New-York tribune., 1907-12-16
ASKYSCRAPER FOR CITY
Big Office Building Planned to
House Various Departments.

municipal office building of at least twenty
stories and costing between 100000 and s9o0oOoo.
is to be built the old Tryon Row site opposite
the Brooklyn Bridge terminal
The ground floor and basement will be used
bridge terminal From the second floor up it will
be used for Offices. and It IS planned put all the
municipal Offices with the possible exception of the
Health and Police departments. into this building.
The preliminary steps for the construction OF the
new skyscraper taken yesterday. when the
Mayor announced that well known architects would
compete in submitting plans for the building These
architects are J. Stewart Barney, Carrere & Hast
ngs Clark G. Russell. ]. H. Freedlander, Cass
Gilbert Helms & LafarSe, Heimle & Huberty, Hop
pin & Koen Howells & Stokes. H r. Marshall.
McKfm. Mead & White. Trowbridge & Livingston
and Warren & Wetmore
These architects will meet this forenoon at the
Mayors Office and appoint jury OF three 10 pass
on the designs, which are to be submitted on or
before April IA and be reported on by the jury on
May Il.
Each connecting architect receives s.oco for his
design and each juror the same. The successfu
competitor will receive 5000 for the winning de-
sign If his plans not accepted by the CITY
The building will cover two BLOCKS spannlns
Chambers street and reaching north as far as CITY
Hall Place with Centre street for the western
boundary and Park Row for the eastern Inc oiiue'
terminal is be reconstructed SO as TO ehde'e .,e
cars to enter the building will also those Oh le
new subway loop and the trains that run over 'ie
The building will contain floor space OF not iess
than 100000 square feet exclusive OF halls ana ere
vators. The ground floor will be for the oie'iio
tion of passengers.
This building ought to provide office space Tor
the city for many years. allowing Tor feasoAaOo
enlargement of the city's business, said Mds"'
Mcclellan in discussing the plans we are NJ"
paving about $4,000 year for office rent ASsuii
ing that the new building will cost as nucn aS
S. 10000 we shall still be saving nearly sl5o0o
wear on our rent DILL by having office oulidihs
of own-"
will the building conform architectnrahy 70
the general style of the new Hall of RECORDS!
NO. said the Mayor. Il do not think such a
thing Is possible. The new building VIII De haiio
some but it will be tor service rather tnah oliia
rneut The builders Of business buildings IN thiS
c,ty have given US plenty OF object lessons IN
sensible construction. and we hope TO take adVan-
tage of of them
The Mayor said the city paying from " 10
e 80 SQUARE foot for floor space. He expects tnat
the cost square foot after the city Is housed N
its own building will not exceed 81 30.
Some months ago the Board OF Estimate re-
auested the heads of departments to turn in esh-
mates of floor area needed for their business. The
estimates aggregated, taken sent in, made
necessary an office building of thirty-sx Stories
By making a reasonable reduction In the requisI-
tons the Mayor says the building need not be
much more than twenty stories high, depending
to some extent on how much court space is planned
for in the design that Is accepted. The more room
required for court space IN the interior of the
brilding the higher the building will have TO be-
There will be twenty-five elevators in the new
structure The Mayor suggested that the top
stories could be used for parts OF the Supreme
Court pending the building of separate quarters
for courts Proposals viii not be asked for De-
fore mex. fall.