS Published every Saturday. TELEPHONE. - - - JOHN 370. i'liivmtomitnatnnrm shouTd be addressed to C.W. SWEET, 191 Broadway. ,-; T. LINDSEY, Business Manager. Vol. XLIV. NOVEMBER 3. 18S9. No. 1.139. In another column of tliis issue will be found an account in detail of the first step taken by tbe building trade (with the industries and professions related to il) to secure for itself in the forthcoming Exposition a representation and place commensurate to its magni¬ tude and wealth. The significa.nce of tbe meeting cannot be over¬ estimated. It was called hastily, with only a few hours' notice, yet the numbev and character of those present, and the unanimity that)^prevailed as to tlie necessity for organization and concerted "action to secure for the building trades something better than a scattered exhibit mark it as the beginning of a movement that in importance may fall short only of the movement to secure the Esposition itself. -------------------.-«— ■ ■— Hitherto, in exhibitions, the building trades, have, cut a very poor figure. They have made a display incomprehensibly insignificant, considering that grouped as one they form perhaps the largest of our industries, and one that certainly is veiy far from being the least interesting, for everyone Jias a direct personal interest in all that appertains to the design, construction and decoration of build¬ ings. The work of this industry is constantly before people, it "cries in the streets," and both the comfort audhealthof all are per¬ petually influenced by it. If it were necessary to choose between having in the forthcoming Exposition a Machinery Hall or a Building Hall there are a miiltitude of facts to support a preference for the latter. There is no necessity, however, to make a choice. There should be both. There is only one way to obtain a Building Hall. Those who are interested in building iniist organize and subscribe the funds neces¬ sary to erect the edifice. There should be, and we are confident there will be, not the shghtest difficulty in obtaining all and even more than is ]ieeded. The trades concerned are among the very wealthiest in the country. Architects, real estate men, builders, and all who manufacture or supply the multitudinous materials and articles used in the construction and decoration of buildings, are alike interested in the success of the project. First or last, from them would come no small portion of the fund that will create the Esposition. This sum, if concentrated for a single pur¬ pose, would collect one of the most interesting, instructive and val¬ uable exhibits of the Esposition in a magnificent edifice which should be typical of the highest condition of the art of building in this country at the i>resent day. Inside and out it should be the glorifi¬ cation of the great army of builders and those who, either as artists or manufacturers, march witb them, Thematerials used in the build¬ ing (and how gladly tbey « cuid be contributed !) should be chosen from the finest quarries of the country and should be of exemplary workmanship. The granites of the North, the limestones and sand¬ stones of the Central and Western States, and the variegatedstones iu which the South isrich beyond common repute could be used. The great wealth of this country in timber could be reflected in the interior of the building, and the measure of the ability of our wood¬ workers shown. The history of ai'chitecture and building could be told in stained glass, mosaic work and sculpture, and finally the design of the building should be chosen in a competition that would be a model for all others, and represent the highest artistic skill of the country. Every ccnsideration that can be advanced favors the collection of the building exhibit in a structure of this kind. The trade should organize for it. Every individual should subscribe for it and work for it, Let the building trades be properly"represented in the Exposition of 189S,and!et the exhibit be permanent. Instead of being scattered at the end of a few months it should remain to the perpetual benefit of the exhibitors, the trade at large and the public. Everyone in the trade should make it his duty to attend the mass meeting which, we believe, it is the intention of the Committee of Nine appointed on Thursday to call early in the coming week. The proposition made by Mr. S. F. Jayne to hold the meeting in the Real Estate Exchange is a good one, and that institution will no doubt permit the use of its room for a purpose so public and important, A permanent organization can then be effected, and the committees appointed necessary to investigate aud arrange for matters of detail. Not only should the building trades of New York be repre¬ sented as completely as possible, but those of Brooklyn and Jersey City—the district of greater New York. A bureau should be established to invite the co-operation of the building trades in all the cities and towns of this State and neighboring States who are interested in having the Exposition held in New York City. It has always been the characteristic of the Etock market to dis¬ count tbe future. Securities sell there more on their prospective than on their present value. If the earnings of a railroad are on the increase the price of the stock goes up, although the dividend rate may not be at all increased for the time being ; and so, if the out¬ look is good, a bull market is always expected, although the actual effects may be postjioned for some months. The market this fall, curiously enough, has been exceptional in this respect. The pros¬ pects have never been better, yet one incidental circumstance after another, co-operating with a lack of general interest iu the market, has kept prices from rising. This lack of outside interest may be attributed, in part at least, to the present change in method of busi¬ ness due to the formation of combinations. During the process of this cbange, business men will be forced to strengthen themselves by a considerable cash reserve. The conditions, however, remain very much the same. The agreement between Northwestern and the Union Pacific will doubtless be followed by others similar in kind, which, by facilitating transportation, will help to bring about the unusual prosperity next year which Mr. Benuer has so confi¬ dently predicted. Moreover, there are signs that the high prices aud good times abroad are reacting on our own trade. The ship¬ ment of iron to England by the Thompson Ironworks, of Pittsbui-g, is significant in this respect. But the market for the present is a waiting one. The impressions of a foreigner who knew nothing about New York, and whose sole idea as to the present condition of afEaii's in that city was derived from the columns of the Evening Post, might well think that the Central Park was a sanctuary as precious to the rehgious aspirations, the moral sentiments, and the material well- being of the T)eople of this city as the Holy of Holies was to the people of Jerusalem, It goes without saying that the Central Park is of the greatest importance to the happiness of such of our popula¬ tion who have not the means or time to seek country pleasures in country surroundings, and that any scheme which proposed to use the whole of the park, regardless ot its present configuration, and cf the money and skill that has been put upon it, sbould be unspar¬ ingly condemned. On the other hand, it is not consecrated gi'ound. No cardinal has drawn around it the holy circle of the Churcli'of Rome; and we may be excused if we do not kneel to the curse which tht Pont so unceasingly promulgates. We should like to knovp whether the Exposition is worth any sacri¬ fice at all. Tf it is not, it should never have been undertaken. If it is, should not the sacrifice be shared by all? It is very well for the papers to urge the rich men of our city to contribute. They should do so; they are doing so, thereby showing that they do place some value