Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-25

The past week has not materially ulhereu
from the preceding one except that the
excitement caused by the first announce
ment of the railroad purchase about the
head of Mississippi street has been some
what modified. The interest has not abated
nor the anxiety to secure good bargains in
the territory to be affected has not ceased,
but the wild rush to try to get contracts
before the owners of property generally
were advised of the great deal has passed
by. What the plans of the great corpor-
ations' Of they have any are
is judiciously withheld from the
public. All property within some
blocks OF Mississippi street and in the
low GROUND through which Trout brook
finds its way to the river has been marked
up many points. Options have been or
are being secured for some valuable prop
critics whica are generally understood to
be for railroad purposes, and rumors still
magnify the amount of the deal" ex-
planned a week ago to-day.
Contracts Of sale are,nob usually record
cd and whatever transfers have been ne
gotiated, nothing appears or is likely to
appear Of record for some time yet. When
the Northern Pacific bought in December
its contracts and deeds were withheld from
record until all the company desired had
been secured 1t will probabl be so in
the present case.
The market for the week past has been
active. and a larger number of capitalists
from abroad have been looking about, and
endeavoring to buy on winter prices, than
heretofore. They are only the advance
guard of multitude who Will come when
spring opens, and it is understood that the
bananas" are about to bloom. Winni
peg and Fargo, and many other North
western towns have had run of in
fated prices, and men have been
eager to buy real estate
hundreds of miles further north and west
than st. Paul at double and sometimes
quadruple the prices that were asked for
the same class of property in st. Paul.
They now begin to realize that better bar
gains can be had in this city than in any
other city on the continent, and so it is
not unusual to find men of large means
drawing out part of their capital from ex-
treme frontier investments and placing it
in st. Paul. One thousand dollars invest
ed in st. Paul realty now will pay bet
ter per centage for ten years to
come than the same amount put
into almost any stock on the commercial
markets of the world. Men everywhere are
beginning to realize this fact and cash is
being deposited i'll the banks here subject
to the checks of local agents who are in
structed to put it into some good safe in
vestment at the earliest opportunity that
offers. Letters Of inquiry come so thick
and fast that it will take considerable
clerical force to answer the correspondence
of the various real estate Offices if the
agents themselves expect to devote any
considerable time to showing property.
THE LARGEST SALES
of business property fer the week have
been made on Robert street and were no
ticed briefly in Fridays issue. Fairchild
q Davidson sold for Quinby & Hallowell
seventy nine feet front on Robert by 1862
deep and twenty feet front on Fifth by $50
deep to Commodore VIM. +. Davidson for
$4,000. This property lies in an L shaped
piece and is mostly covered with old build
ings which, with the exception
of the stone building used
as a salesroom are of little value. The
price was round one, amounting to over
$500 per front foot. Col. James H. David
son bought at the same time seventy feet
and eight inches front on Robert street,
next south of the commodore's purchase,
for a little over $500 per front foot, by
12415 deep. 1t is understood that all this
property is bought IN the interest of some
large undertaking, which the gentlemen in
interest decline to make public. Commo-
dOre Davidson already owned 125 feet
front, extending clear through the center of
block II, from Fourth to Fifth, and
also seventy-fOur feet front on
the corner of Fifth and Robert,
by 11615 deep. So he and Col Davidson
together now own all of block II except
the Jackson street frontage, ITO feet deep,
and the southwest corner of the block, which
is IS feet front on Robert by 12415 feet
deep. This property is not to he used as
ship yard, and the owners say it won't be a
big hotel. 1t certainly can't be intended
for magnificent opera house as there is one
already being built (excavated) farther up
Fourth street. The Bank of Montreal will
not establish branch house on block II land
the Bank of England under its charter can
not open shaving shop" in Saint Paul.
The United States mint that is to be built in
ST. Paul would not accept that location,
unless the whole block could be secured
and it is understood now that the balance of
the block cannot be bought.
The owners say they made the purchase
for the purpose of a special improvement,
which they are not ready to make public
at present, and which will not be com
menced before fall. Col j. d. Davidson
has also purchased from w. L. Mintzer
fifty-three feet by 100, next to the new
building erected by William Dawson, on
the corner of Fifth and Robert streets.
Other negotiations have been pending
for Robert street frontage, between Third
and Seventh, but these contracts make
an aggregate consideration of over $751;
900, for improved lots on Robert street