Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-28
Building Freaks in New York.

There are many building freaks going on
in New York city. The Singer Sewing Ma
chine Company is erecting a tower for Of
fees at the corner of Broadway and
Liberty streets near st. Paul's Church.
which will be 500 feet high, thirty -eight
feet higher than the Washington monu-
ment. The Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company proposes to build tower 700 feet
high for offices and painters studios on
the site of Dr. ParkhurstS Church on Madi-
son Square, opposite the Fifth Avenue
Hotel at the corner of Madison avenue and
Path street. This company already has one
of the largest Office buildings in the world
at the corner of 23d street and Madison
avenue, a beautiful structure of white mar
BILE, in which the republican national COM
mittee has had its headquarters for sew
eral campaigns. and the tower Is to be of
similar architecture and materials. 1t will
cost a million and half of dollars, and
will be 36S feet taller than the tower of
Madison Square Garden. which Is a dupli-
cate of the famous Giralda at Seville and
$50 high. 1t will also be 145 feet taller
than the Washington monument which is
$50 feet high and at present the tallest
human structure in the world. One would
think that it would be difficult to induce
people to rent offices and studios 700 feet
above the ground, but l am told that there
have already been large number of ap-
piicattons for the top floors, although the
company cannot obtain possession of DIR.
Parkhurst's Church until November and the
building cannot be finished for more than
a year.
When yon were a boy a girl there was
in your geography picture of the high
buildings in the world-the pyramid of
Cheops, the domes OF ST. Peters and St
Paul's Cathedrals the spires at Cologne
and the steeple of Trinity Church In New
York Until fifteen or twenty years ago
Trinity Church steeple was the tallest
structure in America but now 1t lis not
hl Il
and concealed by Office buildings of greater
height. Many tenant in these buildings
can look down from his windows upon the
cross that ornaments the crest of Trinity
ment on Broadway, while a dozen or more
buildings within stones throw of the
entrance of the venerable church exceed
400 feet In height. Burnham's famous
Flatiron building at the junction of 5th
avenue, Broadway and 23d street Is 500
feet high, the American Surety building
BOG, the Hanover Bank 310 the Commercial
Cable Company building ST. the Manhattan
Life building 348, No 60 Wall street 344
the Park Row building 800 and the Times
building uptown Is 476 feet inches from
the moor of the lowest basement to the
top of the fagpole. There are four stories
top of the lantern is 35S feet.
The King of England has heard of these
building freaks and recently inquired par
tieuiarly about them OF an American archi-
teet who was visiting England and had an
audience with him. He questioned his
visitor In detail as to the method of con-
structfon and materials of the Fiatiron
building and the skyscrapers generally and
expressed the solemn hope that such archi-
tecturai monstrosities should newer be In
troduced into London.
Land Is getting so scarce in New York
that 1t has become necessary to use the
roofs OF the houses for amusement utir-
poses. as was done in the oriental countries
From the windows OF my room at the Hotel
Gotham could zee two tennis courts on
the roofs OF the houses in the neighborhood