Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16
BUILT STAR BUILDING
Story of George A. Fuller,
Constructor.
ERECT SKY SCRAPERS
ORIGINATORS OF STEEL FRAME
CONSTRUCTION.
Gigantic Office Buildings Everywhere
Monuments to Their Work-The
"Flat-Iron" in New York.

tanned to a unique position In the building
world. 1t was the originator of the steel
frame sky scraper, and it's buildings loom
up as landmarks to It's skill all over the
United States. In every large city In the
country it's work is found, and It's name has
come to be synonymous with that OF the
sky scraper. More recently 1t has added
to its laurels in the construction OF what
is in many ways the most marvellous bulld-
ing in the world, the great "Flat-iron build
ing" In the narrow intersection of Broad
way and 9th avenue at 23d street. New
York Magazine articles and newspaper
descriptions without number have been
written Of this building, and travellers In
New York now visit it in much the same
way that they do the Brooklyn bridge and
the Grant tomb.
The Fuller Company Is not an accident
in its success. The founder Of the firm,
George A. Fuller, who died two years ago,
was an architect Of marked originality and
daring, and his Ideas and energy went into
the company from the first and are
part of every one of the hundreds of great
structures that have been erected by the
firm since 1t began its work. His ideas and
methods have been continued by his COM
pany.
ings are its work, buildings that, of their
class, are considered nearly perfect as
anything that has ever been done. The
Star building and the New Willard are
amples. Both these structures have fame
as wide as the country, among builders and
architects at least. for their beauty, solid
ity, safety and convenience. The firms
work in this city is duplicated everywhere
that it has built in all these qualities.
George A. Fuller was born in Templeton,
Mass, in the year 1851. After graduating
from the celebrated Phillips Academy at
Andover he took a special course of study
at the Boston School of Technology, and
soon afterWard commenced his business
career as draughtsman in the office of his
uncle, ]. E. Fuller, an architect Of Worces-
ter. Later he became associated with
Boston firm of architects, and at the age of
twenty-five he went to New York as a
partner in that concern. He afterWard
moved to Chicago, where he met with
eminent success as a general building con-
tractor and organized the George A Full
Ter Company"
He invented and demonstrated the practi-
cability Of an entirely new method of con-
structing great buildings, and was the origi-
nator of the steel skeleton Sky scraper. Mr..
Fuller died in 1860, leaving throughout the
country hundreds of enduring monuments
of his skill and original mechanical genius.
The establishment of the firm began with
the entrance into the field of building con-
struction by it's founder, C. A. Fuller, whose
name Is more familiar than any other in
his chosen field, and whose original methods
have in the past few years reYolutoniZed
construction methods. Notably this is so
in connection with the modern steel skeleton
system of building which was devised by
Mr.. Fuller, and in the now equally general
system Of general contracting, first ad-
vocated and put into practice by him Under
the strain of overwork Mr.. Fuller's health
failed in 1896, and the management of the
largest interest Of the concern has been in
the hands of Mr.. H S. Black, a son-in-law
of Mr. Fuller.
The success OF the company, under Mr..
Blacks leadership, has been phenomenal.
The work has been greatly enlarged and
the value of the businsS steadily increased,
last year having been the largest in the
history of the company. Mr.. Black who
was vice president until Mr.. Fuller's death,
is now president.
The company has offices in the following
cities: The home office, at 1871 Broadway,
New York city; the Marquette building,
Chicago; the BraZer building, Boston; the
Maryland Trust building, Baltimore; North
American building, Philadelphia and the
Frick building, at PittsbUrg. It's Washing
ton Office is located in the Home Life build
Ing.
The business IN the south IS under the
management OF Mr.. j. II. Dinwddie, who
is now a resident of Washington. Some OF
the firms work is shown in Washington.
They erected The Star building, the New
Willard, and have under construction an
eight-story building for Gen. Ansen Mills,
at the corner Of 18th street and Pennsyl-
yanue avenue. They also have under con-
struction the new pumping station for the
District, located on Trumbull street. They
have lust completed a handsome private
residence for Mr.. r. w. Patterson, near
Dupont Circle. They also constructed the
Merchants Transfer and Storage Company
building, eight stories.
In Baltimore they constructed the Union
building twelve stories. the Calvert
building. twelve stories; the Maryland
Trust building, ten stories, and the banking
building for Messrs. Alex. Brown & Sons.
They erected the Equitable building at At
lanta, Ga. A few of the prominent build
ings in Chicago are the Monadnack and
Marquette building, the Old Colony building
and the Womens Temple.
They have several specimens of their work
in New York, among which is the Broadway
Exchange, which is the largest office build
ing In the world, costing 100000, and is
twenty stories high. The now famous Fuller
building is their latest great building there.
One hundred and fifty large structures
could be enumerated, representing many
millions Of dollars, the construction of
which has been intrusted to the George A.
Fuller Company.
A short description Of the Flat-iron build
Ing in New York city. should be given
place in this article. In manner the
structure is the apotheosis Of the Fuller
methods and results. The proper name of
the building is the Fuller building, named
after the firm that constructed 1t. A map
of New York, showing the Fuller building.
would place it in the very heart OF the
greatest metropolis of the new world, at
the corner of the two greatest thorough
fares of the city, where the tide Of millions
of people flows daily in a never ending
stream. At this point, fronting 100 feet on
9TH avenue, 175 feet on Broadway, IS feet
on ODD street and feet on 23d street, it
towers into the sky twenty stories, or about
go feet.
The appearance Of the structure, especial
" looking at 1t toward its narrow end, is
truly marvellous. 1t seems almost to over
turn all ideas Of solidity in construction,
having the proportions, on gigantic scale,
of very thin-edged wedge, that might be
used by some giant to split open a mountain,
If he had the power of a thousand steam en-
gines in his arm and a hammer as big as
three Washington monuments in solid steel.
But narrow as the building is at 23d street,
and weird as it looks. the greatest engineers
In the world have pronounced it, now that
1t is built. a very marvel Of soldity and
safety. Not one whit less solid or safe
than the strongest sky scraper in the
metropolis. The Fuller Company makes
the claim that it is, from a structural
standpoint, the strongest building ever
erected" It's walls are tremendously thick,