New-York tribune., 1907-03-03
FOUNDATION WONDERS.
The ShyscrGPer Is a Marcel Beto00
Ground as We'll as AbOUe.

OF the many New Workers who point out with
pride to visiting friends from other places the
towering buildings Of which Manhattan boasts.
or the huge holes in the ground which mark the
sfteS Of New york's still greater architectural
wonders to come, probably not one person in a
hundred gives a thought to the work, just as
wonderful that above ground. which is car
Ned far below the street levels, that the
towering structures" Of which much has
been said and written may continue TO tower
throughout the years to come
For instance, nearly every Tribune reader
knows that the forty-one-story tower of the
Singer Building VIII rise 593 feet in air, but
how many are aware OF the fact that to sup
port this great structure the foundations must
go down into the earth ninety feet. or about one
nxth of the height Of the tower itself?
II seems as If each architectural novelty above
ground has presented corresponding difficulty
beneath the surface Of Manhattan ard each Of
these has been met squarcly by the ingenuity Of
contractors int-usted with the work
Downtown the work claiming particular attcn-
ton is that row in progress on the foundations
OF the Singer Building. its next door neghhor
the City Investing. Building, aad the Church
street terminal of the Hudson and Manhattan
Railroad. The Singer foundations viii. has
been stated. be carried down 30 bedrock. ninety
feet below Broadway. Those of the City Invest
tng Building. which is &c. such heavy s,ruct-
ure going to hayIpan - or 80 feet down,
and the Terminal foundations VIII follow the
even surface Of the bedrock, running from
minimum depth of - feet 10 maximum at one
point Of 9S feet.
A striking contrast Is afforded by comparing
this work at the lower end Of The island with
that now going forward at 24th street and
Madison avenue. where the great tower OF the
Metropolitan Lilo Insurance CJmpauy's build
ing. which is to be the talIest structure used for
business purposes in the world. is to rise to a
height of 65S feet above the sidewalk. This
great structure. which VIII have total weight
Of 1920 100 pounds, is to rest ordinary grill
lage beds about thirty-fve feet only below the
level OF the street. This is so because
desire the part of architects or contractors to
Elight their work or take any risks on the stabil-
ity Of the big Metropolitan tower, but simply be-
cause Of the fact that nature has been more kind
to the: than TO their brother contractors. who
are burrowinG through the quicksands OF lower
New York to find solid footings for the biz,
structures going up there. Tests have shown
Chat the rock reached at thirty five feet below
The street level at Madison avenue and oath
street is bedrock. and that no more solid foun
eation could be found if the excavation were
carried 100 feet down.
N. lie Brun &. Sons. the architects who de-
signed the big Metropolitan tower say they
have no msgivings about the stability Of the
foundation on which IL viii rest. Nor do they
purpose to resort to any devices to tie the tower
to its foundations They depend upon the enor-
NOUS weight Of the structure to hold it in place
and upon the inside iIonwork of the tower IN
guard against wind stress. For this purpose
there are beams and ties and crossties intro
duced at every available point. The steel sllcle-
ton OF the tower alone will weigh 1900 tons.