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Frontispiece
,
The Architect and Engineer
of California
January, 1914
TH E
ARCHITECT
AND
ENCINEER
OF CALIFORNIA
JANUARY
VOL
XXXV
THE
1914*
NUMBER
WORK OF
BLISS &FAVILLE
BY B\J 'S'CAHILL
I
HOWEVER much a life of storm and stress may mellow the work of
the painter, the composer or the poet, it is doubtful whether a
checkered career has ever reacted favorably on the output of an
architect. The reason is quite obvious. Architecture is itself born of
material success. More essential to the creation of the Acropolis were
the spoils of the Persians than the genius of Pericles. A gigantic ac
cumulation of Peter's pence built the biggest of all Christian churches,
just as the people's pennies of the United States have builded Mr. Woolworth's most monstrous of skyscrapers. Money in large quantities is
the first essential to all building operations, no matter where nor how
derived: by confiscation, contribution, or plain business competition.
In this sense the effective architect must have buildings to build. A
struggling architect is something of an anomaly, like a struggling banker.
To reverse the argument, does it not sound odd to speak of a successful
clergyman? A priest's business is to pray and preachnot to prosper.
Now, as there is something wrong about the notion of a prosperous priest,
so there is something a little wrong, too, about a struggling
architect. Success achieved by strife in an architect's career is too often
gained at a price that no rightly constituted man will pay. Better frank
failure through lack of patrons than a feverish and frantic victory at the
expense of ethics, fair play and decency.
The career of Bliss & Faville is particularly free from sordid and
undignified strife. From first to last fortune has favored them as the
684820
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ing fixed along definite lines that are distinctly Italian. Something of the
formality of the first period still remains, but there are signs that texture,
surface and material will be considered in place of abstract form ; that
feeling and variety will supplant logic and symmetry hereafter as the
guiding principles of design.
The final period is marked by the definite adoption of what, for want
of a better term, I will call the early Italian manner as distinguished from
the later Roman or more local Venetian. The definition is loose and
perhaps it might be more illuminating if one added that it is a style in
which materials of the cheaper kind such as brick and terra cotta are
wrought into forms of unexpected elegance where considerations of color
and texture give new charm to old motives and where by the magic of the
builder's craft inert masses of material take on a new glamor of poetry and
romance. Perhaps it is the first appearance of the picturesque in architecture.
Perhaps it is a sort of democratic development by which the designer's
efforts are broadened and the spirit of architecture is made to dwell in
common clay as well as in cut stone and costly marble.
In this third manner are to be placed such structures as the Oakland
Hotel, the Children's Hospital, the London and Liverpool and Globe
Building and the new Masonic Temple. An excursion into the fascinat
ing realms of Spanish Renaissance as seen in the Exposition walls af
fords an agreeable interlude to an otherwise very consistent and persist
ent program.
Ill
The Oakland Library, looked upon as an architectural organism, be
longs to the same family as the famed one in Paris and its first cousin
in Boston. This is a distinct merit. If the problem is the same the
solution should also be similar. This building was won in a competi
tion. The writer well remembers how unchallenged was this award,
although in a sense the program, as in so many other instances, was con
ceived with far less intelligence than the solution. In other words, while
most of the other competitors were racking their brains to arrange a lot
of rooms according to instructions, the architects of the winning plan
conceived the whole as one large room occupying the entire floor, the
divisions needed in a library being worked out with low partitions and
screen walls after the manner of a bank. The clean simplicity of the
whole scheme is quite admirable. The cost is kept down by a sensible
reiteration of motives, both large and small, and a severe though not
uninteresting squareness of outline.
The Prescott School is a vindication of a theory long entertained by the
writer that Tudor or Collegiate Gothic done in brick and stone is the
correct style for educational buildings of all kinds. It allows massed
and mullioned windows, it permits the more expensive accumulations of
stone work to be concentrated at points of importance in a way less
easy in classic, and finally it lends itself to honest and frank use of brick
for the rear walls, sides and courts in such a way that, if handled with
skill, leaves a sense of a complete design from play ground as well as
street front. It is hard to imagine the bad effect on young and tender
minds of the shoddy and makeshift expedients of architect and school
board trying to build a "classic" school house on one-quarter of the
funds really needed. This putting up of a false front is of course the
basis of all that is mean and vulgar in life. Yet most of our
schools are built on these principles. A glance at the picture shows
how much more charm and interest can be got out of a Tudor tower in
50
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PRESCOTT SCHOOL
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
53
54
55
jiff 'km[\
sill
TAHOE TAVERN
LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA
Far better than screening the windows with the hackneyed and
rather unreasonable Roman grille (the draftman's delight, I know),
would it be to use translucent glasschipped, blurred, ribbed, mottled,
it is all one. This device would let in the light and without offense to
the sight. I have often been surprised to find architects so little sensi
tive on this point.
The Hotel St. Francis furnishes a very pretty problem in its exterior
design. Here we have a complete facade of three pavilions and two
intervening courts. To this, by the merest chance, and because at the
outset such a possibility was unexpected, must be added another wing,
but there is no room for another court. What is to be done? The prob
lem is, like squaring the circle, quite insoluble. A dominating tower
say some. My suggestion, since the original building is dark Colusa
stone, would be an apparently separate building of palest terra cotta, but
this would not suit the owners, who obviously wish to let the growing
business of the hotel announce itself to the world at large. Probably,
after all, the architects have wisely cut this Gordian knot instead of try
ing to untie it. They have simply widened the end pavilion until it
reached the corner, and let it go at that.
The interior is full of interest architecturally. There is an effect
created of sumptuousness and crowdedness which gives that bewildering
sense of the pulse and passion of life at high pressure in a great
metropolis. Nor is this achieved by any trick the least bit vulgar or
garish. The original tea room, which has recently been changed to a
dining room, was a harmony in Antwerp blue tapestry and gray stone
work unsurpassed in its effect by any hotel interior in the country.
56
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DINING ROOM
HOTEL ST. FRANCIS
58
COLONNADE
SAVINGS UNION RANK & TRVST COMPANY
TAMALPAIS CENTER
KEXTFIELD. MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
61
62
64
|
COURT, HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN
AND TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NURSES
67
LOUNGING ROOM
HOTEL OAKLAND
69
LOUNGING ROOM
HOTEL OAKLAND
71
BALL ROOM
HOTEL OAKLAND
Compared with the old, the new room, decorated by Herter, has the crash
and vigor of a brass band in place of the subdued and elusive ravishment
of strings.
The Savings Union Bank, also in granite, like the Bank of California,
gives the town a clean example of the Ionic order. The facade on
O'Farrell street is somewhat thin, as though designed for marble. The
interior is more agreeable than the Bank of California by reason of the
warmer-toned marble used. The design gets rather ineffective, as it
ascends, however, a series of very meagre pilasters finally supporting a
ceiling scheme of painted panels that seems almost trivial in comparison
with the studied work below.
71
74
rage Brown's Maternity Home, one of the first examples in San Fran
cisco of the ultra-refined Colonial. In the next decade came Schweinfurth's "Little Jim" ward with its radical form and ragged brick work.
The latest expression combines in one the refinement and the texture of
the last two. In many respects it marks the beginning of what is prov
ing a new epoch in our treatment of brick work.
The Hotel Oakland is in the same general style, combining lightness
of form, careful study of jointing, bonding and color and due regard to
the picturesque quality mentioned at the outset. The layout of this
building with regard to its fitness for social functions of all kinds and
degrees of elaborateness, is quite unsurpassed by any other building on
the coast.
The London and Liverpool and Globe Building is a graceful little struc
ture suggesting an Italian Loggia filled with glass windows and turned
into an insurance office.
76
BALBOA BUILDING
SAN FRANCISCO
78
MASONIC TEMPLE
SAN FRANCISCO
ENTRANCE LOBBY
MASONIC TEMPLE
88
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Copyright by P. P. E.
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In the matter of hotels and apartments, several large ones are contem
plated, including a seven-story $200,000 Class C building on Sutter street
for Lachman Bros. : a $250,000 building for Selah Chamberlain on Nob
Hill, a twelve-story, 500-room Class A hotel on the old Y. M. C. A. site,
now being promoted by Boston capital ; and a seven-story Class C hotel
at Post and William streets for Messrs. Trowbridge and Perkins.
THE DIRECTOR OF WORKS, Panama-Pacific Exposition, estimates that the
Exposition Company will let contracts during the year aggregating $2,500,000. This, of
course, is a rough estimate and does not include work to be done by the various
states and foreign governments, which will spend on building construction at least
three and one-half million dollars, and the concessionaries will spend for the same
purpose about $4,000,000, making a total of about $10,000,000 for exposition work.
ARCHITECTS WILLIS POLK & COMPANY, Merchants' Exchange Building,
have about $2,000,000 worth of work under way or in prospect. This includes the
22-story Hobart Building, work upon which has been started ; the addition to the Mills
Building, which will cost in the neighborhood of $350,000; the Cuyler Lee garage in
Oakland, costing $60,000; two residences in San Francisco costing $50,000 each, and
the Crocker mansion in Burlingame. Architect Polk's name has been mentioned in
connection with a splendid new building for the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, to
be erected on property owned by the company on California street. While it is ad
mitted that the company will build here, no positive information is obtainable at this
time.
ARCHITECT LEWIS C. HOBART, Crocker Building, already has about $2,000,000 worth of work on the boards. This includes a substantial addition to the Crocker
building on Market street, which will cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000, the
exact size and height of the structure being at present problematical. Mr. Hobart is
completing the working drawings for the University of California' Hospital to be
erected west of the present buildings of the Affiliated Colleges and to cost $600,OUU.
The hospital will be Class A. The cornerstone will probably be laid in February.
Architect Hobart is also preparing working drawings for a $20,000 Day Nursery build
ing to be erected at Second and Folsom streets for the Kip Memorial Mission and
Day Nursery, Inc. Contracts have been let in the same office for part of the work in
connection with a Museum building in Golden Gate Park. The same architect is pre
paring preliminary sketches for a Class A office building to be erected in Fresno.
ARCHITECT FREDERICK H. MEYER, Bankers' Investment Building, is pre
paring plans for a seven-story Class C hotel to be erected at Post and Williams streets
for Messrs. Trowbridge & Perkins, and to cost $100,000. The building will contain
100 rooms, all of which will have private baths. Work is now in progress from plans
by the same architect for a physicians' building, Trowbridge & Perkins owners, on
Sutter street. This will cost $200,000 or more. Architect Meyer also has plans in
prospect for several power houses and sub-slations for the Pacific Gas & Electric Com
pany. Plans have also been drawn for the reconstruction of the Stanford Museum build
ing at Palo Alto, and a $200,000 residence for I. W. Hellman, Jr.
ARCHITECTS REID BROS., California Pacific Building, estimate that the new
work in their office this year will exceed the three-million mark. The largest item will
be the Spreckels building to be erected at Fourth and Market streets, and which will'
cost $1,100,000. This structure will be 26 stones high, and work will be started inside
of 90 days. Other commercial work in hand will total $900,000, and this includes a
seven-storv building for the Sharon Estate back of the Palace Hotel and a $300,000
office building in Oakland. This firm also has work in prospect amounting to $500,000
for Class B apartment houses and $75,000 in Class C construction. A hotel in Port
land to cost $350,000 is also assured.
ARCHITECT O. R. THAYER, Merchants' National Bank Building, reports that
construction has just been started on the B. Davidow garage on Van Ness avenue,
which will cost approximately $50,000. The same architect will shortly complete plans
for a one-story reinforced concrete produce market to be built on Union street, east
of Fillmore, at a cost of $10,000. Mr. Thayer has under way plans for a six-story
concrete hotel building to be erected on Bush street near Kearny, having 70 per cent
baths, automatic elevators, steam heat, etc., and to cost $30,000. Plans are also being
drawn for two residence flats on Second avenue for S. P. Russell to cost $6,500.
ARCHITECT ALBERT FARR, Foxcroft Building, has plans for a score or more
handsome residences, some of the owners being H. B Allen, who will erect an $8,000
house at Sea Cliff; Dr. Gilbert Graham, a $10,000 house at Claremont; Railroad Com
missioner Max Thelen, a $10,000 residence in Claremont; George Sargeant, a $10,000
house at Twenty-fourth and Lake streets ; Jack London, a $40,000 country house at
Exposition, to cost $500,000; hotel for the Columbia Realty Company to cost $75,000,
and a Class A theater for the down-town section to cost $200,000.
ARCHITECT WILLIAM H. WEEKS, 75 Post street, has work aggregating $500,000 for which actual working drawings are being made. This work is summarized as
follows: Eureka High School, $120,000; Ceres Grammar School, $35,000; Monterey
High School, $35,000; Watsonville Theater, $50,000; four-story building and addition to
Mansion House, Watsonville. for the Luttcnich Bros., $100,000; building for George F.
Brewington, Watsonville, $15,000; First National Bank Building, Bakersficld, $65,000;
Turlock Opera House, $50,000; Bank of Chowchilla, $10,000.
ARCHITECT AUGUST NORDIN, Mills Building, estimates prospects in his office
for this year totaling close to $340,000. Part of this work is dependable upon the banks
making the necessary loans to his clients. The work will include hotels and apartment
houses of a high class. One building that will go ahead without delay is a reinforced
concrete hotel in the Mission district, to cost in the neighborhood of $20,000.
ARCHITECT HOUGHTON SAWYER, Shreve Building, writes as follows: "There
is approximately $1,000,000 worth of building in preparation in this office. I am not at
liberty to go into details at this date. It is impossible to forecast what other work may
come in."
It is very probable that the "Burlingame Court," a high-class apartment hotel de
signed by Mr. Sawyer, and for the construction of which preliminary estimates were
taken last summer, will materialize this year. The building will be erected on a promi
nent corner in the vicinity of Nob Hill, and will cost $500,000. Mr. Sawyer has also
completed plans for a high-class school building to be erected by the City and County
of San Francisco this year, and which will cost in the neighborhood of $100,000.
ARCHITECTS SMITH & STEWART, Marston Building, have prospects of quite
a little work, including a new town hall for Daly City and an apartment house in San
Francisco. This firm made plans last year for a high-class apartment hotel to be erected
in Sacramento, and this job will in all probability go ahead in 1914.
ARCHITECT EDWARD G. BOLLES has plans for a number of attractive resi
dences, among them a $15,000 home to be erected on the east side of Twenty-fifth avenue,
north of West Clay street, for Mrs. Josephine Nahl.
ARCHITECT B. R. MAYBECK, Lick Building, has plans for several costly resi
dences, both in the city and out of town. Work has just been started on a fine city
home for E. C. Young, manager of the Walk Over Shoe Company, in Forest Hill.
This house is designed along old English lines with exterior of half timber, plaster and
shingles. There will be a concrete garage.
In St. Francis Wood there will be quite a little building this year. J. M. Ruth wilt
erect a $10,000 home there, and others who will build are Louis P. Steller. George W.
Brooks, secretary of the California Insurance Company, and Frederick M. Gibbs. Plans
for the Iatter's house have just been completed by Architect Henry H. Gutterson.
ARCHITECTS CUNNINGHAM & POLITEO, First National Bank Building, have
a large amount of work under way for the coming year. A $25,000 brick and marble
crematory for the California Cremation Society, Inc., will be erected at once at Fresno,
Cal. A two-story-and-basement home for Mr. Carl Martin, assistant manager of the
Emporium, will be erected in West Lake Park at a cost of about $6,500. A twostory-and basement brick school to cost $50,000 will be at once erected for the State
University at the State Farm, Davis, Cal.
ARCHITECT A. W. CORNELIUS, Merchants' National Bank Building, has the
working drawings well advanced for a two-story-and-basement Class C school building
to be. built at a cost of $50,000 for the town of Pittsburg, Contra Costa county. Ex
terior will be of pressed brick, terra cotta and galvanized iron trim, steam heating plant,
oil burner and vacuum cleaning systems. There will be a frontage of 240 feet with two
wings, twenty class rooms and assembly hall to seat 700. Mr. Cornelius is also prepar
ing plans for several motion picture theaters.
ARCHITECT SIDNEY B. NEWSOME, Nevada Bank Building, has plans ready
for figures on several attractive buildings, among which are a three-story frame apart
ment house for Mr. J. V. De Ryana to be built on California street between Fifth and
Sixth avenues, at a cost of $12,000, and a two-story-and-basement frame residence for
P. A. Dinsmore of Oakland, to cost $1C,000.
ARCHITECT HENRY C. SMITH, Humboldt Bank Building, has a large Class C
school building now under construction, costing $70,000, at Fairfield, Solano county, and
he has drawings ncaring completion for a $70,000 hotel for the same town, to be erected
for a syndicate headed by Mr. J. N. Watson, director of the Chamber of Commerce of
Fairfield. This structure will be of reinforced concrete, three stories and basement, and
will be about 150 feet square with a 60-foot patio in the center.
II
Clarence R. Ward, have made extensive study and research. Mr. Ward
was born in Niles, Michigan, December 19, 1870.
At the age of
six years he came to California, where he received his public
and high school education. Later he went to Oakland and was
given a special four-year academic education at the California Mili
tary Academy, and at the same time received valuable practical
training in the offices of prominent architects in Oakland. Since 1885 he
has been almost continually preparing for and practicing the architectural
profession. In 1890 Mr. Ward went to Atlanta, Ga., and spent four years
in practicing general architecture with the firms of Burnham & Root, Bruce
& Morgan and Henry W. Norman. He then returned to San Francisco
and became associated with Architect Frank T. Shea. Later he
entered the office of Edward R. Swain, where he aided in the
construction of the Ferry Building and other important structures.
Mr. Ward succeeded Mr. Swain and finally consolidated his prac
tice with that of Henry H. Meyers. During this affiliation the firm de
signed many important buildings, among which are the Alaska Commer
cial, the Wells-Fargo, and the reconstruction of the Kohl building, the
execution of the Hobart buildings, six buildings of various classes for
Hyman Brothers, Samuels' Lace House building, Goldberg-Bowen build
ing, Stockton Savings and Loan building, and the People's Savings Bank
building, Sacramento. The firm constructed some sixty buildings of
all classes since the fire. Mr. Ward is now associated in practice with J.
Harry Blohme. Their principal executions have been the Stanford Me
morial church : Children's hospital and the Machinery building for the
Panama-Pacific Exposition. As an evidence of his efficiency, Mr. Ward
was for some time a member of the State Board of Architecture, and is
at present a member of the Architectural Commission, P. P. I. E. He is
an enthusiastic member of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, a
member of the Pacific Union, Bohemian and Olympic Clubs, is a former
president of the Family Club, a member of the Merchants' Exchange, an
honorary member of the San Francisco Architectural Club, and secretary
of the San Francisco Society of Architects.
*
Grooved Boards for Cement Plaster Work
Not Satisfactory
Architects and builders who have been using the grooved redwood
boards in place of metal lath as a back-ground for cement plaster in resi
dence work are very much disgusted. The recent hard rains have soaked
through the plaster to the redwood, and no sooner does the water strike
the wood than it becomes badly discolored. Finding its way outside again,
the chocolate-colored fluid drips over the surface, streaking it up so badly
that the exterior presents the appearance of having passed through a
smoky fire or a bombardment of mud. Of course the only thing to be
done is to tint the plaster work with a waterproofing paint. It is noticed,
too, that the plaster, when placed over the grooved boards, cracks much
more easily than on metal lath. There is no question but that it is a
mighty unsatisfactory method of constructioncheap, perhaps, for the
contractorsbut expensive indeed for the owner.
93
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its purpose and more impressively beautiful than is possible with any
other style. Then, again, it would give immense scope in group designing
of columns ; magnificent effects could be assured by different colored
marbles being used for capital and shaft. Such a color combination is
of immense importance and quite out of the question in old-style archi
tecture.
"The most notable feature is the placing of statues upon consoles in
the panels of the capitals, by which means both interiors and exteriors of
structures can be enriched. Here again architect and scupltor can co
operate, as in theater foyers and lobbies; public halls and vestibules, to<j,
lend themselves to the most varied treatment, and may thus win fresh
interest in the eyes of the visitor. At present, outdoor statues are too
high to be admired properly, and are soon disfigured by exposure, but if
placed about the column capital in the new style these objections would
automatically vanish. Take, for instance, a modern ball room, and very
little imagination must show the immense possibilities of Mr. Cantin's
design, which lends itself equally to Spartan simplicity or lavish elabora
tion. Transplant yourself for a moment to the new postoffice in New
York City, opposite the Pennsylvania Railroad station. What a splendid
field presents itself here for architect and sculptor to unite in placing
upon the column capital allegorical figures in keeping with the historical
legend carved in the frieze !
"The human figure is the most appropriate decoration for capitals and
must surely supersede the present designs, with their monotonous castiron appearance. In capitals where the figure or bust is used in a leafwork design, a jumbled effect is produced and the main motif is lost. A
glance at the old-style capitals in elevated positions shows 'spottiness'
and fails to give a clean-cut appearance when observed from the ground.
"To create a new architecture it is a sine qua non to possess a funda
mental basis. This might ordinarily sound like platitude, but the many
efforts to butt against tradition and evolve a new style in this country
have failed utterly, for the very simple reason that the modes employed
have lacked this essential quality. In Mr. Cantin's design the column
architrave with frieze and perforated cornice form a new order of archi
tecture to add to the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite and Tuscan orders.
A new factor is introduced in architectural standards by the column and
arch combinations. It has been the custom to place a column of any order
under an entablature or arch, without any change in the formation of the
capital. As an arch is an entirely different structure from an entablature,
why should not the connection differ? The new style adds to the design
of a building, creates new motifs, is more flexible, makes a finished connec
tion to the column, and, with well-designed sculpture decoration, fills all
requirements for beauty, utility and stability.
"Of what use are heavy, overhanging cornices? On the other hand,
beautiful shadow-play may be expected from these perforated cornices in
the new style because they are perforated in the farthest overhanging part ;
open-work partitions may be filled with tracery or with colored glass, the
sunlight projecting the colors among the shadows upon the frieze. This is
a point of considerable importance if we are to construct with an eye to
fine effects.
"In old-style architraves the height is too shallow to carry proportion
ately the superimposed load, while in the new style this difficulty is obvi
ated by extending the capital right up to the under side of the frieze, which
member must be planned in proper relation to the load it carries. The
97
sculpture work on the panels of the capital has a low relief at the base and
center of the panel, heavier at the top, so as to cast proper shadows at
the abacus line. In illustration of this precept, the reader's attention is
called to Goujon's figures in the Fountain of the Innocents, in Paris. To
revert for a moment to the Renaissance period, it is interesting to reflect
what use architects and sculptors would have made of this new-style archi
tecture in their column capitals and perforated cornices. As the column
capital bears the shape of the Latin cross, it is safe to say that all their
ecclesiastical architecture would have been carried out in this style and
enriched with madonnas, Christ on the cross, saints and angels, etc.
"Men like Michaelangelo, Donatello, Goujon and Thorwaldsen would
have left us a better heritage of beautiful motifs in stone and marble, but
the classical style columns did not appeal to them as worthy material for
their art.
"In the old-style architecture the abacus is so thin as to appear brittle;
'ears' of foliage at the angles give no solidity to it, and a bunch of leaves
at the top of the column carrying untold tons of masonry seems almost
childish in conception."
*
Illumination
By CHARLES T. PHILLIPS, C. E.
In Two Papers I.
THE infinite possibilities of bettering artificial illumination, as presented
by electricity, have created a new type of engineer. The scientific
study of the problems of illumination and the importance to general
public health in the matter of conservation of vision have led us to a point
where not only efficiency and economy must be considered, but the problem
of health for the masses must be accorded its proper importance.
This is a day of specialization. An architect no longer tries to master
the intricacies of all the special branches of work entering into the design
ing of a building. He is the master mind in the undertaktng, but the heat
ing, ventilation, electrical work, illumination, etc., which are subjects of
special study, are now the work of experts in each particular line. The
advent of the illuminating engineer as a specialist should thus be hailed with
greater delight and relief by the architect than by any other member of the
community.
Mural decorations, capitals, columns, mouldings and relief work exe
cuted by the master artist, all conceived by daylight, and frequently with a
predominating direction of light, may receive an entirely different light
treatment under artificial light, and completely reverse the artist's concep
tion. Vast sums of money may be spent in the decoration and equipment
of public buildings and expensive homes, yet, such little attention will be
given to the proper application of artificial light that, when viewed at night,
the effect is not only different, but frequently so grotesque that it is the
despair of the artist.
The importance of illuminating engineering as a profession is rapidly
growing as the necessity of scientific knowledge in connection with lighting
problems is being recognized. No problem of lighting is a simple problem.
The public is being educated to the economies that can be obtained by the
use of properly designed lighting installations, and is quick to criticise obso
lete and inefficient methods.
99
100
101
plied to the unit expressing the volume of flow of electricity and would cor
respond to the number of gallons of water flowing through a pipe. "Volt"
is the unit of electrical pressure and may be described in the same sense as
the pounds pressure in a water system. The "Ohm" is the unit of resist
ance offered to the passage of an electrical current. The "Watt" is the
practical unit of electrical power and is the product obtained by multiplying
the volt by the ampere. Ten volts by five amperes would be 50 watts.
"Kilowatt" is the commercial unit of power and is 1000 watts, the prefix kilo
being the Greek word for thousand. "Kilowatt Hour" is one kilowatt of
electricity flowing for one hour. Eight kilowatts flowing for three hours
would be twenty-four kilowatt hours. This is the unit by which electricity
is usually sold, and is abbreviated K. W. H. In the United States the in
tensity of a light source is expressed in candle-power. The old unit of
candle-power was the British standard candle, which was a spermaceti
candle seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, burning at a rate of 120 grains
an hour. A sixteen candle-power lamp, for example, was one that radiated
sixteen times as much light as the British standard candle. A few years
ago a new unit of candle-power was adopted in this country, known as the
international standard candle. This is about 1.6 per cent less than the
British standard candle. The international standard candle has been
also adopted by most of the foreign countries, with the exception of Ger
many, which still retains a unit known as the hefner, which is 0.9 of one
international candle.
"Foot-candle" is the unit of intensity of illumination at a point one foot
distant from a source of light of one candle-power. "Lumens" is the unit of
light flux and is the quantity of light falling upon an area of one square foot at
an intensity of one foot-candle. "Intrinsic Brilliancy" is a measure of the
brightness of any light source and is generally measured in candle-power
per square inch of surface. The intrinsic brilliancy of the sun at noon is
about 800,000 candle-power. An incandescent carbon lamp filament is
about 120, the crater of an electric arc 45,000, and the moon, about 3. "Co
efficient of Reflection" is the ratio of the intensity of the reflected light to
the incident light. Highly polished silver has a coefficient of reflection of
.92, a mirror .70 to .85, while black velvet has only ,004. The latter is known
as the coefficient of diffused reflection. The reflection from polished metals
and glass is known as regular reflection, while that from painted surfaces,
paper and other materials is diffused reflection.
While a light source is rated in candle-power, it is rather a misleading
method of comparison, for the reason that the rating is usually taken at the
point of maximum candle-power, which, for an incandescent lamp, is at
right angles to the filament and is called the mean horizontal candle-power.
For instance, a sixteen candle-power carbon filament lamp gives sixteen
candle-power along the horizontal axis, while the candle-power at the tip is
only 6.6, which is 41% of the maximum. A tungsten lamp of 20 candlepower gives less than five candle-power at the tip. A distribution of light
in the vertical and horizontal planes of a tungsten lamp is illustrated bv
Fig. 1.
In measuring the output of a lamp the candle-power, as usually ex
pressed, is not of much benefit. The mean spherical candle-power will give
a better idea, while the lumens per lamp or per watt is the accepted standard.
We can measure in lumens not only the output of the lamps, but also the
flux of light through the plane of illumination, and the ratio of the lumens
through the plane of illumination to the lumens yielded by the lamps, gives
the net efficiency of the installation.
|
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i ENERGY | 37ooc.
ULTRA-VIOLET.
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V. D.G.Y.R.
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colzsult"s fragirzeer.
Sarz frarcisco.
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Fig. 3.
103
10-!
as the carbon filament lamp, and, due to the higher temperature at which
the filament can be worked, the efficiency was raised to a point where
the consumption is only two watts per candle-power. This lamp, how
ever, did not give good results on alternating current, owing to a rapid
deterioration of the filament, the life being only about half as long as when
used on direct current. The success obtained from an efficiency stand
point, by the use of tantalum for incandescent lamp filaments, led to
further research and experimenting with other rare metals. A very ma
terial advance was made in the use of filaments of tungsten metal, a ma
terial particularly suited for this purpose, by reason of the high fusing
pointabout 3050 C. These lamps, of American manufacture, the trade
name being Mazda, are the acme of perfection in the field of incandescent
lamps. Their efficiency is the highest yet obtained for incandescent lamps,
being only 1.25 watts per candle-power and even better in the large sizes.
Their performance is the same on both alternating and direct current, and
the objectionable features found in the earlier types of this lamp have been
entirely eliminated.
A new type of metallic-filament incandescent lamp is being developed,
which, it is claimed, will operate at the low specific consumption of 0.5
watts per candle-power. This is less than half of that required for the best
incandescent lamps now available. This new lamp contains a special
shaped tungsten filament and the bulb is filled with an inert gas, such as
nitrogen, at a pressure of about one atmosphere.
The highest efficiency of late types of incandescent lamps is entirely
due to the ability of the filament to withstand a high temperature. A
clear idea of the relation of the temperature of an incandescent body to
efficiency of light generation may be obtained by reference to Fig. 2. At a
temperature of 100 C. the wave lengths have not the power to stimulate
the optic nerves, although certain nerves near the skin are affected and a
sensation of heat is felt. At 600 C. a larger amount of energy is radiated,
and some of the shorter waves are capable of exciting the optic nerves
and we have the sensation of light. At a still higher temperature there are
short waves generated which are incapable of affecting either the optic
nerves or those near the skin, but are very active in producing chemical
changes. This is shown on Fig. 2 at a temperature of 3700 C. Very high
temperatures are not desirable, due to the increased number of chemical
waves which have a harmful effect on human beings and a bleaching effect
upon colored materials.
In the second group belong the mercury-vapor lamp, the Moore tube
and others of a similar nature. The great disadvantage of the mercuryvapor lamp has been its color. The lack of proper proportions of red and
yellow rays gives the light a ghastly appearance, and makes it valueless
where appreciation of color value is required. Several means have been
employed to improve this defect, but, until recently, none of them have
proven a success. The use of cadmium amalgam in place of mercury, and
a quartz instead of a glass tube, has finally achieved the desired results;
besides, the efficiency has been increased in the larger sizes, the consump
tion being 0.18 watts per candle.
Numerous developments have been made in recent years in the type
of lamp mentioned in the third group. The luminous arc and the flaming
arc are perhaps the most noteworthy. The luminous arc lamp gives a
distribution and quality of light very superior to the early type of arc
lamps. The electrodes used in this lamp are different from those in other
forms of arc lamps heretofore used. The upper electrode is composed of a
105
solid copper rod sheathed by a thin iron tube. The lower electrode is of
magnetite. This lamp is also called the magnetite arc lamp owing to the
material from which the lower electrode is made. The life of the upper
electrode is from 2,000 to 8,000 hours, and the lower, from 120 to 150
hours, depending on the current adjustment. In the carbon arc lamps,
the crater of the carbon is the source of the greater portion of the light,
while in the luminous arc, the arc between the electrodes, which is about
9/16 inches long, is luminous throughout its length, thus furnishing the
majority of the light rays. The light distribution from a luminous arc
lamp is shown hy Fig. 3. Carbon arc lamps divide themselves into three
classes, those that use solid carbons, cored carbons and flaming-arc carbons.
The first two classes depend essentially, for their light producing, upon the
continuous-spectrum radiation of highly heated carbon in the positive
crater. The only purpose served by the cored carbons is the centralization
of the arc. In the third class, however, the arc itself yields the principal
share of emitted light. The most efficient lamp on the market today, in
current consumption per candle-power, is the flame arc lamp. The first
of this type of lamp used in this country was imported from Europe, and,
although it had much to recommend it from an illuminating point of view,
the lamp was so poorly constructed mechanically that it was soon looked
upon with suspicion by prospective buyers. While the European lamp
still retains its weak points, the American-made lamps are as satisfactory
and reliable as any other type of arc lamp, and are giving excellent service.
The characteristics of this lamp are high efficiency, the maximum light in
the lower hemisphere, the warm and pleasing quality of the light, which
is of a brilliant golden yellow, and the fact that the color of the light can
be changed by impregnating the carbon electrodes with chemicals.
(Concluded in the February X umber.)
*
Architects' Competition for $350,000 Fountain
ACTING under authority granted by the Common Council of the City of
Detroit, Michigan, by resolutions of November 25, 1913, the Detroit
City Plan and Improvement Commission announces that it will insti
tute a competition for the selection of an architect to design and supervise
the construction of a fountain to be erected in Belle Isle Park, City of De
troit, to be known as the James Scott Fountain. The sum available for the
work amounts to $350,000.
The competition will be conducted in accordance with the regulations
of the American Institute of Architects. It will be in two stages. The first
stage will be open to all architects resident in the United States who from
their experience and training are, in the opinion of the committee, capable
of carrying out this important work. The second stage of the competition
will be limited to not more than ten competitors, at least six of whom will
be chosen by a jury from those competing in the first stage. The competi
tors in the second stage competition will receive compensation.
The Commission has employed as professional adviser Professor E. J. A.
Duquesne of Harvard Universityarchitect of the French government
and will be assisted by him in the conduct of the competition and choice of
competitors.
The Commission invites architects who desire to compete to send their
names, addresses and qualifications as to experience and training to Pro
fessor E. J. A. Duquesne, Robinson Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Mass., before noon, February 1, 1914.
106
MUCH has been written and much has been done relative to the pro
tection of steel ; but improvement has been slow, progress being
made step by step. Some years ago Mr. G. W. Thompson at
tempted to classify pigments, as to their relation with iron, by suspending
them in water and immersing pieces of iron or steel in these mixtures.
The results were somewhat surprising; some of the pigments which com
mon experience approved seemed to increase corrosion in this condition,
and others, known to be useless in protective paints, seemed to be much
better for preventing it. Lampblack, for instance, was the worst in pro
voking corrosion, and white zinc or pulverized chalk prevented it. This
was probably due to the fact that lampblack contains, condensed on the
surface of its particles, considerable carbonic acid, which is the most gen
erally active agent in the corrosion of iron, while white zinc and chalk are
basic substances by which iron is not rusted ; however, the carbonic acid
in lampblack is displaced by grinding in oil, and the well-known lack of
durability in paints made of white zinc and chalk prevents their good
qualities from coming into action.
So great is the need of more knowledge as to the value of pigments in
paints, and their mode of action, that nothing which promises new infor
mation is neglected. A committee of five chemists from different parts
of the United States, with the approval of the Society for Testing Ma
terials, made a series of tests of the principal pigments, and of some other
substances, on steel immersed in water; and, as was to be expected, arrived
at substantially concordant results. These results, as has been stated,
were of no value from the standpoint of the paint maker, being inconsistent
with the known value of the pigments when ground in oil or varnish.
When the report was published, however, the pigments were classified,
according to their water value, into three groups, namely, inhibitors, indeterminates and stimulators. This was the origin of the use of these now
well-known words in paint terminology. It was expressly stated in the
report that this was a classification as regards water only ; but the names
were so convetvent and so tempting that those not familiar with the sub
ject, and also many who s^w their value for advertising purposes (two
quite distinct classes), put them into common use to classify pigments in
oil. It is obvious that anv classification of pigments in oil should be
based on their behavior in oil, and if. as must be conceded, this is radically
107
different from water tests, the latter should not be regarded. All this in
vestigation began some years ago; meanwhile numerous young men, mostly
students working under the supervision of their teachers, have made brief
and generally inconclusive studies of paints, and almost without exception
have used these indefinite terms, inhibitors and stimulators. Patents have
even been taken outwhich, in the writer's opinion, are not only worthless
but invalidcovering the use of old and well-known pigments. What is
worse, every maker of a paint nostrum assures his hearers or readers that
his particular paint absolutely inhibits rust, and that everything else stimu
lates it. This is the whole history of this jargon about inhibition and
stimulation ; it never had any particular value to the consumer, and it is
generally used to mislead him.
It is obvious that in a good paint the pigment particles are enveloped
in a film of oil ; they do not come in contact with the iron ; if they did, the
paint would peel off, for no dry pigment adheres well to metal. Steel rusts
because air and moisture act on it : and paints are used to keep air and
moisture from it. They do not inhibit rusting, except as they inhibit the
cause of it.
The important practical question is whether paints have been or can
be improved as to being non-porous and durable. This is essentially de
pendent on the relation between the pigment and the oil. As to the true
nature of this relation, very little is known ; but something is known about
its visible manifestations. It is known, for instance, that one pound of dry
red lead mixed with one-quarter pound of oil makes a paint of ordinary
consistency, and one pound of dry lampblack requires at least six or eight
pounds of oil, say, thirty times as much, or making allowance for difference
in density, six times as much, as the red lead. Similarly, one pound of
white zinc takes twice as much oil to make a paint as one pound of white
lead ; and white lead takes nearlv twice as much as red lead. These are
things we know : but we have no idea why they are so. Again, red lead,
which is an oxide of lead, makes an excellent paint for iron ; oxide of iron
is neither very good nor very bad ; oxide of manganese is bad. Our knowl
edge of paints is as yet largely empirical. Where we are gaining is in
more general appreciation of the value of the proper application of paint,
better preparation of surface, more confidence in good paint rightly used,
and in the better preparation of paint materials. For instance, in the
older books, and until about twenty years ago, we find analysis of red lead
showing as low as 55 per cent of true red lead, with 45 per cent of litharge.
Red lead is made from litharge, and the presence of the latter is not a sign
of adulteration, but of incomplete conversion. At the same time other
samples showed as high as 80 per cent of true red lead. As is well known,
there was much difference of opinion in those days as to the value of red
lead as a paint for iron ; though most users liked it, some thought it poor
stuff. It is now known that its value depends on the quantity of red lead
it contains. Coarse red lead always contains litharge, bceause the litharge
in the middle of a large particle is never oxidized. It was observed that
the finer the red lead, the better it was, and so a demand arose which
forced the manufacturers to make higher grades: now they arc grinding
their litharge to an impalpable powder before roasting it, with the result
that 94 per cent of true red lead has been on the market for some years.
Then an unexpected fact was developed. The old red lead when mixed
with oil would set in a day or sooften in a few hoursinto a cement,
just like plaster of Paris and water; this tendency made it work with diffi
culty and unevenlv in application, and its coarseness gave it a tendency
108
to run ; but the new, or high-grade, article is inactive to oil, and brushes
out smoothly like a house paint. This enables the painter to cover 50 per
cent more surface with the same quantity and still get a coating having a
uniform thickness which gives more protection than the thin portions of
the paint formerly used. This secures greater economy, even at a slightly
greater cost per gallon ; and this is an economy not only in the cost of the
paint, but in the labor, because the paint works more easily, and a man
can cover more surface in a day ; it also requires less skill, and therefore a
less highly paid man, to do good work. For the last year or two red lead
ground in pure linseed oil has been offered to the trade as a paste ready
to be thinned with more oil ; such a paste keeps for a year or more, or
indefinitely as far as known, like white lead paste. Its use saves time and
waste in mixing, and, being ground through a mill, the mixture is perfect,
which is not the case with hand-mixing ; and, as it avoids the presence of a
dusty pigment, it is more sanitary.
The only serious objection to the use of such red lead is that it dries
more slowly than the other kinds. This can be obviated, however, by the
use of a little japan drier. There is a well-founded prejudice against the
use of excessive quantities of drier in any paint; but it should be remem
bered that red lead paint mixed in the (standard) proportion of 28 pounds
of pigment to one gallon of oil, contains 20J4 pounds of pigment per gal
lon of mixed paint. If this pigment contains 15 per cent of litharge, it has
three pounds of litharge per gallon. Now, ordinary, good, lead japan
driers, or lead and manganese driers of approved quality, contain the
equivalent of one pound of litharge in about three gallons of drier, and
three pounds of litharge will make eight or ten gallons of drier. To make
one gallon of mixed 94 per cent red lead paint dry requires only one pint
of drier; the rest is excess. It is much safer to add the desired quantity of
drier. It may be asked why the litharge in the 94 per cent red lead is not more
active ; it is probably because, when the peroxidation of the lead has been
carried so nearly to completion, the particles of litharge are enveloped so
completely by a dense coating of true red lead that the oil does not reach
them. This is obviously not the case with the commoner and less thor
oughly oxidized pigment.
It has sometimes been suggested, by those not very familiar with the
chemical questions involved, that the litharge is the essentially valuable
part of the paint, and that the red lead is only an inert extender. This is
not so. The whole history of the subject shows that the improvement in
red lead for paint during the last twenty-five years has been made by reduc
ing the litharge contained in it ; litharge alone, or used with other pigments,
has not been satisfactory, though orange mineral, which is red lead free
from litharge, is most excellent, and would be used if its cost were not so
great. Further progress will undoubtedly produce red lead with a lower
percentage of the protoxide ; in fact, the 94 per cent red lead now in the
market usually contains much more than 94 per cent of true red lead.
Progress has also been made in our knowledge of linseed oil. Within
a few months the American Society for Testing Materials has adopted
specifications for North American raw linseed oil, which is of better quality
than that made from South American seed. These specifications are the
result of a great deal of work by many of the best oil chemists, and it is
now possible for any good analyst to tell whether or not an oil is pure and
good. Methods of paint analysis are in general being standardized ; and
a vast amount of work is going on in Germany and England as well as in
109
the United States, on the chemistry and nature of drying oils. At present
linseed oil has adulterants, but no substitute ; China wood oil is a valu
able drying oil, more valuable for some purposes than any other, but, as
an oil for ordinary paints, it is used, as far as the writer knows, only to
cover up the use of non-drying oils which must be regarded as adulterants.
At present prices, it is not likely to be used even in this way. Fish oil is
used to some extent, as it always has been, in paint for roofs and smoke
stacks, but one should not be disturbed by talk about the "newer paint
oils," for, except China wood oil, there are none.
In closing, it may be well to mention that the committee appointed by
the American Society for Testing Materials has made a final report on the
condition of the paints on the Havre de Grace Bridge. As is well known,
this bridge was painted six years ago by a committee of that society, which
committee included several members of the American Society of Civil En
gineers. This report describes three of the paints as excellent ; two of
these were straight red lead in oil, and the third was red lead, with about
15 per cent of a pulverized silicate added, in oil, the red lead being about
98 per cent true red lead. Nine other paints, of varying composition, are
reported as affording generally effective protection to the structure. As
all these paints were carefully applied, it is fair to conclude that the
durability of any good paint may be increased one-half, and probably
doubled, by proper care in its use as compared with average practice. It is
only by continually reiterating this fact that we shall ever secure the most
elementary and fundamental requirement for the economical treatment of
structural steel.
110
You know the history of these buildings in the course of their construction. At
ftrst they were referred to as "Mr. Pratt's twins," and the tower as a nursing bottle
placed at a sufficient distance from each one. I assure you that the architects and
the building commission had no race suicide idea in mind when they planned the
group.
Doubt was expressed as to the necessity of a municipal auditorium. Probably
the same doubt was expressed by your forefathers as to the advisability of having
a town hall. The auditorium has proved its usefulness already. In the short time
since last spring that it has been completed, it has been in almost constant use, and
had a reasonable rental been charged for it the building would have proved a com
mercial success. One of the largest taxpayers in this city said to me today: "I
can calculate to within a few dollars the share I have paid toward the erection of
the Campanile, but when I see the sunlight and clouds upon it late in the afternoon,
I feel that I am repaid for all it has cost me as a citizen of Springfield."
*
*
TREASURER . . . . . . . . . . .
AUDITOR. . . . . .
(ORGANIZED 1857)
Washington, D. C.
J. L. MANRAN, St. Louis
T. J. T. Fuller, Washington, D. C.
Members
WM. CURLEtt
JosepH C. Newsome
SOUTHERN DISTRICT.
. . . . . JoHN P. KREMPEL
SECRETARY-TREASURER. . . . . . . . . . FRED H. Roe HRIG
Octavius MoRGAN
P. HUNT
MEMBERs. ...................
WM. S. HEBBARD
PRESIDENT ......
- - - - - - - -
- -
New
York.
SECRETARY-TREAsURER....SYLVAIN
TRUSTEEs. . . . . . . . . . . . .
''''
ScHNATTACHER
JoHN T. VAwTER
Chairman
y" Geo.
HENRYB.G.McDougAll
ScHULzE
PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. B. LYMAN
VICE-PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F. C. CREssy
RoBT. HALLEY, JR.
SECRETARY. . . . . . . . .
. . . . G. A. HAUsseN
TREASURER. . . . . . . .
PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - -
- - - -
- - - - - -
- -
Board of Directors
Octavius MoRGAN
H. M. Patterson
J. J. Blick
. . . .. . ... . . . .. .
Vice-PRESIDENTs
... ....
...CHARLEs H. ALDEN
. F. EveRETT
- - - - - - - -
Gove
ALBERT HELD
. . . . . . . . ARTHUR L. LovELEss
SECRETARY
TREASURER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. C. P. WillAtzEN
D. J. MYERs
Addition AL MEMBERs
D. R. HUNTINGTox
of CouncIL. . . . .
W. R. B. Willcox
"......)
Fixture Contract
The
Fink
and
Schindler
Company
Cost, $9,290.
marble
and
bronze
work.
W. H. Weeks, architect.
112
113
Personal
Oscar Mohr, architect, member of the
Dolphin Rowing Club and designer of
the aquatic park at the foot of Van Ness
avenue, and Miss Ruth Brown of San
Rafael were married Christmas week by
Judge Graham at the judge's residence.
2368 Vallejo street. San Francisco.
A co-partnership has been formed by
Wilbur David Cook, landscape architect,
F. A. S. L. A., and Messrs. R. S. Rankin
and R. F. Wyckoff, civil and landscape
engineers, with offices in the MarshStrong building, Los Angeles. The firm
will specialize in landscape architecture
and engineering, and the scientific de
velopment of land. Members of the firm
have had fifteen years' active practice in
the East and seven years on the Pacific
Coast.
W. J .Mathews, architect, of Oakland,
has been made superintendent of con
struction in connection with the new
Oakland Auditorium.
Robert Morgeneier, architect, of Oak
land, has formed a connection with the
West Coast Showcase & Fixture Com
pany, a newly organized firm capitalized
at $100,000 and having headquarters at
Berkeley. F. T. Russell of Oakland is
president and Mr. Morgeneier is secre
tary and treasurer. In addition to super
intending the mechanical work for the
new companv. Mr. Morgeneier will con
tinue his practice as before.
Architects Eager & Eager of Los An
geles have dissolved partnership by
mutual consent. A. W. Eager will con
tinue the present office in the Story
building and F. O. Eager will engage in
business independently.
Ernest J. Kump, formerly of San Fran
cisco has opened architectural offices at
No. 227 Rowell Building, Fresno. Prior
to coming to San Francisco, where he
supervised the construction of the West
Coast Iron Company's plant at Sixteenth
and Rhode Island streets. Mr. Kump was
located in the southern part of the San
Joaquin valley.
Club Elects New Officers
At the semi-annual business meeting
of the San Francisco Architectural Club,
held January 7, 1914, the following of
ficers were elected: President, George
Greenwood: vice-president. Charles P.
Weeks: secretary, Albert R. Williams:
Treasurer. William D. Sherman: di
rectors. Henry A. Thomsen and James
A. Magee. William A. Garren was ap
pointed to fill the unexpired term of
George Greenwood.
Milk-Bottle Architecture
We don't know what the art-loving
architects think of this. We imagine we
hear their unanimous groan of disap
proval come gurgling down from their
ateliers up under the roofslike sour
milk running from a huge bottle.
Probably the advertising boys like it
better.
Anyway, there it is. Two of them on
the new building of one of Indianapo
lis' leading milk companies. The two
front corners of their building are giant
milk bottles built of white enameled
brick. They measure 52 feet in height
and have a diameter of 22 feet. The
proportions are exactly those of a stand
ard quart bottle.
Evidently they overlooked a bet in not
using deep yellow brick for the upper
sectionsto indicate the color of cream.
The Berkeley Campanile
(Springfteld Republican.)
A 300-foot campanile, to cost $200,000,
is beiner constructed at Berkeley for the
University of California, the gift of Mrs.
Jane K. Sather of Oakland, who also
gave $25,000 for a chime of bells. It will
make a fine landmark, visible from ships
entering the Golden Gate and from all
the cities clustering about the bay. The
first steel column was swung into place
last week, and the tower will be done in
1915. How much simpler things would
have been for Giotto and the other old
builders, if they had enjoyed the ad
vantage of steel construction! Their
first problem was to make a tower stand
up. a problem which can hardly be said
to exist for the modern builder. When
it comes to looks, something is to be said
for Giotto.
114
The
ArrhiOF
Engineer
tertCALI
anth
FORNIA
Member of California Periodical Publishers' Association
and General Contractors' Association, San Francisco
California
State
Board of
Archi
STATE BOARD
tecture, Northern
Division, if re
SHOULD GET
ports of the in
BUSY
cated
upon.
offices
Vol. XXXV.
Jan., 1914
ASSOCIATE
No. 3.
EDITORS
H. J. BRUNNier
A'einforced Concrete
WM.
! Inspection
#B.E.GESTER,
Hunt, C. E.
- , and Tests
F. W. # # Fireproof Construction
W. W. BREITE. C. E. |Structural Steel
H. J. BRUNNier
-
A Thol McBEAN
Brick, Tile and Terra
W. E. DENNISON
Cotta
HowARD FROST,
G. B. AshcroFT. C. E.
Artificial Stone
HARRY LARK iN
and Roofing
J. R. D. MACKENziE FRED M. Woods, Jr..
Rock and Gravel
C. WALTER Tozer - Interior Decoration
| Roofs
State
Board
has
been
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
August G. Headman
Edward T. Foulkes
Alfred F. Rosenheim
J. C. Austin
F. D. Hudson
Sumner P. Hunt
C. Sumner Greene
G. Albert Lansburgh
Ralph W. Hart
. Rei
Norman F. Marsh
. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bugbee
KennethMacDonald, Jr. Clayton D. Wilson
Houghton Sawyer
Almeric Coxhead
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown, Jr.
John Parkinson
T. J. Welsh
W. J. Cuthbertson
Chas. P. Weeks
A. W. Smith
Benj. G. McDougall
T. Patterson Ross
Octavius Morgan
William H. Weeks
. A. Newman
Chas. W. Dickey
H. Alban Reeves
Henry C. Smith
#".
CONTRIBUTORS
J. T. Walsh, C. E.
Smith O'Brien
H. F. Starbuck
Nathaniel Blaisdell
W. T. Bliss
William Mooser
Robert Morgeneier
automatic sprink
ler
demonstrated
its efficiency.
AManager
Afanaging Editor
"FIRE A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
|f See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
::
|-=
----
---
|- |
||
|||
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVI.
FEBRUARY,
1914.
No. 1.
48
the late Daniel Burnham's best work. For a first-class interior terra
cotta job it would be hard to improve upon the Railway Exchange. The
glass mosaic ceiling in Marshall Field's is also worth seeing, being executed
in blue.
Out here on the Pacific Coast every now and then we hear the local
architect unfavorably contrasted with his eastern brother, but you can tell
that one to "Forget it" when you recall seeing in the east the all-too-many
good projects spoiled by faulty design or improper selection of materials
used.
How many local architects could get by with such a number of big,
ugly and prominent patches as you will find on the exterior columns of
McKim, Alead & White's Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York, or
how many would last a week in San Francisco after such iron rust stains
began to checker with ocher the granite walls of that important and costly
new Scottish Rite Cathedral in Washington, is problematical.
In conclusion I want to say that everywhere there was manifested a
feeling of confidence in future business conditions, and I predict that San
Francisco will surely have some prosperity in the next twelve months.
*
Domestic Architecture that is Different
OMETHING different. That is what Messrs. Wolfe & Wolfe, the San
Jose architects mean to give their clients. That they have succeeded
one need only to glance at some of the accompanying' pictures, which
show the wide range of domestic architecture covered by them. For the
most part their work is very good, although a few houses they have de
signed are so unusual in their treatment that the critics are bound to be
heard from. In San Benito county Messrs. Wolfe & Wolfe have recently
completed a house for Mr. Macomber, a wealthy cattle raiser, which is
unique, indeed. The owner wanted "something different."
He has
it. The architects have developed a style which might be termed a mod
ern adaptation of the Moorish. Were this unusual architectural effort
placed upon a city lot we fancy it would call forth a world of criticism, but
placed where it is, 'mid the low, rolling hills of San Benito, with their
ever-changing California colors, the house seems to fit in very well. The
colors blend splendidly with the surrounding country and there is a cer
tain feeling in the style that gives a charm to the place which a more serious
or dignified design might not create.
The firm has done some very good work along Mission and Spanish
lines, notably the house of Dr. Bangs in San Jose and a number of smaller
houses of the bungalow type. The roof of the Beard residence in Modesto
indicates the adaptability of clay tile for residence work.
The residence of Peter Col, in College Park, is a pleasing example of
the latest style in domestic architecture. The style is a natural result of a
growing tendency to use asphalt materials for roof coverings. The wellknown work of Frank Lloyd W right is along these same low, broad lines.
Santa Clara has shown a pleasing interest in so-called "open-air"
schoolsbuildings in which the windows are so arranged as to readily open
whole sides of the building to the outside. Quite a number of these have
been designed by Mr. Frank Wolfe and his son. A typical suburban school is
shown in this number.
The facade of the Santa Clara County Hospital is a good example of the
firm's Colonial work.
F. D. Wolfe, Architect
COUXTV HOSPITAL,
SAW JOSE, CALIFORNIA
F. D. Wolfe. Architect
F. D. Wolfe, Architect
C. J, Wolfe, Associate
51
52
F. D. Wolfe, Architect
LAMOLLE HOUSE,
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
F. D. Wolfe, Architect
C. D. Wolfe, Associate
53
55
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F. D. U olfe, Architect
C. J. li'olfe, Associate
57
FOOT SA2DI/j
61
62
F. D. Wolfe. Architect
C. J. H olfe, Associate
63
Illumination
By CHARLES T. PHILLIPS, C. E*
(Second Paper)
HE NEED of artificial daylight has long been felt, and there are a
number of lamps on the market provided with colored glass screens
to produce a spectrum resembling daylight. These devices are n'ore
for special than for general use. Industries such as textile mills, litho
graphing establishments and stores where color matching is desired have
use for them. The theater stage has felt the want of some type of illuminant that will give a daylight effect, and some of the large theater
owners have spent considerable money experimenting along those lines.
The deficiency of most artificial light is the lack of blues and the great
excess of orange and red. This is shown in various spectro-photometric
curves and colorimeter readings published from time to time. If a tem
perature of approximately 6000C. could be obtained in an incandescent
body, a white light could be produced, but, as this is impossible, other
means will have to be used to obtain the same results. A subtractive pro
cess, where undesirable radiations are filtered out, will accomplish this
result, but it is not commercially possible on a large scale. Another pro
cess where white light is obtained by various mixtures of spectrum colors
will give a physiological white, but it can not be used for color matching.
The object in frosting incandescent lamps is to hide from view the
brilliant filament. The frosting presents a broken reflecting surface to
the rays of light, causing them to be redirected or diffused. Although the
candle-power is decreased by frosting, it is not the frosted surface that
absorbs the light, however, but the fact that the frosted surface diffuses
the light and causes some of it to be redirected through the glass perhaps
three or five times. This redirected light is absorbed by the glass and
carbon deposit on the inside of the bulb. Frosting also causes a change
in the distribution, decreasing the horizontal candle-power and increasing
it at the tip. The life of a frosted lamp is also less and the useful life is
very much less. If a tungsten lamp is bowl frosted, the tip candle-power
is increased, the horizontal candle-power is decreased , and the mean
spherical candle-power is decreased about 5 per cent. Frosting the entire
lamp reduces the mean spherical candle-power about 10 per cent. The effect
of frosting is shown by Fig. 1.
As there is no light source on the market which gives a correct dis
tribution of light, for all conditions, it is necessary to use suitable re
flectors or globes to modify and correct the distribution. Owing to thehigh intrinsic brilliancy of modern illuminants, the light source should not
be exposed to view. Some diffusing medium should be used, even though
there is a small loss of light. The eye will see objects more distinctly,
even if the intensity on the plane to be illuminated is lower.
The efficiency and effectiveness of various types of reflectors for in
candescent lamps do not seem to be fully understood by the average person.
The clear glass prismatic and opalescent reflectors have a lower loss by
absorption (being as low as 9 per cent) than the opaque type. The latter
has an absorption of from 14 to 40 per cent, depending on the make. This
comparison shows that the opaque type is the least efficient, yet for certain
purposes it is most effective, consequently the most efficient to use. The
distribution of light from three types of prismatic reflectors is shown by
Fig. 2.
*Pacific ltuiMinu, San Francisco.
64
BARE LAMP
EXTENSIVE TYPE
//// il\Vx
'/fJ \\
. INTLN51VE TYPE
CHARACTERISTIC DISTRIBUTION OF
LIGHT TROM DIFFERENT TYPE. OF
RLTLrLCTORS.
CHA.S.T PHILLIP5
CCN1U1TIH0 T'H Wl.f.
.SAN rRANfl.'SCO
/"/r; z
f 0CU.3ING TYPE.
65
next mistake is to use a type of reflector which is not suited to the con
ditions. This is often shown where an installation which is pruperly de
signed is copied for a condition that is radically different.
In the efficient lighting of a room it is not only necessary that the
greater portion of the light flux be directed to the plane of illumination,
which is generally about thirty inches from the floor, but it is also neces
sary that the upper portion of the room shall not be in darkness. This is
where the reflectors and globes of prismatic glass meet the demand. They
not only deliver to the plane to be illuminated the majority of the light
rays, but also permit a certain quantity of the rays to penetrate to the
upper portion of the room. The control and redirecting of the light rays
is shown in a marked degree in searchlights, where a parabolic reflector
is used to concentrate the light flux in a slender beam. It is a well known
fact that a perfect parabolic reflector, equipped with an absolute point
source of light at its focal point, would reflect all the light incident upon
its surface in a direction parallel to the axis, and thus form a beam with
the same intensity for an indefinite distance, barring only atmospheric
absorption. It is not practical to obtain this result, due to the fact that
it is impossible to obtain a true point source, and it is evident with the
light sources we have, a cone of light will be emitted. This can be noted
in automobile headlights where it is possible to obtain a much better and
stronger beam of light with an electric lamp of eight candle-power than
with an acetylene lamp of twenty candle-power it not being possible to
locate the acetylene flame at the focal point of a parabolic reflector, due to the
heat from the flame which would damage the reflecting surface, and the shape
of the flame which is not suited for this purpose.
Reflection from all painted or calcimined surfaces is largely of a dif
fused nature with a slight amount of regular reflection. The law that
"the angle of reflection equals the angle of incident" is hardly practical to
apply to painted or calcimined surfaces, unless it is for general results
only. It has been found that the reflecting power of colored surfaces
depends to a great extent on the quality of light by which they are il
luminated.
