The sun. [volume], June 14, 1914, SEVENTH SECTION, Image 75

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SEVENTH SECTION
TEN PAGES
Ssuvl
'V"-r.
keal Estate-.'.Garden-News
Financial Reports
Kennels--Poultry
NEW YORK, SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1914. ConvHohi, 114, by the Sun PrinHna otid PubMMno AnociaUon.
NEW TERMINAL LIKELY TO MAKE LONG ISLAND
CITY COUNTRY'S GREATEST INDUSTRIAL CENTRE
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Degnon Company, Sub
way Contractors. Build
ing Factory Section
Just Across the East
River Where Largest
Manufacturers Will
Be Accommodated
$4,000,000 Spent Pre
paring Land. Building
Canal and Terminal
Railroad
According to figures compiled by the I
Department of Commerce and Ijibor at
Washington, Long Inland City In 1903
stood seventh on tlio 11m t of manufac
turing cities In this country. Since
then somothlng like 300 new Industries
have been located there, which undoubt
edly have brought that community
nearer the top of the list of manufac
turing districts. That Long Jnlanrl City
I about to take precedence over Man-
hallan Island even, the greatest maun- '
Facturlng centre In thu country, Is lmll- i
catca in the pinns juxt rnmplPtcd by .
the Depnon Ilealty and Terminal Im-
provenicnt Company, which has under-
taken the greatest Industrial develop- i
inent ever mupped out for this part of '
the world. J
Quietly and without tha Ware of I
trumpets thut usually accompanies such
n undertaking thn Degnon Company
hia gone about preparing a great trnct
of land It owns In Long Island City,
making all street Improvements, lmlld
itiR a waterway from Newtown Creek
right Into the heart of Its property,
iaylns railroad tracks from the Sunny
ilile yards of tha Pennsylvania Hall
road throughout their own laud, and
?ettlns a franchise from the city for the
operation of a terminal railroad. Then
to show what they expect to do with
the property they haw erected the
largest single; Industrial building In the
United States there and have leased It
to a single concern, where 2,500 em
ployees concentrate In work under ono
roof. Now they aro preparing for the
rtctlon of n cecond manufactory, where
1.800 men will bo employed, the building
for which will cost for construction
alone In the neighborhood of $2,000,000.
This Is a development thnt Is going
on at the very front door to New York
tlty. It Is part of nn Industrial growth
the like of which has never been seen
before. I'rlmarlly It Im caused by the
Joining up of Long Island City with
Manhattan by swift subway lines,
bridges and tunnels which bring that
section Just across the East Hlver
within a few minutes of the centre of
population on Manhattan Island. Only
econd In their Influence on this Indus
trial district are the unusual transporta
tion facilities, both water and rail, which
Long lslnnd City enjoys.
In taking up the development of a
section llko that In Long Island City
the Degnon Interests have added n
new department to their business,1
which heretofore has been confined
principally to large contracting work.
A everybody knows, the Degnon Com
pany built the Stclnway, or Uelmont.
tunnel and handled three of the most
Jlfllcult contracts In the building of the
present subway. They nro contractors
too for a large part of the dual sub
way nystem which Is now being built.
1'rlor to this the company did exten
lve railroad and municipal work. In
cluding the building of pneumatic cais
sons, towers and anchorages on the
Hrooklyn side of the Wllllamsburg
Brldge. It was while engaged In the work of
building parts of the present subway
that Michael J. Degnon, head of the
contracting company, took the first
eteps toward tho great Industrial sec
tion which he Is developing in Long
".and city. In building the subway
the Degnon forces excavated Immense
'luontltlcs of earth and rock, to dls
poe of which cost considerable money.
They naw an opportunity to turn tho
expenio of disposing of subway ex
avations Into n profit by purchasing
"e Long lslnnd City property, bring-
nn a up to grudo nnd selling It off
or factory sites, Then It wus an
Bounced one day that the Pennsy!
vania Hallroad was about to tunnol thf
Hudson and Kast rivers to bring their
ratns from New Jrrsoy right Into Long
Iiand City, where a great terminal
would be established, later to bo Joined
a lu meeting railroad from The Bronx
no Long island City, over which
'"eight for tho whole country, Canada
'nd .Mexico could be handled.
So It was that the Decuon Company
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rreoii tkc Loose
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found theiiiPolveM with n great tract of
lund on their hands bounded on one
sldrt by this great railroad improve
ment which brought them In touch
with every community reached by a
railroad track, and on the other side
oy a tlno waterway which gavo them
access to steamships sailing for overy
port on tho globe. It does not take a
man long to know when a brick has
dropped on him, nor did it take Mr
Degnon long to realize thnt he had be
come the possessor of a highly valu
able! Industrial property. The one thing
lacking still, however, was good transit
between Long Island City nnd the resi
dential parts of Greater New York, by
which employees of factories which
might locnto thcro could pass easily
to nnd from their work.
