Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 47, no. 1206: April 25, 1891

Text version:

April 35, 1891 Record and Guide. 647 the pitiful sixteen stories of its neighbor, the M orld, and a number of smaller projects have either been announced or are under con¬ sideration. The building of new warehouses to the west of Broad¬ way and north of Broome street shows no abatement. Builders who have been successful thus far in closing out their operations at a iirofit are undertaking new ventures, and a number of whole¬ sale merchants are erecting buildings on their own account. There is still plenty of room for a continuatice of operations in this district. The warehouses are not likely to get above 14th street for many years to come. The new ones needed will be erected to the east and west of Broadway. During 1890 tlie field of the greatest activity was between 14th aud 59th streets. It is in this part of tbe city that most of our hotels, theatres, club-houses and large retail stores are situated. Its growth measures the growth of New York as a pleasure centre. The iucrease in the number of hotels meaus that more people flock to this city from all over_the country to transact business, make purchases, see the " sights " and have a " good time." During the first three months of the present year the amount of money to be expended in this district showed a heavy falling off, heavier than that in any other part of the city. It is not likely, h6wever, that the percent¬ age of this decrease, amounting so far to one-half, will he main- ,tained. A large number of important improvements have been announced, plans for wliich have not as yet been filed. Some of these, such as the Metropolitan Club house (for ali practical purposes within this district), and the new Astor residences may be indefi¬ nitely postponed; others, such as the Van Ingen warehouse on the southwest corner of 5th avenue ani 21st street will be rapidly pushed to completion, and these will belp to swell the totals. But while the percentage of decrease which has iieen held thus far ia not likely to be maintained, still it is not probable that plans willbe filed in 1891 caUing for as large an expenditure as there were in 1890. He would be a bold man, for instance, who risked any money in hotels, mainly for transient guests, at a time when the Holland House was but just completed, and when three such enormous car¬ avansaries as the New Netherlands, the Waldorf and Judge Dugro's weraimderconstruction. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Com¬ pany's office building is something of an experiment, which no one will care to imitate until its success is proved. With the exception of the Metropolitan and Uuion Clubs, no more new club-houses are in sight; so not very much buildiug will come from that source. Con¬ sequently tbere is liable to be a slight lull in building operations between 14th and 59th streets, during 1891—to be followed by a still larger amount of improvement in years to come. Dui'ing the first two montbs of this year the filings for new buildings on the West Side were so scarce as to justify apprehen¬ sions tbat another break, similar to that which occurred in 1888, would be witnessed during 1891, and there were a number of causes which rendered this view plausible. In 1890 there had been some small amount of over-building. Some of the operators were hardly warranted by their success during the past season in start¬ ing new enterprises and undertaking new responsibilities. Never¬ theless, the increase of fiUngs for the West Side during March, over the same month last year, shows that the backwardness was due rather to the inability of builders to obtain loans, for as soon as the money market relaxed, many plans were rushed in which had been delayed for this reason. Whether the increase which we noted in March will be con¬ tinued during succeeding months may reasonably be doubted, but it' there is any slackening of activity it vrill not assume the proportions of a reaction. Many of the improvements which are promised are of an important cbaracter, no less than three large apartment hotels having already been announced. The general standard of the buildings, furthermore, shows no sign of deterioration. Oue of the main sources of the attractiveness of the West Side is the large proportion which the dwellings bear to the flats, and'from present indications this proportion will be main¬ tained during 1890. The East Side, also,, will be likely to fare very well during the summer and fall. Ti:e filings for this district also increased during March, and the decrease for the whole three months is less than that for the West Side. Apart, however, from the large improvements which are projected near the Plaza, and which nominally come within this district, although really subject to a different set of conditions, it would not seem as if 1891 will be marked by any large undertaking. One ajjartment hotel of good dimensions is already in the process of construction, but those - avenues and streets which would naturally be the location of handsome buildings are either already improved tc a large extent or are so inaccessible that much cannot be espected of them until the time of better transit is come. Purposely, thus far, we have refrained from including in this slight survey of the immediate prospects any couoiderations based upon improved rapid transit, for it is apparent this will not be an efficient cause to direct and swell the real estate operations during 1891. The Manhattan Company is no nearer its needed strip in Battery Park than