The statement is frequently made by salesmen of reflectors that their
reflectors increase the amount of light given by the lamp. This statement
is not correct because, as a matter of fact, a reflector will absorb a portion
of the light and thus decrease the mean spherical candle-power of the
lamp. The object of the reflector is to redirect the light flux to the work
ing plane. The majority of the lamps require some means to accomplish
this result, although there are some types of lamps which for certain
conditions do not require a reflector. Glassware, which is purely for dif
fusing purposes, must not be confused with that where the principal of
specular reflection is employed. The first is for diffusing the light and
concealing the light source, and is of no value where it is desired to
redirect the light. Ground glass, opal glass, etc., are of this type.
No one manufacturer makes a line of lighting supplies that is best
suited to all conditions, and frequently the illuminating engineer is com
pelled to design apparatus to suit certain conditions. The Allegheny
County Soldiers' Memorial Hall, .Pittsburg, is perhaps the best example of
-where apparatus made by a number of firms was used to get the desired
results. The light is diffused downward through glass plates which form
a. false ceiling, and the riotous color effect produced has been a wonder
to all beholders. There is the golden yellow light from the flame arc
lamp, bluish green from the mercury vapor lamps, rose from the nitrogen
66
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67
vapor tubes, amber and white from carbon filament and tungsten lamps,
and other shades from a combination of different lamps and colored glass.
While manufacturers of lighting fixtures have striven to improve their
product from an artistic point of view, the possibilities of the scientific
application of shades, reflectors and lamps have received scant attention.
The non-appreciation of the fact that art and science should work hand
in hand is to be deplored, especially since the advent of the newer type
of lighting units. There has been considerable criticism of the fact that
some of the electric fixture manufactures are from five to ten years behind
the times. This unfortunate state is due more to the consumer than to
the manufacturer. The average person, in selecting a lighting fixture,
considers those that are pleasing to the eye only. If the fixture does not
give sufficient light, larger lamps are substituted, or the shades are re
moved. If the light from the fixture is objectionable, due to glare or other
reasons, the lamps are blamed and not the fixture, thus the fixture manu
facturer is not encouraged to consider the inherent possibilities in com
bining art and good illuminating practice. The aesthetic taste is gratified,
but utility and efficiency are neglected, consequently the consumer pays
high electric bills, suffers from improper lighting and accepts it all as one.
of the ills to which flesh is heir. An incident that can be cited is the case
of a retail store having about 70000 square feet of floor. Several firms,
supplying fixtures, wiring, etc., were called in to remodel the lighting. The
work was done but it was not satisfactory. There was not sufficient light,
the distribution was poor and, the monthly bill was higher. Tungsten
lamps were used both before and after the change. The owners then
called in an engineer who made a survey of the installation, designed a
new layout, using the same apparatus, with the exception of some changes
in the reflectors and wiring, and the result was approximately twenty per
cent better lighting and fifty-six per cent reduction in the monthlv current
bill.
Objects of practical utility, such as lighting fixtures, in as far as they
claim to be within the realms of beauty, make two demands upon our
attention. They must fill a practical purpose as a lighting fixture, and
they must achieve this end in a smooth and harmonious manner. The
object of a lighting fixture is to illuminate. No architect specifies them as
necessary to the harmonious completion of a building, then why should
not the decorative features be built around the lighting units, thus obtain
ing utility and efficiency, instead of the lighting being a secondary con
sideration to the design of the fixture? Does an architect design a build
ing and then have the lot and purpose to which same is to be used, adapted
to his design? The adaptability and construction of a building are of vastly
more importance than its ornamentation, as the lighting of a building for the
comfort of its occupants should receive first consideration, rather than light
ing for ornamentation or display. Service first and ornamentation second, as
the lighting is simply a means to an end. In a certain public building, there
is a room in which there are very elaborate lighting fixtures, costing thous
ands of dollars, and more than overdone in design. Directly beneath one
of these fixtures is a desk used for writing, and in order to make it adaptable
to its purpose, it is necessary to furnish a drop cord from this ornate fixture,
with a cheap desk lamp and a green glass shade. This two dollar drop lamp
accomplishes the purpose that the elaborate fixture does not. The room was
intended for a reading and writing room, and not a show room for electric
fixtures.
The subject of direct versus indirect lighting has been discussed and
compared so often that it would seem that the last word has been said. Salesmen
68
handling each line have numerous arguments to advance the sale of their
goods, each claiming the superiority of their product, yet, when boiled down
to concrete cases, we find that there is no set rule by which the different
systems can be compared. The indirect system is, of course, the least ef
ficient as far as the watts required for a given intensity on the working plane
is concerned. With a correctly designed system of indirect lighting, under
ideal conditions, perhaps not over 55 per cent additional current is
required for the same intensity as that required for a well designed system
of direct lighting, but these ideal conditions are rarely ever met in practice.
The factors to be considered in the design of a system of indirect lighting are
the kind and quality of reflectors, the color of the ceiling, the color of the
side walls, the ceiling height, the shape of the ceiling, whether domed or
broken with plaster ornaments or beams, the height the fixtures can be hung
and the arrangement of the lamps and reflectors in same. The efficiency of
various systems of direct and indirect lighting with average conditions may
be assumed as follows : indirect cove lighting 20 to 30 per cent, indirect with
suspended units 40 per cent, direct lighting with frosted lamps placed near
the ceiling 50 per cent, and direct lighting with lamps equipped with ef
ficiency reflectors, 70 per cent.
While it is well to consider a system of lighting from a standpoint of cur
rent efficiency, other points will have to be considered also, and current con
sumption may be secondary to many of them. The beauty of the space to be
lighted, the absence of glare and the feeling of comfort should first be con
sidered, still efficiency should not be lost sight of in striving to perfect the
other considerations.
Whether the voltage loss in wiring should be considered seriously is a
subject hard to cover in a limited space. On a 115-volt system the voltage
drop will run from a fraction of one per cent to ten per cent, the measurement
being made between the service and the socket. A loss of three volts will
mean a loss of about 10 per cent in candle-power for tungsten lamps, and
at the same time the life of the lamp is lengthened, but the watts per candlepower is increased, thus lowering the efficiency. Whether it would be econ
omy to increase the wire sizes, and by this means increase the efficiency of the
system from a current consuming standpoint, or keep the cost of the instal
lation as low as possible and raise the maintenance, is a problem in which
the following factors will have to be considered : increased cost of wiring,
cost of current, load factor, cost of lamps for renewing, quality of the light
and depreciation of the wiring.
There are two variables which should be considered if the maximum result
in the use of incandescent lamps is to be obtainedefficiency and life, the
increase of one being accomplished at the expense of the other. If the cost
of current is known, when designing an installation, and the approximate
number of hours per day the system will be used, a balance between the two
variables can be found at which it is most economical to operate the lamps.
Tungsten lamps are rated at 1.25 watts per.candle, but they can be operated
at as low a current consumption as 0.4 watts per candle, although at a sacrifice
of life. In the first instance, the average life will be about 1000 hours, while
in the latter case, onlv a few hours. The most economical efficiency must then
be determined by considering the cost of the lamp, the cost of energy and
the number of hours per day that the lamps are in use. The characteristic
curves of tungsten lamps, as shown by Fig. 3, illustrates the effect of operat
ing these lamps at different efficiencies. These curves do not apply to other
types of lamps, as each has its own characteristics and will varv considerably
from those shown for the tungsten filament. There are two life ratings of
incandescent lamps, the actual life, of the length of time before the lamps
30
15'
15
69
ior
DISTRIBUTION Of LI6HT
TROM A PRISMATIC TatTLXCTOfc.
WITH 150 WATT J50WL TK05TE.D
LAMP.
J507TED LINES 3H0W DISTRIBUTION OT J.I6HT
TfiOM. A DAT5E. 150 WATT JLAV\T>.
FIG. 5
i*?iMcZ**g
met-,
burn out and is no longer serviceable and the useful life, which is the length
of time before the candle-power falls to 70 per cent of its rating. Incandescent
lamps which have deteriorated until the bulb is black and the candle-power
has decreased materially had better be replaced by a new lamp, for usually
the increased current consumption per candle-power of the old lamp will
pay for a new lamp.
TABLE OF LIGHT INTENSITIES FOR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF
SERVICE.
Light intensity
in foot-candles.
Theaters, churches and auditoriums
1 to 3
Reading rooms
3 to 4
Ball rooms
3 to 6
Residence (general illumination)
1 to 2
Desk lighting
2 to 4
Stores (general illumination)
3 to 8
Show windows, show cases, etc
6 to 20
Bookkeeping
3 to 5
Drafting, engraving and watch repairing
5 to 10
70
In all vocations there are certain beliefs more or less firmly rooted in the
popular imagination but actually based upon erroneous ideas. The electrical
industry is full of them, and in spite of the advance of technical education
and repeated disproofs, there is still a large number of fallacies that have not
been exploded. That the cheapest method of producing light will produce
the cheapest illumination, is one of them. The fallacy that a high intensity
of light is good lighting is another. A high intensity will frequently cause
a glare that will strain the eye which, under continued exposure, radiates
to the socket and surrounding regions of the face and head. The intensity
of artificial illumination required for comfortable reading has been tested
numerous times by various engineers and scientists, and the amount required
has been found to vary considerable, depending on the person, the surround
ing conditions and the direction from which the light is received. Specular
reflection from the paper has considerable influence on the amount of light
required. With artificial light an intensity of from one to two foot-candles
is considered necessary, although some individuals can read with ease with
an intensity of from 0.5 to 1,0 foot-candles or even lower. From tests made
with natural light, it was found that with an intensity of 0.22 foot-candles
certain individuals could read with considerable comfort, while other persons
could not read without eye strain. Black print upon a white page may have
a ratio of brightness of 20 to 1, while the ratio of the brilliancy of a incan
descent lamp filament to a shadow cast by same may be several million to
one. It is evident then that if there is a difference in the brightness of various
parts of the object, our ability to see plainly is more a matter of contrast than
of the actual amount of light. We can read a printed page with ease with
an intensity of one foot-candle, but should we raise the intensity to five footcandles the ratio between the black print and the white paper would remain
the same. In fact, we could raise the intensity to a point where the black
is physically many times brighter than the white originally was, and even
then the appearance is still black and white.
Owing to the high intrinsic brightness of the modern illuminant, the
direct rays are very injurious to the eye and cause eye discomfort and visual
inefficiency. In designing lighting systems for factories and offices, the loss
of eye efficiency means a loss in the amount of work that can be accom
plished. In theaters, stores and public buildings, the physiological effect of
lighting systems should be given careful consideration.
The commercial value of artificial illumination seems to be well recog
nized and the effect of a brilliantly lighted store or theater fagade seems to
affect the human being much the same as the moth is drawn to the flame.
There is perhaps no way in which the merchant can achieve as satisfactory
results, with the same expenditure, as with a properly designed system of
show-window lighting.
In the case of lighting an industrial plant, two conditions have to be
considered. One class is where the workman's attention is confined closely
to some particular point of operation. Therefore, in designing a system of
lighting to meet this condition, attention must be centered upon the point
of operation and the general lighting becomes secondary. If the case does
not require close attention of the eye, the importance of local lighting is sub
sidiary to the general lighting. The proper lighting of modern industrial
plants requires even more thought than is necessary for any other class of
buildings, and, where high efficiency is desired, the effect of well lighted (both
artificial and natural) and cheerful surroundings has been long recognized
by efficiency experts as an important factor to consider. Good illumination,
where clerical work or drafting is done is economy in a number of ways.
71
The output is increased, the quality of the work is better and the electrical
bills are decreased.
any point from each lamp. The distance at which the lamps are spaced
and the height it is desired to hang them must be decided first. Taking an
imaginary plane, known as the plane of illumination, which is usually
about thirty inches from the floor (the height of a desk or table), point
by point we calculate the light flux produced by each source singly and
then add them, the reflection from the walls and ceiling also being con
sidered. This method will give the uniformity of the illumination which
is generally plotted in a curve, as shown on Fig. 4.
ceiling. The data pertaining to the reflectors can be obtained from data
books or by making photometer test of same. For instance, a room having
unbroken walls and ceiling surface of white plaster and using prismatic
reflectors, the effective lumens are 60 per cent.
lumens per watt. This will then require 187 watts per outlet. As there
are no single lamps of the wattage required, we will be compelled to use
either three 60 watt lamps per outlet, or two 100 lamps, which will be
more than required, or one 150 or one 250 watt lamp. As it is desired
72
73
artistic way of laying brick and has little to commend it except considera
tions of economy.
The Flemish bond, in which every course consists of alternate headers
and stretchers is, after the running bond, the one we most commonly
meet with, having been generally used in our brick buildings of Colonial
date, in which the black header and red stretcher effect is so often notice
able. Flemish bond is constructionally honest, artistic and satisfying,
and its almost universal employment in modern building of Colonial style
cannot be too strongly commended.
The double-stretcher Flemish bond which, as its name denotes, con
in the English bond the stretchers of all the courses come directly above
each other while in the Dutch cross bond the stretchers of the first and
fifth courses break joints with the stretchers and of the third and seventh
courses respectively and thus throughout, giving a diagonally diapered
appearance if the mortar joints and the hue of the brick be judiciously
contrasted.
The bonds mentioned are the most usual kinds, but one also meets
many people, who are supposed to have some knowledge of such matters,
have difficulty in keeping the differences clearly in mind and generally
fall down in trying to describe them.
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75
0
0
n
0
M,
Gdr I
M,
GdrZ
Plone cf_CpnlrafI ex u r&
0t
H>M.
3v-v'
H,
T
3V-v
01
76
(3)
(1) H + H ='
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
from
XH = O
H1h = 2M1
**
3V1 = 2 M1
4V1 = 2 M2
**
**
**
44
on outer gars.
on inner gars.
P'-
V =
2 =
H1 =
3 P
20
7 P
20
H2
M.
M2 =
And the stresses in the entire frame according to these relations are
given in Table I.
CASE II
(Unequal Bays)
Assumptions same as for Case I.
= '(x - lo
V, = V. (1 + l2 x)
v. = '(', '+ 1 + 1 x)
V2
T.7 V.
V3 =
5
17
V.
v. = 'v,
17
Since the 1's differ, all the M's and H's differ, giving for this Case,
Hi + H2 + H2 + H. = P
Hih
H2h
Halh
H, h
10V
(7)
12
(8)
14
(# v.)
(' v.)
=
=
=
=
=
from
2M1
2 (M1 + M2)
2(M2 + M3)
2Ms
2M1
**
**
**
**
**
77
X H = O
X M = O on
**
on
**
on
**
on
**
on
Col.
Col.
Col.
Col.
Gdr;
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
= 2M2
**
**
on Gdr; 2.
= 2 M3
**
on Gdr. 3.
V = #P.;
; ;M
14
M2 =
'M.
133
M3 = 85 M1
H1
85
724"
229
Hs
_ #1."
277
H. =
133
724
P
And the stresses in the frame, according to these relations, are obtained
as in Case I.
CASE III.
The shears and direct stresses in the middle portions of the girders and
columns are the same as in Case I, but change at the brace intersections
by an amount equal to the algebraic sum of the horizontal or vertical com
ponents, as the case may be, of the brace stresses.
The maximum bending moments in the girders and columns are at
the brace intersections, where the shears change sign.
KNEE-BRACE STRESSES.
M = (F + F) d sin 6
F = M cosec e F.
And
... .
F=(M.M,
M.
- M.,
78
79
William Curlett, F. A. I. A.
IN THE death of Mr. William Curlett, which occurred at his country
home in Menlo Park on January 21st, San Francisco has lost one of its
best citizens and the architectural profession has been deprived of one
of its most valued members. Mr. Curlett had been ill for a long' time and
months ago was compelled to yield the active cares of business because of
broken health.
Mr. Curlett was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1846, and received his early
education in that city. His architectural training was also obtained in
Ireland and England, where he practiced for several years. He came to
America in 1871, taking up his residence in San Francisco. Later he
journeyed to Los Angeles and established an architectural practice, design
ing among other structures the Severance building at Sixth and Main
streets. During that period he also took an active part in promoting
the city's interests and laid out St. James Park, which has become one
of the show places of Los Angeles.
Returning to San Francisco, Mr. Curlett continued his professional
work with uninterrupted success, among his architectural achievements
being the Phelan building, Head building, Shreve building, Mutual Savings
Bank building and residences for Mrs. M. Pauline Payne at Menlo Park,
for Mrs. William H. Crocker on Nob Hill and for former Mayor Jas. D.
Phelan at Los Gatos.
Since his early association and partnership with Augustus Laver, the
architect of the City Hall of San Francisco, destroyed in the fire of 1906,
he designed many of the best known commercial buildings and residences
in San Francisco and throughout California, including the court houses
of Los Angeles and Fresno counties, the San Bernardino State asylum and
the Flood mansion in San Mateo county. In much of his Los Angeles
work Mr. Curlett was associated with his brother-in-law, Theodore Eisen,
of that city.
Many of his early architectural works were destroyed in the fire of
1906, including the residences of Wm. Crocker, W. Sherwood, L. L. Baker
and the old Clunie building.
Mr. Curlett was a man of fine attainments and his life was one of useful
and meritorious achievements. He possessed a personal poise and dignity
that commanded respect and admiration and kindly qualities that endeared
him to his friends. He had that pure love of his art which makes pro
fessional ideals paramount to commercial gain and he strove to give the
best that was in him to his work, however much he was hampered by
matters that conflicted with ideals of architecture and art.
Mr. Curlett was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a
member of the California Chapter A. I. A., former president of the State
Board of Architecture, member of the Bohemian Club, Doric Lodge No.
216, F. & A., Masons, also a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the Scot
tish Rite bodies. He was selected as chairman of the advisory board of
architects for the exposition in 1915.
Mrs. Curlett, who is a sister of Architect Theodore Eisen of Los An
geles, a son, Aleck E., and a daughter, Mrs. L. Mills, of San Francisco
survive.
Robert B. Young
Robert Brown Young, senior member of the firm of R. B. Young & Son,
architects, of Los Angeles, and president of the Southern California Chap
ter of the American Institute of Architects, passed away at his residence,
1101 South Hoover street, Los Angeles, January 29. The end came peace
80
fully after months of intense suffering which he had borne with remark
able fortitude. He was elected president of the Southern California Chap
ter of the A. I. A. in October and accepted the honor by letter but on
account of continuing ill health was unable to actively assume the duties
of the office.
Mr. Young was born in Huntington county, Quebec Province, Canada,
April 1, 1855. He received his early education there and when a young
man decided to seek his fortune in the West and went to Denver, Colo.
There he acquired a training in construction and architectural work. In
1880 he was wedded to Mary C. Wilson of Denver and the following year
they moved to San Francisco. They remained there but a short time and
about 1883 went to Los Angeles, Mr. Young at once embarking in the
practice of architecture. Thirty years ago there were not many large
structures in Los Angeles and Mr. Young became identified with many
of the earlier large building enterprises. Among the buildings of which
he was the architect may be noted the Westminster, Hollenbeck, Lankershim, Occidental and Lexington hotels; the Barker Bros., Blackstones and
California Furniture commercial buildings ; and the Seminole and Westonia
apartments. He was the resident architect of the new Orpheum Theater
in Los Angeles. He also designed a number of Catholic churches and
school buildings in the diocese of Los Angeles and Monterey. His archi
tectural practice in later years extended to Arizona, the Yuma county
court house being among his achievements there.
Theodore F. White
Theodore F. White, 1526 Wilcox avenue, Hollywood, mining engineer,
street and highway contractor and better known as father of oiled roads
in California, was drowned in the flood waters overflowing from Lvtle
creek at a point on Eighth street, Colton, on January 27th. Air. White
had been active in street and highway contracting during the last twelve
years, was a man of sterling character, respected by his associates and the
engineers with whom he came in contact, beloved of his employes, and
regarded by many inspectors on the contracts he was executing as having
only one faultthat he did his work too well for his own good. Mr.
White was 69 years of age.
*
*
Arizona Architectural Competition
Architect Myron Hunt of Los Angeles, advisor to the regents of Arizona
University in the proposed architectural competition for a university
building to cost $150,000, announces that the competition will be an open
one under the rules of the American Institute of Architects. No geograph
ical lines will be drawn upon those eligible to, compete. The program for
the competition has been drawn, but the regents of the university are
waiting to have some points regarding the Arizona law requiring com
petitions on public buildings cleared before announcement is made.
Arizona has a law identical with that passed by the California Legis
lature in 1872 which the courts of this State have recently held to be
inoperative. The Arizona law has been observed in a desultory fashion
and conflicting opinions have been rendered by county attorneys regard
ing its status. As a matter of fact the Arizona law is as much of a dead
letter as the California law and it is believed the same grounds exist for
declaring it invalid as were found in California. The matter is now re
ceiving the attention of Arizona legal authorities.
81
82
83
84
85
87
88
89
STOCK ROOM
everlastingly moulded into fixed
form and separated by perhaps
the extent of the whole con
tinent.)
In this department
artists of recognized ability only
are employed, oftentimes the
development of ornamental de
tail is left by the architect en
tirely to the modeller. It is the
practice of the trade to main
tain a competent photographic
department and through it the
modelling is submitted to the
architect for inspection and if
not at first entirely satisfactory,
corrections are made and resub
SHIPPING ROOM
mitted until finally approved.
Many architects prefer to inspect the modelling in person, and this method
of approval is encouraged by the manufacturer.
The pressing shop is the next
department in progressive se
quence and there the clay body
is pressed into the moulds. This
operation is performed prin
cipally by manual labor, but in
some plants machinery is also
employed for work of simple
character. The usual manner is
to press a piece face down,
building up the sides second
arily and finally to insert the
cross webs. When sufficiently
dried it is turned out of the
mould on to a fiat board, face
kiln for burntng upward, and then the process of
90
91
92
93
GARDEN FURNITURE IN
HADDON HILL, OAKLAND, UAL.
By Strsi Studios
94
95
')(,
By ROBERT P. SKINNER*
HE report on "floorings of sawdust and magnesium chloride" has given
rise to innumerable inquiries from correspondents from various parts
of the United States, all of whom express a desire for further details.
It was stated in the original report that extensive use was being made in Ger
many of a flooring composition consisting of a solution of chloride of magne
sium to which pulverized magnesia is added, together with considerable pro
portions of sawdust, and which, being skilfully compounded, provided a rela
tively inexpensive and fairly fireproof flooring material, especially useful in
large office buildings and public halls. One inquirer stated that the art of lay
ing these floorings in Germany is far ahead of the practice in America, and
asked particularly for the method of coloring the material and of governing
its expansion and contraction.
According to my information, there should be neither expansion nor con
traction of the material from any cause whatever, after a flooring of magnes
ium chloride is once laid. The very ingredients are such that there is no buck
ling or cracking due to heat or cold : In Hamburg the composition is mixed
and spread where the building operations are being carried on, the prepared
dry meal being delivered in bags from the factory and the lye water made on
the spot. It is impossible to state the precise rule for the composition of the
meal or for the lye solution, these being the manufacturers' secrets and each
manufacturer claiming particular merits for his own formula. These formulas
are not patented, and there is no doubt that they are all substantially alike.
Several manufacturers have expressed a willingness to sell their process, either
for the whole of the United States or for a restricted territory. One Hamburg
firm sold its formula for a small place in Southern Germany for $1,428.
The mixture of meal and lye water is made in a mortar box, and when a
thickness of not more than 2 inches is proposed it is spread and smoothed with
a hand trowel ; when a thickness of four inches is desired, the material is
tamped and then smoothed. The amount of lye water used in mixing the meal
depends upon whether the flooring is to be simply spread or tamped ; if spread
the ordinary practice seems to be to use from 4 to 6 buckets of the lye water to
1 sack of meal, the sack apparently containing from 50 to 60 pounds.
These floorings were first utilized in large office buildings in Hamburg,
and probably elsewhere, as a basic flooring for linoleum and also for the addi
tion of artificial wood-marble flooring. These wood-marble floorings are sub
stitutes for wood, and the panels are polished like hardwood floors ; that is to
say, smoothed with steel shavings and given a coating of wax. When lino
leum is applied, it is glued to the magnesium-chloride foundation with a lino
leum cement, which is said to be composed of copal resin and putty.
In Germany linoleum is never tacked to wood or artificial stone flooring,
as is usual in the United States, but it is invariably glued in place, an ordinary
flour paste being used when it is applied to wooden floors. Linoleum thus laid
is washed afterwards with soap water and when dry given a coating of wax,
exactly like a hardwood floor. This treatment is the ordinary practice in the
large office buildings in Germany, even in hallways where thousands of people
pass in the course of a week.
The magnesium-chloride flooring was first considered a particularly excel
lent foundation for linoleum, and it i? only in comparatively recent times that
it has been found possible to color it and to lay it so attractively that no lino
leum covering is necessary. It is laid tight against the side walls, making the
entire floor waterproof. In bathrooms and around toilets, it is brought to
*U. S. Consul General, Hamburg. Germany.
97
the edge of the porcelain and the joints arc rounded upward, so that no crev
ices present themselves in which dust or dirt can collect, nor should there be
any joint through which water might percolate.
The favor in which linoleum is held in this country is such that manufac
turers of these new composition floorings have some difficulty in inducing buy
ers to put down this material, in solid or varied colors, in preference to a simi
lar natural color foundation with linoleum coverings, although the cost and
wearing qualities of the former method are said to be much in its favor. Lino
leum costs in Hamburg about 8G cents per square meter (a square meter equals
1.2 square yards), and the cheapest class of magnesium-chloride foundation
pavement costs 48 cents, making a total of $1.34 per square meter against a cost
of $1.19 per square meter for a colored wood-marble floor attractively finished.
The new floorings may now be obtained in almost any color, or in mottled col
ors. When mottled colors are desired, the different colored mixtures are pre
pared separately and tamped in together as the floor is laid. Special dyes are
required for these operations, and there are a number of manufacturers who
produce them. In a general way, from 15.4 to 22 pounds of color are necessary
for 220 pounds of mortar. The proportions vary with the strength of coloring
desired. The colors themselves are of different prices. One manufacturer
quotes red, blue, black and brown at $4.76 per 220 pounds ; oxide green, $53.55 ;
and blue, $19,04 to $21.42 per 220 pounds. Another manufacturer quotes red
dye, very much in demand, at an average price of $3.81 per 220 pounds. The
prices again vary with the quantity ordered. The more delicate tints, such
as green and blue, are more sensitive to light, particularly if exposed for a long
time, than the quiet colors, such as black, red and brown. Red is especially
favored, and the many different shades are said to be absolutely unchangeable.
Most of the manufacturers of these dyes also supply dyes for cement tiles,
stucco, imitation marble, sand-lime bricks, and cement blocks.
One Hamburg manufacturer claims for his own composition that it is
crack-free under all circumstances, warm under foot, elastic and sound-proof,
preferable to linoleum, as linoleum curls at the edges after a time, breaks or
wears away, and absorbs water, permitting it to leak through. This same manu
facturer submits a certificate of examination from the royal board of examiners
of material in the Technical High School in Berlin, reporting as follows on the
examination of samples of his material:
1. After the sample plates were soaked in water and had been exposed
to frost 25 times at 15 degrees C. below zero, the samples remained unharmed.
2. After the plates had been lying in water for eight days a very small
proportion of water (9 per cent ) had been absorbed.
3. After the plates had been attached to a vessel containing waterafter
24 hours, none; after 48 hours. 2 cubic centimeters, or 5 per cent; after 72
hours. 4 cubic centimeters , or 10 per cent, of moisture had been absorbed.
This manufacturer also claims that in this country his composition is
cheaper than pine flooring, tiling, or stone ; that it may be used to cover old
worn-out wood and stone-plate floorings, staircases, and the like without the
necessity of removing the old floors. Wherever a foundation is firm and dry
it may be laid without any complicated preparations. Finally, it may be cleaned
with cold water and only very seldom should lukewarm water be applied.
After complete cleansing and thorough drying, the flooring should be rubbed
with raw linseed oil or should be waxed.
Magnesium chloride, the chief ingredient of these compositions, is worth,
in 50-ton lots, in casks of 880 pounds f. o. b. Hamburg. $11.50 per ton fused.
If in lesser lots. $12 per ton. Greek calcined and powdered magnesite, in bar
rels of 396 to 440 pounds, is worth $33.32 to $35.70 per 2,000 pounds f. o. b.
Rotterdam. Raw Magnesite, in casks, is worth $30.94 per 200 pounds f. o. b.
Hamburg.
99
These things the owner, unless he has had a vast experience in build
ing operations, realizes little or nothing of. It is the architect's business
to act as the owner's representative, to consult with and advise the owner
regarding estimates obtained from responsible builders, in many cases
these bids being from each trade separately, thereby assuring a minimum
cost. This is called a split contractwhere the architect acts almost as
the general contractor in obtaining and letting these sub-contracts, usually
saving the owner the general contractor's profit on the same.
The owner's interests are carefully looked after during the progress
of construction by the architect, and contractors and sub-contractors are
sure of being dealt with in an absolutely fair and impartial manner, thus
insuring to the owner the very best class of work consistent with the
amount of money being spent therefor. The comparatively small fee
which the architect charges for these services will be more than offset by
the savings effected in the contract price alone, and by the better class of
work thereby obtained.
In general, the province of the architect is not only to represent the
owner and see that his interests are fully provided for and covered, but
also to see that the contractor has absolutely fair play, that no more is
exacted of him than he has figured to do, and in short, to act as a mediator
between the owner and contractor to the end that the owner may get the
building that he wants, and that the contractor may erect the building in
exactly the manner in which the plans and specifications upon which he
has figured require.
It will be seen, therefore, that the architect is acting in a dual capacity,
representing the owner and also protecting the contractor, so that the
owner shall not exact more than belongs to him, nor the contractor do any
less than required of him by the contract which he has signed.
*
100
Another evil is to be found in the way some real estate firms allow the
erection of indiscriminately designed buildings, not designed by real archi
tects, in their tracts, setting a poor example when there should be a high
architectural standard.
*
Something About Advertising
THE failure of a trial advertisement has set more business men against
advertising than any other factor in publicity. This is a pity when
the indefiniteness of a trial advertisement is considered. A trial
advertisement represents low-water markabsolute bottom.It is not
decisive. It has no more value as evidence than a first meeting with an
individual who afterwards becomes your friend. Of all the advertise
ments in a long campaign, the first ad is the worst, though it is written
by an adept. If it is written by a novice in advertising, that novice will
never write a weaker one. It is like the first discord struck out of the
piano by a beginner. If a student becomes disgusted with such an initial
effort he will never get farther, and if a merchant abandons his advertising
intentions because the first advertisement was unremunerative, he will
never get farther. The first attempt at anvthing is valuable only as an
educator. Advertising is like seed sown, it's got to have time to grow
before you can reap the harvest.
If a paper, after careful examination, impresses you at all favorably,
it's worth giving a fair trial. In no case should a trial ad be inserted for
less than six months. If the paper is going to be a paying investment
for you, it will begin to show results by that time.
There is a big difference between feeding a cow just enough to keep her
alive, and feeding her enough to create a profit.
The same is true about advertising. Nine times out of ten a small
advertisement inserted one or two times is simply a waste of money,
while the same advertisement inserted for six or more months would have
become a paying investment.
*
101
102
103
engaged in other lines that you had not yet given it any attention, it may
all seem a very rational growth. The advantages of fire prevention are
so obvious that it sounds almost monstrous that it ever could have been
opposed, or that its simple requirements were ever looked upon as in
sufferable. But you can believe me that it was a long and bitter fight. I
have been interested in and watched from the inside the progress of many
reforms, many drastic upheavals that have been deeply resented, but .no
where else have I seen so much, such well-generaled and heavily financed
opposition as was directed at fire prevention. Even today you can see
how it will still crop out. Go and suggest some little improvement in a
building code and watch the procession of interested opponents, big busi
ness men, builders, real estate sharks and their cohorts that will file into
the city hall, there to register their solemn protest against the innovation
that is aimed at the welfare of the city.
The turning point came about ten years ago. Not only was the sub
ject tolerated, but there was actually some enthusiasm shown. The pa
pers opened their columns freely to our sermons and exhortations ; more
than that, some of them gave whole sections to the discussion and exploi
tation of fire prevention. The technical journals sanely commented upon
the happenings of the day that pointed a moral. The colleges added a
few words to their engineering courses. The architects came to the
realization that steel and other materials might be unburnable, but never
theless were very damageable by fire, so they protected them and did,
more or less reluctantly, other preventive things. And then came the
really big and convincing lessons in our education. Some wild-eyed en
thusiast had been prophesying dire disaster to our cities ; one had in fact
written an article that had been widely quoted in which he foretold
quite by accident, I assure youthe order in which the most likely cities
would be attacked by fire (and had been well hooted at because those
two cities had such exceptionallv fine fire departments that they made it im
possible for the foolish prophecy to be verified). Well, earthquake and
fire conspired with him and Baltimore and San Francisco were laid low !
The Impressive Sermon of Big Fires.
No more impressive sermon was ever preached than those two fires,
nor was ever a lesson so quickly and respectfully heeded. There was
literallyfor a whilea veritable scuffle to see which city would most
thoroughly amend its code, which manufacturing concern would make
the most rigid rules anent prevention or which individual would shout
the loudest approval of all that was being done in that direction. No
spanked school boy ever promised abiding and complete reform so quickly
and earnestly as did the great United States and Canada at that time.
Educate in fire prevention? Oh. yes, that's my subject, and I'm ex
pected to enounce some wise homilies thereon. One could string out
such homilies for endless pages; I'll bunch mine in a paragraph.
Just keep everlastingly at it, that's all. The public, through years of
hammering at it, is in a receptive mood. Let everyone who has seen the
light and knows the simple rules of the game of fire prevention elect him
self a committee of one to preach them and write them wherever he can.
See a billboard advertiser at work and learn from him the efficacy of
keeping a subject or matter before the people. Go and do likewise.
Never let an opportunity escape, and lo, before many years you'll find the
country so well versed in the art, so insistent upon obeying its every re
quirement that you will wonder indeed that there ever could have been
a time when education in fire prevention seemed necessary.
104.
105
106
107
108
109
Cretan king's palace, still in perfect condition, and compare them with
the clay pipe of today, we are struck by the great similarity of the two.
There they are, four inches in diameter, in thirty-inch lengths, with belland-spigot joints, without blisters, cracks or any imperfections that would
prevent their giving good service in any town of today.
How much did this far distant architect know and how much was he
guessing? Did he realize that in creating bell-and-spigot clay sewer pipe
he was giving something to the world that would be an important feature
in its civilization ever afterward? Did he realize that in selecting clay
for his material of sanitation he had chosen absolutely the only material
that could have carried sewage and resisted its acid-bearing vapors, or
carried water and resisted its solvent carbonic acid, and remained to be re
discovered after five thousand years? If an untutored girl like Cleopatra,
only a few centuries later, knew that lemon juice would dissolve pearls
or any other limey substance, this king's architect may have known more
than we think about the destructive chemistry of sewage and the great
value of burned clay to resist it. If he knew how to cut 40-ton blocks of
stone from quarries without powder, float them across the Nile without
tug boats, haul them across the desert without railroads, steam, donkeys
or wire cables, pile them up in a temple without derricks or jackscrews,
and fit them together without mortar so that not a five-hundredth of an
inch intervened between them, it is difficult to guess how much he knew
about sewerage and sanitation. It is fortunate, perhaps, that there
was no regular patent office in Egypt, or we might still be paying him
royalties as we do to the organized brigands of Gizeh who have come to
own the Pyramids.
Now there are two sides to engineeringthe Adventurous and the
Commonplace. This original inventor, whoever he was, with no building
ordinances to bother him, and plenty of the king's money to spend, must
have enjoyed the adventure of it exceedingly. But that was five thousand
years ago. Today the big money is to be found on the Commonplace side.
The most successful engineers of today hire draughtsmen at $2.00 a day
to invent details for them while they deal strictly in standard materials
and keep their eyes on standard specifications and their fulfilment. Not
being the inventors of the Briggs logarithms, a lot of us must be content
to use them faithfully without alteration to the sixth decimal placefor a
living. It is the same with vitrified clay sewer pipe. We did not have the
fun of inventing it or using it as an experiment, but we must use it as
the standard of all first-class sanitation. And, after all, there is great honor
in dealing in the most indestructible material ever invented and in carry
ing forward the world's sanitation as well and as thoroughly as the most
wonderful of all builders did for the Kings of Crete.
*
The Autoclave Test for Portland Cement
MR. W. LAURENCE GADD, an English cement expert, recently read
at a meeting of the Concrete Institute in London a paper entitled
"Some Fallacies in Cement Testing." The paper is somewhat ex
haustive, touching upon a number of points regarding which cement ex
perts are pretty generally agreed, but containing one paragraph which, be
cause the subject has recently been the cause of some warm discussion on
the Pacific Coast, the Architect and Engineer believes it will be of interest
to many of its readers to reprint.
The paragraph in question contains Mr. Gadd's ideas upon the value
of the "Autoclave Test," so called, and is as follows :
110
NORTHERN DISTRICT.
PRESIDENT ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JoHN BAKEwell, Jr.
(ORGANIZED 1857)
Washington, D. C.
J. L. MANRAN, St. Louis
AUDITOR. . . . . .T. J. T. FULLER, Washington, D. C.
TREASURER
.. . . . . . .. . .
Members
EDGAR A. MATHEws
Joseph C. Newsome
SOUTHERN DISTRICT.
PRESIDENT ............. . . . . . . . . JoHN P. KREMPEL
SECRETARY-TREAsURER..... . . . . . FRED H. Roeh RIG
OcTAvius MoRGAN
MEMBERs. ...................
P. HUNT
WM. S. HEBBARD
ait
Board of Directors
Two
- - - - - -
YearsC.
Grant
La
Farge,
New
New
York.
RollAND KELLY
F. Withey
SECRETARY-TREASURER . . . . . . . . . . HENRY E. BEAN
Chairman Educational Committee
John T. Vawter
SEcRETARY-TREAsURER....SYLVAIN ScHNAITTAcHER
J Geo.
B. McDougALL
HENRY G. ScHULzE
TRUSTEEs. . . . . . . . .
- - - - - - - -
PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. B. LYMAN
VICE-PRESIDENT ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F. C. CREssy
SECRETARY.........
... RoBT. HALLEY, JR.
TREASURER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G. A. HAUsseN
-
Board of Directors
J. J. Blick
Octavius MoRGAN
H. M. Patterson
#urtlanth
Architectural (IIIth
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PRESIDENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDGAR
M. Lazarus
...JNo. G. Wilson
Vice-PRESIDENT ..
SecretARY-TREASURER.
.H. A. WhitNEY
Morris H. Whitehouse
TRUSTEEs. . . . . . . . ' ' ' ' ' " Ellis F. Law RENce
-
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHARLEs
Vice-PRESIDENTs
.......
- - - - - - - -
H. ALDEN
J. F. EveRETT
('
Gove
SECRETARY
Albert HELD
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ARTHUR L. LovELEss
TREAsure R
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.
AdditionAL MEMBERs
of CouncIL..........
~!
C.
P.
WillAtzEN
D. J. MYERs
D. R. Hu NTINGTon
W. R. B. Willcox
112
113
114
THE
ArrJjttrrt ani. lEtujinrrr
OP OALIPORINIA.
Member of Caltfornta Periodtcal Publtshers' Assoctatton
and General Contractors' Assoctatton, San Franctsco
Published Monthly In the interest* of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
offtccs
617-619 Monadnock Building . San pranclsco
Telephone Douglas 1828
Builders' Exchange, Oakland
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespotnts
11.50
annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Foretgn
flperaddtttonal.
Vol. XXXVI.
Feb., 1914
No. 1.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
H. J. Brunnter
Reinforced Concrete
Wm. B. Gestf.r.
| Inspection
Loren E. Hunt, C. E.
-I and Tests
WSF^TRC,cf: i "reproof Construction
S-jMSIS- C ^\
Structure Steel
Terra
Howard Frost. )
L"a
G. B. Ashcroft, C. E. Artificial Stone
JHARRRDY.feNNZ,E : \*>ofs and Roofing
Fred M. Woods. Jr.. - Rock and Gravel
C. Walter Tozer - - Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Kterulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Butte - Electrical Construction
Nathantel Ellery. C. E. - - - Good Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
F. D. Hudson
August G. Headman Sumner P. Hunt
Edward T. Foulkes
C. Sumner Greene
Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
G. Albert Lansburch Norman F. Marsh
E. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bugbee
KennethMacDonald.Jr. Clayton
D. Wilson
Houghton Sawyer
Almeric Coxhead
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown. Jr.
John Parkinson
T. J. Welsh
W. J. Cuthbertson
Chas. P. Weeks
A. W. Smith
Benj. G. McDoutrall T. Patterson Ross
Octavius Morgan
William H. Weeks
H. Alban Reeves
Chas. W. Dickey
J. C. Austin
Henry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
J. T. Walsh, C. E.
Jas. W. Reid
Smith O'Brien
Albert Pissis
H. F. Starbuck
J. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel BJaisdell
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
Arthur O. Johnson
Willtam Mooser
Herbert E. Law
Robert Moreeneier
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
B. J. S. Cahill
John Galen Howard j F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgatdt \
E. M. C. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
"FIRE - A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
fj0- See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Franciaco
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Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
Copyright P. P. I. E.
Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer
of California
For March, 1914.
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol, XXXVI.
MARCH, 1914.
No. 2
48
49'
openings are grouped above a single level. Remark how the terracing of
the hill to the left of the house ties the land to the building, while at the
same time the low, dense planting prevents its effect from becoming
merely architectural. Remark how much gayer and more enter
taining the old Spanish forms have become in this rendering. The build
ing, instead of being planned as a fortress to exclude sunlight and the
air, has been opened up and ventilated. The sunlight and the air have
been made welcome in good, wholesome American fashion, while at the
same time the structure has been kept substantial and dignified by the
solidity of its lower parts.
The photographs necessarily fail to do any justice to one of the inter
esting and original aspects of Mr. Mullgardt's work, and that is to his use
of color. He realizes in the first place that color has a more important
part to play in the architecture of California than it has in that of the
eastern states. "Florida and California," he says in his paper on the "Use
of Color in Architecture," "with their Oriental atmosphere show a natural
tendency in that direction, partly due to early Spanish influence, but
largely because climatic conditions call for it. The Occidental has not
fully awakened to this fact as yet ; but he will, as is proven by the more
extensive use of the lighter tints, approaching white, in the walls which
he builds today. We are beginning to realize that it is the white wall
which makes the blue sky seem more blue than it was, and that the red
roof is more red. In this are the first signs of an awakening which will
be but the forerunner of an ultimate acceptance of the complete gamut
of color."
Mr. Mullgardt himself uses color delicately, but with assurance. With
the exception of a few wooden bungalows, his houses are plastered ; and
he has invented a method of putting on the final coating of plaster in a
much more interesting and varied texture than such walls ordinarily get.
Moreover, the color of the plaster, instead of being the usual dead gray,
has been warmed up, and it mellows very effectively with age. During
the summer in California there is a good deal of dust in the air, which
is caught by the roughened plaster, and which makes it steadily improve
in color.
Even more original is Mr. Mullgardt's treatment of the surface of his
roofs. One of the illustrations of Mr. Taylor's house gives a near view
of the roof, which looks as if it were covered with flat, irregular cobble
stones. As a matter of fact, the roofing material consists of flat, but
rounded and irregular, pieces of reddish terra cotta, laid in cement; and
it makes, we believe, an entirely satisfactory as well as a very good look
ing roof. The joints between the pieces of terra cotta are much more
conspicuous in the photograph than they are from the angle at which
they are ordinarily seen. Usually one gets the sense of a pretty solid
mass of color, broken only by a sort of irregular pattern, which is, I think,
much pleasanter to the eye than are the regular undulations made by the
ordinary tiled roof. The color of Mr. Mullgardt's tiles is, also, much
less harsh than is that of the modern imitations of the old Spanish tiles:
and Mr. Mullgardt varies it in different buildings. The originality and
beauty of this aspect of Mr. Mullgardt's work must be seen in order to
be appreciated.
We shall not attempt any specific account of Mr. Mullgardt's other
houses. They, all of them, are unmistakably the work of the man who
designed the residence of Mr. H. W. Taylor. He has approached his
other problems with the same fresh eye, and he has used the same original
50
51
has already been built to a certain extent upon local soil, Californians are
in the fortunate position of having good reasons for remaining faithful
to a simple and comparatively familiar style of domestic architecture.
It will, I am afraid, immediately occur to some of my readers that the
style to which I refer is that of the Missions, but such is not the case.
The
Missions architecture was ecclesiastical rather than do
mestic, and the attempts which have hitherto been made to adopt the pe
culiarities of the Mission style to the design of contemporary American
houses have been almost wholly grievous in their effects. The Missions
contained in their architecture much that was rudimentary, awkward and
ununiformed.
If one wishes to disengage the valuable remnant in Mission archi
tecture, one should go back to the originals from which they were de
rived, for the local variations which the Friars made upon these originals
were due almost entirely to ignorance, and the necessary lack of proper
tools, materials and mechanism.
The one respect in which the Mission buildings may in the end have
a useful formative effect upon the design of Californian country houses
lies in the fact that it did stamp the Spanish tradition upon Californian
architecture, and the Spanish tradition is only, it must be remembered, a
picturesque version of what may in general be described as the Latin or
Italian tradition. But this Spanish tradition has left traces of its former
sway in California, which are much more useful to the modern American
house builder than are the Missions, viz., the old adobe dwellings, and it
is these dwellings which constitute the most valuable model for a Cali
fornian domestic style.
The adobe houses, also, are only distant echoes of the highly and
carefully wrought Spanish and Italian buildings from which they were
derived, but even when erected in a primitive land, and under rude eco
nomic conditions, they retained something of the high style of their
models. They were long, low, restful structures with salient, but gently
sloping tiled roofs, overhanging eaves, enclosed porches or piazzas, and
bare stretches of plastered walls.
Californians enjoy their country more naturally and more innocently
than do the inhabitants of any other state in the Union, and this attitude
of theirs toward country life will undoubtedly have an important effect
upon the design of their country houses.
In the vicinity of the larger cities the rich are making country places
which are intended to afford an opportunity for the most elaborate and
expensive pleasures of country life.
They remind one of the lines and proportions of the ranch houses
which I have already described, and in this respect they perpetuate the
best available tradition. They tend to be one or two-story buildings, with
long, low lines, and with a roof overhanging and dominating the upright
members. The piazza, which was so necessary to the farmer in the in
terior valley, is generally dropped, and an enclosed porch substituted in
its place, so that the rooms of the house will receive the grateful sunshine.
Indeed one may safely prophesy that California, more than any other
state in the Union, will little by little become the land of great country
estates, because not only will the well-to-do Californians themselves seek
more permanent and elaborate houses, but the New York and the Chicago
millionaire will frequently covet a fitting residence in California, just as
an English duke or a German prince has his villa on the Riviera. The
Californian country side is assuredly destined to become something more
53
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MUL GARDT,
C.
LOUIS
NEWETT, ARCHITECT
KENNETH
MR. EUREKA
FOR
HOME
SUBURBAN
2.
62
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HILLS LOUIS
PIEDMONT
MOFFITT,
JAMES
MRS.
PRELIMINARY OF
RESIDENCE
THE
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CHRISTIAN
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HILLS LOUIS
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MOFFITT,
JAMES
MRS.
PRELIMINARY OF
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81
These Cascades Symbolize the Wonderful Phenomena of the Appearing and Disappearing of Water.
They Are Overgrown With Slender Water Plants: at .Wight They Arc Mysteriously
Illumined from Underneath.
Louis C. Mullgardt, Architect.
Copyright. P. P. I. E.
83
84
85
86
87
88
cal music. The echo towers are 150 feet high, the three towers forming
an equilateral triangle in plan. The side approach arches accent the
east and west avenues, which link the three inner courts.
The theme of this court is based on the world's geological development.
Effects of water and fire as constructive elements are symbolized by cas
cades, sculpture, architectural embellishments and mural paintings. Mural
panels within the cloister symbolize water, earth, air and fire.
The court has three levels, the middle portion, being the lowest, af
fords an unobstructed view from the cloister and the outer or second
level of the court.
The cascades symbolize the activities of water. They are overgrown
with long slender plants through which the water flows.
The central basin contains a processional fountain symbolizing the
ages and the progressive growth of life upon earth. There will be cypress
and orange trees in front of the arcade. Ferns and creeping plants will
trail into moats which mirror the cloister.
The . sculpture of the chimes tower illustrates the world's progress.
The color and texture of all walls will be that of Roman Travertine stone.
Everything will be viewed under the most favorable modern lighting.
Pools, bordered with low growth, will be in the north avenue. The
main tower and the colossal sculptured figures will be reflected in
these pools. The walls of this avenue will be enriched with eucalyptus
and magnolias set in a low tangle of plants.
The principal entrance to the Court of the Ages is from the south. A
deep-set arcade, out of which one sees the sunlighted chimes tower and
cascades. In the immediate foreground is the basin and fountain.
The cascade terminations have groups of water sprites, the columns
are surrounded by figures symbolic of Neptune's reign.
*
Architect's Duty Two-fold.
MR. FREDERICK L. ACKERMAN. A. I. A., explains in his paper on
"Present Unfortunate Conditions of Practice and the Retned}'"
(Journal of American Institute of Architects) that the task of the
architect is two-fold. "As architects and as artists our duty is to formalize
and to express in material form the activities and thought of our day.
This we do quite unconsciously in our offices, and our achievements there
are an exact measure. of our individual ability and the limitation set by
the people in their laws and ordinances. No amount of inspiration, no
degree of talent, will carry us beyond a simple expression of the demands
and desires of the people, and the limits set by them in the laws and
ordinances which stand as the principal factors in our progress.
"As citizens, our duty is to provide the conditions for a better archi
tecture. Our knowledge of the arts, the logical nature of our training,
and our attitude of mind towards such problems entitle us to the position
of directing the forces which are at hand. We know the nature, the im
portance, and the necessity of the laws needed. We also know better than
the people why these laws cannot be passed, for we have tried and failed.
"Our task, therefore, if we are to spend our time and effort in other
than a useless endeavor, is to explain to the people by every honorable
means within our power, and in terms of logic and common sense, the
simple nature of our ideals, to the end that all shall come to understand
and realize that idealism of the architect and the desires of the people
for a habitable city are but the same thing."
89
90
91
92
tion that will prevent the separation of oils and solids contained in the
surface coating.
To apply a surface coating on the inside of walls under plastering, the
so-termed damp-proofing or plaster-bond coat is, in my opinion, an abso
lute waste of the expense incurred. This applies to all material without
exception. Whenever a wall is thoroughly saturated with water from
the outside up to the point of the damp-proofing coat, there is no material,
be it ever so elastic, solid or efficient, that will withstand the pressure.
As a matter of fact it must then withstand a direct water pressure instead
of being only a water repellant at intermittent intervals.
The fourth methodnon-absorptionmeans the elimination of capillary
attraction. Under this method and by using the materials referred to I
have accomplished results on those problems that have come under my
direct supervision, both underground where subjected to severe water
pressure, and in treating buildings above ground by surface application.
This material is a chemical solution (water base contains no oils), pene
trates an absorbent substance and becomes a part thereof, accomplishing
the waterproof results, not by the filling of voids or a surface coating, but
by making the substance to which applied non-absorptive and impervious
to water.
If you will carefully analyze the fact, you will find that even a very
porous material containing a large percentage of voids will not become
saturated with water unless it is absorptive, nor will you find that water
will follow fine cracks in any surface, unless the substance itself has suc
tion and absorb water. Now. then, this being a fact, the method of
waterproofing by having the aggregate of the material made non-absorp
tive to resist water pressure and eliminate capillary attraction, for all sur
faces exposed to water absorption at intermittent intervals, is one that
will solve many of your difficulties.
Let us first consider its application for work below ground. In base
ments we accomplish results by the most direct and simple means. The
plastering of the walls on the inside with waterproof mortar and the
Floors with waterproofed mortar topping, thereby saving the expense of
exterior excavation and cribbing which would be necessary in order to
apply a membrane or surface coating to the outside.
On new work where walls are green and bonding of plaster certain, no
greater expense is involved than the nominal cost of the waterproofing
material, which is to be added to the sand and cement for plastering and
topping.
But in old basements or any surface not permitting a perfect bond,
quite a different problem presents itself. Here the surface to be plastered
must be carefully prepared to insure proper bonding of plaster by rough
ening the surface. We all know the weakest point is the angle between
the floor and wall, therefore particular care must be taken to reinforce
this point by forming a cove so as to make the connection between the
floor topping and wall plaster continuous.
Should the argument be advanced that floors or walls waterproofed are
liable to crack, thereby causing leaks, let me say that the chances are
very slight indeed, if the walls are properly designed and constructed and
the floors thick enough to resist the hydrostatic pressure.
Walls and floors that crack due to contraction or expansion or other
causes will sever or open up a membrane almost as quickly as a plaster
coating. And what is the result? A heavy expense is incurred, owing to
the fact that the break in the membrane may be many feet away from the
93
point where the leakage shows on the surface. With the membrane
method repairs are virtually impossible, while a waterproof plaster coating
may be quickly and permanently repaired at very small expense. The
leakage always exists where it shows on the surface. The cracks could
easily be cut out to a certain depth and pointed up, making same absolutely
water tight.
Many basements in our city presenting all sorts of conditions from
seepage of ground water to tide pressure have been successfully water
proofed with this method.
Time does not permit going into this subject to such an extent as it
might justify, but permit me to say, I would not hesitate to undertake to
make absolutely dry any basement under the most severe water pressure
by plastering it on the inside and using this material as a part of the
water gauging the cement and sand mortar. This mortar can be applied
even while the water is percolating through the wall.
If necessary the mortar could be held in place with boards pressed
against the wall. This might develop small holes, permitting the water
to escape, but which could easily be plugged up after the other portions
are thoroughly set. Cement mortar applied on walls saturated with water
will gradually dry out even with the water pressure against the wall.
No doubt this question will come to your mind: will the use of this
material, used in the aggregates of cement mortars, be detrimental to its
strength or cause additional labor in its use? In answer to this. I wish to
state that on the contrary the use of this material is a decided advantage;
the initial set is somewhat retarded, but in thirty-six or forty hours you
will find the cement mortar much harder and stronger, this in comparison
with equally proportioned cement mortar gauged with water alone. The
working of cement mortar is also made much easier and smoother, the
action being similar to that obtained by the use of lime putty in cement
mortar.
For treating a building above ground, the result can be obtained by a
thorough surface application, by either brush or spray, preferably the lat
ter. By this I mean every particle of the wall must be saturated. This
will leave no surface coating and will not change the color or texture of
any surface to which applied, be it a white sand or a lime stone or a red
brick. A surface application will only give results and become effective
when applied on any absorptive material.
Take, for instance, a porous brick. It requires very little effort to ob
tain penetration with this material of %" or even y2", and to this depth
waterproof results would be found, permitting you to remove a part of the
surface and texture of the brick, without destroying the waterproofing
efficiency.
The method employed for treating walls that require a change of color
is this : Waterproof as above mentioned, then apply any concrete paint
for color effect only. By treating the walls with this material you have
the most perfect foundation for any oil base material. The surface made
non-absorptive prevents the absorption of the oils in your paint pigments.
This, as you all know, is the life of any oil paint.
At this time I wish to caution you to guard against careless workman
ship by the individual mechanic, the economical use of the material con
trary to directions and requirements, and the lack of knowledge of these
special problems by those in charge of the work.
94
IN TWO PAPERS I
By JOHX T. VAWTEB, Architect
WE are apt to think of the subject of architectural acoustics as a com
paratively new one, but upon a little investigation we find that its
history began centuries ago, long before that of many of the more
perfectly developed sciences which we now regard as venerable.
Modern writers seem fond of classifying the subject with the so-called
"lost arts," and numerous articles and references may be found claiming that
the Greeks were once masters of the science. Some of these statements are
backed by the results of special investigations of the old ruins and the logical
conclusions drawn therefrom, but in all cases known to the writer these argu
ments, however logical and however closely knitted in their association of
ideas, contain some oversight of the well established laws of physics, and with
all due regard to the sagacity of that wonderful people it remains yet to be
proven that the Greeks were ever in possession of more than an intuitive
knowledge of the science of acoustics.
If such a statement is to carry any degree of conviction we must give some
attention to the reasons behind it, but in so doing we would be compelled to
make other statements not yet proven, so for the present let us leave the ques
tion to be answered by implication in the remainder of the paper, remembering
that if the science of acoustics is proven to be based upon the "laws of motion"
and "the law of the conservation and interchangeability of energy," and those
alone, we may then rightfully pass the burden of proof to those who would
maintain that the Greeks were familiar with these laws and that they them
selves belong to the lost art class and were merely rediscovered by such men
as Galileo, Newton, Joule and Helmholtz in modern times.
These laws are the basis of all engineering design and practice and of all
scientific, physical research. In all problems involving their principles we must
start with them in reasoning from the known to the unknown and their applica
tion to literature on the subject of acoustics is a safe and sure test of what
should be accepted and what should be rejected. A more or less disregard for
these laws or perhaps in some cases an ignorance of them, has led to a common
treatment of the subject of acoustics as a problem filled with unexplicable
mysteries only to be approached by those versed in a half supernatural power,
much as the problem of legerdemain, witchcraftry and spiritualism are sup
posed to be approached.
Superstitions Have Vanished
Such an attitude has left the science undeveloped through ages and it is to
Professor Sabine of Harvard University that we now owe the present rational
method of attacking the problem. The superstitious element has vanished;
there are no more mysteries ; the stretched wires, the empty beer bottles, the
unnailed sheathing, the roughened plaster, and the draped chandeliers are no
longer offered upon the altar to appease the wicked god of auditory disturbance.
In place of these we are turned to old familiar laws of universal application,
and a few mathematical formulas so simple and easily understood in their
handling that it makes little difference whether or not we are able to derive
them for ourselves.
A review of these natural laws may not be out of place here, even though
they be so well and universally established, for they are many faced laws and
our recognition of them often depends upon the angle by which they are
approached.
*Paper read before the Southern California Chapter American Institute of Architects, March 10, 1914.
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the clock weight and reconverted into kinetic energy as the weight slowly de
scends and causes the swinging of the pendulum. Numerous examples of this
interchangeability of forms might be given but there are at least two other ways
in which the interchangeability of energy may take place and we must allow
the one example to stand as typical of the many, and pass on to another
viewpoint.
In the several manifestations of energy the elements of motion and force
may be regarded as unchanging but differently applied to matter; while matter
may be regarded as made up of atoms, molecules, and total mass, and though
still interchangeable the form and properties of the energy varies. This varia
tion depends upon whether the force is applied to the atom, molecule, or total
mass. When the force is applied to the atom the resultant energy is known
as chemical ; when applied to the molecule it may be either electrical energy,
heat energy, or light ; and when applied to the total mass it is known as
mechanical energy or work.
