Omaha daily bee., 1915-07-04
SEVERAL FORTUNES
ON MYERS CORNER
Most Valuable Location in Omaha
Has Changed Hands Several
Times with Profit.
NEW BUILDING GOING UP


-ooa answer 60 the question, rs
omaha real estate Increasing In value
4, round In the history Of the myers
r,uior corner" AT Sixteenth and Farnam
..r.s,s Work has been begun on dis-
mnntiing the old one-story buhdins' pre-
nnratory TO the erection OF siS-s'orF
structure.
Tive Rose Realty company. priVateN
owned company organized by the Arm.
strong-Waish company for the purpose o.
ere,t,ne this building. has leased the lsno
for pinety-nine years at an annual rentei
Of $4,000 a year 20 start with. This y
on basis Of yer cent on the estimateo
value OF tire lot, namely t6oo'oo
A. least three big fortunes have been
u,ade nv owners Of this lot, which meas
ures only esx1a2 feet
The first fortune was made by Anna
NJ. Goodrich, who bought the lot from
william r. Jacobs IN January. 1885, Tor
$50 She owned It for twenty-three years
ana then, in June. 1886, she sold Il to
John A. Mcshane for $4,000.
Mr.. Mcshane held Il for seven months
and then. in January. 1881, he sold u to
zach Thomasson. a ranchman from
Cheyenne. for $4,000. realizing profit
Of S9n,O00 in a few months.
Laughed M RAneher.
Real estate men of that day laughed
and said the old rRncher had made a
moor investment. Mr.. Mcshane says to-
day that ne considered he had made a
mighty good bargain. He says likewise
that he now realizes he had made a
mighty poor bargain For the two daugh-
tiers Of old Zach Thomasson are today
receiving about g per cent annually on
their father'f investment
These two daughters, the present own
els, are Mrs J. r.. Cobb Of New York
city and Mrs. John Kuykendali Of Dem
yer.
BY the terms OF their lease 10 the Rose
Realty company they are TO receive
$4,000 annual rental for the land during
the first five Of the ninety-nine years
OF the lease II, at the expiration Of that
time, the value Of the land has increased
above seoo. 00o. they are to receive as rem
tai per cent on It's valuation. IL Il has
decreased IN value they are 10 receive
the $4,000 a year just the same. Re-
appraisement Is to be made every five
years during the life OF the lease.
worth Fortune n Foot.
Tho value Of this bit OF Omaha busl-
ness property at present 10 something
like .se,ea0 per front foot on Farnam
street Tho value OF each square foot
ih tho lot Is about go.
The lease 10 the building and operatins
company dates from July ;. and the
b,slldlns company viii have to pay to
! the lot owners the monthly lease Of s1.6oo
while the old building Is being demoi-
ished ana the new one erected. This
company win not begin to draw revenue
from The property until Novemter Of
this year. The contract calls for the
stores 10 be finished November 1. and the
whole 7buiidipg by January l.
The building Is "a bol elk stories high
OF reinforced concrete, terra Gotta and
brick. II viii he a novel structure IN
many ways One OF these In that II viii
have store rooms IN tho basement. on
tho street floor and on tho second floor
second Floor stores.
The basement will be reached by only
eight steps The second floor win have
large show windows opening on thre<
sldos for the display OF goods by the
stores that. rent the second floor rooms
Tho upper four floors win consist o.
office rooms. Heating and lighting plants
will be located in a sub-basement Thers
win be-two elevators
Three OF the stores have already beer
rented. The Ryan Jewesry company
which has been at Fifteenth and Douglas
streets Tor many years. VIII occupy one
Another will be rented by tho Napier
Brothers Shoe company, a concern with
shoe stores in number OF cities. which
Will establish lts principal store here
The third VIII b. taken by Lewis Hen
derson, the florist. who has been In tina
location for Z quarter century.
Work both on clearing away the oil,
building add erecting the new will b
pushed At lecord speed 70 mdlse the BIZ
renfal-earniEg power OF tho building
available as soon as possible.
In the meantime the Myers-D rlloI
Drug company has secured Temporal,
quarters half block west on Farnan
street.