New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-14
COSTLY WRECK|NC WORK
Lenox Library Building Will
Soon Be Thing of Past.
ALL STONE AND IRON
Would Have Cost Prick Half a
Million to Re- erect 1t in
Central Park.

Had Henry G.. FTick done as he had
planned with the Lenox Library building.
taken It down stone by stone and erected
II again in Central Park, it would proba-
bly, have cost him $4,000 AS originally
estimated, II was thought that the whole
project could have been carried out for
$4,000 or $4,000. The statement that 1t
would have cost perhaps $4,000 to do so
was made yesterday by Frederick
Heather. an official Of the John II. Trip
Ter Wrecking Company, which will have
RACED the structure completely in the
present month.
When seen yesterday Mr.. Heather said
that the original estimates for the cost
Of the work of taking down the structure
and re-erecting it again in Central PARK
had been made without really grasping
the bigness of the undertaking.
why, one stone alone" said Mr.
Heather, weighed FIVE tons. The struct-
ure was built OF Lockport limestone, a
stone that is seldom II ever used in big
buildings to-day because II has practical
ly run out This stone weighs anywhere
from 100 TO 10 POUNDS cubic foot. 1t
cannot be patched when splintered, as can
other varieties of limestone.
ITO have taken the library down stone
by stone and to have marked each stone
and set il up again would have taken
fully two years, I never In my life saw
structure so magnificently constructed
as the Lenox Library. II would have
lasted hundreds Of years. / believe II
there ever was a freproof building 1t
was this one"
Mr.. Heather declared that the laths
used In the structure were Of iron.
The whole undertaking was underesti-
mated" he added. at was asserted that
the structure could be taken down piece
meal in few months and as easily
erected again. 1t has taken us from
July TO wreck the building and the work
will not be completed until November l
in all probability"
Wrecking, Mr. Heather declared, was
different matter to taking the building
apart stone by stone. With large force
of men at work II has taken practically
four months to RAE it to curb level. The
foundation still remains to be taken
care Of.
On instructions from Thomas Hastings,
Of Carrere e. Hastings, architects for Mr..
Frick the wreckers have been on the
lookout for the cornerstone Of the struct-
ure It was thought that Richard NJ.
Hunt, who designed the library, might
have placed interesting papers in the box
in the cornerstone, which he had done in
other structures he designed. So far a
cornerstone has not been found.
I'VE have looked carefully for IT," said
Mr. Heather, but although We are now
tearing down the last piece Of wall we
have not as yet found any sign of one.
The only object which has been found
was an old pipe"
In the cornerstone of the old Coal and
Iron Exchange structure, designed by
Hunt, and on the site Of which stands
the City Investing Building. many In
teresting things were found, II was
learned from a person yesterday who had
known the architect. II was said that
Hunt left bulky manuscript in Latin
telling the number of years he thought
the structure would last. II is now In
the possession Of well known man IN the
financial section of the city. In the case
OF this structure also the contractors had
a hard Job wrecking the building because
OF peculiar cement which had been used
by advice OF the architect
The material from the Lenox Library is
being stored in The Bronx, where the
stone is being cut to be placed in other
structures