The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-05-06
THE GREAT VAULT.
A DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0FTHH
VAULT CONSTR UCTED FOR SAN
FRANCISCO DEPOSIT COMPANY
From San Francisco Bulletin.

From San FRANCISCO bulletin.
Twenty years ago few, ifany safes Wcrs
manufactured outside Of New York city.
With the development Of natural resOur-
ces in the West, the safe interests Of 9th.
er localities, and especially those Of Ohio
came into prominence and finally achieV~
ed national reputation, The reasons
for this change in safe centres are easily
explained. The original manufacturers,
of the safes were for long period con-
tent with what may be termed the prim
tive style of safe. AS long as business
was profitable, improvement was sec
ondary consideration. The manufaCtur.
ers of the West, with regulations to maks
and custom IN draw, were forced to util
ize all the appliances of inventive GEM
lib and mechanical skill. New patterns
for safes and new methods of securing
protection against fire and the attacks Of
burglars were devised, and new mat0ri.
ais were successfully br ught into use.
For years prior TO this progress in safe
manufacture, the standard safe was paint.
ed green and striped with black, and H.
was not considered the correct thing to-
depart from this custom. There was q
popular impression atioat that black and
green impaired an air Of solidity to safes
Establishment was not thought of and
artistic taste never displayed. Now Wo
have safes for ornaments as well as for
use. In 1850 not more than $4,000 was
invested in the business Of safe manufac-
ture in America. Now there is at least
$500O,000 in the business, and this is dis
tributed among two hundred firms. One
firm alone, Diebold, Norris & Co., of Can
ton, Ohio, has working capital of $780,
900,
The contract for the construction of the
vault of the San Francisco Safe Deposit
Company, in the fire structure rising on
the southeast corner of Montgomery and
California streets. was awarded to this
Canton firm over host of competitors
The contract amounts to over 100000,
ana has been the means Of concentrating
much attention on San Francisco. There
are probable fifty safe deposit companies
in America with large increasein pros
pect, but none can boast Of a vault equaE
in size, strength and finish to that erect
ed for the San Francisco. Indeed, Wa
are assured that the Vanlt Of this COmpa-
ny is the largest in the world. Itssuper.
fetal dimensions are: Width, q feej
length, 80 feet; height, l2 feet. The
weight of the vault is 100000 pounds
The construction Of the vault engaged the
services of q large force of men at Canton,
and the progress of the work was noted
with interest by the public here and in
the East The transportation of tho
vault across the continent in forty railroad
cars afforded Eastern papers an opportu
nifty for pictorial illustration, which they
did not fail to turn TO advantage. The
details of construction are very interest
ing to any one who feels an interest in
this branch of mechanics. For the first
time in the history of vault work, a vaulb
is made with steel surface, that is, the
outer plates are steel, instead of iron, as
heretofore. The method of construction
involves the use of compound plates both
for the exterior and interior sections.
The outer wall of the vault proper is four
plates thick and the inner wall has
thickness Of two plates. These are so ar
ranged as to break the joints. The ex-
PLANTATION may be more lucid if we say
that the plates are joined together on the
tongue and groove system, Outside of
the vault is wall Of concrete eight lnGa,~
es in thickness This affords the same
protection against fire that could be OBJ
tanned by 2einch brick wall. The or
namentation of the vault is stylish and
attractive. There are graceful columns
and pilasters distributed at appropriate
intervals on the outside. But the chef
dOure of decorative skill consists of me
dallions in the centre of the panels, rep
resenting in bds relief ThorWaldsens -Four
Seasons, and Night and Morning. These
beautiful embellishments were imported
from Germany expressly for this work.
The entrance to the vault is protected by
three doors, the outer one tire-prOOf, and
the two inner ones burglar-prolf To
overcome the ponderous barrier the burg
lar would have to pierce six inches OF
fire-proof material, and nine inches of
! burglar-proOfm material, q task which could
not be accomplished under thi most fiI-
yorable circumstances in less than three
or four weeks. There are five locks of
the latest improved pattern on the door
The safe repositories in the vault num-
Der 1900 They are of burglar-proOf ma
terial, and are guarded by patent COmbi-
nation locks and key and escutcheon
locks. The gold and silver trimmings of
the repositories are elaborate and very
rich. The interior of the vault, in tho
| light the gas presents scene Of dazzling
splendOr. The work of erecting the vault
was commenced on the lst of February,
under the personal supervision of Me-
Norris, of Diebold, Norris 4 Co., and with
the aid of a force ofskilled workmen from
his manuhctcry, he has succeeded in
forcing the enterprise ahead with remark
able dispatch, and to the complete salts
faction of the Deposit Company. ]. G.
Duncan, the leading spirit of the Organi-
zation, and the man upon whom the re-
sponsibility of its Inauguration rests, has
received pleasant surprise in the ra-
pidity with which the vault contract has
been disposed of by Mr.. Norris, and has
paid high compliment to this gentle
man. MIR. Norris leaves for the East to-
morrow morning, and the pleasant i'm
preston of California which he bears
away with him are only equaled by those
he has left among the people who have
been brought into intercourse with him
here. AT any time during the progress
of the work in his charge he has been ac-
cessible to the members Of the Press and
other people who have applied to him
| for information, and the facts at his dis
posal have always been cheerfully given,
The new vault continues to attract the
attention of the pedestrians on Mont
gomery and California streets, and it will