Newspaper Page Text
UtMHMMMWMW—M—H«—
IHMMMHmSMMdt)
MID-WEEK REAL ESTATE AND BUILDING REVIEW I
HOUSES, LOTS AND LAND
MWMMIHMMHWMHMWIMWMMWWHHtWtMMIMlWWtWMHMiWWWWW
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT •{
THE NEW TERMINAL DISTRICT AS IT FIRST APPEARS TO A STRANGER EMERGING FROM THE PASSENGER STATION—CONTRAST THIS WITH THE APPEARANCE MADISON-ST. PRESENTED FIVE YEARS AGO.
BIC DEALS
IASI WEEK
. I
Auction of the Duncan!
Property — 0 f h e r
Rumors Afloat.
Two big deal* have claimed first In-
teresL In Atlanta;* »«al estate circles
this week—first, the result of the auc
tion of the Duncan property and Its
futum development, and second, the
reported purchase of the old Leyden
property b.v Asa G. t’andler, and the
rumor that It Is soon to be Improved by
the erection of a large retail depart
ment store. . .
As for the Duncan property, t(ie fact
that these two lots, facing Peachtree-st.
and the adjoining lots fronting on Har-
rls-st., brought a total of over $100,000
under the auctioneer’s hammer, proved
the atfacllneas of the local market. It
will be remembered that It was stated
in these columns that this property
would bring In the neighborhood of
$100,000, and while there weie some
who Insisted, that this was only “hot
Edward Dougherty, Architect.
The new home of Ed. H. Inman, Inman
Ansley Park.
circle and Fifteenth-st.,
ATLANTA IS NOW
AMUSEMENT CENTER
Atlanta In now th» ainusemsnt csntsr
of ih<> South, no well an the commercial
raiiltal und acknowledged distributing
headquarters. Real estate men and
business men agree that this means
much for the beat Interest* of the city.
The fact that there Is entertainment of
, _ all kinds to be had-here notrohly at-
alr" for the_purpose of boosting the reall triu . t „ but alio lengthens the
eatatr market, the wiser one's agreed
that such a figure would be reached or
approximated.
The northward trend of business
property In Atlanta during the paet few
yeare. particularly alnce the erection of
the Candler building, has been such as
to surprise even the most optimistic.
Many there were m the hi* crowd at
the court house Tuesday morning who
came for the purpose of bidding and
continued to bid until their limit was
reached, and paeeed. More than thle,
while the figures at which the property
sold were high. Atlantans who have
"followed this gi
a lifetime were practically unanimous
In slating tbat'the purchasers would be
able .to. double their money within a
very rew years. '
Following the sale, the greatest In
terest was evinced In the kind of devel
opment and Improvement of this prop
erly. and allho the nurchaaera said that
'they could not speak on the subject,
having but just .acquired the property,
there were several reports that hand-
soma commercial buildings would soon
be erected on the Peachtree frontage
and that the property was bought for
the purpose of some special Improve,
■uent. the details of which had all been
prevlouaty worked out.
Other reports which Interested many
were to ihe effect that the Harrls-st.
Iota had been purchased with Ihe sole
purpose of erecting one of the hand-
emnest apartment houses In Atlanta,
the basement and first floor to be given
over to stores.
As for the old Leyden property, re
ported.-to have been purchased by Mr.
Candler, the story that this handsome
lot. with 100 feet frontage on Peavhtree
and almost too feet deep, would soon be
Ihe site of a new department store, such
as would establish a precedent Iniocaf
trade rtrcles. seems to have found
many believers. It has also been ru
mored that full sets of plana for Just
such Improvement have been worked
out.
This report has again stirred up the
story that Mrs. J. M. High would very
soon erect a hlg retell store building on
her property at the corner of James and
North Forsyth-Sts. it has been report
ed that Mrs. High would erect a new
.home for the present store of the J. M.
High Company; and that the present
Whltehall-st. place would also be con
tinued. while another report has been to
the effect that she Intends Tmlldlrig a
big home for a department stor^ and
then leasing It to outside parties.
