Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-10-03
A HANGING BUILDING
viii Be Built Downward, Sus.
pended From a Bridge.
New York Structure Will Have GIrd.
ers Of Steel Resting Upon Nine
teen-story Buildings to Bear
Its Weight.

New YOrk.-From 4 325-ton steel
bridge suspended $50 feet above Fiji
tenth street and Irving place the en-
Rineers OF the Consolidated Gas COM
pany are preparing to hang a 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
few to equal this. When the building
is completed it will be the only one
Of its 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 q 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 ii, in the center of
the block, erected a new freproof
structure. twelve stories high.
At that time the officers of the com
pany thought that with a new build
ing on the old site. added to the new
twelve-story skyscraper. they would
have one completed structure ample
enough for all their needs.
But they were wrong. Before the
final specifications we're drawn IT was
plain that If 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 l7S feet on FIJI
teenth street and "a feet on Irving
place. Sixty feet of it's holdings we're
occupied by the new building. the 9TH
er llS by the ruins Of the old. Alto
gether 1t did not have anything Ike as
much ground as It wanted.
Some hasty financial operations
took place. They ended in the acquir-
ing by the gas company of more land
on the east side OF the building. This
left II with a twelve-story building in
the center OF the block and two
lengthy stretches OF vacant land on
each side. Altogether, this gave It
zs7 feet inches-a good frontage, but
not enough to make advisable a
tWelve-story building. The new home
was not sufficiently wide. so ii would
have to be higher. 1t was finally de.
cided to make II nineteen stories.
But here, In the center of the plot,
was a brand new twelve-story build
Ing. erected In accordance with preyi.
Gus plans and entirely unadapted 10
the 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-story
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
Dig buildings with a little one in the
middle.
Besides. II needed those additional
seven stories for floor space. II could
throw a bridge across at the twelfth
floor. but that would mean the sacri.
ice OF 5.O40 feet of Office room. The
bridge itself would take up a couple
OF floors 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 it,
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