USA > New York > New York City > New York City record and building trades directory > Part 42
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
pose whatsoever except for exit and entrance from and to the auditorium and stage, and must be kept free and clear during performances. The level of said corridors at the front entrance to the building shall not be greater than one step above the level of the sidewalk where they begin at the street entrance, and the entrance of the main front of the building shall not be on a higher level from the sidewalk than four steps, unless approved by the superintendent of buildings. To overcome any difference of level existing between exits from the parquet into courts and the level of the said corri- dors, gradients shall be employed of not over one foot in ten feet with no perpendicular rises. From the auditorium opening into the said open courts, or on the side street, there shall be not less than two exits on each side in each tier from and including the parquet and each and every gallery. Each exit shall be at least five feet in width in the clear and provided with doors of iron or wood ; if of wood, the doors shall be constructed as herein- before in this title described. All of said doors shall open outwardly, and must be fastened with movable bolts, the bolts to be kept drawn during performances. There shall be balconies not less than four feet in width in the said open court or courts at each level or tier above the parquet, on each side of the auditorium, of sufficient length to embrace the two exits, and from said balconies there shall be staircases extending to the ground level, with a rise of not over eight and one-half inches to a step, and not less than nine inches tread exclusive of the nosing. The staircase from the up- per balcony to the next below shall not be less than thirty inches in width in the clear, and from the first balcony to the ground three feet in width in the clear where the seating capacity of the auditorium is for one thousand people or less, three feet and six inches in the clear where above one thous- and and not more than eighteen hundred people, and four feet in the clear where above eighteen hundred people and not more than twenty-five hun- dred people, and not over four feet six inches in the clear where above twenty-five hundred people. All the before mentioned balconies and stair- cases shall be constructed of iron throughout, including the floors, and of ample strength to sustain the load to be carried by them, and they shall be covered with a metal hood or awning, to be constructed as shall be directed by the superintendent of buildings. Where one sic. > of the building borders on a street, there shall be balconies and staircases of like capacity and kind, as before mentioned, carried to the ground. When located on a corner lot that portion of the premises bordering on the side street and not required for the uses of the theatre may, if such portion be not more than twenty-five feet in width, be used for offices, stores or apartments, provided the walls . separating this portion from the theatre proper are carried up solidly to and through the roof, and that a fire-proof exit is provided for the theatre, on each tier, equal to the combined width of exits opening on opposite sides in each tier, communicating with balconies and staircases leading to the street in manner provided elsewhere in this section; said exit passages shall be entirely cut off by brick walls from said offices, stores or apartments and the floors and ceilings in each tier shall be fire-proof. Nothing herein con- '
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
tained shall prevent a roof, garden, art gallery, or rooms for similar purpo- ses being placed above a theatre or public building, provided the floor of the same forming the roof over such theatre or building shall be constructed of iron or steel and fire-proof materials, and that said floor shall have no cover- ing boards or sleepers of wood, but be of tile or cement. Every roof over said garden or rooms shall have all supports and rafters of iron or steel, and be covered with glass or fire-proof materials or both, but no such roof gar- den, art gallery or room for any public purpose shall be placed over or above that portion of any theatre or other building which is used as a stage. No work-shop, storage or general property room shall be allowed above the auditorium or stage, or under the same, or in any of the fly galleries. All of said rooms or shops may be located in the rear or at the side of the stage, but in such cases they shall be separated from the stage by a brick wall, and the openings leading into said portions shall have fire-proof doors on each side of the openings, hung to iron eyes built into the wall. No portion of any building hereafter erected or altered, used or intended to be used for theatrical or other purposes as in this section specified, shall be occupied or used as a hotel, boarding or lodging-house, factory, workshop or manu- factory or for storage purposes, except as may be hereafter specially provided for. Said restriction relates not only to that portion of the building which contains the auditorium and the stage, but applies also to the entire struc- ture in conjunction therewith. No store or room contained in the building, or the offices, stores or apartments adjoining, as aforesaid, shall be let or used for carrying on any business dealing in articles designated as especially hazardous in the classification of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, or for manufacturing purposes. No lodging accommodation shall be allowed in any part of the building communicating with the auditorium. Interior walls built of fire-proof materials shall separate the auditorium from the en- trance vestibule, and from any room or rooms over the same, also from any lobbies, corridors, refreshment or other rooms. All staircases for the use of the audience shall be enclosed with walls of brick, or of fire-proof ma- terials approved by the superintendent of buildings, in the stories through which they pass, and the openings to said staircases from each tier shall be the full width of said staircase. A fire-wall, built of brick, shall separate the auditorium from the stage, and the same shall extend at least four feet above the stage roof, or the auditorium roof, if the latter be the higher, and shall be coped. Above the proscenium opening there shall be an iron girder covered with fire-proof materials to protect it from the heat. There shall also be constructed a relieving arch over the same, the intervening space being filled in with hard burnt brick of the full thickness of the proscenium wall. Should there be constructed an orchestra over the stage, above the proscenium opening, the said orchestra shall be placed on the auditorium side of the proscenium fire-wall, and shall be entered only from the audito- rium side of said wall. The moulded frame around the proscenium opening shall be formed entirely of fire-proof materials ; if metal be used, the metal shall be filled in solid with non-combustible material and securely anchored
