10 ARCHITECT WHO DESIGNED PENN-HARRIS HOTEL HAS MANY MAGNIFICENT STRUCTURES TO HIS CREDIT W.L STODDART BIG FIGURE IN BUILDING WORLD Plana For New Hostelry Here Result of Years of Wide Experience CLASSIC IN EVERY LINE Beat Ideas of Scores of Hostel ries Are Embraced in This WHAT style of architecture has tne Penn-Harriss? Of the myriad questions pro pounded. from the time Harrlsburg s great hotel began to develop none has been more common than this, and. as Oom Paul Krugcr identi fied losing the Transvaal with the word "staggering" the term justly be applied to our community s general ignorance of this divine and 'useful art. The Telegraph man who Interviewed William Leo Stoddart, planner of the Penn-Harris. knew himself to be one of these del n quents. and when Mr. Stoddatt la conlcally replied "A am the oft heard query, the only thing the un [Continued 011 Page PENN-HARRIS IS OPENED TO PUBLIC [Continued from Fifst Page.J >"< •"- thing will be in ship-shape. Demand For Rooms The influx of demands for rooms began several weeks ago and tQ da> every loom At to bo occupied was engaged? Manager Wiggins had answers from 175 legislators asking for reserve, and the big news today was that the Penn-Harris " so besieged for rooms that an im mediate demand is going to be to make the hotel" bigger. If this de mand is proved sane and demon strable the chances are that Eenn liarris will be extended along Wal nut street; Architect Stoddart hav ing the foresight to put in an ele vator at the far end down ANalnut street way. . . _ . Today and tonight is the opening. Timight marks the actual hotel open ing and ltarrisburg's. citizens will Celebrate with a dinner, beginning at seven o'clock, to be followed by music and dancing, tho largij ball room being opened for the first time for the social feature. The president of the Penn-Tlarris Company E. '/>• Wallower, will pre side at "the dinner anil introduce Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh. Mayor D. L. Keister, Frank A. Dud ley, president of the United Hotels Company, which will manage the Penn-Harris, and George 8. Rein oehl, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, who will extend the greetings of that body. Marvel it was that the big hostelry opened on tIme.THR tonight, barring the working to finish details, every thing will be in swing. Green laurel is twined about the lobby; the lounge and banquet |-ooms are ready; colored glr'.a in uniform man the elevators; two orchestras will fur nish music, and a special treat at the dinner will be the selections of Miss Neva 1-andrum, vocalist. So tremendously popular is the new hotel that events are booked every night up to February 22. This week will e® Victory Ball, Jan uary 3; on January 4 tho Mrtorhead Company banquet and- the dinner Jo the Telegraph Family by E. J. Stack pole. A public inspection of the Penn- Harris is announced for New Years Day —• Wednesday from 3 to 5 o'clock. How the Site Was Bought y , ORTUNATELY," wrote Mr. H E. Z. Wallower, in his letter headed: "The Harrisburg, The Susquehanna, Or—(for at that time a name had not been chosen) "we now have under option the very best location in the city, at what is considered a most favor able price." He then went on to descrlbo the old Grand Opera House corner, on which years ago burned down lite play house of that name and which had long been vacant. "This location," he pointed out "will rommand the largest rental values for the Third street front, a most important item in the profitable con duct of the hotel, it will not only command a view of the .Capitol Prk, and the river from the upper stories, but its close proximity to the Post Office, the prospective wid ening of Walnut street by the state, its location in the heart of the city, within three blocks of the railroad - stations, will ail add value to its location for a hotel site." The task of actually securing the option was assigned to E. J. Stack vole and Henderson Gilbert and one /very cold but auspicious day they 1 took a fast train for Philadelphia, feeling they were on a delicate and mighty important mission. Other spots for locating had been suggested as for Instance Front and Market, I the site of the Commonwealth Hotel / and Third and Locust, so that if they / failed to get the option another place I would have been selected. But this one was the desideratum and the plenipotentiaries sought Hampton L. i 'arson with something suggesting a shiver. Mr. Carson, formerly at torney general, was counsel for the Wetghtman estate which owned the Penn-Harrls location. Procured An Option Talking at first of a long mortgage he became interested greatl/, but presently, in the twinkling of an eye the Harrisburg hungerers, suddenly suggested the option proposition and it was not long before they paid that historic one dollar to bihd the .agree ment for all time. "We left Carson's offloo," relates Mr. Stackpole. "In a perspiration, hut in such elation, after so many years of hoping we haif aecomplleh. I ert this good day'e work, that we almost walked on the air." TUESDAY EVENING* Recent Work of W. L. Stoddart, Architect of the New Penn-Harris Hotel DESIGNED ANP ERECTED AS ARCHITECT Office and Hank Buildings— Citizens National Bank Evansyllle, Ind $-00,000 Empire Life Building ' Augusta, Ga , 450,060 Chronicle Office Building Augusta, Ga 225,000 Connally Office Building ........ Atiunta. Ga •j>o,ooo Perth Amboy Trust Company.... Perth Amboy, N. J. ... 60,000 Hough Avenue Bank Building.... Cleveland, Ohio 7<>,000 Garfield Bank Building Cleveland, Ohio 160,000 NatT Herkimer County Bank Little Falls, N. Y luO.OOO Hotel Buildings— * Rooms. . , ' ■ O'Henry Hotel 175 .. Greensboro. N. C <<5.000 Penn-Harris Hotel 250 .. HARRI&'BURG ?2!!'nnn Farragut Hotel 190 .. Knoxville. Tenn 500,000 San Carlos Hotel 175 .. Pensacola, Fla 300,000 Savannah Hotel 200 .. Savannah, Ga 4a0,000 Hotel Tybee 150 .. Savannah. Ga. ........ 12.000 Georgian Terrace Hotel . . 300 . . Atlanta, Ga Oao.ooo Dempsey Hotel 215 .. Macon, Ga 4jU,uuo Ponce de Leon Apts 200 .. Atlnnta, Ga ->OO.OOO •Hotel Ansley 400 . . Atlanta. Ga 500,000 Winecoft Hotel 200 . . Atlanta. Ga. . 350,000 Tutwiler Hotel 330 .. Birmingham, Ala 1.-ao.ouo • Associate architect. Miscellaneous Buildings— nftn G, Siegle Plant Rosebank. 8. I. •••,•• Sclienectadv Coitnty Courthouse.. Schenectady, N. X. ... ooo.ouo Hodgman Rubber Co. Plant Tuckahoe, N. Y. . 30,u0u Mica Insulator Co. Mfg. Plant Schenectady. N. x. ... in", "o Cavanagh Loft and Mfg. Co Brooklyn, N. Y 200, o Vitagraph Company of America.. Brooklyn. N. x 200, 0u Public School Building Tenafly. N. J. Public School Building No. 3 Hackensack, N. J. .... 2"",uuu Hodgman Rubber Co. Office ...... Building : Tuckahoe. N. Y 100,000 and many other buildings of similar character, . ASSOCIATED AS SUPERINTENDING ARCHITECT • Prudential Building Newark, N. J 0.u00.000 New York Stock Exchange NeW York 3. Williamson Building (16 storiesf.. Cleveland, Ohio MOO.OOO St. I J aul Building (29 stories).... New York 1,.0u,0u0 The above are onlv a few of the very large building operations of which Mr. Stoddart had personal charge during his ten years association with George B. Post & Sons, architects, as chief super intendent. IIAWES, RESIDENT HOTEL ARCHITECT THE Susquehanna lured Ralph E. Hawcs, resident architect, to remain here until the finish. "I only intended to remain a short time," he relates, 'to fill a temporary job, but 1 found the city so fasci nating, association with the archi tect "and members of the Hotel Com pany so agreeable that I decided to complete the work. "You ask me what my work was in Harrisburg. Well, 1 have directed the construction of the building for the supervising architect from the time the first footings were laid for the foundations until the completion of the building, and you' will not misstate the facts in giving me credit for overcoming many of the difficul ties to hasten the construction as well as obtaining the finished work of such high chdrqcter. "As to my history—my residence is Pleasure Farms, Kidgefield, Conn., my father was un architect and builder who died in 1894, when 1 was eighteen years of age. I con tinued the business until 1 left with the Twenty-second National Guard of New York and served with them during the Spanish-American bar. •i have since been associated with some of the best-known -architects and directed somp of the finest as 'well as the largest building opera lions in this country—in fact, few ALL ROADS LEAD TO HARRISRURG By M. 11. JAMES, ! Secretary of William l'ciin ll)ghw> j Association, ami Associated j Highways Organization of Pennsylvania I TRAVELERS overland through the central tier of Pennsylvania : counties have for years com- j plained that hotel accommodations; have not been sufficient. This con- j dition has finally been remedied; through the construction of the j Berkshire Hotel, at Reading; of the . Fort Htanwix Hotpl, nt Johnstown, J and, finallv, of the f'enn-llarris, in; Harrisburg. It is now possible forj trans-Pennsylvania tourists using the ; William Pcnn Highway, and the feeder-routes which come into the | William Penn from the north and south, to find hotel accommodations us tine as can be found anywhere. While automobiiists can by push ing their ears make the Philadel phia-Pittsburgh trip in one day there is no pleasure at all in a hurried trip of that sort; and two days are usually required. That means an overnight stop. Three years ago travelers found existing hotels in sufficient; and as time passed the congestion became worse. Three times as many automobiles make the trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in a season now as in 1916. The short-trippers are Ave times more numerous. And the coming expendi ture of $50,000,000 for better high ways in Pennsylvania will mean a further increase one that cannot properly be estimated at this time. While the William Penn Highway is the logical east-west route for central Pennsylvanians traveling to Pittsburgh or to New York and Philadelphia, the Lincoln Highway, in the southern tier of counties, carries a more extensive through state traffic. 