The St. Louis Republic., 1903-12-20
Rock Island Leases Century
Building Corner to Hamburg
American Line.
EXODUS FROM DOWNTOWN.
Completion of Frisco Building
Will Cause Many Changes
Among Railroads - Real
Estate Developments.

The lease of the Rock Island Railroad
ticket office. ground floor OF the Gem
tury building. northwest corner of Ninth
and Olive streets, closed yesterday by the
Mercantile Trust Company to the Ham,
burg-American steamship line, is believed
10 be the beginning of a general shifting
OF ticket-office locations.
Primarily the early completion of the
big Frisco building at the southwest cor
ner OF Ninth and Olive streets is respon-
sible for the changes. the Rock Island
naturally going to the structure which is
now controlled by that railway system.
The headquarters of the Colorado road
will be removed to the new building for
the same reasons.
For several months the railroads which
now have ticket offices on Broadway and
Fourth streets have contemplated an ex-
odus. The reason assigned is that the
busy part of st. Louis is rapidly moving
westward. The agents prefer to be near
er TO Union Station, especially during the
Worlds Fair period.
The Illinois Central. Louisville and
Nashville. big Four and Burlington, on
broadway. and the c., P. & ST. L.. on
Fourth street are said to be figuring on
sSe.fi1eing S.iva s, office s,, room together in some
In addition to these large systems. which
have their own lines into st. Louis. there
are M several roads, notably the Santa Fe,
IexaS Pacific, Denver and Rio Grande and
the Colorado Southern, which maintain
important agencies They may follow the
movement of offices westward on Olive.
IL Is not thought that an additional Of
ice building will be erected for the rail-
roads. but the impression prevails that
some important leases soon will be closed.
There probably will be openings in the
century. Commercial b,,t1l Il
ings and at the southeast corner OF Eighth
and Olive streets when the Frisco struc-
ture is ready for occupany within the next
few weeks.
The principal factor in deterring the
railroads from changing quarters is the
nigh price of rents on Olive. As an illus
Alton road is now paying more than S1O,-
90 year for the ticket office in the
Carleton building. northeast corner of
Sixth and Olive streets.
According to the report OF the Mercan-
tile Trust Company the Hamburg -Ameri-
can Steamship Line will pay SS 1-3 per
corner than was paid by the Rock Island.
THIS advance has taken place recently.
LEASES CLOSED.
The Mercantile Trust Company yester-
day closed lease on the ffve-story build
ing. southeast corner of Nineteenth and
Olive streets. $1,000 square feet of floor
space. lot 75X1ts feet. from Cliff r; Scud.
use the place for vehicles and farm imple-
ments.
Though negotiations for the northeast
corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets
from Terry & Sons has been called off. 1t
is reported that clients of Samuel Bow
man are figuring upon erecting $500 900
building IN the same neighborhood;
Since the completion of the Missouri
Pacific building at Seventh and Market
streets the latter thoroughfare downtown
has been attracting much attention, while
in the vicinity of Union Station values
have increased from few hundred to a
thousand dollars a front foot.
David Leahy of the Lincoln Trust Com
pany predicts n great future for Market
other realty experts.
c. H. Mcmillan, secretary of the Mer-
camille Trust Company. states that, while
business naturally is dull just before the
holidays, the condition of the market in
dicates brisk trading after January i.
A H. Frederick. a Director of the
Worlds Fair, was in New Orleans last
week. attending the celebration of the
centennial of the transfer of the Louisi-
ana Territory from France to the United
States He says in letter that people in
the southern part of the old terri DRY are
much Interested in the Exposition, and
are surprised that there has been no in
fiation of realty values in St. Louis on
account of the approaching Fair.
Officials of the Real Estate Exchange
are now at work upon the annual report,
which: 1t Is said. will show that the city
Is making great progress.