The way in which these different manifestations of energy are convertible
one into another without loss is a subject upon which we might spend
our lives and perhaps base an investigation of every natural phenomenon and
action of man, but for the purpose of a discussion of acoustics we shall only
need to consider two of these forms of energy, namely, mechanical energy
and heat.
If we should have carried our bell and tube experiment a step farther we
might have proven that while sound travels only through matter it may do so
freely without, insofar as we know, changing any property of that matter.
That is, a test of the air through which sound is passing shows no evidences
of either chemical, or electrical disturbances or of the production of either heat
or light. From this condition we may then safely assume that the propagation
of sound is a mechanical phenomenon dealing with the total mass moved by
a force. It is a form of mechanical energy indestructible, but convertible. The
only converted form with which we shall deal here is that of heat ; the trans
formation being made by way of that condition known by the ignorance cover
ing name of friction.
Wave Transmission
A discussion of the production and transmission of wave energy in general
should be logically introduced here before passing on to the specific form of
sound energy, but as we are perhaps already more familiar with the wave
theory of sound than of heat, light or electricity, with which we would have
to deal, we may confine our discussion to a single example of a wave trans
mission of mechanical energy.
Let us consider a long piece of gas-pipe fitted at each end with a well-made
piston and let us consider it as completely filled with water. If we should
move one of the pistons slowly in by means of a lever, the piston at the other
end would reciprocate to the movement. If the pipe were very long in com
parison to the piston we may readily see that while the force was transmitted
from end to end of the pipe the individual drops of water in the pipe made
only a very short travel. If the motion of our lever had been very rapid we
might have noticed a very perceptible difference of time between the corre
sponding movements at the opposite ends of the pipe. This difference of
time, of course, depending upon the length of the pipe, and if it were of suffi
cient duration we might make several rapid movements of our piston back and
forth before the first were responded to by the piston at the opposite end.
(Concluded in the April Number.)
NATHANIEL ELLERY, C. E.
roads, and the farmer and those who had business to travel them had be
come reconciled to wallowing through the mud in winter and the dust in
summer. In spots local pride sometimes caused a small improvement,
but in the whole 50,000 miles of our highway these efforts were inappre
ciable. All this is now in the process of changing, as the motor has
wrought havoc with this road lethargy. The cry and demand now is for
permanently improved highways, and millions of dollars are being spent
in the transformation.
Distinctly do I remember a few years ago my own endeavors to create
some enthusiasm for improved roads, but it required a potent factora
necessity of the peoplenot only for business but for pleasure. We would
tell the farmer the relative cost per ton mile haulage over the road, rail
road and water. We would show the beneficial results from the improve
ment, but obstacles were always placed in the way. Necessity has now
changed it all, and we are rapidly turning out road work, some good, some
bad and some mediocre.
My reader, let me go back and retrace a few of the more important
features and show you we have not obtained an entirely satisfactory so
lution of the problem. New Jersey was the pioneer state to break away
from the old accustomed plan and establish a state aid system for roads.
This occurred as far back as 1892. Other eastern states followed this
lead, and then after about twelve years heavy state bond issues for this
improvement began to appear. The aid plan for roads seemed to avert
much of local politics and was therefore given an advantage in so far as
results were concerned. The state, the county and a district or county
subdivision proportioned the construction expense and built under state
supervision later, usually to turn over to the county the thus improved
roadway for maintenance under state inspection. This was a distinct
advance step.
California had created by statute a Bureau of Highways to investigate
and report on road conditions and devise improved plans and methods.
In the same year, 1895, our state took over the first state roadSmith's
Flat, El Dorado county, fifty-eight miles to Lake Tahoe. A departure in
state affairsa new state institution requiring upkeep and maintenance
the same as any other institution. The bureau lasted until 1897, when it
was superseded by a Department of Highways with three commissioners
at the head. The law provided automatically for the retirement of two
commissioners at the end of the first two years, when a single head took
charge. In 1901 the Sonora and Mono state road was acquired by act of
the legislature. It was about seventy-eight miles long and extended from
above Sonora to Bridgeport, Mono county, over the Sierras. Another
move to establish a road policy in our state, but we had no provision in
our organic law to permit of a system of state roads or aid for such. In
November, 1902, there was voted by the people of the state a constitutional
amendment (Article IV, Section 36) providing for a liberal state road
policy, and now the way was cleared for action. The first results of this
constitutional change was many special road bills introduced at each ses
sion of our legislature, but most of them were finally found in the waste
basket. Pet measures to satisfy constituents were now in vogue and a
state road looked good to many.
The brunt of the expenditures for roads had fallen on the rural dis
tricts, as incorporated cities and towns were excluded from taxation for
country road purposes except perhaps where the statutory law allowed the
county supervisors to exact a little money from the county general fund
for bridges and sprinkling. Bonding cities for roads had received its
quietus in the case of the proposed model road from Sacramento to Folsom. The Supreme Court of our state handed down a decision in 1898
(Cal. 121, p. 670) denying the right to tax the citizens of the city of Sac
ramento for the purpose of improving the Folsom-Sacramento model high
way. This general condition prevailed with our counties until, in 1907,
State Senator Savage introduced a bill in our legislature providing for
bonding the counties, including cities, for road purposes and outlying a
plan of procedure. Mr. Racon and Mr. Fleming of Los Angeles came to
me about this law and asked my support, but I assailed the plan as in
correct in its method of dealing with the problem. They desired to try
out the scheme in Los Angeles and asked now that the points raised
against it be withheld in order to give Los Angeles a chance to improve
its roads. The law was passed, but has been amended each succeeding
two years mostly in minor details, but neither of the two main objections
I advanced have been correcteda provision of maintenance and the nocommission scheme. Political commissions are worthless, and unsalaried
commissions are worse than worthless. For a while a new commission
may sweep clean, but sooner or later it cannot help but lack efficiency.
Who ever saw a private enterprise successful without a distinctive head
to direct business and execute orders? Fourteen years actual experience
has led me to this positive conclusion. Place a man at the head of a work
and make him responsible. There will be no passing the "buck" or evad
ing responsibility as the board or commission scheme invariably docs.
He must stand up to his work or else fail. I cite for your consideration
the work on the Panama Canal and now the method provided at the
Canal zone for the government of that terrritory. The administrative
head is given an untrammelcd right to select his own immediate help and
thus approach a better efficiency standard than if hampered by red tape
and official interference.
The Savage Act vested in the Board of Supervisors the power to ap
point three commissioners to serve until the bond money, if voted, was
spent and the construction work was completed in accordance with the
outlined scheme, and then the improvement was turned into the old chan
nel for maintenance. Understand, California has been endeavoring to
maintain roads without system for forty years. Letting the proper care of
roads go as secondary is surely a mistake and was so pointed out at the
time of the passage of the act. I shall show later this plan as wasteful,
unwise and incommensurate with private business efficiency.
Prior to this county bonding act there was permitted by law (Statutes
1901, p. 277) a bond issue for roads on a subdivision of a county not includ
ing a city or incorporated town. It was known as the Permanent Road
Division Law, but was only applied in a few isolated cases. It still re
mains a law of the state, but has practically given away to the Savage
bonding scheme.
During my incumbency of office at Sacramento, I struggled to obtain
recognition for some good road laws. The state had engaged in assuming
control of some old mountain roads and also undertook the construction
of some needed highways in the isolated districts. All the while, I stud
ied the problem and saw the necessity of proper legislation that we might
get the road business from politics or at least get some space between
these subjects.
The laws of Europe and of the American states were investigated.
The management of this public business was seriously considered, and I
became a convert to the state aid plan and finally concluded the HigbieArmstrong law of New York could be effectually applied in California.
In 1903 I proposed such a law to our legislature ; it passed, but the Gov
ernor at that time thought the law in advance of our needs. Again and
again I stood by and had this law introduced in our legislature, and then
had it turned down, as it looked the only supporter and real advocate was
the highway commissioner. While the county bonding act was being ap
plied in some of our counties, Governor J. N. Gillett at a road meeting
at Stockton, California, promulgated his law for bonding the state for
$18,000,000 to construct a system of roads. At that time some opposition
developed, as Mr. Daggett of the Los Angeles county commission and
others thought it might damage the chance of voting the county bonds.
However,
Los Angeles county voted
$3,500,000,
San Joaquin county voted
1,890,000,
San Diego county voted
1,250,000,
Sacramento county voted under the general statute. . . . 660,000,
for road improvement.
Shortly after the bonding of Los Angeles county for the foregoing
amount I, as state engineer, was requested to meet in the city of Los
Angeles to discuss the highway situation. We met in the offices of the
Chamber of Commerce, and some of those attending were as follows : Mr.
J. M. Eddy, secretary Stockton Chamber of Commerce ; Mr. Wiggins, sec
retary Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce ; Mr. G. Cooley of San Ber
nardino, Mr. P. Holt of Stockton, Mr. M. C. Marsh of Long Beach, myself
and two or three others. The discussion related to the proposed Gillett
measure, and Mr. Eddy initiated a plan to have three or five commission
ers at a comfortable salary instead of the plan as Mr. Gillett advocated,
i. e., placing the work under the State Department of Engineering. Now,
my reader, I shall give you the real facts that led up to the state bonding
act for road improvement and the present status of it.
Before the session of the 1909 legislature many people visited Governor
Gillett and advocated different schemes, and they nearly all desired an
appointed commission. He flatly refused, placing the work in the State
Department of Engineering under practically one head with an advisory
board. It is here I cannot refrain from extolling his good sense and judg
ment and condemn the unwise and disastrous overthrow of the intent of
the law by his successor, Governor Johnson. In due time Governor Gillett's highway bonding act was introduced .in the legislature after the
Attorney General had shaped it to meet the Governor's views. Accom
panying this act was another bill providing for an appropriation of $70,000
to determine the routes of the roads, cost, data, etc., but this latter act
was summarily killed, as it was thought by the legislators it would
jeopardize a favorable vote by the people of the state on the main act. The
constitution of California (article XVI, section 1) provides for a referen
dum or vote of the people to bond the state for over $300,000, and neces
sarily the Highway Act fell in this category. The State Highway Act
passed the legislature after being amended to recompense some counties
for work done under the Savage Act. There remained yet the vote of the
people at the next general election to either discard the proposition or make
it law. Thoroughly interested in a plan for a state road system, I gave
much time and funds to help carry the bonding plan, while Air. J. M. Eddy
fought the scheme with vehemence. He issued a pamphlet and talked
against it.
Let me quote from the pamphlet: "If the California Good Roads As
sociation desires to perform a lasting service to the state, it will not only
oppose by every honorable means the adoption of the bonding law, but
will formulate a broad and comprehensive system for the state supervision
of highways, for state aid in maintaining the principal highways when
once properly constructed, and providing for an efficient administration
of state highway matters through a commission of five business men, who
will give their undivided attention to the work for which they should be
paid an adequate salary. I say a commission of five men instead of three,
because of the great extent of the state and of the great diversity of condi
tions."
Mr. Reader, you certainly see the similarity of this and a previous state
ment made by me of a meeting over two years previous to the issue of the
above statement. Politics are all very well in their place, but not in road
matters. Mr. Eddy is a road theorist, and the above quoted plan is all rot,
not calculated for efficiency, but a soft political snap for five of the faithful.
Notwithstanding considerable opposition, the bonds carried and the act
became a law of the state. Apparently nothing remained but the carrying
out of the provisions of this law when there appeared a cloud on the
horizon. Politics again entered, and the 1911 legislature devoted much
time in an effort to defeat the will of the people as expressed by their
votes. Numerous acts were proposed and the political sop of having com
missioners was at the bottom of it. The administration wanted a measure
passed in effect divorcing the administration of the law from the Depart
ment of Engineering. Mr. W. F. Chandler, a member of the assembly and
a staunch administration supporter, tried various means to meet the de
mands of the "program," but the Attorney General ruled against legally
separating the work as defined by the law from the engineering depart
ment. Finally a fake way of planning the coup was evolved by increasing
the advisory board of the department of engineering with three paid mem
bers. A highway engineer at a salary of $25,000 per annum was first put
forth, but finally a salary of "not to exceed $10,000 per annum" was al
lowed. The paid members of the advisory board and the highway engi
neer are paid from the general appropriation of the state and not the
proceeds of the bond issue. This sum amounts to $10,800 per annum for
the three paid advisory board members and $10,000 per annum
for the highway engineer. The appointment of all road help
under the 1911 amendment to the department of engineering laws
was placed directly in the Governor's hands from the. office boy
up. The bill known as the Chandler Act which accomplished all
of this was so zealously advocated by its author, Mr. Chand
ler, that he took the bill from the assembly and later from the sen
ate without an order from either house as prescribed in the joint rules 16
and 17. This action was strictly illegal, but easily accomplished along
the path of immunized politics. Remember the law of the department of
engineering did not create a state highway commission, but by the Chand
ler act there were three members added to the advisory board of the de
partment after the bond issue for state roads had become a law. By a
resolution of the advisory board of the department a state highway com
mission was creatednot bv law, but by resolution of a state board. Let
me call your attention further to this resolution that you may better pass
judgment and note the politics played at the very inception of the state
road plan.
. .
A meeting of the advisory board was held in the Governor's office on
Tuesday, August 8, 1911, when the Governor and his friends undertook
the formation of the resolution. Neither myself as state engineer or the
secretary of the department were present at the time of its formation, but
on the following day Mr. Al McCabe, private secretary to the Governor,
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100
101
steel frame was fabricated by the Central Iron Works is the new Mission
Dolores at Sixteenth and Dolores streets, Shea & Lofquist, architects.
The steel and iron work for a number of theaters have also been furnished
by this company, including 450 tons for the Pantages theater, Miller &
Colmesnil, architects. This was a sixty-day rush job. Some 350 tons of
steel were fabricated for Anderson's Gaiety Theater, the same being sup
plied in 70 days' time. The steel for the Tivoli Theater, amounting to
over 400 tons, was turned out in less than 65 days. This building was
designed by Architects O'Brien & Werner.
Probably the largest rush job ever turned out west of Chicago was the
fabrication of 350 tons of structural steel in 59 days from the date of sign
ing the contract to the date of completion of the work, for a nine-story
steel frame for the Bank of Italy building, San Francisco. The plans were
prepared by Architects Shea & Lofquist.
While most of the large jobs have been in the city of San Francisco
the company is in a position to fill outside orders with the same speed
and satisfaction as it does the local work. The accompanying pictures
give the reader an idea of the class and volume of work done by this
company.
*
What Concrete Will Not Stand
PRACTICALLY every failure and near failure in concrete has been
due to confidence on the part of somebody that concrete can sur
mount all manner of bad usage.
The fact is that there are plenty of good standards in concrete design
and in concrete construction, but that they are not observed by many of
those engaged in concrete building.
This neglect has a three-fold cause : ignorance, undue economy and
over-confidenceand the first two could not exist were it not for the
last. It is a pretty poor concrete man who does not know that frozen
concrete will not setbut there are plenty who will take a chance with
ten-day concrete at 40 degrees F. if they need the forms. Why? Pri
marily because they want to save the money that an additional set of
forms would cost. But if there were not confidence that the concrete will
stand up, the pocketbook would not govern judgment.
Practically every designer of concrete buildings will admit that 850
pounds per square inch is too high a stress in the concrete beams over
the room where his own family sits down to dinner, but he is not so wor
ried about that stress when it is in someone's garage. He feels confident
that it will not fall down, in spite of tests which show it to have a low
safety factor.
Throughout the whole field this pernicious combination of ignorance
and complacency extends ; instances might be multiplied almost without
end. It is the duty of the societies such as the American Concrete Insti
tute, which recently convened in Chicago, to urge upon the workers in the
industry a proper appreciation of the dangers of this over-confidence.
Skinning of work is a species of ignorance, for nothing is quite so evident
as the fact that good work in concrete construction pays. But the man
who thinks he knows more than the so-called authorities is the hardest to
reach because he is clad in the nearly impenetrable armor of conceit.
Every concrete failure means a slight betterment in methods, for a
certain number of hitherto unconvinced practical or commercial men are
shown by that most potent object lesson, a heap of ruins, just what con
crete will not stand.Engineering News.
102
103
We
We
We
But
Absolutely Necessary
may live without poetry, music and art ;
may live without conscience and live without heart :
may live without friends, we may live without fads;
business today cannot live without ads.
*
104
105
Such paint covers more surface, affords better protection for a longer
period, holds its color better and, because it covers more surface per gal
lon, is cheaper to the consumer than a single pigment paint. All the
better grades of prepared paint on the market meet these specifications
and in practice justify these conclusions.
The writer has been intimately connected with paint testing on a large
scale for the past ten years and is convinced that the architects' routine
above referred to is in no small measure, responsible for the general dis
satisfaction with painting "as she is did."Western Architect.
*
106
107
With Mr. Favrot was a committee from the New Orleans Chapter of
the American Institute of Architects, whose duty it was to show us
through the French quarter of the city. The French quarter is the oldest
part of the city, and in it are some of the oldest buildings in America. The
streets are narrow, and the paving in some instances is of stone blocks laid
over a hundred years ago; the surface is very irregular, and the odors are
legion.
On each side of these narrow streets are quaint old buildings, some of
red brick and some of stucco. On the first story of these buildings are
funny little stores with low ceilings with whitewashed beams and plaster
more or less smoky and begrimed. Above the stores there are open bal
conies connecting with every story. These balconies are the chief charm
of the ''Quarter." All of the railings and supports are of cast iron, and
some of them are exquisite in both design and execution.
We went through the old hotel, which is now abandoned, but which
was used in early days by the aristocrats and the wealthy. The rooms
were lofty and spacious, also they were well appointed when the time that
they were used is taken into consideration. It was easy to form an opin
ion of the luxury that was then enjoyed. In this hotel we saw the place
where slaves were offered for sale, and one could hardly repress a shudder
at the thought of such hopeless misery and such luxury being under one
roof.
The "Absinthe House" was one of the quaint old houses that we saw
low ceiled, old-fashioned bar, whitewashed walls, and plank floors
scrubbed to a bonelike whiteness. Here again one could let his fancy
bring up grisly spectres of misery engendered by the chase after the luxury
of the moment.
We didn't miss the "haunted house" where the tradition runs that an
old woman would whip and torture her slaves to death. The inference is
that these slaves still send forth pitiful wails of distress during the dark
hours.
The French Quarter of New Orleans would furnish enjoyment to a
lover of the quaint, the old and the beautiful, for as many days- as we had
hours to devote to it ; so the description I give must be, to say the least,
very superficial.
The buildings show that men of education and refinement designed
them. The detail in many instances is beautiful, and the excellent preser
vation of the buildings show that the work was well done and that the
percentage obtained by an investor was not the sole factor thought of by
the one who erected them.
The city of New Orleans is built below the level of the river, and the
water is kept out by means of levees or dykes. Less than ten years ago
all of the sewage of the city was carried away by means of open gutters
in the streets, but now there is an up-to-date plant and the sanitary con
ditions are good. However, when the new sewer was installed a great
deal of damage was done to buildings owing to the undermining of foun
dationsnotably the old Roman Catholic Cathedral, which was so badly
damaged that the upper walls had to be tied together with iron rods.
These rods are very unsightly, but 1 believe that after the foundations
have been rendered safe and considerable repair work done in all parts of
the building that they will ultimately be removed.
The Jesuit Church from the outside is an insignificant structure
crowded in between other buildings; and while one can see that it is a
108
church, yet one is entirely unprepared for the beauty of the interior.
After passing the huge entrance doors (which are of cast iron covered
with heavily moulded small panels like a honey-comb) and crossing a
rather dingy vestibule, you enter one of the most striking auditoriums in
America. It is lofty as a cathedral, its decorations are gorgeous, and its
windows beautiful. Strange to say, the interior of this building is in the
style of the Moors. The columns, arches, enrichments and outline are all
Moorish, carried out in the bright colors that only the Moors could use
without being garish. The subdued light filtering through the stained
glass windows mellows everything, and there isn't a harsh note anywhere.
It is truly a "House of Worship" notwithstanding the fact that every de
tail was evolved by a race of people who viewed the Christian religion with
hate and abhorrence.
I started out to give my impressions of the Convention, but drifted off
into a description of a few of the things that I saw ; and as one convention
is much like another with the exception of a few vitally new subjects, I
have very little to say. Reports of committees were read and usually ap
proved, and some of them were of the utmost importance.
The subject touching on government architecture and the supervising
architect was discussed. It was stated that the work of that department
was six years behind if no other work was brought in, yet new work is con
stantly being brought in that must take its turn.
We in the west feel the bad effects of long delays worse than the older
communities of the east. Our towns sometimes double their population
in ten years, yet men who can not possibly understand our problem are
commissioned to design a building to fit a certain sum of money appropri
ated to fill the needs of the time that the appropriation is made. A few
years after the appropriation is made a building is built that is inadequate
before it is completed.
Generally the Federal buildings resemble a Greek Temple dedicated to
a heathen god, and in many cases the heathen god would have kicked at
the results. Take our own postoffice, with the lower half of granite and
the upper half of red-brown sandstone ; both halves are good in design if
taken by themselves, but taken together the result is chaos.
The specifications are sometimes written without a knowledge of the
materials that are best for the locality, and in some cases they are written
with the intention of using materials that are easily obtained in the lo
cality where the building is to be erected. A postoffice is being built in
Riverside, and the interior trim is of redwood. Some years ago redwood
was used in finishing our cheap cottages, but its use was discontinued
owing to its softness. Redwood isn't much harder than cork ; yet some
one writing the specifications with the best intention in the world, thinking
that he was benefiting the locality by using a native wood, has specified
something softer than yellow pine. I can readily see that exhibition sam
ples of curly redwood, which is taken from the roots of the tree, and which
is hard, has given a false impression of the wood. Curly redwood is hard
to get and is expensive, but common redwood is as poor as any finishing
material for a public building can be.
I will venture to say that if tht government work were given to archi
tects of reputation who lived in and knew the locality in which a govern
ment building was to be built, that a saving of far more than the architect's
fee would be saved owing to the architect's knowledge of local conditions,
and the building would fit its surroundings.
109
110
. shall be complete, and shall accurately describe all materials and labor required in the
construction and finishing of the building. Kach architect who submits plans shall fur
nish the secretary of the Board of Education two complete sets of plans and specifica
tions as above enumerated, on or before the 9th day of March, 1914. and one of the
sets furnished by the successful architect shall be kept as a public record from the date
of and following the selection by the Board of Education of such plans and specifica
tions for use in the construction of a public building. The successful architect will be
required to finally furnish four full sets of plans and specifications, and four full sets
of blue-print detail drawings. Full-size detail drawings for all mill work, stair work
and other parts of the proposed structure shall be furnished and delivered to the board
by the successful architect within three weeks from the date of the official adoption of
the plans for the building.
In case the successful architect becomes the superintendent of construction of the
building the board will allow as an entire compensation 6 per cent of the contractor's
price of the building exclusive of furnishing and fixtures. In case the architect does
not become the superintendent of building construction, then compensation of 6 per
cent shall be divided between the architect and building superintendent in accordance
with the prescribed rules for architects' fees. Th entire compensation of the successful
architect is to be dependent upon the cost of the building, without change in plans or
specifications, from original filed copiesthe total cost as shown by regular bids from
reliable contractors to not exceed the sum of $30,000. In case the board fails to get
a bid from a reliable contractor to erect the proposed building for $30,000 or less, then
the architect furnishing the plans, etc., shall forfeit all claim to any compensation what
ever for his plans and specifications, etc.
The Board of Education expressly reserves the right to reject any or all plans, also
to require such minor changes as may be found necessary before the final adoption of
ar,y PlanCHAS. H. CAMPER,
City Hall, Chico, Cal.
Secretary Board of Education.
Washington, D. C.
. . . . . . . . . . . J. L. MANRAN, St.
AUDITOR. . . . . . T. J. T. FULLER, Washington,
TREASURER
Louis
D. C.
ait
Board of Directors
J| Geo.
HENRYB.G.McDougALL
ScHULzE
Board of Directors
Octavius MoRGAN
H. M. Patterson
J. J. Blick
.#
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THE
Arrlittrrt anil Enginrrr
OFF CALIFORNIA
Member
of Caltfornta
Pertodtcal
Publtshers'
and
General
Contractors'
Assoctatton,
San Assoctation
Franctsco
Published Monthly In the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract'
on and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
OFFICES
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Exchange.
DouglasOakland
1828
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
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postage)
to all parts of the Untted States $1.50
rr
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Vol. XXXVI. March, 1914
No. 2
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
H. J. Brunnter
Reinforced Concrete
Wii. B.. Gester.
J Inspectton
Loren E. Hunt. C. E.:. - . 1 and Tests
F.' WSF?patr.ck: I Fireproof Construct
K,!SC' E }
Structure SUet
Cotta
Howard Frost. )
G. B. Ashcroft, C. E.
Artificial Stone
Harry Larktn - J. R. D. Mackenzte - J- Roofs and Roofing
Fred
M. Woods.
Rock and Gravel
C. Walter
TozerJr..
Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Kterulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Butte
- C.
Electrical
Nathantel
Ellery.
E. - Construct1on
- Good Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
F. D. Hudson
August G. Headman Sumner P. Hunt
Edward T. Foulltes
C. Sumner Greene
Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
E. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bttgbee
KennethMacDonaldJr. Clayton D. Wilson
Houghton Sawyer
Almeric Coxhead
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown. Jr.
John Parkinson
T. J. Welsh
W. J. Cuthbertson
Chas. P. Weeks
A. W. Smith
Benj. G. McDougall T. Patterson Ross
Octavius Morgan
William H. Weeks
H. Alban Reeves
Chas. W. Dickey
Henry C. Smith
J. C. Austin
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
J. T. Walsh. C. E.
Jas. W. Reid
Smith O'Brien
Albert Pitsis
H. F. Starbuck
Nathaniel Blaisdell
J. Harry Blohme
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
Arthur O. Johnson
William Mooser
Herbert E. Law
Robert Mortreneier
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
John Galen Howard t F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt \
E. M. C. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
"FIRE - A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors*
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
SHOW.
GARDEN,
IN
POOL
ACROSS
WIEW
CRESIDENCE
ING
FOrNoSEnRtViAsTpORiYe.ceDEL.
OF
Hfor
&
CARERRE
1914.
April,
ASTINGS,
WThe
DUPONT,
I.
ALFRED
CIaLlMiIfNoGrTnOiNa,.ARCHITECTS
of
Engineer
and
Architect
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVI.
APRIL, 1914.
No. 3
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in California (Fig. 8). Thus when the last adobe wall has crumbled we
shall still have a replica of the Campanile of San Gabriel (Fig. 9) and the
imposing arches of San Fernando, these having been duplicated in the
Glenwood Inn at Riverside, California. Little other material than con
crete has been employedexcept the roof tile, which undoubtedly lend
color to the scheme and interest to the picture. On the roof is a famous
collection of bells, over 300, dating back to 1278. It seems, consequently,
particularly fitting that these old relics, after their furious experiences,
may now rest content, enclosed and surrounded by a structural material
which will preserve their last resting place intact through the centuries
to come.
Of the mission type, also, are the rest or way stations of the Pacific
Electric Railway, at Pasadena, California. These are fast replacing the
old wooden rough-and-ready stations, none of which was consistent with
the high-class residential district through which the company operated.
On both sides a bench is built into the wall so as always to furnish pro
tection from rain.
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ing its permanence for many years. The particular reason for gratifica
tion comes in the new discoveries, and new uses to which it is continually
being put. Every day there arises some Philistine who has discovered
something new and worthy of consideration.
A few years ago the theory of applying concrete by means of a hose
and nozzle met with derision, but every day we hear of more work being
done by this method, the machine being designated as the "cement gun"
and the concrete "gunite." An interesttng piece of work has been ac
complished by the Boston Elevated Railroad at the foot of O street, Bos
ton, where a garden fence has been constructed by this method. The
base and posts are built of concrete poured into the forms in the usual
way, the posts being relieved by protecting brick quoins (Fig 11). The
street face of the panels were shaped by means of a wooden form, and
each central panel was faced with steel. The concrete was applied from
the rear with the cement gun, making the panels 2y2 inches thick and
the styles 4 inches thick. The interesting point in the operation is that
the entire panels are made in one piece at one operation.
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For some time Alfred Hopkins of New York City has been a strong
advocate of reinforced concrete for the construction of buildings and has
added a large amount of information to our knowledge of the concrete of
the old Romans, having investigated this point personally and in some
detail. Nevertheless, Mr. Hopkins has never brought himself to believe
that concrete should be used for the ornamentation upon buildings of
the same material. For this purpose he advocates terra cotta (Fig. 21).
This building is all of reinforced concrete to the roof, and part of this
has been constructed of concrete slabs. But for the panels and column
capitals, Mr. Hopkins has turned to terra cotta tile, with excellent re
sults. For the average individual, of course, a detail of this kind would
be prohibitive in cost. But with such a sized undertaking as this mam
moth residence the high individual cost of these panels is small when
compared with the total cost of the building. However, with the advances
which are being made in the use of colored aggregates, it is gencrallv
possible to obtain all the color variations necessary in the concrete itself.
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rooms on the opposite side of the central portion of the building are with
out roof, but are fitted with concrete rooms and steel lockers in double
tiers. In order to reach the beach the bathers must pass through a pool
of water and through a triple shower direct from above and from both
sides, so that a partial wetting is received before reaching the beach.
The concrete was deposited rather dry in order to obtain a rough
finish, and the form marks do not seem to detract in any way from the
pleasing surface made by the coarse aggregate. The decorations are of
brick and clay tile, the brick having been placed when the concrete was
poured, but the tile subsequently, space being made for them by tacking
wooden shapes to the inside of the form.
It is not surprising that an individual directly connected with the
cement industry as is Albert Mover, should build of concrete, nor is it
surprising that one who is so well versed in concrete construction should
obtain very pleasing effects as indicated by the work on his residence at
South Orange, New Jersey. Liberal use has been made of exposed ag
gregates, employing a mixture of Portland cement with limestone screen
ings, marble chips and dark trap rock (Fig. 19). Not stopping here, much
dependence has been placed upon Moravian pottery decoration, which
harmonizes well with the concrete surface, as is shown in the fireplace,
with its inlaid panel showing an Indian at a fire, whether warming his
hands or starting the blaze being not self-evident (Fig. 20). The balcony,
also, has been worked out in pottery, but somewhat differently than the
fireplace. The distinguishing feature lies in the fact that instead of being
inlaid the figure comes out in bas-relief, and although somewhat serpen
tine in design, seems fairly consistent with the grape-vine motive. Un
doubtedly this panel would be somewhat softened to its improvement by
the ivy, which was evidently not in leaf when the picture was taken.
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The Ogden avenue viaduct is 135 feet between abutments, and yet the
cost of concrete finish and inlay tile was greater than the total for the
other structure of 250-foot span. A simpler structure has been designed
for Sacramento boulevard (Fig. 18), but as this street is much narrower
than Independence boulevard, naturally an entirely different method of
treatment was necessary and the lines have been made to follow somewhat
along the Mission style.
Notwithstanding the excellent decorative work which has been done
in plain and reinforced concrete, there are, nevertheless, numerous advo
cates of tile decoration. Instances are many where the use of brick or
tile emphasizes the contour and enlivens the surface at very little expense.
A little touch of color relieves the monotony of a single toned exterior
and is illustrated in the seed warehouse of Otto Schwill & Co. at Mem
phis, Tennessee. This building would undoubtedly be equally as efficient
were it built without any attention to pleasing architectural effects. With
the present leaning toward pleasant work rooms for employes, this idea
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ings is thrown on, which imbed in the mortar and furnish a clean, bright
surface without further treatment. When a coarser effect is desired it
can be obtained by a rough cast, the mortar mixture being thrown on
with a paddle and the texture of the surface depending entirely upon
the size and character of the aggregate and the consistency of the mixture.
Stucco finish has found favor when applied to concrete blocks as a
backing, and there are some architects who believe that this is the only
satisfactory means of handling what has seemed to be in many cases a sad
makeshift so far as a building material having architectural merit is con
cerned. This impression has probably grown from the continued manu
facture of rock-faced and inferior blocks by those who are entirely un
qualified to undertake this kind of work. Such examples as the Normal
Park Methodist Church in Chicago (Fig. 24), the blocks for which were
built by the American Hydraulic Stone Company, and the design exe
cuted by H. B. YVheelock has done much to eliminate this impression.
The tone contrast was here obtained entirely by the use of colored ag
gregates, using the natural sand finish on the trim, but a dark granite for
the body. The surfaces were then scrubbed to expose the aggregate, and
the building is itself a strong recommendation for the much maligned
concrete block.
After considering the all-concrete buildings and the buildings in which
other material has been used for ornamentation, it is interesting to turn
to work where the latter condition has been reversed and is well illus
trated by the work of S. T. Yourtee on the Kingsbury apartments in St.
Louis (Fig. 25). The blocks were cast in sand molds, and on account
of the surface given by this method, subsequent treatment was unneces
sary because of the peculiar matte surface which the rough sand mold pro
vides. Very intricate figures are easily worked out by this process and
many buildings in St. Louis attest to Mr. Yourtee's skill in handling
concrete.
Another prominent figure in the manufacture of decorative concrete
stone is the Economy Concrete Company of New Haven, Conn., which
has begun at home
to demonstrate the
possibilities of con
crete for furnishing
the ornamentation
for buildings o f
other material.
Some of the most
interesting work
which this company
has done, and that
which it prizes most
highly because of
the personal inter
est, can be seen at
the co m p a n y ' s
home office, where
a fireplace is com
posed principally of
ornamental concrete
stone ( Fig. 26 ).
Fig. 36.-FIKEPEACE DETAIL. ECOXOUY COXCRETE CO..
The figures above
NEW HAVEN, CO.V.V.
the mantel are
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molded after the various workmen about the plant, with the exception of
the one at the far right, who represents transportation. The other fig
ures represent in their order (1) the draftsman laying out the plan, (2)
the sculptor working over the pattern, (3) the laborer pouring the con
crete, and (4) the workman putting the finishing touches on the surface
and correcting any flaws caused by removing the forms.
The work is all cast in solid and uniformly proportioned concrete
without special surfacing, using wooden or plaster molds. Where neces
sary, glue molds are employed for the under-cut work. This, of course,
gives a rather smooth surface and is the only criticism which could be
made of the product. With but slight additional expense, however, the
surface can be chiseled so as to relieve what sometimes appears to be a
rather putty-like surface when fresh from the molds.
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unit of surface; the open air is the most absorbent medium known, and
therefore one square foot of an opening in a ceiling or top of a tight
room has . been chosen as an absorption unit. The specific absorption per
square foot of all materials is expressed decimally as compared with one
absorption unit ; thick walls of polished stone have the most reflective sur
faces known, and the most absorbent surface is that of a wall built up
of layers of felt separated by dead air spaces of from two to six inches.
The depth of these air spaces have a particular and definite relation to
the pitch of the sound to be absorbed.
Sound is reflected from every surface upon which it is thrown in an
inverse proportion to the specific absorbing value of the material of the
surface. If a sound were thrown upon a surface having a specific absorp
tion of ,02 it would be reflected with a diminished intensity equal to 100
(100X 02) or 98% of its original intensity, if reflected again from a
similar surface ,02 or 98% is absorbed, and the intensity of the reflected
sound is .9604 of the original and so on. In this way a sound may suffer
over two hundred impacts upon a highly reflecting surface before it is
reduced to inaudibility from absorption alone.
The law governing the reflection of sound is identical with that of
heat or light or any other form of energy, namely, that "the angle of
incidence is equal to the angle of reflection." Whatever can be accom
plished with light in the way of reflections, the direction or focusing of
rays, may also be done with sound, and by the same instruments. It
will be noticed, therefore, that in the reflecting of a cone of rays from a
plane surface that the degree of divergence, that is, the angle between
the axis and the elements, is maintained constant throughout the reflected
path regardless of the number of impacts. This very important point
should be constantly borne in mind in the consideration of diagrams rep
resenting only the axes of cones because it explains how a very small
surface receiving the initial impact may effect an entire auditorium and
also enable us to analyze the phenomena of reverberation.
The Echo
The word "echo" is rather loosely used to designate a reflected sound.
A true echo is rarely distinguishable within a room for the reason
that it is usually "interfered" with by the overlapping of numerous lesser
echoes and is blurred into a condition known by another name and more
fully described under reverberation. However, the fact that an interior echo
is rarely distinguishable does not mean that it may be neglected in the analysis
of the problem of architectural acoustics ; on the contrary, it might be con
sidered as the primary element with which we deal in considering most other
difficulties and a complete understanding of interference and reverberation de
pends entirely upon the understanding of the echo and all the accompanying
conditions of the phenomena.
The true echo occurs in the open air in the neighborhood of shear cliffs
of the walls of buildings. A simple direct echo is one in which the speaker
may hear his own voice thrown back to him after a single reflection. A simple
indirect echo is one in which the voice of the speaker after a single reflection
is heard not by himself by a listener situated at some distance from him. The
path of sound in this case makes an angle at the reflecting surface of less than
180 degrees and greater than the angle of divergence of the cone whose base
is the reflecting surface. A multiple echo is one in which the sound comes in
contact with more than one reflecting surface before it is thrown to the listener.
It may be cither direct or indirect according as to whether or not the speaker
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is able to hear the reflection of his own voice. Two or more simple echoes may
be heard from separate reflecting surfaces either simultaneously or in succes
sion. Such an echo might be called a compound echo and it is obvious that it
might be either direct or indirect. Two or more multiple echoes may in the
same way be compounded either simultaneously or successfully and may be
direct or indirect according to whether or not they are audible to the speaker.
The Single Echo
Let us now consider the conditions of a single echo, the element into which
all others may be resolved and for convenience let us consider it as direct.
From our law of reflection, we see that in order to enable the speaker to hear
a simple reflection of his own voice he must be located on a line which is per
pendicular to the planes of the reflecting surface ; further, he must be at such
a distance from the reflecting surface as to allow the subsidence of the original
sensation in his ear before the reflected sound has time to reach him. The
period of duration of sensation in the human ear is about one-fifteenth of a
second and during this time a sound wave, which advances at the rate of about
eleven hundred feet per second, has traveled a distance of approximately 72
feet. Since the sound travels the same path twice and in opposite directions it
is evident that the shortest distance from the speaker to the reflector for the
production of an echo would be 72/2 feet, or 36 feet. Such an echo would
be very short and quick and for that reason barely perceptible, although of
ample intensity. As the distance is increased the echo becomes more distinct
ly separated from the original sound and a greater number of syllables will be
repeated by it; the intensity, however, is diminished by the principle of the
divergency of the cone.
This echo has been considered as existing in the open air for the reason that
we wished to consider only that part of the total sound sphere included in the
cone of rays which had the reflecting surface for its base. The remainder of
the sound sphere in this case has passed away or been converted into heat by
doing work on whatever came in its path. Had we chosen to consider in
stead of a simple direct echo one of a more complex nature, for instance a
successive, compound, multiple, direct echo, we would have been obliged to
deal with more than one cone of rays, each cone would have suffered more
than one reflection and the paths traveled by each cone would have been varied
in length. This would lead to a very complicated problem even out of doors
where that part of the sound sphere not attended to would be dissipated by the
atmosphere ; conceiving these conditions as existing within a room we would
be overwhelmed by the complication, for in this case we would be compelled
to deal with the total surface of the sphere. That is, as the sound
sphere swelled outward from the speaker in every direction it would come
in contact with every window, moulding, pilaster and cornice of the several
walls, with every chair, piece of furniture and fixture on the floor, and every
beam and modification of surface of the ceiling.
Each of these objects
would in its several parts present different planes of reflection at all different
angles, and each of these surfaces would become the base of a cone of rays.
Each one of this almost infinite number of cones continue as we have seen to
diverge as multiple reflections goes on and each is consequently broken up in
finitely at each successive impact. We have seen that a single sound may be
reflected as many as 200 times before it is reduced to inaudibility, so that what
appeared as a successive compound echo out of doors becomes in a room a con
dition so complicated as to defy conception. The number of cones is infinite,
the number of times each diverging cone is broken up approaches infinity,
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the variety in the length of path traveled is infinite, and the only approximate
known quantity we have is the number of reflections which is probably less
than 200.
Reverberation
In this condition, known as reverberation, the sound energy permeates
every corner and part of the room so completely that Professor Sabine found
by experiment that reverberation was reduced by absorbent materials in the
room regardless of their location. While this statement has never been dis
puted it has led to some very erroneous ideas regarding the correct placing of
absorbing material among those who have not considered the fact that rever
beration originates in a condition possessing either part or all of the qualities
of an echo. If we consider as simultaneous any two sounds which reach the
ear within the same one-fifteenth or a second, we may say that simultaneous
sounds mutually reinforce each other. In this way either an echo or a rever
beration may be very desirable, or in a large room, even indispensable. It is
evident, therefore, that the utmost care should be exercised in sorting the first
reflections of echo conditions, killing off by absorption those which would
otherwise develop into objectionable reverberations and preserving to the last
degree all those that can be classed as simultaneous.
The term interference seems to have been very loosely applied to two dis
tinct phenomena. Strictly speaking, it refers to a headon collision of two
sounds of equal wave length which having equal momentum completely neu
tralize and destroy each other. This condition is not met with to my
knowledge in architectural acoustics and since sounds of different wave
lengths pass freely through each other we have little to do, as far as we know
now, with interference in its strictest sense.
The interference which concerns us is the imposition of the echo of a pre
ceding sound upon the sound which should properly be heard at the instant.
This condition obtains at a point in an audience which receives either a simple
or multiple echo whose path exceeds by 72 feet that of the direct path to the
speaker. The reason for the limit of 72 feet has been discussed in its relation
to the velocity of sound, and a reference to the successive compound echo will
make clear the condition of the overlapping of sounds sometimes known as
interference.
Resonance
As a physical phenomenon, resonance is fairly well understood but in the
as yet undeveloped science of architectural acoustics it has been given little
attention by scientific men. Musicians and intuitive writers on the subject
often give to resonance the most important position in their discussions and
attribute to its presence or absence all good or bad acoustic conditions. This
is easily explained by the fact that the scientific man has never traced the cause
of a defective room to either the presence or absence of resonance and as
most of his investigations have been in the nature of corrections, he has given
the matter little time and attention ; on the other hand every musicial instru
ment used by man depends upon resonance for the quality and intensity of
its tone and the users of such instruments have in an intuitive way conceived
the room in which they play to be an accessory to their instruments. There is
little doubt but that a scientific relation actually exists but as yet it is little
understood.
Resonance is the effect of "sympathetic vibrations." It is that quality
possessed by a body (surface, material, volume or mass) of first absorb
ing and then emitting sound energy. The absorption in this case should
not be confused with the absorption wherein the form of energy is changed
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periments and has outlined enough more to occupy twenty more men for
the same length of time, and perhaps even then we would only be the
wiser of our deficiencies.
The practical application of these principles to architecture is well
covered in a series of articles by Hugh Tallant in the Brickbuilder of 1910.
These articles are scientific and sufficiently accurate in all details to
warrant their implicit acceptance, but, as will be realized as one works
further into the subject, each room is a problem in itself, and broad gen
eral statements and rules of procedure are dangerous and misleading.
Perhaps the most that can safely be said on this part of the problem
is that in general we should ftrst provide a sufficiency of sound by prop
erly directing it into the audience. When such direction is accomplished
by artificial reflection it should be by the shortest possible path, and when
ever a reflected ray exceeds a direct ray to the same listener by more than
72 feet it should be eliminated. In the same way all rays which might
otherwise wander at will through the room should be arrested at the
earliest opportunity.
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A CALIFORNIA BUNGALOW
Ernest L. Norbcrg, Architect
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85
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II
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These, while more massive and taking more room than stairways, will
certainly be appreciated, especially by the women ; for to climb the tortuous
steps of the average theater or hall is certainly wearisome in the extreme.
The foundations for the Auditorium were put in by the Foster & Vogt
Company of San Francisco, while the steel frame was furnished and
erected by Dyer Bros. Christenson Bros, of Oakland have just started
work on the fireproofing contract, having been awarded this on their bid
of $196,360, and it is interesting to note that there was only a few hundred
dollars difference between their bid and that of the second lowest bidder.
Bids are now being called for the stone work for the exterior walls, and it
is planned to rush the building towards completion to be ready for the
conventions which are coming to Oakland in 1915.
*
*
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And we carry the same absurd relics of our faulty schooling into our
lesser endeavors than city-planning. If we design a library or other more
or less monumental building the whole thing must be abjectly subservient
to the most exacting of masters, the great Axis. We establish that sacred
and imaginary line. Then plan-exigencies decree that on the right of it we
have a monumental stairway. Immediately we slap another stairway, to
balance it, on the left. No matter if that stairway serves no practical pur
pose, or if it would be infinitely more useful in some other part of the build
ing, it must go right there, nowhere else ; the beauty and even balance of
the plan must be sacredly preserved. If we plan a lot of rooms one side of
a corridor and the purposes of the building make a row of shorter rooms
on the other side desirable we'll tear our shirts and spend many simoleons
of our client's money to keep those rooms exactly the same depth each
side of the fetish axis of that corridor. What matters the practical require
ments of the building or the fact that no one will ever notice the difference
unless he sees the plan? The aeroplane possibility is nil owing to the in
tervention of the roof. So it must be to preserve the inviolability of the
sanctified axis on the plans in his store room that the architect will resort
to such trouble and expense in the pursuit of that perfect symmetry that
passeth our understanding!
Why, I'm amazed that the ultra-altruistic, the real Beaux-Arts product
should let the unbalanced door knob or bell button get by him. I fully
expect to see, ere long, a door knob on either hand of the central axis of
the door, a bell button on either jamb of the door and face butts on both
edges to preserve the perfect balance, the symmetry so dear to our artistic
souls.
Are there none among us who are brave enough to get from under the
thrall of the axis? Must our schools always dally with theories and frills
and instill nothing but the purely academic flub-dub into our young? No,
I am not clamoring for an inartistic solution of our practical problems, but
I do vociferously pray and beseech my fellows to throw away their fetiches,
break up their golden calf and false gods, the Axis, the Great Temple, the
Antique, the abject worship of All that Has Been. We have new prob
lemsthe ancients never dreamed of them and our teachers got but little
of themwe have new materials, we have novel and complex conditions
to cope with, commercial, domestic, religious; let us face them like men;
let us give the client what he really needs (not merely what will please our
eye on paper), what will produce the very best results in facilitating his
business operations, or in producing the greatest profit. Doing that we will
prove our claim to efficiency. Then let us build well and sanely and pro
ceed to decorate the simple and truthful structure in a dignified, consistent
and really artistic manner. Then, and then only, will we be real architects
and will have graduated from the class of mere copyists of antiquity,
jumblers of our problems, hack workmen, worshippers of the fraved-out
theories and of the overworked axis.
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rectify these difficulties, that, in the imagination of the owner, are brought
about by connecting steam with the street; and while the street service has
its shortcomings, yet it often is unjustly condemned because of inherent
defects in the heating systems and in the general arrangement of the plant
before the street connections are made. These annoyances have been the
cause of a great deal of dissatisfaction and bickering between the street
service corporations and the property owners in many instances.
Architects, as a rule, are prone to conceal piping, very often to the
detriment of the system, not that it is necessary to expose piping if suffi
cient space is allowed for the pipe and the necessary insulation to prevent
unnecessary radiation and comply with the underwriters' rules.
Again, others are not satisfied unless a forest of pipes and risers are
installed in a system, for no useful purpose whatever, except of causing an
excessive fuel consumption and corresponding overhead loss to the owner
for all time. They seem to lose sight of the fact that these conditions
remain forever, that there is absolutely no relief except a complete remod
eling of the whole system, which very often is next to impossible.
Ventilation
The distribution of air in buildings, particularly in wooden structures,
brings about, as a rule, a warm contest between the architect and the
engineer, because of the difference between the size of ducts necessary for
efficient service, and the size existing in the imagination of people who
do not go into the merits of the system in the proper form or frame of
mind. An architect would not think of reducing the size of a sanitary
main or of a water pipe for a certain specified service, yet he will wrangle
with you for an hour to get a few inches off a hot-air duct or spread it out
in pancake form, which makes it next to impossible to get any air through
it at all, to say nothing of the generous volume that is actually required
for a satisfactory ventilation or indirect heating.
It is a well-known fact that a square chimney is only useful to the
extent of the largest circle that may be inscribed within the
square ; the corners are useless owing to the excess friction, but
the peculiar condition of our construction of brick and mortar, the square
or rectangular chimney is more conveniently constructed and conforms
better to architectural lines than the circle where the chimney is built into
the wall and made part of the structure; yet we are compelled sometimes
to make ventilating ducts of a square or rectangular form that increases
the skin friction to such an extent that, although of the same sectional area,
they are practically useless for chimneys or air ducts, and the purpose for
which they are originally intended is completely lost sight of or destroyed.
If it is necessary to pass 1.500 cubic feet of air through a duct per
minute at a velocity of not to exceed 1,500 feet (which should be the
maximum for any air circulating scheme), that duct should be circular and
of one square foot in area or square, or perhaps rectangular, but the least
width should never be less than two-thirds the side of the square neces
sary for the area required, because as soon as you begin to increase the
width and diminish the depth you are increasing the skin friction of the
duct to an injurious and sometimes prohibitive extent. Who has not seen
an 8-inch diameter duct flattened out and squeezed into a 2j/j-inch thick
by 22-inch space in a framed partition, and the contractor condemned be
cause he could not deliver the maximum amount of heat and air through
the register connected to a duct distorted in this manner?
96
97
98
99
100
river, and the other ex
tends from near Red
Bluff to Woodland and
through Solano county
on the west side of the
same river.
Where,
under the statute, do
you find this require
ment or where do you
find both of those roads
contemplated? Again,
the road through Lake
county and Napa
county to Vallejo par
allels for about one
hundred miles the coast
state highway. Where
in the fine points of law
do you find this con
templated? If Califor
nia is to build these
branches why not build
to all county seats of
the state and take in all
the eastern tier of coun
ties? We know the
amount of money avail-
Tf
101
102
103
104
105
Vacuum Cleaners
San Francisco and Oakland architects and property owners have been having
some very trying experiences with vacuum cleaning plants. It is a well-known
fact that there are a lot of machines on the market that are little better than
toysnot worth the powder to blow them upas one architect put it. And there
are some that ivould cat up the income of a Rockefeller to operate. On the
other hand, there are cleaners that answer every purpose and accomplish results
in a most satisfactory manner These machines are easily installed and more
easily operated, and the first cost may be said to be practically the last cost. .
It is not the purpose of this and succeeding articles to go into any extended
criticism of the various types of machines on the market, but an effort will be
made to acquaint the reader with those cleaners that have proved the most prac
tical and economical. The architect, the engineer, the contractor and finally the
owner, are entitled to have these facts, for to install a poor machine and then
to be obliged to tear it out and replace it with another type is as great an injury
to the architect's reputation as it is a drain upon the owner's pocketbook.Editor.
THE GIANT SUCTION MACHINE
By FREDERICK JENNINGS
THE Giant Suction Cleaner is a home product. That fact, in itself,
should at least enlist the attention of the local building fraternity.
I don't mean to infer that home-made goods shall be given
preference to foreign products when they are an inferior article. Not by
any means. The point is that if a machine is made right here in California
it is entitled to at least as much consideration as the machine manufactured
in the East.
The main factory of the Giant Cleaner is at Third and Jefferson streets,
Oakland. It is a two-story brick building filled with enough high-class
machinery to turn out hundreds of vacuum cleaners annually. The officers
of the company are N. Alper, president; A. Alper, vtce-president, and S. H.
Rowland, secretary-treasurer. E. L. B. Zimmer is general manager.
The Giant Cleaner will do the work of ten hand sweepers, while the time
it saves as compared to other suction cleaners is at least two to one. The
suction is stronger and the width of the cleaning tools are much wider
than those used by other cleaners, and, being much lighter, can be handled
more expeditiously. It saves in the amount of electrical energy required
to operate it, and it saves in dollars and cents, because it is the simplest
suction cleaner now on the market.
In sympathy with the modern idea of hygienics, the application of the
principles embodied in the suction cleaner are now recognized throughout
the world, not only by the medical fraternity and men of scientific research,
but all people possessing common sense and reasonable understanding.
The old method of cleaning was simply to displace or remove dirt from one
object to another; or, in other words, to stir up the dust in the carpet only
to find it again settled upon the furniture. But one result can be obtained
from an operation of that charactermore dirt. It is stoutly proclaimed
by men of understanding that more disease germs enter the human system
through inhalation than by any other means. Hence it follows that the
more completely we can eradicate and destroy these germs of disease the
more sanitary become the conditions in which we move and live.
Now, the logic of the Giant Cleaner is found in this principal factit
cleans. It does not stir up the dirt and dust in its operation, simply to
allow it to settle elsewhere, but tt consumes it through the air tube, and
all of the dirt, disease germs, fleas and other small insects with which the
cleaning tool comes in contact are drawn into the automatic self-cleaner.
All of this substance immediately drops to the bottom of the machine and
the air is carried away through the exhaust into the chimney or out into
the open air. Thus the object is cleaned, the dirt and dust is removed and
the air which we breathe is made sanitary and wholesome.
<
The machine can be had motor direct connected or belt driven. The
latter being preferred by most users, as the motor can be converted and
used to drive laundry machinery, water pumps, or such other machinery
as one wishes to operate.
The machine can be converted into a compressor, which can be used to
a great advantage in cleaning automobiles, dynamos, elevator lattice work
and such other parts too numerous to mention.
Among the important installations of Giant Cleaners recently made are
the following: A three-horsepower two-sweeper plant in the Capwell
department store building in place of a Rotrex machine of six and onehalf horsepower. The Giant plant is operated by what is termed the dry
systemthe cost of operation being merely the expense of a three-horse
power current consumption and about a teaspoonful of oil every hour. In
the new Hotel Oakland a Rotrex plant has been replaced with a six-sweeper,
fifteen-horsepower machine of the Model 'A" type. Other installations
include the St. Regis Hotel, Fourth and Mission streets, San Francisco;
the Emerson schoolone of the best vacuum cleaning equipments in the
city of Oakland, by the way ; also the high and grammar schools of Centerville, the College avenue school, Oakland; the Hester school, San Jose,
and the new Union high school at Lodi.
108
109
110
111
112
THE
Arrlitfert mh fcngtnwr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and Edttortal Rooms
617-619 Monadnock Building, San Francisco
Telephone Douglas 1828
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespoults
f1.50
per annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Foretgn
Vol. XXXVI.
April, 1914
No. 3.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Concrete
Fredertck Thompson
S Inspectton
Wm. B. Gfstfr.
I and Tests
Loren E. Hunt, C. E.
W. W. Brette. C. E. I
Structural Steel
H.J. Brunnter
1
A;thr?LrK.^^ I Brick. Tile and Terra
W. E. Dfnntson t
Cotta
Howard Frost. '
Artificial Stone
G. B. Ashcroft, C. E.
rrD.SSACKF^tE : \^o/s and Roofing
Fred M. Woods. Jr.. ' Rock and Gravel
C. Walter Tozkr - - Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapeArchitccture
T. C. Kterulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Butte . F.lectrical Construct1on
Nathantel Ellery. C. E. - Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
F. D. Hudson
A uk ,tst G. Headman Sumner P. Hunt
C. Sumner Greene
Edward T. Foulkes
Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
E. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bugbee
KennethMacDonald.Jr. Clayton D. Wilson
Almeric Coxhead
Houghton Sawyer
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown, Jr.
John Parkinson
T. J. Welsh
W. J. Cuthbertson
A. W. Smith
Chas. P. Weeks
Benj. G. McDougall T. Patterson Ross
William H. Weeks
Octavius Morgan
Chas. W. Dickey
H. Alban Reeves
Henry C. Smith
J. C. Austin
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
J. T. Walsh. C. E.
Smith O'Brien
Jas. W. Reid
Albert Pissis
H. F. Starbuck
J. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel Blaisdell
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
Arthur O. Johnson
William Mooscr
Herbert E. Law
Robert Morgeneier
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
B. J. S. Cahill
John Galen Howard / F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt \
E. M. C. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
"FIRE A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin. Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
g^- See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
For
May,
1914.
The
Architect
and
Engineer
of
California
"
Frontispiece
-**
*
-
FIRST
CHORCE
SAN
FRANCISCO
PUBLIC
LIBRARY
COMPETITIO
N
GEO.
KELHAM,
W.
ARCHITECT
Es:
Elevatico
on
competit
ion.
For
sArt
Francis
Pystic
ref
ARY
-
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVII.
MAY, 1914.
No. 1.
SOUTH ELEVATION
48
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RE/I) BRO.S., . 1 RCHITECTS
61
63
65
CEMENT SUN-DIAL
Executed by the Western Sculptors, San Francisco
Creditable Work of a Stockton Architect
SOME of the recent work of Architect Ralph P. Morrell, of Stockton, is
shown in this issue. Mr. Morrell has departed somewhat from the custom
of most architects and has rendered his perspectives in pen and ink instead
of water colors. His residence and garage sketches are dignified and show
an artistic temperament that doubtless has contributed very materially to his
success. The pictures are selected at random from a generous list of buildings
covering varied classes and types of construction, from the modest home to the
pretentious office building. Mr. Morrell has also designed a number of school
houses, one of whichan open-air structureis shown herein, and because of
its unique character, has been reproduced in newspapers and magazines
throughout the country. Mr. Morrell was recently granted a certificate by the
California State Board of Architecture.
...
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72
73
74
lime set free from the cement, and not only increases the strength of the
mortar, but also prevents any whitewash being formed. This method was
known to the ancient Romans and Greeks, and was used by them in
many of their most important buildings. They probably obtained it from
the East, as broken tiles are still used in Asia Minor at the present time
as a means of strengthening mortar.
There is much to be done in the way of reinforced brickwork. The
pity of it is that many brickmakers are content to see trade going into
the hands of the concrete makers, whereas if they only took the pains to
enlighten their local builders and architects as to the advantages of re
inforced brickwork over concrete in most localities, there would soon be
an increased demand for bricks. The present dull season is a good time
for thinking over this matter, and for getting together the necessary in
formation on the subject.
*
*
*
Why Brick Houses Are Cheaper
AN INDIANAPOLIS architect, who was recently asked by a pros
pective home builder why so large a number of small houses were
being constructed with brick exteriors, instead of frame, as in the
past, and questioning the economy of brick construction, made the follow
ing statement, reported by Brick and Clay Record :
"There is a belief in the minds of a great many people that brick con
struction costs from 40 to 50 per cent more than frame construction. Ex
perience and investigation, however, have shown this belief to be a fallacy.
The large number of brick residences that have been built during the last
year have done much to establish the fact that brick is really the best
material for the economical builder to use.
"An investigation of the costs of building materials with the aid of
an architect will prove both interesting and instructive, especially when the
brick construction is compared to the cost of frame construction. In frame
construction, labor is employed in seven different instances, namely: (1)
The studding, which forms the frame of the building; (2) the sheathing;
(3) the building paper; (4) the weather boarding; (5) the lathing; (6)
the plastering, and (7) the painting, which requires three coats to get
good results. In brick construction, but two processes are necessary :
(1) The brick work, and (2) the plastering.
