The labor world., 1900-01-13

The Marshall-Wells Hardware COM
pany, which has long been recognized
as one Of the largest wholesale hard
! ware establishments in the West, as
| well as one Of the most successful, is
about to remove from it's present To-
cation on South Fifth avenue West
! to Lake avenue where a building with
| frontage of 200 feet on the avenue
and 220 feet deep, with seven stories
| and basement, eight floors in all, will
be built for it's accommodation. 1t
will probably be the largest wholesale
| building in the Northwest, containing
400, 900 square feet Of space, or about
nine acres
A site with a frontage of 800 feet
on Lake avenue and running back 275
feet to the Lake avenue slip has been
purchased by the Marshall-We:ls
Hardware company on which to erect
it's establishment. South of the main
building there will be erected an iron
and pipe house, which will be 100 by
22O feet in size. The main building will
be modern in every respect and thor
oughly adapted to the needs of the
firm It will be of mill construction
and slow burning. The foundation and
most of the first story will be of stone.
The front above the stone will be of
Menominee red pressed brick.
AS a protection from fire the build
ing will be equipped throughout with
the spr inkler system and standpipes.
The floors will be made to incline 80
that in the event of fire and theneces-
sity of using water on one Of the
floors, the water will run off at
certain point and not soak through
to damage the floor and it's contents
below. Fire walls will divide the build
ing into four parts.
Through the center Of the new site
for the Marshall Wells Hardware
company there is double railroad
track and the building on each side
of the tracks will be connected by
covered bridges. The railroad space
is about % feet wide There will be
two sets of these bridges, and they will
be fully protected from fire. There
being two railroad tracks through the
building the company will be enabled
to use one as a side track.
The iron and pipe, house already re-
ferred to will be a brick structure.
At each end of the main building
there will be covered driveways run
ming through to the dock. The site
for the new wholesale hardware build
ing will afford every convenience de-
sired for the economical handling of
freight and business generally. 1t will
front on q paved street over which a
street car line runs Freight can abe
handled ny lake, rail or team with
quick despatch and at minimum of
cost Vessels can unload their cargoes
at the rear doors of the big building.
In the rear of the building is one of
the widest and deepest slips in the
harbor and it is also one of the most
convenient for boats to enter. If de-
sirable the freight from the boats may
be, loaded direct on cars without first
being stored, thus saving extra hand
ling. On the first floor of the main
building the heavier goods will be
handled. The general offices will be on
the second floor, and will occupy a
space 100 by 120 feet in size. The gen.
eral offices win be lighted from three
sides.
i
Wells Hardware company, when their
new building is completed, will have
the advantages of lake and rail facil-
titles increased to the most advantage
out point pos sible. The site takes in
what is known as the old Van Hoff-
man property with frontage of 200
feet and 100 feet Immediately south or
it. The old Sutphin cold storage build
ing occupies a part of the new site.
1t will be removed.
The .MarshalI- Wells company is at
present located on South Fifth ave-
nue. West. An effort was made to get
additional property near its present
location but without success. The
growing demands Of the company's
business made 1T necessary tllar room
be provided for expansion. The COM.
pany has lately engaged in the manu-
facture Of harness and strap goods
and other lines of manufacturing will
be taken up. ....-
The company recently affected re-
organization and filed articles author
izing capital of $1.0OO,000. The Of
fcers of the company are:, President,
A. M. Marshall; vice president, A. H.
Comstock; treasurer, H. C. Marshall;
secretary, F. w. Parsons. The di-
rectors are the .officers and A. w.
Wright and E. P. Stone of Saginaw.
The real estate men that figured in
the transaction of the site We're w. NJ.
Prindle $I2 Co., Crosby e. Martindale
and r. NJ Newport & Son. Palmer,
Hall & Hunt are preparing the plans
for the new building improvement
which the big hardware company is
about to make will be the most i'm
portant that has been made in Duluth
in. some time and will direct attention
once more to Lake avenue as whole
sale district Real estate has been
active in that district of late as re-