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
to the wall with iron. The proscenium opening shall be provided with a fire-proof metal curtain, or a curtain of asbestos, or similar fire-proof ma- terial approved by the superintendent of buildings, sliding at each end with- in iron grooves, securely fastened to the brick wall, and extending into such grooves not less than six inches on each side. Said fire-proof curtain shall be raised at the commencement of each performance and lowered at the close of said performance, and be operated by approved machinery for that purpose. The proscenium curtains shall be placed at least three feet distance from the foot-lights at the nearest point. All doorways or openings through the proscenium wall, from the auditorium, in every tier, shall have doors of iron or wood on each face of the wall ; if of wood the doors shall be constructed as hereinbefore described, and the doors hung so as to be opened from either side at all times. There shall be no openings in the proscenium fire-wall above the level of the auditorium ceiling. Direct ac- cess to these doors shall be provided on both sides, and the same shall al- ways be kept free from any incumbrance. Iron ladders or stairs, securely fixed to the wall, on the stage side, shall be provided to ovecome any difference of level existing between the floor or galleries on the stage side of the fire- wall and those on the side of the auditorium. There shall be provided over the stage, metal skylights, of an area or combined area of at least one-eighth the area of said stage fitted up with sliding sash and glazed with double- thick sheet glass, not exceeding one-eighth of an inch thick, and each pane thereof measuring not less than three hundred square inches, and the whole of which skylight shall be so constructed as to open instantly on the cutting or burning of a hempen cord, which shall be arranged to hold said skylights closed, or some other equally simple approved device for opening them may be provided. All that portion of the stage not comprised in the working of scenery, traps and other mechanical apparatus, for the presentation of a scene, usually equal to the width of the proscenium opening, shall be built of iron or steel beams filled in between with fire-proof material, and all girders for the support of said beams shall be of wrought-iron or rolled steel. The fly-gal- leries entire, including pin-rails, shall be constructed of iron or steel, and the floors of said galleries shall be composed of iron or steel beams, filled with fire-proof materials, and no wood boards or sleepers shall be used as cover- ing over beams, but the said floors shall be entirely fire-proof. The rigging loft shall be fire-proof, except the floor covering the same. All stage scene- ry, curtains and decorations made of combustible material, and all wood work on or about the stage, shall be saturated with some non-combustible material, or otherwise rendered safe against fire, to the satisfaction of the superintendent of buildings. The roof over the auditorium and the entire main floor of the auditorium and vestibule, also the entire floor of the second story of the front superstructure over the entrance, lobby and corridors, and all galleries in the auditorium shall be constructed of iron or steel and fire- proof materials, not excluding the use of wooden floor boards and necessary sleepers to fasten the same to, but such sleepers shall not mean timbers of support. The fronts of each gallery shall be formed of fire-proof materials,
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
excepting the capping, which may be made of wood. The ceiling under each gallery shall be entirely formed of fire-proof materials. The ceiling of the auditorium shall be formed of fire-proof materials. All lathing, whenever used, shall be of metal. The partitions in that portion of the building which contains the auditorium, the entrance vestibule and every room and passage devoted to the use of the audience, shall be constructed of fire-proof materials, including the furring of outside or other walls. None of the walls or ceilings shall be covered with wood sheathing, canvas, or any combustible material, but this shall not exclude the use of wood wainscoting to a height not to exceed six feet, which shall be filled in solid between the wainscoting and the wall with fire-proof materials. The walls separating the actors' dressing-room from the stage, and the partitions dividing the dressing-rooms, together with the partitions of every passageway from the same to the stage, and all other partitions on or about the stage shall be constructed of fire-proof material approved by the superintendent of buildings. All doors in any of said partitions shall be of iron, or of wood constructed as hereinbefore described. All the shelv- ing and cupboards in each and every dressing-room, property-room or other storage rooms, shall be constructed of metal, slate or some fire-proof material. Dressing-rooms may be placed in the fly-galleries, provided that proper exits are secured therefrom to the fire-escapes in the open courts, and that the partitions and other matters pertaining to dressing-rooms shall conform to the requirements herein contained, but the stairs leading to the same shall be fire-proof. All seats in the auditorium excepting those con- tained in boxes, shall be firmly