"Carefully compiled statistics show that the actual cost of brick walls
over frame varies from 15 to 40 per cent, depending largely on the price of
the face brick selected. As the walls of any building cost only about
10 per cent of the total, brick construction would add only from 2 to 4
per cent to the total first cost of the building. As it is necessary to repaint
a frame dwelling every few years, it will readily be seen that brick con
struction, besides being the best, is the cheapest. A building constructed
of brick is much easier heated than a frame one, and the saving in fuel is
an item to be considered. Also, it must not be forgotten that with the
faces and shades of brick now being manufactured it is possible to build
a handsomer building of brick than from any other material."
The day is fast waning when architects will tell clients that it is im
possible to build in brick unless an expenditure of a large amount is con
templated ; experience has proven a costly teacher, but the lesson is well
taught and the knowledge widely spread.
EXTERIOR WITH
OAKLAND,
CHURCH,
METHODIST
FIRST
BRICK. ARCHITECT
STONE
SAND
SACRAMENTO
MARSH,
F.
NORMAN
FACED
76
77
In any case the difference in cost between good and bad brackets was
an extremely small percentage of thei cost of the steelwork, and a smaller
one of the cost of the building, and he declined to endanger the "ship" for
what in this case might be fairly described as a "ha'porth of tar."
It has long been recognized in good practice that the machining of the
ends of stanchions was of the first importance. Yet there were at least two
constructional works in London which, with a view to economy, omitted this
item of workmanship, and were erecting considerable tonnages of
stanchions with the ends left sq that the upper tier had contact with the
lower tier over the width of one plate only, the remainder of the section
having varying clearances often amounting to yi in. The stress was still
gaily calculated as uniformly distributed, and it had been explained to the
author that "steel is a ductile material which would yield and flow" and
perform other convenient antics, "until the stress was uniformly dis
tributed." The effect of loading such a stanchion was. to cause the plates
to slide past one another, and to partly shear through the rivets. Even
where stanchions are machined a careful engineer must satisfy himself that
they were machined truly square. Architects should bear in mind also that
apart from the danger involved in these practices, the yielding of stanchions
and brackets before they obtain their bearing involved unknown and unin
tended stresses on the stonework, and to the author's knowledge many a
beautiful and costly facade and interior decorative work had been badly
cracked by bad steelwork details and workmanship.
From the consideration of Case I, it would appear to follow that it was
desirable to make these joints somewhat flexible, and occasionally this was
so. If buildings were braced with diagonal braces he should say without
question that stiffness of connections should be avoided.
Unfortunately, such bracing had obvious objections, and the whole
stiffness of practical buildings against wind lied in the stiffness between
beams and stanchions..
There was, therefore, no alternative, but to make the joints stiff and
to make the necessary allowance for these secondary stresses in the design
of stanchions.
,
This might be onerous, both in requiring extra labor and an increase
in material, but a conscientious engineer would grudge neither the one nor
the other.
Mr. Faber then dealt with the design on cleats. A common method of
calculating the safe reaction of a cleat was to take it as the sum of the
resistances of the rivets, the effect being to neglect the very appreciable
stresses due to bending.
Dealing with the bracing of pillars, Mr. Faber said that it was well
known that pillars failed by buckling and that their stress was to be deter
mined with reference to their 1/g. This phenomenon was fairly well un
derstood and there are sufficient experimental data available to make the
design of pillars, with reference to what he might call primary buckling a
comparatively simple matter. The phenomenon to which he referred was
that of secondary buckling, in which the pillars instead of buckling as a
whole, fails by the individual buckling of its component members. On this
subject there appeared to be practically no experimental data and practi
cally no formulae or rules for the guidance of a designer. The importance
of this problem might be gathered from the fact that bad design in the
matter of bracing in pillars was certainly responsible for the two greatest
failures in recent yearsthe Quebec bridge of 1907 and the gas holder in
Hamburg.
78
Mr. Faber then proceeded to the second portion of his paper treating
of monolithic construction and the eccentricity of beam reacttons on pillars
therein. Whereas in steel construction the eccentricity was very definite
and easily calculated with most common types of brackets, with reinforced
concrete the eccentricity could only be calculated from considerations of elastic
flexure, and the problem was a much more difficult one.
There was, however, no longer any excuse for claiming ambiguity, since
the problem had been analyzed very completely in "Retnforced Concrete
Design" and numerical examples fully worked out.
The author took as an example the case of the outside column of the
building, working it out in detail, showing very great increases in stress
over the values as ordinarily calculated. If thoughts of eccentricity were
banished either from ignorance or under stress of competition, the actual
maximum stress would have been 1,300 lb. / in.2.
It is interesting to note that thq outside pillar in good design did not
suffer much reduction in size up through the last three tiers. This was in
accordance with the best practice in steel-frame buildings.
In conclusion Mr. Faber said that without suggesting for a moment that
the engineering staffs of several constructional firms were not fully as
efficient as many consulting engineers, he did feel that the system of com
petitive designs and lump prices penalized good designing by such firms,
and secured the work to those responsible for the most risky design. The
only correct system, in his opinion, was for the architect to entrust the
design to an engineer who had his confidence and to invite tenders on the
design which he prepared. The architect and building owner were then
likely to obtain a sound construction, and if they used their discretion in
the choice of the engineer the work would not cost more than the minimum
consistent with safetly.
The best constructional firms would be protected by being protected
from competition with weak design and bad workmanship, and he might
state that in considering tenders, he considered that an engineer should
give preference to those firms whose detailing and workmanship he knew
he could rely upon. He urged this in the interest of the building owner,
knowing as he did the importance of good details and good workmanship.
The only man to suffer was the man who would take great risks and
do shoddier work in order to secure a contract, and he could not say that
he had much sympathy with him.
79
80
SI
bankers would loan money to improve real estate were they not surrounded
by the strong legal safeguards that place all the elements of chance or risk
on the builder and his bond?
The builder would undoubtedly be happier in his chosen field of trouble
and chance if he received more recognition in general, and credit for the
final results derived from his enterprise and sagacity.
Publicity organizations seem to fall over each other to get factories and
industrial plants located in their community. Special meetings are held(
free sites are offered, sometimes a coin bonus is raised as a special induce
ment. How startled a builder would be if he were "approached" by a public
committee and offered an "inducement'' to locate in some community. He
usually has to induce himself to so locate.
A federal building was erected in a California city, and as it happened
by local contractors. During a period of eight months thirty thousand
dollars was expended locally, directly and indirectly for labor only. It
would have to be quite a fair factory to have even a like payroll in the same
time, and the money certainly went to more people than through the fac
tory. In this case, the local press, "took occasion to remark," on the public
spirit of the local congressman and others who "boosted," but the grit
and ability of the contractors who finally saw it all through, and took all the
chances was entirely overlooked.
Frequently permanent enterprises result from the impetus received from
some good sized building operation. A county hospital contract was let a
few years ago in one of California's then new counties. A trunk line rail
road was just beginning to open up the county to its possibilities. The con
tractor made his first trip into the county in the caboose of a freight train,
taking a whole day for the forty-mile trip with the frequent stops. A few
months later he came out, when the job was completed in a Pullman sleeper.
Facilities concerning availabilitv of building materials were certainly prob
lematical. A good road was built to get sand and gravel and it is still used
for that purpose. The site selected on the railroad siding for unloading
materials has since become the freight depot. The contractor bought
wisely in car lots, lime, cement, brick, shingles, etc. Naturally much ma
terial was left over. This was left with the one-horse dealer and sold on
consignment. The small stock of materials opened the eyes of the local
people to further building possibilities, and the result, aided by the rail
road, is a large and very flourishing building material business. The con
tractor did his own plumbing, and the young plumbing foreman "imported"
for the job somehow "stuck" and is now a full-fledged local plumber doing
a nice business and incidentally married to a local daughter.
Builders are not expecting much reward in the way of public praise and
recognition and they certainly do not get it. The business of a builder is
an independent one and has many compensating features to offset the
many obstacles.
Perhaps, when the builders have all ( ?) gone to the realm where St.
Peter is at the head of the l!oard of Public Works, some of the ideals will
be realized. All architects will be fair and reasonable, owners will not
think extras are "hold-ups." bonds, lien laws and thirty-five day payments
will have been forgotten, roofs won't leak, no waterproofing problems, and
finally a price for the work commensurate with the element of chance
encountered and undertaken.
83
84
85
Haste in Building
HE modern tendency toward haste in building construction appears
to have reached its consummation in the recently reported feat of
erecting a two-and-one-half-story residence, from the cellar excava
tion to the final plaster coat, within twenty-four hours. From three to
four hundred men were employed on the premises simultaneously and
every time-saving device known to the builder's trade was utilized. In
accomplishing this unusual enterprise the contractors must have had very
much the same sensations that an architect feels in attempting to perfect
designs for a prospective building within the time allowed by an eager
client.
When an experienced business man urges that building operations be
started, by contract, on a large apartment house within three weeks from
the making of the first sketches, there is good opportunity for the architect
to do some much-needed educational work. To tell his client the truth
at the outset rather than entirely evade the issue will forestall much ulti
mate disappointment on the part of the owner and relieve the architect of
the odium that attaches to supposed tardiness. To take an inexperienced
client "behind the scenes" and give him some idea of the amount of time
needed for perfecting the details of his commission is missionary work
worthy of a busy architect's consideration, for it may dispel the popular
idea that the work is principally pictorial and may be readily done by a
clever draftsman in a few hours.
Very few things worthy of perpetuity in art or architecture have been
accomplished when speed was the controlling factor. Doubtless the ceil
ing of the Sistine Chapel could have been decorated within six months, but
Michael Angelo would not have cared to sign it as his own. The artist's
or architect's function is creative, and such creativeness generally cannot
be hurried if the best results are to be gained. The use of mechanical
contrivances for lessening the labor of building operations, and the render
ing of skill in the drafting room more efficient by wise organization, are
legitimate and generally desirable, but to allow too short a time for creating
the design or directing the work is to render uncertain results which might
otherwise be thoroughly satisfactory When the exigencies of the case
demand, as in the recent erection of a notable bank building in New York,
architects have frequently shown a spirit of accommodation in accelerating
the work that was equaled only by the excellence of its performance. It
is unreasonable, however, for a client to ask an architect to do every day
that which is justified only in emergencies. American Architect.
86
87
plemented with a muriatic acid bath. The latter was spread on first, to cut the
dirt, and then the shampoo of soapsuds and water was applied with sponges.
This revealed the snow-white surface of the building, which had been long
obscured. It is estimated that if all the dirt removed from the building were
in solid form, it would completely fill several wagons.
*
Just a Kick
By F. W. FITZPATRICK, Consulting Architect.
CRITICISM is a bully thing. I do a stack of it and, incidentally, get prob
ably more of it than any other man in the profession. Everyone likes to
take a whack at "old Fitz." It's enjoyable, though it seldom convinces
any one albeit it does do a heap of good. But it is the privilege of the criti
cized to talk back and that's what I'm doing now.
When pleasing lines have been determined, then comes the question of decora
tion. In many instances this is carried to extremes, and we find exquisite examples
of stone carving and cornice work being placed at the top of an eighteen or twentystory office building, which no one can see or appreciate except a possible few located
in the offices upon the opposite side of the street.
This may be said of the Chicago postoffice, with the exception that here the entire
structure has been injudiciously placed. It is well recognized that a structure of this
kind occupies a maximum ground area with a minimum return in Moor space and light
area. This building was a large undertaking from an engineering standpoint, but
whether or not it is an architectural success, few may judge because of the impossi
bility of viewing the entire building at one time. Of the same type is the capitol
at Washington, but so judiciously has it been placed that a full view may be obtained
from all sides without obstruction. In the open, or upon the crest of a hill, the
Chicago postoffice, even though inefficient in design, would be architecturally
beautiful.
There is an old maxim to the effect tint the designer should ornament his con
struction and not construct his ornamentation. This is an admirable saying, but
should be subordinated to another rule, that he should ornament his structure only
if he lacked the skill to make it beautiful in itself. A structure of any kind that is
intended to serve a useful end, should have the beauty of appropriateness for the
purpose it is to serve. It should tell the truth, and if the character were such that
it can be permitted to tell the whole truth, so much he better. I should preferably
be beautiful and not beautified.
Thus sententiously spake Messrs. Boynton and Libberton in a paper before
the Western Society of Engineers, which was reprinted in the Architect and
Engineer's April issue.
That postoffice was placed where the Government had a lot worth several
millions of dollars, the centre of the city and where the people insisted it should
be. Of course we might have planted it in the middle of a twenty-acre field,
in the prairies somewhere, or placed it on a foot-hill of the Rockies, and it
might have better pleased the gentlemen's artistic eye. So the designer had
nothing whatever to do with the injudicious placing of the building.
The structure had to occupy the whole lot, but making it a cross shape above
the main floor gave it precisely what they said it did not, "the maximum return
in floor area and the best light any building could have. The cross form gives
the offices not only the width of the streets but the depth of the great external
angle courts for light and the plan contains more and better lighted rooms than
any other shape that could have been devised. Besides it does enable one to get
a view of the composition as a whole and of the central crowning feature, the
dome, something no other form would have done.
There isn't a particle of ornament placed where the eye cannot take it in
advantageously. Indeed, the little ornament there is is so judiciously placed
that it impresses one as a very ornate building, which it is not. Besides people
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Using an average of fifty pupils to a room, the building houses nine hun
dred pupils, at a cost for the building of a little over $66 each, which is a re
markably low average. Statistics show where schools in Boston, Chicago, and
St. Louis have cost from two to three times that much.
An Architectural Collision
WISCONSIN'S commendable efforts to give its architects a chance to
compete for the plans of the W isconsin building at the PanamaPacific Exposition in San Francisco next year have developed
trouble, says the Improvement Bulletin. The commission having the
building in charge and the Wisconsin chapter of the American Institute
of Architects have not agreed on the manner of conducting the competition
for the plans. It appears that the Wisconsin chapter in trying to apply
the institute rules to the competition ran against the authority and deter
mination of the commission to be sole judges of the manner of receiving
plans.
"The rules of the American Institute are based on experience," said George B.
Ferry, a prominent Milwaukee architect, a member of Wisconsin chapter. "For ten
years all the work of the U. S. government has been done under them, and as a
result American public buildings generally are among the most artistic modern
structures in the world. Men who are called upon to act as judges in a contest
should be familiar with the subject involved. A shoemaker would not lte called in
to decide a contest involving medical matters. And I do not think that politicians are
qualified to pass on architecture. When the name of the competitor is not written
on the plans, so that the judge does not know whose work he is passing on, he
is more likely to give an impartial decision than when the name is written on."
A. W. Prehn, member of the commission, announced that the commis
sion would brook no dictation from any institute or society. The law makes
the members the sole judges of the plans and leaves them no power to
delegate the task to any other person or persons.
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The Gymnasium building is 131 feet by 81 feet, and contains main gym
nasium hall, with locker, shower, and dressing rooms, as well as rooms for
physical instruction, class rooms, a trophy room, and room for visiting athletic
teams. This building also contains a complete living apartment for the care
taker and a central heating plant for the entire group.
The Science building is 172 feet by 65 feet. It contains laboratories for
Biology, Physiology, Agriculture, Chemistry, Physics, Nature Study, etc.. and
is provided with four lecture rooms, a departmental library, rest rooms, storage
museum, dark room, apparatus and reagents rooms, sink rooms, offices, etc.
The Training School building is 298 feet by 176 feet. It contains depart
ments for grade work, first to ninth grades, inclusive; also sewing and cooking
departments, room for observation classes. Supervisors' offices ; music, child
study, coaching, and ungraded rooms, together with teachers' and students'
rest rooms, Principal's office, and emergency room. The building will have a
complete gymnasium for boys and girls, with lockers, shower baths, and dress
ing rooms attached ; also a department for manual training and a library.
The Kindergarten building is 95 feet by 57 feet. It contains a large circle
room, fully equipped with book cases and seats, and it has a large open fire
place ; also class rooms, screen porches, alumnae room, cloak and store rooms,
as well as open terraces and porches.
The Cafeteria building is 114 feet by 92 feet, with large dining hall and
with complete kitchen and serving facilities.
The Manual Arts building is 226 feet by 86 feet. It contains fully equipped
departments for cabinet work, pattern making, mill work, a glue room, finishing
room, lumber room, forge room, machine shop, foundry for work in iron and
brass, mechanical drawing room, lecture room, with lockers and wash rooms
attached.
The heating will be by steam, generated in the central plant and piped to the
various buildings through underground tunnels. The plenum or fan rooms will
be located in each of the respective buildings. All departments will be supplied
with fresh air, which is first drawn through mechanical air washers and humidi
fied. The temperature will be regulated automatically by thermostats in each
room.
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The latest modern electric program clock system for all buildings will be
provided, also a complete system of intercommunicating telephones for all de
partments, connecting each with the Administrative offices. An efficient vacuum
cleaning system is to be installed in each building. Both buildings and grounds
will be furnished with sanitary drinking fountains. The plumbing and sanitary
arrangements are first class and represent in all respects the approved conclu
sions of modern hygienic science.
101
The athletic field will have a quarter-mile running track, a regulation foot
ball field and baseball diamond, and also a grand stand. Ample tennis courts
and playground apparatus will be constructed on other parts of the grounds.
At the northerly end of the propertv is located a small artificial lake, fed by a
permanent spring. Agricultural gardens, containing between four and five
acres, will be laid out on the northwest portion of the property. Horticultural
gardens are also included in the plans and a formal sunken-garden treatment
will be given the quadrangle between the buildings and Vermont avenue.
102
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THE
Arrlytfrrt anl. lEngttmr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the Interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and Edttortal Rooms
617-619 Monadnock Building, San Francisco
Telephone Doug-las 1828
TERMS oF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespotnts
11.SO
per
annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Foretgn
SI addtttonal.
Vol. XXXVII. May, 1914
No. 1.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Wm. B. Gkstrr.
J Inspect1on
I and Tests
Loren E. Hunt, C. E
O. P. Shelley. C.E. j Fireproof Construct1on
F. W. FlTZPATrICK. S
W. VV. Brette. C. E. I
Structural Steel
H. J. Brunnter
1
AThOL
McBf.AN \DrtcK) or;,b Tile and Terra
W.
E. Denntson
Cotta
Howard Frost. )
Artificial Stone
G. B. Ashcroft. C. E.
Harry Larktn
[ Roofs and Roofing
j.Fred
R. D.M.Mackenzte
Woods. Jr.. Rock and Gravel
C. Walter Tozer - " Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Kterulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Buttf. . Electrical Constructton
Nathantel Ellery. C. E. - Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
F. D. Hudson
August G. Headman Sumner P. Hunt
Edward T. Foulkes
C. Sumner Greene
Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
.G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
E. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bugbee
KennethMacDonald.Jr. Clayton D. Wilson
Almeric Coxhead
Houghton Sawyer
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown. Jr.
John Parkinson
T. J. Welsh
W. J. Cuthbertson
A. W. Smith
Chas. P. Weeks
Benj. G. McDougall T. Patterson Ross
Octavius Morgan
William H. Weeks
Chas. W. Dickey
H. Alban Reeves
Henry C. Smith
J. C. Austin
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
J. T. Walsh. C. E.
Smith O'Brien
Jas. W. Reid
Albert Pissis
H. F. Starbuck
j. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel Blaisdell
W. T. Bliss
Herman Barth
William Mooscr
Arthur O. Johnson
Robert Morgencier
Herbert E. Law
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
John Galen Howard . F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt '
E. M. C. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
"FIRE - A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Karfhel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
gj&- See the SIMPLEX , METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
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Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer of California
For June, 1914.
--*
T H E B E A R
H U N T E R S"
DESIGNED BY DOUGLAS TILDEN
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVII.
JUNE, 1914.
No. 2.
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Mr. Burditt has not forgotten to honor Father Junipero Serra, beloved of all
Californians ; he has planned a niche for his statue in the center of the main
facade of the highest tower, which rises one hundred and twenty feet.
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Architecture
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and
Architectural
Engineering at the
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SAN FRANCISCO
SHASTA HOTEL,
ARCHITECT
E. P. ANTONOVICH,
Blurome Company, Concrete Construction
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to
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choose one which contains a majority of desirable features. All things being
equal, plans of Cuban architects, residing in Cuba, will receive preference over
foreign entries. The "job" goes with the selected design and the second and
third choice "will each receive $3,000 and their designs will become the prop
erty of the government." While not for a moment allowing that this program
has not most of the defects that are found to be fatal to the securing of good
design and honest execution, we are inclined to make it an exception to the
rule. Cuba has probably few architectural experts and these will wish to com
pete. The government would be reluctant to place the selection of an architect
in the hands of foreigners, and its intention is, as ours used to be before we
learned better, to secure a plan and design. A logical, though narrow view
makes those supposed to be most conversant with the requirements, the arbiters
of the competition instead of its advisors. It is a question whether the rules of
the Institute would permit its members to enter an improper foreign competi
tion, but there are many young men who might "take a chance" in this "Havana
Lottery," which in spite of its irregularity from a code standpoint, under the
control of the chief executive of the Cuban Republic, should be at least fairly
conducted.
*
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70
Construction!
By WILLIAM WALTER JOHNSTON
Supervising Expert, Pennsylvania State Building Code Commission, Lebanon, Pa.
OUT ! Let us out ! At first a frightened cry. Out ! Out ! The cry rises
to a scream, an agonized, despairing scream issuing out of the depths of
masses of black smoke which enwrap the building. Smoke darkens the
heavens ; it pours into hallways and passageways ; it travels up and down stairs
with the speed of a giant athlete ; it routs out the occupants of rooms and drives
them choking and gasping to the windows for air.
Inside there is a mad rush hither and thither ; first to windows looking down
from a height of many stories ; then to the single stairway where red tongues
of flame are already lighting up the dense smoke ; then to the fire escape en
shrouded in smoke and flame. Out ! For God's sake, help us out!
Within is frenzied terror, with death in a most horrible form clutching at
human throats. In the street below we hear the screams of despair. They
mingle with the hoarse cries of the firemen rapidly arriving on the scene and
the rumble and roar of engines and trucks.
The lurid red of the flames now leaping up around the doomed building
adds color to our imagination ; the screams of the helpless victims rend us to
the soul. In a fever of excitement we cry out in voices strained with emotion,
"Raise a ladder!" "Get a rope!" "Do something; can't you do something?"
But nothing can be done. No one can live in that smoke and flame. Approach
to the building is impossible. A few weak streams of water are thrown on the
fire and are licked up gleefully by the flames.
A face appears at a window, then another and another. Poor souls! they
are white with fear; no more cries are heard. One jumps and is broken to
pieces on the pavement. Another attempts to leap and falls unconscious on the
window sill where the flames burn the body past recognition. As a prologue,
the blackened remnants of humanity are carted to a morgue and solemnly laid
in a row for identification.
Out ! Out ! Oh ! God, out ! The cry comes to us in our dreams. It comes
to us from the charred lips of those martyrs, martyrs to human stupidity. It
rises from the tomb where the earthly remains of those who were near and dear
to us were laid with many tears. Oh, that God had given us understanding!
Oh, that the curse of stupidity had been removed from us! We might still
have our loved ones with us. We might again live in their loving embraces.
Life again would be a joy and not a burden. He knew this terrible tragedy
might happen. Our eyes had been opened many, many times to the danger.
Thousands of other people in past years had met death in the same horrible
way that we might live and learn. But we took a chance. It had happened
elsewhere, to be sure, but it might not happen here. We staked our all on one
throw and lost.
Why didn't we put in just one more stairway? Even a door that couldn't
be locked might have saved them. Why didn't the law compel an approved fire
escape to be put on the building? Alas, these are fruitless ravings. We might
have done this or that. We can see now what should have been done. But one
thing we know and the knowledge staggers us with the recollection of the
heavy fragrance of the fresh "'raves upon us. Our loved ones are gone. They
might have been saved. It would not have cost much money, but money was
worth more than lives. Judgment and reason had been ensnared in the greed
for gold. So the old story was told all over again. The fire department was
t Prepared for the Architect and Engineer of California.
71
72
foolish it seems when confronted with the dire consequences. It is at this point
that the sovereign authority of the State should be exercised and adequate
means of egress required on every building.
In considering the question of egress, what is the fundamental principle ?
I say it is this : With one or two minor exceptions every building should have
at least two effective means of egress located as far apart as practicable and
opening onto a public thoroughfare or onto an unobstructed space leading to a
public thoroughfare. And these should be required regardless of the type of
construction. I venture the assertion that if there had been two such means
of egress on any of the buildings in which there has been great loss of life by
fire and by panic, that not over one in ten of those who were killed, would have
lost their lives. This is only an assertion, but I believe it is abundantly sup
ported by the evidence. The able general always tries to leave two lines of re
treat open ; the wise banker never risks the fortunes of the bank on one invest
ment. And when it comes to human lives we should always play the game safe ;
we should give ourselves at least two chances.
There are, of course, subsidiary principles in the matter of egress. The
number and size of all means of egress should be increased as the standard of
construction is lowered, the number of occupants increased, or the occupancy
changed to one of a more hazardous nature. As to standard of construction,
we might say that the number of ways of egress should increase inversely as
the standard of construction. As the probabilities of danger increase the means
of escape should increase. The building is the least consideration. Get the
people out and let it burn.
It is obvious that a building designed for occupancy by a large number of
people should have more ways of egress than one designed for a smaller number
of people. A theater, for instance, should have many more means of egress
than an office building of the same type of construction. Of course, in the case
of a theater the reason is as much the hazardous nature of the occupancy as it is
the disparity in numbers of occupants, but the rule holds good just the same.
The principle as to the hazardous nature of the occupancy is exactly the same.
The means of egress should in every case be increased where the nature of the
occupancy becomes more hazardous.
So much for the number of means of egress. How about the cost? I will
admit that in some cases to put in an adequate number of means of egress may
increase the cost of construction. This, of course, depends on the particular
means of egress employed. A mere exit opening in the auditorium wall of a
theater is less expensive than a solid wall. On the other hand, a tower fire
escape is perhaps more costly than an ordinary stairway. I think the principal
element of cost is the room or space taken up by the means of egress. This
room or space is valuable and in many cases can be made to yield a revenue.
However, in by far the majority of cases there is enough unoccupied space on
the lot to allow for the construction of additional means of egress ; and, on the
same principle that we insist that a certain percentage of the lot occupied by a
tenement house be left vacant, we have a right to insist that a certain percentage
of the lot on which a building stands that is occupied by a large number of
people, should be used in providing adequate and effective means of egress.
While every person should be secure in the enjoyment of property and in the in
come derived therefrom, they certainly have no right to stake human lives
against a few additional dollars of revenue.
The question of convenience is perhaps a larger question than it seems at
first. In dwelling houses, for instance, two independent means of egress might
constitute a decided inconvenience to the owner or occupant, and yet where
dwelling houses are of frame construction and three stories in height the neces
73
sity for two means of egress is just as imperative as it is in any other class of
buildings. We must remember that while buildings may be designed principally
for a certain class of occupancy, they may at times be used for different pur
poses. For instance, a short time ago it came to the writer's attention that one
hundred people were congregated in a small dwelling. In this case the dwelling
really became an assembly hall, and as such it certainly should have had two
means of egress. Convenience is also a serious consideration in the case of
buildings which are difficult to patrol, such as large tenement houses, office
buildings, factories, etc. Every means of egress constitutes a means of ingress,
and exposes the property to the depredations of thieves and "second-story men."
However, I think this objection can be obviated with a little extra care by the
owner or occupant.
The question of architectural taste is not trifling by any means. The writer
recently saw a picture of a pretentious hospital building which was completely
disfigured by two immense, very unbeautiful, iron fire escapes extending across
the facade. We all know many other cases where the architectural beauty of
the building is ruined by external means of egress ; and in some cases the
architectural arrangement is hampered in caring for internal means of egress.
But after all beauty should be subordinate to safety, and the architect should
be required to work out the problem of beauty combined with safety.
So far I have purposely avoided mentioning any particular means of egress.
Of course, any door, stairway, or passageway leading to an opening in the
building may be termed a means of egress. What we mean, however, by the
expression, "means of egress," is a safe means of egress. What is a safe means
of egress varies under different conditions. It may depend largely on the type
of construction and the nature of the occupancy of the building. Generally
speaking all means of egress should be protected by enclosures built entirely of
fire-resisting materials ; that is to say, materials that are not combustible. This
includes walls, stairways, doors and trimmings.
Without considering the ordinary means of egress from a building, I wish
to compare the few means of egress designed especially for emergency exit.
These are the outside fire escape, the tower fire escape, the horizontal exit
through fire walls and the enclosed stairway. There are objections to all of
these particular means of egress. The outside fire escape has been much
abused. It really ought to be a very safe means of egress. An outside fire
escape constructed as a stairway with a pitch not exceeding forty-five (45) de
grees, amply supported, hooded, with sheet metal treads or treads of non-slip
ping material, and opening onto a public thoroughfare or onto an unoccupied
space leading to a public thoroughfare, and without passing across windows or
other openings ought to be an ideal means of exit. The ladder fire escape
should never under any circumstances be permitted. It never was intended as
a fire escape. It was first intended as a means of irtgress for firemen in entering
the building in case of fire. The trouble is that outside stairway fire escapes are
constructed as cheaply as possible with the view of complying with the letter
of the law, and not with the view of really providing a safe means of egress.
The value of the fire tower as a safe means of egress, is, in the writer's
opinion, still subject to demonstration. The objection to the fire tower is the
cost of construction, which certainly restricts the number of them in any one
building and,, as a corollary thereto, the difficulty of access to the tower. If
access to a fire tower could be had directly from every floor area not over a
certain size, and if enough towers could be orovided to relieve conjection in
moments of emergency, I believe that the fire tower would be superior to other
emergency means of egress. But there is the difficulty. Access to a fire tower
is more or less easy in a fireproof building ; but in a building of combustible
construction^ access to a tower might be very difficult. In fact, in many cases it
74
is impossible. Another serious objection to the tower fire escape is the infrequency of its use. Being enclosed it is necessarily dark, at least in places, and
consequently is not much used. It becomes a store room for all kinds of mis
cellaneous apparatus and rubbish appurtenant to the building, and the occupants
hesitate to explore its cavernous depths in times of emergency. Other in
genious, although futile, means of egress, such as sliding or chute fire escapes
which are sometimes constructed in the form of a tower, should absolutely be
prohibited. The horizontal exit through a fire wall,* in some respects affords
the safest and quickest means of egress from a burning building. It is, of
course, based on the theory that a fire does not start in a building at more than
one place at a time. If fire walls extended from the foundation to the roof of
a building it is safe to assume that some portion of the building would be free
from fire. . Consequently a horizontal exit through a fire wall to another section
of the building provided with means of egress to the street, would afford a
quick and safe means of egress from the building. In recognition of this fact,
the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin have provided in their code for a hori
zontal exit to an adjoining building. This means of egress is perfect in theory
and in practice ; but it is difficult in many cases, to construct a building with this
means of egress. In the first place, it contemplates a large building and a large
number of occupants; otherwise, the cost would be prohibitive. It also con
templates a safe and adequate means of egress from each section of the building.
I have purposely discussed the other means of egress before considering the
enclosed stairway. I believe that the enclosed stairway is the most practical
and the most efficient safe means of egress from a building. It has most of the
advantages of the outside stairway fire escape, practically all the advantages of
the fire tower and all the advantages of the horizontal exit. In addition it is the
regular means of ingress and egress used by the occupants. This last is a con
sideration of the greatest importance, as we well know that people invariably
seek to leave by the same means by which they enter. Its cost is little ; it affords
a means of horizontal exit on every floor ; it is available from every section of
the building, for each section of the building should have at least one stairway ;
if provided with self-closing fire doors it is practically smoke proof, at least in
the early stages of the fire, and it leads directly to a public thoroughfare. The
only serious objection to the enclosed stairway is the matter of doors and door
openings, and the question of draft. No stairway should be continuous from
the top to the bottom of the building ; but each flight should be accessible to suc
ceeding flights through enclosed spaces at floor levels. These enclosed spaces
should be provided with self-closing fire doors, and there should be a severe
penalty for locking or propping these doors open.
Different classes of buildings each present different problems as to means
of egress to be employed. In theaters and places where large numbers of people
assemble the most imminent danger is the panic danger. The panic risk calls
for many means of egress, easy and quick of access. The standard of construc
tion of building of this type is today very high. The danger, therefore, is less
of fire than of panic. At Calumet, Mich., last December, when seventy-two
women and children lost their lives in a panic in an assembly hall there was no
fire at all,but there was only one means of egress. The panic fear seems to
increase geometrically as the means of egress is impeded, and conversely it sub
sides geometrically as egress is accelerated.
In buildings of other classes, such as factory buildings, the danger is a fire
danger ; and consequently, more importance should be attached to the fireproof
character of the means of egress. And so on with other classes of buildings ;
* We are indebted to Mr. H. F. L. Porter of New York City for his earnest espousal of the value
of this means of egress. His views are worthy of the greatest consideration, although they have not
been adopted by all authorities.
75
but I contend that the vital problem is always one of adquate means of egress,
and that every other consideration should be sacrificed to this one all important
consideration. It is only in this way that we can prevent a repetition of the
numerous holocausts which shock us. and which really arc a disgrace, and a re
flection on our intelligence and on our ability.
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"Of course, you'd never suspect it. The next time we build, we're going to
send away for plans for one of those perfectly charming bungalows you see so
many pictures of in the magazines nowadays ; one with a 'patcho' in the center,
real Spanish you know, like the Grays have down in Florida."
It is thus greatly to be feared that the dignity of the real architect does not
command the respect of the uninformed and careless public.
The building supply trade constitutes a considerable factor of that public
which architects desire to see enlightened. The attitude of these people toward
the architect is of great importance because of its reflexive influence. If a large
portion of the material men of the country believe that architects in general are
"looking for something on the side," they probably believe also that those who
will not accept it are either supremely foolish or are getting it elsewhere. This
opinion of architects is easily passed on into too credulous ears. We know that
there still exists in the business world a large number of financially successful
men who believe that "every man has his price." Perhaps they also know that
if it were less true, they themselves would not have arrived. Such men will not
hesitate to impute improper motives to the most upright character, and it would
be an exceptional reputation that would be absolutely impregnable to such
slander.
Thus we have heard that this architect owns stock in factories from which
he insists upon contractors making purchases of material for use in his build
ings ; another is said to furnish a very limited number of blue prints to con
tractors and charge many times the value of others that are found necessary ;
or we are told that still another habitually favors certain manufacturers who
have done much for himtheir competitors cannot even get a hearing with him.
And the traducer will add, "But I don't really blame the architect. I'd get all
I could in his place, and so would you. See how the owner cuts him down
when he gives him a jobmakes him take the work for almost nothing."
In such manner is the whole profession besmirched by the remissness of the
quacks and those who profit by their machinations. The evils are plainly the
direct fault of the public, because the public does not attempt to discriminate
between the ethical architect and the charlatan. It would appear that it really
prefers to be humbugged.
We find this indifference sometimes so marked as to be well nigh incon
ceivable.
The common council of a small city met to select an architect for their pro
posed city hall. They had taken no trouble to advertise the matter and had only
six candidates, one of whom, a member of the Institute, happened to be in the
town on other business. Hearing of the work to be assigned, he called upon
the mayor, who assured him that, there being no local practitioner, all comers
would be treated alike. At the solicitation of the architect, the mayor requested
the city attorney to wire certain parties for information as to the professional
standing of this particular candidate. Nine such telegrams were sent (at the
expense of the architect). The town council met in the evening and listened to
each applicant in turn, asking but few questions, and these briefly touching
upon the fee to be charged. When the stranger appeared before them without
pictures or other paraphernalia of his "trade," he found himself at a consider
able disadvantage. He requested the attorney to read the answers to the tele
grams, which were accordingly produced, but, before they could be read, the
mayor interposed, saying: "Never mind the telegrams. We are quite willing
to assume that you are all right. What we would like is for you to show us
what kind of a city hall you could build for us."
The telegrams remained unread and the work was given to the lowest
bidder, an "architect" who boasted that he had been a "practical man" until he
was forty years old and then took up architecture because he knew building
so much better than these "fancy fellows" who had never in their lives worked
84
at a bench. His charge was two hundred and fifty dollars (one per cent.) for
full services.
Owners continue to employ these shysters, even when they know them to be
such, but thinking to take advantage of their low rates and deeming themselves
clever enough, forsooth, to beat them at their own game. Fatuous fallacy !
Such owners only connive at the evils and help them along.
The business section of a small town burned. The business men got together
and agreed to build their new stores much better, even going so far in the right
direction as to adopt a building code with certain fire preventive restrictions.
Then some one suggested that, having gotten together, they might save con
siderable money by agreeing to employ an architect jointly and getting a com
bination rate. A man was found who had "ARCHITECT" printed on his
stationery and who was willing to sell them plans and specifications for twentyfive dollars per building. The offer was accepted, in spite of the protest of a
real architect who attempted to show them that buildings could not be properly
designed that way.
Strange as it may seem, although they wanted fairly good buildings, as was
evidenced by their previous action, yet they all went into the deal.
Their "plans" came by express, C. O. D. The buildings were started under
hastily prepared contracts. The contractors never told that they were able to
do about as they pleased from start to finish, that the details did not fit the plans
nor the plans fit the elevations, and that the sub-contractors furnished their
own drawings and could also do as they pleased. The owners had saved a lot
of money (they supposed) by refraining from employing an "expensive" archi
tect and by not wasting good cash in having a useless superintendent on the
work. It would have been hard to convince them that they spent their savings
several times over in paying for things they didn't get.
The real extravagance was in not employing an "expensive" architect and
paying him to supervise as well as to design the work.
*
Fire Retardent Paints for Shingles
ONE of the many interesting papers read at the twenty-sixth annual con
vention of the Master Painters and Decorators' Association of Pennsyl
vania recently held in Pittsburgh., was that on the above subject by Henrv
A. Gardner of the Institute of Industrial Research. Washington. D. C. The
paper was of considerable length and dealt with many phases of the subject,
including a description of a series of laboratory tests to determine the heat
deflecting properties of various types of roofing materials. Miniature houses
were roofed with bare shingles, painted shingles, tin and stone. These houses
were placed in an oven heated to 150 degrees Centigrade. At the end of 15
minutes thermometric readings were taken and the interior of the houses
roofed with stone and tin showed a much higher temperature than those roofed
with shingles. The house with the roof covered with painted shingles showed
the lowest temperature. On account of the heat deflecting properties of
shingles thev will probably always find a wide application in warm climates,
and the point was also made that shingled dwellings are much cooler in sum
mer than ironclad or stone roofed dwellings.
A summary of the conclusions reached were given as follows :
The shingled roof is highly desirable on account of its durability, light weight, low
cost and non-conducting properties.
Shingled roofs are subject to conflagration when they become dry. Hot cinders from
chimneys are glowing sparks carried by the wind from nearby fires are common causes
of roof fires.
The use of high-grade mineral paints upon shingled roofs eliminates such ftre danger.
Shingled structures of all types, when properly painted, are not only fire resistant but
they are moisture proof and highly ornamental.
The painter shingle dwelling constitutes one of the most desirable types of modern
suburban homes.
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cend to the upper terrace, which is 90 feet wide, with a base .210 feet
across. The platform is laid with marble stones in nine concentric cir
cles, and everything is arranged in multiples of "9."
North of the "Great Altar" is a three-tiered marble altar (Ch'i Ku
T'an) or "altar of prayer for grain," which is dominated by an imposing
triple-roofed temple, covered with tiles of deep cobalt blue.
The plan of a Buddhist temple, which, in a general way, resembles
that of a private residence, consists of a series of rectangular courts with
the principal edifice in the center, the less important buildings
being placed on the sides.
A pair of carved stone lions usually
guards the entrance, and this is flanked by lofty twin columns of wood,
which on festival occasions are mounted with banners and lanterns. The
ponderous gateway is roofed so as to form a vestibule in which are
ranged, on either side, huge figures of the four Kings of the devas, while
in the middle are enshrined small images of the Buddhist Messiah, and
the State God of War, Kuanti, who is represented as a mailed figure,
garbed in the costume of the Han period and seated in a chair.
On either side of the first court, inside the vestibule, is a pair of square
pavilions containing a bronze bell and a huge wooden drum. In front is
the main hall of the temple. The surrounding walls are commonly stud
ded with small figures of celestial Bodhisats. molded in gilden bronze or
clay. The wing buildings are devoted to the deceased inmates of the
monastery, while the side cloisters, which in large temples are two-storied,
contain the treasures of the monastery, the library, blocks for printing
books, etc.
92
By FRANCIS
There are a lot of brainless freaks
W. KEID, Architect
Who add to human woes
Planning or building crazy shacks
Which they call Bungalows.
The joists and rafters are too light.
The studs scarce hold the lath,
And out of space for single room
They get four rooms and bath !
They cut barge boards and rafters
Till the wood shrieks out in pain :
The walls are thin like pasteboard.
The roof won't shed the rain.
There's little space inside a room
For furniture to set,
And everything's in the worst place
It's possible to get.
The boiler's next the "cooler"
And heats it like a torch ;
You can't squeeze into the "breakfast room,"
Or stretch out on the "sleeping porch."
The inside is an awful mix
Of the worst horrors known ;
The outside mingles shingles, bricks,
Shakes, plaster, cobblestone !
And when the loathsome job is done
They laud it to the skies,
Their language mixed with ignorance
And slush and gush and lies.
When fool enough to send for plans
They cost at least a ten,
For changes you must wait a month
And may not get them then.
And when you try to build the thing
In bankruptcy you're lost,
Because expenses far exceed
The estimated cost !
Then why not hire an architect
And some refinement show
By leaving all the bungles out
When you build your Bungalow?
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do so; but that did not alter the question of the position of the architect in the
matter.
A good deal of stress has been laid upon the question of whether the steel
work should be designed, and quantities taken out by the consulting engineer
before being sent to the constructional firms for estimates, or whether these
firms should be allowed to do the calculations themselves. For contracts in
volving a large amount of steelwork of a complicated character, the author
agreed that a consulting engineer should be appointed by the architect, but
there were many smaller works where this was not necessary, nor would the
outlay on the building work warrant the expense incurred. It was quite satis
factory, given certain conditions, laid down, for the architect to send the draw
ings to several firms of engineers, and let them make their own calculations
and quantities ; but to enable the various contractors to estimate on the same
basis, the following information must be given to each :
1. Plans of all floors showing the lines of all main girders and the positions
of stanchions and columns; also a section or sections and outline elevations
must be given.
2. The loads that each floor had to carry and whether live or total loads.
3. Whether British or foreign steel was to be used, and whether the L. C.
C. Regulations under the General Powers Act, 1909, were to be complied with.
If not, the stresses should be specified that were to be worked to.
4. Whether price was to include for hoisting and fixing, or only for steel
work delivered to site.
5. If it was to be delivered unpainted, painted, or oiled, and if painted with
what materials, and that all scale and rust must first be removed.
6. Workmanship, whether connections were to be riveted or bolted and if
the latter whether ordinary bolts would be allowed.
7. Whether the price was to include 10 per cent, profit for the builders or
only 2y2 per cent, cash discount.
The author's practice was to state the latter.
There was a diversity of opinion as to whether dead loads and superloads
on a floor should be kept separate in making the calculations, or whether a load
to include the dead weight of the floor itself, should be taken. The author's
practice was to work to the latter, as the calculations were much simpler and
the liability of error was materially reduced.
One must, of course, take into consideration the point loads which often
occurred from partitions, etc. This was often neglected by competing firms of
engineers, but some of the concrete partition blocks on the market weighed a
considerable amount, and one was often surprised when the weight was calcu
lated out.
Another matter that he sometimes had to argue with the steel contractors
was the central loading on girders carrying walls with openings and narrow
piers between. Some assumed that the loads were evenly distributed over the
span through the brickwork below the window sills. If the sills are very high
up, this may be so, but in many cases the sills are only 12 in. or 18 in. above
the girder, and, in his opinion, the loading in such a case should be considered
as a point load, or as a distributed load over a length of the girder equal to the
width of the pier.
In calculating the loads on stanchions, etc., he did not take advantage of
the reductions allowed by the 1909 Act. He did not think it advisable, as build
ings were often loaded to a greater extent than was allowed for. How often
was an architect told that the floors will never have to carry more than a cer
tain weight, and on going over the premises, when occupied, he is surprised to
find these loads greatly exceeded.
95
When the various estimates and plans showing the steelwork were received
the architect should carefully go through each set. and compare the sections
of the girders, etc.. and make rough calculations to check the sizes, and ascer
tain if the allowable stresses had been adhered to. It was also necessary to
check the depths of the joists in relation to the span, otherwise undue deflection
might occur.
After the plans had been gone through, the architect was in a position to
determine which estimate he would accept, and when giving the general con
tractor instructions to accept the estimate it was important to state that all
dimensions were to be taken from the site, and that the whole of the work was
to be carried out to the architect's satisfaction, detail drawings of all parts to be
submitted to him for approval. The steel contractor must take his own ditnensions from the site, arranging, of course, for the general foreman which por
tions of the steelwork were to be delivered first, and the order of delivery of the
remaining consignments. When the cleared site had been measured with steel
tapes and all angles carefully triangulated, it should be possible for engineers
to set out and scale off the lengths of the various parts. The connections and
workmanship were, in the author's opinion, very important matters to be con
sidered and as far as his experience went they did not always receive the atten
tion that should be given them. Of what use was it to have a strong joist or
stanchion if the cleats under the joist, or the joists under the stanchion were
not properly designed, or if the design is correct the connections themselves
were badly made. It was a regular practice to use ordinary bolts to take shear,
such as the ordinary j4-inch bolt in a 13/16-inch hole, the shank being threaded
to within Y% inch of the head. He has examined connections made in this way,
and often out of five bolts in the connection four of them could be taken out
with the fingers when the nut was removed. What amount of bearing area
did one get on the threaded end of the bolt, supposing that the bolt was bearing
on the plates. The bearing surface consists only of a series of knife edges. If
bolts must be used in shear then the holes must be carefully drilled concentric
through all the plates without the usual amount of clearance, and bolts with
plain shanks long enough to pass right through all of the plates should be
driven in. In order to make sure of having no portion of the threaded end
bearing on the outer plate a J^-inch washer should be placed under the nut. I
am aware that the 1909 Act says that rivets should be used in all cases where
reasonably practicable, but there were a very large number of buildings to
which this Act did not apply. He thought that all steelwork should be designed
in accordance with the provisions of the 1909 Act, but that the conditions for
bolted work should be amplified in the Act, the only requirement now being
that the bolt should extend through the nut and the latter be secured so as to
avoid risk of becoming loose. Another important point, and one that was not
always attended to, was that all holes through two or more thicknesses of metal
should exactly coincide. If they did not coincide, how could the rivets or bolts
take a proper bearing and transmit the loads from one to the other?
Filler joists in concrete floors should be bolted or cleated at least every
third joist to the main beams. He had seen cases in which this was not done,
but the fillers simply rested on short cleats on beams connected to stanchions
running through three floors, next the street, and with no other tie than that
afforded by two 24-inch bolts at each floor level ; the end stanchion, built on the
face of the party wall with only 4^4-inch brick casing around it, was not tied
in at all. He believed it was becoming a common practice to place the smaller
filler joists on a concrete haunching resting on the bottom flange of the main
girder and not tied in any way to the girder. In his opinion this method of
construction should be condemned. The area of the stanchion bases should be
96
chocked to see of the concrete was not loaded more than 12 tons to the square
foot. Large gusset plates should not be allowed unless properly stiffened to
prevent buckling. It was a good practice to encase the whole of the stanchion
base right up to the floor line with concrete. This prevented rusting, and also
held the floor of the stanchion firmly in position. He did not advocate the
putting of stone templates under stanchions. There was no difficulty in bedding
both the template and stanchion and if the latter had to be grouted in the stone
it might as well be absent. Girders supporting walls as well as main floor
girders if they are formed of two or more plain I-beams side by side should
have plates riveted on top and bottom. To simply bolt them together is, in his
opinion, not sufficient, as the load from the main floor girders was not trans
ferred to the outer joists, though some engineers think it is.
Caution must be observed in casting girders and stanchions with patent plas
ters, especially those that are stated to adhere without the intervention of any
lathing. He had one in mind that corroded the steel to an alarming extent in
a short time.
Stanchions and girders are best encased with fine Portland cement concrete,
the steelwork having J^-inch wire wound round same, spaced about 12 inches
apart. This held the concrete firmly in position and it was not easily damaged
even by motors.
When he told them that he had seen specialist firms' own men sawing up
timber for centering and the sawdust and shavings and small pieces of wood all
left and mixed up with the concrete, he thought one's faith in trusting to such
people was rudely shaken. One required a good clerk of works, well up in re
inforced concrete construction, with several smart assistants under him, to look
after the work.
In calculating the sizes of steel joists embedded in concrete the author's
practice was to let the steel carry the load as an independent beam, but taking
the depth of the beam anything up to 1/36 of the span, limiting the stress to
7l/i tons per square inch. This was quite enough, and he often found that
these small joists, such as 3 inchs by 1% inches and 4^4 inches by 1^4 inches
were of foreign make.
He had also a preference for joists with 3-inch flanges over those with \l/2inch and lj^-inch flanges, for the reason that the concrete had a much better
bearing on the joist. He then uttered a warning against using breeze for floors.
There was a great danger of expansion and he knew of several cases where
this had occurred and pushed walls several inches out of upright, and even
when the wall was rebuilt it happened again. There was also a corrosive action
between the concrete and steel which in time might endanger the stability of the
floor. The modern architect had to be a man of many parts, a jack-of-alltradesa bricklayer, mason, carpenter, joiner, plumber and painteralways
an artist, often a lawyer and last, but not least, a structural engineer.
*
*
*
Hollow Tile as Structural Material
The use of hollow tile as a structural building material has been given a
great impetus by the recognition by the United States Government of this
type of construction. Notable instances of this fact may be found in the
new Post Office building to be erected at Grass Valley. California, and in a
new dormitory building to be erected for the Phoenix Industrial school for
Indians at Phoenix, Arizona. In both of these cases, hollow tile are speci
fied for the construction of exterior load bearing walls.
97
What is an Architect?*
By JOSEPH LOSEKANN, Architect
O BEGIN with, an architect is a man, or woman for that matter, who
has made a thorough study of all branches of the construction of build
ings and has had the practical experience as well. He should have
studied architectural design through all its evolutions from long before the
Christian era and before Egypt itself, through the different periods to the
present day, and should embody in his design of a building that which is
essential for its present needs and style, having learned from what has been
done in the past and erect a building that should stand as a monument for
the future. It should be modern in appearance as well as in material in
order to meet the present-day requirements.
An architect must thoroughly understand building constructiona
most vital pointas a building poorly put together is little better than no
building at all. He should understand the weight and strength of materials,
in order to properly apply them and make the building he is constructing a
complete whole.
He should understand the planning of a building, which requires thor
ough training and experience, without which no building can be succesful
unless its arrangement of plan is simple and economical. The successful
plan, therefore, is the one that meets all requirements as to beauty of design
and good construction with the least expenditure.
The architect should understand and know of all the different materials
that enter into the construction of a building and should specify and see
that only the best are put in for the money. He should keep in touch with
the newest materials through their many agents and by reading the adver
tisements, and should always be abreast of the times as to what is the very
best and latest on the market.
He should be an impartial superintendent and work for the best inter
ests of the owner, though with proper regard for the contractor as well. It
is to the architect that all difficulties that may arise and the proper inter
pretation of the plans and specifications are left and it is the satisfactory
handling of these things that determine the architect's real competency.
Judgment should be rendered impartially and a firm stand taken to effect
a speedy completion of all matters. The inability to decide quickly and
finally on many small things is often the cause of unnecessary delay, and
could be avoided by quick action on the part of the superintendent.
Finally, I would ask: Why should you go to an architect to have your
plans drawn for a building when there are many contractors, carpenters
and others that will make them for you without cost? By way of com
parison let me ask, why do some people, when they are sick and in pain, go
to a drug store for advice and medicine instead of seeking the professional
services of a physician ? To save the doctor's fee, of course. The druggist,
except in exceptional cases, is not a doctor and does not understand the
planning and arrangement of the human body. The wise person is the one
that goes directly to a good physician at the start and pays a reasonable fee for
professional advice. The doctor furnishes the prescription as the architect
supplies the plans; the druggist fills the prescription as the contractor
would construct the building, and the result is, the patient (owner) has a
body (building) when properly attended to that is left in the best condi
tion possible for the skill and money expended and in that he more than
saves the doctor's (architect's) fee. Everything has been done by the right
person in the right way and naturally is bound to bring the right results.
Abstract of an Informal Talk before the Stockton (Cal.) Rotary Club.
98
99
When this find is made it will be indisputable proof that all buildings
that ever had any specifications had the same general conditions, standard
clauses, and said the same nasty things about what they were going to do to
the contractor in case he made an error or failed to correct all the archi
tect's errors. With this original document to back us up we ought to be
able to have the laws changed to fit our specifications.
In place of the contractor being pessimistic about any change it seems
to me that his position is about the same as that of the blacksmith who
when asked why he allowed his wife to beat him replied that it did not
hurt him and it amused her.
The only pleasure that the architect has in life is reading his general
conditions and blanket clauses to his new client. The contractor, if pres
ent at this reading, never raises his eyes and appears to be suffering some
great mental anguish. He does not really feel that way. He knows that
the architect does not mean a word of it. That is the way he is expected
to look, and it would spoil the effect of the whole thing if he did not look
that way.
In the subject matter proper of the average specification there have
been some changes made from year to year. To what extent these are
due to inaccurate copying I am unable to say. I am convinced, however,
that this is not the reason for them all. Some have been made in an
honest effort to show the bidder that the architect really thought he
wanted this or that particular thing done this or that way. I have heard
that in some instances this has been found to be a help to the bidder.
However, I am afraid that they have often prevented his being awarded
the work by raising the question of doubt in his mind as to the other
requirements.
As for the change to the quantity estimator as suggested by Mr. Jones,
I am not sufficiently well posted to express an opinion, but on the face of
things it looks as though it would be a vast improvement, especially for
the smaller offices. Of one thing, however, I am certain, and that is that
it could not possibly be any worse.
*
Los Angeles Chapter Postpones Action on
Quantity Survey System
The Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects,
held its last meeting until fall Tuesday evening, June 10th. It was expected
that Mr. A. M. Edelman would address the meeting with a stereopticon lecture
on Egypt, but on account of illness Mr. Edelman could not be present. His
address will probably be given at the next regular meeting in September.
The committee appointed to consider the advisability of adopting the Quan
tity Survey System of estimating reported that they were unable to present a
unanimous report. All members of the committee recognized the merits of
the system but some of them felt that it would not be practicable to introduce
the system at this time. After a lengthy discussion by the members, the matter
was postponed for future consideration.
As the meeting adjourned, President A. C. Martin announced that arrange
ments would probably be made for an informal meeting during the summer in
the nature of an outing.
100
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102
103
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ence that ensuesa part of the contract, and the two must stand or fall to
gether. Specification writing must be regarded as an important branch of the
work of the engineer and the architect, and it is difficult to understand how
the lamely-worded, halting, ungrammatical documents that one only too often
sees can come from the pens of men whose calling presupposes the receipt of a
fairly advanced education.
Clearness, brevity and consistency are the three things to aim at in writing
a specification. Lengthy sentences of necessity become involved, and the snappiness of modern journalism may .be followed with advantage. Reiteration of
descriptions of similar work and materials does not, as is commonly thought,
add strength to the document ; and, too, there is ever the danger of dissimilar
clauses on similar matters creeping in, to the confusion of all parties concerned.
Tautology is to be avoided if possible, but true literary excellence is not to be
attained and an expressive word or phrase had better be used over and over
again if to ring the changes on it would mean any danger of confusion of ideas.
A general clause to the effect that everything shall be done in the best and most
workmanlike manner will save an infinity of that needless description of work
ing processes which, to use the words of an authority on the subject, is often
carried "to the verge of absurdity." Words such as "proper" and "sufficient"
have practically no meaning at all, and the writer should avoid them by stating
clearly and concisely what is proper and sufficient. Small detail sketches may
be introduced in the margin with advantage, not necessarily as saving descrip
tion but as helping to elucidate it ; but even these may be overdone and "carried
to the verge of absurdity" unless the writer places due restraint upon himself.
"The description in specifications of workmanship and material of the highest
class in positions which any practical builder knows to be unreasonable and
unlikely to be insisted on," says the authority already quoted, "leads to a gen
eral system of discounting the written requirements by the experienced esti
mator, who tenders accordingly, and at a much lower rate than his deluded
competitors, who weakly suppose that the specification means what it says."
To sum the matter up : If the specification drafter clearly understands what he
is writing about, says exactly what he means and not a word more, clearness,
brevity and consistency will have been attained.
Many books have been published giving complete specifications or specimen
specification clauses for both building and engineering works. Used with judg
ment such books may prove of the greatest service; but there is ever the
danger of irresponsible consultation and the extraction of clauses which may,
when strung together and read as a single document, have all the bad features
that have been referred to above. Stock clauses to fit the requirements of every
class of work cannot be drafted, and the architect or engineer who dabbles in
such things may court serious trouble with his clients. Every clause must have
precision of application, for incertitude is fatal. The wide tendering of which
so much is heard is due largely to the atmosphere of uncertainty which attaches
to many specifications. Two men may read a badly framed clause in two dif
ferent ways, three men in three different ways. Make the specifications posi
tive, avoid the "or equal" as far as possible, for who is to be the judge of the
quality of the "equal to" article?
*
Couldn't See the Smile
Mr. Jones had recently become the father of twins. The minister stopped
him on the street to congratulate him.
"Well, Jones," he said, "I hear that the Lord has smiled on you."
"Smiled on me?" repeated Jones. "He laughed out loud."Ohio Farmer.
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108
Make provision through the roof for a chimney or sheet-iron smoke pipe
for a small coal or gas stove. The garage should be heated in winter to pre
vent freezing of the water in the cylinders and radiator of the car. For a
garage of the size given there will be required thirty-eight and one-half barrels
of cement, twelve cubic yards sand, and twenty-four cubic yards stone or
gravel.
*
*
*
World's Heaviest Office Building
THE Equitable building, now under construction in New York City, from its
great area presents an interesting problem in heavy erection. It will be
the heaviest office building in the world when finished. The steel erection
was made especially difficult by extensive cross-lot timber bracing, which holds
the basement retaining wall until sufficient steelwork has been installed to take
the load. It was necessary to set the derricks and with them erect the steelwork
for the three stories below ground, all without damage to the cross-lot bracing.
The new building will be about 160x312 feet in plan and about 500 feet
above the street and 65 feet below at lowest point. It is considered a 36-story
building, but there will be intermediate floors at the third and thirty-fourthfloor levels, making thirty-eight floor levels.
The elevators, stairways, lavatories, smoke-stack, etc., will be placed in the
center or core of the building. All offices will have an exterior exposure.
