The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-05-03
new BUILDING
Security Storage Company Occupies
FireproOf Warehouse.
Fifteenth Street Structure Said to
Be Best Equipped Plant of
Its Kind in Washington.

The Security Storage Company, former
ly the storage department of the Ameri-
can Security and Trust Company. has
completed the addition to the freproof
storage warehouse, at u4O Fifteenth
street northwest, and now occupies its
new Offices therein. This addition com
pletes the warehouse, the first portion
az which was built in 1890. which was the
third hreproof warehouse erected fla the
United States.
The building is fiTeproof in construC-
tion or as nearly so as it is humanity pos
sible 10 erect a building. Ne combustibie
material has been used. The window and
door openings are few. and all OF iron
and heavy glass. with outside iron shut
teTs. the floors and roof of asphalt. and
the elevator walls separated from the
storage rooms by wall OF the same
thickness as the outer walls. viz, twenty
six inches laid in cement A wall of sim
liar thickness separates each section OF
20 feet width from adjoining sections. so
that practically the structure is a series
of twelve freproof warehouses each con-
Meeting with a common central hall $50
feet long and 80 feet wide
The boiler plant is outside the building.
and the electric wiring ali in iron pipes
Two watehmen patrol the warehouse
hourly; automatic FIRE alarms. FIRE ex-
tinguishers, and two-ineh line Of hose
on each floor provide complete interior
protection.
The warehouse is 2.250,000 cubic feet
gross bulk, and has space for approx
mately $500 vanloads Of furniture. Nearly
100 600 cubic feet OF space will be devoted
to the cold storage department, in nine
separate sections, approximately 90 feet
long and % feet wide each. These nine
sections are fitted up with appliances for
holding furs, fur and woolen garments,
rugs, carpets. tapestries, curtains, furni-
tuTe, &c. so that they will be protected
from dust and wrinkle, as well as moth.
theft, and fire.
The Security Storage Company claims
the distinction Of having installed the
first cold storage plant in the world de-
voted exclusively 10 moth protection. and
its experiments on the effect Of cold on
the moth egg and larvae are accepted as
authoritative
The packing and shipping department
uses over 40,0O0 cubic feet Of space. This
department has a separate entrance for
loading and unloading on the level with
the wagon floors and is equipped with
many labor saving devices which eccno-
mize the time of the skilled packers
Automobiles dead and carriages are
stored in dry rooms provided for them.
and this department also has a separate
entrance and its own elevator. It is said
that this warehouse is now the third
largest household goods warehouse in the
United States.
Enlarged office space has been provided
in the new addition and fitted up with
every care both for the expeditions hand
ling of the company's business and for
the convenience of Its patrons. A series
of waiting-rooms and examination rooms
adioin the Office, where trunks and other
packages can be examined, ard there are
a number of cUbicles for safe renters,
where papers and other valuable articles
can be examined in privacy.
Altogether, this warehouse is not only
one Of the largest in the world, but also
one OF the most complete in its equip
ment.
The officers OF the company are Albert
NJ Read president. Clarence A. Aspin-
wall, vice president; Charles p Raven
burg, secretary; Charles W. Pimper,
treasurer.
The architects OF the building are
Messrs. Hi & Kendall. and John Nc
Gregor was the builder.