The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 12, 1902, Page 6

oy | QUEER POSSIBILITIES IN THE TOP OF A HOUSE. FEASIBLE IN THE WAY OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. GCARDENING AND » CHICKEN-RAISING. use do your theirs” though on one the street and ed to the point fellow sufferers. and the peoples of the us what to do with our are not too proud to learn. 1 the Latin quarter of San Fran- of None probably front on the others are embrac side ¥ ocation by 3 Latin Orient ¢ The races h how f we cisco, or in Chinatown, you may gather wisdom. But if you scorn the wisdom proceeding from such humble sources t to the East and see what great gs done in New York; think of roof garden vaudeville, their open their restaurants. Or if the t is not convineing, turn to the East and read how the roofs were used in Jerusalem and of the hanging gar- dens of Babylon. Herl slorg Kearny re air concerts, pear Far in San Francisco if you trudge past the new Hall Justice the den sidewalk to the top of Telegraph Hill you will see stretching away to the h great valleys of roofs, out spring our few steeples—The Call building, twin pinnacles of the synagogue, the buil the City Hall and the old tewer. These, however, like tall ve no great roof to them; even affords little more perching room would be demanded by a respectabie But the others, the flat bushes of this forest, offer better cmmodation i if one observes care- it will be seen that they are not their occupants. Here and there e patches of green; these are the roof gardens proper. In greater numbers ap- ar patches of white; these are the laun- fes. And there zre other signs of occu- tion not =0 easy to be made out; you wili see on the downtown buildings, such the Palace Hotel, the Mills building and the Emporium building, erections that Jcok like cottages on an otherwise empty block. Something is evidently tak- ing place at these giddy heights if one could but find out. When a man pays as much for building scace as he must in San Francisco, it street of b by and c old worn we west of which towers the and athercock probably occurs to him—unless his taste in architecture runs to steeples when he has put up his building h h fifty or sixty feet up, just as much e as he ever had, and how he ages to refrain from adding just is a puzzle. You see, if you’only go high erough there is the possibility that the Federal Government might take the roof for an astronomical observatory. As a matter of fact, the roof of the Mills build- ing is used as a station by the United St; s Weather Bureau. man- story sn; Up there are the weather man’s instru- ments—the anemometer or wind meas- urer, the anemoscopeg the rain gauge, the sunshine recorder, athermometer and a thermograph—and they are all self- cording. The weather man sees that thes are running smoothly, then locks the door and goes downstairs to figure things out in his warm office. There is no end to the iIn of man when he wants to keep out of the wet: While you may have a couple of inches of rain in your shoes and another couple of inches down your neck, you still find it hard to say accu rately how mapy inches of rain have fallen. On the other hand the weather man, who keeps himself as dry as a bone, can tell you to a fraction. And it is the same way with the sunshine and the wind. You sweat like a field laborer, find your collar all crumpled up before noon, and only know vaguely then that it is hotter than you care to say, while the weather man sits in his tenth floor airy office amd drink iced drinks and yet knows a great deal better than you whether it is really the hottest spell we have had for years, or he can tell you accurately the rate of the wind withoht stirring from his chair, while the lay- man, who has chased a new hat for three blocks, can only guess. On the top of the Palace Hotel are the servants’ quarters, and from points of vantage you can sometimes see them making their way over the roof on the slender bridges. This roof is also a hos- pital for sick palms and ferns, and in one corner the corps of house painters which the huge hotel keeps constantly em- rlcyed has its headquarters. A few years ago the guests were giver the priv- ilege of the Palace roof, but those gay days are gone and none but employes are new allowed on the roof. On the Emporium are condensers for the conversion of thje steam back again into hot water to feed the boilers. These of huge fans, which ceol the on the same principle you employ you blow on your coffee in_ the morning as your wife thrusts a plece of buttered toast in your pocket ahd tells vou that the car is coming. It is in the district lying between Mar- ket and Mission streets, however, that you will find the most practical and in- genious use of roofs. Here the people are hard put to it to find room. The athletically inclined get out and swing their dumbbells there in the early morn- ing; the economically inclined who do their own washing may be seen emerging flushed and panting on a Monday—which is by general consent washing day—with their baskets: of tightly wrung clothes, which they unfur) and hang to dry on the nearcst. telephone wire; the zoologi- cally inclined hide away on their roofs strange birds and beasts and reptiles. Parrots, puppy dogs and goats are eom- alligators and snakes, of course, are comparatively rare; but there are two fine Alaska eagles moored by clothes lines to the roof of a house on Third street. They belong to a bold sailor named Neil- sen, late of the United States steamship MacArthur. They were captured after