secured to the floor, and no seat in the audi- torium shall have more than six seats intervening between it and an aisle, on either side, and no stool or seat shall be placed in any aisle. All plat- forms in galleries formed to receive the seats shall not be more than twenty- one inches in height of riser, nor less than thirty inches in width of plat- form. All aisles on the respective floors in the auditorium, having seats on both sides of same, shall be not less than three feet wide where they begin, and shall be increased in width towards the exits in the ratio of one and one- half inches to five running feet. Aisles having seats on one side only, shall be not less than two feet wide at their beginning and increased in width the same as aisles having seats on both sides. The aggregate capacity of the foyers, lobbies, corridors, passages and rooms for the use of the audience, not including aisle space between seats shall, on each floor or gallery, be sufficient to contain the entire number to be accommodated on said floor or gallery, in the ratio of one hundred and fifty superficial feet of floor room for every one hundred persons. Gradients or inclined planes shall be em- ployed instead of steps where possible, to overcome slight difference of level in or between aisles, corridors and passages. Every theatre accommodating three hundred persons shall have at least two exits ; when accommodating five hundred persons, at least three exits shall be provided ; these exits not referring to or including the exits to the open court at the sides of the theatre. Doorways of exit or entrance for the use of the public shall not be
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
less than five feet in width, and for every additional one hundred persons or portions thereof to be accommodated, in excess of five hundred, an aggregate of twenty inches additional exit width must be allowed. All doors of exit or entrance shall open outwardly and be hung to swing in such a manner as not to become an obstruction in a passage or corridor, and no such doors shall be closed and locked during any representation, or when the building is open to the public. Distinct and separate places of exit and entrance shall be provided for each gallery above the first. A common place of exit and entrance may serve for the main floor of the auditorium and the first gallery, provided its capacity be equal to the aggregate capacity of the out- lets from the main floor and the said gallery. No passage leading to any stairway communicating with any entrance or exit shall be less than four feet in width in any part thereof. All stairs within the building shall be constructed of fire-proof material throughout. Stairways serving for the exit of fifty people must, if straight, be at least four feet wide, between rail- ings, or between walls, and if curved or winding, five feet wide, and for every additional fifty people to be accommodated six inches must be added to their widthi. In no case shall the risers of any stairs exceed seven and a half inches in height, nor shall the treads exclusive of nosings, be less than ten and one-half inches wide in straight stairs. In circular or winding stairs the width of the tread at the narrowest end shall not be less than seven inches. Where the seating capacity is for more than one thousand people, there shall be at least two independent staircases, with direct exterior out- lets, provided for each gallery in the auditorium, where there are not more than two galleries, and the same shall be located on opposite sides of said galleries. Where there are more than two galleries one or more additional staircases shall be provided, the outlets from which shall communicate directly with the principal exit or other exterior outlets. All said staircases shall be of width proportioned to the seating capacity as elsewhere herein prescribed. Where the seating capacity is for one thousand people, or less, two direct lines of staircase only shall be required, located on opposite sides of the galleries, and in both cases shall extend from the sidewalk level to the upper gallery, with outlets from each gallery to each of said staircases. At least two independent staircases, with direct exterior outlets, shall also be provided for the service of the stage and shall be located on the opposite sides of the same. All inside stairways leading to the upper galleries of the auditorium shall be inclosed on both sides with walls of fire-proof materials. Stairs leading to the first or lower gallery may be left open on one side, in which case they must be constructed as herein provided for similar stairs leading from the entrance hall to the main floor of the auditorium. But in no case shall stairs leading to any gallery be left open on both sides. When straight stairs return directly on themselves, a landing of the full width of both flights, without any steps shall be provided. Stairs turning at an angle shall have a proper landing without winders introduced at said turn. In stairs, when two side flights connected with one main flight, no winders shall be introduced, and the width of the main flight shall be at least equal to the
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
aggregate width of the side flights. Circular or winding stairs shall have proper landings introduced at convenient distances. All inclosed staircases shall have, on both sides, strong hand-rails, firmly secured in the wall about three inches distant therefrom and about three feet above the stairs, but said hand-rails shall not run on level platforms and landings where the same is more in length than the width of the stairs. All staircases six feet and over in width shall be provided with a center hand-rail of hardwood, or metal, not less than two inches in diameter, placed at a height of about three feet above the center of the treads, and supported on wrought iron or brass standards of sufficient strength, placed not nearer than four feet nor more than six feet apart and securely bolted to the treads or risers of stairs, or both and at the head of each flight of stairs, on each landing, the post or standard shall be at least six feet in height, to which the rail shall be secured. Every steam boiler which may be required for heating or other