The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-26
PUBLIC LIBRARY'S PROGRESS
CAUSES or THE DELAY ~ ,r.
ERECTION THUS FAR
DAmcnsty In Securing the RlSh,k,rs
Marble Enormous Quantity Ne.d,, '"
Eject or the Building Trade, Vron,,,-
More Rapid Progress prou,,

| "h"''~ ssuhnt'ly Needed
Enect OF the Building Trade, Vron,,-
More Rapid Progress prom,."s
Since some of the high fencing uhi,,
80. long screened the old Fortv-secosn
street reservoir site in Fifth ayenro O.
torn down, and people have been e,oh,o.
10 see 'he stage OF progress of the WORT
on the new Public Library building ths
quest on is often asked why the buidnn
| is rising so slowly. 'uhg
| The same question was often ero,,u,
asked before riffs in the fence d;snnupsh,
the state of affairs within, for Ne,y T sru
and it's visitors looked MANY dn,.s 9IA
see the walls of the library mount 40 10
the fences. But so long as the fave fave
were there, only the people IN tho ' III
buildings around Bryant Park could ssa
just how much had been accomn,isbage
on he library building, and cter'a, ' hnsi
hegat a tinid confidence that The wSRfe
were almost up 10 the fence tops '''
line nIn ted number of persons rrsssr.
at the cornerstone laying had seen nv
illustration of what the Ornamental rno,d az
was to be, done IN staff a. tho lowe, ES,S
avenue corner, and hoped that by this tina
a. least they would he able 10 look nnnr
the marble substance Of some por,,,n npo Wy
the inpos ng front. SO the d scoyerv " ~
the present conditions there has boon
general disappointment for only hora ori
there do blocks of white marble rise ah ~,ru
the brickwork of the foundations
A man in position TO speak of tho ox
perienccs of the architects and builders so
far was asked Yesterday why no ho,,ao
progress had hecn made on tie hud;nr
While acknowledging it's tardy growth ba
put much more cheerful COMPLEXION unon
the enterprise than the uniformed could
see IN using their eyes about BRYAN, PARK
THE building il not advanced to the
stage which Inc contract time of com.
pletion would Indicate, i is true" he said
but. save for the troubles in the hui'ding
trades, the outlook is much more fayorahYs
now than i has been at any time since the
work was begun.
"Of course the building trades trouble.
have stopped work on the library building
absolutely since the middle Of Nav. But
the greatest difficulties causing DELAY
with this building were encountered befora
that, and those have been done away with
SO that at the present time there is every
reason to believe that the work will 90 on
RAPIDLY as soon as the building trades
situation resolves itself into a normal
condition. Everything is now ready for
work to go on rapidly as soon as the men
return to work
Perhaps four months would fairly stats
the tire that the building is behind sched
ule. II ia hoyed now that if the bujlding
trades trouble is speedily adjusted, the
building will be half way up by the end
of the season, and that the lost time can he
made up altogether by the end Of 1904.
about which time it was originally expected
that the building would be completed
That means Of course, the outer str,ct-
ure.. The interior finishing of the build
ing is matter for later consideration.
"The New York Public Library building
is a greater enterprise than many people
perhaps realize. In the first place II Ia
by far the largest building 10 be constructed
Of white marble in this country and be-
lieve in the world. Some idea of II and
Of the work Of building it may be obtained
from the statement If the fact that TO raise
these walls three feet is about the equivalent
of raising the walls If one of the big COM
mercial buildings three stories
The biggest Of the business buildings in
New York built of white marble IL the
Blair building. completed last May, at the
northwest corner Of Broad street and Ex-
change place. That building required
5000 feet of marble. The Public Library
fifteen tirnes as much as the Blair building
"The kind of marble to be used in the
library building was determined upon in
and this enormous contract re-
CURED the development of new q,larries
and the erection Of new plants at Dorset,
Vt. As the work of quarrying proceeded It
was found that a new railroad TO the quar-
res was necessary, and the railroad was
built and is now in operation.
But at first and for considerable
period the great difficulty was TO obtain
marble Of the requisite grade in sufficient
quantities to allow the work of building to
go on as fast as was desired. This could
not be done.
"The most careful scrutiny is exercised
in the aelect ioy, ~ yha MN rhlo and 10 has
been found necessary to reject sometimes
as much as 40 per cent. Of that quarred
for the building in order 0 secure marble OF
the desired uniform wilderness and quality
Even the marble going to the great medi-
cal building at Harvard is such az ia re lected
in the inspection made for this building.
"The output of the quarries has been
raised till at the present time il is about
70, 900 feet month. and there s already
81 ored at Port Morris sufficient quantity
for the needs Of considerable time ahead,
only waiting for the building trades situation
to low the work Of setting the great blocks
in place to go ahead Moreover, as the
walls get higher smaller blocks will he
so that the task of finding blocks
of the requisite quality will be less difficult
IF there is an early set tlement of the labor
troubles so that work can be resumed
shortly, the building will probably he COM
pleted as 10 its outer walls as far up az the
top of the main story by the end Of the
season, which will practically mean that the
outer structure will be half completed
and the building will begin TO look like
TO the people.
There has been a good deal Of trouble
some delay on the southern side of the
building, where tho engine rooms and so
'orth are 10 be, which vas unforeseen and
Unavoidable, and was annoying to the resi-
tcnts. but to the contractors rot less 60.
That Is now rost ard the way Is rayorably
open for rapid work on the Big building II
he work can only soon be resumed through
/ settlement of the troubled conditions in
he general building trades situation.
AN EPISODE or GIi LIFE.