The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-29
EoN NARCIssE GILLETTE

n EON NARCISSE Ct1LLEIIE OF
New York, who is a. guest of
Walter J. Keith, calls attention to
4 the opportunity to make of Min
A@ neapolis beautiful city. He
compliments the citizens on the Inn
provements in the building line since
as boy he attended the University OF
Minnesota. Mr.. Gillette has become as
sociated with the Keiths OF Minneap-
oils in the firm of Keith, Gillette q
Keith, as it's designer. This is his first
visit to Minneapolis since he made his
apoIis, as a growing city, should be
made beautiful. Old buildings have
lost their usefulness and new ones are
replacing the ,superannuated structures.
With these changes and the increase in
business, the opportunity to build well
is evident, and one which should be &C
cepted gracefully.
While the opinion seems to have been
general among capitalists who have
been building lately, that they have
been ''robbed' because Of the high
prices of material, Mr.. Gillette gives
The assurance that in New York and
the large cities the prices are 40 to 30
per cent higher. His view point Is
naturally broader than that of local
investors, and he brings message to
them. -., ~,
IT am glad to see concrete construc-
ton coming into use in Minneapolis to
take the place of wood,'' he said with a
note Of pleasure. Wood is infammable.
and the price of lumber is going up as
the timber is cut off, SO concrete will
soon be the much cheaper material
Still there will be use for all the lum-
Der that can be cut yet.
"Even now in the east one can build
house cheaper Of the new materia!
when one considers also the cost of
maintenance of the wooden structure
and that at the end Of twenty years
the concrete material is just as good
as when placed, the advantage is evil
dent
New Warehouses Approved.
One phase Of Minneapolis architec.
ture that seemed to strike MI. Gillette
favorably was that Of the new bust
ness buildings. He remarked concern
ing the general exterior effect of sew
-eral of the new South Side implement
buildings, which are of plain yet Or
namental type.
WThe new implement warehouses are
Of excellent desi or" he said. In fact
the west has more good-appearlng ware
houses than any section Of the country
Barring ornamentation, which is no
always necessary, it costs no more tt
build good-looking structure than 6
box-like affair.
,5"The people are growing to appre
eiate building more and more. There
is great opportunity in a city that il
growing so rapidly as Minneapolis tt
build beautiful buildings. It is al
opportunity to ma Ike beautiful city
as we'll as substantial one. If thu
people were not quite so much in {
hurry, it would be BETTER: The archi
tect should have time to study the wor]
as do the owners themselves. ~ ~
5.ts% Mr.. Gillette, in speaking Of the belle
that the best builder was the one wht
made the best application of. material
with the least cost, remarked thai, TIL
cheaper material, concrete, was adapt
able to all sorts of Communication. On
this score argument cannot be .brough
against the use Tef2sconcrete exterior a
against more expensive glazed brick
and terra Gotta, should a builder decid
Ito use the cement facing
Il. The derivation of the type of Amer
Gillette assigns to The French. AS win
ner of the French government diplom
at l'Ecole DIES Beaux Arts in Paris, MI
Gillette has not become prejudiced i
favor of the French, but he foun
there the best architects OF the world
To the architecture Of the French
awarded the blue ribbon. In New Y or
are found the best architects in Amer
lea, and most Of those who were edr
Gated abroad spent their tuition none
in Paris.
The American Architecture.
Z "The prevailing architecture starte
with the French renaissance ten year
ago and is developing with the additio
Of American ideas,'' said Mr.. GILLETTE
ssIt is developing into an American al
chitecture, so that now the building
put up here are distinctly American
The French renaissance is more for MOI
umental work purposes. In it's Amel
change Of the decorations, for bushes
buildings. ~.
stThis STYLE of archite lecture came int