The steelwork was erected to the second floor by six steel guy derricks, with
76-foot masts and 65-foot booms. The heaviest column weighed 32 tons. Above
the second floor the heaviest piece to be handled weighs about 16 tons, and 15ton derricks with 90-foot masts and 85-foot booms replaced the original six.
The longer reach of these lighter derricks rendered them much more useful in
handling material from the street.
After the steelwork west of wall columns 7 and 125 was erected, derricks
proceeded to erect the basement steelwork eastward, moving forward along the
basement steel, erecting steelwork ahead, similar to the moving of a traveler.
In this way, liability of accident to the cross-lot bracing was reduced, and the
expense of building bents for supporting the derricks was eliminated.
The total steel aggregates 33,000 tons. It is shipped to Greenville, N. J.,
lightered over to New York City in the vicinity of the Battery, and trucked to
the job. Each derrick handles the steel from the street for its particular section.
Engineering News.
*
*
*
Cracking in Concrete Roads
PROBABLY more criticism of concrete pavements is centered on the cracks
which occur than upon any other features of this kind of construction. A.
N. Johnson, state highway engineer of Illinois, in a paper before the
American Road Congress attributed the formation of cracks to unequal settle
ments of the subgrade, supplemented by external stress due to the passage of
heavy traffic or to the movement of the slab under temperature changes. In
commenting upon this, Henry S. Spackman refers to experiments conducted by
him which showed that when concrete is mixed as wet as it generally is in mod
ern road work it shrinks during the first twenty-four hours and then expands
during the next three or four months, the shrinkage being undoubtedly due to
a draining out of the water and the expansion to the continuation of the chemi
cal action, which continues for months and even for years in a continually
lessening degree. In view of this shrinking which begins almost as soon as the
concrete is laid, it seemed impossible to prevent the cracking of the pavements
unless the exudation could be prevented. Mr. Spackman has experimented
109
110
111
112
hear
contractors
com
The
Arrhitert
anth Engineer
OF CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Terms of subscripTion
$1 additional.
ASSOCIATE
EDITORS
W.M. B. GFSTER.
LoREN E. HUNT. C.
O. P. ShellEY. C. E. "
J Inspectron
and Tests
A'treproof Construction
F. W. FitzPATRick
W. W. BREITE. C. E.
H. J. BRUNNiER
No. 2.
Structural Steel
{*
# a rena
Athol McBFAN
W. E. DENNISON
otta
HowARD FROST.
G. B. AshcroFT. C. E.
Artificial Stone
HARRY LARK1N
and Roofing
J. R. D. MACKENzi E Rock and Gravel
FRED M. WOODS. J.R.,
- Interior Decoration
C. WALTER TozER WiLBUR DAvid Cook, Landscape Architecture
T. C. KierULFF
Zegal Points
PAUL C. BUTTE
Electrical Construction
NAthANIEL ELLERY, C. E.
* Roofs
Bilding Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
August G. Headman
Edward T. Foulkes
Alfred F. Rosenheim
G. Albert Lansburgh
E. H. Hildebrand
Kenneth MacDonald, Jr.
Houghton Sawyer
John G. Howard
Arthur Brown, Jr.
Chas. P. Weeks
Benj. G. McDougall
Octavius Morgan
H. Alban Reeves
J. C. Austin
F. D. Hudson
Sumner P. Hunt
C. Sumner Greene
Ralph W. Hart
Norman F. Marsh
Maxwell G. Bugbee
Clayton D. Wilson
Almeric Coxhead
Harrison Albright
John Parkinson
W. J. Cuthbertson
A. W. Smith
T. Patterson Ross
William H. Weeks
Chas. W. Dickey
1 Ienry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
Jas. W. Reid
Albert Pissis
J. Harry Blohme
Herman Barth
Arthur O. Johnson
J. T. Walsh, C. E.
Smith O'Brien
H. F. Starbuck
Nathaniel Blaisdell
W. T. Bliss
William Mooser
Robert
M'ier
Herbert E. Law
B. J. S. Cahi
E. M. C. WhitNEY
FREDERick W. Jones
F. A. I. A.
the
human
brain
can
make
them,
"FIRE A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swtnging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
iw See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
S2S Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer
of California
July, 1914
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVII.
JULY, 1914.
No. 3.
f
The Architect and Engineer
49
50
And they are towns in themselves, these New York office buildings, housing
two, five, and ten thousand people under one roof. Their vast height is often
based on a whole city block. They have within them the organization of a
municipality, their own electric light, water, and power plants, and a fire-fight
ing equipment that is almost supererogation, because they are as nearly fire
proof as the wit of man can devise. In the whole of the Woolworth building,
there is no woodwork. The doors and partitions are of steel, terra cotta, and
wire glass. The frame of the building is a gigantic and homogeneous steel cage,
the beautiful walls and ornaments are laid on as a skin. Beams and ceiling
arches are of steel, floors are concrete, stairways are stone or metal. The
fiercest .blizzard of New York's harsh winter would not shake the skyscraper
by a tremor, for it has been built to withstand the impossible pressure of .a wind
of two hundred and fifty miles an hour.
Whatever you may think of their external artistry you cannot fail to be con
quered by the internal complexity, efficiency and completeness of these com
mercial palaces of New York. It has been truly vaunted that a tenant need not
go from under his roof for almost any civilized want. He has, of course, the
enviably competent telephone service of New York, and he can mail his letters
in a chute on his floor. He has a post and telegraph office, a restaurant, a bank,
an insurance office, a safe deposit, and even his own uniformed police. He can
visit his physician, lawyer, broker, tailor, tobacconist, barber, and shoeblack.
He can buy papers, books, stationery, theater tickets, hosiery, hats, fruit,
flowers, and candies without passing his main entrance.
Some of these vast buildings are open day and night, the cost of maintenance
alone reaching $100,000 a year, and the one item of water supply $5,000. The
Woolworth building has 40 acres of floor space, 3,000 exterior windows, 80,000
electric lights, and 28 lifts. Twenty-four thousand tons of steel went into the
construction, 17,000,000 bricks, 87 miles of electric wiring, and 43 miles of
piping.
These are but figures, and no figures can so touch the imagination as an
ascent to the top of New York's latest and greatest skyscraper. It is infinitely
more suggestive than the ascent of the slightly higher Eiffel Tower. The
Parisian wonder is an engineering curiosity, a mighty skeleton reared for the
sightseer, tenantless except by tourists and meteorologists. This tower of New
York holds thousands of citizens who pass their work-a-day hours in all its fiftyfive storiespeople who sit at their desks and unheed by familiarity the most
astonishing city view of the world. The stranger pays fifty cents and steps into
the express elevator. Nothing here of the tedium and change of lift of the
Eiffel Tower ; the flash to the summit takes exactly one minute. It is one of the
cheapest and most exhilirating two shillingsworth imaginable. The fifty-five
floors fall past you like cards dropping from the hand of a juggler, streaks of
alternate light and shade.
And the view from the high-borne eyrieall the amazing citythe encom
passing riversthe busiest harbor in the worldthe Olympic dwarfed to a
channel steamerthe narrows beyondand then the wide roll of the Atlantic
it hangs forever afterwards in the memory like a great picture in a gallery.
*
Labor unions are strong in the West and especially strong in a city where, on Hal
lowe'en, the boys pulled a lot of pickets off the fence belonging to a house in which a
union barber lived and made a bonfire of them.
The barber bought some new pickets and nailed them on his fence himself. Where
upon he was promptly fined fifty dollars by the council for doing carpenter work which
should have been done by a union carpenter.
The barber thought over this for some time. Then he presented the Carpenters'
Union with a bill for thirteen hundred and seventy-five dollars.
"What's this for?" asked the chief of the Carpenters' Union.
"Why," the barber replied, "that's what's due the barbers because the carpenters shave
themselves." His fine was remitted.Saturday Evening Post.
51
: IS SM.K E IB B s a
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52
53
ARCHITECTS
of the best
examples of
terra cott a
acific Coast.
It is one
54
55
56
58
I I I I I I I
59
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*
YEON BUILDING, PORTLAND, OREGON
REID BROS.,
ARCHITECTS
The tallest building in the Northwest, with one exceptionthe L. C. Smith building in Seattle, Wash.
61
62
63
64
65
66
BEE
BBB
BBS
BBS
EEi
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BBB
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67
But even buildings with their footings carried to bed rock lean or are racked
out of plumb, and the taller the buildings the more they are likely to lean,
although the amount they are out of plumb is seldom enough to endanger the
structure.
Recently the Building Commissioners of Chicago ordered the
Unity Building straightened as it was "unsafe but not dangerous," being thirty
inches out of plumb. In an interview they said : "It is impossible to prevent
the big buildings here from leaning. Some of them are not straight when
they are finished, but that does not impair their safety. It is probably safe to
68
the movement of the dome of the Capitol at Washington. A wire was hung
from the middle of the dome inside the building down to the floor of the rotunda,
and on the lower end of the wire was hung a 25-pound plumb bob. In the lower
point of the weight was inserted a lead pencil, the point of which just touched
the floor. A large sheet of paper was spread out beneath it. As the dome
moved, it dragged the pencil over the paper every day. The mark made was in
the form of an ellipse six inches long. The dome would start moving in the
morning as soon as -the rays of the sun began to act upon it ; and slowly, as the
day advanced, the pencil would be dragged in a curve across the paper until
sundown, when a reaction would take place and the pencil would move back
again to its starting point. But it would not go back over its own pencil track,
for the cool air of night would cause the dome to contract as much on the one
side as the sun had made it expand on the other, and so the pencil would form
the other half of the ellipse, getting back to the original point all ready to start
out again at sunrise."
In the three movements affecting tall and heavy buildings we have, then,
particularly in the expansion and contraction movement which is of daily occur
rence, and which affect sky-scraper buildings as well as all other tall structures,
a condition which must be taken into consideration when planning the buildings.
Lines of steam pipes, stacks of drainage pipes, lengths of water pipes, vacuum
cleaning pipes, refrigeration system pipes, electric wire conduits and the various
networks of tubing which cross and criss cross inside of a building will naturally
be more or less affected by the movements of the building; and if long life is
expected of these various systems of piping, they must be so installed that they
can "give" under the movements of the building without damage to the piping,
and sufficient to compensate for the change of position.
Besides pointing out the necessity for flexibility for the piping systems in
tall buildings, the movement of buildings shows how desirable it is to have solid
foundations the footings of which extend down to bed rock. Floating founda
tions are all right for some kinds of buildings, but for the sky-scraper type there
is nothing so good as the solid rock of old Mother Earth.
*
My Hollow Tile House
THE editor of the Kansas City Star writes as follows in the August 1913,
number of the "Interlocker" :
Did the advantage of living in an ice chest ever appeal to you ? Aside
from rather cramped quarters. I have often envied the tomato, its ice chest
apartment. Who is a tomato, that it should be cool, while I swelter? I ask.
I am answering that question this month by beginning to build a house along
what I conceive to be the ice chest idea, the nearly air tight compartment within
the outer walls. The reason for this comparison is that the temperature within
the ice chest stays for a long time the pitch at which it is put, and advantage is
in the extremes of winter or summer.
I am going to build my house of Denison Hollow Tile, made at a plant in
Coffeyville, Kansas. This will be faced on the outside with stucco, having the
appearance of any stucco-covered house.
The outside walls of the house will be fireproof, dampproof, heatproof, coldproof, windproof, vermin-proof.
They will be built of hollow tile from the bottom of the basement up to the
roof, making the basement as warm and as dampproof as any part of the house.
Along with the idea of building this kind of a house, came two surprises.
] was at first amazed to think that these advantages, which appeared so apparent
69
to me, had not long ago appeared with equal force to others. So I said, I will
be doing some pioneering.
The second surprise came when I found I was not a pioneer at all. . I am
finding the use of hollow tile for residences to be a practice years old in Europe.
Yesterday a man whose younger years were spent in his native Austria was
telling me that even at the time he left Europe, manv of the better houses in
the outlined district of Austrian cities were of hollow tile construction.
That is a condition that should not be. The ocean should not separate us
from knowledge. If Europe has long recognized hollow tile as a competitor of
wood, brick and stone, we, who build homes in this Central West, should have
bad the same choice. Great corporations who see millions in the saving of a
penny, have the world for its schoolroom, but the individual lacking co-operative
facilities learns slowly that which may be much to his benefit, and which may be
well known to another people than his immediate neighbors.
At the beginning of my investigation, I was led to believe that the construc
tion I was after was very expensive. I have proven to myself in figures from
actual bids on the entire work in the house, that anyone able to have a house
built can afford fireproof tile, for the cost is not much more than frame and
stucco construction. I have built other houses of the customary material, and
have not been satisfied. They have been hot in the summer, and cold in the
winter. I wanted a house that would be as pleasant in temperature 110 in the
shade as when the thermometer is 20 degrees below zero, either of which is
reached sometimes in Kansas City.
For a long time I believed that concrete walls would be the answer, but I
discarded this idea after investigation because I believed the construction too
heavy for a medium size residence, because the construction does not lend itself
readily to proper lines, and for other reasons.
One day I met a man who had been an engineer in many of the countries
of Europe. He told me how hollow tile had been used for a long time in gov
ernment buildings, and higher class residences in Russia, Austria. Italy, and
many other countries. He told me also of the rapid spread of this construction
in this country.
I had seen the queer-looking blocks being used in walls of office buildings
and public garages. I began to watch the construction and ask questions of the
men putting up the tile. It was so simple and easy.
I learned the reason for the use of the material.
The hollow tile has been proved to be an absolute non-conductor of heat,
cold or dampness. This has been done before proper experts. In a recent
hollow tile show in Chicago, it was demonstrated to representatives of a packing
company how hollow tile was a good material to use in walls of their refriger
ator cooler.
I am satisfied because of the thoroughness of my investigation that these
representations are true.
I read in books concerning hollow tile, then I interviewed architects and
builders concerning it. After that I went to see a representative of the Denison
Clay Company.
They told me of the water test ; how water at a tremendous pressure had
been held for many hours against a hollow tile wall without dampness penetrat
ing the first hollow of the tile, an intense heat was placed against the same
wall, and on the other side there was no change in temperature. I learned the
strength of the material and was satisfied.
And the beauty of it all is that the price is within the means of almost any
one who can afford a popular-priced home.
70
E'
L II | E-
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t*
73
75
76
ENTRANCE DETAIL
CROW'S LANDING SCHOOL
WILLIAM H. WEEKS.
ARCHITECT
The walls are of red pressed brick
and most of the light colored trim
shown in the illustration is matt
enameled architectural terra cotta,
having a slight cream tint. The
round disks in spandrel over arch
are green marble,verde antique.
'The small windows in the wing are
glased wtth richly colored opal
escent glass, which lends a touch of
color that gives a very pleasing
effect. Architectural terra cotta
polychromeis often employed in
facade decoration to obtain similar
results.
77
structural materials are protected by architectural terra cotta and brick can
most successfully withstand the ravages of fire. By water, the other of the two
foes of permanence in a building material, architectural terra cotta is totally
unaffected. In the case of many materials, water finds its way through the
surface, freezes, causes expansion and ultimate disintegration. In the case of
architectural terra cotta, this destructive process cannot even begin, because
the first step, the penetration of water beneath the surface, is impossible, inas
much as architectural terra cotta is impervious to moisture.
Architectural terra cotta is further excellently adapted to modern building
construction because it is at once strong and light. Ordinarily, these two
qualities are inconsistent : the material that is strong is heavy ; and that which is
light is weak and of uncertain resistance. The modern skyscraper demands a
material so strong that it can be used with safety under the most exacting re
quirements, and so light that the cost of foundations, superstructure, and instal
lation may be reduced to a minimum. Architectural terra cotta is just such a
material, and its use for the entire facing of the largest business buildings in
the world is an evidence that wide recognition is being given to its unique^
qualities.
Every architect today is alive to the demands of beauty and attractiveness.
Even in buildings designed for the most utilitarian purposesin factories, for
examplethere is a strong demand that the aesthetic sense be satisfied. Archi
tectural terra cotta, because of its infinite possibilities as regards form, may be
modeled to express the most delicate beauty and charm. It can be made in
many tints and colors and in limitless combinations of colors. And, what is
equally important, it retains all of its original qualities. Dirt, smoke and soot
do not permanently discolor its surface ; they do no damage that cannot be
easily undone by the application to the terra cotta of ordinary soap and water.
Architectural terra cotta, while it possesses these remarkable qualities, offers
unusual opportunity for economy. This material makes it possible for the finest
ornament to be used in buildings intended for the most practical purposes, at a
most reasonable cost. For years, fine ornament was divorced from modern utili
tarian architecture because it could be secured only by the slow process of indi
vidual hand carving. By fine ornament is not meant the disgusting amount of
cheap, machine-made ornaments that disfigure rather than embellish, but those
legitimate forms that have had the endorsement of all ages. When the cost of
hand carving became prohibitive, these had to be abandoned. Now by the use
of architectural terra cotta,by making a plaster mold of one piece and
pressing many pieces from the same mold,the sculptor's model for cornice,
pediment, or frieze can be duplicated at relatively low cost. This process of
repetition is such a decided saving that it makes feasible the employment of the
best available talent for the creation of the original model. As a result, the
most pleasing effects can be introduced ' without waste and with the utmost
economy.
Consider the practical advantages that result from the use of a material with
these extraordinary qualities. Because of its lightness of weight, it is easilv
and inexpensively handled and put in place : and because of this same lightness,
it makes possible a substantial saving in connection with the entire structure.
Once placed in position, it is durable for all time. It cannot melt, disintegrate,
or decay. It can, moreover, in the first instance, be made unusually attractive
and beautiful by the use of a great variety of surface finishes or of one or more
colors, and this original beauty is permanently retained. It is fire-proof, water
proof, dirt-proof and time-proof. It is, in short, all that could be demanded by
the most exacting and discriminating in the wav of an ideal material tor.,use
in -fh^ 'bujidinW brm^mMMm^^otkv Ttf&XMrS&lfe'*
Brochure.
" rf ___
78
Municipal Buildings*
By ALFRED F. ROSENHEIM, A. I. A.
SIN every calling so in ours, there are architects, good, bad and indifferent,
commercial and others, but a bad architect is about the worst kind of an
individual that can be inflicted upon a community, and especially a com
munity that is growing and developing as rapidly as Los Angeles, for his crea
tions are always a blot on the neighborhood in which he happens to be operating,
and from which it will suffer until they are removed by some enterprising or
disgusted citizen.
Now what have the architects done for Los Angeles?continually referred
to as a "beautiful city," but is it such in fact ? A beautiful city is made up pri
marily of beautiful buildings, of well-paved and well-kept streets, ornamented
with shade trees. Can you point to a really beautiful street? Can you point to a
really beautiful building? Nearly every building or building project that is pub
lished, whether for public, religious, commercial or domestic purposes, is charac
terized by the local newspapers as the most beautiful of its kind ever erected
anywhere. Of course this is absurd. While it is laudable to boost for one's
home city, so far as its architecture is concerned there should be better reason
for boosting than we have in our case.
Whatever of beauty we can lay claim to, the individual himself is entitled to
credit for ; it may be found in the construction of his home and the embellish
ment of its surroundings by means of artistic landscaping and gardening. As a
municipality, however, we do not possess today a single building that can be
pointed to with pride and admiration either by our own citizens or by the visitor
coming within our gates. Have we a city hall, a public library, an art museum,
a convention hall, a music hall, a lecture hall worthy the name ? With very few
exceptions, we have no school that would not disgrace any one of our neighbors
within a radius of fifty miles. The present board of education, however, is going
to make a decided change in this respect. What have we in the way of boule
vards and parks, and where, within the city limits, can you take a friend for a
really interesting and enjoyable drive ? Where can you place statuary or foun
tains or a monumental arch, should some public-spirited citizen happen to be
queath or donate money for their construction? It must be evident to you that
"public spirit" and "civic pride" are sadly lacking in this community, and it is
due mainly to the fact that the authorities are either indifferent or not alive to
our needs and that everybody else is too busy chasing the almighty dollar.
The action taken by the city council, about two years ago, regarding the con
struction of a new city hall on the Temple block site, purchased a year previous
to that time, was responsible for the resolution passed by the convention of the
Architectural League of the Pacific Coast, held here in April, 1912:
"The Architectural League of the Pacific Coast, in convention assembled, notes with
interest the fact that city planning has become a recognized duty of municipal authorities
in nearly every important city in this country and abroad; and whereas the city of Los
Angeles has within the last decade developed more rapidly than any other city in the
world, and is now certain to continue in its growth, so that its destiny as a great and
powerful metropolis is assured, and that such future growth would result in the building
of a city famous for its beauty if at this time a 'comprehensive general plan' along practical
and economical lines could be adopted ;
"Therefore, be it resolved, That this league strongly urges upon his honor the Mayor
and the City Council the importance of securing such a plan, and that, pending such
action, no steps be taken toward the location or construction of a new city hall, a public
library, or other public building, park or boulevard."
The societies that have been organized for the purpose of fostering and
assisting in beautifying the city in one direction or another receive little encourAbstract of a paper read before the members of the Jorvian Electrical Lcngue of Los Angeles.
79
agement or support ; yet they continue to exist in the hope that ultimately, as the
public becomes more interested and better educated, through the medium of
travel and observation, they vyill accomplish some genuine good.
In offering an opinion as to the relative merits of general construction in Los
Angeles and in the East, I have no hesitancy in saying that we have by no means
reached its standard, notwithstanding the statements you frequently see in the
papers that the work done here is as good or better than that done elsewhere.
It seems to be the sole idea of the capitalist, and of many others who build for
revenue, to make the biggest show for the least money, and with little thought
as to how well he is building. In other words, they want "quantity" without
regard to "quality," and consequently we are not building the city as substan
tially as we should. In a few notable instances, however, individuals have either
set a high standard of their own or permitted their architects to set a standard
for them, and in such cases there have really been produced buildings that com
pare favorably with the best elsewhere and are therefore a lasting credit to the
city as well as to their owners.
*
Competition Program for Plans of a Neighborhood
Center in Chicago
HERE is a growing feeling that our cities are today suffering grave harm
from the lack of neighborhood organization and action. The object of
this competition is to show the desirability and possibility of developing
Chicago, more than is now being done, as a federation of neighborhoods, each
having its own well-designed cultural, or business and cultural center. It is not
suggested that these centers would or should suffice for all institutional needs
of the people, nor that a reversion to village isolation is desirableeven if it
were possible. All great cities are, and seem likely to continue, developing their
central functions more and more highly. The proportion of a great modern
community, however, which actively participates in these functions is not large.
The vast majority of the population does and must find its life chiefly within
neighborhood limitations, and this life could be greatly aided by a better han
dling than now obtains of the physical factors upon which that life, in its insti
tutional expression, depends. A thoughtful survey of our cities would probably
deepen the feeling that, not only in politics, but in those features which underlie
political expression, they lack the healthy and efficient neighborhood life which
they should have, due in part, at least, to the lack of strong unifying nuclei of
local life, and that actual developments plainly point to the need of such nuclei.
For reasons of community efficiency, as well as for architectural effect,
people generally approve of creating carefully planned civic centers, combining
with or near the city's chief business activities certain public or semi-public
institutions serving the city as a whole. The same reasons make it desirable to
have a well-designed grouping alsowith or without local business activities,
as may seem bestof the similar institutions serving particular localities or
neighborhoods in a great city.
Although the following program is drawn with special reference to Chicago,
the problem concerns cities generally, both large and small, as well as suburbs,
and the competition is desired to be correspondingly inclusive. Plans will
accordingly be admissible for a neighborhood center for any city other than
Chicago, and for main centers of cities and towns not large enough to justify
important neighborhood centers. Plans may also deal with actual or assumed
conditions, and those of dense or sparse occupation. It is only desired that the
description should sufficiently set forth these conditions, so as to show the merits
and appropriateness of the plan.
80
THE PROBLEM
The problem in this competition is based upon the idea (1) that certain institutions,
through which urban life expresses itself, tend to associate themselves together, in a small
city at a single and central point, and in a large city at various district or neighborhood
points also; and (2) that the people of Chicagoas of our cities generallywould be
benefited in many direct and indirect ways by a higher development of their neighborhood
institutions, and thus of their neighborhood life.
The problem is, accordingly, to produce plans for a typical or ideal instance in Chicago,
or, in other cities, of grouped neighborhood institutions.
A solution would involve a decision as to
(1) The sorts and sizes of institutions to be includedand especially whether com
mercial as well as social,
(2) The sizewhich would perhaps vary with the density of populationof the district
or neighborhood to be served,
(3) The most efficient inter-relationship to be secured among the institutions to be
thus associated, and thus the size and shape of the composition,
(4) The proper adjustment of the composition to the general framework of the city,
especially to the street system and perhaps other means of communication, and
(5) The landscape and architectural treatment of the composition in its various parts
and as a whole.
THE PROGRAM
Preliminary competition open to all.The competition will be held in two parts, the
preliminary and the final. Any individual, group of individuals, firm or combination
between any of these, may participate in the preliminary competition.
Jury to select in preliminary competition.As soon as practicable after the date for the
submission of plans in the preliminary competition, a jury of five members, to be chosen
by a joint committee of the City Club and the Illinois Chapter of the American Institute
of Architects, will select from the plans submitted not less than eight nor more than six
teen which they deem to be the best.
Final competition open to selected number.The authors of the plans thus selected
shall be eligible to participate in the final competition.
Jury aicard in final competition.As soon as practicable after the date for submitting
plans in the final competition, the jury will award First, Second and Third Honors to
the three plans submitted which it deems the best. The jury may also award honors to
more plans than three, if in its judgment special circumstances demand such action.
Cash honoraria.The jury will select the eight plans which it deems the best among
those submitted in the final competition, and the sum of $600 will be divided equally
among the authors of those eight plans to cover in part the expense of preparing drawings.
Drawings in preliminary competition.
In the preliminary competition, participants will submit only one drawinga general
plan, on the scale of SO ft. to the inch. If, however, a participant desires to showl the
geographical relation of his proposed center to its less immediate surroundings or to the
whole community, he may for that purpose combine a key plan on a smaller scale with
the main plan of the center, or may submit such key plan separately. The drawings may
be rendered in monotone wash, and must be suitable for reproduction. The various build
ings and other features on the plan should be designated by numerals, which will refer
to a key to be placed below the bottom border-line of the drawings in a separate panel.
The numerals must be of such a size that when the drawing is reduced for reproduction
to 6 inches by 9 inches, or an equivalent area, they will be plainly legible.
A suitable north point, and a graphic scale in solid black-and-white 100-feet divisions,
on which the numerals are large enough to be plainly legible when reduced as above
specified, must be placed on the plan.
Thesis.
In addition to the plan, each participant shall submit in the preliminary competition a
thesis fully describing his scheme and the conditions it is to meet, setting forth its advan
tages, practical, social, and esthetic. This thesis shall be type-written, and shall not exceed
2.000 words in length.
Drawings in final competition.
In the final competition, participants will submit at least three perspective views of the
whole or a part of the buildings and grounds of the proposed composition, at a scale of
1/16 of an inch at the nearest building corner. If one of these perspective views is a
bird's-eye view, it may be at a scale of 1/32 of an inch to the foot at the nearest corner,
and but one other perspective need be submitted. In preparing the perspective views, the
plan submitted in the preliminary competition must be substantially adhered to, and the
competitor should retain a copy of his plan for use in preparing the drawings for the final
81
competition. Other drawings in addition to those specified may be submitted in the final
competition, if desired, and the rendering of final drawings may be of any desired character.
A thesis of any given length may be submitted with the drawings, or not, as desired.
Date and manner of submission of drawings.The drawings in the preliminary com
petition are to be delivered at the office of the City Club, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago,
at or before noon of Monday, October 26, 1914, addressed to the "Neighborhood Center
Competition," City Club of Chicago. The drawings in the final competition are to be
delivered, in like manner, on or before Monday, January 3, 1915.
To each set of drawings there must be attached a plain, opaque, sealed envelope, con
taining a card bearing the name of the author or authors.
Exhibition and publication of drawings.The preliminary plans will not be made public
until the final plans have been submitted. All the drawings submitted will then be shown
in the special neighborhood Center exhibition, to be opened at the City Club, January 9,
1915. The City Club also reserves the right to publish subsequently, in pamphlet or book
form, the drawings and theses submitted.
Notice by participants.All persons or groups of persons desiring to enter the pre
liminary competition will please notify the Civic Secretary of the City Club at once. All
persons gtving such notice will be invited to attend a series of meetings at the City Club,
the first of which will be held early in June, at which experts on the subject of the
competition will speak and matters connected with the competition will be discussed.
Written reports of these meetings will be sent to competitors outside of Chicago.
LITERATURE
As a convenience and aid to those who shall take part in the competition, the City Club
will place at their disposal in the club library such literature dealing with the subject of
Neighborhood Centers as is available, and will send references to this literature to competi
tors outside of Chicago.
INQUIRIES
Inquiries for further information should be addressed in writing to "Neighborhood
Center Competition," City Club, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago. The answers will be in
writing, and will be forwarded, with the questions, to all known competitors.
George E. Hooker, Civic Secretary.
Cheer Up!
By FRANK A. MITCHELL, in Rock Products
I.
What's the use of being blue ?
No one's got it in for you.
Why, darn it, man! you're lucky just to be alive and well.
Of course you have your worries,
But they're only little flurries
Just square your jaw and grit your teeth, forget 'em for a spell.
II.
The world has trouble in it,
You can find it any minute
If you're looking, but the other fellow has it just the same;
So just look your carcass over
Why, old scout, you're right in clover
If you're present and accounted for and ain't blind, halt or lame.
III.
So take this here prescription,
Never mind my faulty diction,
And keep your features smiling, don't forget that you're a man ;
For the world will treat you fairly,
If you'll only meet it squarely
Take a brace, cheer up your face, and be a courage fan.
82
By WILLIAM HOLABIRD*
HE field of architecture is not overcrowded. In fact, the contrary obtains.
|
Today the young man who wishes to become an architect has splendid
opportunities, far better than those which faced him a decade ago.
To become a successful architect, however, he must qualify in many things.
He must have good habits, a steady nerve, be industrious, and have mastered the
rudiments of the profession. Above all these, he must have integrity, because
he is compelled to handle constantly funds that belong to other people.
In selecting a vocation, he must have a fondness for it. If he chooses a pro
fession for which he has no liking, his success will be greatly handicapped. No
man, to my knowledge, ever has attained high honors in a calling for which he
has a natural aversion. I think that is one of the great dangers which parents
and advisers are too prone to overlook. They indiscriminately choose a young
man's business for him and as a consequence, caring little for it, his progress
suffers. All sorts and conditions of men are to be found today who complain
about the unattractiveness of their calling and who wish they had made a more
fitting selection of their life's pursuit.
Of course, to be an architect and a successful one, a young man must be an
architect in all that the term implies. He cannot enter the profession half
heartedly. He must be enthusiastic and work untiringly ; faithfully. I would
venture to declare that 80 per cent of the young men following the various pro
fessions of today, do their work mechanically and without full knowledge of
details. They have not mastered their chosen calling.
The young man who determines upon architecture as a means of earning a
livelihood, must be pretty thoroughly educated. He must know mathematics in
order to learn construction. He must be able to draw both mechanically and
free hand ; have a conception of coloring, and be able to do water color and oil
work to a minor degree.
It is possible for him to educate himself by working during the day and
studying at night. We have had instances of young men entering an architect's
office, boarding themselves, and supporting families, and finally saving enough
money with which to take a course in European colleges.
Architecture is not difficult to learn if the young man is willing to work and
acquire knowledge. He must start at the bottom. There is no short cut to suc
cess, and none of the men who have reached the top ever found a quick route.
They all succeeded in the same wayby plodding, conscientious effort.
The remuneration received by successful architects is only fair. We have
not increased special charges and rates as thev should be increased. The archi
tect, however, earns as much, as a general rule, and perhaps a trifle more, than
do those who follow similar professions. He gets good fees, of course, but
when he has paid his draftsmen and the various kinds of engineers he must
employ, the major portion of those fees go to his employees. But they are an
independent lot, are these successful architects, who never are out of employ
ment.
I would advise any young man who has a yearning to become an architect to
enter the profession without fear of the future. His success will depend upon
his ability to grasp the essential and minor details that spell "fitness." He can
not be a shirker. He must stick to his work and study it incessantly. Even the
most successful architect does not know it all. New and greater things are
being done every dav. He must keep abreast of his profession.
*Senior member of architectural firm of HolabirrI & Koche. Chicago.
83
Fig. t.This new wall construction combines the mechanical advantages of concrete and the insulating
properties of hollow tile, with the surface qualities of the best brickwork
Web-Bricks
An Account of a Remarkable Innovation in Wall Building*
By B. J. S. CAHILL, A. I. A.
I.
SOME inventions when once seen, are instantly recognized as abso
lutely inevitable. The whole mind jumps at them as though they were
predestined to be and to flourish from the beginning. Some few weeks'
ago the writer received by mail an illustrated account of a new type of brick,
a compound brick shaped like the section of a "Z" bar. Although occupied with
other matters and in no mood to investigate novelties, his eye was arrested by the
first illustration which revealed the whole story in a flash. (Fig. 1.) He read the
pamphlet through, not so much to learn what it had to say, because he knew it
already, but to tab off the various points as they came up. It was not a process
of acquiring one by one the advantages of the new form brick, as much as recog
nizing and making welcome what seemed always to have been necessary, if one
could only have thought of it ! This quality of instantaneous recognition, and
the word is used very advisedly, is surely the best test of the timeliness of any
invention which is really destined to be an innovation.
Few things in this material world are so firmly established, so apparently
perfected and unchangeable as building bricks. Vet we know that nothing
* Written for the Architect and Engineer of California.
84
whatever under the sun is absolutely permanent. But as recent years have
brought the innovations wrought by structural steel, other changes may well
be looked for. Indeed, it is safe to say that the new style brick owes its develop
ment to the modern use of steel and concrete, and their combinations one with
the other.
Although the new web-brick has other uses to be specified later on, and this
includes a brand new system of construction all its own, it is primarily con
sidered here as a wall material to fill in and clothe the frame of a class "A"
building, whether of steel or reinforced concrete.
Curtain or filler walls of concrete have the drawbacks of deficient fireproof
quality on the outside, and deficient damp-proof quality on the inside. More
over, the need of wood forms to make them, including the necessary bracing,
takes a large amount of space for a long interval of time, much to the em
barrassment of all other trades. The material, the labor, and the time to do
all this, is a dead loss. When finally poured, a concrete wall cannot be cemented,
tiled or finished on the exterior in any way that is satisfactory, permanent, or
artistic. A brick veneer applied to a set concrete wall is even more unscien
tific, besides being false in principle and bad architecture. On the other hand,
common brick curtain walls must be unnecessarily thick and heavy. If built in
damp climates, with hollow space front or rear, still further waste is necessary,
and if built solid there is always the need of furring. Such walls, moreover,
cannot be incorporated with the columns between which they are built. Hollow
terra cotta tile walls, excepting for inside partitions, lack strength unless faced
with brick, into which, unfortunately, they cannot be bonded.
A wall built with the new web-bricks has the following properties. It is :
1. Fireproof on the exterior.
2. Damp-proof on the interior.
3. Perfectly bonded clear through.
Fig. 6.As a curtain wall for steel structures, this wall excels. It is light, strong and is proof against,
hre, heat and moisture. .Vo furring or lathing is necessary.
85
"Each Thermos brick bonds with three bricks in the alternate course."
4. A permanent form of protection for reinforced concrete, and following
upon, and as a part of these basic advantages, a web-brick wall
5. Dispenses with the need of exterior facing.
6. Does away with the need of interior furring.
7. Does away with the need of forms and bracing.
8. Does away with the need of wiring, metal clips, ties, anchors, and other
rustable and flimsy devices so often used to tie an exterior veneer of brick work
a concrete wall.
9. Provides at any point throughout its length ready-made vertical cavities,
flues, or chases, for ducts, pipes, or conduits.
10. Can be braced by steel rods horizontally to form a trussed wall over a
void, or diagonally to resist the racking motion of wind or earthquake as well
as vertically in columns, or all three combined.
11. Can be rough on one or both sides for plastering or cementing, with
raked joints for key, or the exposed face of each brick, whether inside or out,
can be finished in every conceivable style, color, or texture, from the roughest
of clinkers, to the smoothest of glazes ; or from the palest shades of enamel to
the softest tones of tapestry.
12. Finally, a web-brick wall, both inside and out, reveals the honest prin
ciples of real brick work with all the varieties of bonds and jointing developed
in the burnt clay work of all the famous historic styles of architecture invented
in Babylonia, Persia, Holland, Italy, and England, down to the present time.
It is not to be supposed that all of the above properties can be developed or
utilized in the same section of wall at the same time, but an amazing number
of combinations is possible, as one can gather from a study of the cuts towards
the end of the article.
It should also be made clear that the twin brick, the tied brick, the web brick,
or by whatever name you choose to call it, can be made either of burnt clay, or
of sand and lime under steam pressure, or of the closest concrete aggregate, as
may be required.
86
II.
Since the year 1625 A. D. common bricks have been roughly standardized,
the accepted dimensions being 9 x 4^ x 3 inches, which is a ratio of six, three,
and two for length, breadth, and height. In up-to-date usage these dimensions
have been shaved from the bricks and thrown into the joints. Previous to
that time bricks were made in all sizes, and not uncommonly many kinds were
used in one wall. I remember standing with a friend and counting nine differ
ent sized bricks in a patch of wall in the base of the tower of the church of
Saint Sauveur in the old Flemish town of Bruges, where, by the way, can be
seen some of the most interesting brick work in the world. But conditions
belonging to the romantic age of building are impossible in these industrial
times. So in spite of the fascinations of medieval brickwork, uniformity is now
for many reasons absolutely necessary.
Having established the dimensions of the brick unit, we next note that like
the chemist's conception of an atom, a brick is only effective in relation to other
bricks. Thus a simple arrangement of three bricks can be made to express all
the principles developed in a brick wall just as effectively as three dozen or three
thousand.
For the sake of simplicity let us assume a nine-inch wall. Two bricks laid
en echelon will represent the stretchers on each face and a third brick laid
across them expresses the tie or bond. The rest of the wall, be it of any thick
ness, size, or shape, is simply a repetition variously modified of the principles
here expressed by three bricks touching each other for one-half their length
two bricks in one Horizontal plane running in the same direction of the wall and
one Over brick uniting them transversely. If we conceive these bricks as atoms
of different chemical elements according to their positions, then this group of
three can be compared to what scientists call a molecule. Thus two atoms of
hydrogen chemically combined with one atom of oxygen, represents a molecule
of waterH20. So also two bricks similarly set in a Horizontal plane and one
Over brick uniting them form the molecular basis of a wallH20, as it were.
This arrangement is expressed graphically by the diagram (Fig. 2).
Now the basic principle of -the new web-brick consists in a remarkable
modification by which these three atoms or common bricks become still more
intimately combined and developed by a series of metamorphoses that can only
be compared to the changes of chemistry or the growth of organic and cellular
tissues.
First of all the overbrick or header is sunk down or merged, as it were, into
the two lower ones. What was before three bricks is now welded into one twin
brick with the bulk of two, plus the thickness of the joint originally connecting
the lower bricks to half of each other's sides. We have now a twin stretcher
brick with an invisible header holding them together at their alternate ends.
Such a brick is difficult to take hold of. It is over twice the weight of an
ordinary brick and will absorb twice as much water. (Fig. 3.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
87
Now a common brick with a crushing resistance of about a ton to the inch
is highly porous. Its constituent particles are not closely packed. Under a
microscope its texture would reveal a mass of small cavities. These we shall
indicate in plan (Fig. 4) by a number of lines of black to represent the incom
pressible material of a brick enclosing spots of white to represent the cavities or
voids.
Let us take the compound bricks of Fig. 3, and compress them towards the
surfaces of the wall so that the cavities are almost entirely squeezed out
and the total thickness of the brick units reduced in the process by a third. We
now have (Fig. 5) as a result of this compressing process one large useful void
three inches wide in place of an infinity of small harmful voids. In this process
we do not forget the original tie-brick which now comes into view as a web
uniting the two stretcher bricks. This is compressed also towards its long axis
io that the plane of each of its sides is shrunk in from alignment with the ends
of the other bricks. We now have a compound webbed "Z"-shaped brick, com
bining four functions in each unit. It forms (1 ) an inside stretcher, (2) an out
side stretcher, (3) an invisible "header" or inside tie, and (4) an interior cavity.
It does the work of three common bricks with the bulk of two and the weight
of one, assuming this one to have been saturated in water. Some idea of the
FIG 4
FIG 5
many ways that the new brick can be used will be gathered from the illustra
tions throughout this article.
Most important inventions are arrived at by a roundabout route.* The
genesis of the "Z" brick as sketched above is a scientific short-cut rather than
an historical account of its origin. It began in a desire to make a brick for the
special purpose of building hollow walls for factories. The first bricks made
and used were U-shaped. The final form adopted was not reasoned out, but
was the residuum of a series of experiments in brick making and brick setting.
No invention that is worked out theoretically on paper has much chance of being
valuable until tested by actual use. It was discovered that in laying a web-brick
as it was originally shaped, the mason was unable to set the brick on its bed in
the wall without using both hands. This defect could be overcome by sliding
the web to the center as in the letter "H," but this arrangement would not allow
a continuous vertical void and at the same time permit the joints to be broken.
The problem was finally solved by shifting the outside bricks to face each other
for half their length only. When grasped by the web the stretchers offset in
opposite directions exactly balance one another, one web-brick can be laid so as
to bond three others and the vertical voids are preserved throughout the entire
height of the wall.
It may appear that undue stress has been laid on the abstract qualities of the
web brick unit. But this seems of great importance at this stage. We are apt
* The basic patents of this brick begin in 1905.
88
89
Fig. 8-Staggered web wall cut open to show continuous air-space and vertical or diagonal reinforcement.
90
IH.
Having briefly summarized the new bricks' usefulness in general and gone
into the detail of the brick in particular, it remains to indicate some of the
applications of the "Z"-shaped brick that may not occur to the reader offhand.
We spoke of the new brick as a covering for steel columns and a curtain
wall all in one. The fact that the web brick is a header with a hooked exten
sion tied onto it makes it very valuable in building round a "Z" bar, a Bethle
hem, or any form of built-up column. Web-bricks enclosing wall columns have
the advantage of uniting column, concrete curtain wall, and exterior brick finish
in a homogeneous "weld" not possible in any other form of construction. See
Fig. 6.
Figures 7 and 8 show possibilities along lines of construction that are quite
novel, and which will demand from experts new formulae. Although small in
cross section at least half the brick shell can be computed as forming an integral
part of the column, especially if the brick has a cement basis. The reinforcing
columns can be spaced to suit requirements just as the voids can be used where
needed. The diagonally open cavity for purposes of isolation suggests many
uses, while the same reinforced and filled solid with a good wet mix would com
bine the maximum advantage of brick and concrete in one perfect wall wherein
the Capulets of clay and the Montagues of concrete were at last happily wedded.
Construction on these lines combining the charm and honesty of legitimate
brick with the strength of concrete could be used for school houses and homes
with the most promising results.
Our school architecture sadly needs to be developed along lines of Tudor or
Flemish brickwork. A classic school house nine times out of ten is an uninvit
Fig. p.In a double wall, one row of voids may be reinforced and the other left open for insulatioyd.
Excellent for Class "C" structures.
91
Fig. 10.Thermos construction "solves one of the hardest problems of the day, which is to supply the
forms and the finish for concrete in one simple operation."
ing makeshift. Often enough it is full of promise in the plan, but when the
necessary cuts have been made the result in execution looks little better than a
warehouse. The structural use of web-bricks with due regard to texture, bond,
and jointing, combined with up-to-date use of concrete for bearing parts, yields
an ideal solution of the whole problem.
We, who are accustomed to live in frame buildings, the makeshift of the
pioneer, have little perception of the fire risks we run. A generation hence the
idea will be unthinkable. The notion of a "home" with nothing in it but what
can be replaced out of the insurance money is about the surest sign of a raw
and crude community that I know of. With thin, light, fireproof and artistic
walls made easy by the new form brick, I see far more promise in the line of a
small fireproof house worth living in and looking at than in Mr. Edison's muchtalked-of proposal.
So far we have shown the web-brick in its smallest dimensions. Figure 9
shows that a double cellular wall with staggered openings elongated by filler
bricks has multiplex possibilities for concealing columns, supplying ventilation,
and all manner of ducts and conduits. Another form of web-brick yields a 13inch wall with much larger voids and this brings us to consider the regular*
construction of reinforced concrete.
Figure 10 shows in a generic way how web bricks combined with common
bricks can be built up at once into the "forms" and the finish of any kind or type
of building. When the bricks have been set in cement mortar around the rein
forcing a perfect "form" is ready for pouring at the full height of one story.
The pressure of the wet concrete forces the aggregate into every joint. The
adhesion upon the cement setting is perfect and the surrounding wall, which is
also the "form" becomes an integral part of the column with its core of rein
forcing.
92
0anM Frame
Figs. II and 12.To indicate how simply the new brick adapts itself to door and window openings.
It is unnecessary to show more details except to indicate how simply the
new brick adapts itself to door and window openings as shown in figures 11
and 12.
Regarding the question of exterior finish and the use of historic bonds, the
new brick lends itself to the possibilities of all those found in old work, includ
ing surface patterns and diaper designs of endless variety.
Fig. 1j."An interesting version of an old wcll balanced Flemish bond." Can be laid twice as fast as
ordinary Flemish walls.
.^ltu.ui
93
94
ALBERT
PISSIS, F. A. I. A.
ALBERT PISSIS
served as president of San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of
Architects, and was a Fellow of the Institute. He was also a member of
the San Francisco Society of Architects, the Bohemian and the Pacific
Union clubs.
Mr. Pissis was born in Guaymas, Mexico, in 1852, and was the son of
Dr. J. E. Pissis. He was but six years old when his family removed to
San Francisco. He studied in the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris under
Gaudet, and upon his return entered the San Francisco office of William
Mooser, Sr.
Mr. Pissis commenced the practice of architecture for himself some
forty years ago, his first large commission being the brick warehouse, now
standing at the foot of Van Ness avenue.
Mr. Pissis was a man of dominating will power ; a man whose charac
ter and personality were very strongly impressed upon his associates. He
was naturally reserved, even with his closest friends, but was frank to
express his opinion when occasion demanded, even to the extent of criti
cising his own work.
Mr. Pissis' success as an architect is attested by the fact that he is
reported to have been the wealthiest member of the profession in San
Francisco. Just what disposition will be made of his business has not been
determined, but for the present the office will be retained in charge of
Morris M. Bruce, who was associated with the deceased for more than
fifteen years.
95
96
P. P. I. E.
Copyright,
97
98
The American Safety Device Company will exhibit its patented safety scaffolds erected
just as they were used in the construction of such buildings as the L. C. Smith structure
in Seattle and the Hobart building in San Francisco.
A water temple will be featured by the Cement Waterproofing Company. This will
be constructed of concrete, eighteen feet high and an accessible drinking fountain will be
sure to attract the crowds.
Specially interesting exhibits will be worked out by all the other firms.
It is a matter of considerable interest to draw attention to the wonderful growth of
the Parrott contractors' equipment department. In four years the business has been
developed from practically nothing to a volume that this year bids fair to exceed the
$100,000 mark. The equipment line is in charge of Mr. L. E. Boyle, whose work is highly
praised by President R. H. Menzies.
99
100
101
102
after the completion of the first test and was operated all told for about nine
days. It is to be noted that in the case of the Fess burner the boiler and cover
ing were green and had to be dried out during the preliminary runs and the
requirements as to load and operation were not known in advance of the test.
In the case of the Simplex burner the covering was all absolutely dry and all the
test conditions were known and could be accurately met.
Simplex's exception to above:
The Simplex Burner, which was regulated entirely by means of the automatic
regulating valve, came within 28 sq. ft. of the boiler rating on medium fire, while the
minimum fire was adjusted so as to give quite an appreciable range below either the
boiler or building rating.
Concerning length of preliminary tests and order of tests : The order of tests
had been determined by lot.
The covering of boiler was dry long before the final tests of the Fess burner
were made.
SecondThe Simplex burner showed soft carbon all around the furnace at
the end of the run at average load and a ring of hard carbon one-quarter inch
thick had formed around the entire crcumference of the fire box, above the bot
tom of same.
Simplex's exception to above:
The Simplex burner did not show "soft carbon all around the furnace" at the
end of average load, as stated; a very small amount of carbon was found on circle
wall at end of the average run.
ThirdDuring the tests of the Fess burner there was no undue noise, either
in the operation of the machine or in the combustion of the oil in the fire box.
In the case of the Simplex burner there was a decided intermittent concus
sion in the furnace during the test at average load, and this increased to an
almost constant roar during the maximum test. During the tests the check
draft damper at the rear of the boiler was held in place with a 10-inch Stilson
wrench clamped on to the damper catch. It was also noticed that the shaft
was not running true.
Simplex's exception to above :
Regarding noise of combustion, there is very little difference between the Fess
and the Simplex burner. A slight rattle developed in the ring oiler of the Simplex
motor during the maximum test.
Fess' statement that "it was also noticed that the shaft was not running true" is
incorrect. Every Simplex machine is tested several days for alignment and general
operation under working conditions before it leaves the factory.
FourthAt the completion of the set of tests on the Fess burner, the entire
machine and burner were dismantled and entirely removed from the boiler in
an interval of 17 minutes and within 27 minutes from the time the fire was
extinguished at the end of the test. This was done without, in any way, injur
ing the furnace lining.
This could not be done in the case of the Simplex burner, as it was impos
sible to remove the head without getting into the furnace, and the gear box
could not be removed without entirely destroying the fire brick lining and
furnace.
Simplex's exception to above:
The Simplex burner has no head. The burner can be easily dismantled by taking
off cup, collar, fan, and fan casings, through the fire box, and it is only necessary to
disturb a little of the high heat cement adjoining the collar. The rest of the machine
is pulled out through the ash pit door. The fire brick lining of the furnace is not
disturbed or injured.
FifthAn examination of the curves shows that the Fess burner is of larger
capacity than the Simplex burner, its point of greatest efficiency being about
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17 per cent greater in load than the Simplex burner. It also shows that the
efficiency of the Fess burner rises slowly as the load increases and drops off
slowly as the load increases beyond the maximum efficiency point of the burner.
Simplex's exception to above:
While the point of greatest efficiency of the Simplex burner was 17%, or more
correctly 19.27% below that of the Fess burner, it must be borne in mind that the
efficiency of the Simplex burner was still 1.07% above the boiler rating, or 26.33%
above the building rating, against Fess burner, 20.34% above boiler rating, or 50.43%
above building rating.
SixthIn comparing the curves it must not be forgotten that the Fess burner
operated free from smoke and carbon and that the Simplex burner showed
smoke and decided carbon at its maximum test, indicating that at this point it
was considerably above its proper capacity.
Simplex's exception to above:"
The Simplex burner showed a maximum evaporation of 14.315 lbs. at medium
fire; 1.07% above boiler rating against Fess 14.186 lbs. at medium fire, 20.34% above
boiler rating.
SeventhIn considering the question of stack temperatures, it will be seen
that the stack temperature rises proportionately to the increase of load on the
boiler and all of the six points plotted are almost exactly on the line of the
curve; showing that the stack temperature is a condition determined by the
boiler alone and has no relation whatever to these burners.
Simplex's exception to above:
With reference to stack temperature, the Simplex burner showed a much lower
stack temperature at a higher equivalent evaporation, and a somewhat higher room
temperature, and therefore higher temperature outside.
To the above report W. E. Leland attaches the following letter from the
Fess System Co., also the appended tabular report of findings :
San Franctsco, May 19, 1914.
Messrs. Leland & Haley.
,
Gentlemen :For your information beg to say that we have installed 906 of our
Fess System Rotary Crude Oil Burners on the Pacific Coast, of which 744 are
installed in the State of California.
Very truly yours,
Fess System Company,
By Delaney, H. L. (Signed)
TABULAR REPORT OI. W. E. LELAND
Rating
of
boiler,
2625
sq.
ft.
Low fire2-hour test.
tESS
Stmplex
Total oil used
78 lbs
56
Total water used
113 gals.
76
Temperature of feed
59
66
Temperature of boiler room
78
84
Temperature of stack
490
440
Developed load in square feet .
2186
1460
Per cent, of rated load
83
55.5
Equivalent evaporation
14.010
13.034
Carbon in furnace
Trace
None
Smoke at top of stack
None
None
Noise of combustion
None
None
Medium fire3-hour test.
Total oil used
167 lbs.
139
Total water used
245 gals.
207
Temperature of feed
59
65
Temperature of boiler room
81
87
Temperature of stack
580
525
Developed load in square feet
3159
2653
Per cent, of rated load
120
101
Equivalent evaporation
14.288
14.316
Carbon in furnace
Trace
Soft and hard
Smoke at top of stack
None
Trace
Noise of combustion
None
Very noticeable
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URN
Hand Hammered in Copper
Antique Bronze Patina
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DOOR
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THE
Arrhitrrt anil Ennttwr
OF' OAUPORNIA
Published Monthly In the interest* of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and Edttortal Rooms
617-619 Monadnock Building, San Francisco
Telephone Douglas 1828
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespotnts
$1.50
per
annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Foretgn
51 addtttonal.
Vol. XXXVII. July, 1914
No. 3.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
S Inspectton
Wm. B. Gf.stf.r. I and Tests
Lokf.n E. Hunt, C. E.
^"fVt^cI ! Fireproof Construcuon
f?:j.WB,SC,tf
Structural Steel
AthOL
McBKAN
)
d
-.i
tv/a*
7V*r*
W.E. Denntson [Brtck- rt!?'ut Terra
Howard Frost. 1
Lorta
G. B. Ashcroft. C. E. * Artificial Stone
Harry Mackenzte
Larktn - -. I^^o/s
jc**/* j
J.K.D.
and Roofing
Fred M. Woods. Jr.. . Rock and Gravel
C. Walter Tozer - - Interior Decoratton
Wtlbur Davtd Cook. LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Kterulff Legal Points
Paul C. Butte
Electrical Constructton
Nathantel Ellery. C. E. - Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
Fnd H. Meyer
F. D. Hudson
August G. Headman Sumner P. Hunt
Edward T. Foulkes
C. Sumner Greene
.Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
E. H. Hildebrand
Maxwell G. Bugbee
Kenneth MacDonald.Jr. Clayton D. Wilson
Houghton Sawyer
Almeric Coxhead
John G. Howard
Harrison Albright
Arthur Brown. Jr.
John Parkinson
W. J. Cuthbertson
T. J. Welsh
Chas. P. Weeks
A. W. Smith
Benj. G. McDougall T. Patterson Ross
Octavius Morgan
William H. Weeks
H. Alban Reeves
Chas. W Dickey
J. C. .Austin
Henry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
Smith O'Brien
Jas. W. Reid
H. F. Starbuck
J. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel Blaisdell
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
William Mooscr
Arthur O. Johnson
Robert Morgeneier
Herbert E. Law
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
John Galen Howard , F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt
E. M. C. Whttney .
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer
of California
August, 1914
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVIII.
'
AUGUST, 1914.
No. 1.
49
i
SCWTH
j3
ELtVATlOM
VV V
CLASS ROOM
SEXTION THRV CLASS ROOM
LOOKING NORTH
0Vrovt
V V v
CLASS ROOM
OLD BVILDING
5
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building drawings and schemes. These were later published under the title
of ''School Architecture in California, 1909."
However, while there was a great demand for this pamphlet and the
buildings embodied therein certainly did much to stimulate a further inter
est in school building, it was obvious that in getting out a new volume there
might be a great opportunity to improve the standards and character of
school architecture, if the architects of the State would co-operate in advis
ing what were the best schools to be published and thus draw only good
examples to the attention of boards of trustees, architects and school people
generally.
An advisory committee of architects was therefore appointed from dif
ferent parts of the State to act as a jury to pass on all designs and plans
submitted to the superintendent.
The Basis of Judgment
During the school year of 1912-13 there was set aside and expended in this
state for new buildings the sum of $7,372,215.18. This was distributed over
kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools and normal schools. Hence,
the importance to the state of obtaining not alone the highest practical results,
but also the best designs and architecture.
If so many buildings at such great cost are set up annually as an object
lesson to all the younger generation, is it not absolutely essential that they
should advance the highest and noblest ideas possible, that they should form
a nucleus for the patriotic sentiments of their respective communities? Should
they not help to attract the incoming population which most of this state is
anxious to have ?
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ENTRANCE-SANTA MONICA
ALLISON & ALLISON,
HIGH SCHOOL
ARCHITECTS
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actual contact with fire. The greatest danger is from panic and the result
ing crushing on the stairways. The conspicuous avoidance of all combustible
materials in the corridors and stairs will do much to allay groundless fear
and thus avoid panic. If, from daily use of fireproof exits, both teachers and
pupils gain the impression that their escape cannot be cut off by fire, they are
not likely to lose self control in time of actual alarm.
Another improvement is in the line of better sanitation. The heating and
ventilating system is a most vital part of a modern school. Steam heat is
supplanting hot-air furnaces. Ventilation by natural draft can be made fairly
efficient for grade schools of not more than eight rooms, but for larger build
ings, and all high schools, mechanical ventilation is now considered a necessity.
Automatic temperature regulation is no longer an experiment, but an essential
part of a ventilating system for schools.
The limits of this paper will not permit a discussion of the details of
heating and ventilation. Architects and engineers are in substantial agree
ment as to the methods to be employed. However, the experiment of
open-air school rooms being tried in certain Chicago schools is worthy of
serious consideration. It seems to be demonstrated that by introducing
sufficient moisture into the air of the school, room, the winter temperature
can be reduced to sixty degrees, or even less, with a marked benefit to the
health of the pupils.
Since modern plumbing has become almost universal in the homes of
the pupils, there is a tendency to make the fixtures in the school correspond
to those with which the pupils are familiar at home; and to locate the
toilet rooms on the various class-room floors in place of concentrating the
is not to make the room dark, but to screen it from the direct rays of the
sun. Therefore opaque shades should never be used. The best material
is Holland cloth of a light buff color. The sun shining upon this material
transmits a soft, mellow light.
the side remote from the window. The light for this side must come from
the top of the window.
at the top of a school room window. The best method of placing shades
is to hang two shades to each window, both rollers being placed at the
meeting rail of the sash, one shade to pull down and the other to pull up.
There have been great improvements in artificial lighting within the
past few years. But, as school work is conducted mostly in the day time,
the question of artificial lighting is not important, except in special cases.
The greater specialization of present methods of teaching and the
addition of laboratory work in the schools, have led to the provision of
special rooms. High schools, especially, have developed into complex
structures. A well equipped high school will include an assembly hall, a
library, and perhaps a museum, a gymnasium and laboratories for chemistry,
physics and biology; shops for manual training; a kitchen for domestic
science, with a model dining room; perhaps a room for sewing; a commercial
room; drawing rooms for mechanical and free hand drawing; modeling
rooms, with perhaps a kiln for burning pottery. One recent high school
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has an elementary science room, and special rooms for the study of the
classic languages and English. The "Classic Room" designed and furnished
in the Roman style, and the "English Room" in the English style, with a red
quarry tile floor, brick fireplace, oak beamed ceiling and stained glass
windows. A large sliding partition between the rooms permits uniting the
two into a club room for the use of student societies. The intention of these
rooms is to stimulate interest in these special studies by appropriate sur
roundings, and thus compete with the highly specialized science equipments.
