New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-18
THE PIONEER TAIL BUILDING.
RICHARD NJ HUNTS TREATMENT OF HE
DIFFICULTIES CONFRONTING THE
ARCHITECT OF TWENTY
YEARS AGO
Montgomery schuyler in THE Architectural Kec-

Montgomery Schuyler in 1.-The Architectural rec
When we consider that The Tribune Building was
ally unprecedented and an initial attack upon up 40
problem at which whole generation 1 ,rantv
slgners have been working for the 'M syeryy
intervening years. it - clear taat ,,r ee its
needfu allowance must be made 'o orea TO TO
shortcomings Indeed, the allowances that nee chef
be made surprisingly few and perhaps t,le III is
what merely detail in the design anu ''''' -
again tho employment OF color. 49,. ,,ou is
The coniras; between the granite ana the atches
vivid. and the granite Is so appneu ~ iiros and
ather than in acceniuatlOn OF the man me t b
features Of construction as in srcat 1879 IN The
scure the design. alike In the pnotosrapI Az ~ the
fact and TO. Concentrate attention upon what H.
design IS very minor matt,r b no hppSiment which
is a monochrome OF granite. ana lneS ca he The
continuous cofnice, and the continuous , ~ en-,
granite with the intervening stories to noe 'ilu me-
The design. however rehialhs NedE y, arcb,tocts
II generally assumed by educated aISn'TT 80
who had e,evatorbulldngs to do in the carry 80
of elevator-bu.dings that 1t was heee.sa' dosinr
poy IN these towering structures unity o. ieS'tm
the composition or the single story OF to" ,corped
ing. The analogy that is now common hiyyision The
shaft is much the taest and may ana shouIu ~. Vc
made continuous by identity OF irea,hcH' In ~ tbe
parts is a comparatively recent discovery III Ky
early efforts the grouping of stories into an arCH-
tectural story managed sometimes by 80
annear as transomos as in the Equitable sometimes
BY constructing main divisions marked by arfhes Vr
than In The Tribune Building. where the segmen,ss
arches. turned between the main piers ana hcnaiHs
icance while they neither dssemble nor belitte me
actual division nto stories nor the separa'eheSS u
The basement Is admirably simple and MASSIVE
the roof-stage with the very lofty dormers sui1oe
10 and REQUIRED by the special uses of the bulIlhg
forms with the tower picturesque GROWING Ieat
ure and the earliest Of the elevator pulidllss e
mains one of the most interesting and suggestive
even though IL be true that the combination OF us
materials nter'eres with ones appreciation OF me uo
nd isgS Var
the main wall would have enhanced its ehecuVe-
ness.
(The criticism above recalls an interesting fact
in connection with the history of this pioneer
tall building Mr.. Reds original plan was ior
q building entirely in brck-not particle or
granite or other stone TO show on It's surface
He invited competitive designs. and five or six
such designs were submitted in competition MI
Hunts being among the earliest received. Mr.
Hunts position was already so well established
that he generally declined to enter into compeu-
tions. and it was supposed at the time that only
the special opportunity offered by this building
and his personal relations with Mr. Reid, led him
70 compete. In Mr. Reds memorandum Of what
no wanted sent out to the different competitors
he required that the building should be ten stories
In height should be entirely OF brick. should not
have an iron column in 1t, and should be abso-
lutelv fre-proof; and he explained that brlcK
and the absence of iron columns were insisted
upon. because he believed brick to be the only
fire-proof material, and iron columns extremely
dangerous in fire. He was subsequently
persuaded by Mr.. Hunt to abandon the require
ment for an all-brick structure partly on artistic
grounds and partly on the argument that IN so
high building very large bondstones were indis-
pensable any way, and it would b. better to let
them come to the surface
1t Is true, as Mir Schuyler states In THE Aren't
tecturaI Record" that the Western Union Build-
ing was in progress during part of the same tune
but the plans OF The Tribune were determined
on and the work begun long before. in fact III
the Western Union committee when their plans
were under consideration, Mr. orion specially
insisted on the tower. (Which will be remembered
as originally part of the Western Union struc-
ture) and on some additional stories. because as
he said we must "go as high as The tribune;
and that seems to have been the ambition OF
nearly every designer OF tall bulldlhg IN lower
New York since that date)