Once ug.iln, then, fortune favored
him. Tho city decided to build the dual
subwny system, and as part of It thoy
planned that nil routes the Hrooklyn
Itapld Transit subwny, tho Interbor
ough subway nnd the Intcrborough
elevated lino would pns through
Long Island City, with an express sta
tion on Queens Boulevard, a couple of
blocks from tho Degnon property.
Moreover It was planned that this line
should be ono which would havo earn
that would give connection for n single
live cent faro with every part of the
great rapid transit system going to
every part of the city. Such a sub-
1
CTCTGTEJC CXrX.
XJ-XX.H ""W- THE BSOrO'W CO . Q
way, too. would bring factories In Long
Island City within live ti ten minutes
of ollice sections In Manhattan and
would provide u quick connection be
tween factories and fulesrooms nnd of
tlces. Already the Queensboro Bridge,
with the widest bridge roadway In the
world, was built, making possible the
delivery of goods from Long Island
City factories Into tho centre of popu
lation in Munhuttan by truck or nuto
mo".)lle In a matter of minutes, elim
inating much dilay and expense.
With ull thee udvantages Mr. Degnon
I believed his property worthy of better
I than ordinary factory development As
he consulted about it and turned tho
i matter over In his mind the idea was
' evolved of making it a centre ot grtut
1 Industries n place where the largest
1 manufacturers could locate their plants
I amid Ideal conditions and surroundings.
Tim plan was quickly whipped Into
shape for handling the property. Pro
! vision was niiidf for Lrlnglng It up to
I pnrfect condition physically and then
arrangements were mnue nr iinuunuK
tho big indubtries which It was hoped
would looaw there. The firs', step was
the formation of the Degnon Hcalty nnd
Terminal I uprovement Company, with
Mr. DcrooiI ns president. For vice
president A. A. Stuart was elected, u
man of wide rallroud experience, anil
Adolph Knuik was elected treasurer.
Thn company was Incorporated at Al
bany with a capitul of $1,000,000, Its pur
pose being the development of lauds in
J P MORGAN A SILENT REAL ESTATE TRADER LIST
OF $5,000,000 HOLDINGS CAUSES GENERAL SURPRISE
Until the publication of the list of
realty holdings of the Into J. Pierpont
Morgan the man of Wall Street was not
known to have owned so much real es
tate. Except for the family colony on
Madison avenue, over which he watched
with eagle eye; tho building of his firm
at the corner of Wall and Broad streets,
hiB estato on the Hudson Hlver opposite
West Point and a camp in the Adlron
dacka the real estate market knew him
to own nothing more. Brokers tried
time and again to Intorest Mr. Morgan
In some choice piece of real estate. Often
he was told that the return would be as
great as from many Wnll Street deals,
but he could not be tempted. He dis
couraged brokers who wanted him to
buy by remarking that he had no In
terest in real estate and never could see
much in it. Experienced brokers would
never think of Mr. Morgan as a pros
pective buyer. Yet he bought real es
tate with the secrecy that many of our
well known men throw about their ac
tivities In the market, and nobody
seemed to know of it.
Healty brokers were a surprised group
of men when they read in the papers
lust vetk that Mr, Morgan owned forty
eight parcels ot real estate, valued in
tho neighborhood of $5,000,000, "How
did ho do it?" "Never henrd of him
buying anything but a bank or a thou
sand miles of railroad or something of
that sort." "Real estate, I always
thought, was too unlntorestlng to Mr,
Morgan. Had I known differently I
think I could havo made some commis
sions out of him." These were some of
the remarks heard in brokers' offices
after tho story was published,
Mr. Morgan owned a number of par
cels In tho vicinity of his home. The
opinion Is that lie bought theso to pre
serve the residential atmosphere of tho
section In which he lived. He did It in
n manner that did not attract atten
tion, and often his nnme slipped into the
records unnoticed by a score of keen
eyed brokers. The northwest corner of
Madison avenue und Thirty-eighth street
was not known to be Mr. Morgan's until
Lewis Cass Ledyard, Jr., prepared the
list of Morgan holdings for tho Btnta
Comptroller, George Baker of tho l-'lrst
National Bank, who lives next to the
corner, was credited always with thr
ownership of this property. At times
stories were heard that Mr. Morgan wa
Interested wltn Mr. Baker In tho cor
ner, but that he owned It outright was
scouted.
