The times., 1897-08-29
PLANS HAVE BEEN CHANGED
New POstoffice Can't Be Occupied
This Year.
TOO MUCH DANGER INVOLVED
Distribution of Heating and venti-
Iating Pipes and Other Materials
in Upper Stories Would Be Inter-
fered With if Lower Floors We're
In Possession OF City Postoffice.

If the present plan of finishing the base
ment and first floor of the new city post
the remainder of the building is completed
is carried out, tile local postoffice may be
in its new quarters before the great stone
figures on the Avenue front, 1897 are
a misnomer
The work OF installing the systems of
heating, lighting. ventilating and ele-
vators is now well along in its preliminary
stages. The work of interior finishing of the
basement and first floor is also under
way. The authorities, however, are now
rcconsidering the adysability of this plan,
AMI the whole idea OF completing the
lower portion and putting the postoffice
into it before the remainder is finished
Inay be given up.
Several good arguments against it have
been advanced. A practical builder who
has inspected the wor K, said 10 The Times
reporter yesterday about this question:
IF the flooring, walls, doors and after
ward the people ara put into the first floor
the work OF completing the upper portion
of the building viii not only be greatly
hampered and tmpcded by the difficulty Of
getting the material TO the upper floors,
3ut there would also hs much danger to the
clerks with the heavy materials constantly
being transported over tn air heads. am OF
the opinion that the building could be com
.ieted throughout in from year To eighteen
months II the work were proceeded with III
the natural order, walls and fixtures first
and finishing all over the bud din Z after In
this other way, however besides the dan
ger to life, there would probably be della
OF six months more at least
AT present the largest number of work
men is employed by the contractors on
the power plants in the basement and the
various kinds ~ piping that VIII honey
comb tie building. A tour Of inspection
through the basement shows hardly foot
CT the whole floor area not taken up by
conductors OF some kind
In the center of the building there will
be four sets of boilers, three in Il set.
From these will radiate miles OF pipe.
many of them already in place. There is
also great air shaft, ten feet or more each
way, on the north side of the building,
through which the air will be pumped To
the upper floors There are galvanized ron
air shafts, three feet by two, through
which bot or cold air win be pumped.
There is i great smoke conductor under
the floor, and an immense Wen, where
the copdensations from the steam pipes
will al accumulate to be used over again
in the boilers.
Tie firm To whom has been given the
contract for finishing he first two floors
have plastered the walls and are ready to
go on with the flooring. but through what
seems TO be somebody's oversight in the
planning, nothing further can be done by
these people untiIit is decided whether the
city postoffiee shall come in before the
remainder of the building is finished or not.
This contract was given out ahead of many
of those which Will put fixtures and piping
into the walls and flooring, and must now
wait for them.
When it became evident during the last
Administration that the building would
not tie ready soon as expected, the first
ioea was to put. the city postoffice into .he
lower part first. as everybody knows. The
various Government bureaus, which rent
offices Were TO have been put into the
building according to the original plans.
Some of these. like the Coast Survey, would
AdNt tcGuilCu sptStdi
ments for their work, and plans Were made
for them.
When Congress decided that the Post
office department should be housed in the
building, and not the various small bureaus.
all these plans had TO be changed 4 MI much
work had to be done over again. When
the new Administration came in 1t was
confronted with this problem, and also
with the one of completing the upper part
of the building with the lower part fin
ished and occupied.
Mr. Thomas c. Steward, the superintend
ent of the building who as removed 70
| put in Mr.. John w. Kinsey, a friend OF Mr.
Logan Carlisle, but has been reinststed by
| the new Adninistr alton, has, with the
supervising architect, been wor king on
| these problems.
A visit to the Supervising Architect's s
office was made by Times reporter yes.
| terday, during which il was learned that
although the authorities are averse t.
| Tuaking any statement, it is very nearly
decided to finish the construction of the
| building in the natural order. No part
OF it will he occupied until it can be turned
| over complete from basement to tower and
| the worklnen can all pack up their tools
| and leave.
| Rut this will probably keep the city
| postoifice out until the early part of '99
nDaEENtxD N,rONNnD nESn