The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-04
NEW QUARTERS
ARE PALATIAL
EDWARDs-WOOD COMPANY OPEN
sUMPTUOUs OFFICES.
Furnishings. While Luxurious in Their
Appointments Are Arranged for the
handling of the Great Volume of
Business Transacted by Growing
Firm.

sumptuous, yet businesslike, describes
the new st. Paul quarters of the Ed
wards-Wood company, the we'll
known grain firm. They occupy the
second floor Of the building at Fifth
and Robert streets, with an entrance
at 369 Robert. The quarters are pala-
tlal In their elegance and oriental
touches, in both decorations and fur
nishings. The rooms devoted to the
clerical force are designed solely for
economy Of time and space and facil-
ity of operation, with careful attention
to the comfort Of the employees.
From the corridor upstairs open
the tradingroom, the private rooms of
the members of the company, the
cashiers cage and a dainty little retir-
ingroom or den done in weathered oak
effects and adorned with old-time
armor' and weapons of feudal war
fare. In the rear arethe working
rooms. The burnt orange tints of
the stairway walls and the canal
frieze continue into the reception
hall.
| Naturally the first room for explo-
ration is the quotation or stockroom,
where customers of the firm can fol-
low, on the slate board, the quotations
indicating the market in grain,
stocks, bonds and provisions. Quota
tons from the leading centers, Mime
apolis, Duluth, Milwaukee, Chicago,
New York and st. Louis are bulle-
tined with bewildering rapidity. AL
most instantaneously the figures are
flashed from these centers to the trad
ingroom CT the Edwards Wood COM
pany and by the system in vogue are
at once transferred to the public
board.
i This room is restful. The walls are
covered with figured fabrikona and
the ceilings with old ivory finish to
match. On the floor is a dull red Bo-
khara. The chairs are of weathered
oak upholstered in leather. The light
in this room is generous in its profu-
sion as it Is in all the offices.
The private office Of L. A. Wood
r. B. Wood and r. H. Edwards II
magnificently large. 1t occupies the
rooms by beveled plate glass doors
worked with corn and wheat wreath
monograms it seems almost apar
from the busy scenes Of the other de-
partments. The walls are treated ii
tulle leather running two-thirds to the
fresco IA luminous colors. The cell
ing is brought out in soft ivory colors
The floor is covered with a rich roya
q wilton carpet The desks and Other
furnishings are in solid mahogany
Heavy leather upholstered chairs Civ,
| LI19 "nOl6 an air OF SUBSEQUENTLY.
The cashiers office adjoining il
done in light red colors and is suf
f1ciently protected with ornamental
iron, glass and wood work. Adjoining
] the general offices comes the big room
occupied by the fifteen bookke epers
t the large slate quotation board, tn
mailing, operating sections and tele
phone exchange.
a The bookkeepers are stationed mex
the street windows. On the opposit
a side Is an immense solid slate quota
a ton board which records the opera
! tons on the different markets. A
quickly as these are manifested by tn
r clerk, who works with the telephon
a receiver attached to his head, nine tel
a egraph operators Immediately trans
r NIT the figures to branch offices. S
r systematically is this done that Gus
toners at far distant points know al
most identically with the men in tn
exchange pits the fluctuations Of tn
markets.
2 The mailingroom is a wonder. Her
in racks are assembled the differen
communications and Enclosures. !
large force copies the letters, enve]
opes, stamps and dispatches them. .
supplyroom on the third floor Of tn
It building completes the working equip
ment Of this progressive, energeti
y and growing commission firm, who
q maintains sumptuous quarters in tn
- new Chamber of Commerce buildin
: at Minneapolis. IS .. ..