The Iron Age 1906-06-07: Vol 77 Iss 23

THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, June 7, 1906. Electrical Steel Melting at Disston Plant. The Henry Disston & Sons, Inc., the famous manufac- turers of saws and tools, have, as the pioneers in this country, started the electrical melting of steel at their Tacony Works, near Philadelphia, Pa. Illustrations of the furnace are herewith given. A considerable number of heats have been made to test the efficiency of the process and the quality of the product, the composition of the mixes remaining the same as in their usual crucible steel process, for better comparison of results. The electrically melted steel has — ™ 'y Pioneer American Electric Steel Furnace. matter, such as carbon, into the steel, as is the case with the resistance and are type of furnace. For the purpose of economically determining the value of the process, a furnace of small capacity was installed, with a one piece molded graphite crucible, of the form shown in Fig. 3, holding 200 pounds of molten steel. Fig. 1 illustrates the general form and dimensions of the furnace, with appliance for casting, and Fig. 2 shows the operation of pouring a heat. Both the construction and manipulation are very simple. Briefly, the furnace Fig. 1.—Electrical Steel Melting at the Disston Plant.—General Form of the Induction Type of Electric Furnace Used. -7 been subjected to the usual chemical and physical tests, and finally used in the manufacture of several of the well-known products of the company, such as hand saws, &e. The tests thus far made prove conclusively that the electrically melted steel fully meets the requirements of the highest standard of quality, which the Disston firm has established and maintained for so many years. The induction type of electric furnace, built by the Induc- tion Furnace Company, Newark, N. J., under the basic patents of Edward A. Colby, as shown in Fig. 1, was adopted for the reason that this form gives absolute control of temperatures, uniform heating of the entire charge, and no possibility of the introduction of foreign is an electric transformer or induction coil, in which the metal to be melted is arranged in a closed ring form, in the annular opening of the crucible, Fig. 3. The crucible encircles the central member of a laminated iron core, which extends across the top, two sides and bottom of the crucible, constituting a closed magnetic circuit. This iron door is converted into a powerful magnet of alter- nating polarity by passing an alternating current of low amperage through a conductor surrounding its central member. With each alteration of current in this latter or primary conductor a current of electricity is induced in the metal placed in the annular cavity of the crucible of sufficient amperage to quickly raise it to the melting point. There is no contact between the primary and — & ee oe PS ED cabo £e3 epee wee 5. Zi es : i i + RK ome earer = menor eer ating eaerine ar 1812 secondary circuits, there are no electrodes, and hence no alteration occurs in the composition of the metal Complete control of temperature is ob- operated upon. THE IRON AGE June 7, 1906 avoided. The steel is melted by the heat developed with- in its own mass by the passage of the induced current, which is the inverse of the usual order in fuel furnaces, Fig. 2.—Pouring a Heat of Steel from the Electric Furnace at the Disston Plant. Fig. 3.—The One-Piece Moided Graphite Crucible Used in the Induction Type of Electric Furnace at the Disston Plant. ‘ tained by the movement of a rheostat arm in the pri- mary circuit, and, since the current in the primary cir- cuit is small, the use of heavy: copper conductors is wherein temperatures far in excess of that actually re- quired to melt the steel must be developed exterior to the crucible and transmitted through its walls to the contained metal. The excessive temperature incidental to the making of crucible steel in fuel furnaces greatly shortens the life of the crucibles, and the labor of handling them is very exhausting, especially during the summer months. With the induction furnace, however, it is a simple matter to reduce to a minimum heat losses by radiation and conduction, and so materially increase the efficiency of the method, besides permitting the feeding of fresh charges or other operations without interruption or any discomfort to the laborer. The portion of the magnet core surrounded by the crucible is cooled by a water- jacket, which is so effective that, within a distance of 1% inches, a difference of 3000 degrees F. is easily main- tained in all day runs. In starting the furnace it is necessary either to place a cast steel ring in the crucible cavity or to pour therein molten steel from another source. As soon as this pre- liminary charge is melted the sectional covers with which the crucible is provided are removed and addi- tional material, in the form of scrap, Swedish pig and other stock, is fed in necessary quantities for the desired composition, until the crucible capacity has been reached. At the Disston Works the usual charges have been 150 pounds, the cast ingot weighing 90 to 100 pounds, leaving 50 to 60 pounds of molten metal in the furnace after teeming, to which fresh metal is added for the succeeding charge. The melting down of the charge June 7, 1906 THE IRON AGE 1813 takes about 20 minutes, and it requires about 40 minutes to “kill” the steel and cast. A heat is, therefore, got off in one hour to one hour and five minutes. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the furnace is mounted on trunnions and can be easily tilted for the purpose of casting the steel into ingots. At Tacony the electric current is supplied by the Keystone Company. The alter- nating current primary has a pressure of 220 volts and the induced secondary current in the molten steel about 8 volts. The average power consumption in the runs so far made equal 640 kw. hours per ton of steel. With water or producer gas power plants the cost for melting is ‘reduced to between $3 and $4 per ton. So far as the quality of the product is concerned, it may be noted that since the metal is melted in the absence of fuel gas it yields a very dense and fine grained casting, and its composition is dependent solely upon predetermined additions of material. So far as this work has gone it has established fully in principle the advantages of the electrical furnace of the induction type for the manufacture of crucible steel for saws and tools, with the prospect of material gain in quality, both as to chemical composition and physical properties. With furnaces of larger capacity, say 3 to 6 tons, having built up crucibles, the cost of labor and of maintenance, as well as the consumption of power per ton of ingot, is materially less than with small units, and far more economical than with the fuel type of furnaces. The exact saving in cost is dependent upon the size of unit adopted and the local cost of power. It is proposed at the Disston Works to continue experiments with much larger furnaces, and so definitely establish the size of unit yielding the best all round re- sults, due consideration being given to the special require- ments of the firm’s business. — »--o—____ A New Railroad to the Mesaba Range. It may be stated on what is considered reliable au- thority that a fourth railroad will be built to the Mesaba range in northern Minnesota in the next two years. It will have a main line of about 138 miles and will reach from Duluth to Virginia and Hibbing, as well as to points farther west. It is said that about 55,000,000 tons of ore are already tied up to it under traffic contracts that have been made in the past two or three months. These are all from independent steel making and mining concerns, operating lands not tied up to any one of the roads now reaching the range. It is estimated by those in touch with the new road that it will have contracts from mines containing about 100,000,000 tons before it is ready for operation. Such a total at the present stand- ard rate of 80 cents a ton would mean a gross income from ore alone of about $80,000,000. But it is rumored that the proposed road will make a rate somewhat less than that now in force, and that the saving to shippers will be in the neighborhood of 25 per cent. It may be that in this rumor the wish is father to the thought, but there are reasons for believing it to be substantially cor- rect. The names of interests that have underwritten the bonds of the proposed company are given, but cannot now be repeated. They are amply substantial for any such operation. The spring of 1908 is set as the prob&ble date for the first ore movement to Duluth over this line. Sur- veys are now in progress and negotiations are said to be under way for terminals and ore piers, &c., in Duluth, not far from the present ore dock system of the Duluth, Missabe & Northern road. D. E. W. ——_—_.9-+-——_—____—_. Chicago Track Elevation.—Elevation of railroad tracks in South Chicago, to cost $4,000,000, is provided for in an ordinance recommended for passage by the Council Track Elevation Committee of Chicago. This elevation affects seven roads, as follows: Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, 14.3 miles of track and 19 subways, $1,600,000: Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, 112-5 miles of track and 19 subways, $1,500,000; Baltimore & Ohio, 31-3 miles of track and 11 subways, $500,000; South Chicago Rail- road, 1.2 miles of track and four subways, $150,000: Chicago & Western Indiana, 15 miles of track and 11 subways, $600,000; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, 3.5 miles of track, 11 subways, $600,000; Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern, $20,000. The elevation will start at Stony Island avenue and Seventy-ninth street and continue to the Indiana State line. The number of grade crossings to be eliminated by the ordinance will reach 90. ——_——.§--- The Phoenix Disk Grinder. A disk grinder, which was originally designed by the Pheenix Iron Works Corporation, Hartford, Conn., for use in its own shops, has given such satisfaction in prac- tical service that it will hereafter be manufactured for the market. As may be seen in the engraving, beside each disk is a swinging table, which allows the work to be fed across the face of the wheel. The rocking support of each table is weighted at the bottom to hold it nor- mally upright. The table shown at the right has a guide against which work may be held to accurately grind its ends at right angles. The table is adjustable to any de- sired vertical angle with the face of the wheel, and may A New Disk Grinder Built by the Phenix Iron Works Corpora- tion, Hartford, Conn. be clamped in position by a turn of the wrench han- dle just below the table. The other disk is served by a plain table, adjustable vertically ‘on its support to give various distances from the center of the wheel. Like the other table, it may also be set at different angles with the face of the wheel and be clamped in position by a handle. A link tied by a pin to the support serves as a stop to fix accurately and quickly the exact horizontal plane of the table when it is returned from an angular position. The spindle has long bearings, carefully protected from dust, in which end thrust is taken care of by grooving the shaft and casting the babbitted boxes to correspond. A wide pulley permits the use of a slack belt, and the heavy and broad base effectively minimizes vibration. ——_—_.9--@——————— Catalogues Wanted at San Francisco. Frederick J. Teggart, librarian of the Mechanics’ Mercantile Library, San Francisco, states that a tem- porary building is now being erected for the purposes of that institution, and it is expected that it will be ready for occupancy very shortly. Among the items which have been asked for frequently during the last few weeks are trade catalogues of all kinds. Mr. Teggart will be greatly pleased if manufacturers generally will send their catalogues to him, so that they may be readily accessible for consultation by those who are now engaged in build- ing up the new San Francisco. - atelier ee ee Ee pats Re tO ai om meng Ae - Ree S SSeS oie oe eee st ES ee eee 7 EPS Pr Tres veep Te rs oer ot PS Sale o* ae ie: 1814 THE IRON AGE A New Niles Four-Spindle Drill. The novel feature of the multiple drill illustrated, which is a recent product of the Niles works of the Niles- Bement-Pond Company, New York City, is the in and out adjustment of the drill heads, these being mounted on arms on which they have a traverse of 12 inches. The arms may be moved on the cross rail by ratchet levers operating pinions engaging a rack on the rail. The drill heads are adjusted on the arms by screws. This con- struction is convenient for drilling holes which are not in line, as the spindles can be brought easily to the desired position and the piece finished at one setting. The table is supported by three heavy screws, which enable it to be raised and lowered by power, so that the table can be quickly set at any hight. The table top may be moved horizontally at right angles to the cross rail by means of racks and pinions operated by a ratchet lever. This is advantageous when a number of lines of holes June 7, 1906 very low temperature its absorption of air is so energetic that, when placed in a tube attached to the vessel to be exhausted, the air in tube and vessel is almost imme- diately absorbed when the tube is immersed in liquid air. Connection between tube and vessel is then broken and the vessel “ contains” a high vacuum. An incidental ad- vantage is that the moisture in the air is contlensed in the tube and hence removed from the vessel. ——__3--o————__—_ The Coal Tar Jubilee. The semicentennial of the discovery of coal tar will be commemorated by a banquet and symposium on the development of the coal tar industry to be held under the auspices of the Chemists’ Club of New York City on October 6. This was decided upon at a meeting of the Chemists’ Club on May 28, and at the same session ar- rangements were made for the presentation to Dr. W. H. Perkin, who is responsible for the discovery of coal tar, The Niles Multiple Drill with Cross Traverse to the Spindles. are to be drilled in a piece, as the work can all be done at one setting by simply shifting the table. The front of the table is slotted so that high work such as mud rings of locomotive boilers may be bolted to it. Three changes of power feed to the spindles are pro- vided. All the spindles may be moved simultaneously up and down by hand from the end of the cross rail. The spindles also have independent rapid hand movement, in- dependent drive and feed clutches and quick return. The distance between the housings is 7 feet, and the maximum distance between the ends of the spindles and the table is 34 inches. ¢ ——_4-- oe __—_ In a process recently developed in England the mer- cury pump method, commonly employed for obtaining the high vacuum required in incandescent lamps, has been superseded. The older method, while quite satisfactory, is slow in operation, and required a considerable volume of apparatus where a large number of lamps were being manufactured. The new process is very simple and quick in operation, depending upon the absorptive power of charcoal. It appears that when charcoal is given a / of a personal token, the form of which is to be decided upon later. The Chemists’ Club also arranged for the establish- ment of a Perkin medal, to be awarded annually for dis- tinguished«work in the field of applied chemistry, and in connection with the same movement a fund will be started for the establishment at the Chemists’ Club of a refer- ence and circulating library covering the entire field of theoretical and applied chemistry. It is estimated that about $5000 will be needed to cover the expenses of the presentation to Dr. Perkin and the establishment of the Perkin medal, and it is said that about $50,000 will be necessary for placing the proposed library on a permanent footing. The date of the banquet was fixed subject to the approval of Dr. Perkin, who is to be invited as the guest of honor, and the celebration will be held at Delmonico’s. A committee which was appointed some time ago for the “ coal tar jubilee,” as the members of the club have called the proposed celebration, was continued and directed to take steps to carry out the decision of the meeting, which was in accordance with recommendations made by the committee. a a tee June 7, 1906 THE IRON AGE I CO ao vw Steel Structures in the San Francisco Disaster. Effects of Fire, Dynamite and Earthquake Upon the Skyscraper, the Only Surviving Type of Building—Excellent Performance of the Steel Skeleton Frame When Protected by Good Fireproofing—Concrete Floors Withstood the Ordeal—Reinforced Concrete Walls Fastened to Steel Frames Advocated. BY It is still too early to get exact information as to how the steel structures of San Francisco stood the earth- quake and fire, on account of the immense amount of débris which has to be cleared away before all parts of the structure can be examined. But enough is now evi- dent to give a very fair idea as to what happened and how the various classes of structures stood the test. The effects of the earthquake on frame structures are GEORGE SIMPSON.* results show that this class of buildings has been more badly damaged than any other class, the weak bond be- tween the mortar and the brick work allowing the walls easily to disintegrate. A great many of the cheaper hotels were built of brick walls, laid up in lime mortar, and wooden beams resting on the walls. buildings that It was in these the effects of the earthquake were most disastrous, shaking them down while the rooms were oc- FIG. 1—THE $7,000,000 CITY HALL AND HALL OF RECORDS. Totally wrecked by earthquake and fire. The building was three stories high, built of common brick faced with cement to resemble stone. principally shown by fallen chimneys and cracked plaster. The character of the workmanship on these buildings stands out very plainly in the way in which they have stood the test. Good material and workmanship have been but very little damaged, whereas poor material and workmanship have crumbled and fallen beneath the shakes. A number of frame structures have fallen, but they all show that they have been “skinned” in every way. Almost all the chimneys in frame structures have been laid up in lime and mortar, and this class of ma- terial is entirely inadequate to withstand the racking caused by the earthquake, with the result that a very large proportion of houses had their chimneys thrown down. This is also true of small brick buildings. The * Mr. Simpson, who is the chief engineer of the Thompson- Starrett Company, construction engineers, New York, went to the ruined city immediately after the great catastrophe, remaining there several weeks examining the remains of the most important Structures. Excepting underneath the 330-foot tower and dome the building was wall bearing. cupied; and it is probable that in such buildings the greatest loss of life occurred. Brick walls laid up in Portland cement mortar, with the floor beams properly anchored into them, would prob- ably withstand the shock of an earthquake. This is shown by the condition of the Pacific Hotel, the walls of which were standing intact, although they had been sub- jected to the shocks of the earthquake and the fierce fire which had raged in the building, burning out every other part of the structure. Steel Frames Not Damaged by Earthquake. The effect of the earthquake on the steel structures speaks well for the construction of these buildings in San Francisco. So far as the writer was able to learn, not one of the steel frames was damaged by the earthquake, al- though the buildings must have been pretty well racked by the shocks. This is shown by the cracks in the piers AA Eee ee ge 1816 THE IRON AGE between windows, and in the condition of the brick, stone and terra cotta fronts. There is scarcely any building in the city which has not some crack of this sort, resulting from the earthquake. It is probable also that the plaster has been thrown down in these buildings, and that the fireproofing, especially terra cotta, has been cracked; but the evidence of this has been entirely destroyed by the fire. Wherever there were evidences of the earthquake on the streets it did not seem to affect the foundations of a building. The street at the southwest corner of the post office has sunk 5 or 6 feet; but this corner of the building does not seem to have settled at all. This is also true of the street in front of the City Hall. Both these buildings were built over the bed of an old stream and had piling for their foundations. Several suggestions have been made as to building earthquake proof buildings, but there seems to be no need June 7, 1906 have been attributed to the earthquake. This is also true of the Kamm and Rialto Buildings. The damage from the earthquake, although a very large total in itself, was relatively small in comparison with the damage caused by fire. A large proportion of the buildings in San Francisco being of wood, the wreck was most complete, the fire being so intense that the sites of former wooden struc- tures have now but a fewpieces of charred wood and some bent pipes to show that they were ever occupied. Small brick nonfireproof buildings were also razed to the ground, with here and there a chimney standing and an occasional grate with a gas log in it uninjured. Near the business part of the city, where the build- ings were larger and better built, the walls stood better. All wooden floors were entirely cleaned out, and wher- ever steel columns and girders were used the whole is a - =| FIG. 2.—KOHL BUILDING. The only office building in which the offices were not entirely cleaned out by fire. Several of the upper floors were saved completely with their contents. The building had concrete floors and steel trim, with metal window frames, but wooden sash. of changing the method of constructing the foundations and the steel frames. Greater care ought to be taken in building the walls of such buildings and in anchoring them to the framework. There is no question but that reinforced concrete walls would be the best construction as the reinforcing steel could be fastened to the steel frame. Damage by Dynamite and Fire, A great deal of damage was done to fireproof build- ings in San Francisco by the use of dynamite—a damage that to-day seems to have been needless. The Mofadnock Building had one charge of dynamite exploded in the basement, which tore out two floors and probably did a great deal of damage to the walls, a damage which might great mass of twisted steel. The falling walls left bal- anced in the air many curious things. In one case, four beams cantilever 20 feet out from a 16-inch wall, with- out any support except the anchorage they have in the wall; in the City Hall, a great entablature is balanced on two columns; there are many cases of the lower part of a wall falling out while the upper part is arched be- tween two piers. As a rule the fireproof buildings of the city are stand- ing, in a state of more or less destruction. In only one building are there any offices left untouched by the fire. This building had cement floors and steel trim, thus re- ducing the amount of inflammable material in it, and this one example shows that it is possible to make a building June 7, 1906 THE IRON AGE so that its contents will not be destroyed, even in the midst of a fierce fire. There are evidences in other build- ings that if there had been less material to burn in them 1817 Performance of Different Flireproofings, The fire tested thoroughly the various methods of fire- proofing steel structures. Concrete stood the test well, the destruction to the building would have been less: FIG. 3.—CROCKER BUILDING. The outside walls, which were self supporting, withstood the fire and earthquake better than other parts of the building. Broken terra cotta floor arches are shown in Fig. 23, and the ruins of the top floor, due to the burning of the wooden roof, are shown in Fig. 34. there being little or no damage to any steel work which FIG. 5.—ST. FRANCIS HOTEL. The concrete floor construction of this building remained undamaged. Terra cotta partitions and column coverings also withstood the fire better than in other buildings, due to good workmanship. ‘Two steel columns were badly buckled, as shown in Fig. 25, but they were not amply protected. 4.—MILLS FIG. BUILDING. This was a wal] bearing structure, with steel frame sustain- Ing terra cotta floor arches. Column coverings and partitions were also of terra cotta. Failure of the partitions is shown in Fig. 22. Twisted and buckled steel columns due to the failure of the fireproofing are shown in Figs. 24 and 27. that is, the loss from outside fire was small in comparison with that resulting from the fire produced by the material in the building itself. FIG. 6—MERCHANTS’ EXCHANGE BUILDING. In this building the best method of column covering em- ployed in San Francisco was demonstrated. Wire lath and plaster in two thicknesses, with an air space between, was used. The concrete floor construction was not damaged. The building was subjected to a most severe test, which it withstood well. was fireproofed with concrete, while terra cotta was torn off and destroyed in almost every éase. When terra cotta was used the partitions fell down, the fireproofing around 1818 THE IRON AGE the columns came off, and a very large proportion of the floor arches either fell out, or the bottom plates of the arches broke off and left the arches in very bad shape. Columns.—In the great majority of cases the fire- proofing of columns was of terra cotta. Very often con- crete arches were used, but the partitions and column covering were terra cotta. The result of this destruction of column covering was that there are very few buildings in the city in which there are no columns bent by fire. These bends are usually at the ceiling. It is evident that the flames rising to the ceiling travelled along it until they reached some shaft which formed a flue, and any column in their path was buckled. The form of column covering that seems to have stood most successfully was two thicknesses of wire lath and plaster, with an air space between them. In a number of cases the outside covering was torn off, but it seems to have resisted the fire during the time it was most intense, sufficiently so to allow the inner covering to protect the column. Ceilings.—Hung ceilings seem to have been very suc- cessful in withstanding the fire. These ceilings did ex- June 7, 1906 twisting of the steel in their construction. The windows between the halls and the offices also proved to be a very bad thing, as they were easily burned out, adding to the fire, and the flames quickly passed from room to room through the openings thus made. Fronts.—All the material used in the fronts of the buildings was more or less damaged, stone, of course, showing the worst effects. The granite columns in the first story of the Postal Telegraph Company Building have almost entirely disappeared, through the splitting of the stone. This is true of every place where the flames or heat touched the stone; it spalled off and left the fronts in such bad condition that they will probably have to be taken down. Brick work was also very badly cracked by the heat. Terra cotta did not act very much better than stone. One building on Sutter street, near Montgomery, which was almost entirely of terra cotta, is very badly wrecked. Wireglass seems to have stood the test up to the melting point of the glass. The heat was so intense that glass soon melted and fell out, and quan- tities of it, in this state, can be seen in the ruins. Wooden FIG. 7.—OLD CHRONICLE BUILDING. At the time of its erection, in 1888, this building was made as nearly fireproof and as safe against earthquakes as the prac- tice of that time permitted. It was the first building of the “skyscraper” type built in San Francisco. The floors fell to the basement, as shown in Fig. 32. A broken cast iron column and broken steel I-beams are shown in Figs, 29 and 30. cellent service, especially in preventing the fire from reaching the floor arches above them. In the Merchants’ Exchange Building, where the heat must have been very intense, there are only a few patches of hung ceiling broken. A number of rooms in this building were used for filing records, and in one such room the ashes of the papers are about two feet deep. The fire that caused this must have produced an intense heat, but the ceiling, while it will have to be replaced, did not break, and suc- cessfully prevented the fire from getting at the beams above. Partitions.—There did not seem to be any partitions which successfully withstood the fire in San Francisco. Terra cotta was very badly damaged and wire lath and plaster became very much bent and warped, owing to the FIG. 8—NEW CHRONICLE BUILDING. As this building, which adjoins the older building of the same name, was unfinished and unoccupied, no damage was done to it save a little shaking of the front piers by the earthquake. rhe steel skeleton frame is intact and uninjured. Where there was woodwork in the building to burn the terra cotta floor arches chipped off as in the other buildings. floors and sleepers were cleanly burned out; in most cases no evidences of the floors were left, and the only trace of the sleepers is a channel in the concrete filling of the floors. The effect of the heat on terra cotta made it brittle, so that it can easily be broken with the fingers, and the unequal expansion due to the face toward the flame being hotter than that away from it caused the plate toward the flame to crack and fall off. THE BUILDINGS. The following is a summary of the writer’s observa- tions on a number of fireproof buildings in San Francisco. In the description of the buildings unless otherwise de- scribed they have skeleton frames with steel columns: EAE Ae Rees. Lt ee ’ a Ds Bas Minh Dat” a S5f to bea Sia Sass aa see a Re kee ee ee June 7, 1906 CITY HALL AND HALL OF RECORDS. This building is three stories in hight and built of THE IRON AGE cost $7,000,000. The earthquake threw down almost the entire wall on common brick faced with cement, marked off to resemble City Hall avenue, also the greater part of the self sup- FIG. 9.—FAIRMOUNT HOTEL. Although this building was scarcely completed and unoccupied, the damage done by fire was very considerable. The wire lath partitions and column coverings failed completely and the entire interior of the building was badly gutted. The handsome stone and glazed terra cotta front of the building was badly spalled and smoked. There was no perceptible dam- age by earthquake. On the left of the picture the ruins of the James Flood residence are shown. FIG. 10.—THE Having been used as one of San Francisco's largest this building was easy prey for the flames. Much damage was being rendered useless thereby. The effect upon the steel proof, is apparent. stone. The main portion is surmounted by a tower and dome some 330 feet high. The outside walls are bearing walls; the interior of the tower and dome is supported on steel, the outside walls being self supporting up to the under side of the dome. The building was com- EMPORIUM. department stores and being laden with imflammable materials, lone by dynamite, the fireproofing of the first and second floors columns and girders of the upper floors, which were nonfire- porting walls of the tower. The Hall of Records was very little damaged by the earthquake. The columns in the main entrance were immense hollow cast iron columns filled with brick concrete, and these in falling broke into sections. The round columns at the corner of City Hall as 1819 menced in 1871, took a number of years to complete and se Na aan ae aaa Le OE LEE AP 0 ee Sennen ne eee PT A : AS aT ee a nes raptors . a 4 ij i} it aaa lie SEF ae oe 1820 THE IRON AGE avenue and Larkin street stood, supporting the en- tablature on top of them. The building seems to be a complete wreck as a result of earthquake. The fire got into it, and although very little trace of it can be seen on the outside of the building, the probabilities are that the interior was entirely burned out. It was impossible to get admission to this building. KOHL BUILDING. Northeast corner of Montgomery and California streets, Illustration, Fig. 2. Eleven stories. Material of front: Sandstone. Concrete floor construction. Column covering and partitions, wire lath and plaster; column covering, double. Hung ceilings. Finished cement floors and trim, throughout the building, steel. Window frames were of metal, but sash was wood. The effect of the earthquake was very slight. A few cracks appeared in the outside walls, and inside the FIG. 11.—CALL BUILDING. Showing the Third street side, where the fire was fiercest and where the stone work is badly damaged. A report which it was impossible to confirm states that the building is out of plumb. The concrete floor construction, which was of the bottom flange fystem, stood the fire test well. principal evidence of damage from this source was the shaking loose of the marble wainscoting. The first floor was left in fair condition by the fire. The second and third floors were pretty well burned out. The fourth, fifth and sixth floors were slightly burned, but from there to the roof there was practically no damage from the fire. The flames damaged the stone front, especially the front on California street, where the heat was most intense. The fire outside this building must have been quite as severe as the average; the buildings all around it being burned very badly, with the exception of the one on the east side, which was a low bank building and probably protected the Kohl Building somewhat. During the entire fire two or three men remained in this building and did what they could to put out the flames; but the result of their efforts must have been slight, as they had to carry in pails the water they used to extinguish the fire. This is the only building within the fire zone in San Francisco which had any of the interior left, and it seems to shqw the methods which should be employed in making a building fireproof, the main thing to be borne in mind being the reduction to a minimum of all inflammable material. The June 7, 1906 fire did not get into the basement of the Kohl Building at all; consequently, the power plant was uninjured, and elevators were running in two weeks after the earth- quake. CROCKER BUILDING. Corner of Market and Post streets. Illustration, Fig. 3. Ten stories. Front: Stone, brick and terra cotta. Floor construction, column covering, partitions: Terra cotta. The roof of this building was constructed of wood, which soon burned out, leaving the top story a chaotic mass of beams, wire lath and fireproofing. The partitions throughout the building fell down, the covering parted from the columns, and the floor arches, although they did not fall out to any great extent, the bottom plates cracked and fell. With the exception of the roof no steel seems to have been damaged, which is very surprising, consid- ering the condition of the fireproofing. FIG. 12.—WHITTELL BUILDING. The bare steel skeleton shown in the middle of the engrav- ing is the only work completed on this building, which was in course of construction at the time of the disaster. The original plan of inclosing the building in steel plates will doubtless be changed, owing to the lessons of the great fire. The construction of the building was not of the skel- eton type, the outside walls being self supporting, the steel frame only sustaining the floors. The outside walls are very heavy, and seem to be specially well built; they sustain little damage from the earthquake and fire. MILLS BUILDING. Corner of Montgomery and Bush streets. Illustration, Fig. 4. Ten stories. Material of front: Marble, brick and terra cotta. Floor construction, column covering and partitions: Terra cotta. This building was not of the skeleton construction type, the outside walls being self supporting, and the steel frame only sustaining the floors. The earthquake slightly cracked some of the walls. The fire cleaned the inside of the building out from the basement to the roof, with the exception of the engine room. The fireproofing was torn from the columns, the partitions crumbled away (see Fig. 22), the floor arches fell out in a number of places, and in a great many other cases the bottom plate of the arch cracked and fell off. Three columns in the basement were buckled, one of them very badly (see Pee na aban ee oe ae eee tee cee eee ee a een June 7, 1906 THE IRON AGE 1821 : : ey pmeeren sxe anit de! as Sn a hn a a a wR Raia aes 2 EASES ERS tee FIG. 13.—MONADNOCK BUILDING. FIG. 15.—SLOANE BUILDING. Pacific Hotel on one side and Call Building on One of the few examples of the failure of cast iron columns | the other side of it. This building would not have in the fire is furnished by this building. Being used as a furni- a been very seriously damaged had it uot been for the ture store, it was filled with highly imflammable material, and ; e great amount of unnecessary dynamiting done to the fire was very intense. Practically the entire interior of the it. Details of the damage are shown in Figs. 31 structure sunk several feet. It was also affected by earthquake. and 26 Se AI a 7 — FIG 14.