Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 68, no. 1746: August 31, 1901

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August 31, 1901. RECORD AND GUIDE. 261 Db/otS) to REA.L Estaie . BuiLDif/o ARJ^^rrecWR^ .^ouseiIoid DmaRfiiDil, BusifiESS Alio Themes of GEtiER^. IjflERgs^. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS Published eVers Saturday Oommimlc&tloiiH should be addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14=16 Vesey Street, New YopR J. T. LINDSET, Buaineaa Manager Teleplioiie, Cortlaiidt 1370 " Entered al the Post Office ai New York, N. Y., as second-class matter." Vol. LXVIII. AUGUST 31,1901. No. 1746. The Record and Guide Quarterly for the three months, April— June, inclusive, is now ready for delivery. All the records arranged for bandy reference. One dollar and a half a copy, or five dollars a year. The cheapest and best system of keeping records of real estate— conveyances, mortgages, new buildings, etc., etc. If you would like to see it, send a postal card to the Record and Guide Quarterly, Nos. 14 and 16 Vesey st.. City. WHILE the Stock Market has been apparently strong all week, except one day. the actual advance for the seven- day period is obviously small, and, if averaged up, might even show a slipping back, because several prominent issues have made quite noticeable losses. The facts point to a market man¬ ipulated in the hope of a new buying movement being induced thereby. On the whole the news is good, or much better than it was. With the close of the vacations we may look for more ac¬ tivity in general business. The crop situation gives less anxiety. The steel strike seems about to end in favor of the U. S. Steel Co., which, unless the leaders of the men have further surprises in reserve, has now only to suffer the loss from business gone beyond recall, naturally formidable in amount, that followed as a consequence of the struggle with the association. Money, how¬ ever, ia less easy and more uncertain. At this season of the year the interior demand for harvest purposes is always the subject of discussion, and it is generally .the case that this demand is feared here, but of late years the West especially has shown it¬ self Independent of the East, and so far as the facts are obtain¬ able, it will be this year also. There is, however, this difference this year; all parts of the country participated in the stock ex¬ citement of the spring, and it remains to be seen whether the West and South both, will not have to withdraw the funds so em¬ ployed then to meet their present wants. Exchange points to possible gold imports, but as was pointed out last week Elurope has no disposition to part with gold. Notwithstanding its un¬ usually large reserves the Bank of England maintains its dis¬ count rate at 3 per cent and could check calls upon its gold sup¬ plies by a further advance in tbe rate. Still exchange is in such a condition that an import movement could easily be engineered if there was any object in making it. The European situation continues to be one of dull business, and a suspicion of industrial enterprises. Consequently money is accumulating and govern¬ ment and other gilt-edged issues are strong, though they give no signs of early activity. T OHN R. THOMAS, whose sudden death was announced this w week, was more closely identified with public work than any other architect that can be named, and, singular to state, he was able to satisfy the public architectural tastes of two gener¬ ations; or, to put it another way, while he could satisfy those who decided what public buildings should be twenty-flve years ago, he was still capable of satisfying the unprejudiced profes¬ sional commissions tbat now sometimes, for our happiness be it stated, have the selection of designs for public edifices. A list of Mr. Thomas' work would be a very long one, and reveal great industry as well as technical facility. Considering that he. was only fifty-three years old when he died, the amount of important work he did was alone remarkable. His first large work was the New York State Reformatory at Elmira. Several of tbe regi¬ mental armories of this city are his. In fact, we think, he was the first to suggest the mediaeval fortress as the model for the drill hall of the modern militia man with his rapid-fire gun; the authorities adopted the suggestion and the public never seem to have quarrelled with it, though it is somewhat singular that this should not have evoked criticism. It is said that no less than one hundred and fifty churches were designed by him, and his success in the two great municipal competitions, where there was no doubt of the ability of the contestants or the competence and impartiality of the judges, those for the municipal build¬ ings—whose erection the legislature prevented and which resulted in a lawsuit between the architect and the city—and for the Hall of Records now being built, was sufficient to stamp him as a man of great ability, as well as the extent and range of his other work, proclaimed him a man of great industry. ■■^ HE most interesting aspect of the changes which are tak- ■*■ ing place in the shopping and amusement sections of New York, is the extent to which those interests are becoming cen¬ tralized. With one or two exceptions all the important theatres are situated either on or just off Broadway, between 28th street and Long Acre Square, and the tendency is for this area to be still further narrowed down. Within the past ten years two- thirds of the important clubs in New York have built or are building clubhouses along the line of 5th avenue, and not far north or south of 42d street. A strong movement is also being developed toward the situation of the better class of small shops along the same line and with the same center. The department stores show a manifest tendency to concentrate in the same neighborhood, but on the line of Broadway rather than Sth ave¬ nue. Five-sixths of the new apartment hotels, which are being built are located not much outside of a radius of a half a mile, drawn with the new public library as the center. Even the fashionable residence quarter, while it is including unexpected reaches in the neighborhood of Sth avenue and 95th street, still remains in close connection with the amusement and shopping center, for sites on the side streets south of the Park are quite as popular as those further north. When the changes now begin¬ ning have had full time to run their course the whole district for a mile north and south of 42d street, between Madison ave¬ nue and Broadway will be unique for the concentrated yet varied activity, which will be taking place within its limits, and for the hrilliant appearance which it will offer 10 the observer in the street. The huge buildings, both for residence and business, which are becoming more and more characteristic of the city necessitate and encourage an altogether unusual amount of con¬ centration. FROM the articles and correspondence that have appeared in our pages and continue to appear, it will be seen that tha act, which goes into effect to-morrow, requiring brokers to have written authority before offering property for sale or loan, has some peculiarities not at flrst seen. In fact it is an illustration of a common failing, that of seeing the thing desired even when it does not exist. Obviously, the intention of the framers of this act was that it should relate to property located in cities of tha first and second class, whereas by its language it just as obvious¬ ly may be construed to relate to the offering merely of property, and any property in such cities. On all sides the object of the measure has been so prominent in people's minds as to obscure criticism of its text, until a correspondent shrewder or more ana¬ lytical than the rest pointed out the weak spots. Still the aet is sufficiently clear in its purpose to give parties aggrieved by the unauthorized offerings of their property the means of punishing the offenders, but as we have pointed out before a broker sure ol his principal need flnd in it no obstacle to the carrying on of hia business. ------------•------------ ON another page of this issue will be found the opinion of Justice O'Gorman in the cases of those builders who sought relief from the onerous conditions of Section 4 of the Tenement House Act of this year. The court holds practically that having made one condition that secured due compliance with the law— that excavations should be begun in good faith on or before June 1st—the Legislature had no power to add other conditions through non-compliance witb which the vested rights of the builder created by compliance with the flrst might be destroyed. This is the barest justice, because, having commenced his build¬ ing in good faith the builder has a right to expect good faith also from the law and the authorities and assistance rather than opposition in maintaining liis rights and bringing his work to fruition. -----------------«----------------- AN act will go into operation to-morrow, September 1st, known as Chapter 190 of the Laws of 1901, intended to suppress policy playing. Of course, according to the legislative fashion of the times, the landlord is to be made liable for what his tenants do. The act says in enumerating those who shall be classed as evil-doers under its provisions: "The owner, agent, superintendent, janitor or caretaker of any place, building, or room where policy playing or the sale of what are commonly called 'lottery policies' is carried on with his knowledge or after notification that the premises are so used, permits such use to be continued, or who aids, assists or abets in any manner, in any