The age-herald., 1898-01-05
WAS THE BEST IN SIX YEARS The Building Record For the
 Year, 1897. AN APPROXIMATE ESTIMATE Places Amount at One and Half Million Dol lars-Compares Favorably With Atlanta
 and Other Southern Cities.

There was more building going on in Bir- mingham last year than for five or six years past.
 During summer, especially, Birmingham looked as if she had again started building boom, so broken were the streets with lumber and brick piles and with nor tar and sand beds.
 During this period nearly three miles of sidewalks paving was laid, most of which is the finest cement pavement known This was done at a cost of about $15o0O.
 Several miles of sewer pipes were laid, at a cost of $15.0OO or $20,0OO. The city en- gineer has not yet made his calculation, so these figures are only approximate.
 The largest building erected in Birming- ham during 1897 was the Avondale cotton mills, the total cost of which, when com pleted, will be, $500, ,000 This will contain 350o0 spndles and will employ thousands of workmen. One hundred and twenty Fen cottages are being built for the em- I yes. The boilers of the mill were fired for the first time last Saturday, and the )ie establishment will be in operation by last of March.
 less expensive but by no means less i'm tant plant was erected in 1897, In the lpe of the Birmingham steel mill. Its -.st was s100oOO The importance of this pioneer mill to the development of this sec tion and the work that is being done by it. has been too often printed in these col unlns to be repeated here
 The Alabama Fertilizer company's plant at East Birmingham is another important factory that has just been completed at cost of S100 000.
 The main building of the Alabama Meth odist college was begun at West End. Cost, $10,c0o
 Among the big business houses in the city were the Nabers, Morrow &s Sinnige store, which cost $30,0O0; the Caheen build ing, $15, ,000; the improvements the Jef- ferson County bank building, $15 ,O00. The Birmingham Auditorium was almost com- pleted at cost of S15,000
 large number of excellent residences were erected. On Eleventh avenue, of the South Highlands, sixteen houses were built at an average cost of $2,5OO Six houses valued at $2,70O each were built on one block in South Twentieth street. Quite number of other private residences were built valued all the way up to s12,0O0.
 The records of the fire department of the city show that 250 permits for buildings within the city limits were issued, at
  accurate, as nearly all the buildings are appraised by their owners at aDout one half of the actual cost, as the cost of the building permit varies with the cost of the house.
 An Age-Herald reporter visited a number of the leading architecs' offices yesterday, where most of the above figures were ob- tained. All of them agreed that the value of the buildings in Birmingham and the immediate vicinity in 1897 amounted to and very probably exceeds a million and half dollars
 As stated before, 1897 was the best build ing year Birmingham has had in over five years, and all the architects are confident this year will surpass last
 The building inspector of Atlanta has just issued an elaborate and very accurate statement showing that the value of the buildings erected in that city in 1897 was $1 ,S03, ,304. Birminghams statement while not as accurate, compares very favorably with Atlanta any other southern city.