Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-23
| BIDDERS WARY;
FEW NEW PLANS
Architects Find Contracts Hard
to Place Because of Unsettled
Market Conditions.

Joyce and kerrigan arc The lowest bid
ders for the general contract for the new
Mcmahon building NJ Eighth and King
streets. and John Il Dunbar for the
plumbing work The owners arc ron
siderinr The award of these contracts.
The contract for the chapel Of Our
Mother of Consolation Church nj Chest
nut Hill, Pa. plans by Architect ! ]
Kennedy. Ford building, has been award
Ell to Jarob Myers and Son of Philadelphia
and work will he started M unre Rev
y J. Naaev, q : \. Is the rector
Local architects complain of great
difficulty IN getting bids an plans offered
for estimate The inference is Tint con
tractors are well booked with work and
hesitate nj new commitments IN view nf
the still somewhat unset tied condition of
the materials and delivery market
The purchase of the properties at S27 ..
500 and 23l Market street bv Nillard T.
Davis will eventually add an importa tant
and imposing business structure io the
citvs principal thnroughfare Plans for
the Improvement will he taken ,ip in due
time. rs there is no haste IN the matter
Whoever is the architect an ornament to
the street and the neighborhood is asstlred
\ Temporary home for the Allied Ranks
of Wilmington viii he erected on The plot
north If the National Rank of Delaware.
on Market street, from plans ly Brown
and " hitcside. architects
The same architec have asked bids on
new aiorr for Turner and Stelle n Eighth
and Tatnal strccta The plot u about ~
hv ~ ~ plan The new structure will be
three stories md basement
Through the gifts ~ Mrs J Prank
Peters and othera, Ascension hufch
Clavmon'. is wired throughout and
fixtures selectcd hv I tlav Me- lure. the
architect. are nnw ready for Use The
organ and lighta add greatly to tho i'm
provoment and convenience 81 the church
II ia source of innch pratliicaiinn ~
those Interested IN the re-erpcfion ~ the
Historical Sncieit building on tho Parl
Drive nf West street to find that nearly all
of the urie,nal facc-brick will he available
notwithstanding tho lapse of almost two
centuries since 'hpy came from fhe kin
in England and made tho vavage acrnss
the Atlantic 4 few of them have gown
soft hy cxppstife and q few more have
broken ~ tho process of chipping N the
mnrtar in which thev uere laid. vhich ia
harder thar the bricks and makes he task
nf cleaning them difficult The bricks
were made IN it1n
The original vininw frames and the
hotfle-hlue glass panes - wcll as the
loaded glass iaullght over the ,iunr are
also IN gnud condition and will lin iised IN
their old places All the cid lniais were
framed together and fastened with wnod
pms and boar numbers burnt in whieh
indicate hat tllev had been fitted tn-
geiher before being finally put IN poatinn.
perhaps before heing sent from England
The original shingles had been replaced
hv states. on the roof. number If wears
ago Hand split cypress shingles "f the
ai2e and style usual at the lime Of the
erection If the building viii now replace
tho slate on tho roof Henry tanhy May
Is tho architect for The work
Alterations are IN progress ~ 2n2 king
street. IL Neai Fourth street for New
hcrrv Bfothera and at AZ Shipley street
which will he occupied as an addition to
the Savior printing plant. two donrs above.
The structural iron work on the Orange
street aldc ot the addition 10 the Hotel
du Font has reached ita full height and
most oi the cornicc brackets arc hung
Fart of tho brick curtain wall. facing south
on thus end of tho extension IS also ~ place
The new building will. II iF understood.
add to the other attractions Of the hot.
a spacious ballroom, ON The Eleventh street
side. In order To provide 4 separate
entrance to this room. the plans reqtiite
the Use Of part of the space oecupicd by
the Rose room, "a well as the space hereto
fore used for access to the stage and gal
lcry entrance Ia The Play yholse and the
service entrance to the hotel Tentative
sketches bv Architect \ L. Wood of Nc
York. now on display at the Market
street entrance. show proposed decorative
treatment of the newlohby. of the staircase
leading TO the ballroom and of new mcnIs
lounge which will hc provided These
decorations and the rooms themselves will
he III harmony with the quiet but rich
effects now adopted throughout the hotel.