New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-23


Place; the new Appraisers Stores. Christopher anu
Washington SITS: the Temple BETHEL. FIfth-ave ana
Seventy-sxth-st.: the Bank for Savings. four'n-
ave and Twenty -second-st., and the United Chali-
ties Building the way; the new Crimiha,
Courts Building the Pierce Building, Hudson ana
Franklin SITS. and others
No reference has been made either TO the scoie'
of costly fiat houses and family hotels SUCH FOR IN
stance the Chelsea, in West Twenty-tmro-S'''
and the Dakota, IN Central Park West which nave
gone up within the last fifteen years; nor OF the
magnificent armores which. account Of their for
tress-ke soldity would also be certain to delight
the heart of that loyal Briton whose racy comment
in regard to these matters has been already quoted
People In general curious TO know little OK
the details of the elaborate preparation necessary
to make ready for the foundation of one OF these
enormous structures. The foundations of all OF them
go deep down. forming, when completed cellars ana
sub-celars and even cellars beneath those. They
are often called vaults and easements In digging
and blasting for foundation and bringing the walls
up to the level OF the sidewalk upon which the SUI
perstrrcturc of one OF these great ky-scrapers
rests an expenditure OF 100000 and even or soo,V~
Is not uncommon thing.
SOME DEEP AND HEAVY FOUNDATIONS
The foundation of the Mutual Life Insurance Com
pany's building. Nassau and Cedar SITS, goes down
fourteen feet below the surface of the street The
building has a frontage of 1884 feet and depth OF
l5 feet height Of 1888 feet. and there are nine $40
res estimated cost s1,0OoOOO The Postal Telegraph
building at the northwest corner Of Broadway ana
Murray-st, is twelve stories in height. having -FOUR
teen floors and back In Murray-st 80 feet 81:
inches From grade level to the highest point on the
roof beams Is 1866 feet The front and rear walls are
carried by steel Orders the sixth. eighth tenth
eleventh. twelfth and meZzanine floors. Below the
sixth floor the walls are independent
The foundations in these cases are laid generally
either earth hard gravel. sand. rock or piles,
and held together with hard-burned brick and
mortar
The estimate filed for the American Tract So
ciety Companys building Is 100000 II covers the
entire plot from No. IA to $50 Nassau-st.. in
elusive. and No Spruce-st. 1t will be twenty
three stories In height, 100 feet inches 'front.'
100 feet 8 inches rear. and 81 feet inches deep
The height to the apex OF the roof In the front
part OF the building will be 2S feet, but IL VIII
not look high many smaller buildings. Tor
is upon low ground.
The Union Trust Companys building, broadway
+ and Newest. Is eleven stories. and liz feet IN
height from the curb level to the highest point OF
the roof beams The estimate. exclusive OF the
lot which II stands. IL 100000. and the th'ck-
ness OF the foundation walls Is o. lOS ana h-
inches II is hard work to a solid foundation
in that part Of the city, and to do this the
builder was obliged to go nineteen feet below
tn. grade OF the street The fourteen-story build
ing at the northwest corner OF Broadway ana
Duane-st Is ~ feet in height. has frontage OF
10 feet a depth OF l25 feet and n foundation that
goes % feet in the bowels of the earth; estimated
cost $4,000
The foundation walls OF the Cable Building. at
Broadway and Fiouston-st. are q feet deep
although to rest on this superstructure Is only an
eight-story building. at an estimated cost OF
$4,000 The foundation walls OF Eugene hehy
Temple Court. at Nassau and Beekman SITS. run
ming through to Theatre Alley are 10 feet IN
depth and the building Itself is ten stories In
height The big Office building at Flfth-ave. and
rwenticth-st Is estimated to cost si'oCV The
owners are the Board OF Home and Foreign MIS-
sions OF the Presbyterian Church. on foundation
walls which are from Is to 20 feet deep, there
will rest a sold superstructure OF masonry twelve
stories in height Two blocks away. at Eighteenth
st and Fifth-avc.. the building which Arnold.
Constable q co. have almost completed EXTENDS
east I'm Eghtcenth-st. 300 feet. and rests upon
foundation OF earth. The filed estimate OF the
cost says $4,000 The height to the topmost
beam is EOS feet. and the number OF stories four
teen This Is one of the most conspicuous ex-
amples OF the movement begun not long ago
TO tall buildings uptown
MANHATTAN LIES TALL HOME.
The depth of the foundation walls OF the Manha;-
tan Life Insurance Company's building is fifty-four
feet. bu; then /, worth all the trouble and ex-
pense. for II rests bed rock The nature OF the
ground and the weight to be carried made special
foundations necessary In this building. and the way
In which these were sunk was novel and attracted
the Interested attention OF the whole engineering
world Tha foundations had TO be carried on solid
masonry piers down 20 ted rock and the method OF
constructing these piers. after the views OF aren't
tccts and eminent bridge engineers alike had been
ascertained. VAS the pneumatic caisson process.
After the cassons were sunk TO bedrock and its
surface cleared and Dir ssed. the excavating cham
bers and shafts were rammed full OF concrete made
of one part OF Aliens Portland cement. two parts
sand. and four parts Of stone broken to pass
through a TWO and One-half inch ring The super
imposed piers built OF hard-burned Hudson
River brick laid In mortar one part little giant
cement to two parts sand. The substructure con-
tans about / 2O cubic yards OF concrete and 34"
cubic yards Of brckwork. and cost about or per
cent OF the estimated total cost OF the whole build
Ing The foundations extended from htty to NIFTY
five feet below the Broadway level so that the
average distance that the caissons were sunk below
the bottom u the excavation was thlrty-two feet
ABOUT FIFTH-AvE. HOMES
In regard to Coils p Huntington's house. at
Fifty-seventh-st. and Ffth-ave. the low estimate
flied with the Buhling Department. 100000, brings
attention TO the magnificent home which John Jacob
Astor X putting up SlXty-hfth-st and Fifth-ave.
the estimated cost Of which is. according TO the
same record $4,000 In this case however. as In
the others. 1t is certain that the actual sum ex-
pended before the house Is I'm condition 10 be occu-
pied will he many times that sum-
While the estimated cost OF the Waldorf Is $1,000
Oco that u the Ne,herand is set down at only
5000 900 and that OF the Savoy at 100000 The wal
dorf and the Savoy each eleven stories In height
and the Netherand seventeen To lay person.
who watched the progress Of the work on these
buildings and saw the enormous amount OF labor
and expense necessary before the cornerstone OF the
foundation Of the Netherland could be laid II would
appear that that hotel would cost more than either
OF the other twos But the records say otherwise.
The assessed valuation OF real estate In each
ward I'm the city yearly from 1868 to 1893 IL most
Interesting study. and shows AT IA glance what
enormous bounds have been made In the wealth
of the metropolis during quarter OF a century
In 1868 the assessed valuation OF real estate In the
Thirteenth Ward the lowest In the city and
although IL has than doubled In the twenty
five years II remains stu the lowest Here are
the figures graded to totals. for the years 1868
and 1881 Thirteenth Ward 1868. S6.SSl 700. 1885, Sli
100 $50. Fourth i222915, sl5.5S 400 Eleventh, SILL
! uccIu n ,rntth L.