Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-11
REAL ESTATE GOSSIP
Progress in the Erection Of
Buildings.
FIREPROOF HOUSES
CURRENT LAND VALUES AS
SHOWN BY RECENT SALES.
Improvements Of Various Kinds
Throughout the District-Notable
Increase in Money Expended.

Plans are being prepared for residence
for Capt. Lemly, United States navy. to be
erected at the northeast corner Of 10Th
and Baltimore streets. The house is to
estimated, will be about $4,000. Wood,
Dom & Deming are the architects.
The ground adjoining the residence of
Mr.. r. L. B. Clarke has been purchased by
him and will be utilized as a lawn. The
new part of his holdings fronts both Mary
land avenue and B street between LIST and
ID streets northeast.
Houses are to be built by F. ]. Dieu-
donne in two lots, each fifty feet front, on
the north side of Binney street between
18th and 18th streets.
The residence erected several years ago
by the late Governor Sims of Alabama at
the northeast corner of 18th and K streets
has been purchased by DIR. F. T. Chamber
lain. who will make his home there
Some of the recent buyers of lots in Cen
trail Heights are ]. A. Walker, Charles
Green, Charles Hugin, NJ. E. Scholl and
Fred Barthelemy.
Permits for Houses
During the past week the change in the
building regulations went into effect bJ
which hereafter the walls of all two-story
houses will be thirteen inches instead of
nine inches In thickness. large number
of building permits have been issued dur
ing the time the adoption of this change
has been pending. In some cases the pur-
pose was to take advantage of the former
regulation, and for this reason permits for
proposed buildings were asked for at an
earlier period than would otherwise have
been the case.
Under normal conditions the beginning of
new building operations is not common at
n hn 10 l1tyo Ctn RI
is made earlier in the year.
The building operation which involves the
improvement of the entire square bounded
by Princeton street and 18th and Sherman
or 10th streets north of Florida avenue
has proceeded as far as the erection Of
forty-two two-story houses. Messrs. Bates
Warren and John l.. Warren, who are car
rying on this enterprise, have applied for
permits to erect sixty-five additional
houses on this square.
New Buildings Gcing Up.
The dwelling at 1437 R street, owned by
J. r. Garrison, is to be remodeled, and the
improved structure will be a three-story
brick and stone dwelling.
Mrs. Katherine L. Johnson will build
two houses on the north side of Corcoran
street between 18th and 10Th streets
tract of $50 acres of land Just west of
Lanham station. on the Pennsylvania rail-
road, has been subdivided by Mr.. John o.
johnson. The property will be called Har-
vey, formerly the name of the tract The
building sites will contain from two acres
to five acres each.
Building of Big Houses.
The improvements in the arrangements
and general style of the average dwelling
house are SO marked that they are within
the observation of almost every one The
difference between the house renting for
$50 or $50 a month some years ago
and one that Is offered at that rental at the
present time is a wide one. There are
many features to be found in the ordinary
house which were not known then except in
the more expensive residences. Today the
man of moderate means, If he so desires
can enjoy as well as his wealthy neighbor
the conVenienceS of modern electrical de-
vices applied to household uses while open
freDlaces and hardwood mantels and tiled
floors are features to be found alike in the
spacious house and in. one of limited dimen-
SionS.
This change IL the quality of private res
licences in this city has also been accom-
panied by an expansion in the size, and
now there is L decided tendency toward
large and elaborate private residences The
latest addition to this class happens to be
the largest. 1t is the house which is being
built for Mr. Larz Anderson, on the south
side of Massachusetts avenue between Dist
and 22d streets. Located~aS it is in the
section of some of the best types of this
class. and as tn" walls are not yet to their
full height. the fact of its great size has
not attracted much attention. 1t has the
extensive frontage of 40 feet. The Walsh
house, which is just above on the next
block. has only a frontage of about eighty
feet. while the house of Mrs. Townsend,
across the street, stretches along Massa-
chuSettS avenue about 100 feet.
Fireproof Construction.
The effect of this long stretch in the An
derson house is lessened by the de-
vice of a central court through which there
will be an apr zach for carriages. The
break iii the straight line will save the
structure from he monotony of a long, I'M
broken stretch The material used in this
structure which has depth of 100 feet is
white stone. >The details are rather simple
the architect evidently relying on the mass
and the proportions for architectural effect
In the rear there Is ample space between
the alley and the house, and it is the inten-
ton to lay 1t out as an Italian garden, sur
rounded with stone walls twenty feet high
and containing terraces.
The house Is being built In the most SUBJ
stantial manner. and Is to be of fre-proof
construction. This latter is so unusual in
house construction that special attention ia
called to the fact that the beams and floor
joiStS are to be of steel with terra Gotta
and the partitions, when not of brick ara
to be of terra Gotta. In fact, the house will
be non-combustible as any of the So
called nfe-prOOI structures OF the day. Sim
liar construction was employed in the
Walsh house. but with those two excep tions
that character of work has been sparingly
used in house construction in this city. The
Walsh house Is said to have cost over half
a million of dollars. and 1t is quite likely
that nearly that amount will be expended
before the Anderson house is completed.
Building Statistics.
Building for June in twenty-three of the
principal cities of the country, according
to Construction News, shows a loss of 10
per cent as compared with the correspond
ing month year ago. OF these cities six
teen show gains varying from to 233 per
cent, while losses in seven cities vary from
O04 to 81 per cent. 1t is significant that
the principal losses are in the large cities.
such New York, 10 per cent; Chicago.
4; Philadelphia. Co.. st. Louis "a; Cincin-
natl, 81; Seattle, 49, and Minneapolis per
cent. Building operations in New York city
have been greatly curtailed on account of
serious labor troubles, and at this time
there is no certainty as to when operations
will be resumed. The decrease in Chicago
he, aftribllfed RI Ia tOr fraf,hloc in, ba-