The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-04-16
BAIRD BROS BLOCK
Completion OF One of the HandsOmest
business Houses IN the West.

1 business houses IN the west.
The Baird Bros. Tuesday moved
their stock of dry goods, clothing, boots
and shoes into their handsome
new double front store room,
just completed by them, at the south
west corner of Sixth avenue and Mer-
chants street, and are now settled IN one
of the largest, brightest and best business
houses in the west.
The building is two. story brick, with
basement and has a frontage of fifty
feet on Sixth avenue and one hundred
feet on Merchants street. The outward
appearance of the building is indeed
handsome. Upon Sixth avenue there
is glass frontage fifty feet wide
and fourteen feet high. This includes
two large main entrances and three
large show windows-the central
show window is msmmonth one and
there Is certainly nothing equal to it in
the state. This window space is about
seven feet by sixteen, and the two front
psnes of glass have the immense dimen-
slons of seven feet wide and fourteen feet
and two inches high. There are six
panes of glass each fourteen feet and two
inches by seven feet. At the
corner of the building is an
other large show window about eight
feet square. Upon Merchants street near
the corner Is another entrance, which
includes glass frontage. on this street,
of twenty-five feet. The three main
entries have floor of tessellated work.
Along the east, on the Merchants street
frontage are number of side windows,
which in connection with the
glass fronts, flood the entire double room
with an abundance of light.
The ceilings of the store are unusually
high, being sixteen feet In the clear. In
the rear IS an elevator which connects
the basement with the salesroom and
also with a large store room, 25x1OO
feet. on the second floor. The
double sales room, which is 5Ox1O0 feet,
has tier of shelving through the
center, on either side of which, and curry
ing around the front end are coun.
ters. Along the west wall and also ex-
tending the length of the east wall are
other tiers of shelving and
drawers. The eastern half OF
the room is set aside for
the dry goods and notion depart
ments, and the western half is allotted to
the clothing and shoe departments.
The upper floor, in addition to the
large wareToom already mentioned, is
subdivided into half dozen double and
single eligible Office rooms, fronting
east on Merchants and north on Sixth.
The cornice and railing which sur
mount the building, are OF neat and ap-
proprlate designs, the former in several
places having the initials OF the firm.
'B' Il b." moulded into the pattern and
also at the appropriate places on the
Sixth avenue front, the numbers of
the lots, 23 and %. The
whole elevation upon both streets pre-
sents beautiful and handsome effect
the glass frontage being certainly super
ior TO anything in Kansas. The door
stills, window stills and window caps are
all Of iron. The fronts are supported
upon iron columns, and iron pillars run
through the center of the first floor.
The foundation of the block is excep-
tionally firm and solid, being constructed
of large rock and extends down into the
earth ten feet. The work below the
superstructure was done by Mcmillan
Bros II Gray. The entire building above
the foundation was in the hands
of A. L. Jillson and the excellence of
the construction and the material en-
bodied has made a monument, of no
mean proportions. to this contractors
skill and ability.
The cost OF the block, when entirely
finished, will be about $4,000.
The Baird Bros. have thus added large
ly to the beauty and material importance
and value of Emporia, aud at the same
time constructed for themselves a veri-
table dry goods palace, IN which they
can do business with great pleasure
and pride to themselves and comfort,
ease aud satisfaction to their customers
The Bairds have built up an extensive
trade in this city and the surrou nding
country, during their eight years of bust
ness here and in their new quarters can
depend on largely increasing it. They are
quiet and modest gentlemen, but always
square dealing and solid. They are peo-
pie who are reserved about saying much
OF their own enterprises. Upon this oc-
casion THE News says something at its
own instance in their behalf, and takes
great pleasure in making this notice, in
which connection we may say that the
Baird Bros. would be entirely worthy of
better one.