TALL BUILDINGS.

Evening Star, Issue 10882, 16 March 1899, Page 4

TALL BUILDINGS.

ON A SAND FOUNDATION. A pile of buildings has just been erected in New. Yorit which is said to be the tallest office building in t’he world. It is a long way the tallest building in New York, and stands almost as high as the great pyramid. The sky line of New York to-day is so changed from that of two score years ago that a former resident, returning fjrom abroad after an absence of twenty years, would be quite unable to recognise the city as he steamed up the waters of tne bay. The sky line of former years was determined by the uniform level of the five-story buildings which composed the bulk of the down-town districts, broken by such familiar landmarks as the spires of Trinity Church and. St. Paul’s Chapel, one or two shot towers, and a few church and chapel towers of less conspicuous height. To-day the eye follows a picturesquely-irregular line of cornice and roof tops, much of which is over 20jit and not a little of it over 300 ft above the street level. Towering high above the tallest of these great structures is the vast bulk of the Park row building, which lifts its twin towers 390 ft into mid-air and unfurls its two flags over the city at a height of 447 ft above the side-walk!

The area of the lot is 15,000 square feet, and the vast bulk that towers above it, weighing, with the maximum loads that can be placed on the twenty-nine floors, some 54,000 tons, stands upon a foundation of sand. No such fate as befell the Biblical house that was built, not upon the rock, but upon the sand, will (says ‘St. Paul’s’) ever overtake this “ end-of-the-century ” structure, for the duty of carrying the building is entrusted to some four thousand 12in piles, which were driven igto the sand bv the pile-driver until they refused to budge any further. As the average load that is ever likely to come upon the piles is about seven tons, while their maximum bearing capacity is _over twenty tons, it will be seen that even if the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon that house, it will hot fall. Moreover, as the piles are cut off below the* level of the ground water, they are absolutely indestructible. After the piles were cut off the sand was removed to a depth of Ift below the top of the piles, and concrete was rammed in between them, and finished off flush with the top of the piles. Above the piles and concrete were laid large granite blocks to form the bases of the brick piers, the piers being finished off with granite capstones, upon which was laid a grillage of 12m I-beams. ‘ ’