Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-10-24
BROWNS Big BUILDING.
The Greatest Wholesale Grocery
Store in the Southwest De-
scrlbed In Detail.
lis Mammoth Size, Superb Equip.
ments and Splendid Storage
Facilities.
A House that Does Credit to Fort worth
as the Coming Commercial mo.
tropolis of Texas.
ExTRRNAL ApprARANcr


There Is one house, at least, in the city
of Fort Worth that is pointed to with pc
cullar pride by all its citizens, and that
never fails to attract the attention and adj
miration Of the stranger within our gates
This is the mammoth wholesale grocery
store OF Joseph II. Brown. Colossal in
its proportions, solid in It's construction
and unequaled in It's facilities by any like
structure in Texas, or the South, 1t stands
in its unique and massive grandeur an en-
during monument of the enterprise and
far-seeing sagacity Of its builder.
The building is OF stone, three stories in
height, with basement underneath, CO.
extensive with the entire building,
thus making four floors.
1t occupies l3sx200 feet OF ground. 1t is
situated at the foot OF Main street, and
is bounded by Main, Front, Seventeenth
and Rusk streets, and on the north by an
alley twenty feet in width. The front, on
| Main street, is 100 feet long, and very
striking and beautiful. 1t is built en-
tirely OF white millsap sandstone, cut to
size picked-faced ashlar, with the ex-
ceptlon OF the projections, mouldings,
carvings ana the stone balcony, which are
/
admirable. Four huge windows, two on
each side Of the arched door, give light to
this front. These windows are l6 feet
wide by IA feet high. Each window Is
made Of two lights of French plate-glass,
ll6x90 inches, with two transoms lights
above, 90x42 inches. These, with the
arched doorway, supported on Corinthian
columns, exquisitely carved, compel the
instant admiration Of any admirer Of the
beautiful and grand in architecture. The
windows OF the two upper stories
are arched in Gothic style with stone
carvings, ending with sculptured bosses.
Two handsome stone lions couchant or
nament each side Of the balcony.
Passing around to the side facing on
Front street, another view OF the build
ing is presented. This occupies q CEN
trail place between the Main and Seven
teenth street fronts. Two large and Inn
posing stone turrets looming up far above
the roof attract the beholder's attention
The style OF architecture does not mate
rally differ from that previously noted
This front Is bounded by an area protect
ed by an iron railing, and Is ~ feet long.
| The view on Seventeenth street is, how
ever, on the whole, the most
Here the eye may rest for y
long time without firing. This
front Is lao feet aud IS
OF the same general style as the others,
with the same carved columns, heavy
mouldings and projections, but the rock
faced ashlar of which 1t is built, presents
the face of the native stone as 1t came
from the quarry, untouched by the ma
sons mallet, and forming graceful con-
trast to the dressed window arches,
carved freezes and rubbed mouldings, and
the smooth work on the other streets.
On Rusk street the frontage is 1888 feet,
and on the alley between Rusk and Main
the grand structure looms up In its most
stupendous form, distance OF 200 feet
Externally there Is nothing more to be
desired. The free air Of heaven, from
which 1t can never be shut out, strikes II
on every side. Opening on streets eighty
| feet In width on all sides (save one), "
can never be hemmed in by other struct-
ures.
Such as It is to-day 1t will be when ell
those who are living in Fort Worth shall
have crumbled to dus.--aye, even when
the youngest children OF the city shall
have lived out their allotted time, been
buried and forgotten. Such is the
massive and enduring nature Of the stone
which age has only the effect TO harden.
THE INTERIOR,
First, the basement. Such care in con-
struction, such drainage and ventilation,
such perfect adapatability to the ends de-
sired as are here found, must be rare.
Numerous large windows, opening on all
sides on twelve-foot area, let In all the
light and air that are needed. The moor,
finished IN hard concrete, IS as smooth
and clean as lady's parlor and perfectly
dry. The shining white walls give an air
OF CHEEKY comfort. The apartment has
in round figures rs, 900 square feet and is
nine and half feet high In the clear.
Massive bois dare pillars, fourteen
inches square, resting on a stone founda-
ton builtfrom the bedrock, surmounted by
bois dare caps IA inches by feet, sup
port the first line of Orders. The girders
are two pieces OF long-leaf, heart pine,
each ixl6 inches, with plate OF Besse-
mer steel bxl6 inches between the two,
and bolted through and through with
3-iuch steel bolts. Over each cap the
Orders have another plate OF Bessemer
steel, on each side, 4 OF an inch thick and
bolted together. These details are gone
into merely to give fai=t conception OF
the exceptional solidity and durability OF
the material employed
The bois dare is noted for It's lHdls-
position TO decay, and builders compare
il with the hardest stone, and assert that
II will even last IS long as iron or steel;
Every part OF the basement il supplied
with gas and water. In II are three large
crane elevators running TO the fourth hoor,
each worked by direct engine attached
to the machine, which is supplied with
steam by large pipes running through me
basement, coming from TWO large NY
on Rusk street. This forever prevents all
danger from lre or explosions, ana keeps
the vast chamber entirely free from arr
and coal dust, besides utilizing The maxi
mum amount OF space
guch storage facilities are unequaieQ
The principal use OF the basement u
foY the storage Of al kinds Of produce
and Derishable goods, aud for this u was
srecisLv built. Refrigerator apparatus
Of the latest Improved make Nrli preserve
len car-loSds At q time, Keeping The YArl- |
- 1900 fnr An fndennlfe period, ~