6.4.1. General, 1950-1957

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Scope and content:

Principally documents about the construction of the twenty -five-story office building at 300 Park Avenue. Uris Brothers, Inc. was engaged as the general contractor to erect the structure according to the plans and specifications prepared by Emery Roth & Sons. The sub-subseries contains correspondence, work orders, agreements, instructions to bidders, specifications, drawing transmittal sheets, worksheets, financial records, reports, schedules, drawings, and other materials. These documents describe the construction of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, lighting, telephone, vertical conveyor systems as well as the assembly of walls, roofing, windows, floors, ceilings, elevators, doors, store fronts, toilets, hardware, and signs. They detail subcontractor's work on the acoustics, brick, cement finish, concrete slabs, fireproofing, glazing, granite, gunite, insulation, iron, marble, masonry, metal furring and lathing, ornamental metal, painting, plastering, steel, terrazzo, tile, Venetian blinds, waterproofing, woodwork, and a plaque commemorating the Columbia School of Mines. In addition, there are records about the survey, demolition, and excavation of the existing residential property.

The correspondence involves the Uris Brothers, Inc. employees, architects at Emery Roth & Sons, consulting engineers, subcontractors, tenants, and others engaged in the building project. Subjects discussed include approval of architectural drawings, requests for bids, construction specifications, engineers' analysis, proposals submitted by subcontractors, time schedules, contract terms, supply quotations, equipment rentals, purchase orders, executed work, delivery of materials, insurance coverage, payment of invoices, and management issues. Tenants also address design alterations, efforts to meet their particular requirements, authorization of changes, distribution of costs, installations, complaints, and move in dates in their communications. The correspondence of Harold Uris, Marvin Rothenstein, Thomas W. Hays, and other Uris Brothers, Inc. staff further detail all aspects of construction, both large and small. It includes information about the project status, changes, finances, progress schedules, problems with construction, delays, negotiations, correction of problems, and specific work for various tenants. In addition, there are communications about the government regulations, inspections, notices, permits, certificates, and issued violations for the project.

Besides the correspondence, the sub-subseries has numerous types of work orders. These orders generally specify the part of structure requiring attention, applicable tenant, status of job at time of order, description of work to proceed with, costs, whether tenant agreed to pay for work, acceptor's approval, and further data. Acknowledgement of Orders issued by Uris Brothers Inc. to tenants for work they requested at premise at their cost and expense. These orders list the date, job, floor, details design modifications, changes to leased space, status of job, amount agreed to pay, and acceptance signatures. The extra orders were placed with subcontractors for additional work and detail the furnishing and installation of various materials. They include information on subcontractors, contractor, date, job, floor, tenant, work to be performed, labor and materials, contract terms, price adjustments, previous balance, new contract amount due, status of work, references to proposals, and approvals. Purchase orders from Uris Brothers, Inc. for materials and delivery includes the date, job, supplier's name, material ordered, price, terms, approval signatures. Receipts of work orders, transfer memos, supplementary change sheets, and other records also supply similar facts.

Other documents offer additional specifics about the office building's construction. Contracts, instructions to bidders, and job specifications illustrate the requirements from the architects for the specific work completed by contractors. Drawing transmittal sheets disclose the approval, changes, tenant requests, and understanding of the drawings. In the worksheets, there are calculations and measurements for various aspects of construction on a particular floor with notes on material costs, drawing numbers, and completion time. Financial records such as invoices, estimates, quotations, and accounting figures break down the expenditures on labor, materials, rent profits, outstanding balances, subcontractor credits, and the cost of overall project completion. Finally, there are daily reports on the work accomplished, lists of subcontractors, samples of materials, brochures, construction schedules, subcontractor job guarantees, diagrams, sketches, and a few other related records.

Additionally, there are files for certain tenants: Chandler's Restaurant, Henry J. Kaiser Co., Hotaling News Agency, the Jockey Club, and the Texaco Touring Center Store. Correspondence, financial records, proposals, transmittals, contracts, work orders, and drawings reveal how the commercial space was customized to suit their needs. Topics discussed include air conditioning, doors, wiring, lighting, glass, floors, marble, hardware, woodwork, plastering, concrete fill, painting, plumbing, signage, tile, walls, toilets, acoustics, and windows. The correspondence has descriptions of the work to be completed, discussions of the project with outside firms, changes to the design of the subject premises, the terms and conditions of tenant requested specifications, subcontractor installations, and other matters. Budgets, estimates, quotes, requisitions, invoices, credits, and other documents disclose the expenditures on these tenant areas.

Physical description:

About 6,600 items (9.375 linear feet)

Arrangement:

Alphabetical, then chronological

Contents

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