Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-12-24
RooF-OWELLERS OF NEW YORK.
Cory Homes in the Top Stories of Mod
ern Office Buildings


ern Office Buildings.
Perched high up in mid-air, atop
the lofty office buildings of the city,
are little homes as quiet and secluded
as though they stood beside some
country lane, instead of directly above
throbbing, hurrying, maddening
Broadway. Quaint little houses they
are, with ample door yards, many of
which are filled with brightly colored
flower beds. To one who is hungry
for glimpse Of country greenery
they are as oases in the great stone
desert that constitutes the business
section of New York. These are the
dwellings, Of the modern cliff men,
most of whom are the janitors and
superintendent Of tho great sky
scrapers. Several year,, ago some in
ventive architect devised the plan
of locating the caretakers and their
families on the roofs of the buildings
of which they have charge. The
plan was so satisfactory in every re-
spect that it has been very general
ly followed. Within an area OF a
few blocks in the down town district
dozens of families are living thus
above the caves of the tallest build
ings in the world. They form a quaint
and interesting colony.
The little dwellings which form the
homes of the roof-dwellers are regu-
lar cottages, quite separate and dis
tinct from the great structures on
which they are built. They are con-
structed of wood or brick, and they
nestle on the great skyscrapers like
Swiss chalets on as many mountain
peaks.
At first thought it might seem that
lonely one, but he has his own di-
versions, and he enjoys many advan-
tages not to be obtained by other res
idents of the city, not even by the
wealthy householders of fashionable
Fifth avenue. Sunlight and fresh air
are enjoyed by the residents of the
roofs in unstinted quantities. They
are not crowded by their neighbors;
they enjoy delightful seclusion;
while at their feet is spread the vast
and ever-changing panorama of the
city and it's glorious harbor.
From his aerial home the new cliff
man can look down upon the streets
below, with their swarming crowds Of
what, from his lofty perch, look like
scurrying ants. He can see the ele-
waited trains putting along, looking al
most like toys. Around him rise the
rival y-scrapers-modern towers of
Babel, pulsating with the hurrying
life within. The great metropolis
stretches away to the northward, be-
tween it's contining rivers, as far as
the eye can reach. Here and there
its uniformity is relieved by some
great building looming high above its
fellows. Southwark the harbors
broad expanse, alive with craft of
every sort, invites his eye. The roof
dwellers, too, can see the tremendous
forces of nature at work in their mag
nificence. When a summer thunder
storm sweeps the city they can OBJ
serve the full beauty of it's display;
the black clouds yelling the sky, the
great curtain of rain walling out
everything around and the binding
glare of lightning, with perhaps some
huge building outlined against it, or,
again, they can watch the fog steal
ing down to veil the city and harbor
in gray.
The enterprising housewife among
these deniZens of the roof is able to
brighten her home with many de-
lightful features. She may have her
flower gardens, and even little patch
of vegetables reared in soil brought
from below. Trailing vines may be
trained along the cottage walls, and
with shrubs and plants disposed about
the borders of the roof it is possible
to transform the whole into a charm
ing hanging garden. In the long sum-
mer evenings the tables can be moved
out into the yard, and here the roof
dwellers can sit and take tea amid
the coolness and quiet. Here, too,
they can entertain their less fortunate
friends who are condemned to live in
stuffy flats or apartments. Ham,
mocks may be swung to give added
comfort and pleasure to life. and avn
ipgs put up in summer to keep the
place cool through the midday hours.