The San Francisco call., 1906-12-24

BERKELEY. Dec 2s-While the
merry men who pound the nails and
handle the hammers are at work put
ting up the walls Of the big Clare
mont Hotel the men behind the gunsg
the capitalists. who are TO own the
hotel, are thinking up new ideas for
the hOstelry that are calculated to put
it in the front rank of modern hotels.
The brains Of Duncan McDuffie. Louis
Titus, John Spring and John TAFT are
busy at their self-appointed task.
Plans for the hotel have been changed
materially during the last few months.
Instead Of a S25o000 proposition. the
hotel when completed viii nave cost
$1,000. 600. There will be 400 rooms in
the structure instead of 200. and all
the luxury that money can buy will be
found in the Claremont.
At this time the workmen are toll
ing to inclose the building so that the
labor of making the interior beautiful
can be commenced as soon as possible.
Unless plans go awry. the hotel will be
ready for guests by fall.
Mr. TAFT. our manager, thinks" said
John Spring today, that when we open
there will not be a single room un-
rented TAFT is working at various de-
vices which viii be novelties. One, for
example, consists of a closet for each
room, to which the hotel Wallets viii
have an outside key, where boots and
clothes that need a Wallets attention
can be taken out and replaced without
disturbing the guest. The hotel is ex-
pected to be peculiarly attractive to
business men of San Francisco, as they
viii be able to come over from the city
by the Key Route in less than an hour.
The hotel throughout will be furnished
and equipped as is no other hotel on
the coast"
Plans of realty operators for the de-
veloping OF large tracts and disposing
Of the holdings that recently have been
put on the market are engaging the at
tention of most Of the Berkeley dealers.
The Claremont Court tract, to be
opened and handled by the men who
already have made such notable sue
cesses OF Claremont property. San Pab-
10 avenue tracts and business property
IN general is attracting most attention
among the operators Louis Titus, Dun
can McDuffleA w J. Mortimer and John
Spring are the capitalists back of the
venture, which Involves putting on the
market twenty-five acres of land that
is described as including a great many
fine villa sites in the Claremont district.
These men paid s325,0o0 for the tract.
and plan improvements thereon of va
rfed character.
President George Baxter of the
Berkeley National Bank has bought the
entire block fronting on Shattuck ave-
nue., between Delaware and Virginia
streets. and plans to erect a fine busi-
ness building on one corner of the
block The remainder will be put on
the market
The foundations have been laid for a
three-story business block on the north
east corner of Kittredge street and
Shattuck avenue. which John Havens is
10 erect. The block will cost $4,000
and IL viii be built of brick. The entire
lower floor of the structure is to be oc-
cupied by a department. store, the pro-
Berkeley. The building probably will
be ready for occupancy in April.
The Alexander tract, which George
Schmidt and a syndicate of Oakland
capitalists are interested IN. will be
ready for the market soon, and the in
quiries already heard from prospective
purchasers have satisfied the promoters
of the enterprise that records for sales
are likely TO be broken when the goods
are put on the counter.
The Regents Park tract. in North
Berkeley, has been disposed Of by the
Irwin Patton Company, and that firm
now plans to put on the market an ex-
tension Of the tract, running to the
north boundary of the town The firm
also is preparing for the sale of sew
enty-five acres OF hillside villas in North
Berkeley