The San Francisco call., 1895-12-22

4 $
| structure, and it is especially appropriate
| to use it in great public building that
| may be expected to stand for a century or
| more.
| The one valuable example of the dura-
bility OF sandstone in San Francisco is the
Bank of California, built in 1864 of Angel
Island slate-colored sandstone. For fifteen
years the stone was all right. But the
weather was hard on it and there has been
battle with decay ever since. The stone
| became porous and the surface began to
| flake off and corners to fssure off. For
| years paraffine and cement have kept the
building respectable. Think of what the
ferry building would be in twenty, then
| fifty years, if built of less durable sand
| stone. Yet this stone is shown to be more
durable than other sandstones in quite re-
Gently constructed buidings,in which only
two or three years have been needed to
bring on that taking and cracking that
would in a generation or two make the
| new ferry building look something like the
old Postotfice. The Harbor Commission
| ers. for instance, looked at the Arizona
| sandstone in the new California Hotel,
saw Its taking, the cracking of lintels and
other stones under crushing force, and de-
cided the fate of the Arizona stone, though
| 1t was shown in defense that the trouble
| was due to faulty construction.
| Then they looked at the Oregon gray
SduuStOuc III tu0 new DeiIuOuiCO IeStdu-
rant building on O'Farrell street, saw
| taking already begun there, and decided
not to risk Oregon stone. This stone, by
| the way, composes the front of the new
Parrott building on Market street. which
will afford an excellent test of its quail
| ties, owing to the many holdings and
projections. Every sandstone in every
building in the City that has stood as long
as five years shows at least slight signs Of
disintegration.
Architect Percy of Percy & Hamilton,
consulting architects for the ferry build
ing, yesterday gave some interesting in
formation about California building stones
and the philosophy of their decay as
follows:
Of course we have splendid GRANTEES of
various colors and high qualities. Our expert
ence has not been long enough to enable us to
form any reliable opinion as to how long any
given material will last without badly disin-
tegrating. We have not here freezing climate,
which is destructive to any porous stone that
absorbs water.
The most important cause of disintegrstion
here, as in all large cities, is the acid in the
coal smoke. All over Europe buildings that
stood well for centuries are disintegrating
rapidly since the day of coal The most re-
markable case is that of the House of Parlia-
ment, built fifty years ago OF stone selected
after long investigation by a scientific COM
mission. 1t came from the north OF England,
where buildings made OF it had stood since the
| time of William the Conqueror. In the sooty
| air of London this stone has afforded one OF the
worst examples OF disintegration in the world
The philosophy of this is that the SCOT which
settles everywhere contains acid. The rains
and the fogs dissolve this and carry 1t down
| into porous stone. There the acid dissolves
the lime in the stone, which gives the cement
| ing quality. pour acid on this piece of stone.
| You see how 1t szZles at finding traces OF lime.
That is the way the smoke and the water work
on sandstones and all porous stones with any
| lime in them. SandstOnes and l1meStoneS are
thus most affected. The denser the stone the
slower the dsintegration. Water itself will
affect stone hardly at all. The way water acts
can be seen on buildings in this City where
there projecting holdings allowing the
water to soak clear through. 1t dissolyes wet
elements which produce stains. and fakes may
be seen falling from the under side. You can
one effect of water on the front OF the Thur
ow block, which is of cement or artificial
tone.
cornices, carrying out the magnesia and potash
in the cement and these crystalline and produce
white streaks. l do not wish to discuss much
the merits of particular sandstones. The ferry
building may last for 100 years, and greater
care should be bestowed on it than on a COM
mercal building that may be expected to give
way to something else in fifty years. The
Niles stone is good if there is enough of it.
1 would be glad to see the building erected OF
stone, and a California stone, 1t can feel sure
OF having q hard and durable stone. Other
wise would prefer brick ana terra Gotta. The
Colusa stone seems TO possess all the merits OF
a first-class stone, and 1t and the Niles stone
are apparently more enduring tudH the oregon
or Arizona sandstones.
California has almost every kind of stone
and mineral on earth, but the materials are so
undeveloped that an intelligent opinion can
not be given in its building-stone resources.
II will take long time ana the extension 81
transportation lines to develop the extent and
value OF these resources.
Harbor Commissioner Chadbourne is
sure that Colusa stone will be used. He
said last night:
eff California stone is shut out the Leg
islature which made the law directing the
Com missioners to let contracts merely to
the lowest bidder is to blame. Mr.. Nc
Carthy was the lowest bidder on all classes
of materials for the masonry work and far
lower than any of the others. We must
give him the contract for one OF the mate
rials specified unless he is willing to CUB
stitute the material we now want. The
Colusa stone is the only one before US we
feel justified in accepting. am sure the
necessary arrangements will be effected by
Mr.. Mccarthy by Monday. If anything
happens that he does not brick and terra
Gotta will be used"