Still another report Is that a vacant
piece of property on the north side Is
soon to be improved for the purpose of
bringing a big out-of-town ' concern
here. This rumor also states that the
property will be Improved for a large
department store, so that altogether It
begins to appear that If there Is any
lire where there Is so much smoke, the
north side Is sure to have such an Insti
tution In the near future.
This seems to be regular auction
weather, and while many have been
held, many more are scheduled for Ihe
rest of the month. The sate of several
homes and some twenty-six lots In east
Atlanta, which is to comprise part of
the new Ninth ward Ifi Greater At
lanta, was another feature of the pres
ent week. This sale was conducted by
L. A.' Woods, who has done so much In
the development of this section, while
that genial auctioneer. J. Vi. Ferguson,
ran the bidding up and kept every one
entertained. While some of these prop'
erti/s were purchased fqr Investment,
most . of them were bought as lionle
sites, several of the buyers stating that
they Intended to build during the pres
ent spring otj summer. This section l»
already building up very rapidly and
when brought within the city limits will
prove an added asset to Atlanta', pop
ulation.
Altogether, Tuesday of this week ap-
stay of those who do come.
Ond advantage of the many amuse,
ment places le the fact that the visitor
Is sure of entertainment at any time
and does not hnve to wait for special
attractions. Trade follows light and
amusement and Is responsible for the
expenditure of millions of dollars In
New York dally.
With Ihe many new moving picture
theatera going up. Atlanta Is rapidly
making of Whitehall ami Peachtree the
"Great White Way" of the South. Time
was when almost any old place was
considered as all right for moving pic
tures. Rut this day liar passed and,the
hills In Iheae miniature-playhouses have
been strengthened _untll they afford
most delightful and very often profit
able amusement. These, theatera . now-
have handsome homes, with elaborate
furnishings and handsome appoint
ments. such as offer the most luxurious
and artlmlc surroundings for a nickel
or a dime. The recent activity In this
line In Atlanta has been remarkable.
The new home of the Howard Amuse
ment I'ompany at 9# Peachtree, wlileh
Is being remodeled by the Pittman Con
struction Company, Is characteristic of
Atlanta as the amusement center of the
South. Some $10,000 In being spent In
the remodeling of this nlare. which will
be opened the last of next weak. and.Is
one that would be a credit to any city.
The W. E. Browne Company has'charge
of the decorations and the frescoing
and mural designs by Adolph Neuer-
bauer for thifi-firm Is certain to attract
wide attention. Mr. Neuerbauer Is a
native of Munich and Is an artist of
whom-Atlanta may well be proud. Thle
new Alcazar Is rt> be finished In Oriental
style and mpny of the appointments nro
unique and mark a new- period In thle
kind of work.
The home of this theater Is also
typical of the opportunities which At
lanta' offers for profitable Investment.
It la only a short t(me ago that 99
Peachtree was a music store and rent
ed for some $175 a month. In the lease
secured b.v the Howard Amusertfent
CompanJ- for live years the rent atarta
at 1400 a month and this amount Is
Increased as Ihe lease grows older.
And here Ifi Ihe record of Ilia money
that has been made by the owners of
this properly within Ihe past twelve
months: Less than a year ngn Asa O.
Candler sold this propertysand cleared
$17,000, C. W. McClure,-the purchaser,
held It for a.few months, and. when lie’
sold II. cleared $20,000. M. R. Berry,
$77,000 for the property, from whlcrcbe
draws a handsome return on the money
invested, and Is reported to have re
fused to sell at a hlg advance over the
prlee paid.
OF THE SOOTH
MARVELOUS;
• j
E. P. Ansley T^lks of|
What Future May
Show.
The wonderful Increases In value of
property and particularly timber and
coal and mineral properties through
out Georgia and the entire South dur
ing the past generation has been noth
ing leas than phenomenal. Many have
been the big fortunes as the direct re
sult of the development of the South’s
natural resources, and while much
has been already accomplished, this
work Is still In Its Infancy and the op
portunities for profitable investment
are almofct unlimited. *
At this present time It Is generally
conceded that the South Is In a better
condition Ilian any oilier, section and
millions and millions nre coming here
from ihe big financial centers In the
East for the development of cotton and
coal lands and the many other rich
resources which abound so .plentifully.