1 Until recently these travelers, knowing, as travelers do about certain cities everywhere, that hotel accommodations were insuf ficient in Harrisburg, refused to come this way froti. Lancaster, Gettysburg, or Chambersburg. But tho opening of the Penn-Harrls Hotel means that, once the word gets around, Lin coln Highway travelers will take ad vantage of Increased accommoda tions and come to Harrisburg to see the Capital, and the city's other at tractions. Great Automobile Center Harrisburg within five years will each day accommodate more auto mobile.travelers than any other otty in Pennsylvania other than Phila delphia and Pittsburgh. The state of New Jersey is proceeding rapidly with the construction of tlm hlgh wuy which will Join the William Penn Highway at Eaeton, and af ford an all-weather, shorter route between Harrisburg and New York, men have had so vast an experience and variety of work." Mr. Hawes does not exaggerate one little bit. The list of establish ments which he helped to construct would fill a page, nonpareil, the vast majority of theni being in or about New York. Talk about variety! There was the "Singer Building; the Wallabout Market; Bossert Hotel. Brooklyn; St. Joseph's Orphan Asy lum, Brooklyn; Meadow Brook Hunt Club, Long Island; University of Florida Agricultural College; bridge, Shore road and First avenue, Brook lyn; heating tunnels and trains, elec tric ducts and cables for power, light, fire alarm, watchman and tel ephone systems and sewers through out sixteen entire blocks in Brook lyn; many churches, among them The Lady of Presentation, Brooklyn; many a residence, including those of George Crocker, llobokcn; Herbert L. Pratt, Ramsey, N. J., each costing more than a million. 'Jn addition to this work," nar rated Mr. Hawes, "I estimated many buildings condemned in building the Brooklyn subways; also estimated buildings amounting to forty-odd millions in a single/year for build ing loans, and direcned the superin tendents who Inspected the con struction of buildings on which sev enteen millions in loans were made. Say—do you know now why the plans of the Penn-Harris were car ried out-to the letter? passing through Reading and Allen town. The State Highway Depart ment has pluns for the permanent improvement of the iteadir.g-Allen town road: and if the commissioners of Dauphin and Lebanon counties will act speedily the thoroughfare from Harrisburg to Reading will soon be in excellent shape, Berks county having agreed to go along with the state. West of Harrisburg many im provements are planned. From Mil lerstown to Ebensburg, Cambria county, through Lewistown, Belle ville, Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg and Cresson, is a stretch of road un paralleled in Pennsylvania. Improve ments for the road from Harrisburg to .Millerstown are a thing of the near future. Eventually Liverpool will lie eliminated, tlie William Penn Highway passing direct from a point west of Clark's Ferry through New port to Millerstown. West of Ebens burg .the highway to Johnstown Will be in permanent shajl(e within six months. Travelers who do not wish to go into Johnstown will find the direct route front Ebensburg to Blait'sville improved within 18 months. It is now a good road in tho summer months, but bad in win ter. From Blairsville to Grecnsburg, where travelers reach the Lincoln Highway on their way to Pittsburgh, lite road is in good condition. Maui Market Roads Under the road-construction plan of Governor-elect Sproul Pennsyl vania within a comparatively short time will have four north-south main market roads -which will mean much to Harrisburg because of the great amount of travel that will be thrown this way. These four roads con nect: Erie and Pittsburgh. Warren and l^wistown. Elmlra and Harrisburg. Blnghamton and Reading, through Easton and Allentown. These four feeders of the William Fenn Highway tap a rich field, and the result cannot help but be advan tageous to Harrisburg. Improvement of the road from Harrisburg to York and-from York to Baltimore will bring business this way. There must be a better road to Gettysburg and to Chambers burg. The Lancaster route aan stand a great deal of Improvement. When these things come, It can easily be seen, Harrisburg Will be the tourist and market center of the state. A glance at the map of Pennsylvania will show that Harrisburg Is the loglcnl highway cejltar of the Com monwealth. All roods lesd to It. Kor that reason Its hotel accommo dations should be of tfie best, The construction of the, Penn-Harrls Hotel now puts HanlSburg Inh class by Itself, so fur as Us hotels are concerned. ITARRISBTTRG esSSS* TELEGRXPH r DECEMBER 31, 1918. 1 i =s=B=^ •• ' - ■ -m\ \\v * V . . : ■/\ . Jp 1; - f * m j|. \\ ... • >i V \\ ' V \\ \ -V rA '^ Rs^?======^^^W FRANK C. LEWIN IS RtILDER OF NOTE YOU have all read of how Noah built the Ark, but he had a ciftch, compared to the task of Frank C. Lewin with the Penn llurris. "It is comparatively easy to describe the building, and draw a picture after it is all completed," he writes for the Telegraph under his own signature, "but it is quite another thing to work through the entire construction of a large un dertaking of the nature of the Penn-llarrls building and obtain the results, particularly under the cir cumstances and conditions which were brought upon all construction work by the demands of tho war. This building is practically the only large undertaking ol' its kind which has been started and completed dur ing the time the country was at war. This has been accomplished by surmounting innumerable diffi culties from the start to finish. Trouble From Start "Beginning witn the foundations the contractors encountered trou ble in the excavating of .the hard shale rock and formations of flint and slate which had to he blasted and practically pulverized to be re moved. To'make things worse an old stream which was covered up years ago was encountered, which had a heavy flow of water in it, and filled the foundation holes almost as fust as they were dug out, re quiring constant hailing and pump ing. Tnere were times when the entire lot was covered with water, resembling a small pond, the water being three or four feet deep over the entire area. "After passing the "stage of the foundations, the concrete of the superstructure was started, but no sooner had the concrete gained some" headway, material supplies were considerably reduced by em bargoes on the railroud%. During the time that the coal administra tion stopped all shipments except coal it was extremely hard to keep the work going. The labor avail aide was not experienced in this class of work, which added to the 'troubles of the foremen in charge of the work. In addition to all these difficulties the hardest and coldest winter of a generation came along and made concrete construc tion almost impossible ppr consid erable. time. It was necessary to heat the stone and sand with steam, use hot water for the mixing, in close the form work on the upper floors with canvas, and keep tires burning in salamanders for several days in order to keep the concrete from freezing. Granite Came Late "After tnc combination tile and ! concrete lloors were erected to i about the seventh floor, the forms on the lower stories were removed ! and the brick work started on an angle-iron ledge at the third floor level, in order to save time and Inclose the upper part of the build ing. The granite and terra cotta work for the lower portion did not arrive until late in tho spring, as the quarries were frozen tight dur ing the severo winter, and the fac tories making the terra cotta were put on half rations of coal. While tho brick work was well under way the government started a number of warehouse projects In tho vicinity and commandeered tho entire out put of most of the brick kilns In the territory and tho kilns that were not coinmandeored lost most of their holp, that went to the govern ment Jobs for bettor' pay. The building was actually starving for brick. There were times when the government material chasers Inter cepted carloads of brick as they entered the Harrlsburg yards, and instead of letting them be delivered to their consignee, the brick was switched to the government work, The only chance the contractors had to get uround the government ma terial men was to H6nd out trucks a good many miles away for brick and have Barne truckod to the build ing as the government Inspectors did not watoh the automobile roads (but only the railroads, " "During this period the Interior portion of the building was being pushed as fast as possible; piping for the plumbing, heating and elec tric wires were installed and tested: the machinery for the elevators and the boilers were installed. Each and every one of these branches had their own difficulties in obtaining the necessary materials as all goods manufactured from steel and iron were particularly hard to get. "After all the piping and rough ing-in was complete 011 a few of the floors, tho partition work stkrted; about seventy-five carloads of par tition blocks had to run the block ade of the embargoes during the winter and early spring but by con sistent efforts on the part of every man in charge all the material final ly reached its destination, and was put up in the building. The plas tering of the building was well un der way long before the roof was put on, and here is where one of the worst labor difficulties was encoun tered. At different times there were as many as 112 plasterers wording