The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-23

deckStHeT.
meet Pearl street at Franklin Square
and to extend Chambers street across
to Names slip The new streets crossed
in the block bounded by Madison, Pearl,
Oak and Roosevelt streets and left four
triangular shaped blocks with slivers
and mites of land at every corner.
At that time no attention was paid
to these remnants, as they were real
ly of no value. The city took just what
suited its needs and left to the owner
what remained. This practice continues
today. and as consequence there are
any number of cases of structural i'm
provements of great benefit to the city
in the way of taxpayers being held
up because a toothpick shaped lot cam
not be had for a reasonable figure.
Taxpayers Held Up
As an instance take the southeast
corner of Broadway and Worth street.
Here is a parcel about five feet wide
and 100 feet long. When the city was
widening Worth street it took the 9TH
er 20 feet of the lot of which this
was a part That property cannot be
put to good use Without the adjoining
land. Several weeks ago the owner OF
this strip was asked to sell. Yes, he
was willing to, part with his property,
but the money he wanted for doing
SO was so unreasonable that the deal
never got any further. According to
gossip he demanded 100000 for the
strip The people who wanted 1t were
willing to pay him more, SO 1t was
said, than he could have got from any
body else, as the bidder had practically
secured the adjoining building and
owned the one next 10 this the old
r111- IL. nv.
terest. the owner of The corner thought
the Palmer estate, which held the ad-
joining realty. wanted the corner, The
Haydens never thought the Palmers
would sell The Haydens held out for
the 100000. The Palmer property was
secured and ii has been leased for 10
years.
This means that the Haydens may
not get another offer for their corner
for that length of time. 1t is the most
highly valued nve foot strip in the
city. The city thinks It is worth near
ly $4,000 a running foot and taxes it
without the building for $4,000. The
value of the building is placed at $1,000
1t Is of one story, of frame construc-
tion, and rents for about $4,000 a year
On the corner is a cigar store which
viii probably lose good part of its
window when Mr. McAneny's straight
llciit tlol StlS iiiNO ttttl pdi VI LOW IL
The expressman's stand and the en-
trance to the ale house In the base
ment might also go. thereby shear
ing the property not only of its width
but also of some of its income.
There is an odd shaped parcel at the
southeast corner of Fulton and Church
streets. 1t looks like a wedge that had
been driven in TO force the adjoining
building Off Church street Beginning
OF Et,1tp ctr .r-1, 1t. rl,4 -
WIDE it extends toward Dey street a
distance of II feet, ending in a point.
This silver is valued at S55,500 At the
lower end the distance between the
front and the rear of the lot may be
spanned with the fingers. On the cor-
ner is cigar store and then comes a
boot backing shop. The sinners are
careful in swim ging the brush over the
shoe not to drive an elbow through
the strip is given over to a window
filled with lot of chinaware and bar
fixtures.
Point House
The Point House at the junction o,
West Trinity Place and Greenwich
street, at Morris street. d resort well
known in the days of the lower city.
is a property of little area. 1t is tri-
angular shaped parcel 11.3 feet wide
and about 80 feet on its longest side.
Originally it was much longer and came
to a point. 1t is this point that gave
the resort its name. To give space for
the tracks of the Sixth avenue ele-
waited line to connect with the Ninth
avenue structure south to the Battery
the point was taken away. 1t is now
a stubby nosed parcel about seven feet
across at its southern end.
On the lot is a five-story tenement
of red brick. The corner is one of the
breeziest in winter time in the down
town section. Those who have been
caught in the heavy cir currents that
whirl about the corner claim that the
Flatiron corner is 10 comparison. The
wintry blasts strike the corner from
various angles with great force, and
that the shaftlil<e tenement has with
stood the pounding of many years
speaks well for the builders of early
times.
Another watch charm, a name given
by realty men to lots of insignificant
area. is the southeast corner of Broad
and Stone streets The corner is 10 feet
wide and 20 feet long and is engulfed
by the seven-story Broad street tee-
phone exchange. The corner carries a
two story old brick buildng of crude
workmanship 1t is used by cheap
restaurant which caters to messenger
po!s anu truck rivers. Ihe store is
so small that only few may lunch
at a time.
The upper floor has three windows
one on Broad street and two on Stone
street. This corner was worth $4,000
few years ago. In fact that figure
was offered by the telephone company
for the mite when IL was building the
exchange. The owner thought the COM
pany could not do without, the corner
and held out for larger figure. This
price the telephone company refused to
pay and negotiations ended there. The
building was erected without the cor
ner which Immediately began to recedn
in value.
few years later it was sold al
auction TO foreclose a mortgage and
brought only s16,200 The city valued
the land and the building on last yAar'a
tax list for 316500.