The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-17
Work Will Be Begun on
the Structure Within
Next Ten Days
NEARLY HALF OF THE
STEEL HAS ARRIVED
Actual Erection of Steel Will Be Be-
gun in Next Five or Six
Weeks, Says Mark.
Beatty Talks

At II o'clock yesterday morning the
building committee of the Roden hotel
met in the offices of William C. wes-
ton, the ARCHITECT for the building, and
awarded the general construction con-
tract to the F. W. Mark Construction
company of Birmingham.
Work on the new s1.00oOOo hotel at
the corner of Eighteenth street and
Fifth avenue will be begun within the
next 10 days. Actual construction on
the steel frame will be begun within
four or FIVE weeks. The foundation has
been completed sometime.
Nearly half of the steel for the hotel
has already arrived in Birmingham and
several cars have been unloaded. The
remainder is en- route. The steel is be-
ing made by the American Bridge COM
pany.
The Roden hotel is to be IL stories
high, will contain 500 rooms, and will
be furnished and equipped in strictly
modern and luxurious style. The build
ing committee which awarded the con-
tract yesterday is composed of Eugene
". Joseph and I. Groom Beatty.
Were Three Bidders
Mr.. Mark was awarded the contract
over two other bidders, one Texas
Mark was the only local bidder. The
consideration was not announced. The
contract awarded to Mr.. Mark calls
for the entire work of construction with
the excetion of the plumbing, wiring,
power plant, etc.
I'VE will begin the actual erection
of the steel within the next five or six
weeks" btated Mr.. Mark yesterday.
Sixteen cars of the steel are now on
the way and some cars have arrived
here and been unloaded. There will
be about 35 cars in all. We will be-
gin to move our tools and machinery
to the site at once and will push the
work forward as fast as money and
skilled labor can do So"
"I'll make no more promises as to
when we will get the hotel completed"
said Mr. Beatty last night I've made
SO many promises already and we have
met with so much delay that I'm not
going to say any more about it. You
can just build the hotel as soon as you
want to and whatever you say will be
all right with me.
Hope to Get in September
"I had an engagement to eat dinner
in the hotel the first of January, and
If / had depended upon that 1 would
have starved by this time. But seri-
ously," added Mr.. Beatty, I'VE hope to
get into the new hotel by September /,
this year. At least we will do as much
as we can to complete it as soon as
we can, just as we have done ever
since the foundation work started. We
were hindered by the great delay in
the steel This matter now seems to
be clearing up for nearly 40 per cent
of the steel is either here or en- route
and there is no doubt but that the re-
mainder will be on hand by the time
it is needed"
The Roden hotel is one of the two
new million dollar hotels being con-
structed in Birmingham. The other is
the Tutwiler at Fifth avenue and
Twentieth street, just two blocks away
from the Rcden. The plans for the
Roden call for convention hall. a
roof garden, elaborate parlors and din
ing rooms and a meszanine floor which
does not count in the IL stories. The
marble stairway which is to lead from
the main lobby to the meZzanine floor
is to be one of the most artistic and
elaborately constructed stairways in
the country.
The plant will represent an invest
ment of over 1,000, 900, it Is claimed.