INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



most of the European palaces. In the matter of com- 

 forts and convenience the advantage lies entirely with 

 the American structures. To be sure there are many 

 European palaces in which an effort is made from time 

 to time to keep up with the tide of progress by adding 

 such improvements as modern elevators, and modern 

 heating and lighting appliances. But at best these 

 are only make-shifts antique structures with new 

 garnishings. And the American in his palatial resi- 

 dence, with every convenience for his comfort provided 

 by engineer and architect, may well smile at the crude 

 dwellings with ancient armorial bearings crude at 

 best, from the standpoint of comfort and convenience 

 built before the days of steel-frames, steam heating, 

 and applied electricity. 



SOME THOUGHT-PROVOCATIVE STATISTICS 



The luxury of equipment of modern dwellings is 

 equalled often surpassed, indeed in the buildings 

 used for business purposes, particularly in New York 

 which has the distinction of having the highest office 

 buildings as well as the highest -priced real estate in 

 the world. The fact that the land on which a narrow, 

 twenty-story skyscraper stands sometimes costs more 

 than the building itself gives some conception of these 

 values. The most notable example of this is the Flat- 

 iron Building, the site for which cost $2,500,000. And 

 yet this figure does not represent the acme of price per 

 foot in the metropolis. This distinction goes to a 

 little corner lot on Wall Street and Broadway, which 



