Popular Science Monthly 



387 



as the isles of safety for pedestrians in our 

 most-congested city thoroughfares. 



These island platforms are a special feat- 

 ure. Each car has its own island platform, 

 which is made of concrete, integral with the 

 floor. Each platform is ten feet long, 

 forty-nine inches wide and four and one- 

 half inches high, with a rounded, but slightly 

 pointed end facing the aisle. The cars are 

 arranged in two long rows with an 

 open runway between for entrance and 

 exit. 



As each car en ters 

 the aisle it is backed 

 up until its rear 

 wheels strike the 

 curved end of the 

 platform. This 

 serves to guide the 

 vehicle automatic- 

 ally into its stall, 

 with the platform 

 situated longitu- 

 dinally beneath the 



car, and its edges almost touching the insides 

 of the front and rear tires. As the platform 

 is of sufficient height to prevent the car 

 from mounting it when backing up, each 

 vehicle is automatically placed in 

 its proper position, and will be pre- 

 \ ented from running in any other 



The island platforms are arranged in long 

 rows, as shown in the accompanying illus- 

 tration, and are placed so that there are 

 fourteen inches of clear space adjacent to 

 the vehicles. This is sufficient to allow 

 each car to back into or run out of its stall 

 without disturbing the cars next it. The 

 platforms, being inside of the car wheels, 

 do not prevent jacks being used in the clear 

 space between vehicles to lift the wheels 

 off the floor for the removal of tires. A 

 small concrete bumper, about tw-o feet long, 



Two-way concrete ramps take the place of elevators. The ramps are 

 twenty feet wide, permitting one line of cars to go up and another to go 

 down at the same time without danger of collision or other mishap 



six inches wide and six inches high, is 

 provided behind each of the clear spaces 

 between the islands at the rear, to serve as 

 stops for the rear wheels of the cars. 



This garage, which is being built by one 

 of the large automobile concerns in 

 New York city, is four stories in height, 

 with a total floor area of 205,000 

 square feet; of which 164,000 

 square feet will be given 

 over to the ac- 

 commo- 

 dation 



garage will be the largest structure of its kind in the world. The garage will have a res- 

 taurant and clubroom for chauffeurs and will offer every personal convenience to owners 



