The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-09-13
A HANGING BUILDING
viii Be Built Downward. SuS-
pended From a Bridge.
New York Structure Will Have Grid
ers Of Steel Resting Upon Nine
teen-Story Buildings to Bear
Its Weight.

New York.-From a 325-ton steel
bridge suspended $50 feet above Fiji
teen;h street and Irving place the en-
gineers of the Consolidated Gas com.
pany are preparing to hang seven
story building. The bridge may be
considered as a gingantic trapeze.
sixty feet long, from which the build
ing will hang by its teeth.
extraordinary engineering feats are
common in New York, but there are
lew to equal this. When the building
is completed it will be the only one
OF It's kind in the world. Although
similar operations have been per.
formed once or twice on a much small
er scale. this is the first time any at.
tempt has ever been made to use them
on large structure.
Two years ago the gas company
tore down its old home on the corner
OF Fifteenth street and Irving place,
and Just behind it. in the center of
the block. erected a new fireproof
structure, twelve stories high.
AT that time the officers of the CON-
pany thought that with a new build
ing on the old site. added to the new
tweiVe-story skyscraper, they would
nave one completed structure ample
enough for all their needs.
But they were wrong. Before the
maj specifications were drawn 1t was
plain that II the gas company was
really to have all the room IL needs
demanded the building must be
spread out much more.
II found itself with I7S feet On FIJI.
teenth street and "a feet on Irving
place. Sixty feet OF its holdings we're
occupied by the new building, the 9TH
er iiS by the ruins of the old. Alto
sether 1t did not have anything like as
much ground as 1t wanted.
some hasty financial operatjons
took place. They ended in the acouir.
ing by the gas company of more land
On the east side of the building. This
.eit IL with a twelye-story building in
tne center OF the block and two
lengthy stretches of vacant land on
each side. Altogether, this gave II
80. ieet inches-a good frontage. but
NOT enough to make advisable a
tweive-story building. The new home
was not sufficiently wide. so Il would
nave 10 be higher 1t was finally de-
cioed TO make 1t nineteen stories.
But here. In the center of the n,ot
was brand new twelve-story build.
ins' erected In accordance with preyt.
GUS plans and entirely unadapted to
tne new. The first twelve stories. of
course. could easily be Joined TO the
nrst twelve Of the nineteen-story build.
ing The additional seven, though
presented problem.
The foundations OF the twelve.storv
building were not strong enough to
support seven stories more. What
was to be done? Naturally, the gas
company didn't like the idea of two
big buildings with little one in the
middle.
Besides. It needed those additional,
seven stories for floor space. II could
throw bridge across at the twelfth
moor. but that would mean the sacri.
nee OF 5.O4O feet OF Office room. The
prioge itself would take up a couple
OF noors. That wouldn't do. The en-.
gineers deliberated for weeks over the
problem Finally they arrived at a
solution.
They would throw the bridge across
the gap at the top of the nineteen
story buildings and hang the seven
stories from 1t.
That Is exactly what is being done
The bridge is composed of eight grid
ers OF structural steel, each weighing
forty tons. They were made in the
shops OF Miliken & Co.. on Staten
island. the firm which has charge Of
all the iron work In the building. Com