Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great CityMcCabe, James Dabney
History
Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City
McCabe, James Dabney
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel; New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
The house of A. T. Stewart & Co. is the best known to persons visiting
the city. Indeed there are very few Americans who have not heard of and
longed to visit "Stewart's." It is, besides, the largest and most
complete establishment of its kind in the world. It occupies the entire
block bounded by Broadway, Fourth avenue, Ninth and Tenth streets. The
principal front is on Broadway, and the public entrances are on that
street and on the Fourth avenue. The Ninth street entrances are reserved
exclusively for the employes of the house. Many persons speak of the
edifice as a "marble palace," but this is incorrect. It is constructed
of iron, in the style of arcade upon arcade, and its fronts are so
thickly studded with windows that they may be said to consist almost
entirely of glass. It is five stories in height above the street, and
above the fifth story there is an interior attic not visible from the
sidewalk. Below the street there is a basement and a sub-cellar, so that
the monster building is really eight stories in height. There is no
attempt at outward display, the fine effect of the edifice being due to
its vast size and its symmetry. The interior is as simple. The floors
are uncarpeted, the shelves are plain, as are the counters and the
customers' seats. The centre of the building is occupied by a large
rotunda extending from the ground floor to the roof. All the upper
floors are open around this rotunda. Two flights of massive stairs lead
to the upper floors, and there are three handsome elevators for the use
of customers who do not care to make the journey on foot. Three other
elevators on the Ninth street side are used for carrying goods. Each of
the floors covers an area of about two acres, so that the whole
establishment, including the cellar, occupies sixteen acres of space.
The cellar contains coal bins with a capacity of 500 tons. Close by are
eight Harrison boilers of fifty horse power each, used for operating the
steam engines and warming the building with steam. There are in all ten
steam engines located in this immense cellar. These are used for running
the elevators, for working seven steam pumps, for feeding the boilers,
and for forcing water up to the top floor, which is used as a laundry.
In a certain part of the cellar is located the electrical battery, by
means of which the gas jets in the building are lighted. Here are also
rooms for the storage of goods.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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