Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-09-25
mcCOmB. HURST 4 co.
Their New building.

. riOr Is Inspected. Still that front
well worthy Of notice. 1t is a thret
story structure of % feet width, tn
lower portion Of which is constructe
Of iron castings, and the upper {
pressed brick, with stone facing:
Its general style il much more sim
pie and severe than some of tn
fioridly decorated Drildings whic
were put up Immediately after tn
war, and, for that reason, is il
sounder aesthetic taste. Nothing i
concealed with stuccO, but ever,
material is made to show itself as
is, stone as stone, brick as brick
iron as iron. 1t towers high abov
the two and three-story building
adjoining, two of its stories beini
nearly equal in elevation to three il
the adjacent buildings. One feature
should be noticed in connection
with this front, and that is that al
area of four feet width has been ex
cavated along the whole front, so a
to give air and light to the cellar
beneath, a great advantage as secur
| ity against damp.
| Now let us enter. The principa
sales-room is an apartment of splen
did proportions, being 176 feet long
% feet wide and 164 feet high. II
has an elevator in front and in rear
each working from the cellar to the
upper story. That in the rear is fol
receiving goods, that in front fol-
shipping them, and the whole estab-
lishment is arranged in conformity
with these requirements; there is a
counting-rOom in the rear for book
keeper and the receiving business,
another in front for the shipping
clerks.
The provisions against fire on this
floor are complete, and as they are
repeated on both the upper floors, as
well as in the cellar and sub-celiar,
may be described here. Nearly a
thousand feet of iron piping COM
municate with the water-works.
There are two hydrants forty feet
from the front and rear respectively,
and hose connected with both, by
which any part of the building can
be instantly flooded. The roof is
open from below, leaving no room
for concealed and inaccessible flames
to do their work of destruction, but
the whole being wide open to the
water from the hydrants. In addi-
ton to this, the architectural struct-
ure is unfavorable to the spread of
fire from the neighbOring buildings.
The roof, covered with metal, is
high above any neighboring build
ing, and the joists usually the great
conductors of conflagratiOns) are in
serted in the walls on a new princi-
pie. They reach only four inches
into the sidewalks and are anchored
there with iron, leaving a mass Of
brick-work fourteen inches thick
between their ends and any ada
cent building.
Before going upstairs we will in
spect the cellars, of which there are
two, one below the other. The first
one we arrive at is of the same di-
mansions, except in height, with
the sales-room above, I. e., 176 feet
by % feet. On this floor there are
the same arrangements as to water
and elevators as in the sales-roOm,
and under the rear is still another
cellar, about 80 feet by % feet. Both
these cellars are accessible to drays
from the rear, the ground being
there on declivity, so that goods
can be received straight from the
dray in either, and then forwarded
by the elevator to any part of the
house. The floor of both these Gel
lars is of concrete, and the main
water-pipes are buried deep beneath
them, so as to be secure from freez.
ing at all times of the year.
Water-clOsets and wash-rOOms
and cOal-cellar are here to be
found, and the heating apparatus.
The sewage is conducted by large
waste-pipe to deep dry well in the
rear of the building.
Over the sales-rOOm is large
room 100 feet by % feet and II feet
high. A portion of this is walled off
for a clerks sleeping-room, and
above this is an open apartment rs
feet by %, with roof sloping from
IA feet in front to 10 feet in the rear.
All five of the floors here described
have the same arrangement as re-
CARDS water, gas and elevators as
the sales-rOom.
Except the great tobacco ware
houses, this is the most extensive
business house now in GAINESVILLE,
and assuredly the most complete.
We have only to add the names
of the mechanics and others con-
cerned in its construction
Architect and contractor for ma
terials-G. B. Wilson.
Brick-layers and masOns-Shea &
Morgan.
Carpenter-W. NJ. Beatty.
Iron frOnt-Snead & Co., Louis
vile.
PaintiDg-Tarpley 4 Mcclure.
Tin-work-C. Michigan, New Prov
idence.
Gas fittings, plumbing and gal
vanized iron wOrk-FOx Il Smith,
with Malon superintendent.
ElevatOrs-GeO.S Scott.
Scales-Fairbanks' new patent.
1t would be appropriate here to
speak of Mr.. Wilson's merits as an
which have been some
what overshadOwed by his more
extensive business as a contractor
for building materials. The resi-
dences planned for Messrs. B. D.
Keesee, w. ]. Ely, Judge Lurton,
DIR. McIseynolds, Fred. Williams