The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-08-17
Realty
FLASHES
BY LOU PEDLAR, JR.
Real Estate Editor


Talking about air condition
ing again Cor is it stillO. e.
we've just been looking at a
photograph Of the Hershey
Chocolates new office building
which Is being completed in Her.
shey, Pa. Unfortunately, we
haven't room to reproduce it. =.
but here's the dope: The build
ing, which Is three stories high
and about a block long, has no
windows whatsoever. From the
moment you enter the door until
you come out you are living in
a mad world of man-made i'm
provementS over nature. Win
ter and summer the temperature
will vary only a few degrees.
Artificial lighting, day in and
day out, will throw a steady
CLEAN in every nook and cor.
ner. No clouds to darken it. :.
no bursts of sunshine to dazzle
the tagging worker. No change
%. no nothin'.
We managed to maintain our
mental equilibrium despite this
staggering information. Only
once did we~wobble. That was
when we read a paragraph on
the Electric Weather Man.. -.
q little contribution of science
which enables the Hershey en-
ploye to retain some inkling
that he is still living on this
world after all. Here it is. We
quote:
The electric Weather Man."
as one might term the system
of indicating outdoor weather
conditions, consists of a small
brass panel placed near the
electric clock which is installed
in each office, with three col
Ored glass bulls eyes in the
panel and a miniature electric
light behind each
The cOlOrS are red, white and
green, so that seven different
combinations have been adopted
to indicate the outside weather.
Thus white will indicate clear
weather; white and green,
cloudy; red, rain; red and green,
Bleet; green, snow; red and
white, clear with temperatures
below 10 degrees F. and red,
white and green, clear with tenn
peratures above 80 degrees F.
In this way each Hershey en-
plOye will be informed of the
weather outside whenever he
glanceS at the clock"
Our guess is that there will be
a lot of baffled clock watchers in
the new Hershey building. If
we were working there we
would put in a radio and for
get about the whole business.
Thoughts at random:
No matter what you say to
him. Tom Lake always looks
surprised.
Which reminds us Of the yarn
about Charles Butterworth, the
screen comedian. In his younger
DAYS, he and a friend had a
habit of watching a carpenter
doing the most simple sort OF
work. His friend would elabo-
rately point out what the car
penter was attempting to do.
AS he was mailing two boards
together, Charlie would assume
an expression as though he were
witnessing a miracle and exclaim
'Marvelous!" No feat was too
simple to bring forth some such
ejaculation. It must have
driven many a carpenter in
sane, Charles can still assume
that dumfounded look. :. and it
probably has great deal to DO
with his hilarious success on the
screen.
We sometimes wonder why
the Western ranch house type
of home is not more popular
here in the East. Eastern arch
itecture has invaded the West
successfully. and the ranch
house design would certainly
nestle very prettily on some OF
the rolling country hereabouts.
For sheer uvable comfort they
have much to recommend them.
We have every other design an
architect ever heard of in and
around washington. Why not
a ranch house?
\ X
And now comes a sad con-
fession. We bow our head in
shame and confess that some
where, somehow, we have lost
the priceless collection of notes
which would have given palpl-
tating world news of the latest
goings and comings along Realty
Row. It's too late to do any
thing about it. . so, we can only
hope that our crime will not be
judged too harshly.