The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1925-02-26
lNoIsE.pRooF DWELLING.
Millionaire Not Disturbed BY Noises
From Inside or From Outside

From Inside or From Outside
Not every man whose nerves are
on edge can withdraw into sound
. PROOF of his own devising and shut
out the. jar and jangls of the world.
One man at least in the big noisy city
OF Boston has a refuge of this sort,
and he, needless to say, is a million
aire, who, with his millions accumu-
lated terrific case of nerves" He
is a well-known newspaper figure, a
captain of industry and noted for his
philanthropic requests, but all his
money is powerless to prevent an over
worked nervous system from trans
hitting excruciating tortnres at
sounds that an ordinary man hardly
hears.
The ordinary man, If he did suffer
from nerves, probably would have to
squirm and bear his sufferings, but
this millionaire's wealth assures him
some solaee He has built for himself
in the very heart of town a retreat
where noise is a vain besieger, and
the few sounds that pass the guards
and barriers are toned down to faint
whispers.
The retreat is q wing of his great
mansion and all that money could Sc
cure and human ingenuity devise has
been used to insure . restful calm.
The walls and the floors are thick
enough for a fortress. What would
be partitions in an ordinary house
are solid brick walls here. Each room
in fact, is practically a cube of solid
masonary, and pandemonium could
break out in one room without an
echo of it penetrating to the adjoin-
ing room.
The necessary doors and wfndo. s
are unique. Each window has three
sets Of sashes and glass and the doors
look exactly like the huge steel wings
of modern bank vault. On each side
of the hard wood door proper, which
the thickness of the walls permit
being hung in a deep Jamb, there is
attached to it an upholstered frame,
eight inches in thickness, which fits
snugly around the edge of the door
when closed. This protection means
that in order to penetrate to one of
the rooms the sound waves must first
pass through an eight-inch cushion,
next three inches Of hard wood and
then another eightinch cushion.
This cushioned door is useo in every
room whence disagreeable noise
might ISSUE The eerie song Of the
electric elevator Is thus shut off, the
clatter and chatter of the chefs do
main are circumscribed. and the graf
ing cIang of the engineer shoveling
coal down in the basement is con-
fined to It's subterranean quarters.
Over the courts and areas are heavy
glass awnings to confine the voices
of servants and tradespeople. A
slammed door is impossible, as every
door in the house is fitted with an
automatic closer and door check, and
if this should fail there is the addi-
tional precaution of felt strings nailed
to the door and the edge of the
jamb.
One of the most difficult noises to
overcome proved to be that caused
by the handling of the family's trunks.
Although the baggage room is far
down in the sub-basement, whenever
trunk was dropped on the floor or
was banged against the walls by care
less expressmen the masters nerves
recorded that fact in no pleasant man
ner.
Many experiments were tried before
the noise emanating from this depart
ment, could be suppressed. The cost
of these experiments amounted to
several thousands of dollars, for the
baggage room was reconstructed
again and again, until finally 1t was
foored with cork to the depth of
foot and the side walls cushioned
with springs and heavy padding.
The result of all these devices is
TO produce in the house quiet akin
10 that Of an empty cathedral, but in
the rooms devoted to the sick mans
personal use there Is a silence which
Is weird and unnatural No echo or
murmur of the familiar street sounds
enters here. The stiffness is so in
tense as to be almost oppressive.
1t would make the normal person
long for the companionship of every
day sounds. But the silence is medi.
cine to- the afflicted millionaire and
provides rest for his nerve-rRcked
body.--New York Press.