it was three years ago, and it is this company alone that can supply immediatte alleviation. No doubt, before many weeks are passed, the Eapid Ti-ansit Commissioners will announce at least two new routes—one for the West and one for the East Side; but these routes have stili to be built, construction and operating company formed, their obligations financed, aiid a thousand obstacles overcome, so that any considerations arising ort this score belong to the indefinite rather tban the prox¬ imate future. To that flexible period must be relegated the further improvement of the Wasbington Heights district, for so far as building in that part of the city depends on general instead of local conditions not very much activity can be expected for several years. As for the district north of ILOth street, eastof St. Nicholas and west of Sth avenue, the outlook is none of the best, for under any circumstances it will have to depend on the elevated roads ; and no one can tell when or to what extent their facilities wili be improved. ,------.—a----------- The Reconstructecl Western Union Building. THE reconstruction of tbe Western Union Building on lower Broadway has been watched with more than usual curiosity; by the Public, because people were inteiested in seeing what would replace the high mansard roof and clock-tower of the old building which for years were architectural features down town, so con¬ spicuous aud familiar; and by architects, because those very feat- urtiS were in a large me;isure the logical completion of the original design, and the curiosity of tbe prof ession was alive to discover how the architect of the reconstruction would retain, as it were, his predecessor's major and minor premises in tha lower six stories and yetproduce a different but legitimate result in his own additions. The limitations in the problem were not solely architectural; for while tbe'artistic idea was not only given, but very conspicuously embodied in the lower stories retained, there were Gtructural difficulties and commercial requirements to be met in the upper part to be added. Moreover, in view of the almost historic value which the old form of the building had acquired in the eyes of the public, could the architect feel quite free to totally disregard the very features which, it is understood, he was commissioned not to reproduce ? After several months' work the reconstructed building is now finished architecturally ; we were about to say " completed ;" but that it can never be to the end of time. In mathematics two halves may make a whole, but in architecture they do not necessarily ; and in the example io question most decidedly they do not. The old building, it will be remembeied, was scarcely more than a series of not very wide pilasters, the spaces between being fliled in with stone transoms. To minimise the extreme " verticalness" of a scheme like this extending upwards nine or ten stories the architect in making his horizontal divisions not only employed very heavy coruices and band coiuses, but as far as possible broke up the vertical lines of his pilasters by equi¬ distant bandings of stone and rectangular panels. Even iu the two lowest stories, which are the basement of the ^building, the granite is heavily rusticated for the same purpose. The controlling idea in the design is to lessen, as far as possible, the apparent height of the building. In this case an excellent idea surely, but excellent or not, palpably one which an architect called in to add four stories to six already standing could not with an easy artistic conscience ignore. Yet ignore it the architect of the reconstruction did; ignore it, moreover, he did in as complete a manner as it is possible for material to permit, so that one is inclined to think that he deliberately made his design out of all relation to the old building. Indeed, the only obvious correspondence between his work and his predecessor's is the correspondence of pier lines, which, as necessitated by imperative structural require¬ ments could not well bo avoided. Everywhere else, how¬ ever, the architect has gone ahead in a particularly free-handed manner. The end piers on the Dey street front, which in the old part of the buildiog are in two planes, in the new part above are in one. In the addition the few horizontal Hues are attenuated, and if " verticalness " is not accentuated absolutely as far as possible, surely nothing is done to lessen it. The stone courses of the old piers are omitted, terra cotta of nearly the same shade of red as the brick is used instead of granite for trimmings, semi-circular arches are employed instead of the segmental ones and the lintels below, the new pilaster caps are ornamented differently from those in the old part, and even the windows above tbeseventhstory aredivjded into three lights instead of two as iu all tbe others. One is at a loss whether to regard the piece of work as a freak or the most notable of those hybrid monstrosities which the conjunction of strong commercial instincts with weaker artistic ones procuce so prolifically in New York. But a freak it must be, for though the Western Union Company would have good reason, after a disastrous flre, to determine to rebuild inonly the most certain fire-proof mater¬ ial, itis difficult to understand that thoy can have ao determined, for they are constructing their new building on Dey street of stone as well as of brick—the very materials which, from an artistic point of view, should have been used in the stories added to the old building. Besides, even if his clients did insist upon the use of