NYC parking 1930

First All-Glass Building Soon to Rise in City of New York

FROM designing the Imperial Hotel in Tokio, Japan—the only structure of any importance that stood up under the earthquake a few years back—to building the first all-glass house in the heart of New York City is a pretty long step. But it is being taken by Frank Lloyd Wright, world-famed architect, who proposes to erect a building along the lines of that shown in the illustration, at Second Avenue and 11th Street. It is the first of several that Mr. Wright plans to build within the next few years.

One of the unusual features of this building is that no structural steel will be used anywhere in the glass house. In detailing his idea, Mr. Wright pointed out that he plans to build this all-glass tower to a height of 18 stories and set a two-story penthouse on top of it for his own personal use. The walls of the building will be made of clear, heavy plate glass and the floors will be of concrete inlaid with a rubber composition to deaden noises. For decorative purposes, balconies and parapets, Mr. Wright proposes to use copper.

Kent Automatic Garages were popular in a number of metropolitan areas from the late 1920s through the early 1960s. They enabled customers to park their cars for an hour or longer with a standard rate of $.50 per hour for the first two hours, and $.05 for each additional hour or fraction thereof, for a twenty-four hour period. One of the first Kent Automatic Garages was at 44th Street, just east of 3rd Avenue and the other a block west of Columbus Circle. The parking facilities were convenient, beginning with electric automatic parkers which received vehicles. Autos could be stored and returned to patrons at a moment's notice. Specifically, cars were handled by an electricparker, a small rubber- tired machine which ran beneath the auto and engaged with the rear axle by means of a rubber-cleated coupler. The parker required approximately fifteen seconds to move sixty feet from an elevator, lift the car, and return with it. It saved time by bringing a car from its parking space and returning it to the ground floor, without starting the motor. The auto rolled on its own wheels but was moved by the parker.