Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-02-21
A CASTLE IN THE AIR.
TWO HUNDRED STORIES FOR A
NEW BUILDING.

IL Will Have 100000 OFFICES and
Accommodate 100000 Peopie-lt
Will BE a City Under One Roof
Verify We Live in an Age OF Pro.
gress.
Harding & Gooch. the architects,
have drawn plans for the most tre-
mendous building on earth, a struc-
ture 200 stories high,
A capitalist of this city submitted
the idea of this building to Harding
& Gooch. They were the architects
of the Postal Telegraph Building and
of other notable edifices in this city,
says the New York World.
,! At first they regarded the idea as
visionary. Examine it carefully"
said their Client" "aud make your re-
port"
The architects did so. They con-
cluded that their part OF the work was
practical and practicable; that q 200
story building could be erected, pro-
vided the vast sum of money neces
sary to construct it was forthcoming.
This huge pile will be called the
King Building. Its plan, as drawn by
| Harding & Gooch, somewhat resem-
bles that OF the Eitfel Tower and its
construction presents vastly greater
difficulties.
The structure will occupy one large
city block; block OF the dimensions
of that between Fifth and Sixth ave-
nues. Twenty-second and Twenty.
third streets. 1t will, of course, be
built of steel, just as the buildings
that are now considered tall are built
of steel. The framework of these
building is like that of bridge. The
bridge is placed on end and surrounded
by on outer wall OF stone or granite.
In the 200 story building the bridge
will be longer, that's all.
Compared to this building, the
twenty-three story pile OF the Ameri-
can Safety Company will be as a
mushroom sprouting at the base of a
tall fagpole.
The King Building will have 120,.
600 square feet of space on each
floor; 24,OOO,OOO square feet of space
on the 200 floors.
1t will contain 100000 separate
offices and suites.
1t will accommodate 40O,O people
under QUE roof.
Necessarily the first question 10
be answered in planning for this sky
piercing structure was: "How will
people reach the upper stories?"
The answer is: "By electric elc-
vators."
Frank J. Sprague is a pioneer in
the construction OF electric railways
and OF electric passenger eleva.
tors. MIR. Sprague is confident that
the development in the construction
of electric elevators will keep pace
with any possible progress in archi-
lecture and building. Manufactures
of passenger elevators have been con-
suited. They are as positive that it
will be as easy to build elevators in q
200.story building as in q 20 story
building.
Iii the King Building there will be
express elevators and way elevators
The express elevators will stop, say al
the twenty-fifth, fiftieth, seventy-fifth
one hundredth floors, and 80 on to the
top story. 1t has been calculated that
the express elevators will make the
journey - the word "trip" scarcely
describes twill make the journey
from basement to roof in two aud q
half minutes. The way elevators will
stop at each story where passengers
await them, make an ordinary journey
in ten minutes. There will be al
least 80 elevators. 1t is the purpose
of the projectors of the building to
| gather on its commodious floors 200
distinct communities of business men.
On one floor will be the jewellers, on
another the hardware dealers, on
another the harness makers, and so
on. So the conduct of great interests
will be be simplified and more work
can be done in that building in four
hours than can be accomplished else
where in an ordinary work day OF
eight or ten hours.
In the building will be retail cloth
ing stores, haberdashers' shops, bar
ber shops, restaurants, q physicians 8
Office and drug store. In fact it
will be a city under one roof. 1t is
proposed to lay out that vast roof as
garden in summer and to inclose it in
glass in winter. 1t is also expected
that some invaluable meteorological
knowlenge will be obtained by means
of the observations taken by the
United States Signal Service at such
tremendous height.
The King Building will be, in fact,
the highest type of present day de-
velopment architecture. 1t will be
the first of the mighty, fire.proof struc-
lures that within the next twenty
years will rear their heads in New
York below Twenty-third street.
In the plans drawn by Messrs.
L. p