Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 54, no. 1388: October 20, 1894

Text version:

.544 Record and Guide. October 2^, 1694 The lower portion of this house contains a dry cellar, uunsually high, concreted throughout, aud on tho baHeraout floor a billiard room with handsome paneled wainscoting; also, kitcheu, lauudry, eto. Tbe billiard roomiu the basement can be reached from the main liallway by a special stairway, without going at all into the baee- ment hallway bj' whioli tho occupants of tlie kitchen pass in and oat of the honse. Of course it is not necessary to give everv detail of a house of this character, as it will be aco«pted from what bas already been atated that the minor details have been carefully attended to. For instance, uone but oiieu plumbing aud of the best class would be put into a house of,this kind: it is wired throughout for electric]light; the fnrnfshings are costly in make and artistic in design and npplica tion, A back stairwa.y ruus up from tho laundry through thelbutlers' pantry lo the aecond floor. The batbrooui on the second aud third floors can also be reached from the hallways as well as from connect¬ ing rooms. From the foregoing brief and limited description it will easily be neon that No. fl West 7f>th street is one of the finest houses on tho West Side, This cannot fail lo be the opinion of anyone who will make a personal iuspection, A great deal of pleasure may be derived from seeing what a mod ern high-class house really is; as regards con¬ venience of plan, tastefuluessof trim and fumiehing and tbe Inxnry implied iu its arrangements. ----------■---------- A New Field for Building Operations. Every city, large or small, is a world within itself, baving its own process of growth, the developaieut of its wealth and the consequent creation of buildings, and treasures of art and learning which follow in the train of more material success. This is particularly true of New York City, because it, as the centre of thegi-eater couimunity of the nation, has irresistable attractions for the people who have made thoir money elsewhere, but in place.s that do uot offer adequate meaus for its enjoyment. This latter fact is a greater impetus to de¬ velopment, and proved by the number of people wbo were one time identified with San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland and other places who have taken np tbeir position, as far at least as their domiciliary establishment is concerned, alongside of the Knicker¬ bockers and the other families that by right of prioi't.v t.akw the lead of New York society. These influences keep all our industries afcwork.not all over the city at one time, but wlieu activity wanes or ceases in one plaee it crops up at another, not promiscuously, hut for good cause, whieh can be easily ascertained with a little diligence aud intelligence. Tho cnt- ting of the Riverside Drive settled the character of a great strip of territory between it and the park, which was at ouce seized upon hy the quicker intelligences of the building trade as most suitable for the erection of residences. The space lias been very thoroughly and efficiently tilled, as anyone can tell who remembers what it waa fif¬ teen, or even ten. yeara back. This period has been a very exciting and interesting one for that part of the town. Fortuuos have beeu made and lost: but it may be takeu as sui-ethat those who in cutting the oake bad heed of thoir powers of digestion were always success¬ ful. There arc signs now tbat the West Bide is entering on a little period of comparative rest. The demaud for houses there is by no means what it was. aud the supply ia large enough, so that the at¬ tractive chances are limited to special cases, where locality counts for a greatdeal foriustance, orwhereextraordiuarj- efforts have been made iu the wuy of workmanship aud euihellishment, Thi,s being the case the builder must look around for new! movements which afford him the opportunity for the employmeut of his intelligence aud capital. Now. .all the signs indicate that such a movement is under way in a limited area east of Central Park. Anyone who will ride up fith avenue with his eyes open eaunot fail to be struck with the change tbat is going ou in that thoroughfare from Washington Square to the Vanderbilts' doora. The process of couversiou from domestic to commercial uses is there in every stage, and so ex¬ tensive th.at anyone can see that Sth avenne is de¬ stined witbiu comparatively few years to bo the great re¬ tail street for high-class wares. This being the case the question arises, what has become of the people who used to make their homes on this avenue and what will become of those who remaiu, but .will inevitably bave to give way to the growing tide of bnsiuess iu the near future? The West Side hui and will not receive them, becau.se it has uot auBicieot provision of houses of the highest class to ac¬ commodate the dispossessed families of Sth aveune. to .say nothing of the new people who follow iu their traiu and who include both the successful business men of the city itself and the wealthy strangers from other cities. No doubt the apartment houses and the great hotels designed especially to accommodate families have ab¬ sorbed many of ' hose. But it is this change in the lower part of the avenue that has caus.d tht- upper part between 59th stieet and ROth street to be built up iu (he way it haa been aud is 'leing bnilt, at d will undoubtedly give an enhanced value ro the side street; within the Sim- limits as far east as Park avenne. This section ha^ a front com i>riaii>g for its limits the finest aud costliest domestic architec¬ ture of the cily. The houses ai e