The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-05
s. oUcKENHR1MER g. SONS.
a Description OF Their Mercantile
Palace-A Structure heered IN the
Interest Of Commerce

Palace-A Structure hesred in the
Interest OF Commerce
The entire last page of this issue is de-
voted to. the advertisement of Messrs. s.
Guckenheimer & Sons. q concern whose
career has extended through period OF
more than a quarter Of a century, career
of continued success aud prosperity, that to-
day they stand in the foremost ranks of
grocery establishments in the United States.
The illustration on the last page represents
their mammoth building, one which can
not be surpassed by any commercial struct-
ure in the entire south, If 10 the country at
large, by attractiveness in architect
ural design, elegance in finish, from
basement to cupola, or greater conven-
fence in its interior arrangements 1t is truly
magnificent establishment, q commercial
palace that rears its colossal proportions az
an everlasting monument to the untiring in
dustry and prosperity of this famous con
Germ. Their place Of business occupies Nos.
III, 179, ISL and 1S3 Bay street, and Nos 2
and 4 Jefferson street, giving frontage on
Bay street Of 124 feet aud depth Of 90 feet,
hight SO feet, making II, 400 square feet to
area for the five floors, which is equlva emit
70 Is acres. The weight Of the building
without stock amounts to 1900 tons; at this
time, with entire stock of goods the weight Is
20,650 tons 1t contains 4, 49,, 900 cubic feet,
1,100, 900 bricks and $50, 900 feet OF Lumbar,
besides many tons of other material used in
Its construction in the line Of stone. iron.
terra Gotta, etc.
A few DAYS ago the MORNING News re-
porter wendell his footsteps toward this
mammoth establishment and a scene OF
busting activity presented itself to his
vision A large force of shipping clerks and
their assistants were busy filling orders,
whilst the many wagons Of this house as
quickly carried them away to be sent to their
destination. Making known his mission. be
was courteously taken in hand by an official
member of the firm, who piloted the writer
through the entire building, explaining
points of interest as they presented them
selves Beginning al the rear of the ground
floor the writer entered the private office of
the firm, which is a room offering all the
retirement and costiness of finish Of any
banking house in the country, the walls be-
ing finished in relief fresco, accompanied
with beveled mirrors. the entire work being
of antique ash and beveled French plate
glass, whilst ele- ant carpets cover the floor.
A corresponding degree of elaDorateness
was noticed in all the other offices, as slowly
the writer went into the general office, and
further on into the sample aud display
and every article handled by this house, rang
ing in size from the smallest to the largest
item. Bottled goods of all kinds are tastily
displayed on elegant cabinets and stands
and stately pyramids of canned goods, the
bights of which are ornamented by large
display jars of fine and handsome fruits.
"These," remarked the writer's companion,
pointing to the aforementioned jars, will
give you slight idea of the quality of
Guckenheimer's very best canned goods,
which we justly, safely and confidently
claim are equaled by few and unsurpassed
by any brand packed. We put only the
very best goods procurable under our pri-
vate brand, and as you will perceive by the
label, our guarantee as to purity, whole
someneSs and excellence, likewise, authority
to the dealer to refund purchase money
should parties have cause to complain,
appears on each and every can. Several
proofs of the superiority of these goods have
recently presented themselves. It might,
perhaps. appear somewhat exuberant when
I state that we have not long since made
contracts for large quantities Of these goods
with several of the largest aud finest hotels
in the United States, including, among
Others, the Hoffman house, New York city,
and the Ponce de Leon, st. Augustine, Fla
Samples of our goods we're submitted and
compared with many Of the leading brands
known TO the trade, and the quality aud
prices Of ours were such as TO justify our
receiving the orders. Some of these goods
have already been forwarded, shipment
thereof having been made from Savannah
direct, as will likewise be the case
with the remainder of the order" This
most certainly shows enterprise on the part
of Messrs. s. Guckenheimer & Sons, and
should speak volumes for them, not only in
the quality of their goods, but most
especially in the fact that their prices
are such as to enable them to meet any
competition which might presentitself. Ad-
jacent to the sample and display room are
the two offices of the firm, so constructed as
to enable their occupants to thoroughly
superintend the active workings of
this stupendous business. On the re-
mainder of this floor is their large stock
of staple groceries, composed of teas, soda
baking powder. crackers, matches, sugar,
coffee, rice and -four, and also the receiving
ana shipping divisions. Stepping upon the
handsomely appointed power elevator so
arranged as to automatically open and close
the hatch doors (which cover each floor
openiug) as it ascends or descends, the base
ment was reached. This is eleven feet in
hight, foored with solid cement concrete.
and is perfectly dry. Here was noticed tue
steam heating apparatus for warm
ing the building, and the storage
Of such articles as butter, cheese,
waters, etc. 81 see you have a consldera-
bic quantity of wool on hand" the writer
ventured to remark, as he viewed a space
OF two-fifths Of the cellar stored with the
heecy staple, to which he received the
casual reply: "Over 400. 900 pounds, or con-
siderable more than one-third of the entire
clip Of this state. Considering that this is
our first year in the wool business we
attribute our present large holdings to the
fact that we have been exceedingly
liberal buyers, and have. even in
the face OF declining market,
buoyed up the figures, thus causing the
growers of Georgia wool to realize full
values for their productions" "But has
not the market been continuously decin-
ing onep queried the writer. SIT has, ~
was the reply, "but this has been caused
chiefly by the agitation of the Mckinney
bill, and the dilatoriness of congress to take
any decisive action thereon. Furthermore,
the decline, while apparently very marked,
has IN reality not been so great, for prices
were forced above real values upon our
house entering the wool market at the open
ing of the season. The rapid advance hav-
ing been unwarranted, the decline was
nothing more than a natural consequences. ~
In the second story the immense stock of
imported, Key West and domestic cigars.
for which Messrs. Guckenheimer & Sons
are noted, is most attractively displayed in
a spacious wire-screened room, specially
designed for this purpose. They control
hrQn ~