This Is the corner bnugjjt for $1,200.
000 to prevent the construction of an
office building. An apartment house
formerly covered the corner. A rcul
estate operator bought It and announced
that a modern apartment building would
be erected which would add to the ap
pearance of the section. As an apart
ment houso had stood on the corner for
many years Murrny Hill owners raised
no objections Tho foundation had been
laid and tho atcel work was tin to thn
first tier when the builders decided to
change the clmrnctor of the building
from an apartment to on office struc
ture. This is what Mr. Morgan, whoso
family colony was only a block below,
and Mr, Baker, who lived next to tho
Improvement, as well ns many of the
other wealthy residents of Murray Hill
had fought many years to prevent. Bum
rtess in their home neighborhood wu in
tolerable. Tho builders had decided that
an apartment might not pay as well as
an ofllco building. What tho neighbors
thought or threatened to do did not
seem to abash them. Their money was
In the operation and tho likes and dis
likes of tho man next door or dbwn on
tho next block or anywhere elso was not
going to stand fh the way of making
the building a success.
Ho they wont on with the building of
an office building after making the an
nouncement that they had changed their
plans. Mr. Baker bought tho unfin
ished building qh the easiest and quick
est means of stopping the operation, and
at the saiua time agreed to assume all
tho. obligations connected with the oper
ation, such as tho cost of plans, materia
contracts and the llko. Mr. Baker, It
was bnid at the tlme had the support of
several wealthy men In tho purchase of
the corner. Mr. Morgan was said to bo
one of them becnuBe"of his known ani
mosity to business within the restricted
Murray Hill zone. It now appears that
Mr, Morgan was much more interested
than was at first believed. The city val
ues the property at $490,000. For some
time tho building remained unfinished.
There It stood, a stunted mass of steel
.beams and girders. What to do with it
was a question. When it was bought
It was the belief of the buyer that it
would be sold to some onn as a home
site. But the fight against trade waged
for many years by Mr, Morgan nnd
others of Murrny Hill was no Incentive
to home building on that corner and
the property remained unsold,
W1U) carrying charges increasing
steadily the owner finally decided to
givo in to trado. But this trade tvas
ko be controlled by the owner. Mr.
Morgan finished the building In such
a way that none but one familiar with
the property would know that tho
building Is a business building. All
earmarks of trado nro prohibited. It
Is a two story building known ns the
Professional Building und It Is tenanted
chiefly by doctors, dentists and archi
tects. George V. Baker, Jr., Is tho
owner of record. The Tax Department
has him down as tho owner, ns it Is his
check that pays the taxed every yeir.
But Mr. Ledyard, Mr, Morgan's attor
ney, according to the list he has pre
pared for the Stato Comptroller to
compute the transfer tax, shows that
Mr, Morgan wns the owner nnd nppar
ontly tho solo owner, as no mention Is
made, of any othor being interested In
this famous corner.
The two dwellings belwoen tho Pro
fessional Building and thn eunt side of
the -old Middle road, the west boundary
of tho Murray Hill farm, were secured
nt tho sumo time thnt they might not
fall into tho hand of builders of trade
structures. These houses havo a front
age of 47.0 feet, nnd according to the
cltyls figure ought to sell for at least
$221,000. Tho northwest turner of
Lexington avenue and Thirty-sixth
street wm Mr. Morgan's. When he
bought it or thnt he had ever bought
It was not known. It Is holloved thnt It
Is one of the parcels that carao to him
by inheritance. This property, his
home, the Iwlnklng offices at Wnll and
Broad streots and tho property at 33
East Thirty-fifth street are the only
properties of the many in Mnnhattnn
and Tho Bronx which stand In hia
name. Most of his other holdings were
in the nnme of the Flintlock Ilealty
Company, which was Incorporated in
1909 with Mr. Morgan as president,
William P. Hamilton of the Morgan
flrra-M treasurer and C. U, Ponda aj
secretary. The last property taken by
tho Flintlock Ilealty Company was
104 East Thirty-fifth street, a four
story dwelling east of Park avenue.
On this property Mr. Morgan had to
pay taxes based on a valuation of
$43,500.
The story told about this house Is
that It was about to be sold, a decorator
wanting It who would pay well for It.
Tho figure ho offered was more than
could bo had for the house for resi
dential tise. Thu offer was about to bi
accepted when Mr. Morgan heard of it.
