The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1906-05-15

Two hundred and twenty feet wfu be
the limit OF the height Of buildings in
this city in the future. according 30 the
recommendation q the committee thAk
has In hand the matter OF ne revfsscn
Of the building laws. and which Ia sitting
with a committee from the Board of
Supervisors. The skyscrapers that win
tower 220 feet in the air will be known
as class A buildings. absolutely Areproof.
buildings for the sI new San FRANCISCO was
reached at yesterdays meeting william
Curlett suggested that go feet Be ne
maximum height for class A structures
for the class B buildings. Curlstt said
that 22o feet was the present lirnkf on
class A buildings and that It was pro-
posed TO add two feet to the okass B
srehitsets ana bstter for he owners
Class B buildings he thought should ee
OF reinforced concrete and class build
ings Like the present class 3 buildings
James Galloway gave Il a. bis opn-
len that before fixing upon ths hstght OF
tho buildings OF the future II should be
nrst determined what sort q material
Curiett, however. differed with TIE
speaker, declaring that he was . little
IN advance with that feature OF the dis
cussion and that 1t was important that
the height should be decided upon before
anything else.
At this point there was some reference
to the "battleship" buildings. and a
Ruef asked for enlightenment as TO this
formidable sounding class Of structures.
Curlett explained that they were intend
ed to be constructed entirely Of steel
frame, walls and alI-but he did not oon-
slider them freproof for the reason that
he had observed in the burned district
where armor such as II was proposed to
use on the 'batueship'' buildings had
been ruthlessly torn and twisted by the
flames.
Some discussion followed regarding
the height Of buildings on narrow streets.
It appeared from this to be The senti-
buildings would be advisable only for
Market street. Van Ness avenue and
other wide thoroughfares, but that the
height should be limited on streets Ike
Sansome and Montgomery. Assistant
Fire Chief Shaughnessy told Of the dan
ger Of high buildings on narrow streets
and called attention to the fast that
Boston's big FIRE was due to that city's
narrow thoroughfares. the fire easily
crossing them. The chief informed the
committee that the department. could
convey water to a height OF 220 feet II IL
have the proper appliances.
Ruef said that the draughts created by
lofty buildings should be considered On
Montgomery street. for example, IL would
be injudicious to allow very high build
ings on both sides They would be mel
Their beauty nor q comfort nor would
they be OF safety to the city. A system
should be adopted for limiting the height
OF the buildings according to the width
Of the streets. I'VE should have no 30
foot buildings on 40-fOot Streets. he
said.
Ruef thereupon moved that 23o-foot
buildings be allowed only on streets 100
feet wide and over. This was put TO a
vote and carried. Ruef followed this
with another motion to the effect that
other streets be classified as follows: 40
to 90 feet. so to so feet and so to 100 feet
in width, and that a committee be aD-
pointed to recommend a maximum height
for the buildings on those streets. This
motion was also carried and a committee
consisting OF Dtnsen. Curlett and Berke-
ley was named At the suggestion OF one
Of the committeeman Assistant Fire
Chief ShaughneSsy was added to the
committee, which viii make q report to-
day.