Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 24, no. 606: October 25, 1879

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848 The Real Estate Record. to Albanj- rather than cross the river to the Grand Central Depot. Hence, we look for quite a diversion of travel from the Hudson River liailroad. But this west side road will bring in a larger amount of land lor farming and building purjioses, and it will call the attention of New- Yorkers to proiierty Ijing back of Nj-ack and around Rockland Lake. There are some charm¬ ing locations for villas, as well as good business locations for manufacturing along the line of this road now being constructed from Jersej- Citj- to Albanj-.—Ed. Real Estate Record. Editor Real E.state Record : Is there uo probabilitj- of an advance iu Staten I.«-land propertj- ? Surelj-, as the butiiiess popu¬ lation of the lower part of New York becomes denser, as the resident population are crowded further up-town, the unequaled advantages of Staten Island for residence purposes will be seen and apin-eciated. Staten Island is as beautiful as the Isle of Wight, and yet real estate is a drug, and people will not buj' to settle on any part of it except the north shore. Islakdeii. AxswER.—Staten Island ought to be worth treble the price it could now be purchased for. What is needed is some comprehensive scheme of drainage to rid the island of chills and fever. Tho North Shore is so far the favorite place for residences, becau.se the hills through the centre of the island shut off that portion from the malarious districts, south and west. Great lack of wistioui has lM?en shown bj' the inhabitants in resisting anj- attempt to thoroughly drain the island. We agree with our correspondent as the business population becomes more dense on the lower imrt of New York, that many people will be tempted to purchase residences on Staten Island; but no one acquainted with the facts will advise their friends to live anj-where on Staten Island except on the North Shore. It is a real pity that this charming region cannot be reclaimed and made healthful. It ought to have ton times the population it has to-daj-, but it seems impossible to induce the property holders to consent to the necessary taxation to make the island healthful.—iU Real Estate Record. LEGAL DECISIONS. mortgagor—dower right of infant mort- GAGOIt. The Supreme Court has decided the follo%ving: One M. desired to raise monej' to pay off cer tain mort^ges executed bj- him prior to his mar¬ riage. This he succeeded in doing. The prior mortgages were, in fact, unsatisfied of recoid when lhe moneys were advanced on the new mortgages, although it was understood that such monojsshould be, and they were in fact, applied to the iiajnient of such prior mortgages, and thej- were thereupon satisfied of record. At the time of the execution of the new mortgages M. had married, and his wife, who was an infant, but which latter fact was unknown to the mort¬ gagees, joined in the execution of the mortgages. The wife defends the foreclosure of the new mortgages upon the ground of her infancy at the time of their execution. Judge Van Vorst decides that it is equitable and just that the prior mortgages, which were satisfied with the moneys raised on those ex¬ ecuted by M. and wife, should be revived, so as to effectuate what, was intended at the time, to wit: the release of her dower right, and that the same should be postponed until the mortgages last executed are satisfied. Dower is a moral right and, as such, is favored. But there is no reason why the wife's claim should be absolutely preferred to a mortgage ex- ecutwi before her right attached, and which was sati>fied through moneys raised with the under¬ standing that the person advancing the money should, in reality, have a hen, in so far as the dow er right was concerned, equal to that which was discharged. PROMMISSORT NOTK—ACCOMMODATION ENDORSE¬ MENT BY ONE MEMBER OK A FIRM. The Supreme Court, of Michigan, recently de¬ termined the following : Three i>ersons were in co-partnership; one of the firm endorsed the co-partnen^ip name for the accommodation of third parties, who, in tuni, delivered the note so endorsed for their ac¬ commodation to an execution creditor. The Court hold, that the execution creditor is, of course, not a bona fide holder, and must be sup¬ posed privj' tp all the facts. He knew he was taking the endorsement of the firm for a debt of a third person, and if the partner who endorsed the firm name had stated at the time that his firm was to or did receive some consideration for the endorsement, it could not bind his copart¬ ners. A partner's declarations maj' bind his associates in partnership matters, but not in con corns foreign to the partnership; and he cannot, bj' his mere admission or declaration, bring a transaction within the scope of the business when, upon the facts in proof, it appears to have no con¬ nection therewith. WHEN SURETY WILL BE HELD LIABLE AS PRIN¬ CIPAL. The Supreme Court of Missouri, in a recent case, say: If one who is but a surety execute a note as maker, or accept a bill intending to be held as principal, and the security is so taken by the endorser, he may be treated in the character he assumed on the face of the transaction, notwith¬ standing the holder, when he received the security, was aware that the maker, or acceptor, had become so for the accommodation of the drawer of the bill or endorser of the note. THE NEW BUILDING FOR THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. T'lie Lonpr Island Historical Society building on the corner of Pierrepont and Clinton streets, now ap¬ proaching completion, will be an ornament to the city of Brookljn. Without being pretentious in appear ance, its entire construction at once reflects the pur¬ poses for which it is to be used. The three principal stories will be devoted to a lecture room, to a library and to a museum, the latter in the upper storj'. The walls, which are four feet thick and elaborately trimmed with terra cotta, are started on a bot¬ tom of Wyoming Valley stone—a greystone of ex¬ cellent qualitj-. which i.s susceptible of very fine carving. The brick of the walls are all laid in black oil putty instead of in black mortar. Along the front wall will be the heads of Michael An¬ gelo, Beethoven, Columbus, Shakespeare, Franklin and Guttenberg, by Warner, of this city, and Bartlett of Boston, both sculptors of repute. In the spandrels will be represented the various agricultural products of the country, such as Indian corn, wheat, etc., while all along there will be terra cotta panels. The entire structure is to be surmounted by an ornamental tower, 100 feet from the ground. The lecture room, will be finished in ash and cherrj-, the stained glass furnishing a most pleasing light to this story. It should be added, in connection with a description of this building, that it is the first time that terra cotta has been used to any considerable extent in place of stone. The manufacture of terra cotta is in fact an entire new industry in this country. It was started two years ago in Chicago, and, owing to its being more and more regarded as an excellent build¬ ing material, terra cotta factories have since been started in Boston and South Amboy, where the well- known Halls are constantly receiving large orders for thia material. Mr. George B. Post, the architect of the Long Island Hostorical .building, considers terra cotta the best flre-proof material extant, in fact he regards it as indestructible, and yet it is nothing but very hard-burnt brick, of extraordinary good quality. Mr. David H. King, Jr., is the contractor for this building, the Halls of Perth Amboy. as already stated, furnish the terra cotta, and Mr. A. Schweizer supplies the'.iron work. We have above merely outlined the leading divi¬ sions of the building, as they indeed form the princi¬ pal room for the Society's requirements, but there are, of coui-se, any number of offlcers' and directors' rooms in various parts of the building. -----------------------------------------»■»> THE VANDERBILT METHOD OF BUILDING. Not long since, Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt made up his mind to rebuild the northwest corner of Fifty- seventh street and Fifth avenue. Two houses stood there which had to make room for the new palatial mansion which young Cornelius, the son of Wm. H. Vauderbilt, intends to erect there. His architect, Mr. Geo. B. Post, suggested that instead of seUing tbo old material tbe houses be talKn- down, piecemeal, and placed on the corner ot Madison av. and Fifty-sev¬ enth St., where Mr. Vanderbilt had acquired a suffic¬ ient quantity of ground. The proposition was ap proved by the owner, and now Mr. David H. King, Jr.,. the builder, is constructing the new Madison avenue- corner with the material of the old Fifth avenue houses, every part having been previously marked and numbered so as to fit in the same spot where it has done service before. The houses, according to this arrangement, are rapidly approaching comple¬ tion at the saving of about fifty per cent, on the cost, of construction. COURTLAND STREET IMPROVEMENTS. The site of the; old National Hotel in Courtland' street will be occupied shortly by a new fire-proof ofllce building which will add still further to the- increased facilities which that thoroughfare nowr offers to the multifarious business interests of t!!iis city. Located as this new building is, next door to the Coal Exchange, it cannot fail, when completed,, to at once being occupied by tenants. It will be six stories high, covering a plot of ground 65x12-3, and will be fire-proof throughout. The front will be of Indiana lime stone, which has been tested as an excellent building material and quite pleasing to the ej'e. The ground fioor especially will be elaborately ornamentfed and the upper offices will all have ample light and ventilation. The contract for the construc¬ tion of this edifice has been entrusted to Jas. B. Smith, Prodgers & Co., a guarantee that the work wfil be well done. Mr. Geo. B. Post is the architect of this building, which belongs to the U. J, Smith estate. THE VICTORIA HOTEL. The Stevens Apartment.House, on the corner of Fifth avenue and Twenty-seventh street, having changed hands, will be reconstructed as a hotel and on and after December 1st will be known as the Vic¬ toria. Mr. M. M. Stanley and Mr. Frank Wrislej-, for¬ merly of the New^ York Hotel, are the new lessees. The entire building is to be remodeled. There always was a lack of fight in this apartment house, and, to remedy this, the partitions on all the floors will be removed, which wfil not only give more light but more air. The dining room is being enlarged and two other buildings on the Fifth avenue side are to be added. Fuller details of tho reconstruction of this weU known apartment house will be given in a future number of The Record. THE SALE OF MONTAUK POINT. The great Indian reservation and peninsula, known as Montauk, the southeastern extremity of Long Island, on which stands the Montauk Lighthouse, con¬ taining 11,500 acres, including land and water, was sold at auction on Wednesday, for §151,000, to Mr. Arthur W. Benson, President of the Brooklyn Gas Light Company. The sale took place at East Hamp¬ ton, in the'presence of a large number of people. Th© East Hampton people are rather disappointed at the result of the sale, as they reckoned on over 5200,000 being realized. It is thought that there will be little delay in furnishing this eastern end of Long Island with railroad communication, and making it a choice watering place. AUTOMATIC PARLOR ELEVATOR. " One of the great centres of attraction at the Fair of the American Institute, around which a crowd i > continually standing, is the Automatic Parlor Eleva¬ tor, manufactured and exhibited by H. Y. I>asear, of No. 8 Gansevoort street. It is simple in its construc¬ tion, acts noiselessly, is absolutely safe, is not liable to get out of repair, and fn any building where the traffic is not enough to pay for the running expenses of a steam elevator, it is just the thing. A lady or a ten-year-old child can manage it with the utmost safety. COUNTRY LANDS. In connection with our list of reliable real estate agents, we are constantly receiving particulars from them of special opportunities to investors that occur in their respective districts, which we shall at all times be pleased to .show to capitalists and others seeking investments; and for parties wishing to locate, we have particulars of several very eligible opportu¬ nities.- Atoong thera° are' some sent by out corre»-