own«d hy well-known and wealthy people, including such as Commodore Gerry and John Jacob Astor, both of whom have sren' what for otber men wonld be reckoned as ample fi.rtunes iu building their city houses. Olbera have been equally lavish iu proportion to their wealth, so that the houses on the Park front of tbia seetion represent expenditures of from $75,000 t-o $400,000 or more each. The names of the vary beet.ttrchiteeta in the city are associated with theae ' T. Sloan's house on 72d street, which is to cost $100,000. The four houses that William W. & Thomas Hall are putting np on SOth sl;eet, from plans of Alex. M, Welch, are in¬ deed very creditable specimens of domestic iirchi tec ture, and. in addition, the particular combination of dark brick and light etone Id this case is in very good laat-e. Similarly, the four houses ou 82d street,, of which Daniel Heunessey ia the builder, may be commended, the architect, Mr. Henry Anderson, having been equally happy in his design and tbe selection of the materals with which to produce it. The Dawson &- Archer houses, on Madison aveuue uud 72d street, from plans of Thom & Wilsou, aro also good ; the aame may be said of Nathaniel MoCrendy's honse on 75th str et. These houaes vary in cost iron $190 000 f'jr the Taylor house on 7l8t street to $35,000, whieh fact more than anythiu ; c se shows that this bnildii gniovemeut is what it was above stated tj be. a movement to supply a demaud for bigb-class houses on the East Side with aa esti^nsive grading of price. The vacant sit«8 wifhin the limits indicated are comparatively fe v; and afford a ao^i ewhat small tield for speculative buildi.ig. bnt it is not rea-onable to suppose that the sites remaining unoccupied aud in the market will by any means meet al! the deiuand for high- class houses that will aiise from the fashion set by those who have built to overlook the park, but that to supply it fully the oh.' hou-es that catiiiot bo considered as meeting modeiru requirements will have to give way or be altered. There are caaes where fronts have been successfully chauged in accordance with the architectural taste of ehe day, and interiors reatranged nnd refit'.', d with latest appliaucea and decorations. If t'e space for entirely new houses is a lall. the field for converting the older ones is v-ery extensive indeed. There is money to be made by this operation, and we confidently expect to S'e mauy financial successes achi<:ved in modernizing aud renovating older structures within a few years. IlviicjipaJ Eapid Transit. THK KAPID TfiASSIT COMMISSION TO PREPAKIi CITIZKXS FOR VOTING BY A STATEME.VT. What is known and included iu the term iwlitics continues to occupy geueial attenrion, to the exclusion of more important sub¬ jects—to the esclu-siou of the ,'^ubject of muuicipa! rapid transit, for instance, upon which very little new has been said iu the past week. At the meeting of the Kapid Transit Commission on Tuesday last the business was of a purely formal nature. Mr. Lewia L. Delaheld, its Seeretary, eaid, however, that the Commisaiou propose, within a few days, to respond to the innumerable inquiries they continue to receive every day by publishing aatatement explanatory of the results which will follow a favorable vote npon the question of municipal con¬ struction. "The SIX membera of the Cominissiou present at the last meetiug." he said, "were nuanimonaly of opinion tbat the onlv means by which a system of rapid transit, adeqcate as well tothe future aa to the present needs of the city, could be obtained is by municipal eonstrnctiou, under auch safeguards aa will protect tbe interests of the city; and while I do not think that they will assume to advi«! the voters concerning a matt-or upan which each mau must exercise his individual judgment, they arc neveitheless of opinion that the beat interests of the eity and of it.s inhabitants require that the people shontd vote in favor of miiuiciiial constructiou." The fact that the principle of uuinicipal constructiou haa been ap¬ proved by all political parties is removing doi.bt of what tbe result of the voting will be. Exception has been takeu to the statement that it is approved by all parties, but the exception will uot hold water, Tammany Hall and the New York State Democracy both took this as a distinct plank in their platforms, ami while the Re¬ publican platform, which i.i very short, does not eontain a distinct declaration that the convention favored muuicipal rapid trausit, by its adoption of Ibe platform of the Committee of Seventj', which clearly and explicitly advocate- tbat this great work ahall be carried out by tho muniiipalitj', tin- Ke]jub!ican party in tbe city is pledged to support this measure. This agreement among the conlendiugpar- ties ou one isam the volurs are called upon to decide le.ssen3 ma¬ terially, if it does not altogether remove the danger of defeat from active oppi>sitiou, and as a majority voting ou.the queation is all tbat is required to decide it oue way or the other, an alfirmativc result ie assured. While those who have studied the question are a unit in believing ihat it la only thiough tho municipality that rapid transit can be had and will vote iu favor of endowing tJie municipality with the uec6es:;ry powera, thoae who have beeu indifi'erent to the ques¬ tion will uxt go ont of their way to kill it simply for fun, especially as they would thereby be violating the principles of whatever party tbev may happeu to belong to. People on the East Side, aud particularly in tbe nortlicaat comer of the oity. continue to harp on the fact that the plaus as now exist- i ng make no proTision fox iftpid tranitit in that quarter, but, as wkt