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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 76, no. 1969: December 9, 1905

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December 9, 1905 RECORD AND GTJIDE DEV&TEBpRpMLESTAJE.SuiLDIffc ^RjLKtTECTUl^.HoUSnfOlDDEQOItJTIWl. Bdsii/ESS AifoThemes OF GeiJeraI l[/TEfl.E5T. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS Published eVerg Saturdag Communication a should ba adtlresaetl to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. New York Tulephone, Cortlandt 3157 "Entered at the Post Office at Neu> York, N. Y. as second-class mailer." Vol. LXXVL DECEMBER 9, 1905. No. 1969. INDHK TO DB3PARTMBINTS. Advertlalag Section. Page. Cement....................xxv Clay Products............xxiv Contractors and Builders, .vlli Electrical Interests.........x Fireproofing................ill Granite...................xxvi Heating...................xxii Iron and Steel...............xx Page. Law.......................xil Machinery..................vi Metal Work...............xxl Quick Job Directory.......xxix Real Estate................xlv Stone....................xxvi Wood Products..........xxviii THE Stock Market continues to maintain ita ordinary steadiness and strength in the face of very adverse condi¬ tions. It is controlled by a number of large speculators, who have made considerable profits by operating in specialties, and who are determined to keep prices up over the period of high money. They may succeed in achieving this difficult and dan¬ gerous feat; but one cannot help wondering whether their suc¬ cess will not hurt the chance of the bull market, the occurrence of which is so confidently anticipated somewhat later. There can be little doubt that a moderate amount of weakness during the current month would make it easy to effect a much more considerable advance later; but if confidence in the speculative situation is undermined by a continuation of the forcing, which has been underway during the past week, the general advance, which has been so long heralded, may not come at all. It certainly cannot come, unless the public interest in the mar¬ ket becomes larger and better satisfied; and It Is difficult to see how such public interest can be provoked. As long as the evidences of persistant and "even desperate manipulation are so obvious, it will be difficult to inject any spontaneous strength Into a general rise of values. People will be afraid that the rise is being engineered solely for the purpose of enabling specu¬ lators to sell out their lines of stocks. A LARGE number of sales have taken place during the past week between Gth and 7th avs and south of Slst st, and in one instance an offering at auction of 80 feet on 27th st be¬ tween these avenues brought a very high price compared to the values prevailing not long ago. It will be interesting to see how far this movement is carried, no matter what becomes of 6th and 7th avs. It is evident that the best that ean happen to these side streets is to be built up with loft buildings, and those which have been planned hitherto, have with only one exception, never been more than six stories high. But if lots on these side streets are going to he worth as much as ?40,000 it will not be long before builders wiil hegin to erect ten and twelve-story loft buildings thereon. Of course, a great deal depends upon the way in which .the plans of the railway companies develop; but their own investment iu real estate iu the neighborhood is becoming so heavy that they will be forced to make improve¬ ments which will help very much'to improve the character of the entire district. IT is hard to avoid the conclusion that Mr. Washington Hull has been badly treated in the matter of the plans for the new Brooklyn Borough Hall. The present President of the Borough of Brooldyn undoubtedly had every right to change according to his judgment, the plans, which had heen drawn under the directions of its predecessor, because there is no reason why Mr. Littleton should be obliged to stand for a building, which was not in his opinion adequate to the needs of the Brooklyn administrative offlces; but in that event the archi¬ tect of the plans already made certainly has a fair claim for some compensation. The fact that the contract was actually signed only the day before the expiration of Mr. Swanstrom's term of offlce is irrelevant. As a matter of fact, the contract ,was practically of much longer duration. Months before certain architecta had been invited to submit plans, which were to be judged according to a method laid down in a public advertise¬ ment. On the basis of this advertisement a numher of archi¬ tects spent money and time in preparing plans, and those pre¬ pared by Mr. Hull were declared by the judges to be superior to the plans submitted by the other competitors. When Mr. Hull received the award, he was fairly entitled to a certain compensation; and even if the Board of Estimate is legally justified in withholding it from him, their failure to admit the obligation will strike an outsider as a very shabby piece of business or politics. It is no wonder that architects detest competitions for public buildings, and that some of the best of them have decided never to submit plans under such conditions. Fron one cause or another they rarely receive fair treatment. In the present instance Brooklyn will undoubtedly obtain a much better aud handsomer huilding under the new arrange¬ ment than under the old; hut in obtaining it an unnecessary and a very petty bit of injustice wili have heen perpetrated. TF Brooklyn Is to obtain a new Borough Hall, why should one ■•■ be denied to Manhattan? The practical need on this aida of the river is quite as great; and the matter has been even longer under discussion. It is very much to be hoped that the mayor, when he begins his new term of four years will take up projects of this kind with more vigor. During his first term, he has not shown himself very much interested in pushing any of the many plans for municipal improvement, which have been seriously proposed, and which will satisfy incontestable practical needs. The longer the erection of a municipal office building in Manhattan is postponed, the more expensive the land which is needed will have become; and the city cannot continue In¬ definitely to house its various departments in rented offlces without suffering both in pocket and dignity. During the com¬ ing winter arrangements should be made to build hoth a new Court House and a new municipal office building, and even then judging by the Hall of Records, it will be ten yeara before they are finished and occupied. The Real Estate Situation—Conditions and Prospects. A 3 the weeks go by it becomes apparent that the demand for •^*- real estate at the present time possesses some very re¬ markable and encouraging characteristics. It is not too much to say that this demand has, on the whole, a broader basis and a sounder sanction than at any previous time during the past five years. This new phase differs from the other phases, which the real estate market has passed through during this period, because the activity on which it is based is more general, and more wholesome. In every previous year since 1901 the activity while extraordinary, was concentrated on special sections or particular kinds of improvement. But the existing market has no such limitation. All hinds of real estate in all parts of the city are in excellent demand. There is no great pressure of. speculative buying in any one section, unless it be the section affected by the Pennsylvania terminal; but almost everywhere in Manhattan, and in all the accessible positions of the Bronx and Brooklyn, a great deal of real estate is being sold at good prices, which is just the condition which benefits the largest possible number of people. This condition is all the more remarkable, because it is the sequence of a prolonged period of speculative exploitation. One part of the city after another has, as we have said, been taken up by the operators during the past few years, and considerable advances established in the level of prices prevailing at that time. During 1901, 1902 and the first part of 1903, for instance, values were largely increased iu the financial district, in the vicinities of Long Acre and Greeley Squares, along the line of Sth av, and in the residence section east and southeast of Central Park. It was freely predicted at the time that this speculation was heing carried altogether too far and that a recession in values would certainly follow; but such did not prove to be the case. In the summer and fall of 1903 the speculation itself did indeed cease, except in the business part of 5th av; but prices did not weaken, and in the meantime a speculative move¬ ment was heing developed in a wholly different direction. It was suddenly discovered that owing to a number of different causes, there was a scarcity of living accommodation in Man¬ hattan, and that an opportunity was offered for the speculative exploitation both of old-law tenements, and of vacant land, on which new-law tenements could be constructed. During 1904 and the first half of 1905 speculative interest was fastened on these classes of rea! estate, and many advances in values were brought about. In respect to these advances, also, lugubrious