The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-11
WALDO CUTS THE ONYX OUT
FIRE HEADQI ARTERS WIZ
LNCk RARRGOA SPLEA DOES.

zee IDoesaI Want AnS Eirusean Marble
90 stained Glass 90 Turkish rags and
Wm Try ami Make . I.srk 90 Paint
10 sss saSe aosSe Some Art.
The onyx. the Etruscan marble and the
Turkish rugs that were 10 he purchased
nv the city for the adornment OF the old
FIRE Headquarters Building in East sixty
~ zenith street are not to hs bought after
all. for Fire Commissioner Waldo has
oh ~cted He gave orders 10 the archl-
tecss and the contractors to cut EN- out
and To stick 90 wood and paint.
Extensive alterations have been going
On in the Old building for several weeks.
The plans were drawn with = view Of
showing that New York Fire CommIs-
aioner is any man = equal when it comes
20 luxury Onyx wAinscOting was to
make he room IT the Commissioner and
that Of his deputy as resplendent ~ any
cocktail foundry. Marble was tn hs used
TO ernbellish the hiR room outside the
COMMISSIONER once. and onyx and
stained glass panels were to hem in the
Commissioner sanGtum.
The hlG room on the CommIs sloner =
floor. the third. Wa 10 10 rebuilt on the
plan Of a bank buitding. having separate
Compartments for the various stenog-
raphers. clerks and other employees
40 much luxury. Il seemed TO Com
missioner Waldo. might have u had effect
on the employees, and with few diVans.
upholstered chairs, igRrS and the news
pap@r files might make them think they
were appointed TO the city's service for
their own enjoyment.
he went over the plans and ran his
pencil through the pnyN and the marble.
II.
needed. h.. thought. The rugs already
m the pOs-~>sIon ~ the deps rtnlent se~Sned
20 him Ia be good enough. The oiled
hardwood hooT Of the big room was GER
/ tainly good enough without rugs. As
, for has oWn quarters he wanted only
a fresh C,Nat % paint.
Waldo's pruning process cut out about
t20.UOo worth Of luxury.
new electrical elevator ~ heIng Dtt
I into the old building to take the place
Of the wheezy steam elevator that had
got into the habit of stopping short he
tween hoors with it, human cargo. Two
81 tine young women stenoGraphers On
their way 10 luncheon were caught he
tween hOors one day and could get neither
up nor dow for several hour. A sym
paihizing clerk lowered some food to
! the women prisoners and told them not
! 10 worry about being ahsent without
leave. a. their pay would 70 on. Poitce-
men with bombs IN their way TO the
bureau of combusi ibles on the fifth
I floor usually took to the stairS. being
afraid the elevator might drop a. any
I moment and set on the bosnbS-
The bik room on the third floor will
have some mural decorations that will
have considerable interest To firemen
and To layrnen who are interested IN FIRE
fighting. These decorations are large
cal paint ings OF men cnnspIcuoug IN New
York fire fighting force The oldest
| % the paintings IL that Of Cornelius Ander-
son. who was chef Of the Fire depart
ment from 1887 to lsts These were the
days % the nd shirts and hand pumps
when a six story building was a sky
scraper
Then there ~ the painting of Harry
Howard. who was chef from 1881 Ia
IsaD. the days - the volunteer hremen
and ~ the collsctiOn ARE life sire por-
traits Il Hugh Bonner. who was ckief
and al-D Commissioner and who died
two year, ago. and u Charles " Kruger
deputy chief and for a time chI~f and
who was killed a. % tire On February H.
1919 JOmmissI~ncr Waldo obta lined
the PORTRAITS - Anderson and Howard
through the Muniripal Art Commission.