TOWN IMPROVEMENTS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143625, 19 October 1911, Page 7

TOWN IMPROVEMENTS.

THE RED POS' r ' C\V BUILDING. A FIXE STRUCTURE.

During the past two or three ycar»> remarkable changes have been oifeciecl in the appearances of many of the business premises of Devon Street, so nmcli to that tl:r ,j',(a now possesses buildings tlie i'ruai Novations of which will compare ,0., ..cmrably indeed with those to be iin many of the main thoroughfares of the larger business centres. These continual improvements afford ample proof not only of the confidence of the firms transacting business in the town itself, but also of the increasing demands which are being made on their resources. A\ hero business firms are continually expending largo sums of money in building new premises or enlarging and bringing up to date premises which have been in use for a number of years, it is unquestfonably a sign of prosperity. Latterly there has been a considerable amount of property in and around Devon Street changing hands, and another pleasing feature about tins is the fact that leading men from outside centres have also been turning their attention in this direction and purchases made by them of late represent man;.' thousands _of pounds. Thu feeling of pessimism which bos been so prominent in the mind,, ol too many of the residents of the town is fast disappearing, and all are now beginning to realise that New Plyrnoutn has a bright future before it rind that it offers a fair field for investment. The outlook for New Plymouth at the present time i.s perilous brighter than that of any other town in the whole of the Dominion. One gentleman who fully recognises this is" Air. J. H. Darker, who is largely interested in the Red Dost burnishing Company, and who is now erecting what will bo the rinost reinforced concrete building that has ever been erected in this province. It is situated in Devon Street Karst, and when completed will be occunied by the Red Pest Company, which will then be in possession of one of the largest and most up-to-date furnishing emporiums in the Dominion—a building providing nearly 10,000 ft. of floor space. It will have a frontage to Devon Street of 78 ft., and the denth of the building will bo GOft. The building, the plans or which were prepared by Mr. Frank Messenger, wiii be a two-storey one, and the front elevation will be of commanding appearance, being treated in Italian renaissance with lonic columns with carved capitals on the upper floor. The lower portion of the front wall will be divided into four equal divisions with entrance doors at either end. These wilt lie in a recess loft. deep. The whole of the windows will be of plate glass and fitted with tight and dust-proof fittings. Special arrangements havo been n ode for the effective lighting of the premises. The roof of the verandah will he circular, so as to admit of the introduction of a clerestory above. This will be fitted with Luxfcr prismatic glass, which will ensure the perfect lighting of the interior of the windows during the day, doing away with that glare which is so common in shop windows and make; it so difficult to discern clearly any goods that are displayed some little distance back. The action of this prismatic glass is to collect the rays of light in such a manner as they arc conveyed straight through the premhes in horizontal parallels instead of coming down at the angle the sun strikes! The advantages of such a system of lighting, especially in such a concern as the Red Post, will readily bo understood. It is only when one stands within the four walls of the building that one fully realises the magnitude of the building—of the amount of floor space the OiMflft. will provide. The amount of stock the premises will enable the Red Post to carry will bn tremendous. and further, it will enable its enterprising proprietors to display it before their customers as is done by the leading firm at Heme. The height of the stud of the .ground floor is 14ft. This portion of the building is divided into sixteen large bays, and of the 4620 ft. of floor space this floor provides 3420 ft. of it will bo occupied by the furniture department. This will be subdivided with curtains to represent various sized rooms, which will be furnished completely with various priced suites so that customers can see at a glance not only the styles of furniture, but also its effect when properly arranged. At the far end of the ground floor, and occupying the remaining 1200 ft. of floor space will bo the china and fancy goods department. This will be divided by a glass partition from the furnishing department. At tlie rear of the china and fancy goods department will be a workroom for making blinds, tuckings, cushions and carnets, which will be a leading line in the now premises. All necessary sanitary conveniences will bo provided. At the rear of the furnishing department will bo a cart dock for the loading and unloading of furniture. This not only opens out on to the ground floor, hut also to a commodious electric lift, which will be utilised for transferring stock to the second floor. This floor will ho approached by a wide staircase of an exceptionally easy grade, and will bo used as a store room and show room combined. Here one of the features will bo the display of furniture and all other necessaries for completely furnishing a four-roomed cottage for the modest sum of £47. This is a branch of the business which the Rod Post makes a speciality of. Ample provision is also made for the lighting of the premises from the back also, prismatic glass again being utilised. Arrangements have also been made for a powerful electric light installation. The interior of the building will ho brilliantly illvynined at night with lamps representing 3200 candle power and the front of the building with 1200 candle power. The external walls will bo dressed in cement, and the interior will be finished in white with Keene’s cement. The ceiling of the ground floor will he panelled in°deep bays. Special attention has been paid to the reinforcing of the building. Over six tons of indented steel bars have been used in the concrete, the building haying been made strong enough to carry at some future time a third storey. The first floor is carried on Dorman, Long and Co.’s steel joists. In connection with these premises there is a right-of-way leading to the back and also to the workshops, which are at the rear._ This is also a two-storey concrete building, in which a largo 'staff of workmen are kept busilv engaged, and in order to cope with 'the rapidly increasing business it will be necessary to shortly increase the staff very considerably, and further additions are also anticipated to the building. Good progress is being made with the new premises, and when they are opened up for business they will bo carrying a large stock, nearly £SOOO worth of which is now ordered direct from Home. The work is being carried out by day labour under the supervision of Mr. G. AAL Drown, with Mr. A. R. Peddio as foreman.