The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-24
From Leslie 5.

TOW many know what it means t.
rooms, % floors above ground and
five underground and noiseless railroad
trains bringing the passenger from his
Pullman.sa few steps away, to the eleva-
tor that takes him to his apartment?
Think of the modern hotel with its
Turkish bath. its cafe and grill rooms, its
great and small dining halls. its roof gar
dens and palm rooms and club rooms.
And now in the march of progress, New
YorlS's latest hotel is to have a wing for
business men where the rustic of gowns
will not be heard and where the hasty
lunch or frugal dinner can be provided
in the midst of luxury, but without its ex-
travagance.
Incoming passengers on the New York
Central trains to New York city have no.
ticed the massive structure rapidly ris-
ing across the way from the station on
Vanderbilt avenue and covering the IA
nous grass plot which for many years
was known as Commodore Vanderbilts 3
Ngrazing field for his famous stable of
horses. Real estate men who tried to
buy this finely located block never could
get a price upon 1t while the old commo-
dore survived. Property around 1t was
bought in the belief that the grass plot
would always be there as an open space,
but with the construction of the new
SIS 100000 terminal of the Vanderbilt sys-
tenn, came the economic suggestion that a
great hotel might well occupy the COM
,~ro ipa atr,ey
passengers would not only be landed mt
the metropolis. but also on the threshold
of a resting place.
This is the exegesis of the Biltmore, de-
signed by Warrene and Wetmore, and
under construction by the George A. Full
Ter company, with promise of completion
In time for opening on next New Years
eve 1t takes money to build a hotel. IT
takes a good deal more to pay the rent
and to run it. Most hotels are built by
capitalists, according to plans of their
architects. Then they are leased to the
hotel man who will give the best returns
on the investment. Usually the capitalist
and the architect, after they have secured
lessee or manager, find that good
many changes must be made because
pra ctical considerations have been over
looked. These changes sometimes add as
much as 20 to 80 per cent to the estl-
mated cost OF construction.
This will not be the case with the new
Biltmore Before its construction had be-
gun, 1t had been already leased for 42
wears at rental which during that period
will aggregate the enormous total of
e1ao tl,a of tIa
Grating company will be Mr.. Gustave
Baumann, under whose management the
Holland house achieved it's splendid repa-
tation, while the direct management nf
the hotel itself viii devolve upon Mr.
John MacE. Bowman, the vice president
and treasurer of the Operating company
one of the youngest and most popular
men of his craft in the country. Every
detail of the plans of the Biltmore was
supervised by these two operating man
ayers When their numerous friends
gather to celebrate the opening ON New
Years Eve, they win find one of the finest
hotels in the world, that will have cost
less money per cubic foot for it's construc-
ton than any other big hotel in New
York city.
1t takes more time to plan than to build
a hotel The negotiations between the
New York Central railroad and the OPP
Grating mana gers went on for nearly
three years before the contract for the
Fillmore was finally closed, a year ago
last January. The excavations began IN
the early part Of last year. Foundations
were deep and the rock excavations re-
M as
ished the superstructure began to rise
rapidly
If it takes time 10 build hotel. ii takes
good deal Of time also to furnish X.
The first thing thought of is the linens,
because these must be designed and
manufactured and the designs must ut,
or at least adapt themselves to the archi-
lecture, the decorations and even the
period Of the hotel. The linens for large
hotel like the Biltmore will cost $l5000O.
and will be made in Ireland, Germany