Gymnasiums which were formerly placed only in large city high schools,
are now becoming an essential part of every complete high school, and are
being extended to the grade schools.
No one, who has observed school buildings of recent years, can have
failed to notice an improvement in the character of the designs. This im
provement is due partly to general advance in the quality of American arch
itecture, but perhaps still more to the improvement in the quality of school
boards, and their appreciation of good architecture. This leads to the selection
of a higher grade of architects. Another tendency that makes for the improve
ment of school building, is the abandonment of the evil practice of having
architects submit designs in competition. This practice has almost passed
away, and architects are selected as a superintendent of schools would select
his teachers, on the basis of their record in work already completed.
An examination of recent designs of school buildings, by many architects,
and in all parts of the country, shows a tendency to greater individuality of
design and a following of no particular architectural style. The best school
design is that which follows no historical style of architecture, but is develop
ed rationally from the conditions of the problem. For example, the large
window area necessary in a classroom necessitates the use of very narrow
piers between the windows. There is thus developed the idea of making the
windows of each classroom into a group. If such window grouping is adopted,
a style of design must be used that will lend itself to such treatment.
What is true of schools, holds good for all buildings. Every new type of
building requires the development of a new style of architecture, or at least
the modification of some old style. The breaking away from historic styles
of architecture, and the evolution of new forms of design to meet new con
ditions in school buildings is one of the hopeful signs in present work.
The past ten years have seen rapid changes in building materials. Arch
itectural design is affected not only by the purpose of the building, but by
the material used. It is an axiom of architecture that no material should be
used in imitation of another, but each material should be treated in accordance
with its nature. Therefore the introduction of new materials, differing in
nature from those formerly used, calls for new forms of design.
Exterior plastering in Portland cement has largely taken the place of
wood as a covering for wood construction. Such a construction of wood
frame, covered with plaster, is appropriate only for very small schools. At
the present time, a construction is developing of hollow tile for walls, with a
ribbed surface to receive plaster directly on the tile, both exterior and interior.
Exterior plastering has been introduced by architects as something better
than wood siding or shingles, and, as a rule, this material has been handled
in a truthful and artistic manner, in accordance with its nature. It is used as
plaster, not in imitation of any other material.
In contrast to this, cement blocks have been invented as something cheap
er than stone, and are usually made in imitation of stone. As. an imitation,
they are a fraud, and are not good art. Cement blocks can be made in a truth
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ful and artistic manner, but their large and uniform size makes them a poor
material from the point of view of design.
Concrete, poured in place, can have a satisfactory treatment of the surface,
but such treatment is expensive and this material is better adapted to con
structive than decorative forms.
Of all new materials, vitrified brick seems the best adapted for general
use in school building. This material has brought about such a complete
revolution in our ideas of what brick should be, that I venture to expand
somewhat in description of the new idea in brick. The old idea was mechan
ical perfection. The attention was concentrated on the individual brick rather
than on the wall. We sought brick, with smooth surfaces, straight edges and
uniform color. They were laid with fine joints. When the utmost perfection
was attained in this direction, what did we have? A wall without force or
character. The best brick wall seemed inferior to the meanest stone wall. We
never escaped from the pettiness of the material. The soot of our cities stained
the surface and the alkali came out of the wall whenever the water penetrated
the porous brick.
Now we no longer think of bricks, but of brickwork. We seek a wall
surface of varied colors, and a marked texture. We want a material that will
appear as solid as stone and will be washed clean by every rain. We prefer
large joints that bespeak strength rather than fine joints, whose noblest
quality is neatness. We think of a wall of a building, as we look upon the
walls of the Rocky Mountain canyons. The rocks were built up by nature,
layer by layer, and the marks of stratification are apparent ; but we do not
dwell upon the smallness of the layers, but upon the massiveness of the rock.
So with our wall of brick, it is built course by course. But when made of
materials, vitrified by fire, and bound into one mass by cement, we lose sight
of the individual bricks and see the wall which rivals stone in durability and
massiveness and exceeds it in its capacity for color.
The latest improvement in the manufacture of brick is to roughen the
surface of the stiff mud, as it comes from the machine, by cutting with wira
thus producing a variety of beautiful textures, according to the nature of the
clay.
Vitrified brick is so different in character from the smooth and porous
pressed brick that it is leading to the development of new styles of archi
tectural treatment.
One of the most important movements in architectural circles has not as
yet affected school buildings as it should.
I refer to the grouping of buildings and the treatment of the grounds as
an integral part of architectural design. It is not often that public school
buildings are built in groups, but even in the case of a single building, the
location should be considered in reference to surrounding buildings, and all
schools that have open grounds around them should have those grounds
designed with as much care as is bestowed upon the building itself. Some
architects have given study to this subject and can make designs for land
scape accessories, but in most cases it is better to employ a landscape archi
tect, who should be selected by the architect of the building and work in
consultation with him.
In conclusion, T offer a suggestion to any one contemplating building,
that if you would get the best services from your architect, call him into con
sultation at the very beginning of your building enterprise, even before the
site has been selected, or the bonds voted.
so
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work were trimmed up and the second shade applied in the same way.
This was followed by the ground color. Care must be taken to preserve
marks to indicate the locations of joints for later reference. It was found
most successful to work the men in pairs and to apply the work in sections
no larger than could be finish coated in half a day.
When the work was bone dry the whole surface was "dragged" over
with a coarse hack saw blade, or similar tool mounted on a handle. This
tool removes the float skin and provides the ground effect of the stone
work. The tooling should be done with long, vertical strokes, each stroke
going from joint to joint of a "stone course". In general the coarser this
tooling is the more interesting will be the final texture of the stone, also
the more difficult will be the operation of tooling. After the stone was
dragged, it was slightly sanded with No. 00 paper. This was followed
by scraping a recessed "margin draught" seven-eighths of an inch on
either side of the joints. The margin draft is a plain surface produced
with a scraper, guided by a rod. It is sunk below the deepest tool marks
of the saw blade. This was followed by cutting the joints, three-six
teenths inch wide, clear through the finish to the brown coat, with an
imported caen stone jointing tool. The joints were pointed with a mortar
which dried a light cement gray, contrasting with the varying shades
of buff of the stone.
It is not practicable to vary the colors, of a run moulding so that the
medium shade of stone was chosen for this work. The play of light
produced by the mouldings makes a variation of shade unnecessary. Orna
mental work was cast exactly as cement plaster is cast, in painted glue
moulds. The same composition of stone was used here as for plain work.
After setting the ornament, it was lightly tooled and sanded to remove
the casting skin and liven up the surface. Where the ornament was so
intricate and fine as to make tooling impracticable, a wash of stone com
position was brushed on. As casting tends to produce light shades, a
dark mixture was used for this work.
It will be noted that no coloring matter was used other than the
natural stones and cements. Effects are surest by following this method
of controlling color. It is possible to use some colors in powdered form,
but in using them there is always the danger of cloudiness on account
of the irregular way in which powdered colors float up, producing the
effect of piaster instead of stone.
The finished product, made as described above, with careful atten
tion to all the details, will well repay the effort it takes. It is an abso
lute fact that contractors and stone masons used to dealing with caen
stone and lime stone have taken the work in the Oakland city hall to be
cut stone. In durability it is superior to Manti and similar soft building
stones. In case of accidents to arrisses and sharp mouldings repairs are
easily made and are invisible when finished.
Regardless of cost, in a country subject to earthquakes, artificial stone
like this is preferable to quarry stone, even considering the ethics of art
involved in the use of an imitation material. In regard to the cost of
artificial caen stone, naturally, it will vary greatly in proportion to the
percentages of stones differing from the ground color in shade, amount
of ornament and run mouldings, proportion of curved surfaces, difficulty
in laying out stereotomy, number of joints, etc. As a rough guide, an
estimator would be justified in figuring work like that in the Oakland city hall
at from thirty to fifty cents a square foot.
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architect has won his first chance in this way, capturing a cash prize or, better
yet, securing the designing of some important public building, the execution of
which brought him lasting fame. Most, however, cannot afford to maintain a
crew of draftsmen for competition work. They require immediate earnings;
their ideas must bring immediate returns. They must have real jobs.
Interviewed on the subject of job getting a short time ago an architect of
world-wide reputation said to me, "I would like to tell young architects how
proper I believe it to be for them to try every legitimate way possible to increase
the number of their clients. Entirely aside from financial responsibility to him
self and his family every architect has certain duties to perform. Therefore, he
is in duty bound to increase (within the limits of good sense and refined taste,
of course) the extent of his practice."
"What means do you consider in good taste?'' I asked.
"Several years ago," replied the big fellow, "I adopted a custom of keeping
track of every proposed building project that came to my attention. At first
there were few of them that fell to my notice. Most buildings were commis
sioned and building operations actually started before I knew anything about
them, but gradually, as my circle of friends increased, I found that I learned
about many building improvements well in advance.
"This building information, call it 'building gossip' if you like (for of course
much of it was inaccurate), I carefully noted in a little book which I carried in
my pocket. Here it is," (and he exhibited a small leather covered pocket note
book).
"Even to this day," he went on, "I note down every job I hear about. My
partners carry similar books and we certainly consider this proper and in good
taste.
"In the early days," he went on, "I personally investigated every bit of gossip
that came to my ears. For instance, when I heard that Jones was talking about
improving the corner of State and Washington streets I inquired until I found
out all about Joneswho he was and where he lived. Then I sought out a
mutual friend and got him to present me to Jones. It wasn't usually necessary
for me to ask Jones for the job. Every business man knows when an architect
is introduced to him that he (the architect) hopes to increase the number of his
clients. But meeting Jones, well introduced by a substantial, mutual friend (for
such I always endeavor to find) put me right in Jones' class. Then, usually,
there were other meetings and frequently Jones, himself, with no prompting on
the part of anyone, would talk his new building project over with me.
"Of course I couldn't always land the job," the architect went on. "More
often, at first, I didn't, but my practice slowly increased. After a while it got
so I usually made a hit. That's the way it usually works," he said, energetically,
"the young man who is a live wire impresses everyone with whom he comes
in contact. Work is actually thrust upon him. To get jobs it is only necessary
for him to bump up against the right peoplethat's allbump up against the
right people," and he nodded his head vigorously.
The architect swung around in his chair and looked off over the city studded
with skyscrapers, scores of which (in plain view from his window7) had been
designed by his firm. He went on, "When we hear of a new building project,
now, some member of my firm keeps tabs on it. As soon as we learn that an
architect has the commission, or if for some reason the project has been aban
doned, we cross it off. Until the job has been settled one way or the other,
however, we endeavor to keep track of it."
Many architects get after new work by means of letters. Friends, for
instance, recommend such and such firm of architects to a prospective owner.
Then the firm, having been tipped off, writes to the man who is about to build.
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surely toward strained relations between architect and client than to have an
architect "pooh-pooh" every suggestion made by the latter.
One of the greatest chances the architect has to make a hit is in the matter
of cost of the building. Recently two architects at a down-town club were dis
cussing this point.
Said one, "My practice has grown in the last three or four years so that it
now embraces three separate branchesschool houses, factories and office build
ings. There is generally apt to be something doing in one or more of these
lines the year round."
"That's mighty fine for you," said the younger man, enviously, "how did
you build up such a fine practice ?"
"Just by general efficiency," replied his older confrere. "My organization
is built on efficiency lines. Some one in my office is skilled in every branch of
the work. We have our own engineers, our own heating and plumbing experts,
our own designers. The result is we work as a unit, make plans promptly and
get excellent results on the job.
"Cost," continued the architect, "is where we usually make a hit. Take, for
instance, the warehouse we are now building for the estate you and I were
speaking of. Three years ago this estate had a certain architect design a build
ing which cost to build 15 cents per cubic foot. There was considerable trouble
during building operationsowner was annoyed and contractor had difficulty,
owing to incomplete plans. When this new warehouse project came up the
owner consulted me. 1 showed him where I could build a first class building for
13 cents per cubic footand I'm making good. We are actually building a
better building at 13 cents than they formerly paid 15 cents for, in spite of the
fact that prices are higher than they were three years ago.
"Can you guess who will probably get the balance of the work for that
estate?" asked the architect, with a chuckle.
You have got to make good to succeeed. Business life seems to be all hustle
and bustle with but little attention paid, apparently, to whither it tends. But
there is a backbone and business acumen under the rush and worry. Business
men are a keen let. Competition is fierce for poor men struggling to keep
above water. Attacks on rich men to get a slice of their money are intense.
Nobody wants to spend money injudiciously. Everybody wants to get the
utmost for the least cost.
The architect who wishes to succeed must imbibe the spirit of the age. He
must maintain the open-door policyopen to all that pertains to his clients'
interests. He must cut off all waste. He must pile on increased efficiency. He
must reduce cost. He must increase quality, and all this in the face of a sharp
yearly advance in cost of labor and materials. .
If one architect is not able to do all this there will be others who are. He
(the non-conformant) will be passed and outstripped by his fellows. They
will get the big jobs and the bigger jobs. Theirs will be the growing business,
his the declining. Good work brings more good work. Business efficiency
brings more business. Satisfied clients bring more clients. Every successful
architect has found this to be true.
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FEW people of California realize what a road system for the state means.
Each different locality strives to obtain a state highway through its
immediate vicinity and when this has been accomplished, the advocates
fall back to allow official matters to take the accustomed course. A gen
eral system serving the whole state is the desire, or should be the desire,
of those in whose hands is entrusted this public duty. Extending that sys
tem beyond what can well and permanently be accomplished in construc
tion is beyond doubt not good sound business.
California needs highways well constructed, highways adapted to the
conditions obtaining in the different sections, but to cheapen the work for
the sake of extending mileage is extremely questionable. Keep the roads
away from politics, direct or indirect, and construct and maintain them
along efficient business lines.
Let us investigate our present road status and look squarely at many
of the questions involved. There was placed upon the statute books in
1913 a State Aid Road Law which grants aid to the counties. The assist
ance in this matter of state aided highways in construction cost apportioned
two-thirds to the county and one-third to the state, and in maintenance
cost, one-half each to the county and the state. The work is to be done
under the supervision of the county surveyor and the state department of
engineering. There were, however, no funds provided by the state to
carry into effect this law and therefore it is inoperative at present. We
note the $18,000,000 bond issue law is carrying the burden for state roads
and we note that through the generosity of the several counties through
which the state roads pass, the rights of way and the construction of bridges
over twenty feet in length are provided by county funds.
This good will certainly augurs well for the co-operation of the road
building divisions of the state and has allowed the state roads to be ex
tended beyond the bond issue's intended mark. Now we see the remarkable
extension of this co-operation in the purchase of state road bonds by the
counties in order to allow them to participate in the conveniences of im
proved roads. And these bonds bought and sold at a loss to the counties.
Knowing the counties must pay the interest on the money invested
within their bounds from the bond sale, it partially indicates to what extent
interest in roads has been roused. This generosity with the counties' money
has been a source of some wonder and much comment. Perhaps it is figured
the generally enhanced values obtaining through the influence of such public
improvement is worth the price.
Surely under these circumstances the expenditures should be made as
effective in road results as possible. The organization of the highway de
partment of the state seems too highly bureaucratic to be very effective.
There is such a thing as overdoing the system, burdening the expenditures
with red tape sufficiently to create inefficiency. Examine the following fact
with me and draw your own conclusion.
Jt has been asserted by officials of the state that the overhead expense
attached to the state highway work will be ten per cent, i. e., about $1,636,000. Over one and a half million dollars for engineering, inspection and
administrative expenses for this project, when one million dollars should
97
98
residents of that section to the fact the road had been torn up on account
of defective work and had been replaced. See the photograph of the fol
lowing day showing the road torn up but not replaced.
In connection with the location and grading of the state roads there
were many places not raised high enough to properly drain the soil. Even
in places such as the section north of Turlock where earth is filled about
two feet thick over the concrete to avoid a water hole, a point south of Healdsburg where the winter waters covered the road in a sag and at Rock Creek,
south of Lincoln, water covered the road base of concrete during a time
in the winter. Again, the oiled macadam road south of Marysville is not
sufficiently graded up to keep the base ordinarily dry in winter. A fairly
dry road base during the wet season is essential for good road construction
and a minimum maintenance. This fact should have received special atten
tion as it is of paramount importance to the life of the road. We all know
how necessary it is to drain our ordinary unimproved roads if we are to
use them in winter with any degree of satisfaction. Many thousands of
dollars have been spent in California temporarily turning the surface water
from the roads and. in the mountainous districts it is of the utmost necessity
to divert /the water from the road bed. We will have earth roads in many
places of the state for a long time to come and they should be treated in a
manner to give the best service. Plenty culverts should carry water across
the line of road and on flat ground the road should be well graded up while
on hill or mountain side it should be well ditched with water runs not too
long before diversion under the road. The temporary makeshifts of hum
mocks directly or diagonally across the road for water diversion are anti
quated but when used should certainly be torn out at the beginning of
travel in the spring of the year. There seems to prevail the notion that
we must endeavor to get all our roads improved by the latest fad or fancy
but from years of study and experience this idea is seen to be erroneous.
Have not you traveled some splendid gravel roadsroadways crowned,
smooth and hard, standing the strain of heavy traffic? Good judgment
and sense in the application of gravel to many of our secondary roads will
give excellent results. Where they are sprinkled, slight indents in the
surface retain the water and the wheels and hoofs of travel deepen this
softened spot. This fact is easily ascertainable upon a little investigation
and may be remedied by careful attention. Many of the creeks of California
furnish a cheap road material for an extensive mileage of roads of secondary
importance.
The use of oils for roads has practically received its death knell in our
state because of neglect, inattention and lack of knowledge of the material.
A few years ago anybody could oil a road, but I saw but very few who
knew the first rudiments of the subject. Largely on account of no sys
tematic experimentation and the lack of thorough knowledge, failure- upon
failure occurred until today we see but the remnants of oiled roads both
in place and alongside the present traveled way. The heavy asphaltic oils,
material of splendid road value, are now being used principally for a bitu
minous road cover. It is now a general knowledge that we require some sort
of bituminous or tough material for resiliency and resistant to shocks caused .
by the travel.
The expense of construction should be carefully weighed in order to
make the upkeep cost as reasonable as we can. If we build concrete base
roads too narrow or too thin how can we at a future date widen or thicken
them with reasonable cost? It cannot be done. If you will look at the
many efforts to patch the concrete in the various structure's where it is
yy
used, certainly the lack of joining will immediately tell the tale. On the
state road, near Lincoln, several points were washed out under the con
crete and were replaced. At a future time these will show in a lack of
proper performance of its work. Upon examination of the state roads I
came upon one feature worth discussion and one easily remedied.
The state highway paralleled the railroad and was perhaps sixty or
seventy feet from it. W here a culvert was installed in the railroad fill the
state placed one opposite in the highway. The waters flowing through the
culvert under the railroad struck the head of the highway culvert with
much force and partially washed the fill away causing considerable damage.
Had the engineers provided an even section of paved ditch from the exit
of the one culvert to the intake of the other this trouble would have been
avoided.
On the shoulders of the road much trouble will be encountered in the
endeavor to make the two different materials stand the traffic together. The
concrete base is rigid and the adjoining shoulder is of vastly different
density. Where the sands of the San Joaquin Valley are traversed this
difficulty will be greatly enhanced. Surely it would have been the part
of wisdom to have increased the width of the concrete base here to twenty
or twenty-two feet and avoided much of this expensive shoulder work.
Again, where the concrete base terminates in sharp edges, as it has in
the state work, it will certainly spall away. Here particularly should be
a rounded and heavy edge. W herever the travel has been at all extensive
the surface of the concrete not yet bituminized has shown the decided effect
of wear.
There is one remarkable example of wheel tracking to be seen on the
concrete pavement in the San Joaquin Valley state road. Upon examination
the evidence of wear was distinct and defined in this case. Certainly it is
essential that the traffic be distributed over the entire surface or nearly
as practicable in order to create a more even wearing. This is a vital point
where horse drawn vehicles are much used. Go on those roads where
heavy teaming with horses has been the practice and the wheel ruts prac
tically constitute the mountain road while in the level districts they follow
a distinct line of wheel tracking. Surely the road would last much longer
had this wheel cutting and grinding been distributed more evenly. The
bituminized surface used as a top by the state demands the traffic be not
confined to narrow limits.
As yet, the matter of brick pavement has received little attention in
California, most likely for the reason of our great production of asphalt
and asphaltic oil and also the higher cost of such work. Paving brick,
however, make a splendid wearing surface when properly made and laid.
The bricks should be of a very tough, hard nature that they can resist wear
and shock. In laying them the greatest care should be exercised in order
to have a smooth unwavy surface. A good concrete base, a sand cushion
and grouted cement joints will give excellent results and give a pavement
fully capable of resisting present day traffic.
In hot climates, where the summer heat softens the asphalt pavement,
brick is far superior for traction as no softening occurs and consequently
there is no wavy action of the surface.
It is not so easily cleaned as asphalt surfaces, but is cheaper in repair
and maintenance. In some of the middle western states brick has played
an important part in road and street pavements giving remarkable satis
faction. In our state brick pavements should be given a trial in competition
100
101
BRONZE SIGN P O S T
JOHN REID, JR., ARCHITECT
103
106
107
In reviewing some of the creditable work of the past few years the follow
ing contracts should be mentioned,the Reno, Nevada, Courthouse ; the Rialto
building; the Native Sons' hall; the Glenn hotel; the Hihn Estate building; the
Druids' hall; the Red Cross Hospital at San Mateo; the Row ell building at
Fresno, and many others.
Mr. Ilillard has had work intrusted to his shops by a large and constantly
increasing group of well-known architects, among whom might be mentioned,
Bliss & Faville, Lewis P. Hobart, W. H. Weeks, C. A. Meussdorffer, Righetti
& Headman, E. P. Antonovich, Dunn & Kearns, Fabre & Bearwald, F. J.
DeLongchamps, Orville C. Clark, P. J. Herold, and others.
No attempt has been made to specialize in any one line of ornamental iron
work, but much success has been achieved in the manufacture of metal stairways
entirely of steel without any cast iron features.
Some typical work of the C. J. Hillard Co.. Inc., is shown in the accom
panying illustrations.
*
108
109
of the old and inefficient method of spreading a sand coat, and on this
sprinkling marble and rolling it. When the proportions of chips to cement
are mentioned it is usually one cement to two and one-half chips ; one
contractor thinks that it is best not to specify the proportions of cement,
but that enough be added to fill the interstices. This latter method is the
requirement in late office specifications. None of the contractors state
the exact method of applying the marble chips.
Architects in writing specifications for terrazzo vary in the length and
minuteness, but on the whole they require stricter methods than con
tractors propose.
McKim, Mead & White specify that the wearing surface shall be placed
before the base has set, and that only enough cement be added to the
chips to "firmly unite the pieces."
Peabody & Stearns in their specifications for the new Boston custom
house call for terrazzo one inch thick, and "to be rolled and then to have
more chips strewn over the surface and rolled again."
F. M. Andrews requires in the specifications for the new Hotel McAlpine,
New York, that there shall be a cinder concrete base, and that the terrazzo
shall be placed two days after the laying of the same, or to quote fully
from the specifications :
"The top finish shall be laid within two days of the placing of the base,
preferably as closely following as possible. A thin film of 1 :2 mortar
is to be drawn over the cinder concrete base in advance of the main bulk,
and this is to be thoroughly troweled into the base and then brought to
within one-half inch of the top of the borders. Level this and while still
soft cover the same with a bed of clear Portland cement paste and marble
chips, in equal quantities by bulk. Note that all terrazzo is to seveneighths inch to one inch thick. The marble chips shall be of such size as will
pass through a three-eighths inch mesh. Such of the chips as will not pass
through a five-eighths inch mesh are to be used for sprinkling on top of
mixture of cement paste and marble chips after same has been leveled,
and are to be rolled in."
The specifications for the new Field Museum at Chicago, written in
the office of D. H. Bufnham & Co. in part as follows:
"Filling under terrazzo shall be composed of one cement, two sand, and
four brick. Before concrete filling commences to set spread a three-fourths
inch wearing surface composed of marble 'chips with only enough neat Portland
cement to firmly unite the pieces. Trowel and roll, and after the mortar
has set, the terrazzo to a smooth, even surface and wash clean.
For all marble tile and terrazzo floors concrete bedding will be brought
to within two inches of the finished floor surface by the masonry contractor,
the marble contractor shall take the work from this point. Before depos
iting the bedding mortar on the concrete, the entire surface shall be well
saturated with water to prevent the too rapid absorption of the water from
the bedding mortar.
Deposit upon the concrete a bed of cement mortar
of two parts non-staining Portland cement, and three parts clean, white
sand. Mortar shall be spread evenly over required surface to established
floor level."
Carrere & Hastings in their general specifications for terrazzo re
quire :
Concrete ground work shall be thoroughly swept and washed and lightly
sprinkled with dry Portland cement immediately before terrazzo floor
mixture is placed in position. Terrazzo shall be composed of hard white
110
marble chips and just sufficient mortar of one part white Portland cement and
one and one-half parts white sand to fill the voids. This mixture shall
be laid not less than one inch thick and marble chips shall be laid over
the surface and rammed in."
Cass Gilbert, quoting from the specifications for the new National State
Bank Building, Newark, New Jersey ; specifies for terrazzo, which is all
to be placed in corridors, as follows :
"All terrazzo is to be laid in the best manner, consisting of topping and
bed; the topping being made of white Italian chips with best White Atlas
cement and to be not less than one inch in thickness. The bed to be one
inch thick composed of one part Portland cement, three parts coarse sand,
and five parts clean gravel. On top of bed and laid coincident with same
lay the terrazzo topping."
Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge write as follows: "We do not specify the
composition of terrazzo floors, and we might add that the terrazzo is
always placed on a concrete fill, all conduits and etc., being kept well
below the top of the fill, otherwise we find cracks are apt to appear in
the finish terrazzo."
Warren & Wetmore, architects for the new Grand Central station, New
York, remark that they usually have the surfacing put on before the bed
is thoroughly set.
In reference to terrazzo on wood floors, a superintendent writes: "I
do not think it necessary to reinforce the base on a fireproof floor, and
not on a wooden floor if laid properly in blocks." Another superintendent
says that he has come to the conclusion "that good work cannot be assured
when terrazzo is laid on wood base."
Contractors also vary in their opinions as to the necessity of reinforcing
the base.
jDavid Fishach & Co. of Baltimore, "recommend the use' of BB lath
27 gauge, and placing the same between the base and the cushion coat,
the only detriment in reinforcing the base is the expense it incurs."
The Levis Mosaic Co. of Boston do not consider it necessary to use
reinforcement when the work is to be on a floor of fireproof construction.
Perhaps the most interesting reply to my inquiries is one from Waldo
Brothers of Boston, who write as follows : "We do not think it necessary
to use reinforcement in the following instances: 1. In small places (75
feet or less) ; 2. In old buildings where settlement has occurred a long
time previous ; 3. In places where there is a very thick concrete floor
slab. We do think its use is necessary in the following cases: 1. In
places where there is constant vibration: 2. In new buildings where there
is sure to be settlement ; 3. Where the concrete floor slab is not very thick ;
4. Where terrazzo is to be laid over wooden construction."
In regard to the largest area that may be laid without expansion joints
most superintendents favor the size as specified in the present office speci
fications, 4x4, 5x5, and in some instances 6x6. One superintendent states
that an area 20x20 has been laid by him, and can be laid without danger
of cracking; this opinion is also held by superintendents who have had large
experience in this class of work. Instances of panels 16x16, and another
20x30, are cited with remarks that they have not cracked after three or
four years' wear. Personally I know of two panels more than 200 feet
in area, put in without joints of any kind, and without reinforcement, that
have been subject to a great amount of traffic in a hotel lobby, that were
put in nine years ago, and which show no signs of failure today.
111
3.n 12tmoriam
Albert Pissis
From out the starry interworld
He came a gleam of mellow light
To shine upon the path he trod
And build his spirit into stone
To man and God.
14 July, 1914
[...]
112
THE
Arrettert anil Engtnwr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the Interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and Edttortal Rooms
017-619 Monadnock Building. San Francisco
Telephone Douglas 1828
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespotnts
11.50
per annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Foretgn
SI addtttonal.
Vol. XXXVIII. August, 1914
No. 1.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
j Inspectton
Wm. B. Gfster.
Loren E. Hunt. C. E. . . I and Tests
ft Vv'i^TR^ I Reproof Constructton
KR!^K C K f
Structural S.l
.(vELDENrN
rtttad Terr"
Howard Frost. 1
' ""'
g. b. ashcroft. c. e. . Artificial Stone
Harry Larktn ' ' J Hoofs and Roofing
J. K. D. Mackenzte Rock and Gravel
Fred M. Woods. Jr..
Intertor Decoration
C. Walter Tozek Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapcArchitccture
T. C. Ktf.rulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Buttf - Electrical Constructton
Nathantel Ellery. C. E. - Building Construction
ARCHITECTURAL
F. D. Hudson
Fred H. Meyer
Aunust G. Headman Sumner P. Hunl
C. Sumner Greene
Edward T. Foulkes
Alfred F. Rosenheim Ralph W. Hart
G. Albert Lansburtrh Norman F. Marsh
Maxwell G. Bugbee
E. H. Hildebrand
KenncthMacDonald.Jt . Clayton D. Wilson
Almcric Coxhead
Houuhton Sawyer
Harrison Albright
John G. Howard
John Parkinson
Arthur Brown. Jr.
W. J. Cuthbertson
T. J. Welsh
A. W. Smith
Chas. P. Weeks
Benj. G. McDouyall T. Patterson Ross
William H. Weeks
Octavius Morgan
Chas. W Dickey
H. Alban Reeves
Henry C. Smith
J. C. Austin
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
Smith O'Brien
H. F. Starbuck
Jas. W. Reid
Nathaniel Blaisdell
J. Harry Blohme
W. T. Bliss
Herman Barth
William Mooser
Arthur O. Johnson
Robert Moryeneier
Herbert E Law
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
John Galen Howard K. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt
E. M. C. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Managing Editor
"FIRE-A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
*
..
-
#:
.7.
*
&
S
ON,
CURLETT
WILLIAM
California
of
GOTTSCHALK,
E.
C.
1914
September,
ARCHITECTS
PHELAN
D.
J.AMES
HON.
THE
Frontispiece
OF
VILLA
COUNTRY
N
R
IF
L
,C
S
O
T
A
G
E
Engineer
and
Architect
The
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVIII.
SEPTEMBER, 1914
No. 2.
48
home which admirably expresses the owner's fine culture and relish of the
antique, and this is done without a trace of that formality, and coldness which
too often mars our modern efforts at the classic. The architect, when left to
himself, is too prone to remember only the naked lines and blank surfaces of the
Five Orders. He remembers them as mere outlines of archaeologyabstrac
tions of form in bare cold masonry, stripped by time and the elements of their
original vestures of color and texture that made them human and habitable.
And, after all, the real beauty of a home lies finally in the furnishings and manyhued fabrics that line the interior and in the ever-changing floral setting of the
exterior. Not long ago in visiting just such another
"Ample villa bosomed deep in vines,"
the owner pointed out a pergola bordered and festooned in a bewildering wealth
of living greenery. He said, "My architect had all these edges paved with solid
brick and concrete, but I had these strips of mold placed here instead and my
gardener planted them as you see."
The effect was magical and the moral was not to be forgotten either. Per
haps this accounts for the fact that one of the most successful of modern home
designers (Mr. Piatt of New York) did not begin life as an architect at all, but
as an artist and a landscape gardener.
Mr. Phelan's prominence in political life, his career as Mayor of San Fran
cisco and his incessant activities as a public-spirited citizen have combined to
obscure the fact that he is essentially an artist. Fate has decreed that he should
not practice any particular handicraft, though it may surprise some to know that
as an amateur modeller in clay he has a good deal of experience and dexterity.
Among the Greeks oratory was counted the greatest of all the arts, and in this
particular Mr. Phelan is a past master in the very front rank of the public
speakers of this country. In spite of the great handicap which versatility im
poses, Mr. Phelan has left the impress of his talent on the architecture of the
town in a manner worthy of more than a passing mention. He originated the
famous Adornment Society, which in turn financed the Burnham plan for the
city of San Francisco. This, on account of the great fire of 1906, finally resolved
itself into the Civic Center campaign. And although the bond issue to realize
this feature of the Burnham plan failed to carry in 1909, Mr. Phelan's enthu
siasm and activity, and the enormous publicity and discussion provoked un
doubtedly culminated in the success of the plan finally adopted. Mr. Phelan's
particular efforts may have missed fire, and his work may have seemed futile
and thankless, but in the light of subsequent events it was clearly a part, and an
essential part, in the chain of events leading finally to the great Civic Center
scheme now magnificently nearing completion.
II.
The gist of the foregoing remarks is of course to the effect that the splendid
villa illustrated in these pages is very much the direct creation of Mr. Phelan,
Messrs. Curlett & Son, followed by Mr. Gottschalk acting as architectural inter
preters. And this undoubtedly is the correct way to plan for an owner of classic
training, wide travel, artistic instincts and conspicuous talent. Nor is this in the
slightest to the architect's discredit. On the contrary, it is his correct function
not to impose his own ideas on his client, but to interpret his client's ideas to
himself. It is only when the client has no ideas, or is prepossessed of silly,
childish or paltry ones, which is not unusual, that it is the architect's duty to
"boss" the whole enterprise.
*
*
*
The climate around San Francisco partakes of so many qualities that almost
any architectural style for a home would seem proper at some time or another.
4')
50
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"III, IITITIII
S. E. C. O N D
F L O O R
P L A N.
COUNTRY HOUSE OF HON. J.A.S. D. PHELAN
56
57
58
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THE splendid examples of modern homes illustrated in this number have for
their prototype the cottage. All the elements in their make-up now so
carefully composed with the eye of the artist are fundamentally the plain
est forms of village construction, the result of the simplest expedient of the
country carpenter, the simplest shifts of unlettered artisans who build quite un
conscious of effect and with no other thought than to build durably against the
weather with the materials nearest to hand so as to enclose the most space with
the least expense. All forms of gables, gambrils. penthouse effects and dormers,
added one to another as the original cottage unit for the family developed to a
farm house or an inn, form the elements of composition of our most artistic
modern homes. From these elements are composed the charming skyline, the
variety and the surprises of that type of residence that appeals most strongly to
modern cultivated taste. Yet all the elements of these delightful homes are of
humble origin. The brick garden wall to keep out animals, the brick steps and
walk laid herring-bone style, the low beamed ceiling to save plastering, the deep
window embrasures in walls that were thick, the huge beam over these openings,
the small window panes, since glass in large sheets is expensive, the crude brick
fireplace with wide hood and chimney corner, the half timbered exterior, the
overhanging upper story and the steep roof for bedroom space, the hand made
furniture and wood work with tool marks showing, and rude thumb latch made
at the village smithy of hammered iron, the iron kettle crane and dogs, the front
door hung in two halves, and the general random and haphazard lay-out of the
whole rambling structureall these and many others are the elements from
which the most quaint, homelike and charming results have been developed in
modern house building.
But if a cheap and vulgar version of magnificent architecture is to be de
plored in our homes something in turn of absurdity attaches to the expensive
and forced version of rustic simplicity. Artificial adze marks on brand new
cedar, clumsy brass door latches made at enormous expense, ceilings too low
and windows too tiny, ridge poles that are bent on purpose to simulate pic-
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O'BRIEN,
ARCHITECT
68
70
----------
71
72
73
74
75
76
FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR PLANS, HOUSE OF MR. HUGH M. LA RUE, JR., SACRAMENTO
Scadler & Hoen, Architects
78
80
81
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83
84
85
86
87
88
turesque decay, and clean wood burned to imitate ageall these are devices that
may easily develop into vices, although fortunately the examples here presented
are remarkably free from these defects.
Apropos of the preceding considerations in general it may be laid down as a
universal law that any interior features whatever that can be called decorative
in construction, are either debased remnants of palace architecture or exalted
developments of cottage construction, or both combined in various degrees.
All columniated schemes, all moulded work, all polished, shiny, and painted or
plastic effects belong in general to the former class, while all plain surfaces of
natural material, flat coloring, square joinery without mouldings, rough
masonry, rough plaster, sackcloth falls, and dull finish of wood, belongs to the
latter. High ceilings and symmetrical rooms invariably betoken the palace or
igin ; low ceilings and irregular plan the cottage origin. Any architect on looking
around a room can instantly pick out the features that are in the descending
as distinguished from those that are in the ascending group
Thus the so-called Colonial style is really a diluted Baronial, a peculiar mix
ture of cottage conditions and castle aspirations. The heavy stone porticos that
make a Georgian manor house so imposing, when transplanted to a pioneer
community and thinly rendered in painted pine, while not devoid of a historic
interest, must always seem a little prim, a little cold for comfort, for cosiness
we demand in a home. However, as an expression of the Puritan spirit, it is
perfect. As architecture it is not democratic, and in that sense it is not an
American style. Its very name is enough proof of that. It is really palace
architecture grafted onto farm house conditions. However, when shingles
were substituted for painted clapboards and the classic orders gradually fell
into disuse, the cottage character began to assert itself and with the abandon
ment of formality we can trace the beginnings of comfort and homelike sim
plicity.
Judged by some standards the planning of homes is the most thankless
branch of an architect's profession. It demands the maximum of effort and
talent and the minimum of reward, if rewards be measured by dollars and cents.
There is no type of building on which one must lavish so much study and atten
tion, as a moderate-sized residence such a one that ranges in cost from five
to fifteen thousand dollars. Every room is a problem in design, each wall and
each ceiling is a separate study. The four or more aspects of the exterior de
mand equal attention. Be it understood that by homes we mean characteristic,
interesting, or artistic dwellings of the best type that the age has developed.
These are not. we submit, the mansions of the very wealthy, however interesting
these exotics may sometimes be, nor the commonplace houses of the many, but
the homes of men and women who shun the pretensions of "high life," yet
would add grace and beauty to that simplicity of living which is the basis of
^ood citizenship.
The architecture which best expresses this wholesome, this sturdy ideal is,
as we have pointed out, developed mainly from what might be called the cottage
craftsmanship of the plain people, as distinguished from the degenerate ele
gancies and the diluted and grandiloquence of styles invented long ago and far
away for the palaces of sovereigns.
*
It Caused Her to Think
"I say, mamma," said little Willie, son of a prominent Milwaukee architect,
"is it true that when you first met pop you had fallen into the water and he
jumped in and saved you?-'
"Quite true, my dear." replied mamma, smilingly.
"Then I wonder if that's why dad won't allow me to learn how to swim!"
89
90
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Just north of the station and its surrounding sidewalk there is a curved
driveway about twenty-five feet wide leading from Fifteenth Street around
the granite balustrade to Sixteenth Street. Between this driveway and
the Depot Esplanade there is an ornamental grass plot with blue flag
stone landing and granite balustrade and benches.
On the west side and parallel to the station there is a forty-foot drive
way leading up to the carriage entrance which is under a low roof out
side of the main office building. West of this driveway and separated
from it by a granite balustrade is a driveway on about a three per cent
down grade, which opens into a large court similar to the one on the
opposite side of the building. This court is used by the baggage wagons,
the baggage room being directly opposite under the tracks. Further west
the Depot Esplanade and Seventeenth Street merge into a public subway
leading under the tracks and connecting with Seventeenth and Newark
Streets on the south side of the train shed. Just east of this public subway
and parallel to it there is a forty-foot private driveway along the west
end of the baggage and express rooms, which is used by baggage and
express exclusively.
South of the train shed and parallel to it there is a driveway under the
express companies' offices, which is used entirely by the latter.
The lower story of the main building, which includes all of the station
facilities, has a frontage of 345 feet and a depth of 266 feet. These dimen
sions are maintained up to the top of the waiting room and concourse
roofs. Above this level the office building, which is in the shape of the
letter "I", rises to a height of approximately 240 feet from the curb to
the top of the penthouses.
From a structural standpoint the building may be described as con
sisting of three separate parts. Along the Depot Esplanade the general
waiting room, with its adjoining women's room, reading room and tea
room, has a depth of 104 feet and a height of about 63 feet to the Guastavino arch ceiling. Directly to the south of the waiting room the building
rises fifteen stories above the high arches of the arcade ceiling. The
"stem" of this part of the building is 54 feet wide by 241 feet long. At
each end of this narrow stem there is a bay fifty-two feet wide by 106 feet
long which completes the I-shaped outline of the office portion.
The concourse with its entrance for pedestrians on the east end and
cab entrance on the west is located south of and parallel with the office
portion. This room is 78 feet wide, with a flat copper ceiling about 41
feet above the street level. Leading south from this concourse there is
a 76-foot ramp, which grades down on a seven-per cent slope into the
passenger subway under the tracks of the train shed.
The high portion of the building at the pipe loft and storage floor
levels is separated from the waiting room and concourse by 13-foot courts
with hip-and-valley tile floors. These courts provide light for all offices
on these levels, which would otherwise be shut off by the concourse and
waiting room roofs.
Type of Construction.The entire building is of fireproof construction,
the steel skeleton framework being covered with stone, brick, terra cotta
or concrete.
The foundation is one of the first of its kind ever attempted for a
building of this magnitude, a reinforced concrete mat being used under
the entire building. The original design provided for caissons, but the
experience of the Detroit River Co. in the construction of its tunnels
94
95
96
v.
97
the bottom of the hopper the coal passes through the coal crusher onto
a motor-driven belt conveyor, which delivers it through the large concrete
coal and ash tunnel to the electric-driven bucket conveyor. These con
veyors work in unison. The bucket conveyor distributes the coal over
the continuous coal bunker in front of the boilers, where it is fed to the
stoker grates by means of hand chain movable chutes.
The ashes are loaded into the ash cars directly under the boilers. These
cars are operated by hand through the tunnel on a narrow-gage track, and
are dumped into the ash pit just south of the coal crusher, where the ashes
are loaded and are conveyed to the cars on the yard tracks above.
The machinery room is equipped with the most efficient type of pumps,
compressors, incinerator plant, refrigerating system, etc.
The large house and fire tanks are located in the west penthouses of
the office building. The surge tank elevator tank, pneumatic tube tanks, etc.,
are located in the machinery room. The heating system for the entire office
building, from the pipe loft up, is of the down-feed type ; while the ground
and mezzanine floors are supplied by the up-feed system. Each office floor
has 72 radiators, the total radiation for the whole building being about
125,000 square feet. The vacuum return is used for the station as well as
all the outlying buildings and yards. The station proper is operated under
the "Johnson" system of thermostatic control, while the train sheds and other
buildings are under hand control.
The building is equipped with a complete fire alarm and protection
system, a cold water drinking equipment, pneumatic tubes and a dictaphone
system.
The piping and wiring have been completed for a watchman's clock
system, a vacuum cleaning plant, a train announcing device and telautograph
system.
The electric power is 4,600-volt, three-phase alternate current. In
order to eliminate as nearly as possible the chances of failure of supply,
three independent main feed cables were installed. Two of these come
from the Commonwealth-Edison generating plants, and are brought in
from opposite sides of the building. The third line is run from the com
pany's sub-station located near the foot of Tenth Street and the river.
The current first passes through hand controlled switches, down through
the transformers and then to the main switchboard or motor generators.
Direct lighting is used throughout the terminal, with the exception of the
barber shop, where indirect fixtures have been installed.
In wiring the offices provision was made for easy maintenance by use
of a removable base mold, back of which the wires are placed. On the
floors occupied by the auditor's departments dictagraph plugs have been
installed under the desks, and numerous plugs have been installed through
out the building for fans, drop lights, etc.
An automatic telephone system has been installed throughout the var
ious offices.
The terminal building was designed by Reed & Stem and Warren &
Wetmore, architects, under the direction of Mr. George H. Webb, chief
engineer, Michigan Central R. R. and the Detroit River Tunnel Co. The
steelwork for the terminal building was designed by Balcom & Darrow,
engineers. The train shed and the outlying buildings were designed and
the construction work directed by the railroad's architect, Mr. Edward
W. Smith. Mr. W. B. Goddard, Jr., was engineer in charge of the inspec
tion, being assisted by the writer.
08
Bronze*
By WILLIAM A. NEWMAN, A. LA.
IT IS but a few years comparatively since bronze
was practically unknown in the general prac
tice of architecture in this country, and in most
modern architectural text books the subject is
scarcely mentioned, or not at all.
But a short time ago exterior and interior
fittings and trim for costly public and private
buildings were of wood, sometimes handsomely
carved, but as we now see it, heavy and cumber
some. Today a lighter and more cheery aspect
has taken its place, through the use of bronze,
which we now look up to, not only as minimizing
the fire hazard, but with pride, satisfaction and
public appreciation.
In the early ages of the world's history bronze
work was separated into two broad classes, cast
and hammered, but in recent years have come
many other processes together with bronzecovered work. The origin of the age of bronze is lost in remote antiquity, but
in no essential did the earliest known methods of molding and casting differ
from those of the present time.
The introduction of labor saving devices and improved methods of con
struction have been potent factors in reducing the former high cost, and bring
ing this work into more general use, as well as the low cost of maintenance
and absence of depreciation.
Many manufacturers take pride in their products. Castings, clean and
smooth with ornamental detail, are executed with a crisp and sharp distinct
iveness, and in their modeling departments employ the most skillful modelers
and wax workers.
Of recent years the best American shops have been training mechanics
especially for this class of work, and so far has the standard advanced that
the American product at its best is in no way inferior to that of the European
craftsmen.
A recent visit to one of the largest bronze works near New York City, the
writer found most interesting.
There are many kinds of bronzediffering in their proportions and con
stituents, according to the purposes for which they are to be used, but we are
interested more especially in those entering into building construction and
equipment, and the following are therefore mentioned:
Phosphor Bronze
The main feature of this bronze is its remarkable hardness and resistance
to wear, and where this quality is required there is no alloy to surpass it.
When lead is added it may be used for bearings and pivots.
A standard formula for phosphor bronze for boiler fittings, pumps, etc., is
79.7 per cent copper, 10 per cent tin, 9.5 per cent lead, .8 per cent phosphorus.
Manganese Bronzes
Their principal feature being their strength at high temperatures. The
addition of manganese does not materially harden the copper, but raises its
tensile strength. Some of these compositions, cold rolled, have an ultimate
tensile strength of 50 tons per square inch, and would be composed of about
84 per cent copper, 10 per cent tin, 6 per cent ferro-manganese. With the
* Paper written for the Society o Constructors of Federal Buildings, Mr. Newman is Chairman of
the Committee on Building Laws, S. F. Chapter. American Institute of Architects.
99
100
means. Modifications are constantly sought for with a view of giving variety.
Many finishes are put on by secret processes.
It is essential that cleanliness be observed in the preparation of the bronze
to receive the deposit, as the merest speck of tarnish, oxide or grease, such as
may result from merely fingering it, suffices to prevent the adhesion of the
coating metal at the points affected. The metal is first dipped into a cleaning
solution of potash, nitrous acid or sulphuric acid and water, which restores its
natural brilliancy.
The electro-plating solution to be deposited on the bronze varies according
to the finish desired. Almost any shade from brown to red can be obtained
by timing the immersion in a solution of nitrate of iron and hyposulphite of
soda, afterwards washing in water and drying in sawdust. To bring out the
finishes mechanical treatment is given, such as scouring with sand and pumice,
using various types of brushes and polishing with a lathe and dolly.
For a green or antique bronze, a solution may be used composed of acetic
acid, carbonate of ammonia, or sal-ammoniac and common salt, cream of tartar
and acetate of copper. At the end of 36 hours the bronze will be found to be
entirely covered with verdigris which presents various tints. The prominent
parts may then be brushed with a waxed brush. The relief parts may be set
off with hematite or other suitable colors. Light touches with ammonia impart
a blue shade to the green parts.
Bronze may also be tinted with fumes from chloride of lime over which a
little hydrochloric acid has been poured.
Lacquer which is a solution of shellac in alcohol, or spirits of wine when
applied for inside work, protects the finished tones and color.
Bronze-Covered Work
The cores for this work are constructed of white pine, Cyprus or oak, the
latter used for doors, and before covering are given a bath in linseed oil.
Generally the sheet bronze covering varies from No. 16 gauge to 24 gauge.
Where the sections are small they are run through a steel die which draws the
metal firmly about the core.
For sections too large to pass through dies the covering is drawn under
heavy pressure around the wood, eliminating buckles and loose work.
Invisible butt joints are produced by brazing to a bronze plate directly
under the joints.
Panels are built up of two sheets of heavy sheet bronze with a sheet of
asbestos board between, cemented together under hydraulic pressure.
In the combination of bronze-covered and cast work there is offered a re
duction in cost approximating 25 per cent of the cost of cast bronze.
Extrusion Process
Bronze moldings, cornices, rails, and pilasters, constant in section, may be
manufactured by this process.
A billet is cast of a convenient size, reheated until it is of plastic consistency
and then placed within a cylinder, at the end of which is the die.
Hydraulic pressure is applied and the plastic metal forced through the die
issuing in a long bar of the cross section required.
The very high pressure, frequently 30 tons to the square inch, to which the
semi-plastic metal is subjected, renders it perfectly homogeneous and free from
possible casting defects. Shapes which cannot be rolled or drawn can be made
readily by this process, which gives uniformity and clean cut architectural
lines throughout.
By patent processes ornamental castings in healthy metal can be produced
having undercut sections at practically the price of flat ornament, offering the
designer possibilities that have heretofore been prohibitive.
The cost of bronze varies considerably in different sections of the country,
especially where transported long distances.
101
At the San Francisco Post Office (1903) five pair of ornamental bronze
exterior doors, with trim, etc., erected complete, cost $15,000, or $47.00 per
square foot.
Twelve 10 foot bronze lamps erected complete, cost $950,00 each.
Fourteen bronze lanterns, about 2'0"x8'0" cost $600,00 apiece.
At the San Francisco Custom House (1911) three pair of ornamental
bronze doors, with trim, etc., erected complete, cost $11,200,00, or $41,00 per
square foot.
The following prices are quoted from the Supervising Architect's letter
contained in the recent report of the Public Buildings Commission.
One bay {10 to 12 feet) of post office screen:
In bronze
$1,000
In cast iron
335
In wood
250
For bronze desk
550
For cast iron desk
180
For wood desk
125
The cost of lamp standards would vary according to the type ; bronze costs
about three times as much as cast iron. A fair estimate of the cost of a bronze
lamp standard would be $600 apiece, and for cast iron $200.
Bronze doors and frames would cost about $1,200; the same in wood would
cost approximately $250.
*
Marble as a Diffuser of Light
THE Electrical World calls attention in the following article to the possi
bilities of marble as a diffuser of light in interiors.
"In the so-called 'marble light,' a recent production, translucent marble
plates are employed as the diffusing substance instead of the usual white glass
in illumination fittings. Marble plates of one-eighth inch to 25.32 inch thickness
can be made translucent by a special grinding and impregnating process so that
they are superior in translucency to white-glass plates of normal thickness.
Colored marble plates of this thickness give beautiful light effects which can
not be imitated at all by means of colored glass. On some of the German trans
atlantic steamers skylights are used consisting of colored marble plate illumin
ated by electric incandescent lamps. A pure white light is obtained while any
irritating effect is avoided. No difference could be found between marble and
white glass as to translucency for ultra-violet rays. The only difference
between marble and white glass is that if the two media permit the same
amount of light to pass through, marble absorbs the dark heat rays to a much
greater degree than any other medium, and it is thought that this fact explains
the beneficial physiological effect.
"Ever since the system of indirect lighting has been held in such favor, use
has been made of suspended basins of alabaster, glass or porcelain, sheltering
groups of incandescent electric bulbs. The employment of alabaster for this
purpose was suggested by its natural translucence. In describing the English
work we said that marble could be used for these indirect-light basins and
would give a better effect than alabaster, because of greater beauty in color and
marking. Of course all marble is not fitted for this purpose, because some of
it is so dense and fine-grained as to be practically opaque, unless it can be so
treated as to increase its translucence. Nearly all of the coarse-grained marbles
are extremely translucent, and some of them are semi-transparent. Marble
is much stronger than alabaster and there would be little difficulty in turning
it down sufficiently thin to permit the passage of light."
102
AFTER the war I returned to my old home in Maine, broken in health and
as poor as the proverbial "Church Mouse," my only asset being a beloved
wife and three children to provide for. I accepted one of the first posi
tions offered, which came through a friend who had recommended me to the
old and popular varnish house of William Tilden and nephew of New York,
for whom I worked ten years, then resigned to go into the varnish manufactur
ing business which was established in April. 1875, under the firm name of
Glidden, Brackett and Company. Later on the present The Glidden Varnish
Company was incorporated.
The policy I adopted was first to establish a reputation for quality of goods
and integrity in dealing, always instructing salesmen never to speak disparag
ingly of a competitor or his products and to remember always to be respectful
and patient in soliciting business.
103
I WAS a salesman for fifteen years and believe there is no occupation requiring
more tact and study of human nature. Gain all the knowledge possible per
taining to your business and be careful not to intrude upon those you call
upon in soliciting business. I remember once of calling upon a merchant who
was busy at the time and I waited a while before presenting my proposition.
He finally came to me and asked what he could do for me. I then presented my
card, which he abruptly handed back saying, "I have no time to talk to you,"
and left me unceremoniously. I was deeply chagrined by his abrupt manner
and waited for his return from the rear of the store. When he again ap
proached me saying, "Didn't I tell you I wanted nothing and had no time to
talk to you?" With feeling akin to subdued anger I politely said, "Mr
I
will wait until you can spare a few moments." He peevishly said, "What have
you got?" A brief explanation brought me an order and I left feeling I had
mastered myself and gained a victory which was a valuable lesson as a sales
man, and which served me well in after years. I sought to know my customers'
requirements and to gain their confidence, and business friendship if possible.
The growth of our business has been largely due to the following of this
policy. We started out with a modest plant in 1875, consisting of a quarter
acre of land and a small factory building having but two fires, one for melting
gums and one for preparing oils, etc. The increase in business gradually
developed until it became necessary from time to time to acquire more land and
buildings until we reached the limit in space, when a disastrous fire occurred
and made it necessary to seek other quarters and erect a new plant, which cul
minated in our purchasing seventeen acres of land upon which we expended
a half million dollars in erecting twenty-five steel and concrete buildings of the
most modern type.
*
I ALWAYS sought to employ the best help obtainable, and in this regard
we have been successful, now having an organization of men who have been
with us in various capacities ranging from five to thirty-seven years. Many
of these men have grown up in the business and are stockholders to quite an
extent and their loyalty and capability together with that of my four sons is
the sequel to the upbuilding of one of the most prosperous varnish houses
in the world, whose business not only covers our own country but reaches to
various ones on this continent and Europe as well. Our South and Central
American business, which has been established for four years, we expect will
naturally be enhanced by the opening of the Panama Canal.
Francis H. Gudden.
Cleveland O., July 27, 1914.
*
*
*
It's a Good Letter, After All
Some one has advanced the opinion that the letter "e" is the most unfor
tunate letter in the English alphabet, because it is always out of cash, forever
in debt, never out of danger, and in hell all the time. For some reason, he
overlooked the fortunates of the letter, so we call his attention to the fact that
"e" is never in war and always in peace. It is the beginning of existence, the
commencement of ease and the end of trouble. Without it there would be no
meat, no life and no heaven. It is the center of honesty, makes love perfect,
nnd without it there could be no editors, devils nor news. Fourth Estate.
104
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106
Federal Buildings
OWENDEROTH, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Depart
ment, has issued the following statement, which throws light upon the
* seemingly slow progress which this department makes in the prepara
tion of plans for new Federal buildings :
Many requests are received for the immediate preparation of plans, etc.,
for particular Federal buildings which have been authorized by existing legis
lation, irrespective of the date of such authorization. The following statement
of the present status of public building work is issued for the information of all
concerned.
Beginning with 1902 it has been the policy of Congress to authorize public
buildings by what are known as "Omnibus" acts, each act including a great
many separate projects. In addition, special acts are passed from time to time,
providing for individual projects, increases in the limits of costs of projects
previously authorized, etc. The "Omnibus" Act of 1902 was followed by
similar acts in 1903, 1906, 1908, 1910 and 1913.
It is the present policy to place under contract for construction all build
ings, or extensions to buildings, authorized in any one "Omnibus" act before
beginning plans for projects authorized by a subsequent act. It is also the
present practice to prepare the plans for all buildings, or projects, authorized
in any given act in the order of the dates upon which the titles to the sites
therefor were vested in the United States.
To determine the precise order in which the plans for the various buildings
shall receive attention the following procedure is followed : The buildings
authorized in any one act are first divided into groups according to the priority
of the acts in which their sites were authorized. All buildings in each such actgroup are further arranged in the order of the dates of the acquisition of their
sites, the earliest date first. For instance, the 1913 act authorizes buildings
upon sites which had been authorized in the act of 1908, in the act of 1910, and
in the act of 1913. It is intended that the buildings so authorized in 1913 to be
erected upon sites authorized in 1908 shall first be placed under contract. These
will be followed by buildings authorized in 1913 to be constructed upon sites
authorized in 1910. Then the buildings, authorized in 1913 to be built upon
sites also authorized in 1913 will take their respective turns for attention.
Extensions are usually authorized to be erected upon land already owned
by the United States. While extension projects are included with the buildings
authorized in a particular act, discretion is exercised in determining the order
in which extensions shall be placed under contract for construction, depending
upon the urgency of the need for the improvement.
The output of plans by the Supervising Architect's Office is governed by
the extent of the technical force ( designers, draftsmen, computers, superin
tendents, etc.) which the appropriations given by Congress permit the Depart
ment to employ.
At this date the Offtce of the Supervising Architect has on its books, wait
ing to be placed under contract, approximately $38,500,000 worth of authoriza
tions for new buildings and extensions in the act of 1913. This office is placing
buildings and extensions under contract at the rate of about seven million
dollars annually, so that at the present rate of progress the last of the buildings
authorized in the act of 1913 will not have been placed, under contract until
about the beginning of the calendar year 1920. It will not be until after the
latter date that it will be possible for the Supervising Architect to place under
contract any buildings contained in any act, or acts, which may be passed in
the meantime.
107
304
23
327
The program of work contained in the act of 1913 has not been laid out
as yet. Therefore it is impossible to state even approximately the time when
any building authorized in that act will be either advertised for bids or placed
under contract.
If a subsequent act increases the limit of cost, or otherwise modifies prior
legislation for a building or extension, before that project is reached in turn,
the position of the project in the program of work is not affected thereby. If
a project is set aside when its turn is reached in order to await action upon a
proposed increase in the limit of cost, or for any other reason, it is taken up,
whenever "released," in as near its original position as the condition of the
work, generally, may render possible.