—KAMM BUILDING. FIG. 16.—CITY OF PARIS DRY GOODS COMPANY BUILDING. Another illustration of the extensive damage wrought by The principal damage here was also done by dynamiting is afforded by this building. It is a total wreck, dynamite. The southeast corner of the building, owing to the extensive destruction due to dynamiting. The which was dynamited, was entirely destroyed, and steel columns are mostly all standing, but they are buckled, and in this section alone is the framework badly dam- the floors have been torn loose and are hanging from the aged. The fire did its worst work in the two lower columns. stories. = = Wietae emera Be ager” bk eee eee awe See ae ee =-aaane 2H RL ab ERE RT OR LIT OED aah ag ee one at 4 n an Oe trate aie heater ERO ER SFP SPER S ROE 1822 THE IRON AGE Fig. 27). The interior court was built with glazed brick and cast iron mullions. The glazing peeled off the bricks and the mullions bent badly. The heat in the basement was very intense, the side- walk beams are badly bent, the sidewalk in places pre- senting the appearance of waves. With the exception of the damage done to the stone by the fire the front walls seem to be in good condition. ST. FRANCIS HOTEL. Union Square, corner of Geary and Powell streets. Illustration, Fig. 5. Twelve stories. Front: Stone. Floor construction : Concrete. Partitions and column covering: Terra cotta. Hung ceilings. The floor construction was undamaged. The parti- FIG. 17.—HIBERNIA BANK BUILDING. A typical illustration of the condition of this type of build- ing. The interior was badly gutted by fire and the stone work considerably damaged. tions and column cover- ing in this building were not so seriously affected as in the great number of other cases where terra cotta was employed for these purposes. The fire reached two columns in the mezzanine story and buckled them (see Fig. 25); otherwise there was no damage to the steel work. The court was lined with pressed brick, which had but very little bond with the common brick backing, and this lining was either shaken off by the earthquake or destroyed by exposure to the fire. The front, although well blackened by the smoke, was not much damaged by the fire. The extension to the building, for which the steel frame but little damaged, and few beams and one col- umn were bent. Any evidences of earthquake were very largely covered up by the fire damage. The stone piers in the front and some brick piers inside are cracked. MERCHANTS’ EXCHANGE BUILDING. California street near Montgomery street. Illustration, Fig. 6. Fourteen stories. Material of front: Stone, brick and terra cotta. Floor construction : Concrete. Column covering : Two thicknesses of wire lath and plaster, with air space between. 5 Partitions: Wire lath and plaster. Hung ceilings. FIG. 18.—ARONSON BUILDING. Seriously damaged by fire, dynamiting and earthquake, this building presents a sorry picture and is in a dangerous condi- was almost complete, was tion. An interior view showing buckled columns and fallen partitions, but undamaged concrete floors, is shown in Fig. 28. in glazed brick. The June 7, 1906 The method of fireproofing the columns in this build- ing stood the fire well. In a number of cases the out- side thickness of wire lath and plaster was torn off, but the inner thickness held, with the result that no columns in the building were affected by the fire. This method of fireproofing columns was the most successful of any em- ployed in San Francisco. There is no question that the air space between the two thicknesses of wire lath and plaster contributed to this good result, but it looks very much as if the outside thickness broke the force of the heat and the inner covering was capable of withstanding the amount of heat which reached it. No damage was done to the floor construction, the hung ceiling under- neath preventing the flames from reaching it. This ceil- ing was broken only in a few plaees. The partitions were FIG. 19.—MAJESTIC THEATRE. Damaged by earthquake. The stage end, which was unsup- ported brick work, collapsed completely, while the steel frame of the forward portion remained standing. very badly twisted out of shape, as were all parti- tions of this kind sub- jected to the fire. The earthquake prob- ably cracked the walls, but a great deal of dam- age was done to them by the fire, and it is very difficult to arrive at any conclusion as to the rela- tive proportions of the damage resulting from these causes. Both the brick and stone work of the front were damaged. Hung ceilings and the concrete floor thoroughly protected the beams, and there seems to be no dam- aged steel in the building at all. The fire did not reach the basement, thus leaving the power plant intact. Elevators were running in two weeks after the earthquake. The court walls were laid up glazing peeled off in patches, and generally this court wall was in bad shape. CHRONICLE BUILDING. Corner Kearny and Market streets. Illustration, Fig. 7. Ten stories. Front: Stone, brick and terra cotta. Floor construction, column covering and partitions: Terra cotta. This building is not a skeleton construction, the out- side walls being self supporting, with columns built in them to carry the floors. The columns throughout this building are cast iron. All the floors in the building, be- ee ed pave 0% ‘SF Dk eet tes A nike. ae an AML Ds steer Fu, 3 = AGE Z oO ~ - 6) em) HH June 7, 1906 TRE TMRSS eT eT MR Te . mses RS SCRE Mat woud died ston a ee oe ae _— en SE TS Sn. op rekenge ihe el ee IL. = palin Bien So , eines 1824 THE IRON AGE tween the main entrance and the corner, fell into the basement. There were tenants in this building who con- tinued to occupy their offices until the evening of the day of the earthquake, consequently these floors did not fall from the effects of the earthquake. There was quite an amount of machinery in the top story, the weight of which probably started the top floor to fall, and it car- ried the rest of the floors with it. There was a fire in this building November last, which carried away the clock tower. The terra cotta partitions and column covering crumbled and fell, and the terra cotta arches broke and fell in a large number of cases. None of the steel work was damaged, except that in the section of the building which fell. A column in the top story was broken off about the middle (Fig. 30), and two beams supporting a bay win- FIG. 22.