The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-17
PE|TZ BUILDING |S MODEL IF ITS KIND
 IN APP0INTME NTS
Trip From Top To Bottom Reveals Care And Atten-
 ton Given To Details

Starting with the 5O,OOO-g gallon
 tank that crowns the great new de- partment store Louis Pizitz has built
 and going down to the ponderous pumps that drive the water II floors to that tank one has scanned an in vestment of S1,250,000.
 Seven floors and a basement, mak- ing an eighth for business. consti- ute the main building. but above the seventh floor there has been built shops for keeping the machinery in order, and above that the big fan room that pumps out impure air from the whole building and frees 1t above the plant.
 Visitors are bewildered by the gen erous spaces and equipment of the great structure, so it is just as well in this attempted description to join General Superintendent R. W. Meade, who represents Smallman X Brice, the contractors who built the place, and travel with him from the roof crowning tank to the sub basement where the engines are.
 The tank has enough water capac- ity to furnish the sprinkler system of the whole structure and the building exactly like it which Mir Pizitz says he will erect next year on the cor ner where the old store now stands, provided business conditions are nor nal. This is literally a two-story house on top of the main building. Just under the tank is located an enormous electrically driven fan. It is the end of shaft some 30 feet wide and six feet across that, like an enormous chimney extends through every floor of the building, at the western side. with openings into the floors, and through the shaft the Nl.F building, while properly placed Venti- lators furnish fresh air from the out side.
 Just below the fan room on the same level with the main roof is complete refrigerating plant which will furnish refrigeration and ice for the grocery department.
 Adjoining that is a 50-foot long carpenter shop where repairs will be made and the, furniture of the store kept in order.
 Promenade On Roof.
 The main roof is covered with promenade tile and will be used as a recreation "ground" for the employees.
 The seventh floor is top floor of the main building the ceiling some 20 feet high. The floor space is divided into eight great compartments where each of the main departments has it's reserve supplies stored. The entire left side of the space is a freight and express receiving department, served by freight elevators, and here the merchandise is received in bulk. inspected. checked and sent to the proper storage spaces. the system giving a constant check on all stock. This floor is equipped with it's own rest rooms and other accommoda- tions.
 Seeing the great stocks of goods already on hand on this floor, the fact became known that the workers are two months ahead of scheduled | time, for it had not been expected the | store could be opened until just be- fore Christmas.
 . After the demolition of the old | structures that were on the property | excavation for the new building was started in August, 1922, a little more | than year ago. The first thing struck was solid rock, making cease i less automatic drilling and blasting the order of the day for weeks. When the space for the foundation was finally cleared it was not until Jan uary 1923 that they could be com 1 pleted and the actual building start | ed. | Big Elevator System.
 But to get back up to the seventh | floor. Four great electrically driven | elevators will serve the customers. The battery of lifts" is at the rear ] of the store, or south side of the f building, each car with space to ac- commodate score of people at a \ time and with strength to lift many | times that load. These elevators have ! every safety appliance that science can devise and are the last word in t.,,t, fran ion the elevator at the sixth floor one 1 sees on glancing up from an attempt to peep down the elevator shaft, an amount of displayed furniture that required 30 box cars to haul. It | would be useless to attempt to de- scribe the great assortment, except | to say thai one gets an impression ! of gracefully curving chairs, great ! padded lounges, ornate reading lamps I and endless lines of tables, desks and | all sorts of pieces that are in de- | mand in the Christmas season.
 There is just about one express sion that gives an idea of the scene: 'Furniture,, world without end on [ that one floor there are 14.OOO feet | of floor space and, save for the aisles, ! furniture of one sort or another oc- ! cupies every foot. Overhead, as on | all floors, the building is equipped | with the familiar sprinkler system seen in modern structures.
 On the fifth floor there is a great | array of tables for the reception of l. goods to be sold, but what depart | ments will occupy this space has not | been fully decided. Half of the great | floor will be for the offices, the space they are to occupy being partitioned | off from the rest
 Attention is first drawn on this floor to a chute system that serves all the floors, spiral tube down | which bundles that are to be de- | livered, are sent to the delivery sort | ing room. Near it is somewhat | similar arrangement for waste mat ter
 c o O Tea Room and Restaurant.
 The whole left side of the fourth floor has been given over to the