New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-10
THE BUILDING BOOM.
SOME PECULIAR PHASES OF TT.

CAUSES OF THE ACTIVITY THREEFOLD-HEAYY
ADVANCE IN THE COST OF MATERIALS AND
LABOR-IIOW LOCATION AFFECTS TIE DIMEN-
sIoNS AND CHARACTER OF BUILDINGS
DEMAND FOR OFFICES AND APARTMENTS
UNDnnNIsuED.
1es, You may safely say it," said leading arch-
tect few days ago in reply to the casual remark
OF TRIBUNE representative to the effect that the
actiVily III building III the city greater than
he had ever known it before "You cannot recall
when so many buildings were going up at the same
tme Tor there has been such activity since just
AFTER the great fire of 1885. And then the biggest
OF the many buildings hastily put to replace the
burned ones skeletons and dwarfs compared to
the smallest now projected. 1t is not only safe to
say that the number is greater but that at period
mot even the last decade which has witnessed tho
erection OF the Equitable Western Union. Tribune,
Fort Sherman" and other like gigantic strdc.
tuTesl, have there been such high buildings planned
or greater area of ground covered by single build
lhgS, than by those now under construction.
- The growth OF lower Now York; he added after
moment Of thought which the reporter did not
venture to interrupt " in altitude is still matter
OF amazcment even to the architects who have
planned the buildings. And they were far in adj
vance Ill their ideas Of the capitalists for whom
they planned. The construction of tho Stewart
building to the height of five stories was looked
upon rs daring flight of its architect and when he
ran The Herald Building its restricted area TO q
height considerably greater than the Stewart
building and high enough to look down upon the
ROOF OF the Astor House, he was generally looked
upon rs having been ndiscrcet enough to conccde
something to the natural wish of Mr. Bennett 10
oVertop ms ncighbors with the finest newspaper
building in the world When completed in 1867
The Herald Building was the tallcst structure for
business purposes in New-Yogll City. You could see
ITS mansard roof full story in height above sur
rounding buildings from either river or the bay
MIR. Bennett lived to sec the Park Bank built half
story higher; his son has since hu on the site of
the old Herald Office a building nearly twice as
high; You may look down from the roof of The
Evening Post across the Park Bank Building upon
the roof of The Herald Office; and to-day it is in
visible from any approach by river or bay. | should
say that the lower part of New York has prao tay
doubled in altitude in the last ten years. And il
has been IN opposition to the ideas of the owners
who have built they seemed to fear that the great
hcieht Of buid nes would rcpc tenants The
LqWtable-onc OF The first of the new order of lofty
bWidines-Was 20 planned by its architect ms not to
give the idea of the tall buildinglt is. There are
three or four stories concealed in its manslrd roof
1 he architect OF the Western Union was similarly
constrained by the commercial idea in opposition
high buildings. | think The Tribune was the
first of the present style which plainly indicated in
It's front the great number Of floors Of which it is
composed. The Morse, Evening Post. Borcel and
Union Bank buildings which followed made no
concealmcnl Of thcr half score or more of storics
and the architects of the Kelly. Mills Murray and
other maguihccn' structures to bc completed this
year, have studied to produce the effect OF great
hei-ht by clearly indicating each lloorn
rTIE TENDENCY Still RISING.
is the tendency to build m the future even
higher buildings than now exist ~ was asked
Far down town, yes,' wa, the reply "fn re- is
no good reason why banker. broker or lawyer
shouldn't live fifteen miles away on the elevated
road and do business in the fifteenth story of
building located anywhere below Fulton ST. aud
within thrce blocks of Broadway. Tn, elevated
roads and the elevator Lifts have bc.a the great
causes Of high buildings. The roads can carry an
the traffic which these tall builinr, will ever
turn out for they and can lee only Offices and
litue actual commerce is ever caricd on in them;
and the quick, safe and pleasant lifts of various
kinds make the top floor, amo as valuable as TIA,
lower ones. You can find banker on the third
aud even fourth floor, of the new bindings,
whereas a few years ago they never youturcd above
the ground floor and sought basement Offices rather
than 90 one light upstairs. Tho lawyers wcr, the
first 80 appreciate upper floors, full Of iirht aud
free of dust and far above the noi> of the street,
and the bankers are now following their sensible
example"
" But in other districts ,"
"Ihe height to which buildings solely for Offices
may yet VIII be restricted by the one consid,ra-
ton oi space at the base II you build high Won
must have thick walls below. and consequently the
lower iioors will be small. The building Depart
mcnt would insist ut least eight feet walls for
building OF fifteen stories; that would require six
teen iect of area side and front, for walls alone
and this space could be allowed only in builiings
covering great areas. 1t would not do on single
lots OF 20 by 100 feet But in districts where com
nerce - carried on, the height of buildings will be
restricted by the consideration of traffic and trans
lortation ia narrow streets. You can't do tiat sort
of business in the air The top stories will be
storage lofts only. And the ptound floors where
the actual business Is carried on must be us large ~
possible. You cannot build high without sacrfc-
ing space below, and do not anticipate taller
buildings than the average of those now existing
say IN the "dry goods" or grocery" centres OF
course we shall sec higher apartment houses in tho
upper part OF the city and Office buildings in the
lower part; but until underground roads AFFORD
greater facilities for Transporting goods of every
KIND, the aspiring architect will be restricted in
The purely commercial districts to buildings of five
or six floors"
What caused the rage for high buldng,Yv
"Olices were III demand; they were n great
necessity, and the demand could be satisfied only
IN THIS way, at least far as the narrow and re-
stctcd area OF the lower part of the island was con
cerned. And 1T was just in this very narrow limit |
that everybody wanted Offices Wall-st is the
centre of this continent We could.'t spread out
so we had to run up We couldn't double the |
area OF the island doubled the altitude of |
the buildings; and rs couldn't build out into the
water on either side of u.s. built up into the air
above us. Besides the value of every foot of land
in the lower part of the city had 80 enormously IN
creased that the revenues or lay huiIlinr