No consideration can be given to suggestions that any one project is entitled
to any more consideration than another, and requests that buildings be advanced
out of their order must be uniformly declined.
For the information of those not familiar with legislative terminology, it may be stated
that an "authorization" is, as it implies, merely authority to acquire a site, erect a building,
etc., within the limit of cost stated, and is not an actual "appropriation" of money out of
the Treasury. Appropriations are made by Congress on the basis of estimates submitted
by the Secretary of the Treasury. These appropriations are carried in one or the other
of the annual supply acts arid are intended to be only sufficient to carry forward the
building program for the fiscal year to which the acts apply. "Appropriations" are made
on account of the limits of cost fixed by the "authorizations" and are not extensions of
these limits. All appropriations for sites, buildings, extensions, etc., are available until
expended, unless repealed by act of Congress, and are not automatically returned to the
Treasury if not expended before the expiration of the fiscal year.
The Public Buildings Act of 1913 authorized the Treasury Department to acquire sites,
erect buildings, construct extensions, etc., aggregating a total cost of nearly $42,000,000,
hut did not actually appropriate one cent toward the consummation of any of these
projects.
*
*
Follow These Rules and You'll Be Happy, Maybe!
Eat lessBreathe more.
Clothe lessBathe more.
Talk lessThink more.
Worry lessWork more.
Ride lessWalk more.
Waste less.Give more.
Preach lessPractice more.
*
*
*
One Way to Get a Job
Heating Engineer.Aren't you the boy who was in here a week ago?
Bright ApplicantYes, sir.
Engineer I thought so. And didn't I tell von then that I wanted an older
boy?
ApplicantYes. sir; that's why I'm here now.
108
109
competent painters. The material contains no linseed oil or white lead and
firmly adheres to the surface, filling small cracks and voids. Such a material
is made by different manufacturers under various proprietary names, and re
quires two or three coats, which can be put on damp surfaces, but should be
put on dry surfaces, and does not cover more than 200 square feet to the
gallon, one coat. This material gives the dead flat finish of cement, and adds
to the cost of your contract between 35 and 40 cents per square yard of surface
painted. The smooth or rough surface of the cement finish ltas all to do with
the cost of labor and material, as the stucco and rough cast surface requires
more material and more brushing than the smooth trowelled surface.
Up to this point 1 have touched upon cement surfaces of the outside of
buildings only. But we have inside walls and floors which must be decorated
and made damp-proof, and floors must be made so the cement does not dust off.
Inside cement walls are either in the damp or dry class. Damp walls, especi
ally where there is a water pressure, such as along rivers and walls that get
soaked with water after heavy rains, are a problem and should, if possible, be
coated on the inside and outside with a paint made from asphaltum products
and decorated afterward with regular cement coating. Inside cement walls
that appear dry are not such a difficult problem and can be treated the same
as ordinary walls.
In connection with the damp class of walls 1 will say that there are on the
market today several paints recommended and made to apply on damp walls.
Another class of surfaces are cement floors. We all know that when put
to heavy wear they soon show defects, get slippery or throw off dust, especially
where rich in cement and trowelled to a granolithic surface. Giving the floor
a cement wash will not answer for factories, shipping rooms or engine rooms.
The acids in the lubricating oils attack the cement and destroy its bond. The
texture of cement floors and the finish vary so much that we cannot make the
same specifications for all of them. They must be tested with specially pre
pared paint and put on by some one who has made a special study of dampproofing and decorating cement surfaces.
*
*
*
The Palace of Liberal Arts at the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition
THE purpose of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition is to assemble
the nations of the world in a universal celebration of the completion of
the Panama Canal.
The achievement commemorated is conceded to be the greatest triumph
yet registered by man over unfriendly forces of nature.
As is but natural, in celebrating such an event, the Department of Liberal
Arts will be given a splendid representation because it is one of the "liberal
arts" that the division of human energy devoted to civil engineering is sched
uled in the exposition's book of classiftcations.
Taking the United States census of figures relating to liberal arts for the
year of 1909, approximately two billion dollars was the valuation of the gross
product in liberal arts, and in but a single division of the enterprises listed as
liberal artsthe graphic art section, including "typography," "books and pub
lications" and "maps and apparatus for geography"is involved the products
of 32,414 establishments in the United States, employing 416,073 persons,
earning $289,629,000 and producing an output valued at $783,477,000. The
invested capital amounted to $632,590,000.
The Palace of Liberal Arts is one of the most beautiful of the eight com
prising the main central group at the exposition, being one of the four sur
rounding the great central Court of the Universe, its south facades bordering
on the wonderful avenue of palms which forms the north boundary of the
110
Alameda. The Palace of Education, lying to the west is separated from the
Palace of Liberal Arts by the Court of Palms and the Court of the Four Sea
sons, and directly east is the Palace of Manufactures, between them rises the
great Tower of Jewels, which reaches a height of 435 feet. The tower and
adjacent palaces are to be outlined with imitation jewelsrubies, sapphires,
emeralds, topazes and diamondsgleaming by day in the light of the California
sunshine and by night flashing in the rays of a battery of searchlights which will
be played from Moro Castle, built on the outer arm of the yacht harbor. The
construction material is the imitation Travertine Marble of which all palaces
are constructed, and the main entrance and lesser doorways of this facade are
of unusual beauty.
Within this palace the floor space of 241,603 square feet is devoted, onehalf to American and one-half to foreign products, the exhibits being divided
into fifteen groups, as follows :
1. Typographyvarious printing processes,
2. Books and publicationsbook binding,
3. Maps and apparatus for geography, cosmography, and topography,
4. Manufacture of paper,
5. Photography,
6. Instruments of precision, philosophical apparatus, coins and medals,
7. Medicine and surgery,
8. Chemical and pharmacal arts,
9. Musical instruments,
10. Theatrical appliances and equipment,
11. Electrical methods of communication,
12. Civil and military engineering,
13. Models, plans, designs for public works,
14. Architecture,
15. Architectural engineering.
In all there are 121 classes included in the fifteen groups.
Some unusual experiments are promised at this exposition. In the depart
ment devoted to instruments of precision and philosophical apparatus there
will be, it is expected, from France, as well as other nations, a comprehensive
display of extraordinary interest. In the American section, balances employed
by butcher, baker and grocer to determine how much merchandise for a certain
sum of money, to instruments susceptible to the touch of a hair, every kind of
apparatus known to this age will be seen in its highest state of perfection.
The photographic art encroaches so closely upon the domain of Fine Arts
that there was for some time discussion of whether the greatest photographers
should not be placed in the Palace of Fine Arts.
It was decided to follow the plan of classification that obtains throughout
the exposition, and to display the product along with the means of producing it.
As cameras and the paraphernalia preliminary to the completed photograph
belong in the department of Liberal Arts, and not in the Fine Arts, so the
photographs should also be placed with Liberal Arts, thus bringing the pro
cesses and the product into proximity and proper relationship for study and
comparison.
There will be set aside in the Palace of Liberal Arts a large section which
will be devoted exclusively to the processes and products of photography, to
gether with all of the equipment from which the finished picture to the com
mercial photographer who aims at accuracy, to the finished portrait of the art
photographer who aims at beauty or self expression will be revealed.
And so in every branch of the department of Liberal Arts, of which Mr.
Theodore Hardee is the chief, this account of the activities might be indefinitely
extended ; but the fact can be assumed succinctly and accurately in the state
ment that the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in its department of
Liberal Arts, as in all of its other activities, promises to be the climax in the
history of expositions and altogether worthy of the epochal event it will com
memorate.
111
112
THE
Arrljttrrt ani iEngtnwr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and Edttortal Rooms
617-619 Monadnock Bulldlng. San Francisco
Telephone Douglas I8Z8
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
all parts
of the; toUntted
Statespotnts
J1.50
per annum ;postage)
to Canadato 50c
addtttonal
all Forettpt
St addtttonal.
Vol. XXXVIII.
914 Nt
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
1 Inspectton
Wm. B. Gester,
\ and Tests
Loren E. Hunt. C. E.
F.' WSKtr,ck: ! Fireproof Construct,
W. W. Bhktte. C. E. I
Structural Steel
H. J. Brunntek
I
Athol
McBran tr') D-,i Tile and Terra
\V.
E. Denntson
Cotta
Howard Frost. )
G. B. Ashcroft. C. E.
Artificial Stone
H. M. T.OWENthAL
J Roofs and Roofing
J. R. D. Mackenzte
Rock artd Gravel
Fred M. Woods. Jr.
C. Walter Tozer Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook, LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Kterulff
- Legal Points
Paul C. Butte - F.lectrical Constructton
Louts F. Mauer - - Waterproofing
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
William O. Raignel
August G. Headman F. U. Hudson
Edward T. Foulkes
Sumner P.. Hunt
Alfred F. Rosenheim C. Sumner Greene
G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
Houghton Sawyer
Clayton D. Wilson
John G. Howard
Almeric Coxhead
Arthur Brown. Jr.
Harrison Albright
Chas. P. Weeks
John Parkinson
Benj. G. McDougall A. W. Smith
Octavius Morgan
T. Patterson Koss
J. C. Austin
William H. Weeks
Jas. W. Plachek
Chas. W Dickey
Chas. Henry Cheney Henry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
Smith O'Brien
Jas. W. Reid
H. F. Starbuck
J. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel Blaisdell
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
Arthur O. Johnson
William Mooser
Herbert E. Law
Robert Morgeneier
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
John Galen Howard , \ A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt -
E. M. C. Whttney
A. I. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
XIanager
Treasurer
Managing Editor
"FIRE A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite, Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
gjj- See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
JR.,
RATCLIFF,
H.
W.
BREED P
H.
A.
SENATOR
OF
RESIDENCE
R ARCHITECT
F
L
A
C
,
T
N
O
M
D
E
I
Engineer
and
Architect
The
Frontispiece
California
of
1914
October,
for
THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXVIII.
OCTOBER, 1914
No. 3.
48
DETAIL
OF
COURT
RESIDENCE OF SENATOR A. H. BREED
PIEDMONT. CALIFORNIA
W. H. RATCLIFF, JR.,
ARCHITECT
DETAIL
OF
LOGGIA
RESIDENCE OF SENATOR A. H. BREED
PIEDMONT, CALIFORNIA
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Modern Requirements
THE Real Estate Man was showing apartments to the Young Married
Couple. "There are," he said, "seven rooms and two baths ; large,
spacious kitchen; hot and cold water; southern exposure; elevator
service; steam heat; gas; electricity and no charge for janitor's jobs. The
price is especially lowonly fifteen hundred a year. We will do all the
papering necessary, repair floors and ceilings and make any alterations
you desire."
The Young Bride turned to the Young Husband.
"James," she said coldly, "it won't do at all. The place is simply
barbarous. I've studied the plans very carefullyand I don't see one single
room where we could take up the rugs and dance!" N. Y. Evening Sun.
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strike the client's fancy, as these assist him in determining just what is
desired. A study of the proposed site is also necessary in order to design
the building to harmonize with its surroundings.
If the preliminary sketches as submitted are not entirely satisfactory
they are changed or redrawn until they represent exactly what the client
wants and are acceptable in every respect. When these sketches are ap
proved the first step is completed.
The next step is to prepare the working drawings, or plans, and write
the specifications. The plans show the form and size of every part of the
building. They require very careful and accurate work and are usually
made by draftsmen under the direct supervision of the architect. Every
detail is worked out precisely to scale and leaves no feature to the discretion
of a workman. All questions of engineering, such as bearing strength of
beams and columns, the relation between roof pitch and the roofing, light
ing and structural ventilation, must be considered and wisely cared for.
The specifications designate the exact kind and quality of every material
to be Used and cover all details relative to the method of construction and
progress of the work. They constitute the most important part of the
contract with the builder. The judgment and experience of the architect
is tested to the fullest extent in writing the specifications. In this alone
he can often save the client many times the amount of his fee. The most
appropriate material must be selected in each case, not so good as to cause
needless extravagance or so poor as to bring after regrets that too great
economy was exercised. The specifications must be complete to the last
detail and cover every feature of the work, for two important reasons. The
first is that the builder is thus enabled to figure very precisely the actual
cost of the wOrk. Nothing is left to his judgment or imagination and he is
not obliged to allow a margin for contingencies. He can. therefore, esti
mate closely and make the lowest possible bid for the work. The second
reason is that complete specifications which anticipate and fully cover every
feature of the construction work entirely eliminate all extra charges. This
enables the owner to place a definite limit on the cost, plan up to this limit
and be assured that the amount of the contractor's bid will cover his entire
expenditure. To accomplish this requires most painstaking work on the
part of the architect, but the result is sure to be of financial benefit to the
client and save him much annoyance.
With the plans and specifications completed the architect takes up the
third feature of his work, the administration and supervision of construc
tion. He proceeds to obtain from builders bids for the work. He supplies
blue prints of the plans and copies of the specifications for this purpose
and his office is used as headquarters. His judgment and experience are
again of value to the client in selecting the contractor to whom the work
is to be entrusted. The integrity, financial responsibility, methods,
promptness, efficiency and general reputation of the various bidders are
known to the architect and his advice in this matter is sure to be of value.
It is frequently wise to give the job on a higher bid than the lowest when
the qualifications of the bidders are considered.
When the successful bidder is determined the architect acts as counsel
for the owner and draws up all contracts between the owner and the
builder. He is familiar with all points of law that apply to such con
tracts and no further legal advice is necessary for the owner to enjoy full
protection of his interests.
Before excavation is begun it is customary for the architect to stake
out the exact site of the building, taking advantage of the most favorable
80
situation, with full consideration of the natural grades, so that best land
scape effect will be secured and the least possible amount of special grading
will be necessary. In country and suburban residence work this is usually
a problem of considerable importance and one in which the experience and
technical knowledge of the architect should always be consulted.
During the progress of construction the architect or his expert super
intendent visits the job from time to time to see that all materials used
are of the quality specified and every part is properly constructed. As
the contract with the builder provides that no part of the work will be
paid for until the architect has certified that it is O. K., it will be seen that
the architect's judgment is final and his authority absolute. Since his own
reputation as well as the interests of the client is at stake he will not
hesitate to reject any work that is not fully up to standard.
The advantage of this system for the protection of the client will be
at once apparent. The builder must not only produce work that will
satisfy his own judgment but every part must be finished up to a standard
that will be satisfactory to the architect, who has full technical knowledge
as to what it should be and also a double incentive to reject it if it is,
inferior in any respect.
To conclude, the following incident will afford a sidelight on the effect
of experience on a home-builder who was fortunately able to test the
truth of the bromidium "One must build a house or two before one knows
just what one really wants."
This home-builder recently came to an architect and said, "I want you
to build me a house. I like the lines of the one you built for Mr. Blank
and he tells me that you know your business. Now I want you to know
at the outset that I am going to be an ideal client. I built a house a few
years ago and for me it was a very serious proposition. I lived very near
the job and watched every nail and screw that were driven. I inspected
every board that was used and saw to it that every stroke of work was
properly done. To say that I was popular with the contractor and the
workmen would hardly be stating the facts and I really do not know how
I managed to remain friends with the architect. He did not consider
that it was necessary for him to give the work his usual close supervision
because I was 'on the job' so much myself and the results of his absence
have been apparent many times since in important parts of the house
that proved I did not know about it at all."
The Lowest Bidder and the Lowest Responsible
Bidder
AN EDITORIAL published in Engineering and Contracting recently,
called attention to the fact that the lowest bidder and the lowest
responsible bidder on a piece of work are often different contractors.
An illustration was given in which the mayor of a small town insisted
that a certain contract be awarded to the lowest bidder, although the
engineer in charge suggested that the bid be rejected because it was
obviously and very much too low. The mayor carried his point, the low
bidder was awarded the contract and, owing to the lack of the requisite
experience and working capital, soon abandoned his contract. The bonds
men, relatives of the contractor, refused to take up the work and suit had
to be brought to compel them to do so. This, of course, meant a long
delay in completing the work and heavy court costs. After the contractor
abandoned his contract it was learned that he was an undertaker who,
81
82
A P A R T M E N T HO U S E FOR
MESSRS. A. lf. WlLSON AND J. MARTIN
S A N F R A .V C 1 SC O. CALIFORNIA
C. A. MEUSSDORFFER,
ARCHITECT
84
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For
ARCHITECT
85
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apartment has from one to three private baths, finished in white enamel,
with tile floors and wainscot and equipped with recessed tubs, automatic
showers and pedestal lavatories.
Modern conveniences will include electric elevator service, vacuum
cleaning, refrigerators, hardwood floors, dumb waiters, dressing tables,
steam heat, fireplaces and private telephone service. The interior finish
will be in keeping with the general architecture of the building, the French
renaissance style being followed out in the decorations and furnishings.
All woodwork will be either mahogany or white china gloss.
The kitchen will have patent coolers and a system of ventilation op
erated by an exhaust fan, so that no odors can escape into the building.
Space has been provided for thirty servants' rooms.
The main passenger elevator will be operated from the sub-basement
to the roof. The former will contain a large garage, reached by means
of a direct entrance from the street. There is also a ballroom in the
basement.
The building is owned by A. \V. W ilson and J. Martin and will cost,
complete, $180,000.
*
87
88
sympathy with him and can work sympathetically and harmoniously with
him in developing his ideals and in guiding him in a manner so that I can
inject some of my ideals into the architectural composition which we are
attempting to create in brick and stone.
I think there is nothing which the public resents to so great an extent
in the architectural profession as this attitude of an architect towards them.
They go around to an architect and desire something which is reasonable
in cost, and sometimes perhaps they are unreasonable, expecting a great
deal more than they can get for a certain amount of money, but in a great
many cases they are not at fault, and we, as their architectural advisers,
after we have worked up their scheme, see where we could better it by
adding this here and the other thing there and putting on touches over in
the other place and have suggested these various things to them, until they
have reached the point where they think themselves, it would spoil the
building should they leave any of them off, and as a result at the day of
the letting the building runs from 25 to 50 per cent in cost above the amount
that they desired to expend, and as a result there is something doing.
They claim that we told them that they could add these things at no extra
cost, and we claim that when we suggested these things to them they
agreed to them and desired them. By our suggestion we have awakened
within them a desire for that which they are unable to pay for, and as a
result, unless they can get that building which we have, unintentionally
perhaps, worked them up to, they will never be satisfied.
As in most cases, the client when he confided in us gave us the limit
of the amount which he would put into his building, the amount being
in a great many cases the maximum amount of money which he could
raise, or which he is satisfied at least to raise, and as a result he either
gives up the project or cuts down the building to what it should have been
in the first place, and is forever dissatisfied with the building and the
architect ^who designed it. He goes out in the community in which he
lives, telling his neighbors and friends to beware of the architect, as an
individual and as a professional man, as he is a deceit and a snare. The
architect has lost a great deal of good business and to a certain extent has
lost the confidence of the public in him, more perhaps due to his lack of
tact and judgment in seeing and appreciating the eternal fitness of things
and governing himself accordingly than all other things combined.
In the interests of the great profession of which we are representatives,
and in the interests of the common goodthe great public whom we are
here to servelet us attempt to correct this thing by cutting down the
building and getting the ideals of our client thinned down to about the
size of his purse before we start in to make his drawings, or put his plans
and specifications at least, out to bidders for their proposals.
I have known artists who, with a few cheap tools and with a dearth of
materials, have produced a beautiful work of art, a work with more merit
than that of other artists who were unlimited as to tools and materials.
I have known of girls who were young, healthy and of an artistic temper
ament, take S7.50, and go to the country store and make a few purchases
of inexpensive materials, and by the use of skill and gumption produce an
outfit which, with themselves as a part of it, surpass in beauty other young
ladies who expended $750,00 and had a fashionable dressmaker to assist
them, and yet when done and they became a part of said outfit they did
not rank ace high with the former ones. Of course, I do not expect you
or I can equal the young ladies who were their own dressmakers, but at
least we can best serve our clients by approximating them.
89
90
whereas, in the case of indirect lighting, powerful reflectors direct all the
rays to the ceiling from which they are distributed as useful illumination.
Let us consider several typical installations. The first is a restaurant.
The motif in a cafe should be comfortsoft decorations, good music, careful
service, good food. Why is all this spoiled in so many instances by poor
lighting? Principally because people do not think about illuminationit has to be brought to their attention. There is a certain charm about
innumerable glittering lights out-of-doors. We all admire Coney Island
and the Great White Way, but we do not want it in our homes or places
of business, where we wish to center our attention on serious affairs.
In stores, lighting has been abused because merchants have sought an
advertising value in glaring lights. The result is just the opposite from
what they want. Krilliant lights take the customer's attention from the
merchandise that is offered for sale. On the other hand there is some
thing attractive about a good installation of indirect lighting that holds
a customer in the storehe appreciates the light, just as he appreciates
heat or ventilation, without realizing it. Another point of interest is
the increased efficiency of the clerks due to the absence of glare and the
consequent eye-strain.
The next installation to consider is a typical office. Such lighting
must be perfect. Here again the efficiency of the worker should be con
sidered for it is evident that one cannot do his best work unless he is com
fortable. The absence of shadows increases the useful working space
and the fact that local fixtures are not necessary allows the furniture to be
re-arranged at will without altering Hie lighting appliances.
In drafting rooms indirect lighting is ideal and here we meet the same
conditions occuring in the general office with the additional fact that this
work is more confining and the need of perfect lighting is even greater
than in the ordinary office.
Xow we come to auditoriums. Everyone has had the experience of
sitting in a gallery and trying to see the speaker through a glittering
chandelier. Many a fine church has been spoiled by poor lighting and the
effect of many a service is lost on those whose eyes are sensitive. Indirect
lighting meets every need in an auditorium. Here the architect can help
with his skill in design, and any scheme of architecture can be carried
out in the fixture bowls. It matters not what the bowl may be, so long
as correctly designed equipment is used inside the bowl.
In theaters indirect lighting has become almost universal. Tt gives
that soft, comfortable illumination that all admire, it brings out architect
ural details, and it can be controlled for any intensity of light, giving a
brilliant effect between the acts and a low. soft light during the perform
ance. Indirect lighting increases the apparent ceiling height of a room,
another fact that means much to the architect and which he can use to
good advantage in lighting the lobbies and foyers of theaters.
The lighting of schools, particularly evening schools, has been notor
iously bad. Gas arcs have been a sort of standard and they have made
business for the oculist. The students at night school are entitled to
every consideration. They come to study after a hard day's work under
conditions far from ideal : they attempt to do in a few hours, work that is
ordinarily allotted to an entire day. Good lighting, as well as heating,
ventilation and comfortable furniture will go a long way towards making
this work successful.
Residence lighting presents many problems to the architect because
here the personal equation is encountered. It requires considerable per
91
suasion to give people what they need instead of what they want. But if
indirect lighting is once introduced into a home it will never be removed.
It means comfort and comfort is inseparable from HOME. We recommend
indirect lighting for every room in the house. If some direct lighting is
used it is only a question of time until it will be displaced by the indirect
method.
For residence lighting, nothing is so effective as the indirect system
adapted to a portable. This does away with ceiling fixtures which are
objectionable in some cases and as the portable lends itself to any scheme
of decoration many pleasing effects can be obtained.
Fixtures are not essential to an indirect lighting system. Cornices
can be used to conceal reflectors, as well as pedestals, urns, wall pockets,
etc. Such special work of course requires special treatment but accurate
data is now available whereby the architect can handle all ordinary
problems.
Bare lamps hung in glass bowls do not make indirect lighting. While
they reduce the glare in a measure, the bowl is still the lightest thing in
the room and if a large lamp is used, there is still the brilliant light source
that we seek to avoid. Still we meet conditions where an illuminated
bowl is desired. Many people like to see the light source, just as they
want an open fireplace, while the real heat in the room comes from a
radiator. This condition can be fulfilled by using the regular indirect
equipment with a small supplementary lamp which serves merely to light
the bowl. The latter may be made of glass, silk, or any materials com
monly used in the manufacture of fixtures. In no case should the bowl
be more brilliant than the ceiling. By such an arrangement we get the
artistic effect of the bowl without losing the effectiveness of the indirect
lighting.
There are numerous cases where indirect lighting is not practical.
These occur principally in factories, although there are instances " where
indirect lighting is not feasible in a finished building, as in a Gothic church
where the ceiling is finished in dark woods. For such purposes there has
been designed a series of reflectors which so thoroughly enclose the lamps
and give such excellent diffusion that a brilliant illumination can be se
cured without the usual annoying glare. A photograph of such an in
stallation shows no halation about the fixtures.
Safety and efficiency are the principal points to be considered in designing
the lighting equipment for industrial plants. With the advent of Em
ployers' Liability laws which force the employer to take a financial re
sponsibility when his men are injured, a great deal of attention is now
being turned to the question of safety. Naturally, good lighting means
greater safety and it is now receiving the attention that it deserves.
A very interesting field of illumination from concealed sources is that
of show window lighting. Engineers and laymen agree that the lamps
in a show window should be concealed and the light concentrated on the
display, giving the same effect that comes from the foot-lights on a stage.
"Light on the object and not in the eye" is the rule.
Windows may be divided into half a dozen classes as to size and shape
and each of these requires a reflector which gives a uniform light on the
display as it will be arranged in that particular window. Some manufac
turers make a single reflector and try to use it in every style window with
the result that only an occasional window is satisfactory. Here, as in
other branches of illumination, accurate data is at hand whereby the ar
chitect can easily select a reflector for his particular need.
92
Reflectors which are designed primarily for show windows can be used
to good advantage in special schemes, such as the lighting of bulletin
boards, rug display racks, bowling alleys, etc. It is simply a matter of
selecting the right appliance for the case at hand.
To sum up: Good lighting is simply a matter of carefully considering the
desired* results in a specific case, and then selecting the appliance that most
nearly fulfills these requirements. These requirements generally include prac
tical, esthetic, and hygienic considerations, and should be settled by the
architect rather than the client.
*
93
INDUSTRY
%
76
63
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Machinery
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(b) Electrical
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(d) Milling
(e) Mining, Excavating, etc
(f) Textile
(g) Woodworking
69
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74
79
84
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2 27 46 20 7 25 48 20 7
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0 27 55 18
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0 48 40 12 0
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0 28 50 22 0 >H 48 19 5
5 38 36 18 8 19 51 26 4
94
Determining Causes
THE cement and concrete session of the 17th annual meeting of the
American Society for Testing Materials at Atlantic City, was one of
the most interesting of the meetings. Instead of the time being
taken up largely with committee reports, it was devoted to the reading of
papers. All previous records were broken in attendance, there being a
total of 490. This society is widely recognized in the United States as the final
authority for the preparation of standard specifications for the various
materials of construction.
R. S. Greenman, in a paper on "The Examination of Concrete Failures
for Their Determining Causes," states that concrete is said to be its own
best inspector, and it is a well known fact that defects in concrete will
sooner or later make their presence known.
The reasons for poor concrete have been proportioned as being 90%
due to poor workmanship, 8% due to poor aggregates, and 2% due to poor
cement. These reasons and the additional one of the influence of the
water used, are responsible for most of the failures in concrete. These
failures are more frequent in smaller than in larger work and the resulting
losses are proportionately greater.
To find a reason one must examine all possible causes and must follow
up all clues that tend toward disclosing the reason. The design, the
quality and proportions of the materials used, the mixing and placing and
the care of the ftnished concrete must all be considered In making an ex
amination, each case must be treated entirely upon its own individuality:
and the right clue will not be found unless the investigator knows good
and poor concrete and knows why certain things produce certain results
in concrete.
In trying to 'solve a problem of poor concrete the elements to be in
vestigated are cement, aggregates, workmanshipand water. The com
mon tendency is first to place the blame upon the cement, but if it is
found that, in accordance with good and generally common practice, the
cement has been tested and has met the standard requirements, the cement
then becomes a negligible factor; but if it has not been tested, it must be
considered as a possible cause, and it mav become a large item in the study.
It must be admitted that since so much stress has been laid upon the
value of having cement tested before use, and since it must indeed be a
small work on which it has not been so tested, the percentage of failures, due
to poor cement has been reduced to a very small amount.
The strong and the weak points in both the course and fine aggregates
have been too often neglected. The coarse aggregates can usually be
judged by easy inspections, but sand or other fine aggregates need very
careful examination. The characteristicssuch as the grain, the grading,
the cleanness and freedom from organic impurities and excess of loam
are items of knowledge which are obtainable mainly in the laboratory-, but
which are very essential for the correct diagnosis of a concrete failure.
The effect of workmanship is by far the largest factor and in it all
others are included, for a poor workman can destroy the value of the best
materials. Under the head of workmanship must be considered such
items as design, proportions, placing, and actions resulting from heat,
frnst, electrolysis, etc., which should have been taken care of in the process
of making, hardening and preservation.
95
96
test more severe, nearly all of the paints were applied in white. (Tinted
paints are known to be much more durable than white paints.) A strip
of chrome green, 6 inches wide, was placed over the top of the third coat
of paint, in order to determine whether or not the lime which might be
present on the surface of the cement would have any effect upon the paint
coating. Fading of the green to a yellow would indicate such action.
A priming coat of 25% zinc sulphate solution was applied to the panels, to
neutralize any free lime, but this is held to be unnecessary if the surface
is dry when painted and will not be exposed to the weather.
The general results of the tests at the end of a 2-year period, together
with an outline of the composition of the paints tested, is given as follows:
Class No. 1Single-pigment paints, made with white lead or zinc oxide ground in pure
linseed oil. (These paints are in very good condition throughout.)
Class No. 2Combination-pigment paints made of mixtures of white lead, zinc oxide
or similar pigments ground in pure linseed oil. (These paints are in generally excellent
condition.)
Class No. 3Combination-pigment paints ground with mixtures of raw and heavybodied linseed oil or with treated Chinese wood oil. The viscosity of these oils requires
the use of considerable turpentine or other thinner in the manufacture of such paints, in
order to make them of the right viscosity for application. Semi-flat surfaces are therefore
produced during the drying. (Most of these paints are in excellent condition.)
Class Xo. 4Single- and combination-pigments ground in oil varnishes containing acid
resins. (These paints are checking and scaling in many spots. Such varnish paints are
apparently not suited to exterior exposure.)
Class Xo. 5Paints containing resins dissolved in volatile spirits (spirit varnishes)
with or without pigments. (These paints are not giving very satisfactory service, the clear
varnishes having entirely decayed in some cases. Those to which pigment has been added
are in somewhat better condition.)
Class No. 6Paints made with single- and combination-pigments ground in a water
medium containing glue or casein as a binder. (These paints are chalking rapidly and are
not moisture-prooring the cement. The pigment binder has been destroyed by the weather.)
The tests showed that the amount of free lime in fairly dry cement sur
faces does not adversely affect high-grade otl paints. The tests also
showed that zinc sulphate mav be used with excellent results as a primer
to neutralize free lime in damp cement surfaces which are to be painted.
Opaque white pigments, such as basic-sulphate white lead, basic-car
bonate white lead, zinc oxide, and lithopone, were present in the paints
which pave the best results. In some of these paints there was present a
percentage of inert pigments, such as barytes, asbestine, whiting, china
clay, gypsum and silica. The scaling of varnish paints, which developed
in several tests, apparently showed that resinous paints are not well suited
for cement surfaces.
The oil paint is not attacked by the dry cement, and holds both texture
and color. Ecpially satisfactory results were obtained with boiled linseed
oil, mixtures of raw and boiled oil, and mixtures with Chinese wood oil.
Such simple paint coatings were also found to be excellent for concrete
floors, being durable, wear-resisting, and dust-preventive.
The results of these tests are quite in line with the results obtained by
Ware and Schott in a series of paint exposure tests made upon exterior
concrete surfaces. They also agree with previous lonp-time exposure
tests made by the author.
*
*
*
Why We Do It
Advertise and the world buys of you ;
Renig, and you need a loan.
If you never tell what you have to sell.
You'll have troubles all your own.
Los Angeles Evening Herald.
97
98
for $3,000, Why Pay Rent When You Can Own Your Own Home,
Beautiful Interiors and Artistic Exteriors, form the most fascinating litera
ture there is.
Other people with the same disease running its course are the most
interesting folks in the world to talk with. You almost hug them because
they have run up against some of the wild snags that you have met. You
fairly love them and yearn over them as they tell how they scrapped over
whether the dining room should have French doors and white woodwork
or dark woodwork and just doors.
You hang on their utterances and break in with delighted exclamations
of sympathetic misery as they tell how they had to give up nearly every
thing they had set their heads on in a house because it was going to cost
too much. So they just moved and that was nearly as exciting and devilish
and nerve-racking as building a house. Ah, well, it is far better to have
planned and not builded than never to have planned at all. With a lot, a
set of plans and a dollar to start with, there is always a chance for the
disease to break out again and get you to the hole-in-the-ground stage.
>k
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place at St. Petersburg on the 18th to the 24th of May, 1915. The
Congress will be held under the patronage of His Majesty, Emperor
Nicholas II, with Her Highness the Grand Duchess Marie Pawlowna,
President of the Imperial Academy of Beaux-Arts, as Honorary President.
The last Congress, held in Rome in 1911, decided that the Tenth Con
gress should take place in 1914, but, for various reasons, it was finally
set for the date above given. All of the sections of the Permanent Com
mittee of the International Congress are asked to at once undertake the
some celerity, by reason of the fact that in addition to the excursions and
festivities which have been arranged, many serious sessions will be devoted
to the discussion of the various topics assigned for that purpose, together
with the reading of such reports as have been requested, or may later be
offered.
99
>k
sufferfive great powers are again plunged into the vortex of murder
and destruction |
through a disclosure of all the mysterious forces which are not yet revealed
to the common citizen.
may be called to the supreme task of raising the emblem of the world
at peace.
100
101
cent heavier, and that additional steel beams would be added to correspond
with construction of other fireproof floors. He complained continually
during the construction of the work that the increase had been unreason
able ; that the beams and girders substituted for those originally shown
were fully fifty per cent heavier, and that the new beams required were
much heavier than beams he had placed in similar floors in other buildings.
Such changes should not be made in that way, as expense is suffered that
was not contemplated by the contractor.
Some years ago a contractor failed to include in his original bid certain
items of work that were required. These items were clearly shown but
overlooked by him in preparing his bid. Afterward a proposal for an
additional item was accepted. The next day it was discovered that an
error had been made in considering the bid and an effort was made to
revoke the acceptance of the bid. The contractor stated that it was too
late to revoke the acceptance, as he had ordered his material. "But,"
said the official, "your bid was a thousand dollars too high." "Well," said
the contractor, "I am very sorry, but I am only sorry because it wasn't
ten thousand dollars too high."
This shows how some of the contractors feel about these matters.
They cannot receive any favors, but have to stand the loss due to their
own errors. They are of course not willing to refund when mistakes are
made by the other party to the contract. When the specification and
drawings are clear and explicit as to the requirements, it is for the con
tractor to inform himself, before he submits his bid, of all the conditions.
The opportunity should always be given him to so inform himself by
specific drawings and specifications.
*
Touch of Genius
SANDY MACTHERSON started to build a small house of bricks. After
the usual plan of bricklayers, he worked from the inside, and, as he had
the material close beside him, the walls were rising fast when noon
arrived, and with it his son Jock, who brought his father's dinner.
With honest pride in his eyes, Sandy looked at Jock over the wall on
which he was engaged, and asked:
"Hoo d'ye think I'm gettin' on?"
"Famous, fether; but hoo dae ye get out? You've forgot the door."
One glance around showed Sandy that his son was right ; but, looking
kindly at him, he said :
"Man, Jock, you've got a gran' heid on ye! Ye'll be an architect yet,
as sure's yer feyther's a builder."
How One Architectural Firm Meets the Slack Times
A WELL KNOWN San Francisco architect, whose office turns out
something more than a million dollars' worth of work annually, called
his staff together the other day and announced that on account of the
hard times and unsatisfactory state of the money market, he would cut all
salaries, from chief draftsman to office boy, 30 per cent.
"If there is anyone here who objects to this reduction," concluded the
architect, "he can have a week's pay and go."
It is needless to say none of them went.
How much better some such plan as this than the ruling practice of dis
missing a good man altogether.
102
"
The Skyscraper
By MADISON CAWF.IX
In The Smart Set
ENORMOUSLY it lifts
Its tower against the splendor of the west :
Like some bright dream that drifts
Before the mind, and, at the will's behest
Enchantment-based, gigantic steel and stone
Is given permanence ;
A concrete fact.
Complete, alone.
Glorious, immense.
Such as no nation here on earth has known :
Epitomizing all
That is American, that stands for youth
And strength and truth ;
That's individual
And beautiful and free,
Resistless strength and tireless energy.
Even as a cataract,
Its superb fact
Suggests vast forces Nature builds withJoy
And Power and Thought,
She to her aid has brought
For eons past, will bring for eons yet to be,
Shaping the world to her desire. The three
Her counselors constantly
Her architects, through whom her dreams come true
ITer workmen, bringing forth,
With toil that shall not cease,
Mountains and plains and seas,
That make the earth
The glory that it is ;
And, one with these,
Such works of man as this,
This building, towering into the blue,
The beacon, round which, like an ocean wide.
Circles and flows the restless human tide.
103
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5ECQND FLOOf^PLAN
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THE
Arrlittrrt ani. lEngitwr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtcc and Edttortal rooms
617-619 Monadnock Building: , San Francisco
Telephone Douglas 1828
TERMS oF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includtng
postage)
to all parts of the Untted States f1.50
per
annum
:
to
|1 addtttonal. Canada 50c addtttonal ; to all Foretgn potnts
Vol. XXXVIII. Octob
914
No. 3.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
VV'm. B. Gester
I Inspectton
I and Tests
Loren E. Hunt. C. E.
^STrCtck: I Fireproof Construct1on
KB?S C'E1
Structural Steel
,ATfl?LT?,v,?r^ \ Brick. Tile and Terra
W.
E. UENN1SON
Cnltn
Howard
Frost. >)
^"a
G. B. Ashcroft. C. E. - Artificial Stone
jV.WaSte : \^ofs and Roofing
Fred
M. Woods.
Hock and
Gravel
C.
Walter
TozerJr..
- Interior
Decoration
Wtlbur
Davtd
Cook,
LandscapeArchitecture
T. C. Ktf.rulff
Legal Points
Paul C. Butte
Electrical Constructton
Louts F. Maukr - - Waterproofing
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
William O. Kaignel
August G. Headman F. D. Hudson
Edward T. Foulkes
Sumner P. Hunt
Alfred F, Rosenheim C. Sumner Greene
G. Albert Lansburgh Norman F. Marsh
Houghton Sawyer
Clayton D. Wilson
John G. Howard
Almeric Coxhead
Arthur Brown. Jr.
Harrison Albright
Chas. P. Weeks
John Parkinson
Benj. G. McDougall A. W. Smith
Octavius Morgan
T. Patterson Ross
J. C. Austin
William H. Weeks
Jas. W. Plachek
Chas. W Dickey
Chas. Henry Cheney Henry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
Smith O'Brien
Jas. W. Reid
H. F. Starbuck
J. Harry Blohme
Nathaniel Blaisdell
Herman Barth
W. T. Bliss
Arthur O. Johnson
William Mooser
Herbert E. Law
Robert Morgeneier
B. J. S. Cahill
Hon. Jas. D. Phclan
John Galen Howard t F. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt '
E. M. C. Whttney
A. I. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Treasurer
Managing Editor
"FIRE A
CRIME"
We are equipped with two Pacific Coast Factories to manufacture
METAL DOORSTin, Kalamein, Composite. Hollow Steel and Bronze,Swinging,
Sliding, Folding, Elevator, Van Kannel Revolving Doors, and Wilson's Steel
Rolling Doors.
METAL WINDOWS Underwriters, Hollow Metal of all kinds, Kalamein, Bronze
and Steel Sash.
See the SIMPLEX METAL WINDOW.
UNITED STATES METAL PRODUCTS CO.
OF THE PACIFIC COAST
525 Market St., San Francisco
750 Keller St., Los Angeles
Agents and Branches in all Coast Cities.
IN A QUIET PATIO
Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer
of California
November, 1914
THE
NOVEMBER, 1914
No. 1.
the far Southwest, is that there has been revived an art which should have
been revived decades ago, but which, now, re-created, is destined to take on
new life and strength and to last for many years to come.
The visitor comes up to the edge of Balboa Park from the wharves or the
railway station, passing en route buildings typical of a busy twentieth century
48
FROM A BALCONY
LOOKING TOWARD THE SEA
Copyright 1914, Panama-California
Exposition.
49
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56
arches which line the arcade stretching from La Puerta del Oesta clear along
the Prado. Here is another old mission of the California type, and over across
the canyon a mission of the older New Mexico type, quite as much Indian as
Spanish. Down this way is a building of the pure municipal type seen today
in all Spanish-American cities. Here is a rustic residence, and there an urban
palace. A great building with colored cornice introduces its interesting Moor
ish feature. Another building at the end of the Isthmusthe name given to
San Diego's amusement street like the Pike and Midway of previous years
introduces the Moorish arabesque and minaret and other features which have
been adopted in some measure by Spanish-America itself. Everything is
Spanish-Colonial and yet there is variety sufficient to lend fresh charm to the
view. There are openings in the long arcades which lead into quiet patios
whose calm is broken only by the plashing of a fountain of Pan. There are
rose-covered gateways leading into pergolas which dot the broad lawns ad
joining the buildings and stretching back to the brink of the canyons. There
are curious exedras in the botanical gardens ; there are stone balconies looking
over the gulches which have been planted with a mighty variety of semi-tropical
plants. These canyons furnish a most important feature of the general land
scape. One reason for the extraordinary results which San Diego has brought
about with a limited amount of money, is that Balboa Park as it was when the
Exposition started, supplied a site which is quite incomparable in Exposition
work. The great mesa occupying the center of the 1400 acre park is cut by
deep ravines whose contour furnishes admirable opportunity for the develop
ment of most appealing treatments. The canyons to be sure, like the mesa, a
matter of four years ago, were of hard-baked adobe in which there grew noth
ing except cactus and sage and chapparal. By the liberal use of dynamite, by
plowing and harrowing and incessant watering these canyons have been made
to bloom into a succession of great gardens which probably have no peer any
where in the country.
The height of the bridge has been accentuated by the use of Italian and
Monterey cypress. Beyond the zone where these trees are used, is a wealth of
eucalyptus and acacia. Some of the trees are the varieties which bear the
brilliant crimson and golden blooms. The end of one canyon has been devoted
entirely to a variety of palms ; also there are palms used extensively elsewhere
in the canyon treatment. The brilliant canna and the soft grays of the acacia
Baileyana and some of the rarer grasses have been used to add further color.
Not only was San Diego endowed at the outset with this admirable site for
its exposition which could not have been bought for millions, but also it was
endowed with the quite invaluable gift of climate, a climate which is the same
the year around ; it knows no frost nor torrid heat, and it allows the most
amazing riot of hundreds of varieties of trees and shrubs and clambering vines
and small blooming plants. Over all the arcades sweeps this display of vines,
with the purple bougainvillea used extensively in the plaza, and the brick red
bougainvillea used dominantly along El Prado ; with roses used in this patio,
clematis in that, and jasmine and honeysuckle elsewhere. The effect of this
floral display is of great importance. Probably no other single feature at the
Exposition is of more importance. It must be remembered that the majority
of visitors to San Diego in 1915 will be Northerners and Easterners who have
no conception of the glories of Southern California's climate and the amazing
heights of beauty to which the California flora mount.
There is another point which impresses mightily the architect and engineer
who likes to see full value received. There has been little at previous world's
fairs more genuinely depressing than the sight on the day after the fair closed
when the tearing down of the buildings began. The structures at San Diego
57
have been built to staythat is, those structures which are entitled to per
manency. The smaller buildings along the Isthmus, being erected purely for
amusement, will be torn down immediately, but all the other buildings will
stand for many years to come. The great West quadrangle, for example,
dominated by the California State Building, is built entirely of steel and con
crete and will be used in years to come to house the museum exhibits which
have been donated to the Fxjxtsition with the definite understanding that they
would remain as long as the building itself stands. The wealth of rare flowers
in the Botanical building is assembled for permanent use, as that building, too,
is of steel and concrete. The administration building, the fire station, the
hospital and the other service buildings are for permanent park use. The great
music pavilion which stands at the lower end of the Plaza de Panama, is of
this same steel and concrete construction, and becomes the property of the city
immediately after the Exposition Company is terminated. All of the other
buildings are of staff and plaster, but these perishable materials are placed on a
firm backing of metal lath. Furthermore, the entire absence of frost and
sudden changes of temperature and gales and drenching rains from this par
ticular section of the San Diego valley makes certain a much greater degree
of permanency than would be possible anywhere else. The life of these build
ings is figured at from twenty to thirty years with proper treatment of the staff
each year. The great Puente de Cabrillo, which cost approximately $250,000,
is also, of course, of permanent construction and is of genuine interest from a
purely engineering standpoint as the first example of reinforced concrete con
struction of the cantilever unit type on a scale approximating anything of this
sort. It has attracted considerable interest from railway engineers, who find
in it a solution to the difficult problem of bridging streams which are seasonally
turbulent. It is recognized that this construction makes it possible for an
extra heavy downpour of water to carry away a single pier and leave the other
piers intact. This means that temporary tracks can be laid across the gap, and
train service can be continued whtle the reconstruction of the missing unit is in
progress.
With the exception of the West quadrangle, which was the work of the
architectural firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson of New York and Boston,
the designing of the Exposition Beautiful was the work of Frank P. Allen, Jr.,
who figured importantly in the Seattle Exposition. The supplementary features
which have been introduced by the Exposition management to carry out the
Spanish ideas, are in a rare spirit of harmony. For example, not only are the
buildings purely Spanish, but the guards and attendants at the Exposition
throughout 1915 are attired as conquistadores and caballeros ; the bandsmen are
dressed in Spanish uniform ; the dancing girls who appear in the Plaza de
Panama and at different points along El Prado, are Spanish dancing girls in
the bright costumes of old Spain, presenting the dances of the Spanish capital
of two centuries ago. Some of the fiestas which will rank as special events,
are the fiestas of the Spanish-American countries. Thus in the field of special
events are the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs and Toltecs, and the other
ancient red races. These displays then figure as more than special events
because they are inseparably associated with the architecture itself. Very little
is left to the imagination of the visitor save the feat of transporting himself
backward three or four centuries and realizing that this magic city on the
mesa is the city which was dreamed of by Cabrillo four centuries ago, and by
the succession of conquistadores and padres who followed after.
It is an Exposition Beautiful in appearance and in spirit alike.
58
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60
61
62
0.5
ditions in our cities, if they will keep themselves well informed as to the
latest methods of putting City Planning into execution. The California City
Planning Conference has been organized to work with them and will welcome
at all times suggestions and ideas for the better development of the cities of the
State.
#
*
*
Announcement of School of Architecture
THE announcement of the Department of Architecture of the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., has just been received, and seems to
present material not usually found in literature of this description. In
addition to a presentation of work by students of the Department, and a
synopsis of the requirements of the department, both for admission and for
graduation, there is published a general statement designed to give information
to prospective students and their parents regarding the profession of archi
tecture, the services performed by the architect, his training and the general
outlook for the profession. This statement indicates, in addition to enumerat
ing the functions of an architect, the methods and training properly employed
to prepare him to discharge those functions. It also points out, to some extent
parenthetically, many of his duties and obligations, which, it is feared, have
too often been overlooked in the general hustle and confusion incident to a pro
fessional career.
As to the outlook for the architect, it is stated that in no time of the history
of the United States has there been so much interest as is now manifested in
good architecture. Classes of buildings, which formerly were hardly con
sidered from an artistic point of viewsuch as factories, warehouses and the
likeare now being designed by architects. Many large corporations have
come to a realization of the value of buildings which are at once adequate,
attractive and interesting. The art development, of which architecture forms
but a part, has barely begun in this country. So long as this country continues
its marvelous growth, highly trained men will be needed to give form to build
ing projects of the most varied character.
Copy of the announcement may be had upon application.
*
*
*
Painting the Eiffel Tower
For the fifth time since its erection the Eiffel tower is receiving a new dress
of orange yellow. Sixty thousand pounds of paint is needed to adorn the
great tower and fiftv painters will be employed daily for three months. The
new robe costs $20,000.
64
65
66
67
After taking care of the congestion of car traffic as outlined above the
pedestrian traffic would be made safer and less complicated by the construction
of two reinforced concrete and structural steel foot bridges from the second
story of the Ferry building to the west side of the Emibarcadero in the general
line of and on either side of Market street, with necessary clearances, entrances,
exits, stairways and accommodations for the traveling public. Proper altera
tions would be made to the second floor of the Ferry building so that access
would be possible to the foot bridges.
The project is estimated to cost about a half million of dollars, segregated
in Mr. O'Shaughnessy's estimate as follows:
Estimated cost of property to be acquired
$380,000
Cost of street and railway work (chargeable to the street railways) . . . 56,000
Cost of North Foot Bridge
28,000
Cost of South Foot Bridge
31,000
Cost of changes to Ferry building
15,000
Total
$510,000
68
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70
Northern cities and is largely responsible for the great amount of inferior work
both architecturally and structurally, that is to be seen in Seattle and Portland.
It was decided to hold the next annual convention in San Francisco in June
of next year, and it is probable that a large number of Northern men will attend
this convention.
Officers were elected for the ensuing year as follows : Chas. Peter Weeks,
San Francisco, President; John Bakewell, Jr., San Francisco, Vice-President;
August Headman, San Francisco, Secretary-Treasurer.
To sum up, the principal objects of the League are to promote good fellow
ship among members of the profession and to carry on the educational work by
means of student work and exhibitions.
The first of these objects was certainly furthered by this convention. We,
who attended, have made many real friends among the architects whom we met,
and men who have lived in the same city for years have by means of the close
intercourse of these few days changed from casual acquaintances to friends,
who can meet upon the ground of mutual admiration and sympathy. Further
more, the educational work has been kept growing in a healthy manner and the
question of the circular exhibit has been brought more nearly to a satisfactory
solution, though as yet it is not quite solved.
Next year's convention should advance these objects much further, and we
who attended the convention felt that the League continues to justify its
existence.
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An English Criticism of American Methods of Design
The Builder of London reproduces in a recent issue examples of domestic
architecture by Robert D. Farquhar of Los Angeles, and the Hotel Oakland by
Bliss & Faville of San Francisco. Some of the first and best pictures pub
lished of this hotel, were shown in the Bliss & Faville number of the Architect
and Engineer last January.
Referring to Mr. Farquhar's work, it is stated :
These very well illustrate the point of view of the American client, which is
in many ways alien to us. Like the French and other inhabitants of Continental
nations, the American is appealed to by symmetry and dignity, not only in public
but in private buildings. There is little attempt usually to give to a house a
homely character simply because it is placed in rural surroundings. During the
Georgian and post-Georgian periods we approximated in our ideas of architectural
planning to the Renaissance methods of design practiced elsewhere, but in the
last century ordered planning has become the exception rather than the rule as
applied to houses. Though the formal garden, with symmetrical methods of
planning, has latterly found many advocates here, such a house as that we illus
trate would appeal to few Englishmen, who are still obsessed by the recollection
of what found favor in mediaeval ages, which has resulted in a type of smaller
domestic buildings to which we may almost apply the designation of picturesque
dog-kennels. Why we should prefer low rooms, oak beams, inglenooks, and other
constituent parts of the picturesque house has never been very clear to us, while
we feel there arc distinct advantages in a more measured and dignifted type of
design. The views which we reproduce show great knowledge of the use of detail
and the value of proportion.
Referring to the Oakland hotel, the tenor of the criticism is equally com
mendatory :
In common with the best American work the skill of the designers is equal to
their modesty, and t'here is no attempt to attract attention by eccentricity of
detail or proportion. What has been good enough to satisfy the best architects
of the Renaissance is good enough for the American architect, and a craving for
new and wonderful forms is left to the effete continent of Europe.
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E. Mathewson, Architect-Sportsman
By FREDERICK JENNINGS
JUST to illustrate that all minds do not run in the same channelif they did
this would be a monotonous old world, indeedthere is an architect in
Fresno, San Joaquin County, California, who is as proud of his 50-horsepower National automobile and prize-winning Boston bull, "Thunder," as the
most distinguished San Francisco architect is proud of his best piece of archi
tecture.
A rather queer comparison, you say, yet not so unusual when you consider
that both are practicing the profession of architecture with a considerable degree
of success. But in the case of the Fresno architecthis name is Eugene
Mathewson"Gene" he prefers to be calledhe is an architect only in business
hours, the time between he is a sportsman, and a good one, too ! His heart
and soul are wrapped in the enjoyment of motoring, hunting and fishing. ( )n
the other hand, we have the great architect who lives and breathes his pro
fession. Day and night his dreams are ever of things artistic, architecturally
beautiful. His work is first and last in his thoughts, and his daily routine is
shaped by his professional sentiments and ideals.
"I suppose I am different from most architects." Mr. Mathewson told me
one day as we bowled along the State Highway in his big car at a varying speed
of from thirty to sixty-five miles an hour, "and they probably say Ym crazy about
racing and hunting and all that, but I enjoy it, and my business is not neglected
as anybody knows that knows me. I've designed a great many buildings in this
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The present Board holds that only a licensed architect can practice in this State, or
from this State, and that his license is not transferable or negotiable. Any combination
formed for the practice of architecture, except between licensed architects, is illegal and
any licensed architect who assists others to practice, who have no license, is guilty of
dishonesty, as provided in the Act, and should have his license revoked.
The Illinois State Board of Examiners of Architects has been in existence for seven
teen years, but there was no Supreme Court decision until the present Board assumed
office, and practically no court action of any importance that would give to this Board a
precedent to follow. For the past seventeen years we have read a great many legal opinions
from eminent lawyers and there has been much argument among lawyers and among archi
tects and the public as to the meaning of the wording of the Act. This wrangle has ex
isted for seventeen years. The Act was never broadly enforced, but complaints were
mostly settled on a compromise which still left the meaning in doubt.
This Board proposes that at least eight cases of different forms of violation of the
Act shall reach the Supreme Court inside of the next year, at which time the courts will
definitely settle forever any question as to the proper interpretation of the wording of the
Act, that is, the rights of the architect and the rights of the public ; and when this has
been accomolished, then the enforcement of the Act will be a more simple matter. Most
of these eight cases are in preparation and some are in court at present. However, it must
l>c borne in mind that the cases selected are cases where the violation is speciftc of its kind
and not complicated by various other elements, so that when a decision is rendered in
the Supreme Court it will be clean cut and will apply only to that particular form of viola
tion. In other words, where a decision is made in a case where there are many points at
issue the decision is of little value, except as applied to that specific case, but if the decision
is based on a simple issue it will apply to all similar cases and will be of great value to the
Board.
There have been attempts made by men and bodies of men, both inside and outside
the profession, to dominate this Board. The members hold that their position is a
judicial one and must be free from such influence. Any complaint received by this Board,
either from an individual or a body of men, will receive the same consideration, and no
architect will be cited before this Board without first having had an opportunity to appear
informally before it.
It must be borne in mind that under the decision of the Appellate Court in the "Kaeseberg " case, this Board cannot revoke a license unless two cases of violation arc proven ;
hence, a great many single complaints are filed that never come up formally before the
Board. This leads the public and the architects of the State to feel that a great many
cases presented to the Board are never pushed through to a proper finish. Each single com
plaint is filed, if the indications are that it contains a violation. When information of
violations of the law is received from any reliable source, while the personnel of this
Board remains unchanged, all architects may expect courteous treatment and a square
deal, whether they be black, white or yellow, and regardless of their creed.
A word regarding the "City Ordinance" being violated by any architect may be expe
dient at this time. This Board is a State board, and as different cities and towns have
different ordinances, the Board cannot revoke an architect's license because he violated
the city ordinance, when the same architect could have built the same structure in other
towns of the State without violating any ordinance. Therefore all matters pertaining to
of the candidate, and that when the candidate procures his license he must, in his practice.
This Board holds that the purpose of the examination is to ascertain the qualiftcations
of the candidate, and that when the candidate procures his license he must, in his practice,
keep near to the standard set by the Board. The Board, recognizing the existence of a
low standard of work turned out by some architects (drawings and specifications being
incomplete, either as to construction or materials or both, and often incomprehensible and
not in accordance with good engineering practice, and the buildings erected in accordance
therewith not only being a financial loss to the owner but a constant menace to the pub
lic) notice was served last June, that this Board will cite before it for trial any architect who
prepared drawings and specifications issued for use in this State which indicate gross
incompetency or recklessness.
The Board trusts that even' licensed architect will co-operate in assisting to eliminate
the preparation of drawings and specifications which indicate gross incompetency or reck
lessness.
This Board has found its greatest work to be the elimination from the architectural
field of various architectural firms, which operate under an alias, such as architectural
engineers, civil engineers, industrial engineers, engineers, designers, builders, etc. Most
of these violations are assisted by a licensed architect, who is either financially interested,
a partner, or who secures a salary. This Board has eliminated at least 20 such illegal
combinations in the last few months and expects to eliminate all others from the archi
tectural field in the near future. These combinations are to a great extent the result of
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The Archi
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Practically all recent works of great magnitude have been let by contract,
with one exception, that being the Panama Canal, which was constructed by the
Government, under the supervision of army engineers who had practically an
unlimited amount of money at their disposal, and who were not hindered in
any way in the expenditure thereof ; their motto being, "Build the Canal, build
it well, and at any cost."
Great works like the increased water supply for New York City, the New
York Barge Canal, the reclaiming of millions of acres of land in the west, the
improvement of our rivers and harbors, and even down to our own local im
provement, such as the water supply, the building of our sewers, paving of the
streets, covering of the falls, building of the docks, extensions of parks, im
provement in terminal facilities of the various railroads leading into the city,
the improvement of our State highway system, erection of municipal buildings,
etc., have all been let by contract, for the reason, no doubt, that those in
authority recognize that where possible, it is much better to have the work
done by this method than under the day labor system.
The work is done as well under the contract system as if it is performed
by day's work, and ofttimes better, because on day labor work done by a State,
municipality or corporation, usually there are no rigid specifications in effect
and practically no inspections (except when the engineer happens to be on
the work) and many things are done, which would not be tolerated for a
moment if the work was being done under contract ; furthermore, the engineer
on contract work has less worry (this being shifted to the contractor's shoul
ders), and the last, but not least reason is that it is almost universally conceded
that work done by contract is done far cheaper than if performed by the day
labor method.
A prominent engineer once remarked that "specifications were only made
for rogues and thieves, that honest men did not need any specifications" ; he
meant this, however, to be interpreted in a broad way.
The clauses in a set of specifications as written by the average engineer
are not always clear and intelligible to the average contractor, and anyone
who engages in contracting work now, if he wants to be "up-to-date'' should
take a course in law also, so as to be able to reason out the intent of some
engineers who write specifications, because some specifications of today if liter
ally construed as written, could place an average contractor in receivers' hands
in a short time, unless he had an unlimited amount of money at his disposal.
