The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-18
Gibbes building. ca West Broadway.
Gerken building. 90 West Broadway.
Wool ENchnnpe. q West Uny.

There are 1877 buildings in the list. Not all
of them arc of tho modern construction, nor
tate men that in this district about eighty big
Office buildings have been erected within a fow
very smallest i" estimate the eeuivaiepnt Of two
and n half full building lots. 90 bv 100 feet
each, and that they. all average ten stories in
Ing cover. W and a half times the SPACE Of one
old house and accommodates twice as many
floor equal to ave old floors. As each new
building contains three and q third times MS
o %SSe 'D Ps% n SuI hSlsss a. are Sa ooS usfd 70 0f ! I .qoo sHG
n n9S " ,, 9T ,t the ihG IorH. 81 e3 6os..s si bh,iy sn en-
both sides of the strcoJ,or nearly four and a half
miles Of business houses added to the district
witch lies within = mile each way Of the City
trict below Chambers street, Is It any won
t,er that thore is competition for tenants or
many Of the streets wi ic6 cSt lower Broad:
way Is the array of signs, "oflcos to Let"2.
Take a walk down. BROADWAY and notice
VII ,ro tho signs nre hanging out. You will
find one or more of them on some of tho finest
buildings. in tho street as well as upol, tho
the side streets. In some of these you will see
so many, signs that 1t seems as If there y one
What chances have the owners Of the old build:
ings to get ~tenants2 The real estate men
,ky th!y will never again got the sums they
have received, nor perhaps morS than q half
or a third until they, too. put up modern build.
in0s. In proof Of this they instance cases
NthTt u WHtu u Z ollCo u'lultk WNio
erected. One of these was the Erening Post
building at Fulton street and Broadway. There
was nothing like IL In the neighborhood then,
and It had tho choice of tenants;
From nearby came n tenant who had been
rayirg $4,000 a year In an old building: The
price was for. the location. and It held as
long rs tho building was no worse than Its
ncighhors. Whom the tenant moved the. price
dropped to So 1000 before the store rented. and
1t never got blgner as long as the old house
was q great favorite for years for real estate
men. One man who had an office there was
paving $1,000 q year In 1888. Then q bic
office building WAS erecte1 onpcsita. II drew
in the old building had drouned one-half.
After tho ErcninD Post building came the
Equitable. the Mills building. the DreXel and
wilks buildings. the United Banks. building.
and n number Of tho insurance buildings In tn.
Wall street district. Almost every one of
these earlier Investments paid Dig profits; The
Equitable. because of its great cost and the
money which was lavished on its library and
oil watching and attendance. was probably
the least profitable, as it has been reported to
ing served n profitable purpose ms an advertise
meut for the company that owns it. This
advertisement. in fast. was a Coodly part OF
the purpose of many of the corporations that
ing was always said to be a mint. and many of
the big buildings were. until recently. paving
10 per cent. or more net. 1t was not uncom-
mon in former days for choice rooms TO bring
from 81 to So q square foot annually. and a
fair average price for a whole building wa'
81. 50a eauare foot. With such incomes nos
sible. II was no wonder that putting up such
buildings got a boom. and that enormous prices
were paid for land to build upon.
A conspicuous real estate agent prepared a
paid for sites upo" which to build Office build
ings. The table Is as follows: