Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 90, no. 2335]: December 14, 1912

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December 14, 1912 RECORD AND GUIDE 1119 dent of the Equitable, maintained strongly that by means of elevators tenants could be attracted to the upper floors, in which view Mr. Post coin¬ cided. ^ Approval of this revolutionary inno¬ vation was not easy to obtain. A prominent real estate firm was asked to appraise the rents in such a build¬ ing, and when their report was read to the directors Mr. Post, who was present, offered to take the topmost Broadway suite at the appraised rental. "No," declared Mr. Hyde, "you will take the suite at twice that figure," to which Mr. Post agreed. The judgment of both these pioneers was vindicated later when Mr. Post was offered a bonus of $6,000 for his lease within six months after the building was opened. The installation of the original elevators was in charge of Mr. Post, and they were the first commercial elevators used in America. Pioneer Work in Vault Construction. The third important section of this pioneering—for it was mostly pioneer work on the Equitable building—en¬ trusted to Mr. Post was the building of the fireproof safety vaults. When these were decided upon as a feature of the building, there were no such vaults in existence. Plans for them were, there¬ fore, evolved entirely from Mr. Post's brain. It stands to his great credit that in these original vaults, after the fire which destroyed the building had been extinguished and they had been opened, every bit of their contents was found to be in perfect condition. This fact has afforded Mr. Post more satisfaction than anything else in his experience. Shortly after the completion of the first Equitable building, Mr. Post be¬ came the Equitable's official architect, and so continued for over thirty years, having charge of the expenditure of many millions of dollars for the com¬ pany in that time. Mr. Post became an architect as a re¬ sult of the great panic of 1857. He had just graduated from New York Uni¬ versity as a civil engineer, but there was no work for civil engineers. In that year the eminent American archi¬ tect, Richard Morris Hunt, returned from Europe where he had studied un¬ der Lefuel and had been connected with many famous architectural works abroad. Mr. Hunt gave instruction to a few pupils in architecture at that time, and Mr. Post was invited to be one of the class. He consented, and afterward devoted himself entirely to architecture. Mr. Post is now seventy-four years old, but his eye is keen, his hand steady and his mind clear. He motors in from Bernardsville, N. J., nearly every day to oversee the work in his office on Fifth avenue. MEDAL FOR W. R. MEAD. NEW-MODEL FIRE TOWERS. Commissions on Subway Routes. Three commissions have been named by the courts to determine whether sub¬ ways should or should not be built along certain routes in this city. One of the commissions is holding its sessions in Judge Leventritt's office at 111 Broad¬ way and two at the office of the Public Service Commission. The several com¬ missions will report back to the courts which constituted them and their deci¬ sion will be final. The commissions are . composed as follows: Park Place, William and Clark Street Route—David Leventritt, Austin G. Fox, Robert C. Morris. Whitehall Street-Montague Street Route—Edward L. Parris, Cambridge Livingston, Julian N. Wright. Steinway Tunnel and Queensboro Plaza Route—James W. Prendergast, William D. Steele, Robert F. Randall. Institute of Arts and Letters Honors an Architect. The Institute of Arts and Letters has presented to William Rutherford Mead, of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, the institute medal of honor for archi¬ tecture. The formal presentation was made December 13 in the assembly hall of the New York Historical Society, Central Park West and 77th street, where the National Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Letters had annual joint public sessions in the morning and afternoon. - The medal is awarded in a different branch each year, and on its first pres¬ entation, four years ago, went to the late Augustus St, Gaudens for sculpture. The other medals went.to James Ford Rhodes for* history and James Whit- ■MESSRS. McKI.Al. MEAD AND WHITE, coujb Riley for poetry. Next year's award will be for drama. Mr. Mead is the only surviving mem¬ ber of the original firm of McKim, Mead & White, which was formed in 1880. The contribution of the firm to Ameri¬ can architecture has been very large and important. Columbia University, the College of the City of New York, the University of Virginia, Madison Square Garden, Boston Public Library, the New York Herald Building, the Washington Arch in Washington Square, the Penn¬ sylvania Railroad Station, and the Madi¬ son Square Presbyterian Church are a few examples from a very long list. A New Elevated Station Asked For. Lord & Taylor and others have peti¬ tioned the Public Service Commission to order the establishment of a new sta¬ tion on the Sixth avenue elevated rail¬ road at the intersection of 38th street. At present there is no station on this line between 33d street and 42d street. The Interborough Rapid .Transit Com¬ pany, which operates the road, states that it is willing to construct such a station if the consents of property own¬ ers at the intersection can be obtained. The .petitioners insist that a station is so badly needed that the commission should order it built, even if it is neces¬ sary to condemn the required easements. A hearing on the petition will be held December 18 at 2.30 o'clock. The New Candler Building Has One with Reinforced Concrete Balconies. The Candler Building, which is un¬ der construction in 42d street, west of Broadway, has a fire tower constructed on the Philadelphia principle. As far to the south as one can see the great cream-colored building over the tops of ordinary skyscrapers, the reinforced con¬ crete balconies of the fire-towers are visible, built in the corner formed by the walls of the main building and the wing, which extends back to 41st street. Entrance to the tower is from the outside of the building by means of the balconies. The tower consists of a staircase enclosed by four brick walls that cut it off entirely from the interior of the floors. In an emergency this would be a refuge from both smoke and flame, as well as a safe exit to the ground. In addition to this unusual device there is an interior fire¬ proof staircase and a battery of eleva¬ tor for each end of the building, so that there are four sep¬ arate means of exit from the building. There is also an .automatic sprinkler system, and any tenant so desiring could erect a fire¬ wall to divide the main building from the Aving. Since the fire in the Asche Building a number of fire-towers of the Philadel¬ phia type have been erected here. A theatre which was opened a fortnight ago is provided with one, and several fac¬ tories have towers that contain the es¬ sential principles of the Philadelphia type, but few if any office buildings can compare with the Candler Building in all its fire-protection features. With theatres on all sides of it, the Candler Building can be seen from miles around, as it is twenty-four stories high. All four sides of the main build¬ ing are treated with cream-colored terra cotta ashlar and ornament carried to the roof line—a beautiful building, as busi¬ ness buildings go. No manufacturing will be permitted in it, and the leases will carefully define just what is meant by the term "manufacturing." Asa G. Candler, of Atlanta, the owner, has had wide experience in erecting successful buildings in various parts of the coun¬ try. In this instance he has had the co¬ operation of O. D. & H. V. Dike, agents; Willauer, Shape & Bready, architects, and the Cauldwell-Wingate Company, builders. To these he gave the fullesA discretion and confidence. Every dol¬ lar paid for the construction passed through the hands of the Messrs. Dike. —The Committee on City Plan of the United Civic Associations of the Bor¬ ough of Queens, of which Williiam R. Griffiths is chairman, is making an effort to induce the wealthy property owners of Queens to donate land for public parks. A Greenville Land Development. The Berghoff Land Company, which owns a large tract of land in the Green¬ ville section of Jersey City, is laying it out in streets and planning for the erec¬ tion of one hundred and fifty houses. The property is bounded by Garfield avenue. Brown place. Gates avenue and the Central railroad. Robert Hudspeth is representing the land company in the street opening proceedings. —The Taxpayers' Association of the Tenth, Eleventh and. Twelfth Wards has been active for forty years. —The Muiiicipal Building is now all enclosed, and the tower lacks only the finial to complete it.