Take the usual set of specifications as issued today for public work to
reputable attorneys and ask them to give you an unbiased opinion of its con
tents and ninety-nine out of one hundred will tell you that you would be
foolish to sign a contract with such clauses incorporated therein, because it is
so written to provide all the safeguards possible for the municipality and to
place the responsibility for evervthing that may happen, even including the acts
of Providence, upon the contractor.
In other words, they bind the contractor hand, foot, body and soul, because
some specifications have almost every possibility and condition between the
heaven and earth, and even into the depths of the same covered by a clause
which they can point out, which covers the disputed point when questions arise,
but contractors must live, and some in their eagerness to secure work would
sign any contract and specifications no matter how definite or unreasonable it
was.
In the opinion of the writer, it is a mistake to make specifications too lengthv,
but some engineers seem to think that it is absolutely necessary to have a large
volume of directions written for the contractors' guidance, even though the job
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is a very small one. They write so much in fact, that their requirements over
lap, that is the clauses contradict themselves, and in one part of the book you
will find certain clauses, and by carefully reading subsequent paragraphs, you
will be left in doubt as to the real intent and meaning of the one who wrote
the specifications and as to how they will be enforced.
If the specifications were short and clear, that is, expressed in plain every
day language, which neither the engineer nor the contractor could take ad
vantage of (in other words, the avoidance of double meaning clauses), many
of the disputes which now constantly arise would be prevented.
When a dispute does arise on work, the interpretation of the particular
clause in question is usually put up to the engineer in charge of that particular
section or piece of work for decision, and this is where a young engineer should
be given some authority.
If enough confidence is placed in a man to select him as a pilot of a par
ticular piece of work, enough trust and authority should be placed in him to
construe disputed clauses liberally when the occasion arises, and he should be
given the right to settle minor questions that arise, and not be troubling his
chief with every little matter of detail, and only in case that he and the con
tractor cannot agree, should the question be carried to the Chief Engineer.
In ninety-nine cases out of one hundred minor disputes such as arise on
contract work can be reasonably and promptly settled if all parties will meet
with a feeling of friendliness and confidence, but the average young engineer,
knowing that he has the book of specifications to rely upon, and that they are
his doctrine, and the further fact that he is in authority in so far as that par
ticular piece of work is concerned, ofttimes looks at the clauses under discus
sion from a very narrow point of view, and if an appeal should be taken from
his decision and carried to the Chief Engineer, ofttimes he considers it a per
sonal reaction upon his professional ability, and although the decision of the
Chief Engineer may sustain him, there is always a feeling of coolness between
him and the contractor.
Whereas on the other hand if the decision of the Chief Engineer should
be adverse to the younger engineer and contrary to his views already reported
to his chief and in favor of the contractor, usuallv he feels that a personal
insult has been inflicted upon him and his professional ability questioned, and
I have heard of instances where the engineer resolved to "get even" and, hold
ing the master key he sometimes is in a position to take advantage of the other,
because co-operation is the key to success in all great works.
Engineers and contractors gain their experience from years of hard work ;
text books do not contain all the rudiments of any profession ; these are secured
by personal efforts, hard knocks and practical experience and a young engineer
at the completion of his required course in a university is not as fully qualified
to pass on all questions as one who has had years of experience, although the
technical education of the latter may be somewhat limited when compared with
that of the former.
Contractors usually get their experience by hard work, and ofttimes at
great expense, and some reliance should be put in their judgment also; in other
words, some little credit should be given a contractor who has had years of
experience, for knowing a little of the work he undertakes and the best method
of conducting it, because, as before stated, a contractor to be successful must
adapt himself to all conditions ; must have such a personality as will enable him
to please and work with the engineers and at the same time look out for him
self from a financial point of view, if he is to be successful.
It is sufficient to say, in conclusion, that an engineer should relv somewhat
on the contractor, "give him some credit for his experience, etc.," and the
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same confidence should be put by the contractor in the engineer, and if they
are of such temperament that they can work in harmony, disputes will not
arise. When they do, they can be quickly and amicably adjusted and leave no
ill feeling at their conclusion, and success will be the result of their efforts.
Engineering News.
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SHOWING CONCRETE POLES OF MUNICIPAL RAILWAY, VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO
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ready for wires, costs in this vicinity, about $650 per mile, with a probable life
of fifteen years and the possibility of renewing it entirely after every storm of
any consequence. Substituting good concrete poles for this same service, using
thirty 30-ft. poles per mile, set up with all attachments ready for wires, the cost
per mile will not exceed $600 and the line will last indefinitely.
In view of the above conditions, it does not require any great amount of
forethought on the part of. the conservative pole purchaser to realize that con
crete poles will eventually not only solve one and all of his present pole troubles,
but that, in the long run a saving of many thousands of dollars can be effected
through the elimination of constant maintenance, frequent renewals and un
necessary first cost of heavy construction.
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Were Charles Lamb or one of the other nineteenth century assayists writing
on the genus architect, they undoubtedly would have considered them from
two characteristic viewpoints, and faltering in such steps we would try the
same : the architect in his office and the architect in his home.
That a man cannot always be judged by his clients is corroborated in another
passage from the writer quoted above, "A prospective builder seeking his first
experience does not, oftentimes, appear to care who makes his drawings, just
so he obtains them cheaply. Having no particular respect for the building he is
about to erect, he has even less respect for the architect, who appears to be a
necessary evil in the affair. The architect himself, if he be of the first class,
is probably not lacking in self-esteem and is far from relishing the patronizing
attitude of the prospective client. He neither kotows nor clinges ; and the man
with money to spend is too likely to resent what he considers 'high and mighti
ness' in one who is only a servant after all."
Truly, it is remarkable how some folks who summon the architect for
counsel fail to strike a medium of attitude toward him. Either they treat him as
they would the local carpenterdemanding the impossible and, often enough,
unwittingly, the inartistic; or look upon him as infallible until some misjudgment proves him human, whereupon he becomes clothed with all the weaknesses
of the earth-born.
In no profession does the client seem to feel it his province to exercise such
thraldom as in that of building houses; an attitude quite absurd when con
sidered from a logical point of view. No man would dictate to his doctor, and
even the lawyer cannot complain that his client arrogates unto himself the last
word in counsel ; yet the architect has often to tolerate and to handle with
creditable diplomacy unaccountable changes of taste from his client that utterly
destroy the beauty of his work.
When the architect comes to build his own house, he is as a bird released
from its cage. No longer is he held in thrall by the wishes or dictates of a
client. For years he has been saving up idteas of little treatments here and
there with the promise that some day, when he is to be his own master, he will
make use of them. He has seen a doorway in France and a chimney in Eng
land, from the South he has caught the idea for a stairs, and from Rome the
suggestion for a window. Then out from their dusty corners are dragged the
ideas. He spreads them before him. This is to be his own house, he says, and
he will make it a model of perfection and efficiency. Then gradually creeps
over him the realization that were all these ideas included in the one house it
would gain fame for being little less than a curio shop. House and Garden.
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The full glazed terra cotta and mat-glazed terra cotta are made in any color
required, and when various colors are used on the same buildings, the material
is termed polychrome. The various colors may be applied to the same piece 1f
desired, or each separate color may be kept on a separate piece, if the design will
permit.
Color of Terra Cotta
Within the past twenty years a great impetus has been given to the produc
tion of special colors in architectural clay products. In 1885 fully four-fifths of
the terra cotta produced in the United States was red. Now there is less of red
used than of almost any other color. Buffs and greys of several shades, white
and cream-white are now the prevailing colors. By the use of ceramic colors
almost any required tone may be produced, and the effect obtained by using
glazed terra cotta of various colors in combination, such as blue, yellow, white,
purple, brown, old gold, green or red is often very beautiful. If any particular
shade of color not included in the manufacturer's standard samples is desired,
the architect should consult with the manufacturer, who will then experiment
until the required color is not only produced, but guaranteed to be permanent
and free from all tendency to crack. It is generally agreed that there is a great
field for this polychrome terra cotta, especially for theatres, restaurants, and
buildings of a similar nature, for interiors, loggias, fountains and department
stores.
Although the art of using colored terra cotta is very ancient, having been in
practice before the Christian era, it is, to some extent, an undeveloped field in
this country and offers alluring possibilities in architectural design and con
struction. It can be used in a very modest and sparing way as well as very
profusely ; and either in soft tints or in brilliant colors, as the taste of the archi
tect may dictate. Where a rich decorative treatment is required, as in the in
teriors of public buildings, like our great stations, hotels and theatres, poly
chrome terra cotta can be employed most effectively and economically. In
variety and beauty of tones, terra cotta has now reached a very high standard
of excellence, and may be used by the architect to express the highest type of
his art. The almost unlimited possibilities presented by the judicious applica
tion of colored glazes for exteriors as well as for' interiors, has awakened an
unusual interest in the use of polychrome terra cotta, a building material with
superior qualities of resistance against the deteriorating effects of time and of
the action of fire and frost.
Terra cotta is not imitation stone and should not be used as such. It is a
material having peculiar qualities which give a distinctive character, and there
fore, to be successfully used, it should not be employed in such a way that it will
appear as an imitation of, or as cheap substitute for some more expensive
material. This may be brought about in several ways. There may be used cer
tain forms and certain styles of ornament more characteristic of terra cotta than
of any other material.
One architect has evolved a certain style that he has applied to. many build
ings, and which is not suitable to any material other than terra cotta. This may
be said of both the form and ornamentation of his buildings. The architects of
the Flatiron building and of the Wanamaker building, in New York, have
successfully used this material for its own sake and not as an imitation. Another
firm of architects have used profusely modelled terra cotta to produce highly
ornamental effects not so easily obtainable in other materials, and their recent
use of colored terra cotta is typical of this material alone. In the West Street
building. New York, the architect has made a design distinctly expressive of the
material used. This is noticeable in the ornamentation, in the form of cornices
and molding, in the coloring and even in the plain shaft of the building. In the
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Brooklyn Academy of Music the architects have accomplished this result by the
use of color.
In regard to the use of terra cotta, it has been said that it is by the use of
polychrome terra cotta that the material has its best opportunity for expressing
its individual character. It was so in antiquity, in the Middle Ages, and is so at
the present time, because polychrome terra cotta is a material complete in itself,
and used for its own sake. It cannot by any means be considered an imitation
of, nor a substitute for, something better.
Durability of Terra Cotta
The principal value of terra cotta lies in its durability. When made of the
right materials and properly burned it is impervious to water, or nearly so.
When glazed it is absolutely impervious, and hence not subject to the disin
tegrating action of frost, which is a powerful agent in the destruction of stone.
It does not "vegetate," as is the case with many stones. The ordinary acid gases
contained in the atmosphere of cities have no effect upon it. and the dust which
gathers on the moldings is washed away by every rainfall. Underburned terra
cotta does not possess these qualities to so high a degree, as it is more or less
absorbent. Another great advantage possessed by terra cotta is its resistance to
heat, which makes it a most desirable material for the trimmings and ornamental
work in the walls of fireproof buildings. Although terra cotta has been used in
this country for but a comparatively short time, it has thus far proved very
satisfactory, and the characteristics above indicated would point to its ranking
in common with the better qualities of bricks, with the most desirable of building
materials.
Inspection- and Methods of Setting
A sharp metallic, bell-like ring and a clean, close fracture are good proofs of
compactness and strength. Perfection of form is in the highest degree essential,
and can result only from a homogeneous material and a thorough and experi
enced knowledge of firing. No spalled, chipped or warped pieces of terra cotta
should be accepted, and the pieces should be so hard that they will resist the
scratching with the point of a knife. The blocks should be of uniform color
also, and all mouldings should come together perfectly at the joints. Terra
cotta with a vitreous surface and mat glazed terra cotta should be so nonabsorbent that water will lie in drops on its surface without being quickly ab
sorbed. Full glazed terra cotta should be so non-absorbent that ink will not
penetrate the surface, and may be entirely washed away with water.
Terra cotta should always be set in either natural cement or Portland cement,
mixed with sand, and in about the same way as stone is set. As soon as set, the
outside of the joints should be raked out to a depth of three-quarters of an
inch to allow for pointing and to prevent chipping. The terra cotta should be
built up in advance of the backing, one course at a time, and all voids, except
those projecting beyond the face of the wall, should be filled with grout or mor
tar, into which bricks should be forced to make the work as solid as possible.
All blocks not solidly built into the walls should be anchored with galvanized
iron clamps, the same as for stonework, and, as a rule, all projecting members
over 6 inches in height should be anchored in this way. After the walls are up
the joints should be pointed with Portland cement colored with a mineral pig
ment to correspond with the color of the terra cotta. The pointing is done in
the same way as in stone work, except that the horizontal joints in all sills and
washes of belt courses and cornices, unless covered with a roll, should be raked
out about two inches deep, calked with oakum for about one inch and then filled
with an elastic cement.
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homebuilder more than they would cost a contractor. For example, a contractor
of any importance will buy his cement, flooring, siding, shingles, dimension
lumber and other much-used materials by the carload, thereby receiving special
quotations on the prices of materials ordered. The materials that he does not
use on one house he can use on the next one. for he is in business for a lifetime.
The final conclusion is that it is cheaper to let the contract for the entire house,
except the heating and plumbing, which should be let separate, to one general
contractor, after having obtained his price through competition with other
contractors. He is "the man who knows." He has paid for his knowledge in
the school of experience and with a properly prepared set of plans is able to
carry on the work in a systematic manner. There is no line of business in
which this is more true than in the building business, where so many different
materials and so many different men are brought together under one man's
leadership, to accomplish the building of a home. "Put all your eggs in one
basket, but watch that basket."
There are other economies to be considered when the home is being planned
before the matter of letting it to the contractor is considered. If the house is of
frame construction or brick veneer the height of the stories should be made so
that full length studding of 16, 18 or 20 feet can be used without cutting, and
in laying out the floor plans care should be taken that the joists all run in one
direction bearing upon one or two partitions, according to the size of the house,
that extend through the center from the basement to the attic. Wherever
practical the partitions on the second floor should be placed directly over those
on the first floor, making the studding two stories high, thereby reducing the
settlement of the house through the shrinkage of the floor joist and making
it easier and cheaper to construct. Where practical the rooms should be made
an odd number of feet plus two inches in the direction that the joists run. For
example, a room 13 feet 2 inches wide can be spanned by 14-foot floor joist.
If the room were made 13 feet 6 inches wide, 16-foot floor joist would have to
be used, with nearly a foot and a half at the end of each joist going to waste,
for floor joist can only be obtained an even number of feet in length, except
where such length as 7 and 9 feet are required, which can be obtained by
cutting joist 14 feet. 18 feet, etc., in two. As few angles should be made in the
outside walls as possible, for turning corners costs money, especiallv in the
roof. While stone always looks better than cement, a saving can be made in
the sills, lintels, water table, etc., in a house of masonry construction by having
them made of cement cast in forms and reinforced with rods. If this is done
properly the difference can hardly be detected between the cement product and
Bedford sandstone, and the former is very durable when properly made.
Good effects can be had for interior finish on inexpensive woods if a careful
painter is obtained. Take, for example, clear birch, stained and grained to
imitate dark mahogany, and straight grained Washington fir to imitate mission
oak. They can hardly be distinguished from the genuine wood. It is poor
economy, and in fact not economy in the long run. to try and economize by
using little cement and more sand in the foundation, inferior grades of paint on
the outside, cheap varnish on the inside finish, pine floor instead of hardwood,
the cheapest heating plant in the market instead of a good hot air or hot water
system, the cheapest grade of plumbing, etc. While a great many minor
matters might be mentioned wherein a home-builder could economize while
having his plans and specifications prepared, the advice given in this entire
article might be summed up in one sentence : Engage the services of a com
petent architect. He makes a special study of these matters, since his repu
tation depends entirely upon the manner in which he serves his clients' interests.
It is his business to compare the size of a home with the amount a man desires
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necessary to make the employment of an architect the first step in any building
operation, is the education of the layman to a full appreciation of the architect's
methods and functions. To this work of education, Mr. Litchfield's article
forms a worthy contribution, and it is hoped that every architect will, as
opportunity offers, render a similar service.
*
*
*
Protest Against Destruction of Works of Art Abroad
GEORGE F. HAMMOND, an architect of Cleveland, Ohio, has started
a movement in this country to protest against the destruction of historical
buildings and works of art in the present conflict in Europe and has
addressed a letter to the architects of the United States courteously expressing '
his views and asking the co-operation of the profession. The letter is as
follows :
Dear Sir: I have taken it upon myself to get an expression of opinion from as
many members of the Institute as are willing to answer this letter in regard to the
destruction of works of art and historical buildings by contending nations in the
present conflict in Europe.
Owing to the fact that so many of the European countries are at war it seems
to remain for the architects of the United States to protest against the unnecessary
destruction of works of art and architecture.
While an expression of opinion will naturally be personal it should, as a whole,
and representing as it will the sentiment of individuals, have some weight, not alone
with foreign citizens in general, but with foreign officials to whose attention it will
undoubtedly be brought.
It is because what is everybody's business is nobody's business that I have seen
fit to take the initiative in this matter. I do not see that a protest of this kind can be
received except in the respectful spirit in which it is offered ; it is therefore couched
in moderate terms.
I am sending a copy of this letter and enclosure to each Fellow and Member of
the Institute.
Trusting you will sign and return the enclosure at your earliest convenience in
order that the matter may be brought to the attention of the president and acted
upon, I remain,
Very truly yours,
GEORGE F. HAMMOND,
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Those who are in sympathy with the movement are asked to sign the
following letter and send it to the President:
To the President, Washington, D. C.
Sir: We, the undersigned, Fellows or members of the American Institute of
Architects, desire to call your attention to the reported destruction of works of art
and buildings of architecture or historical interest by the contending armies in the
present European war.
We request that you will take such action as in your judgment may be advisable
to bring to the notice of our ambassadors for proper presentation to the rulers of
all nations, this, our expression of opinion.
We believe that the works of art and architecture belong, in a sense, not ex
clusively to the nation holding them, but to the entire world.
We believe that the destruction of this class of property, which cannot be replaced,
is not
necessary
or justifiable
act. the provocation, other methods of obtaining
Wre a believe
that,
however great
redress may be used instead of depriving this and future generations of the benefit
of the study of works of art and architecture produced by those who have preceded
them.
We therefore request you to bring to the attention of the world in general our
views in such a manner as you may deem advisable.
Respectfully,
111
112
THE
Arrljttrrt anil lEttgtnrrr
OR CAIJPOUMA
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It Vol. XXXIX. November, 1914
No. 1
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
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Frontispiece
The Architect and Engineer
of California
December. 1914
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THE
Architect
and
Engineer
Of California
Pacific Coast States
Vol. XXXIX.
DECEMBER, 1914
No. 2.
48
V)
stone rimmed pools of water to reflect the glory of the walls around. FinaHy
we concluded that the Exposition architecture should differ from all at
tempts heretofore, inasmuch as it should be one riot of color from top to
bottom. In the main these leading ideas have been realized with rather less
of water and much less of India, Egypt and Ceylon that we anticipated.
And after all there has been deep wisdom in this. We are all prone to
make false analogies. We say, for instance, what the Atlantic has done for
the eastern coast, the Pacific will do for the western. We entirely overlook
the fact that water can divide as well as unite. The Atlantic is a good high
way between Europe and America, but the Pacific is a barrier between
America and Asia. And just as day and night meet in mid-Pacific by uni
versal consent, so do the light and the dark races of the Occident and Orient
line up against each other here in permanent and unblending demarkation.
The west coast of America is, in a sense, the last boundary of the white race
and it is not to Asia that we turn for inspiration in the arts, but back to
Europe where we came from. California is not only the same latitude as
Southern Europe, but it is destined to be settled up through the Panama
Canal by immigration from the Mediterranean. And, in a sense, San Fran
cisco bay is a miniature epitome of the Mediterranean. The architecture of
the Exposition expresses this perfectly. For it is inspired almost wholly by
the ancient forms developed in classic Greece and Rome ; in Spain and Italy
of the Renaissance, and in France of our own epoch. Added to these are
some motives reminiscent of the Gothic of Rouen and the Byzantine of
Ravenna, and over all a hint that the domes of this new City by the Golden
Gate are kin to the domes of the old city by the Golden Horn.
On low flat land, then, by the water's troubled edge, lies this, the latest
sea-born city of a dream, and like a dream ephemeral and fleeting. Its
colored domes are clustered thick like bubbles of ocean foam blown up from
the storm-tossed breakers of the beach. Its color, seen from afar or from on
high, is also the color of coagulate sea-foam, as though its walls were
modelled in new meerschaum or cut from old ivory. Its roofs are fretted
like shells and colored like coral wet with brine. Its portals are stained as
copper keels salted with long voyages. Its domes are of many colors. Some
are of cold orange, like fresh kelp ; others gleam like winter sunset. Others
again are the green of breaking waves and others are of every shade of jade.
But we must descend from this far-away vision which greets the senses
from the hilltops like a strain of distant music, and view the golden city
at closer range and in the light of the noonday sun.
As the basic or "holding" color of the whole Exposition is founded on
a full gamut of orange from the coldest tones of cork to the fullest glow of
gold, it is really best to see the buildings after rain, when the sky is washed
to the purest cobalt. Then if we walk down through the central avenue
of the main buildings from west to east, providing it be afternoon and the
sun is shining, we shall face, one after another, a series of resplendent tone
pictures the like of which has never before been decreed or created by any
community on earth.
The architectural part of the whole Exposition is, like ancient Gaul, and
everything else for that matter, divided into three parts. If we imagine that
we are stationed inland and looking northward across the bay at about the
center of the entire grounds, the main Exposition group will lie in a long
rectangle across the middle of the line of vision, its long axis running east
and west. This is the main organic nucleus of the Exposition. Its body is a
huge rectangle 3000 feet long and 1000 feet across. This is divided into
eight exhibit palaces by four broad open courts cutting it once through its
50
51
58
long dimension and three times through its short dimension. At the head
of this rectangular group to the left or west is the Fine Arts Palace and at
the foot, to the east, is the Machinery Hall. To the south of this main
rectangle ami flanking the main entrance leading to the Tower of Jewels
(the tallest building of all), is the Horticultural Palace and the Festival
Hall. This, with the addition of an Automobile Exhibit south of the
Machinery Hall, constitutes the principal part and the only part that can
be considered with its gardens and waterways as one homogeneous group.
It is this group that summarizes so completely the architecture of the
peoples dwelling on the Mediterranean, not at any one epoch, nor in any
one spot, but rather, as it were, the culminating spirit of their greatest
efforts. Nor has this been done in the slavish spirit of the archaeologist.
In this the designers have again shown consummate wisdom. I have seen
two of the great French Expositions, and I recall that while they showed
amazing originality, they did not for that very reason make instant appeal.
No wise concertmeister will make his whole programme of new music by
new composers. At a gala celebration above all, a wise impressario will
be careful to feed the people with something familiar. No new, original
work of art can ever hope to win wholesale and popular success. Much
more than in Europe, already stocked and overflowing with classic master
pieces, do we here, on the edge of the white man's world, need to see real
ized and visualized some of the spirit of the masterpieces of old. It's a long,
long way to the Acropolis, and what we need here is something of the
godlike simplicity of the Athens of Pericles before our eyes, and some
thing of the monumental and massive dignity of Imperial Rome. What is
paltry, like what is poor, we have always with us. We need, therefore, on
this exalted occasion of the Exposition, something of the Gothic splendor
of the age of tourneys and mediaeval pageants, something of the grace and
elegance of the Renaissance in Italy, something of the richness and romance
of the Renaissance in Spain. It will do us good, too, to marvel awhile at
liyzantine polychromes and African arabesques. Nor should we overlook
the art output of our own age, the plastic exuberance of the French, and
last, but not least, our own American ingenuity in the latest art of illusional
illumination. And all these things, the cream of all creative art of all the
ages we have here assembled and blended in one superlative symposium,
and not as slavish reproductions, but rather as spiritual reincarnations. So
that we have here in the richest vestiture of form and color and in the
noblest setting of land and water, the very spirit and soul of the old world
Genius of Architecture to abide amongst us for a while as a wondrous
vision and memory of what has gone before, and as an abiding inspiration
for what is yet to come.
The second part of the Exposition lies to the left or west of this, the
central group. It is a more or less heterogeneous assemblage of buildings
for the various states of the Union and foreign countries.
The third part of the Exposition, lying to the east or right of the central
body, is devoted to amusements, to fun, frolic and buffoonery, also as much
a part of an exposition as its high art and its not quite so high com
mercialism. In fact, this section pays for much of the high-toned glory of
the rest and should not be despised. It will most likely attract and hold a
great majority of visitors who are only partly interested in what may be
called legitimate exhibits, much of which to the average man comes up to
that dreary wandering "among miles of pickles," which is the impression of
the inside of some expositions we recall.
I have suggested how a casual visitor, on the right kind of a sunny after
noon, might get the maximum of thrills from the glorious facades of the
59
inner courts and arcades of the main group. I think it would be possible
to very much intensify the vividness and stimulation of our pilgrim's
progress from west to east as prescribed, if he would first of all make a
hasty tour of the second part of the Exposition, particularly among the
various State Buildings. In the ritual of every religion a feast is invariably
preceded by a fast. To properly appreciate the soft air and the rose-grown
charm of a California winter one should come from the biting blizzards
and sleeting chills of a Christmas in Massachusetts or the Middle West.
There is no intention here whatever of belittling the architecture of the
State buildings. They represent the typical normal aspirations of the
various states with fair precision, and it is rather to exalt the creators of the
Exposition group than .to decry the designers of the states group that a
contrast is here suggested.
The designs of the Exposition Palaces and Courts are carried to such
a high pitch of intensive excellence, the detail is so rich and the finish is so
florid that when once the eye is keyed up to this lavish standard, it is
almost impossible to realize for long what amazing riches of form and color
are actually surrounding us. Visions of delight crowd on us so thickly that
the optic nerves refuse to rightly respond. At any rate, we grow so accus
tomed to this revel of form and color that we lose consciousness of its ex
traordinary opulence. One does not realize this at first. It is only when
one gets among the plain State Buildings that one realizes the contrast.
And it is as startling as when one turns from the amber glow of sunset to
the cold grey world of an hour after.
I have often wondered what there was to boast about in the buildings
of Bullfinch, or for that matter of any of the early architects of New Eng
land. Severe, plain, uninteresting, bald, cold, drab and dismal they have
ever seemed to me. Nothing in all the history of architecture was ever so
dull and deadly as a Puritan meeting house, unless we except the people
who made them and prayed in them. Of course any narrow cult that ex
cludes muc.h will grow deep and strong in what it retains. But for the
normal balanced man no such half culture is salutary. But if Puritanism
gave us a starved and frigid architecture, it was at least consistent and not
devoid of character by which you could at least recognize it and keep away!
But there is another cold and dreary architecturethat of a New Com
munity, especially a new Anglo-Saxon community. Let us be frank about
it and admit it. The Puritans had a rough sincerity. They refrained de
liberately from expressing any joy in their buildings. They had their burn
ing enthusiasms and made great sacrifices, but NOT in the cause of art.
But the good people of a later day, those who swarmed over this huge
continent and made its trails, felled its forests and built its cities, their
main enthusiasm and sacrifice was in the making of money and that with
so much haste that art again was served as horribly as the Puritans served
it ; only that the former wouldn't and the latter couldn't. But however hard
they tried, every court house and city hall over some two million square
miles of cultivated civilization attests how a great community can be heroes
in agriculture and hoboes in architecture.
The commonplace architecture of the Middle West, though very flatter
ingly represented at the Fair, can be appreciated by reversing the experi
ment recommended above. Let any one merely pass through the main
exhibition and then visit the States buildings and he will feel how tame and
tiresome is the architecture we produce on ordinary occasions compared
with the architecture we are capable of producing on extraordinary ones!
60
61
C O U R T OF A B U N D A N C E
LOUIS C. MULLGARDT, ARCHITECT
--"
*-
- - -
63
pletion of the Panama Canal, but also to foster progress toward better
architectural standards. To this end some of the ablest men in the pro
fessions of art and architecture were brought together.
The architecture of the exposition is not of a rigid type but on the
contrary the style is flexible, all sameness and monotony being avoided. A
satisfactory relation has, however, been brought about between adjacent
and attached structures by means of a unique plan of designing. The
architects of the various buildings were not commissioned to prepare com
plete plans for the structures. Instead, the buildings proper were designed
by the engineers, the architects' function being to design the walls and
courts. Another way of expressing this idea is to state that the entire
exterior wall of the main group was put into the hands of one architect,
while the facade of a separate court was designed by different architects.
It will thus be seen that a court is adjacent to two or four buildings. Each
entire court has been considered a decorative feature in itself, and is in all
cases the result of one designer's effort, producing thereby a perfect unit.
Where the work of the designer adjoins that of another, a transition has
been accomplished by an intermediate architectural treatment.
t Outside of the main group the buildings are cared for in the usual
manner, each structure being handled by one architect. The principal
buildings being the Palace of Horticulture, the Palace of Fine Arts, the
Palace of Machinery, Festival Hall and the California Building.
The main group comprises the following eight exhibit palaces :
Education and Social Economy, Food Products, Agriculture, Liberal Arts,
Manufactures, Transportation, Mines and Metallurgy and Varied In
dustries. As an integral part of its design the Tower of Jewels and the
Court of the Universe, the Court of the Four Seasons, the Court of Flowers,
the Court of Abundance and the Court of Palms.
The three interior courts with their extension are developed long
itudinally north and south, affording the greatest protection to visitors on
warm or windy days. They are (interconnected east and west and open
to the esplanade on the north while the two smaller or south courts open
into the South Gardens.
The Court of the Universe, the central court, is approximately 500 feet
by 900 feet, resembling in size and shape the great plaza approaching the
Church of St. Peter at Rome. On the east and west axes of the curved
colonnades are Triumphal Arches, 150 feet long to base of sculpture, being
larger than the Arc de Triomphe at Paris. Above these arches masses of
sculpture rise forty-one feet higher.
The east arch, the Arch of the Rising Sun, leads to the Court of
Abundance, and is surmounted by a group of statuary symbolizing the
Orient. The western arch, which forms the entrance to the Court of the
Four. Seasons, is of equal size and is surmounted by sculpture representing
the Nations of the West. This arch is called the Arch of the Setting Sun.
These two immense arches exemplify the theme of the exposition, the
meeting of the East and West in the completion of the Panama Canal.
( )n the south the Court of the Universe 'is dominated by the 435 foot
Tower of Jewels, which accents the central entrance to the main group of
eight exhibit palaces. The tower terminates in a globe. The structure is a
pyramidical mass, richly sculptured, rising from a base 125 feet square
through which passes a vaulted opening 60 feet in width and 110 feet
high, with an interior vault 72-6 by 116-6.
The Court of the Four Seasons is 340 feet square and is open on the
north to San Francisco bay by way of a colonnaded avenue 473 feet long
64
65
the Tower of Jewels, are the longitudinal and transverse aisles and
clerestories in each palace of the group. A dome is the central and dominant
factor and is located at the intersection of the longitudinal and transverse
aisles. -The aisles in both directions have arched trusses which terminate
at the dome and there has been added to the structure under the dome,
certain framing to form false pendentives which appear to give it support.
The north and south outside walls of the main group might be said to
be a liberal treatment of the "Plateresque" (Spanish architecture of the
early Renaissance period, so called because of its likeness to the work of
the silversmith) with the east and west walls after the Italian Renaissance,
the latter harmonizing with the Palace of Machinery and of Fine Arts and
serving also as a transition to the plateresque. The ornament and enrich
ment of the north and south walls is chiefly concentrated about the doors,
windows and entrances. The parapet of the main wall is crowned with
Spanish tiles.
In general the architecture of the main group is characterized by such
features as the above mentioned. It has already shown itself to be a style
of architecture extremely well adapted to exposition work and it is
especially suitable for the climate of California.
Of the detached structures of the exposition, the Palace of Machinery
first commands the attention of the visitor. In architectural composition
this palace is Roman, the designer being influenced by his study of the
Old Roman baths and thermae. The decoration is classic in form but
modern in expression, and is suggestive of machinery and invention. The
principal feature of the structure is the three arched aisles, 75 feet wide and
101 feet high, throughout its entire length of 968 feet. On each side
of the main structure there are side aisles 70 feet wide covered with shed
roofs 41 feet high. The total width of the building is 368 feet. There are
three transverse aisles of the same width as the longitudinal aisles and 132
feet high, which form the central and dominant feature of the building.
The interior of the frame is recalled on the exterior of the building by
large arched openings on the ends.
The Palace of Fine Arts occupies a commanding position 400 feet
distant from the west wall of the main group. Immediately in front of the
building is a pool of still water in which is reflected the building and its
surrounding gardens. This palace is curved in plan with its east and west
elevations forming parallel arcs. On the east facade the decorative feature
is a colonnade the north and south terminations of which are the main
entrances to the building. A domed, circular rotunda is enclosed within
the arms of the colonnade and becomes the dominant note of the
composition.
The architecture is early Roman with marked traces of the finer Greek
influences. Pompeiian and Italian forms occur harmoniously, especially in
the garden details. The architect has given an expression of quiet to the
building by means of the pool and the sculptural notes selected.
The Palace of Horticulture, declared by many to be the most beautiful
exposition structure ever built, is Saracenic in composition, and in relation
to its domes and minarettes is similar to the Mosque of Ahmed I. The
details and ornament, however, have a 16th Century French Renaissance
feeling. The wooden trellis work forming a distinctive feature in the
decorative scheme, is derived from the garden architecture of the Louis IV
period in France, which with the large area of glass, suggests the purpose
for which the structure was intended. The dome of the Palace of Horti
culture is the largest hemispherical glass dome now in existence. It is
152 feet in diameter or approximately the same as the Pantheon at Rome,
and 185 feet high.
66
67
71
72
73
International Expositions
By LOUIS CHRISTIAN' MULLGARDT, F. A. I. A.
INTERNATIONAL Expositions are independent kingdoms in their
I corporate relation with other countries of the world. They are
phantom kingdoms wherein the people do everything but sleep.
They germinate and grow with phenomenal energy. Their existence
is established without conquest and their magic growth is similar
to the mushroom and the moonflower, they vanish like setting suns in
their own radiance.
Thousands of neophytes of every race, creed and color come with
willing hearts and hands to do homage and bear manna to nourish the
sinews of a phantom kingdom.
The National Constitution of phantom kingdoms commands that the
Spirit of beauty, refinement, education, culture and frolic shall govern.
The result is that they contain many palaces and shrines decorated
with sculpture and painting and that the earth is studded with foun
tains and pools within tropical gardens.
Such a Kingdom exists within a wonderful valley bordering on a great
sea. It is surrounded by high velvet hills of fine contour and by many
real cities.
As the people look down on this phantom kingdom from the hill tops,
or from ships sailing on the water, they see Architecture nestling like
flamingos with fine feathers unfurled within a green setting.
If building Phantom Kingdoms symbolizes man's highest aims on
earth, then the same is true when building Real Kingdoms.
Architecture and the sister arts are the most reliable barometers in
recording human thought. They are direct exponents of a universal
language wherein national progress is most clearly read.
People who build Phantom Kingdoms look hopefully for universal
approval by Real Kingdoms.
7?
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80
81
82
INSIDE 7.V.V
Edward T. Foulkes, Architect
83
84
If you wish, you may have an ivory colonnade in the full glory of moon
light. It will not matter that the summer fog has swept in from the Pacific
and made an artificial gray sky above you. The colonnade will stand
there, dreaming of ancient Greece, drenched in silver radiance, apparently
from the moon. But do not look for moonlight in the great gardens to the
south. The moon is no lover of flowers. She turns their scarlet bravely to
shadow ; only the pale blossoms profit by her light. Instead you shall find
there another illumination, a scientifically chosen light that shall make
each flower glow as though the sun were overhead. Indeed, even the
wizard, LWtrbank, may marvel at what this lighting may do in intensifying
the brilliance of the poinsettia and the canna.
Deep in the lagoons and carefully placed water-spaces will appear the
perfect and complete reflections of the brilliant walls and towers of the
exposition, not striped with lines of light on areas of shadow but glowing in
all the radiant colors and contrasting surfaces which architect and sculptor
and colorist have created for them. And high upon battlement and turret
the flags of all the nations that have met together in this great festival will
not be lost against the night sky but will be brought out in full value.
There will be electric fountains, but no water will flash in them. Instead,
smoke and steam, much superior media for such effects, will be sent into the
air and turned to glory by the rays from a mighty scintillator.
It is planned to have a huge locomotive, mounted on a steel turntable,
which will develop power sufficient to send it eighty miles an hour. From
this machine, columns of smoke and steam will be sent against the sky and
brilliantly illuminated.
In the courts the mural paintings will be lighted by concealed lamps set
into pillarsa special tubular lamp has been perfected for the fluted
columns. Where the lighting of the buildings is direct a dense globe will
be used and the intrinsic brilliancy of the lamp reduced to the point where
it may be looked at directly without injury to the eye. This is a very
important thing in exposition lighting, for the exposition visitor is there
to keep his eyes open, and any exposed brilliant source is sure to lead to
headaches and consequent irritability.
If it should happen that there came to the exposition some unreconciled
soul who, in spite of the novelty and beauty of an exposition fully illumin
ated and as animated and alive as in the full flood of noonday, should still
long for the incandescent lamp along the edges of the buildings, he is to
be made to forget that he ever thought such a display beautiful. Have you
noticed in a jeweler's some mantel clock of architectural design, outlined or
studded with brilliants? Please try to imagine that mantel clock magnified
to the size of the Administration building at the exposition, whose tower
rises above the city of color to a height of four hundred feet. Imagine it
thickly set with jewels, diamonds, topazes, rubies and sapphires. Not
colored bulbs but actual jewels, of the first exposition water. They are
glass, of a special cutting, cut for different distances and effects, some
cut in this country, others necessarily cut abroad. It is rather strange to
find that the' glass cutters and jewelers had never cut anything in these
sizes before, and it was so entirely new to them that it was necessary for
the illuminating engineers to measure the index of refraction of the glass.
These jewels cost no more than to operate incandescent lamps. In the
sunlight they are practically dead, but at night, picked out by lights from
masked batteries, they will flash like the realization of a rajah's wildest
dream, wherever jewels can add to the beauty of an architectural line or
surface or a sculptured form, this faceted glass, pure white or backed with
color to imitate any precious stone, will be mounted upon delicate springs
so that the least vibration from wind or machinery or even tramping feet
may set them flashing. As an example of the use to which these jewels may
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wonderfully beautiful, and its short lived glory makes the enjoyment
keener. But our cherry tree is not a cherry tree in your practical and
material sense. With its flowering its mission is accomplished. It does
not have to work for a living and produce a crop for the market. When
its burst of beauty is over nothing more is expected of it. The short
lived cherry is succeeded in May by the Wistaria, which was introduced
into this country by Dr. Wistar. You will see a most beautiful exhibit of
Wistaria in our garden next summer. This is followed in June bv the
iris, and in July, the morning glory, which refreshes our eyes with its
many tints. The lotus in the August and the so called "Seven plants of
autumn" follow next. When these plants begin to fade one by one in
quick succession, chrysanthemum will take place in the month of October.
It is time for every lover of nature to sally forth among hills and dales
"a-maple-hunting" in the month of Novemberthat is the brocade of fol
iage. But the chilly breeze of December will shear branches of their
gorgeous drapery with aid of passionless frost. The designer of our
garden tried to express such a scheme of a whole year referring to our
floral world.
The prominent feature of our exposition buildings is the reception hall.
It is erected in about the center of the Japanese section, facing towards the
water of our artificial pond. The building covers an area of 4356 square
feet, and its height is measured approximately sixty-five feet. from the
ground to the top of "Hooh" bird crowned on the very top of the roof.
"Hinoki" has mostly been used for both the structure and the finish work.
It corresponds to white cedar of this country. No artificial color scheme
is applied. Everything is left in its natural color. The richly decorated
coffer ceiling will be the object of admiration of many visitors because of
its sublime and exquisite execution. The ceiling is as high as twenty-eight
feet above the floor. A nobly and delicately designed lighting fixture is
hung down from the ceiling, contributing added beauty to the interior
decoration.
The style of this reception hall is similar to that of the late Medieval
agebeginning with the rise of the military clans at the end of the
twelfth century and concluding with the sixteenth centuryan essentially
heroic age under militant feudalism. It is called the second period in our
architectural history. During this period the leader of Minanioto clan
organized a system of feudalism and established his government under the
name of Shogun in the town of Kamakura. It is one of the most stirring
and romantic epochs of our history, and also it is an epoch age of
heroism, of daring, of action and achievement. On the contrary "Samurai,"
(the knights) patronized and fostered different arts, and so we find in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the beginnings of tea ceremony, and of
flower arrangement. The artists of this age of hero worship and of
romantic adventures naturally delight to paint portraits depicting the
spirit of activity. This age bequeathed some works of art and literature
which may claim immortality. L'nder such influence of this period
architecture found a new trace that is the development of civil architecture.
Simplicity was the distinguishing feature of tlv's period of architecture,
which can clearly be perceived in the ruined castles or mansions of feudal
lords, still in existence.
The tea house that is to be built on a site near the water fall, promises
to be unique and attractive. The house consists of the main building and
the tea room proper, modeled after a typical tea house of the second period,
88
that is known as the Tenpyo style. In the main house there is a room
with Japanese tatami (matting) about 20 feet square with Japanese
furnishings. Here will be provided a number of marble and wooden
tables for the invited guests, and they will be waited on by Japanese and
American beauties in their appropriate attire.
*
The State Buildings at the Exposition
PERHAPS at no previous exposition held in this country will the
various states be represented in a more dignified and typical manner
than at the forthcoming Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
The appropriations by the various states and territories for this repre
sentation, range from $1,100,000, the aggregate of that from New York, to
commensurate amounts by smaller and newer states.
Visitors to the Exposition will find in the various buildings erected,
suggestiveness of their states that will lend a reminiscent atmosphere of
home and inculcate respect for good citizenship.
The Massachusetts State building is, in part, a reproduction of the
State House in Boston. It will be 125 feet long by 50 feet wide and
occupies a site of 70,000 square feet.
Ohio 'has also designed a building that is a reproduction of its State
capitol.
The California building is typical of the old missions that have played
their part in the history of this state. The entire building is in the Mission
style and is a graceful tribute to the power that was wielded from these
walled communities. This building was described at length in the June
1914 issue of The Architect and Engineer.
The architecture of the Hawaiian building follows the low-lying
tropical type so common in Honolulu. The building is in the form of a
cross, and. at the intersection of the two arms there is a rotunda containing
a mezzanine gallery.
The main entrance is at the end of one of the wings of the cross and
leads through a pergola into a tropical garden roofed with glass. At
either side are the reception and waiting rooms and beyond the gardens
is the rotunda.
Across the rotunda is the aquarium wing, and in the center of the
rotunda is the pit, 20 feet in diameter, containing a reproduction of one of
the burning lakes of the volcano "Kilauea."
In the angle between the wings which radiates from the rotunda will be
four dioramas consisting of artifically illuminated scenes of typical spots
in Hawaii.
The aquarium will be equipped with tanks containing the rarest and
most beautiful fish of the Pacific ocean. Hawaiian singers will provide
music from the rotunda.
The Philippines are not to be behind the other commonwealths that are
to exhibit under the Stars and Stripes, and the Philippines' government has
appropriated $300,000 of which $75,000 is to be spent on the building alone.
The Oregon building is a duplication of the wooden prototype of the
celebrated temple of Athens. It was designed by Messrs. Foulkes and
Hogue of San Francisco and Portland. Oregon, and is 250 feet long, 150
wide and three stories high and cost $75,000. The body structure is sur
rounded Parthenon-like by forty-eight magnificent log columns, each six
feet in diameter and forty feet high. There are forty-eight columns, in-
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HAWAIIAN BUILDING
Lester H. Stock, Builder
C. W. Dickey, Architect
stead of the classical forty-six, so that each state of the Union may have
a column dedicated to her honor.
The great logs of the Oregon Building were donated by different mill
men of Oregon. The logs weigh thirty tons apiece and were brought south,
some by rail, a log to a flat car, and some by water.
The real architectural problem presented by the Oregon Building was
to bring it into harmony with the Exposition plan. A log adorned building
typifies Oregon with its vast lumber industry better than any other design
could. But a building of monkish brown, no matter how classical its
proportions, is a somber heavy thing. In front of the Oregon Building, is
the California Host Building, a mission-like structure, and in close prox
imity are the Exposition Exhibit Palaces, finished in creamy white to
imitate travertine marble, and embellished with soft beautiful colors. The
whole Exposition color scheme is a joyous one; the Oregon Building
threatened to be a funeral note. The architects realized this and so
planned to brighten and lighten the building so it will be one of the joyous
sisterhood of Exposition buildings.
The really notable feature of the Oregon Building color scheme will
be the mural painting in the pediment facing the California Host building.
This painting will be the work of the Du Mond brothers, and will depict, in
decorative style, an immigrant train on the Oregon Trail. The canvas will
be 115 feet long and is being painted in three sections so that the center
picture can be used alone and the two triangular ends joined together will
make a perfect grouping. It is planned after the Exposition to place the
painting in a public building.
An attractive feature that will add to the interest of the Oregon Build
ing will be bronze Medusa shields six feet across, that will adorn the
log columns. The shields will be embellished with the colors and shield of
the state to which the column is dedicated.
93
Idaho was the first state to have her building completed at the PanamaPacific International Exposition. The building, which is an attractive
design in modern renaissance by Wayland & Fennell of Boise. Idaho,
faces San Francisco bay, with an unobstructed view. It has a frontage of
150 feet and an average depth of fifty feet. The building is designed to give
as much floor and wall space for the display of Idaho's resources as possible.
*
*
*
Some Notable Achievements in Plastic Art at the
Exposition
THE very elaborate scheme of sculptured embellishment of the buildings
at the Panama-Pacific Exposition suggests the same thought that was
dominant at the St. Louis Exposition : that it is to be regretted that
a result so well conceived and which will undoubtedly be worthiiy executed,
should be of perishable material and serve but an ephemeral purpose, to
be in the end destroyed or permitted to fall to decay.
There will be presented at this exposition an opportunity for our
National Government to retrieve itself of the reproach, often made, that as
a people we are indifferent to any scheme under government patronage that
is promoted to advance in a material way the cause of the Fine Arts in
this country.
An appropriation that will secure the perpetuation in enduring material
of the best accepted examples that shall form a part of this exposition would
preserve many important works of the sculptor's art for the education and
pleasure of future generations in addition to giving evidence that as a
nation, we are alive to the importance of our aesthetic advancement.
Of the several works of sculpture for the Panama-Pacific Exposition
the 'most important is undoubtedly the group of The Nations of the East.
This group will be strikingly identified with one of the most imposing
architectural features of the Exposition, as it is intended to surmount the
huge triumphal Arch of the Rising Sun on the eastern side of the vast cen
tral Court of the Sun and Stars.
The highest point of this group, the howdah of the elephant, will be
forty-two feet above the base of the pedestal upon which the group stands,
and when in place on the summit of the arch, will tower 188 feet above the
floor of the court. The unmounted figures are an average of thirteen feet
six inches high, while the animalsthe horses, the camel and the elephants
are all acurately modeled to scale. In its entirety the group will suggest
the mysticism of the East ; and is the collaborative work of the sculptors,
Roth, Lentelli and Calder.
In the Court of the Four Seasons, another of the vast enclosures that
give such large scale to the architectural treatment of this exposition, the
sculpture will be peculiarly in consonance with the theme of the court and
will also be in a large measure identified with its architecture. Niches in
the four corners will be cut and in these figures of the four seasons placed.
Spring, one of these groups, has been executed by Mr. Furio Piccirilli. A
group, representing Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, will occupy the cen
tral position in this court. Two other figures representing Rain and Sun
shine, are particularly well conceived and suggest these benign elements
that contribute to the harvest.
Idaho Building is equipped with modern plumbing as good as that being
installed in the more expensive buildings. The lighting facilities are also
up to standard.
Philoso
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SELECTIONs post
THE SANY BEAUTIFUL
SCULPTUFAL SUBJECTs
96
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97
Architecture*
By W. R. B. WILLCOX, F. A. I. A
A WELL-KNOWN philosopher has said that "to know and to have
learned much is neither a necessary means of culture nor a mark of it,
and if need be agrees excellently with the opposite of culture, bar
barismthat is, the absence of style, or the chaotic mix-up of all styles."
In addressing the Department of Architecture in this great State Uni
versity, I ask consideration of that proposition. Probably no field of human
endeavor, from its very nature, is so apparently fitted for a continuing disptay~oF culture- as architecture_^the state of architecture of a country, to a
renfarkable extent, is the measure of its culture. That is quite accurately
true. Tjie architecture of a country, as a national product, can never rise
above the level of its national culture. Individual buildings- may surpass
the average of merit, but when they do so they only the more indicate the
fact. The"same, in lesser degree, may be said of music, literature, painting,
l^ulpture, etc., but in respect to them the product is, in most cases, the
I measure of the culture of the author and may easily be above the average
culture of the people among whom the author lives. The reason is easy to
discover, since in the exercise of such arts, the author is more often un
mindful of the impression to be made upon the public and he is without
outside direction as to what shall determine the character of his work.
But with architecture, the situation is different, to the extent that the archi
tect is limited in the solution of any given problem by many conditions
entirely apart from his control. Into his work the owner usually, and quite
rightfully, obtrudes his personality in such a way that the resulting build
ing is an interpretation, not altogether of the architect's personality, but of
that also of the owner. The architect projects himself into his building
to a greater or lesser degree, but if he accepts his problem conscientiously,
he is bound, first of all to encompass, so far as possible, the individuality of
the owner. In fact, it is the owner's needs which dictate the conditions of
' the problem; and I am quite ready to say that in those cases where the
architect has imposed his personality upon his work to the exclusion of that
of the owner, he has so far failed to prove himself a real architect.
1
So knowledge is not the quality which should denote our architecture;
,' "not knowledge but ability, not information but art" is that through which
life should bear witness.
What has knowledge to do with the insight, the sympathy necessary to
interpret an individual's or a nation's feelings? Knowledge may assist to a
judgment of technique, but such judgment is based upon rules governing
externals : it is impersonal and unsympathetic, and reaches nowhere to the
real meaning of the message conveyed by means of the work itself. But it is
the genuine purpose of architecture that it should convey a true notion of
the needs it professes to serve, and for that reason we must be careful to
guard ourselves against an easy judgment of it by its technique. In pass
ing, it may be well to remind ourselves that in the schools the technique of
architecture is liable to become confused with the technique of drawing,
which latter is a graphic art and bears but a temporary relation to archi
tecture. Think not that this is lightly said ; it is important that we should
appreciate how architecture may beand doubtless innumerable times has
beenproduced without a single drawing. Architecture pertains to struc An address delivered at the opening of the School of Architecture. University of Oregon. Novem
ber 19, 1914.
OS
99
devote ourselves to the expression of their needs and desires. Let our
tudy of the architecture of the past yield us an insight into the desires and
needs of those older peoples, let it reveal to us the emotions with which
they were animated, and let us learn from their examples the abstract
subtleties which made the forms adopted appeal to them. Let us discover,
if we may, the sentiments to. which their buildings gave expression. It is
not a cold analysis of a work of art that awakens enthusiasm, but rather it
is some useful combination of lines, of colors, of materials and environment,
which stirs the imagination. And this effect upon people is confined to
contemplation of no single manner of buildings, no single so-called "style."
Seek out the great monuments of any people and in them you will find
exemplified those inherent qualities of beauty which have to do with the
relation of lines and spaces, of voids and solids, of plain field to ornamen
tation, of color contrasts and harmonies, of rhythm, of cadence, of accent,
of strength, of grace, of power, of delicacy. And these qualities are not
limited to certain types of buildings, to particular details of materials, but
extend to and produce the beautiful in buildings of whatever origin.
Beauty when thus set forth, whether in a Sistine Madonna, a Michaelangelo's David, a Beethoven Sonata, or a Taj Mahal, makes its appeal di
rectly to human instincts and emotions. Its appeal has nothing to do with
knowledge, with that knowledge which was the foundation for its structure.
The knowledge upon which those works were built made no bid for recog
nition, but served only to enlighten the mind as to great principles, and
freed the soul to express fresh ideas. It provided a sort of new alloy, with
which the artist worked.
Consider now how it seems to be with us today, when people generally
have little feeling for architecture. What can it be that has cut them off
from an interest in it? They must have buildings, yet it is a frequent
saying that they "know nothing about architecture," "have no appreciation
for good architecture." That seems to be the heaviest indictment against
our profession today, that our own people are out of sympathy with what
we are doing, are frankly contemptuous of our efforts, or as frankly ignor
ant of what we would call architecture. Does it not behoove us to examine
ourselves and see in how much we are to blame?
What is this architecture with which we busy ourselves, and for the
people's ignorance of which we in turn are too accustomed to express? It
seems to me that architecture with us is too much regarded as a definite,
fixed and finished thinga collection of concrete examples of past struc
tures. It is of those examples that we strive to gain knowledge, and our
own appreciation of architecture is largely commensurate with the amount
of information we may have obtained of past structures. We are inclined
to measure our present-day efforts at design by their adherence to the
obvious characteristics of those earlier buildings, and without that knowl
edge of them which our study has yielded us, we would be quite helpless
to judge of their merits as architecture. Out of that study we may have
gained an insight into the subtler qualities of proportion and the like, yet
how seldom have those intangible elements thrown down our obsession
with the concrete devices employed? How often do we find those devices
grouped without concern for proportion or other qualities which pertain
to art or skill? Such structures predominate, structures for which men
often well schooled are too frequently responsible, and it seems as if that
could be only because they have been confused with a false culture, a
pseudo-culture, which sets up knowledge instead of ability, information
instead of art, as its measure.
100
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black and salmon as well as the speckled tile containing manganese and
grog. The clay for this tile is worked in both plastic and dry form and is
moulded in shape by striking, screw or hydraulic pressure, using from ten
to twenty-five tons pressure and is burned generally in sagers to a tem
perature varying from cone 015 to 03.
Vitreous tile is a mixture of white burning clays which fluxes com
pletely, making a product impervious to water or acid and possessing the
ability to withstand wear possessed by no other material. This grade of
tile can be made in a large variety of colors and shades by the use of color
ing oxides and minerals. The clay for this tile is never worked plastic ; it
is subject to-the same pressure as encaustic clay and is burned to cone 5.
This grade of tile possesses 56 times the wearing value of white marble and
from 14 to 22 times greater wearing value than cement.
Tile for walls is generally classed under the heading of Faience and Wall,
the bodies or biscuit of each being made from clay producing a hard porous
body. The biscuit of the faience tile can be of any color, as it is always
coated with an engob which carries the coloring oxide, also a clay that
will flux at a comparatively low temperature, at the same time forming a
relationship to the previously burned biscuit that will not permit of scaling
and cracking. No tile is more susceptible to the influence of the fire than
faience ; the different temperatures which are bound to exist in various
parts of the kiln, be it ever so slight, will cause a shading that adds to the
beauty of the tile, at the same time causing markings on the surface very
much to be desired.
Wall tile proper is made from the white burning ball clays and on the
purity of clay and its freedom from coloring minerals depend its values.
High grade pure white burning ball clay that will not warp when pressed
for thin tile is not very plentiful in the United States and the talc rock is
sometimes used as a substitute. The biscuit of white wall tile is burned
to about the same temperature as vitreous tile, but has a porous body, the
clay running low in flux.
There is practically no limit to the processes that may be employed in
producing a glaze. One of the early methods and one still in use by some
pottery manufacturers is to throw salt on the fire and this produces what
is known as a salt glaze. Lead is extensively used in glazing, as well as
zinc. Probably no two factories use the same formula for producing the
glaze on white tile. The glaze in slip form is applied to the surface of the
biscuit by passing over a perforated roller the lower part of which turns
in the vessel containing the slip, and enough of the material adheres to the
roller to coat the surface of the biscuit as it passes over it. After drying
the tile is placed in sagers and fired to cone 020 to 012.
No material entering into the construction of a building requires more
skill and science to produce than tile. Being manufactured exclusively
from minerals which must be treated in the most exacting fashion, else,
when they have passed through the fire, we have a product far different
from what was intended, and probably worthless.
Tile is the most ancient building material on record, dating back to
thousands of years B. C, and no structure of fame was ever built since
that time, regardless of its style of architecture, in which tile was not used
and made one of the features, for, when the mighty men of old, as well
as the wise men of modern times, erected a structure, no imitations were
considered, and the best, both in material and architecture, was used. Tile,
then, as now, only could be used for the reason that it is the. only material
for floors and walls in which the colors and shapes can be had, that will
107
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THE
Arrljtfrrt mb Engtnwr
OP CALIFORNIA
Published Monthly in the interests of the
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contract
ors and the Allied Trades of the Pacific
Coast by the Architect and Engineer Co.
Bustness Offtce and edttortal Rooms
617-619 Monadnock Building. San Francisco
Telephone Douglas 1828
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
(Includ1ng postage)
all parts of the Untted States f1.50
~ to 50c
pererI addtttonal.
annum : to Canada
addtttonal ; to all Foretgn potnts
11 XT'Vol. XXXIX. December, 1914
No. 2
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Wm. I?. Gfstkr.
1 Inspectton
Loren E. Hunt. C. E.
) and Tests
%\ ^ShF,tZL^th.ck: ! Reproof Constructs
W. W. Brf.tTR. C. E. Structural Steel
Athol McBkan
and Terra
W. E. Dknntson ' Brtck. Tile
Cotta
Howard Frost. 1
G. B. Ashcroft. c. E.
Artificial Stone
H. M. T.OWENThAL
J. K. D. Mackenzte . J Roofs and Roofing
Fred M. Woods. Jr..
Rock and Gravel
C. Walter Tozkr Interior Decoration
Wtlbur Davtd Cook. LandscapeArch1tecture
T. C. Kterulff
Legal Potnts
Paul C. Butte - Electrical Construct1on
Louts F. Mauer - - Waterproofing
ARCHITECTURAL
Fred H. Meyer
William O. Kaiguel
August G. Headman F. D. Hudson
Edward T. Foulkes
Sumner P. Hunt
Alfred F. Rosenheim
Sumner Greene
G. Albert Lansburgh C.
Norman F. Marsh
Houghton Sawyer
Smith
O'Brien
Herman Barth
Almcric Coxhcad
Arthur Brown. Jr.
Harrison Albright
Chas. P. Weeks
John Parkinson
Benj. G. McDougall A. W. Smith
Octavius Morgan
T. Patterson Ross
J. C. Austin
William H. Weeks
Jas. W. Plaohek
Chas. W Dickey
Henry C. Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Wm. A. Newman
John Bakewell. Jr.
Jas. W. Reid
W. Garden Mttchell
Krnest Coxhcad
Nathaniel Blaisdelt
Wm. C. Hayes
W. R. B. Wilcox
Uhas. Henry Cheney Willtam Mooser
Herbert E. Law
Robert Morgeneier
Hon. Jas. D. Phelan
B. J. S. Cahill
John Galen Howard , V. A. I. A.
Louis C. Mullgardt '
E. M. C. Whttney
A. I. Whttney
Fredertck W. Jones
Manager
Treasurer
Managing Editor
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