—RUINS IN THE MILLS BUILDING. Showing the failure of terra cotta partitions. Similar views were numerous throughout the tall buildings of the city. dow on Kearny street were broken at the wall, where some separator holes had been punched, the ends of the beams hanging down alongside the walls and held by a small amount of metal in the bottom flanges (Fig. 29). The new part of the Chronicle Building (Fig. 8) was unfinished and unoccupied. There was, therefore, no damage done to it beyond a little shaking of the front piers by the earthquake. In one or two stories where there was some wood work to burn the bottoms of the terra cotta arches spalled off, as they did in all other buildings where they were exposed to the fire. FAIRMOUNT HOTEL. Nob Hill. Illustration, Fig. 9. Five stories. Front: Stone and glazed terra cotta. Floor construction : Concrete. Column covering and partitions: Wire lath and plaster. This building was not yet occupied, but the greater part of the building was ready for occupancy, and, no doubt, if this fire had not happened the hotel would have been open for guests within a short time. There did not seem to be any effect by earthquake. The fire cleaned the building out very thoroughly, damaging the interior tg a great extent. The stone of the front was badly spalled by the fire and the terra cotta was blacked by the smoke. June 7, 1906 EMPORIUM. Market street. Illustration, Fig. 10. Seven stories. Front: Stone. First and second stories fireproofed. Floor construction and column covering: Terra cotta. At present all that remains of this building is an ugly pile of twisted steel. The fire seems to have burned out the structure very completely, but it would probably have been less of a ruin had it not been dynamited. There is no way of telling whether the earthquake had any effect, but it probably had little beyond a few cracks in the walls. The upper stories were not fireproof, but had steel columns and girders. The effect of the fire on this form of construction was evident in the twisting and bending of the steel. FIG. 23.—VIEW IN THE CROCKER BUILDING. A typical illustration of the manner in which the bottom plates of the terra cotta arches spalled off. CALL BUILDING. Corner of Third and Market streets, Illustration, Fig. 11. Nineteen stories. Front : Sandstone. Floor construction : Concrete. Partitions and column covering: Terra cotta. It was reported that this building was out of plumb, but this was not evident to the eye, and at the time of writing no one was allowed in the building to make an examination of it. The partitions and column covering throughout the building were very badly damaged. The floor construction was the bottom flange system, and, so far as the writer could see, stood the fire test well. The flames on the east side of the building were the fiercest, and therefore the stone work on this side of the building was very badly damaged. It would be hard to say how extensive the damage from the earthquake was because of the serious damage by fire, but it is not likely that it was very much. WHITTELL BUILDING. Illustration, Fig. 12. Fifteen stories. The steel work of this building had just been com- pleted, and none of the other work had been started. Flames from the adjacent buildings bent a few of the ee ee ee re June 7, 1906 THE beams in the first and second stories; but, with these exceptions, the frame work stands just as it was before Fig. 25.—Warped column in the St. Francis Hotel. Two of these columns acting in this manner had not been amply pro- tected by fireproofing. columns due to broken floors resisted the fire. IRON AGE the object of making it earthquake proof. It is needless to say that, while this might make the building capable of Fig. 28.—View in the Aronson z terra cotta Suilding showing buckled coverings, while concrete TWISTED AND BUCKLED STEEL COLUMNS. the earthquake and fire. It was reported that the owner of this building intended to inclose it in steel plates, with resisting the effects of earthquakes, it would not render it fireproof, and, as most of the destruction in San Fran- we een Dose teow 1826 THE cisco was caused by the fire, it would be far better in fin- ishing the building to follow the usual. approved methods of fireproofing the steel. As will be noted in Fig. 12, the entire erection of the steel work of this building was completed without putting in any of the floor arches. MONADNOCK BUILDING. Market and Annie streets. Illustration, Fig, 13. Ten stories. Front: Stone and brick. Floor construction : Steel girders, concrete beams and floor slabs. Partitions and column covering: Wire lath and plaster. This building was not completed when the earth- quake and fire happened ; consequently the fire did little damage to it. Parts of the building have been dynamited, and it is difficult to determine whether the cracks in the walls are due to dynamite or to earthquake. The walls on Market street are quite badly cracked, and at the cor- Fig. 29.—View in old Chronicle Building showing steel I-beams broken off at separator holes near their ends. ner of Annie and Market streets the side on Annie street shows a large crack, practically from the roof down. Some of the wall on Annic street, at the rear of the building, has fallen out. No such serious damage has been done to any building by the earthquake, and there is no question that this damage is largely due to dyna- mite. One charge of dynamite, placed in the basement, blew out arches in the first and second floors and struck the ceiling of the second story, breaking the wire lath. The Hearst Building, next door, was dynamited after the fire, and this also must have injuriously affected the Monadnock Building. As the building was in an unfin- ished state, all the columns were not fireproofed; and in the basement, where there was an intense heat, due to the burning of a large quantity of lumber, two of the columns buckled, as shown in Fig. 26. KAMM BUILDING. Stevenson street, near Third street. Illu