318 



THE WORLD'S ADVANCE 



of the fact that the concrete tube is two 

 feet thick, this achievement may be con- 

 sidered remarkably fast work. 



A STORE ENTRANCE BY DAY A 

 SHOW WINDOW BY NIGHT 



In one of New York's Fifth Avenue 

 stores three long show windows are so 

 constructed that they are lowered into 

 the basement, where the window dresser 

 may arrange his displays at leisure. 

 They are the first hydraulic elevator 

 show windows in existence, and repre- 

 sent the last word in show window ad- 

 vertising. 



The window dresser's chamber ex- 

 tends under the sidewalk the entire front 

 of the store and is illumined in the day- 

 time by sidewalk lights. There is a 

 trackway running the entire length of 

 this " chamber and on it is a bridge or 

 truck which receives the window plat- 

 forms mounted on rollers and carries 

 them down the trackway to any desired 

 window elevator, where they are moved 



on the elevator and raised to the show 

 windows, level with the sidewalk above. 



The entire set of displays may be pre- 

 pared in the basement in the day time by 

 the window dresser, and he can thus ac- 

 curately gauge their effect. After he 

 has set up a number of displays, he 

 lowers the show cases that have been 

 on view, shunts them out of the way, 

 puts the new displays on the elevators 

 and raises them to the windows. He 

 does his work in the day time and once 

 the displays are in position they are 

 never changed. All other window dress- 

 ers do most of their work at night. 



The most remarkable feature about the 

 elevator show window is shown in this 

 same store. Display advertising is so 

 valuable on Fifth Avenue that the store 

 entrance or vestibule is actually used at 

 night for display purposes. This is easy 

 enough with the elevator. Persons 

 walking by the store at night may see 

 the floor of the vestibule or entrance be- 

 gin to rise, and presently a completely 

 dressed show window emerges. 



This vestibule elevator show window 



In the Basement of a 

 New York Store: 

 The Show Window 

 Platforms Ready to be 

 Dressed. 



