The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-05-23
LIBRARY FOUNDATIONS.
Messrs. Norcross Bros. Push
the Work Under Brite
& Bacon's Inspection.

A force of workmen began this morn
ing to prepare the ground, on the east
side of Jersey avenue between Montgom-
cry and Mercer streets, for the erection
of the new Free Public Library Building
Several weeks ago the contractors, Nor
cross Bros, of New York, enclosed the
site with tall board fence, put up an
Office and fitted it up with a telephone
and other furniture and announced that
Jersey City workmen need only apply.
The result was that the contractors have
now plenty of men at hand to dig out
the earth for the foundations and do all
the preliminary work.
While the teams this morning were
carting away the earth, surveyors were
busy laying out the lines for the new
structure and putting up the monuments.
In a few days the 8 feet of excavation
will be ready for the construction of the
foundation walls and before a month Is
past, the weather clerk being agreeable,
the building will have reared its head
above the fence.
There is, however, a lot of work to be
done before that stage is reached. All
the brickwork foundations of the house
formerly occupied by Governor Albeit,
and the house next door, on Montgomery
street, must be removed, of course in
cluding the foundation of the old build
ing once the Street and Water Board
offices. When this is done the workmen
will go down still further to a depth of
between and 10 feet below the level
of the street. At first the architects and
contractors thought it would be neces-
sary to put in piles for the foundation,
but the ground has been found to be SO
firm that that operation will not be nee
essary. With solid mason work for the
foundation the contractors say that the
Tower of Babel might be built on the
site and it would stand.
AS soon as this preliminary work is fin
ished the building of the Superstructure
will be rapid, and even already men to-
day were carrying in lumber and piling
it up inside of the fence for the scaffold-
ing Bricks, stone, cement and mortar
will not be carted in until the excavation
is completed, and the contractors hope
that Will be over this week SO that they
may begin laying the courses next week
at the latest 1t goes without saying that
every part of the work will be carefully
inspected by Messrs. Brite and Bacon,
the architects, representative of whose
firm will be on the ground every day. The
reputation of the contractors is guar
antee that only the best work and mater
iais will go into the new Library Building.
AS '"The News before stated, the con-
tractors and sub-contractors have decid-
ed to give Jersey City labor preference in
every branch of the work so that the
Free Library will be in every sense a
Jersey City building This arrangement
was made at the suggestion of the Library
Trustees and the Contractors at once
agreed to carry it out. AT present only =
small force comparatively Is needed, but
when the building work proper begins
there will be plenty of Jobs for bricklay-
ers, masons, carpenters, etc, throughout
the summer. Everything being propitiotis
the building will be rooted in by the win
ter and ready the architects hope, for
the public before this time in 1900.