Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

STEEL-FRAME BUILDINGS. 19 at the corner occupied by the Madison Square Church. Fig. 70 illus- trates the almost com- pleted building, whose moderate height of about 161 feet to the main roof, and purity of architectural treat- ment, impart an ap- pearance of dignity, which, is enhanced by the fine proportions of the newly-erected tower. With two floors below street level, the tower in- cludes forty - eight stories, and its total height above founda- tions — 715 feet — makes it the tallest structure in existence, the Eiffel Tower alone excepted. Apparently a massive campanile of white marble, the tower is nothing more than a steel cage veneered by stone on a light backing of brick. At the twenty- fifth., twenty - sixth, and twenty - seventh floors one of the largest clocks yet made will be installed. This time- piece will have a dial 25 feet in diameter, hands 12 feet long, and figures 4 feet high. At night it will be illuminated, and will then operate a powerful arc lamp Fig. 69.—TOWER OF SINGER BUILDING COMPLETE. situated 600 feet above ground. A red flash will indicate the quarter, two flashes the half-hour, three the three - quarters, and a single white flash the hour. Just below the lantern will be hung a peal of bells weighing 7,000, 3,000, 2,000, and 1,500 lbs. respectively, to chime the quarters and hours at rather more than double the height of any other peal. The tower is so lofty that fully half its bulk rises above neighbour- ing twenty-story build- ings. The windows of the highest offices will be level with, the summit of the Wash- ington Monument — 526 feet, and will be flooded with sunlight long after dusk has darkened the streets below. To this alti- tude rises none of the city’s dust, and flies do not trouble dwellers in these lofty regions. The steel frame- work of the tower weighs over 8,000 tons. The weight of the completed build- ing will total 38,022 tons. Its floor space of 25 acres makes the Metropolitan Build-