New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-24
METROPOLITAN REALTY.
ASSESSED VALUATION OF THE GREATER
CITY.
REAL ESTATE ESTIMATED At 81 800 1000 d.
vIDED AMONG THE DIFFERENT BoRoUGHs-
MONTHLY SALES OF PLRCcLs REACH
BODYBUILDING OPERATIONS

OF THE LAST TWO YEARS.
The changes found In realty from year to
year form one of the best means by which to
estimate the life and activity Of a city. and in
New-York the constant demolition OF old build
ings. the appearance of new and more elabo-
rate ones In their places, and a continual effort
to make each new structure superior to the ones
that have preceded it. present tangible evil
dence of the city's growth
1t is by no means only worthless buildings
that disappear. In many cases fine structures
OF modern building are raZed simply to meet
the ever-increasing demands Of the times. Old
thoroughfares take appearances and In
many respects the whole face of the city has
been changed.
In sections where for many years rambling.
low browed houses stood. the skyscrapers now
rear their lofty heads. seemingly ambitious TO
reach the blue vaulted sky itself Four and
fye-story structures. which few years ago
were looked upon with admiration. have either
disappeared or stand like dwarfs beside the
great towering giants of stone and steel. brick
and mortar which loom up for twenty-five
stories or more There is now in course OF con-
struction Park Row building which VIII
rise to height of four hundred feet above the
street level.
The development of the skyscraper may be
directly traced to the general commercial
growth Of the city, necessitating Increased OF
fee facilities. On Broadway the main artery
of the city. are hundreds OF great bulidinsS
which compel admiration for their structural
beauty. and new ones are being ADDED CON
tinually. The street. from its beginning. was
dgnified with many fine buildings, but the most
fertile Imagination could hardly have conceived
such progress as is manifest To-Day A!moS'
within the memory of the generation now rap
idly passing away Broadway terminated d.
Trinity Church. opposite Wall-st.
At the close Of the Civil War the population
of the city began to increase rapidly. and the
four and five story buildings began to dsap-
pear from the principal thoroughfares. The FIRST
high buildings took the form OF hatnouses anu
tenement houses. Elevators were introduced
and a revolution in building construction began
The idea extended to office structures, and To-
day the skyscraper Is everywhere apparent III
the business sections of the city Visitors nnu
them one of the interesting features of the city.
and a splendid sight is afforded by view from
the City Hail. taking In the Tribune Buholne;
the pioneer in modern constructive methods. ana
the numerous magnificent structures "hich d"'
that section .
immense cOlumnar pile. the Federal Bulidlhs.
in which are located the Postoffice and the
United States Courts. Just beyond can be seen
the Manhattan Life and the Washington Lire
buildings both impressive in their architectural
structure At the top of the former Is ioca'eo
the United States Weather Bureau
Among the other buildings which represent II,
n concrete way the growth and Importance OF
New-York realty may be mentioned the Qua
Building the Mills Building the Metropohta IAN
Life Building. the Manhattan Lie Buliolhg the
New-York Life Building. the Johnson building
and the Criminal Courts Building.
In the upper section Of the city the new
pemonicO Is worthy of attention. being an
edidce of exceptional beauty. Here, too. are
to be found apartment houses and hotels when
are Of extreme beauty architecturaIiy. one Oh
the leading deals H. realty for the year was me
purchase by the New-York Stock Exchange or
the Western Union Building in Broad-st Inc
purchase price was reported to be $S23.DD. and
included a comparatively modern building ana
a plot of ground of I'D square feet; me Dulla-
ing was estimated to cost HI5ov",s ,cn 90 -
S7OO 600 as the price Of the land or SlO3 81
square foot. ,.. =. g., m
The purchase is generally thought TO De an
especially satisfactory one. which VIII oeneht
the realty market to a considerable degree. me
following table comparing the nine months Oh
real estate and building for 1881 with the same
period of the present year. has been prepared
by The Record and Guide
NETWORK CONVEYANCES
Total number