Through an agent he made an offer
and got the property, thereby preventing
business from coming Into his home
district from that quarter. If stories
told by brokers are correct there wns
no more careful guardlun of a section
thnn Mr. Morgan. He watched Us af
fnlrs nnd tendencies with the same In
terest he gave to many big financial
matters. When ho saw n weakness in
the wall llko the mythical giants of old
ho threw himself into tho breach nnd
prevented the threatened Invasion, His
money wns ever ready for such a pur
pose, Tho corner of Second avenue and
Forty-seventh street, a group of old
tenements, was forced on tho financier
In 1911. Tho property wns onm the old
Onmbrlnus Brewery. Joseph H. Hoad
ley formed tho Munhattan Trnnslt Com
pany and taught the property as an op
erating Btation. From Mr. Morgan he
got a mortgage. Tho enterprise did
not turn out ns well as was calculated.
Payment on the loan was neglected for
some time and Mr. Morgan foreclosed
and bought the property In the name
ot Walter B. Horn, his real estate rep
resentative, for $300,000. The city now
value the cornet at $271,000.
OOSC "WlXrfTCS JEJXBCUIT
cour-JTie.Tir. ty
Loose - Wiles Company
and American Ever
Ready Company, Two
Concerns Now Locat
ing There, Employ
4,300 Hands, Their
Buildings Costing
$4,000,000 -Shipping
Facilities and Low
Freight Rates Help
Development
Long Island City for factory and ter
minal purposes.
Speaking of IiIm plans yesterday Mr.
Degnon said that tho enterprise had
grown far beyond tho orlg'nal inten
tions, und that In carrying through thu
propused work his company would do
the greatest thing of the kind ever
undertaken in this country. "I am not
u railroad man," ho said, "but even I
was impressed with the importance of
the property by the faet that this ter
minal has the advnntngo of being
readied by ra'lrond nnd rapid transit
lines and by all water routes as welt as
having a terminal railroad with the
same rate as Is hud In tho most favored
part of Manhattan. Tho cheaper land
In Long Island City makes for lower
fixed chargvs, while the advantage of
being at the cenlro of population of
Munhattan, Tho Bronx and Brooklyn
makes tho spot convjiileru lor tho local
distribution of goods. With larger sale
and less cost in hnndiing goods tho
factories In Long Inland City should be
uble to cut the retail cost of their out
puts materially."
Mr. Uegnon raid that his company's
Investment In the nrupcrty up to thu
present time amounts to about $4,000,
U00. Tholr Improvements include a
canal culled Dutch Kills Canal, u branch
of the Newtown Creek, running to the
centre of the Degnon property trom
which tracks radiate to eery building
jl'.e. TIiIh canal Is lr.ti feet wide, hns
2,400 running feet of bulkhead und from
17 to 22 feet of water, it Ih not In
tended for ocean going ships, but light
ers can deliver there, the rate being
thu sumo as to all polr ts In tho New
York terminal zone. All tho land In tho
tract linn been brought to grnde, four
miles of streets have been laid und
water, gus anil electric conduits buried.
There Is u double newer system, one for
building drainage nnd the other for
carrying off tho rainfall.
The plan of development devised by
tho Degnon Company Is rather Interest
lug. They nro prepared to entertain
concerns requiring space from that of a
four Htory building on plot r.OxlOO to
thnt ot a building of unlimited height
covering a plot of six ncres. Their plan
contemplates cither tho selling or leas
ing of the land and the erection of
buildings either with the money of the
prospective tenant or with their owu
funds.
The two concerns which have already
located in tho Degnon property are
among the largest in their lines In the
country. In their now factory the Loose
Wiles Company have a building that is
the largest concrete structure in the
woflld. It Is tho biscuit company's
largest plant by nearly twice nnd rep
resents an Investment of $2,100,000 ex
clusive of equipment which represents
another outlay of $800,000. Inducements
which led the company to establish In
Long Island City besides the railroad
and steamship conveniences were the
convenient vehicle delivery to the cen
tre of population In Manhattan Island
and the fact that tracks from the termi
nal railroad pass right Into the build
ing, making the shipment of products
an easy matter. From Its plant the
company has uccess to tho Queensboro
Bridge, about 600 feet from the fac
tory, leading to Fifty-ninth street, Man
hattan. They operate about ICO motor
truckB, which carry 40 per cent, of their
output to the Manhattan stores.
Tlie American Ever Beady Company,
a subsidiary of the National Carbon
Company, is the other big plant to lo
cato In the Degnon tract. They have
bought a -whole block, 200x000 feet, on
which a $2,000,000 building will be
erected, whero 1,800 hands will bo em
ployed. Plans for tho first unit of the
building have Just been completed. Tho
principal reason for this concern locat
ing In Long Island City was the equal
freight rate they would obtain to all
parts of the world with the most fa
vored points In Manhattan.