Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-06
LOCAL BUILDERS BUSY
Large Number of Structures
Under Construction.
WORK OF THE SURVEYOR
PROGRESS MADE IN ALL SECTIONS
OF THE CITY.
Great Increase in Operations Over
Previous Years-Permits
for the Work.

trowel and of the maui are heard through
out the length and breadth of the District
of Columbia, calling the attention Of Its
residents to the continued upbuilding of
the national capital. In the section out
side the city limits and in northwest and
southeast Washington are these noises Of
improvement and growth most pronounced.
Prosperity. however, seems TO be manifest
In every part of the District, and in conse-
quence of the prosperous conditions the
capital city is experiencing one of the most
notable blooms" in improvement that has
been observed for many years, If, indeed, 1t
has ever been equaled.
The visible signs of the city's progress In
point of valuation of property are further
supported by. the records of the ONCE OF
the surveyor and of the building depart
nent which serve as a sort of official
thermometer of improvements in the ma
tional capital. In most cases prior 10 op-
tanning a permit from the District to con-
struct an edifice the prospective builder
calls upon the surveyor to ascertain the
boundary of the lot In order that no mis-
take may be made with reference to build
ing lines etc. After the foundations nave
been laid 1t Is also necessary, 0nder tne
recent law, to obtain a wall survey OF the
proposed building. The building office issues
permits for buildings and keeps RECORD
there of the kind Of Improvement and<eost
According to the records Of these two Of
fees the Improvement boom in the District
has been steady since the beginning OF the
current fiscal year, but within the past
three months the increase in improvements
has been particularly marked. The omces
of both the surveyor ana the punoinS III
spector are crowded with work. ana IN view
of the additional improvements now IN
prospect, it Is anticipated that the increased
volume Of business in these offices will con-
tinue for many months to come.
District Surveyor Busy.
In the office Of the District surveyor there
has been a steady increase of work during
the past nine years. with 1903 as the ban
ner year in the history of the office. Dur
ing the eleven months of the fiscal year
1904 decided increase in the business Of
the office has been noted, and during the
past three months the percentage of In
crease over the volume of work executed
by the office during corresponding period
of last year has been exceptionally large.
The records of the District building de-
partment show that the value of building
operations during the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1908, was greater than that Of
any year since 1894, when the building
operations in the District were at their
lowest ebb. The record made last year,
however, has already been exceeded by the
value of the operations Of the past eleven
months, and when the improvements to be
corded it Is anticipated that a large in
crease will be noted over last year. The
figures for the past eleven months, as COM
pared with the corresponding months of the
fiscal year 1903, show an increase in build
ing operations for this year amounting to
nearly 100000.
The surveyors office of the District was
organized in 1895, and since that time the
volume of business in that branch of the
District government has steadily grown, an
Indication of the steady growth of the Dis
trict in improvements. The business trans
acted by that Office in 1893 is found to be
nearly double the volume recorded in 1895.
In 1902 the amount of work turned out by
the office was larger than that of any sim
gle year previous to that time, but the
work executed in 1903 exceeded that of 1902.
A brief comparison of the volume of bust.
ness in 1898 with that of the last fiscal
year Is interesting. The number of lots
and parcels surveyed for the public and the
District was about 600 in 1898, while in 1903
the number recorded was 1870. The sub
divisions surveyed in 1893 numbered 100
and in 1903 the number was increased to
1876. About 1900 plats were made in 1898,
as compared with 5,431 last year.
AS previously stated, the work Of the
surveyors Office since the beginning Of the
current fiscal year-July l, 19O3-has stead
lily increased, but the past three months
have been record breakers. The record OF
orders for survey of lots during March,
April and May Of the two years 1903 and
1904, respectively, shows an increase of
about 80 per cent in favor of the current
year, while for the same three months this
year there has been an increase of nearly
100 per cent over corresponding period of
last year In the number Of orders received
for wall surveys.
Indications Of Building.
The orders for surveys of lots indicate
that the owners are preparing to build upon
them, while the orders for wall surveys in
dictate that the actual construction of the
buildings is under way.
An examination of the records of the
building department shows the rapid in
crease in the valuation of building opera
lions In the District. Since 1894, when the
building operations were the lowest during
a period covering the past twenty years,
the building operations have steadily in
creased at the rate of over half a million
dollars annually. The value of improve
ments begun in 1894 amounted to "a ,304, 44l.
The records Of the department show that
in 1902 the valuation of building operations
for the year was 310.240-almost double
the value of the operations in 1S94Hwhile
the cost of improvements commenced dur
ing the fiscal year ended June 3d. 1908.
amounted to $11 ,5S4, COS, an increase of 49,
81, 1868 over the record of the preceding
twelve months
For the eleven months ended May 81 OF
the fiscal year 1903 the value of the build
ing operations was Y,619, 1885, while for
corresponding period Of the present year
the cost of improvements was $l1 $50, 77Y.
an increase in favor of the last eleven
months of $1N1,044. The valuation OF
building operations for the eleven months
of the current fiscal year exceeds by $685.
176 the cost of improvements commenced
during the entire twelve months of the
fiscal year 1908.
A summary OF the cost of building oper-
atoms in the District for March, April and
May Of the years 1903 and 1904, according
to the records of the building office, is as
follows:
1903 1904.
PERMITS issued l,OOS l,l4A
Cost Of improvements. 1915, 723 5000, LAT
Number Of dwellings ...... AIS 400
Total increase in cost Of operations for March,
April and May, 1904. $116,424.
Union Railroad Station.
Included among the permits issued during
the current fiscal year was one for the con-
struction of the new union railroad station
at a cost of s., 100000 This item. of course.
sweils the total valuation of improvements
commenced during the present fiscal year.
In other years, however, permits for the
construction of large public works have
been included in the yearly summary Of
building operations, so that 1t Is not unfair
to past years to include this Item in the
IF for y