at the building, but at no time were there more than thirty-three actu ally working on the same day. Government Embargoes "The difficulties of tho embargoes and the government commandeer ing did not stop witli the rough materials required. After part yf tnc wood trim and mill work wis delivered to the building, the mill manufacturing this work was also comnrtrndeered for several of the government housing projects, and it was this that caused considerable delay nguin, in completing the spe cial woodwork for 'the main rooms of tho hotel. "While tlie wood trim work was being put on, tlie plastering was being completed on the upper lloors and in the main rooms, the tile floors in the bath rooms, the marble work in the halls and lob bies, the plumbing fixtures and the various machines in the basements, as well as innumeralfte details of other branches of the work, were being completed. "it would lill a good many pages to go into detail of all of these, but tlie main tiling the general public is interested in, is the result of all the work done, which speaks for itself, it is tho best finished build ing of its kind between New York and Chicago, its accommodations and equipment are of tlie grade and equal lo tlie best in the country. It is a credit to the city of Harrisburg, tho Harrisburg Hotel* Company, who promoted tlie enterprise, and the men who brought the building to a rapid completion through all the difficulties encoun tered." Civic Club Is Much Pleased THE Penn-llarrls will be rel ished by members of the Civic Club," spoke Mrs. Wil liam Henderson, "If for no other reason than that -< may now In vite here tho of Wom en's Clubs for its annual meeting. It has been a great disappointment to us that Reading and other cities could entertain tills body but that Harrisburg had to be tabooed bo cause there was no sultnblo hotel and assembling room. "It Is quite exhilarating to all women working for their sex to know that Harrisburg will have fine und clean quarters to take care of the vast number of women now traveling alone on business errands. Also, thut like the Civic Club, which demonstrated Its home atmosphere In the entertaining of soldiers, this beautiful place will appeal us a homy spot where folks niay meet downtown amid such charming sur roundings, The Clvio Club extends its heartiest congratulations to the Penn-Harrls LOCAL PRIDE WAS BACK OF PROJECT Public Need Met by Public Spirit and Penn-Harris Was the Result "Breathes there the man with soul so dead. Who never to himself hatli said, "This is my own, my native land"? With six-cylinder speed, as soon as the hotel had been launched by the Chamber of Commerce, the Har risburg Hotel Company Incorporated as owners of the Hotel Penn-Harrls, under the management of the United Hotels Company, with the follow ing officers: E. 54. Wallower, president; Wil liam T. Hlldrup Jr., vice-presiilent; Warwick M. Ogelsby, treasurer. Di rectors—Edward Bailey, J. William Bowman, Henderson Gilbert, Edwin S. Herman, William T. Ilildrup Jr., William Jennings, E. •J. Stackpole, A. C. Stamin, David E. Tracy, E. 54. Wallower. Appealing with tlie promise of its being a good investment, ajid to in stincts of loyalty for tlie horpe town, very Utile difficulty was. found in raising Hie necessary $1,300,000. in the first canvass a number of promi nent citizens and many who were aide and who have the civic pride to help were not called upon, so a sec ond canvass took place, with tho re sult thut little urging was necessary. Some of the lending and financial citizens took big blocks of stock, four investing to the amount of over $50,- 000 each, and others for $20,000, $15,000, SIO,OOO, $5,000 and SI,OOO and a great number for less amounts. Other Hotels Managed Tlie Harrisburg Company was fortunate In making a lease of the hotel to the Penn-Harrls Hotel Company, operated by the United Hotelrf Company, which leases and successfully operates a lnrge number of first-class hotels throughout the tho country, Including The Ten Eyck, Albany, N. Y.; Tho Senocn, Roches ler, N. Y.; The Onondago, (Syracuse, N. Y.; Tho Jefferson, Peoria, 111,; The Uttca; Utlca, N. Y,; The Portage, Akron, Ohio; The Lawrence, Erie, Pa.; The Bancroft, Worcester, Mass.; The Tutwllor, Birmingham, Ala.; The Nonotuck, Holyoko, Mass.; The Devonshire, Toronto, Canada; Tho Royal Connaught, Hamilton, Ont.; Tho Prince Eijwjird. Toronto, Can ada. A contract or lease has been exe cuted by which Penn-Harrls Hotel Company will pay to the Harrisburg Hotel Company 8 per cent, per an num, if earned, minimum of 4 per cent., on tho umount invested, for the first five years; thereafter, 7 per c£nt. per annum, fixed, plush one half (49 per cent.) from tho begin ning of the lease of-all of the net earnings s>f tho operating company, The nature of the lease Is considered exceptional and shows tho confi dence of The United Hotels Company In HarrlsbuVff as a hotel