This Is not a "boost" statement of nn
energetic and enthusiastic press agent,
but a trite condition of affairs. Many
Atlantans and Southerners have lately
returned from New York and other
Eastern cities and report that the eyes
of the wealthy capitalists and the rich
corporations are on tlilis section ns
This photograph show/a the pouring of tho concrete retaining* walla
— id office
for tho new Forsyth theater a
Realty Trust Company.
building being erected by the
TERMINAL DISTRICT
CENTER OF ACTIVITY
Frank Pittman Says
Building Activity Is
Wonderful.
For the pant several weeks there haf
been a constant increase In building
activity In Atlanta, and from present
Indications this spring and summer will
nul only break all building records but
will sm^sh them sufficiently to mark
a new era. Probably there Is no At
lantan better able to judge along this
line than the head of the Pittman Con
struction Company. It will be remem
bered that Mr. Pittman was for Home
This shows the reinforcement and forming of tho new Forsyth thea
ter and office building, H. L. Steveni, contractor, and A. Ten Eyck Brown,
architect.
peared to be red letter day. so fat* as
alictlons were concerned. The. crowd
that gathered At th# court ’ house fbr.
the sale of the * Duncan property and
others was«,a record-breaker, in tft£
opinion of the oldest citizen. On* of
these sales was conducted by the well
known Arm of 8. B. Thurman* & t!o.
and several properties in different sec-
clty*wi
tlons of the cFty*were sold at good
prices.
Still another sal* was .that of'the .old
estates of P..P. Pease and Mrs. Emma
C. Pease, conducted by A. Jr West &
Co. This property, consisting* of some
fourteen pieces, was purchased by R, L,
Walter and .Mrs. Mary E. Baldwin fora
sum aggregating $36,000. Another sale
by this same* company was the .estate
of Janies Sheiin, including some forty
acres, on the McDonough road, arid a
tract On t*nderwood-ave. J. B. High
tower secured the first property .for
some $5,600. while Arnold Broyles
bought that located on Underwood-ave.
The report that the Peachtree front
age of the Duncan property has been
purchased by a syndicate, composed of'club home.
corporations are on this section ns
never before. Just at the beginning of
the recent panic It will be remembered
that there were many millions of dol
lars ready to be expended In Southern
development, much of which was held
up temporarily with the great depres
sion of the money market. Now that
the nation Is recovering from this pe
riod of stringency, these millions with
other added, millions ate again coming
this way and there seems to be no
doubt In the minds of any but that this
great wealth will he used for Southern
development In the Immediate future.
In fact much Is already under way with
more to follow. This Is particularly
true of some of the big railroad sys
tems that are Improving their proper
ties and It Is generally conceded that
these big corporations'but blaze the
way for outside capital.
EDWIN P. ANSLEY TALKS
OF SOUTHERN DEVELOPMENT
The South Is now organizing many
trust companies and Southern capital
Is sharing with outside capital In the
profits resulting from such develop
ment. That these* . companies ,mean
everything to the South and mark a
most important epoch is universally
admitted. .With this In view. Edwin
l*. Ansley. the well-known developer,
was asked concerning this period and
what it means for Atlanta particularly
as well as for the section generally.
Mr. Ansley made the following state
ment to a representative of The Geor
gian. and shows with facts and figures
both the wonderful results already ac
complished and the opportunities the
present and future ofTere:
— “The only adverse criticism I have
heard against the work I have under
taken to do In deyeloplng Atlanta along
modern lines comes frohi those Who do
’»ot under*tnnd_\vhai my plan* for de
veloping Atlanta are. nor what a won
derful Agtncy for developing a whole
section and inducing outside ,capital
ro com* into ft a live, modern, up-to-
late trust company J s.
