II I III' 

 J II I II" 

 6m 



MASONRY: CUT STONK WORK 



IN the building of the Singer Tower 4/280,000 

 pounds of limestone were used, the greater part 

 above the JJ.'Jd floor. Handling this stone work \va> 

 a very difficult operation, because all had to be 

 hoisted from the street side and carried through to 

 position on the other faces. This may seem a sim- 

 ple thing to do, but owing to the intricacy of the 

 structure, crowded with workmen of many trades, 

 it was very difficult. 



Nevertheless, the whole operation, including hoist- 

 ing and setting of stones up to 5 tons in weight, at 

 heights varying from 210 to .HO feet from the street 

 level, was accomplished by the contractors without 

 any accident whatever, a remarkable achievement, 

 in view of the risks attendant on this kind of work. 



A very interesting feature occurs above the .'5:;d 

 floor where, supported on tromp arches having a 

 curved face projecting 5 feet. S inches, ;i whole story, 

 crowned by spacious balconies, is carried, the pro- 

 jection of the balcony from the pier face below being 

 S feet 6 inches. This was an especially difficult piece 

 of work, as it was impossible to install the steel frame- 

 work to which the tromp arches are attached until after 

 the stone work was set, and owing to their peculiar 

 form, specially designed centering and falsework had 

 to be used. There are L ^7 stones, weighing altogether 

 (JO tons, in each of these arches. In hoisting the stone 

 work, which was raised in a single lift from Broad- 

 way, 1,!)00 feet of jjj-inch cable had to be wound on 

 the drum of the hoisting machine, the greatest length 

 by far that has ever been used in a similar operation. 



The limestone was furnished and erected by ./. ./. 

 Spurr & Son* of Harrison. \. J. 



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