purposes shall be located outside of the building, and the space allotted to the same shall be inclosed by walls of masony on all sides, and the ceiling of such space shall be con- structed of fire-proof materials. All doorways in said walls shall have iron doors. No floor register for heating shall be permitted. No coil or radiator shall be placed in any aisle or passageway used as an exit ; but all said coils and radiators shall be placed in recesses formed in the wall or partition to receive the same. All supply, return or exhaust pipes shall be properly incased and protected where passing through floors or near woodwork. Stand pipes of two and one-half inches diameter shall be provided, with hose attachments on every floor and gallery, as follows, namely : One on each side of the auditorium in each tier ; also one on each side of the stage in each tier, and at least one in the property room and one in the carpenter's shop, if the same be contiguous to the building. All such stand pipes shall be kept clear from obstruction. Said stand pipes shall be separate and distinct, receiving their supply of water direct from the steam pumps and shall be fitted with the regulation couplings of the fire department and shall be kept constantly filled with water by means of an automatic steam pump or pumps, of sufficient capacity to supply all the lines of hose when operated simul- taneously ; and said pump or pumps shall be supplied from the street main and be ready for immediate use at all times during a performance in said building. A separate and distinct system of automatic sprinklers, with fusible plugs approved by the superintendent of buildings supplied with water from a tank located on the roof over the stage and not connected in any manner with the stand pipes, shall be placed up and around the pros- cenium opening and on the ceiling or roof over the stage at such intervals as will protect every square foot of stage surface when said sprinklers are in operation. Automatic sprinklers shall also be placed, wherever practi- cable, under the stage and in the carpenter-shop, paint-rooms, store-rooms, and property-rooms. A proper and sufficient quantity of two and one-half inch hose fitted with the regulation couplings of the fire department and with nozzles attached thereto, and with hose spanners at each outlet, shall always be kept attached to each hose attachment. There shall also be kept
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
in readiness for immediate use on the stage, at least four casks full of water, and two buckets to each cask. Said casks and buckets shall be painted red. There shall also be provided hand pumps or other portable fire extinguish- ing apparatus and at least four axes, and two twenty-five feet hooks, two fifteen feet hooks, and two ten feet hooks on each tier or floor of the stage. Every portion of the building devoted to the uses or accommodation of the public, also all outlets leading to the streets, and including the open courts and corridors, shall be well and properly lighted during every performance, and the same shall remain lighted until the entire audience has left the premises. At least two or more oil lamps on each side of the auditorium in each tier shall be provided on fixed brackets, not less than seven feet above the floor. Said lamps shall be filled with whale or lard oil, and shall be kept lighted during each performance, or in place of said lamps candles shall be provided. All gas or electric lights in the halls, corridors, lobby or any other part of said buildings used by the audience, except the audi- torium, must be controlled by a separate shut-off, located in the lobby, and controlled only in that particular place. Gas-mains supplying the building shall have independent connections for the auditorium and the stage, and provision shall be made for shutting off the gas from the outside of the building. When interior gas-lights are not lighted by electricity, other suitable appliances, to be approved by the superintendent of buildings shall be provided. All suspended or bracket lights surrounded by glass, in the auditorium, or in any part of the building devoted to the public shall be pro- vided with proper wire netting underneath. No gas or electric light shall be inserted in the walls, woodwork, ceilings, or in any part of the building unless protected by fire-proof materials. All lights in passages and corri- dors in said buildings, and wherever deemed necessary by the superintendent of buildings, shall be protected with proper wire net-work. The foot-lights in addition to the wire net-work, shall be protected by a strong wire guard, not less than two feet distant from said foot-lights, and the trough contain- ing said foot-lights shall be formed of and surrounded by fire-proof materials. All border lights shall be constructed according to the best known methods, and subject to approval of the commissioners of the fire department, and shall be suspended for ten feet by wire rope. All ducts or shafts used for conducting heated air from the main chandelier, or from any other light or lights, shall be constructed of metal and made double, with an air space between. All stage lights shall have strong metal wire guards or screens, not less than ten inches in diameter, so constructed that any material in con- tact therewith shall be out of reach of the flames of said stage lights, and must be soldered to the fixture in all cases. The stand-pipes, gas-pipes, electric wires, hose, foot-lights and all apparatus for the extinguishing of fire or guarding against the same, as in this section specified shall be in charge and under control of the department of buildings, and the superinten- dent of said department is hereby directed to see that the arrangements in respect thereto are carried ont and enforced. A diagram or plan of each tier, gallery or floor, showing distinctly the exits therefrom shall be printed ยท
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NEW YORK CITY RECORD AND BUILDING TRADES DIRECTORY.
in a legible manner on the programme of the performance. Every exit shall have over the same on the inside, the word EXIT painted in legible letters not less than eight inches higli.
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