The San Francisco call., 1906-10-10
TALLEST BUILDING
IN THE WORLD
Singer Tower in New York
City to Exceed Height
of Washington Monument

When the tall office building In the
course of its rapid evolution had at
tained the height of 500 feet 1T was
freely predicted that the limit had been
reached and that future structures In
New York City would be of more rea-
sonable vertical dimensions.
That prediction was made not much
more than decade ago; and yet today
there is in course of construction in
lower New York a building whose sum-
nit will reach heavenward for over
twice 500 feet. The new building, which
VIII be in the form of tower and Will
constitute part of an extension or the
present Singer building at the corner
OF Liberty street and Broadway, Will
contain forty-one stories and the top
or It's cupola will be 612 feet above
street level
Not only will the Singer tower be the
loftiest Inhabited building In the world.
but 1T will exceed in vertical height the
famous Washington monument on the
banks OF the Potomac, which, with tho
total height of 655 feet, is at present
the tallest masonry structure erected
by man. Although the Singer tower
Will lack some 800 feet of eQualing the
famous Eiffel tower, 1t will be far
more difficult and costly structure to
erect and because of its narrow base
serious engineering problems.
The new building will form the most
important part of an extensive recon
struction of tho old Singer building at
the corner of Liberty street and Broad
way. Great credit is due to Ernest
F1agg for his successful treatment of
this unusual architectural problem and
to his engineers for the solution Of the
constructional difficulties involved In
the design nf 1nffu a
building. An addition to the building,
with frontage of seventy-six feet on
Broadway, is to be built on the north
ern side of the building and the west
erly portion OF this addition will con-
stitute the great tower. The original
building and the addition will be four
teen stories in height and the tower
viii extend twenty-seven stories above
this.
Although In plan the tower will
measure only sixty-five feet square, its
total uplift is so great that It's floor
space, added to that OF the main build
ing, will be greater, with single ex-
ception, than that of any other building
In New York City, the total area
amounting to nine and a half acres.
The elevator we'll will be oblong in plan
and placed In the center of the build
ing. For service of the lower portion
of the building there will be sixteen
elevators and, as the upper floors are
reached, they will decrease in number
until there will remain four elevators
for the service of the topmost floors 1t
is estimated that when the building is
fully occupied 1T will accommodate
about 5000 people
The effect of this stupendous struc-
ture upon the already remarkable sky
line Of New York City will be to dwarf
the immensity of surrounding build
ings and deceive the eye as to their
already lofty altitude. This will be
particularly true of the stranger who
visits New York for the first time, for
he will find it difficult to realize that
the towering skyscrapers which are
dominated so completely by this tower
are many of them between 800 and 400
feet in height. The question of the fu-
ture vertical increase In the dimen-
sions Of buildings will depend upon
the financial success OF the Singer
building. Should it prove possible to
realize an adequate return upon an in
vestment of this kind, 1t is not unlikely
that corporations with whom the ad-
vertisement that is given by a spec
tacular structure Of this kind counts
for something will in future years at
tempt to rival or surpass it.
II is the confident expectation of the
engineers that in spite of the great
height there will be no perceptible sway
in the Singer building, even in the
heaviest storm.-Scientifc American