location. Is, Or Is Not, Steam Shovel Still In Penn-llarris Cellar? Sons of Rest, at Last Session of Famous Order at Third and Walnut Streets Today, Find Themselves Torn hy Dis cussion Over a Momentous Question THERE was a feeling akin to sadness, as the poets say, among the Sons of Best to-day. It was the last session of tho order, so far as the intersection of Third and Walnut streets is concerned. So ns they stood on tho corner watch-, ing tho final touches being put to tlie Penn-Harris Hotel, and ob serving the scurrying around that was lieing done by tlio hotel at taches. preparatory to the opening, tho Sons of Rest whistled bravely and trlfcd to make believe that they were glad their long vigil was over. And into all this machinery tho venerable John Newton of the 2400 block on Market street cast the proverbial monkey-wrench. There was the usual grinding and of gears, of course, and everything stopped. For this is what Newton said: | "I'm only sorry for one tjprfng — anil that is that 1 didn't see them | bringing out the steam shovel." [ With that remark Mr. Newton started something. "Bringing it out!" ejaculated Ed mund James, of Camp Hill. They never brung it out. It's still in there. llow could they have brought ' it out when you could litirdly see 1 the top of it when they got the cel lar dug? Bon't talk so foolish!" "Of course they brought it out!" shouted Newton. Folks began to gather around the Sons of Rest. The proprietors lof stores peered out to see what wns going on. "Course they brought it out!" said Newton. "What would they leave a steam shovel In tho cellar for?" "Did you see them fetch It out?" yelled Arthur Newbold, another of the Sons of Rest. "No," admitted Newton. '"Well," triumphed Nevybold. "Course he didn't," Interjected Edmund James. "They never brung it out. It's still down there. Whut they did was to make an lce-cuber out of it. And they had some jparts of It left over. 1 don't know what ,they did with them. But you can take It from me that they never brought out the sF&am shovol. 'Cause why? 'Cause tho engineer forgot to leave a runway for the dadblabie thing to climb out on." By this time the entlro member ship of the Hons of ltcst was In a fever of debate. The long-for gotten steam shovel was tho center of conversation, A policeman came running into the throng and de manded to know the reason for the riot, / "Did iliey or did they not for get to bring out the stoam shovel?" John Newton demanded of the offl- cer. "I don't know," said the police man. "I'm a stranger on this cor ner." James wanted to put it up to George Harry, but Mr. Harry could not be found. Postmaster Frank Sites refused to be drawn into the controversy. And it is hard to tell what would have happened just then had not Warwick M. Ogelsby appeared and distributed tickets of admission to ttie opening banquet among the Sons of Kest. - The steain-shovel was again forgotten as the Sons debated over their probable orders for dinner. Supreme of guinea hen seemed to have the first call, al though there were one or two whose blinds ran to pates Ue fois gras. Difficulties Were No Par > MUTATION for getting PY filings done!" This was the slogan which caught the eye of the hrls)* Chamber of Commerce men when they began looking about for an able cpntractor and builder and the message exactly fitted the firm of Frank C. I.ewln, with offices at 26 North Third street; 616 Twelfth street, N. W., Washington, and the Peoples' Gas Building, Chicago. This firm had already erected 606 large buildings in a 600-mile radius of Chicago, Including hotels, club houses, high-class apartment houses, etc., one of the most recent hostel ries being the Washington Hotel, at Washington, with its 500 rooms and baths. The latter rose in time to he a great boon for those working on government contracts. From the very start the Lewln folk encountered vast difficulties here, due to war conditions, but, despite these, the Penn-Harrls is opened for business now and It Is Interesting to know -that it Is the only big private project started In 1917 which is finished to-day. Thfs uccomplislinr ent surely bears out the firm's claim of "Twenty years in business and no building opera tion too big to tackle." In the neighborhood of three thousand cars of material were usod In tlio building; as many as 800 men wore working at one time. When materials did not come through fast enough by frolght they wore ordered through by express. No stone was loft unturned to get the Job done, and done as quickly us human Ingenuity and facilities could make possible. The head of ifho firm has asked that high tribute bo given to his superintendents and foremen on tho Job, General Superintendent L. E. Hholtes, Assistant Superintendent E. J. Johnson, Foremen Ous Alm qulst and Harry Bartel, Mason Su perintendent H, S. Qllbcrt, Mason Foreman John Crollg.
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