"I quit school Sit 16 from necessity.’
because my father before me was In
the real estate business, and was trying
to Induce outside capital to come Into
tho South to develop Us wonderful coal,
iron and other mineral resources (the
: prices of coal lands ranging from 50
cents to $1 per Acre) to buy Us hard
wood timber at $1 per acre, and its
round yellow pine, cutting from 5,000
to 10,000 feet per acre, at from 75 cents
to $2 per aefe. and while he wrote
thousands upon thousands of letters
und had hundreds of deals almost
worked up to a trading point, lie barely
made a living for himself and family.
The announcement that the Southern edeged wholesale and terminal district
railway will very soon break ground for ; of Atlanta. Hardly In all Atlanta, ac-
the erection of a new building opposite ; cording to the real estate tnen, is there c.ty and kept a record th;
the Terminal station has again attract- a section where the values have ad- vmiderful growth of Atlanta,
cd attention to this section of Atlanta. • vanced during the past few years us •« "For 24 years." said Mr. Pittman to
J. 8. B. Thompson states that In addl- * and around the Terminal station. Trs a Georgian representative. “I have been
tlon to- providing ample facilities for < Is best proved by the fact that, altho j In close touch with the building inter-
tbe handling of freight, this new build- j completely destroyed by a great fire, ests ijere and never wmr there a tlms
Ing will also Include the general freight w ithin a year It was hardly possible to j when there was so much building going
members of the ("apital City Club. Is
believed to mean another handsome
new' building for this new business sec-
hai- h.., a** : *nd lived largely oh ‘prospects, of big
\\ bile the plans ha\e not been de- j |n | ptM . a i „ r tim>w»r a«nu* vmm* ntt»r i«nr
elded upon. It Is reported that many of; 'A' 1 '
the club members favor the erection of
a large building, with handsome busi
ness place* on the first floor and with
the stories above devoted to the hand
somest dub quarters to be found any
where In the South. Ever since the an-
hi* missionary work today, but at
l wn. B £ !•» .'«»•* rapua: looked a. Southern
office**. This will necessitate a large see that there had been n fire and .the
amount of floor space and office room, ; rebuilt district was better and larger
as the force in this department of the j than before.
Southern railway has grown rapidly I This section Is particularly valuable
during the past few years, and Is at for fhe ideation of big warehouses, and
•present cramped for lack of ample tnere has been much activity In this
quarters and room for the filing of the line, even before the announcement by
vast volume of records that Is a part the Southern railway. Several large
of the dally routine. buildings nre now being converted for
Aa a result, this new building Is sure this purpose, while plans are being
to be a real acquisition to the city, and drawn for the building of new wnre-
b.v offering extra advantages to^hc house*, and among these one which, It
shipper, has served to enhance values Is reported, will be the largest* In At-
throughout this section, the acknowl- j lantn. If not In the entire South.
taken off of It. and the value of yellow
pine timber had not then become
knbwn as # lt has now.
“Some of these same 75 cents fo $rf
per aere lands are npw selling at from
$25 to $50 per acre for cotton lands, as
they nnnuaily produce from one-half
to a bale of cotton per acre, and even
at $100 pet- acre they will pay at least
25 per cent per annum, If properly cul- {
tlvated, and there are few Investments !p n l f l p nr fcdc flflfl and Will
In \jil* country that will pay any such jOOiU £ Or $£D,UUU ana VYlli
annual dividend; and still they can not
be used ns collateral security for loans, I
under the present national banking I
laws.
“Some of the big bonding Instltu- i
tlons of Chicago and 81. Louis are j Th . Tr...,
.7 .. f The neaKy Trust c mnpany, of which
loTp?ne lands for lb. Vlmb,!- and turl I of,ho
K? , «L r, |n h MI«lISon l and Kan? 1 5 Korll. Fo?»yth and Lu "kl’o-it.! my-
pet ai re In Mississippi und I*ouisianu, i nv ihn u>,>* ,,f or. mm
nd the land, after the timber Is taken
Be Replaced by Office
Building.
Ing therefor the sum of $45,000.
The lot has a frontage of 50 feet on
Xfrth Forsyth and 90 feet on Luckie*
at; The home now located upon It will
be torn away and replaced with a hand
some office, building. In accordance with
the plans for tho Improvement of
Luckle-st.
