JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
In the continuing series of information presentation comparing new and relatively unknown objects to the very well known there is a subseries where the imagery uses ships as the new or the known, and they are usually presented in a city skyline or against a building. In the following two examples the first (Scientific American, September 1904) shows the new 800′ Turbine Cunard placed against Trinity Church and then, standing on end, impressively displayed alongside the 380′ Park Row Building, which at the time and until 1908 was the world’s tallest building. That means that the beautiful steel skyscraper designed by R.H. Robertson was not quite half the length of the new ocean liner, which also had the benefit of moving at 25-knots through the ocean whereas the Park Row, well, didn’t. In any event, it is a pretty interesting image.
The second (Sci Am 25 July 1908), compares what was thought to be the limits in the height of the still relatively new introduction of the skyscraper, which according to NYC building regulations listed the maximum foundation pressure at 15 tons per square foot. The editors of the Sci Am reckoned that you could build a 2,000′ tall structure under those conditions, and then compared this great beast to other tall buildings, plus the 790′ Luisitania, which was a very effective display.
