New Britain herald., 1925-12-18
MOder'1, Suites Differ
TNHB earliest apartment housel

Niib edTHesL dpal lHelt hpuseI
 seen in this country were built
 in New York between 1870 ant 1875.
 At best they were but crude ai fairs, designed principally to mce the changed conditions following re cuperatIon from the Civil War.
 In 1880 q further stimulus wal given to construction of this type O building by improvement of the ele vator. development of fireproof archi ture, and the introduction Of cleo tric lighting.
 However, it was not until abou' 1898, when steel.frame construction made its advent, that the apartmen house In the United States wal looked upon with any degree O popular favor.
 Since 1900 the growth in size ar splendor of apartment houses In th big metropolitan centers has heei nothing less than phenomenal wher considered in an architectural sense During the past 20 years, ever smaller cities have yielded to tn movement, until today. the preva lence of the modern apartment hous, has become a serious problem in It effect upon 10 family and society
 NOT so POPULAR
 In England they have never beer overly popular.
 Landlords In that country mee' with general refusal to lease apart ments-or flats as they are termed in that country-tor less than tw, or three years.
 Then, too, the English have al ways been more or less conservative in regard to elevators and othel modern conveniences, which may partly explain this deep-seatet prejudice.
 Great blocks of apartments wer, erected in Paris under the Second Empire. between 1852 and 1870.
 These buildings embraced consid erabe architectural skill and are tho first practical types of which ther, Is any substantial record.
 The difficulty in obtaining compe tent domestic help in the United States has been the strongest in fluence in the development and mul tiplying of apartment houses.
 In Germany and other European countries, where such buildings hay, been constructed to greater exten, in late years. other causes largely local, have been chiefly responsible
 BETTER IN EUROPE
 European apartment houses art generally better built than are tn, American variety.
 They have more ventilation and the rooms are larger, rents cheaper and better sanitation is rigidly en forced.
 The term flats" applied in Eng land to better grade apartment dwellings is usually accepted in the United States. as relating to apart. ments In houses having neither ele. vator nor hall service.
 French apartment houses gre usu. ally provided with a small elevator of the automatic type, use of which for descending Is forbidden.
 Monthly rentals for apartments in New York range from SSO up to even S200O.
 In Paris the same high rate ob. tains. but more desirable and spa. cious quarters can be had at the lower rates, running from $50 to S120 a month.
 Apartment hotels are to be found in most of the larger cities, both in this country and abroad.
 BACHELOR MODELS
 Other types of apartments include the bachelor model with from one to three or more rooms with bath, either furnished or unfurnished; the duplex apartments having rooms on two different floors, studio apart. ments and cooperative apartments,
 The latter kind are owned jointly by all the tenants or by some of them, in which case the rentals paid by the tenants are distributed among the real owners.
 Street plans of most European apartment houses are radically diff, ferent from American examples.
 The European ground layout per, mits Of greater street frontage. A a consequence more rooms are light ed from the street.
 In Paris apartment houses ars usually constructed about commo dious courts. which provide natural illumination during the day for even the minor service rooms.