WOODS AUCTION SALE
A total of $16,795 was realized from
the auction sale of twent.v-slx lots on
Metropollian-avc. In east Atlanta by
L. A. Woods Tuesday afternoon.
The following pevaons were pur-
to work, they dtd
"His Judgment was right, ai lie
could , see the wonderful possibilities
of the South’s natural resources, und
e are all reaping Ihe benefit of some
location,' which, many predict will be
Ipracttcally' within the center of the
business district of Atlanta within u
fen years. It Is also slated that some
of the members are opposed to having
any pan of the building devoted to
commercial purposes, while others
point out the fact that many elnillkr
clubs, particularly In .Yew York and
the Eastern cities, employ this method
of securing » very handsome return
without In any way Interfering with the
Investments as 'extremely hazardous.'
Bo many 'lemons' In the nature of wild
cat schemes had been presented by un
scrupulous men that capitalists in the
North and East had come to think that
neither their money nor their lives
Would be safe in the Routh.
From 75c to $100 Par Acre..
"It was* generally supiwsed that all
the land In the pine belt throughout
the t.'arollnas. Georgia: Florida. Ala-
enjoyment of the quarters as a modern bama. Mississippi. Louisiana and Tex
's was worthless after lit timber was
off. sella for $20 to, $56 per acre for
fanning purposes.
.‘"The hardwood limber prices show
Just as marked advances as the pine,
and good coal and Iron lands nre cheap
Qt $15 to $20 per acre today, with the
name character of lands selling In the
Pennsylvania coal section at $10u and
up. a
How Trust Companies Aid South.
"The. South’s mineral resources and
her water powers have not yet beeii
touched, and inllllono tipen millions of
dnllnrs can be brought in here thru the
medium of live, active trust companies it ZSSB
that will employ competent experts to]Phaser* of the lots': -.‘Shelby Smith.'Dr.
make necessary examinations nnd re- jt’opeland t’oek. J. II. Harris. \V. A. Fos-
pnrts In order to give the capitalists the j ter. L. A. Woods. W. H. Anderson, J. H.
Information they wnnt In order to tig- , Harris. A. B. N'all. \V. J. Garner. J. W.
ure the possible returns they will re- Richardson. H. J. Austin nnd Mrs. J.
celve from their Investments. | T. Wellhnm.
'Willie Geergln has changed Its pal- j
Icy of ’destructive regulation of cor
porations' operating within Us borders, J. W. Ferguson acted ns auctioneer,
other of the Southern slates have car- Ing to the wonderful natural resources
tied this policy to such a point as to! of the Mouth and will pour Its mll-
prohibll the Investment of millions of j lions into our laps If we will only oil-
dollars that would otherwise come Into courage 11.
our section to help develop It. I think 1 "I hgve been working for twenty
Georgia’s example Is having n splendid i years to attain Ihe point I have Just
effect, and I hope that soon all the pro- | reached, where 1 can have a strong
hlbllive legislation that Is keeping rapt- trust company behind me to help mod-
tal out of the South will disappear. (emlse our city to meet the ,ow order
"I have been assured by some of the | of things In the South, which demands
largest development corporations In the that we keep abreast of the times and
North nnd Enst that as soon as the [ with the most modern cities In Amer-
RaaJty Trust Company Is ready to take lea.
up the Industrial development of the J "I am in the development business
South—Its water power, mahufactur- i not to develop one section of the city
Ing nnd mining Interests—they are I at the expense of another, but for the
ready to get behind It with their un- !<cod of the whole. Atlanta's Interests
limited financial resources und extstrt j and thy Interests are one and Ihe same
organizations, und aid In this develop- an^ Its prosperity will mean my pros-
ment along mialern. scientific lines, so perlty.
as to_rllmlnate the South's past exited- ' "I sbull take up one or two sections
ccpe of uncertain returns from Invest- |nf the city at :i time, und try to show
nients of this character: but they In-1 the necessity for fitting that particular
slst that when they go into any ef section for the city’s present necessl-
these development enterprises there l tie*, ami when this development Is
must be local co-opartlon. and that the 1 completed I will take up another, tflach
section In which the development Is be- i sect lop is adapted to peculiar or par
ing undertaken must take a certain | tlcular development, and the gr
mirk nf ths iinHctruritlnvK nr* ■sciii’IMm nf tho i Itv will mci,•*>*«
pari of the underwriting* or securities,
where the proposition can be demon
strated to be a first-da** paying busi
ness proposition, as local co-opor ttlon
and hical Interests will protect them
against unfavorable or unjust legisla
tion.
