The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-09-13
The Palace Hotel In San FrancIac0.

aidce. IL was ProJScteu ny Mi. nat-
ston, of the Bank of California. He
owned much of the land on which the
hotel stands, and he and Mr.. Sharon, it
is understood, own much of the land
near it. These gentlemen joined purses
for the purpose of building. the finest
hotel in the world. An architect wis.,
tied all the principal cities OF Europe for
the purpose of examining hotel arohitec-
ture, noting imrovements and novelties
and gathering ideas. All the leading
hotel men in the United States were also
conferred with and their suggestions OBJ
tained. When it was decided what was
wanted the architect went to work ON
his plans. The hotel Is now nearly I'm
ished, and good idea may be obtained OF
it. The size is simply gigantic. 1t
covers one whole square--from New
Montgomery to Annie, and from Market
| to Jessie slreets. In lact, the building IS
| 800 by 2I5 feet, covering nearly l00,0OO
square feet, and being seven stories high.
| 1t is difficult to describe tue architecture
of the building. Mr.. Mullett, late SUPER
vsing architect of the treasury, was in
| the habit of calling everything "Renais-
wise, and have no doubt he would use
the word here. 1t is severely plain. In
respect to bay windows, architect, own
ers and lessee have all run mad.
Some idea may be OBJ aimed or the
appearance of the hotel when IT is stated
that there, are no large columns, no
domes, no arches, no steepies--nothlhg
but bay windows. Every room fronting
ON the street has one, and the appear
ance from the outside isXery mover: Az
first it seems tinical and trihing, giving
the appearance OF monstr0us DulioihX
covered with pigeon-houses. There are
in all about 400 Day windows, SO that, in
The language OF advertisements, mo
family snouId be without one;" The
interior arrangements OF the hotel are ad-
mirable. The entrance is ON New Mont
gomery street through porte cocnere
extending to court similar to that OF
the. Grand Ho.el in Paris. This court is
144 by "a ieet, and reaches to the top OF
the building, being covered Wlth glass.
In this court will be walks, fountains,
statuary and tropical plants. The court
differs from that o. the Grand Hotel IN
PARIS in this respect. ON every noor
yeranda twelve feet wide extends en-
tirely around the court, forming
promenade above the garden, which is to
lie Illuminated in the evening. From
tue garden level to the second floor is
tue grand staircase, which is ornamented
with staIuary and hQwer vases. Vases
OF growing flowers and plants are also to
he placed at intervals around the ver-
apdas. on every floor. Nothing can be
more beautiful In conception than =
open court gayly Illuminated s.,ad ad-
orned with iountains,' stssuary. tropical
plants and shrubbe.y, win tier alter
Lier OF verandas.. blooming with flowers
AND hllea With promenaders.
! f~w can appreciate the gigantic
/ proportions of the Palace, and 1 have
obtained certain figures from the archl-
tect to aid the imagination. There are
nearly a, thousand rooms In the hotel;
tuere are five hundred bath rooms
| There is not room in the house for
guess that is less tnan sixteen feet
| square, and more tnan half OF them are
twenty feet square. Every room has a
| closet, fireplace, a marble manteI six
| ieet long, French-plate mirror and
standard gaslights. Every room is also
provided with fresh air register CON-
Inunicating with the street. and 1ue
Pleading to the root. Perfect ventilation
is therefore secured. Each bath room
has a flue leading 70 hot-air chamber
on the roof, thus securing draft which
carries off impure gases. There are 2,042
venlilat.ng tubes opening outward on
the rooI OF the hotel. -Four Things We're
lsougnt by the builders-space, light, air
and ventilation.
The principal dining-room of the Pal
ace is $50 by 90 feet-not in good proper
pion, owing, probably, to the height of
the room. This dining-ro0m is larger
than any private residence in New Y York,
with half dozen exceptions. 1t is
teyen larger than six city lots in New
tYork, and counting the breakfast room
and the private dining-rooms, they are
equal to thirteen city lots in that city.
A novel feature in American hotels
HAS been adopted in the Palace in the
tmatter OF attenuance. A sub-office is
Eproyided on each OF the seven floors. In
leach office is an annunciator, and each
Floor has It's special servants, so that a
bell can be answered almost in stantly.
Each floor has also " letter-boX, which
lempties INTO tube leading to a box in
tie main office. There is also pneu-
matte dispatch tube by which messages
and parcels can be instantaneously
sent to any point on the different floors.
Tne Palace il in all esseniiIl particu.
Elars fre-proof. All the partitions and
walls are built Of brick OF stone, laid
| in cement and banded together with
iron. The hotel. itself is OF brick and
| iron, the brick portions being plastered
in the color of sandstone, and the iron
painted in the same shade. AS an addi-
tlonal protection against fire q spacious
escape stairway has been built from the
roof to the ground, composed of iron in
fclosed in brick, having openings on each
floor. In every room and passageWay
I'm the hotel is a tnermOstatic bulb, by
which any extra degree of heat existing
lin any locality will be announced AZ the
general office upon a dial showing the
eXact locality, thus making complete
There. arc eseyenty-nine stations in the
hsroI to be visited every hour, day and
Eniyht, by watchmen, at each Of which is
La button which communicates by elec.
Ttricity with the general Office, Where an
indicator is provided under lock. The
l,watchmen are required to touch each of
these buttons in their rounds, and if they
,fail to do so at the proper times the in
Edicatof shows it. Within the walls OF
1.-The building are four ten-inch artesiau
EweIls, with a tested capacity Of 2S,000
Egallons per hour. These wells commu-
1icate with reservoir under The court,
ll07 BY 81 feet ana 20 feet deep, holding
83O, 90 gallons. There are also engines,
steam pumps and a supply of A,570 teet
Of hose, which would seem to be in
themselves sufficient protection
against fire.
The Palace has five elevators which