New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-18

mark I'm New-York AZ Trinity Church or the 'iE
Hall even though 1t IS not fairly comparaoe WIN
those beautiful buildings on purely aruSuc EIo""'''
People talk about the lovelin"ss OF the natural "'
proach TO Ncw-York. the approach up 'he "''Oo''
and then complain that the street architecture en-
c,unt.re, I'm a first walk uptown Is insuneiap''
A. , matter of fact there Is considerable" dignity III
tn. impression You get you near BowHng "r''i'
The Washington Building is homely enough III
all conscience. but the Produce Exchange sets Il"
artistic measure which Is anything but perSlS""'N
d,scredei as YOU walk up Broadway or down b'aN-
erst To where the junction of that thor"uen'"'p
u,,,b South william 81. brings face To face such
bindings as the new Delmonico restaurant ana me
Corn Exchange Bank. stroll among NV "S
bindings that IS entered upon In sympath''''"Hy
inouiring spirit leaves In fact som" very pleaSa'
impressions impressions with wh'h the cheap de-
nuncin Ions OF superficial critics N" easily 'o"''o
yerte, 1t develops. too. some charming surprises
r,ropt-s, for example. seems far from promising
with respect 10 good architecture. II Is narrow
dirty lined mostly with old warehouses OF h""i'
scrlpt character. and Is rendered obscure ny inc
smoky passage of the elevated through 1t all day
long Yet on Front-.t. between NhitehaH am
Eroad sts there has just been built for the Met
ronollton Traction Company one OF the best build
lngs Of iis kind in New ork. II presents sim
pe well proportional facade with heaVy piers oe''
ing plain round arches in the first TWO stories anu
similar motives employed on smaller scale ABOVE
or ornament there IS practically none. Brick mas
been used in the building. In its material ana IN us
SIMPLICITY the unprctcntious character OF the bud-
Ing is proclaimed. Its simplicity amounts almost
to badness but its lines have the effectiveness
which sneak Of good taste. quality which rs iur-
Their suggested by the reposeful spaces OF wti-pi'
ancel blank wall. The bulldlhs ""9 "'''e"' -
William Schickel & CO.
Good taste indeed. Is something which Is round
again and again determining the character OF Dig
buildings Look at the question Of material. BrlcK
. much more appropriate material than stone for
many large buildings. is used frequently ana Win
abundant sense Of It's capabilities either alone OF III
combination with stone or terra-cotta me i-u'So"
Building Broad-st. unsatisfactory as u Is III
outline in the disconnected. mixel-up nature or
its STYLE. H. nevertheless an admirable WORK "hen
YOU consider it as showing the adaptabity OF brick
TO purposes of commercial architecture Columns
as we'll as fiat surfaces built OF BRICK the coor
chosen being a ,awny yellow hecked with black
The general effect is picturesque. nut II mas also
the sobriey and solldty the good taste winch are
the first essentials in work OF TINS sort no" many
people in New-York realize that the hnest piece
OF business architecture In THIS city Is not one OF
the mammoth stone structures upon which so many
millions have been spent, but a WORK III pam uh-
assuming brick? There Is nothing IN Ne"-rork
quite 80 fine as the DE Winnie Press building. on
Lafayette Place. and that-a simple design with
piers and round arches and cornce VI peculiar
depth and conspicuty-ls of brick ce'er nan
ding OF brick is what makes the Edison 'ompanys
building. on Duane-st.. near Centre s"iNhs ana
fairly artistic performance. The Produce Exchange
Itself owes much OF Its beauty to the warmth OF
color In its brick and terra-cotta masses
But the reflection to which one Is bound 10 return
most often In looking over the buildhss DOWNTOWN
Is this: How could the architects reconcile art with
the exlgences OF their sites at all? The owner OF
office building must receive a large rental from