The sun., 1908-06-28

80
70 inasiFs cssfeme durability. EaginesE.
have a6urpd wind prsaaurp q snlrsy-rys
pounds 10 the square foot q axnpS sor moss
| big skyscrapsrs. Ia tho ceso oz tng Rsss'o,
! polItan she allowances has benz hcrsseso
| from thirty-five TO sixty pounds 20 ING
square foot. which ID ample allowance tor
| . higher wind than has ever bson eSpe-
rienced in New York. II.
TO protocol the steel framework against
oxidation or rlsting II wds treatsd hrst
TO q priming GOAT Of ooment patns. Al
the abrased CORNERS have besn carexuAy
repainted, and when put In plaos thesteei
beams have been subjected toAe second
coating Of waterproof paint. q
Besides this. tho columns. tho knee brsoss
and the exposed portions Of the aoor beama
arc envelopsd In q two-inoh coating % sand
and oemont. The Singer tower steel beams
are protected 10 practically the same way
With ths danger Of risting and descraotaon
from fire removed. engineers can see no
reason why the Metropolitan tower shouid
not last for ages.
The massive corner columns OF this im-
menso structure are two feet square anu
weigh over one ton to the Iineal FOOT,
When the tower shall have been COM
pleted there will be more than S.1Ss tons
Of steel ia It. enough for seven or eisns
twelve story buildings with tho same
ground area as the tower. The estimated
cost Of this marble tower 10 placed at about
100000. the ground representing an IN"
vestment Of about 100000. ,. .
Tho new City Investing Building. NEXT
to tho Singer Building. Is another Of tina
dty's most modern skysorapers. the tnird
highest. It possesses no tower but has
ornate gables running UP over the main
structure to . height Of $50 fest above
the ourh Some idea Of the height Of this
building may be obtained from tho picture.
which shows lts roof alongside the Singer
tower.
The City Investing Building Is thirty
three stories high and is said to be the
largest single ofiloe building In the world.
providfpg twelve aores Of rentable space.
II this building were slapped down on the
prairie there would be city Of 10000 in
habitants.
There 10 1880 tons Of steel In this build
ing. which would make . rod one inch In
diameter 2.OOo miles long. In putting
up the building 100000 holes were punched
In metal. and the weight OF the metal
punched out and thrown away was alone
lbs tons. or 2o7 900 pounds.
The blue prints required for the plans
Of the building II laid out on fiat sur
face would cover two acres The bricks
used in the building. II laid end to end,
would stretch l.iSl miles, or further than
from New York to Chicago. Tho plaster
in the building II spread out would cover
an area bounded by Fsfty-ninth street on
the south. Central Park West OF the east.
Seventy street on the north and
Columbus avenue on tho west. Or one
might plaster Broadway with it from the
Battery to l25th street.
There are 100 miles Of electric wire In
the building, twenty-five miles Of conduit.
eighty tons Of copper, ssventeen miles Of
piping. The three pumps which supply
tho water for tho building have COM
bined capacity Of A.s7o. 900 gallons q day.
which is enough to supply city of 10000
inhabitants
There are 70 900 tons Of tile fireprooang in
the building. This would make Z, 900 truck
loads, reaching from Liberty street to
Haverstraw. N. Y. twenty-nine miles.
II loaded on barges It would take ITO barges
or a continuous tow two miles long.
It took "a. 600 yards Of clay to manufacture
this material. Each block was handled
about twenty-six times from the clay bank
TO the building. This is equivalent to one
man handling one block 50, ,00o. 900 times. The
marble in the building would cover Broad
way from curb to curb from the Hotel
Astor to Twenty-third street. 1t would
take one man 47e years Of continuous work
to prepare the marble alone,
There are 2l.75o.5O0 cubes of mosaic In
the building. The s17O.0o0 pounds OF mar
BILE in the building would make column
one foot square o. times as high as Washing
ton Monument.
Next to the City Investing Building for
height come the Park Row Building. which
runs up $50 feet. and then the Times Building
which ID So2 feet high.
Tho old sketch Of New York in 1879 pre-
sents q study In contrasts. It shows Man
haitian from what Is new Fulton street To
the Battery. Tho original drawing is in
the possession Of the Long Island Historical
Society. -"T
The cross marks tho present site OF the
Singer Building at Broadway and Liberty
street. The wagon on the left Is going
down the original Maiden lane. The house
and lot on the corner. which belonged to
The rural acres of 1919 are practically GOV.
cred now with buildings ranging from six
teen to more than forty stories, many of
which count their acres Of floor space on
plots that John HaberdinE wouldn't have
thought big enough for his house.
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