MASONRY 



FIREPROOFING 



IT was the intention of the owners and architect 

 in the construction of the Singer Building to 

 use the most approved means of fireproof con- 

 struction. To this end, every inch of the steel con- 

 struction is protected with an adequate covering of 

 terra cotta hollow tile, the standard fireproofing ma- 

 terial. It is also used for forming the floors of the 

 building by laying it in the spans between the steel 

 floor beams. 



This material was all furnished by the National 

 Fireproofing Company, the largest producers of terra 

 cotta hollow tile in the world, and is all of standard 

 approved quality. 



Terra cotta hollow tile is a clay product. In the 

 manufacture of hollow fireproofing blocks the clay 

 is burnt to a temperature of approximately 2,800 

 degrees, so that when fire occurs in a structure fire- 

 proofed with this material little damage can result to 

 the material until this degree of heat has been ap- 

 proximated and continued for a considerable length 

 of time. 



Terra cotta hollow tile were also used throughout 

 the building for partitions and for furring the ex- 

 terior walls. The roof construction also is of porous 

 terra cotta hollow tile furnished by the National 

 Fireproofing Company, so that the floors, partitions, 

 the coverings of steel columns and girders and the 

 roof are all composed of this fireproof material. 



As giving an idea of the great size of this building, 

 it may be said that the National Fireproofing Com- 

 pany furnished more than 733,000 square feet of terra 

 cotta hollow tile fireproofing for the purposes de- 

 scribed, equivalent in area to more than 16 acres and 

 in weight to 7,800 tons, equal to more than 500 aver- 

 age carloads. 



With a building so thoroughly fireproof in its 

 structure, its steel entirely protected, its floors, roof 

 and partitions of this indestructible material, and 

 with all wood and other combustible finish reduced 

 to the barest minimum, any damage to this building 

 by fire, either from fire generated within itself or 

 from fire to which it may be exposed by the burning 

 of neighboring properties, is reduced to a contingency 

 so remote as to be a minor consideration. 



FACE BRICK 



THE face brick are dark red in color, laid up 

 in English bond, using half brick in the alternate 

 header courses and breaking joint in the stretcher 

 courses; nine courses to two feet. The joints are 

 wide and are raked out to a depth of about half an 

 inch, giving a very beautiful and interesting example 

 of face brick work. This method was first employed 

 in erecting the original Singer Building, about a 

 decade ago, and has since been extensively copied. 



One of the bricks at the top of the Tower was 



made of silver, instead of clay, to emphasize the fact 

 that it is the highest brick in the world. There are, 

 in the entire group of buildings, 5,033,800 brick, 

 of which about 1,000,000 are in the Tower proper. 

 If these brick were laid end to end they would ex- 

 tend a sufficient distance to reach from New York 

 to Detroit, Mich., 635 miles. They would pave a 

 footpath 12 inches wide from New York to Boston, 

 Mass. 



The face brick were furnished by the John B. 

 Rose Co. of 640 West Fifty-second Street, New York. 



BLUESTONE 



ABOUT 1,500 cubic feet of North River Milestone 

 were used in the Singer Building construction, com- 

 prising templates, bondstones, base courses, window- 

 sills, lintel roof coping and entrance steps. 



In addition to the foregoing the sidewalk flagging 

 and street curb entered into this contract, the latter 

 being notable as the largest bluestone curb, "in 

 section," fronting any building in New York City. 



All of the Milestone was furnished and placed in 

 position by Martin P. Lodge of New York City. 



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