an exciting climb when they were not fully fledged. Now they are well devel- oped birds and they spend their time hopping about on the cliff-like buildings of Third street, listening to the roar of San Francisco's traffic instead of the surge of the northern sea. The sun they know for an old acqualntance; and they sit and watch it unblinkingly for hours; and at night they serve the strange pur- pose of roof watchdogs; not a cat in San Francisco is brave enough to venture within half a block of the ‘end of the eagles’ tether, and there is conseguently peace in the region that they guard. ‘While Neilsen was arranging his pets for their photograph he got a tap from one of them and the talon plerced his coat, a white starched linen cuff, a thick flannel undershirt, and, even then, drew blood—but that was only play. If. the birds cared they could strike to the bone, mon; CHINESE J0S5s Houss ROOF -~ GarDErs é"fi;";i e THE SUNDAY CALL. ey S AN sHoP o PHEL sy ROOF and though they have other admirers-on Third street besides their owner they are none of them close admirers. In the Latin quarter you will find that the roof garden is used mainly to grow the all-important salad; but it is none the less picturesque for that. Thyme, mint and sage are grown interspersed with flowers. Even pot celery is culti- vated, and small cabbages. It is hard to imagine a greater pleasure than a trip to one's own roof garden before dinner, and the subsequent salad, fresh and sweet, Even the gaps left by the gathered lettuces recall festive memories, so that the whole garden has fragrant associa- tions. . One 6f the gardens, an Ttalian’s, was given up almost wholly to flowers. There were , carnations, chrysanthemums and climbing geraniums that overflowed the stone parapet and showed a gay line of color to the street below; and thc chief charm of this garden lay not In the flow- ers alone but in their background; the ir- regular masses of architecture, the deep cut city streets, canyons through which flowed streams of busy people, and, be- vyond all, the dull outstretched waters of the bay. Here was a background for an unfolding rose! In Chinatown the roofs are utilized to their utmost capacity, some as . flower gardens, some for drying clothes, and others as curing yards for fish. In every direction can be seen touches of - color, the yellow, white and green of chrysan- themums predominating. The roofs.are divided from each. other by high fences—ominous looking erections M PORIUVM BVILPING | that project over the eaves, as you may see for yourself in Portsmouth Square. They suggest all the romance that in olden days attached itself to moats and battlements—midnight elopements, fight- ing; feud and duel. I asked Chinaman after Chinaman what they were there for; but they pretended to know nothing. This, of course, confirmed my suspicions. Why all this secretiveness if the fences were there for any creditable purpose? I ad- ventured upstairs, but was driven back. What could it be that they desired so earnestly to hide? , At last there appeared a Chinaman who was both able and will- ing to talk. I asked again what those close, high, forbidding fences meant—ask- ed if they were not placed there to divide the warring tongs. “What you want to know asked; *you lan'lord?” I assured him that I was not. “You want to know what for Foh Sing put high fence on his roof?” he asked again. “Yes, / for?" he why?” “He keep chickens,” he replied, turning - away. In the business portion of the city al- most the only use made of the roofs is to print blue prints and other photographs. High up on the roof the lady assistant has her domain and, as she can do no work there unless it is sunny, has on the ‘whole very pleasant quarters. In the residence end of San Francisco the roofs are not used as much as they might be, though one sees an occasional pigeon-house or conservatory. A few of the larger houses have cupolas, such as the Crocker house on California-and Tay- lor, where it is used as a smoking-room. OF PALALE SFOTEL SHOWING 7 Wy, PAIHTERS B oo0e 0&‘ build one of these cupolas there would be a great deal more comfort derived from the investment and if the opinion of vis- iting eritics is worth anything a materfal improvement in arances. 3 In the const f a roof garden it should be borne in mind that the reof, as a rule, bullt to be walked upon: consequently to wear some kind of false floor should be used, even If it is only an old piece of z. The plants hould be or pots and ised by 1 of the parar Boxes & have good. sized holes bored om for drain- age. It i »w such plants as violets v em shade at midaay, asters, chrysan- themums, niums, nasturtiums, gera- ette, poppies, the old-fash- 1l healthy flow- ering plants and thrive almost in spite of you. If on the other hand you ctically inclined parsley, mint, age, lettuce will a and if you are desire to be indepe: man you can grow bages in pots ¢ boxes, as your guarter do. borage and mustard Il space to advantage: e ambitious and £ the vegetable eet corn and cab- od white celery in neighbors in the Latin I Tnis is a practical scheme even for less wealthy builders. In the East numbers of houses have these cupola observator- ies, and here in San Francisco if some of the money that'goes to make a false front to a house were diverted and emploved to WEATHER BUREAU STaTion MILLs 3 BUILPLY For privacy, for fresk uir, for the give ing of novel entertainment to your friends the roof holds many possibilities. You \ may be crowded in every other direction, j+ but there is always room on t DAVID RKINE.