Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-26
SOME STEEP PRICES.
Real Estate Valuations Sky High in
New York and Chicago.
PITTSBURG LEFT AWAY BEHIND.
A Local Financier Invents the Greatest
Bank Vault in the World.
STOCKS QUIET AND PETROLEUM ACTIVE

A Liberty street merchant who returned
yesterday morning from Chicago, where he
had been on business, stated that there was
genuine boom in real estate in that city,
as evidence of which he mentioned the sale
of lot on the corner Of Dearborn and Mad
ison streets, near the Court House, at 81, 500
front foot. Figured down, this is about
$3.50 per square foot. The purchaser was
Immediately offered a big premium for his
bargain, which was refused. This lays
Pittsburg prices completely in the shade;
and yet some inconsiderate Eastern people
affect to believe that values here are inflated.
The largest and most remarkable safe de-
posit vault in the world was completed az De-
troit on Wednesday and shipped to Pittsburg
on Thursday. Il will arrive here during the
present week, and will be set up in the build
ing Of the Fidelity Title and Trust Company,
for which it was manufactured. 1t is composed
Of large blocks of metal closely joined together,
is 81 feet long BY IL feet wide, and weighs 500
tons. 1t is the invention of Mr.. John T. Hough,
formerly of Pittsburg and John A. Harper,
President of the Bank of Pittsburg. The prin-
ciple upon which it is constructed is not only
new but novel, and is believed to embody all
the elements required to render it absolutely
hre and burglar proof. Mr.. Houeh
viii arrive in the city to-day to
superintend the work of unloading and setting
up this monster vault, which requires S5 cars to
transport it from Detroit 1t is the fourth one
Of the kind that has been turned out but the
others are smaller. One is in Chicago, one in
Kansas City and one in Allegheny. A company
has been organized for the manufacture Of
these vaults, with a capital of Sl25,000 The
stockholders are John w. Chalfant, William
Metcaf, Reuben Miller, II. s. A. Stewart, vii
son McCandless P. c. Knox George 1. Whit
ney, William Roseburg j. T. Hough John A.
Harper and q. L. Magee. William Metcalf is
the President The works are located here and
in Detroit
The downtown properties of the late Joshua
Jones, of New York. were sold on Wednesday
Viewed from the gallery of the Real Estate Ex-
change the gathering was but a sea of hats and
of struggling arms and hands striving to attract
the attention of the auctioneer. Every institu-
tion lending money upon real estate was repre-.
sented. Every real estate operator of promin-
ence was there, with many more whose names,
while not SO familiar, represented millions of
capital. 1t was impossible to estimate ac-
curately the amount that this restless mass
represented, but it is safe TO say that the
owners of over 100000 600 witnessed the most
important sale of real estate thai has taken
place on the Island of Manhattan since the
whole of it was purchashed by Peter Minult for
81 The prices in every case were in
excess of the executors valuations, the most
notable instance being No. 2O3 Broad
way. Many brokers had commission to buy
this very choice piece, and the competition was
lively but when the sum of sell, 900 was reached.
and the property was finally knocked down at
this figure, hum went through the vast
crowd This price was at the rate of SS4 so per
square foot. The following shows the figures
at which some of the property bought of late
years was purchased, and the present selling
price: Bought May, 1889. for $4,000; sold for
s63,65n Bought April 1883, for S36, 900; sold for
600 Bought July, 1885 for Sl17, 500; sold for
sl3oOO0. Bought April, 1885, for $50, 200; sold
for sl0S,0Oo Bought February, 1852, for sl7O-
600; sold for .s227, 600 Bought May, 1881, for
sl6O0O0; sold for s225,OOO.
x*x
$50 far as big properties are concerned, the |
real estate market is rather quiet at present."
remarked Fourth street dealer yesterday.
"They involve large sums of money and have
to be managed cautiously. We have several
deals of this kind on hand, but it may take
months to close them up. So far as prices are |
concerned, 1 think they have about touched
the high-water mark until the city outgrows its |
present limits. Of course 1 don't refer to small |
building lots, the values of which |
are constantly fiuctuating On the other hand, |
1 see no reason for thinking that values will |
decrease. for the reason. principally that de- |
srable sites, large and small, are getting scarce.
This scarcity, of course, will send intending |
purchasers farther and farther from the city, |
until in few years all the land between Se- |
wickley and Braddock will be taken up These |
places will eventually become.the Dan and the
Beersheba of Pittsburg. There is plenty of
good ground to build on at each of the local.
tiles mentioned, and prices are reasonable.
They will be much higher in year or two"
When the thermometer hovered around zero
for day or two last week, citizens deserted
the streets except in cases of emergency, and
toasted their toes by the fire. "It's, awful
cold" was the general comment But the cold
snap in question was nothing to what Mr..
Lashell, of Lashell & Rankin, experienced in
the Northwest on Saturday. He was in She
boygan on that day, when the mercury regis
tered 23o helow, with two feet of snow on the
ground. Among other places visited by Mr.
Lashell during his trip was Burt Lake, Mich.
where he purchased fine summer resort,