Millions Await Encouragement.
"The .Investing world Is just awuk-
of the city will demonstrate this more
nnd more each year. The nature and
character of both residential and busi
ness property change In every live
progressive city, ami Atlanta has al
ready undergone some of the changes
and will undergo many more hh we
proceed to build "Greater Atlanta,* the
Southern metropolis of America.’* •
on in all those years. - This Js.saylD?
much, for there have been many either
years when the building records of At-
innta show a tremendous amount <>f
business done. How do ! account f*»r
It? Well, for one thing practically all
of the speculative building stopped
during the panic. By speculative build
ing I mean the construction of house*
to sell,, especially houses to sell on easy
forms. This class of work has In
creased very rapidly during the past
few weeks and very many seem t<» Iw*
preparing for the steady rush of people
who are coming here to stay.
"Besides this, more Atlantans ar§
building homes for themselves than
ever * before, particularly fine homes.
In this way builders are being kept on
the Jump and while there are not so
many big buildings going up. all of this
other business makes the total volume
greater than ever before*
"In my own opinion this year Is going
to be the best on record both In the
building business and In real estate.
There seem to be many Whc have been
waiting to start construction of one
kind or another and all of these have
either commenced or expect to start
Immediately. I know we have orders
to build some 15 homes In Ansley Park
alone and as this activity In building
Is notlrue of any one ward or dlstrl*'
but applies to every section «»f thj
city. Greater Atlanta is going to be ;
greater city lif every way with the ex
tension of the present IlfKits"
In the Improvement of central prop
erty, there is much Interest In the erec
tion of the Forsyth theater and
building of reinforced concrete. This
Is the first building of this kind t
constructed In the South, and every
finds a large crowd of spectators
watching the workmen rushing this
new playhouse to completion.
Htevens, the contractor, Is a
comer to Atlanta, altho he hn:
Identified with large constructions in
oth'er sections of the South and is now
engaged in Important construction
work, also In reinforced concrete, m
Texas. Mr. Stevens has made many
friends during his short stay here
account of his progressive anti enter
prising methods. Workmen hiv now
engaged In pouring on the ground
and It Is stated that the eight stories
of this new building will fairly slu*»t UP
from this time on.
The Rhodes office building, on Man*
ettu-st., which is being erected by tM
Pittman Construction Company. I*
reaching toward completion, the worx
being rushed on the fifth story of tnJ*
six-story structure. When finished, tm*
building, which Is also of reinforced
concrete, will contain 100 offices an«
four stores on Marfetta-st., and tn
appointments will Include its ow-n elec
tric plant, electric elevators and
some finishings In Georgia marble ana
t»e. a .
As stated In these columns man
apartment houses are now under «»■
or will be started within the next f*
weeks. Among the Urtest Is « n f '
Slxth-st., between Peachtree and /J 1 * 1
per-sts., for Fred Cole and Guy Miwn-
ell. Harry Leslie Walker is the arcni
tect nnd P. J. Wesley & Sons the con
tractors. . , „
Mr. Walker Is also the architect or
ew building to be erected on Log
new
tvood-ave. for James
w’hlch will contain five store.** '' n 1 n
ground floor. Work Is to be started •
this building at once. ml .
Mr. Walker hasUlso designed a num
ber of Atlanta's handsome homes
has completed plans for a reslden-
W. D. Ellis. Jr., on Fifteenth-st. vdiM
will be an artistic addition to thb* beau
tlful section as soon as It Is n pi J* .
Still another handsome home I* J
being builKby Gude 4 { ? r r h u
John M. Slaton neai* aRickhead. 1 “ ^
country place will be of the old hngm
half-timber, which Is so popular,
will cost some $25,0<XL