Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-12-05
A MODEL TENEMENT.
DESCRIPTION OF A BIG APARTMENT
HOUSE AT GREENPolNT, |. /.

Material Used and It's Artistic Effect.
Convenienccs and Interior Arrangement.
bedrooms and P~arlors-Lecture Room.
Chfldren's Playground.
Among the buildings erected for the
purpose of supplying comfortable, decent
and economical dwellings at q very mod
crate cost, that put up in Greenpoint by
Charles Pratt is worth noting. 1t is to
accommodate ZIG families, and is a six
story structure of such massive proper
tions as to attract attention from the
river, which it faces. 1t extends 200
feet on Franklin street, 1856 feet on India
street and IS feet on Java street. The
chief material used is brown stone, brick
and terra Gotta. There are bay windows,
artistic cornices and gables so that its
effect is not monotopous. There arc
really six separate buildings, which
would have in them when quite full
about 100 persons each.
On the Franklin street side there are
twenty-one families, who use one en-
trance, nineteen families use a second
entrance, and seventeen families a third
entrance. On the India street side
t~wenty-six families use one entrance
and twenty-one families another. On
the Java street side eleven families use
one entrance. Each house is separate
from all the others. All the halls are
ireproof. The steps are heavy blue
stone slabs, inserted in brick walls The
%staircases are nicely proportional low
@risers, with broad steps. The turns are
made on square platforms, with ample
| l;nrht 81 onn1, ,,loffnr,,, Tbncn. etair,acac
are kept heated, lighted with gas, and
cleaned without expense to the tenant.
ROOMS AND THEIR RENT.
The rents range. from $3.50 to $50 per
month. For $50 there are suites of seven
rooms, every room with a window in it
opening Oh a wide air space, giving two
parlors, a sitting room, two bedrooms, a
dining room, q kitchen and a scullery.
The scullery goes with each set of apart
ments, and its completeness is a great
feature of this building. 1t contains an
earthenware washtub, with hot and cold
water, a large sink and an ash chute, in
which all refuse may be emptied, lead
ing to the cellar. Each family has a
separate water closet, with q window in
it opening into the scullery. Each soul
lery is ventilated by an opening into q
tlue built for the purpose, leading to the
roof. Each kitchen has u range and hot
water boiler. Each tenant has a separate
coal and wood bin in. the cellar, q sep
arate portion of the yard to be used for
drying clothes, and has access to an ele-
vator which can lift 300 pounds at a
time.
There is a folding table in each living
room, and a closet to nearly every room.
Wainscoting prevents damage to walls.
There are galvanized iron boxes on the
window sills for flowers. Picture mold
ings are secured to all the walls, and the
tenants are supplied with hooks, SO that
there is no temptation to man the walls
with nails. The rooms average $40
square feet. Each closet has shelves and
books enough to meet the wants of the
most closet worshiping matron.
Tho plumbing work of the building is
a vast network Of pipes. The heaviest
material in lead and iron pipe was used.
Eleven tanks, holding $4,000 gallons of
water on the roof, supply the three upper
floors, and a be used also for the three
lower floors in case the pressure is not
sufficient from the city pipe.
CELLAR M BASEMENT.
The bedrooms and parlors are trimmed
with white wood, filed, vanished and
rubbed. Great pains have been taken to
secure q perfectly dry cellar and base
ment. The foundation walls rest onadry
gravel bottom. They are covered with
asphalt and havea bitunen damp course.
In the basement there are commodious
bath roomsf for the use of the tenants.
They are heated with steam, and have
marble floors and wainscoting. The
wood work is polished ash.
There Is a reading room, or lecture
room, on Java street for the free use Of
the tenants. 1t is lighted, heated ant
supplied with the leading newspapers
and periodicals.
The suites of four rooms rent for 81
per month. They comprise parlor, bed
room, dining room, kitchen and scullery
Some of these four room flats are rente,
as low as S13.50 per month. The thre
: room suites rent for from 50 to S13.5
per month. i3&sl &
Children are not permitted to play OF
the ~staircases Or in tho Railways, bu
they have a grand romping place in tn
big yard, whichcovers about ,000squar
feet of open space. Although the build
ings are substantially fireproof, there ar
fire escapes connecting each floor witt
the ground. The buildings were erecte,
for him, and are now managed by,
puAittluS company. beIOTe Cle plans eT
! completed there was q thorough study 0
: the model apartment houses of London
! built by George Peabody, the Baroness
, Burdett-C outts, Sir Sidney Waterloy
and others, as well as later structures il
New York and Brooklyn. The aim wa
! to secure the maximum of comfort an,
safety at, the minimum of cost. 1t ha
attracted a class Of permanent careful
tenants. The building has never bee,
full, but it is filing up rapidly. 1t is pre-
s posed to give a few courses of lectures il
the reading room this winter. When tn
apartments are all filled the investment
which is about $3.50, 900, will pay, afte
9 meeting the expenses, about 5 per cent
The income of this building is an endow
+ ment by Mr.. Pratt of the Pratt Institute
= The original plan comprised the estat
+ lishment of cooperative stores similar t
the plan of the Rochd.' !, stores in Eng
land, but this has not yet been developed
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