Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-06-19
skYsscRAPERs.
Laws I'm Cities Restricting the Heigh,
Of BuildinEs d POpul0us Districts.

Laws I'm Cities Restricting the Hei4h1
OF Bu1ldfngs d PopulOus Districts.
From the Philadelphia Press
The suggestioni Of Director OF Pubic
Safety Ritter that the legislature be asked
to pass law limiting the height Of build
inss In Philadelihia b In line with the
action which ID bling taken on this subject
in other cities. THE rage to erect high
buildings has nod been 80 great In Phila-
delphia as In many other places, but there
are enough examples to show what the
result may be IL some reasonable regula-
ttons are not established In this matter
In the near future. The sooner action is
taken the better, las then a uniform policy
can be carried out. The city will not then
be marred by the sight Of q tall building,
erected before q limit was fixed, towering
sfove another building of half the height.
and which was erected after law forbid
ding high buildings had been passed.
Other states and cities are moving ener-
getlcaIly In this matter. bill now before
the legislature of New York state proposes
70 proportion the height of buildings to
the width of the streets on which they
stand. The bill provides that the extreme
legal height of building shall be twice
the width of the street on which 1t fronts
plus 30 feet. Broadway, for example, being
W feet wide, the extreme height of build
1ngs on that street would be twice 80 feet
Plus 30 feet. or 100 feet. Allowing 12h feet
to the story. this would permit buildings
fifteen stories and 5-foot attic high on
Broadway. But New York has many mar
row streets in its business neighborhood.
with width of only % or 80 feet, and on
such streets the limit of the building line
would be 80 or 80 feet. This fact is Great
ing opposition, and it may be strong enough
to defeat the bill,
Chicago has been trying recently to adopt
a policy on this subject. A few weeks ago
an ordinance was passed by the city coun-
Gil providing for an extreme height Of 155
feet, or twelve stories, as the building
limit This was soon repealed, and limit
OF l30 feet. or ten stories. fixed: but in a
few days this also was repealed, and the
old limit of 155 feet restored. AS If these
changes had not created confusion enough,
the city council voted later to repeal the
l55-feet limit and establish a limit of ~
feet. or seven stories. and that now re-
mains the legal height. AS Chicago is
known as the home of high buildings,
some or them rising to thirty-five stories
In height. 1t appears ridiculous at this late
day to limit buildings to nine stories. II
this regulation is adhered to the skyline
of the city will present a most uneven as
pect and be striking proof of the need
OF adopting early some definite policy and
carrying 1t out consistently.
Boston has taken this matter in hand
and limited the height of any building in
that city to 125 feet. and provided also
that no structure, except a church spire,
can exceed two and a half times the width
OF the street on which 1t stands. AS many
Of Bostons business streets are narrow
this rule will compel buildings of moder
ate height. This rule. however, applies only
to the business neighborhood, eighty feet
being the limit in residential neighbor-
hoods.
The st. Louis city council adopted reso-
luton making $50 feet the extreme limit OF
the height of buildings and providing
further that no building shall be of a
height exceeding two and a half times the
width Of the street on which it fronts. The
erection Of towers, domes and spires was
also subjected to restrictions. AS st. Louis
has not shown much propensity for high
buildings this early action Of it's council
win preserve the symmetry of its sky
line.
In most European cities the height OF
buildings has been regulated by law for
some years. Paris has doubtless the best
digested and the best known laws on the
subject. In that lefty no building. unless
1t be public building. can be more than
six stories in height and the cornice must
not be more than sixty-four feet above the
level of the street-I Vienna and Berlin have
building laws almost identical with those
of Paris. A few months ago London made
regulation limiting the height of build
ings to eighty feet