On account of the great height of this hotel, and in order to secure a more equable delivery to the several floors, it was decided to have three separate systems of water supply and distribution, the lower one to supply the cellar, basement, and first floor, the intermediate one supplying from the second to the eighth stories inclusive, and the upper one beginning at the ninth story and supplying all above. There are two 4 inch Croton water-service pipes, each delivering only through a Worthington meter. One of them directly supplies the water which is used in the lower system; the other discharges through ball cocks into a 5,000-gallon iron storage tank in the cellar. From this tank water is pumped to the tanks of the intermediate and upper systems. All of the water used in the building is filtered in the cellar before entering the storage tank. The entire storage capacity of the roof, intermediate and cellar tanks is over 32,000 gallons. Each tank has overflows, wastes, recording gauges and independent shut-offs on discharges. The cold-water storage supply for the intermediate system is for convenience of arrangement and economy of space distributed in two open tanks on the ninth and tenth floors. The tanks are of quarter-inch riveted wrought iron. Each holds 2,500 gallons, and is set in a special closet.

Three quarter-inch riveted and stayed wrought-iron tanks on the roof store about 22,000 gallons of water, and furnish a pressure head for the upper system. They are protected from the weather by two iron and brick houses, which have steam radiators to prevent freezing in winter. Each of the three pressure systems has a separate hot-water supply from its own boiler. These boilers are substantially alike and are located in the cellar. Each is a horizontal cylindrical steel tank of 550 gallons capacity, supplied with a brass steam coil which can be operated with either live or exhaust steam at will, though the former is not intended to be used when the supply of the latter is sufficient. The water is pumped into intermediate and roof storage tanks by two pumps, one for each system, has steam on constantly for fire service, and these pumps, together with a boiler feed pump, are interchangeably connected, so that all can work together, or any one can be cut out and its duty performed by any one or all of the rest.

Figure 3 is a diagram not drawn to scale or exact location and detail, but prepared to present clearly the relative position, connections and operations of the three systems and show their characteristic features. In it the filters, one of the roof tanks and the hot-water heater for the basement system are omitted to avoid confusion. Pressure gauges are shown as open circles and some principal valves are conventionally indicated by small open circles. The intermediate tanks are filled by the cellar pump through its delivery pipe L, which has branches to each tank and fills the lower one first. The roof tanks are filled by pump pipe M, delivering through separate branches, and they are connected by open equalizing pipes. The distribution of cold water in the upper system is made by horizontal pipes on the seventeenth-story ceiling and that of cold water for the lower and hot water for all three systems is made by horizontal pipes on the cellar ceiling. Vent pipes are carried from the summits of each of the hot-water risers and open freely with return bends above their respective pressure tanks. The reference letters in Fig. 3 have the following significance: S, fire sys-tem; R, safe wastes from fixtures; e e, etc., ball cocks; f f, tank overflows; g g, save all pans under tanks; h h, safe wastes from tank pans; j j, emptying pipes for hot, cold, and circulation lines; k k water-level gauges.

In the intermediate system: D, cold-water risers to groups of fixtures; F, hot-water risers to groups of fixtures; H, circulation pipe from group of fixtures; J, expansion pipe from group of fixtures; N, tank cold supply to hot-water boiler; P, cold-water supply from tanks to distribution system.

In the upper system: E. cold-water risers to groups of fixtures; G, hot-water risers to groups of fixtures; I, circulation pipe from group of fixtures; K, expansion pipe from group of fixtures; O, tank cold supply to hot-water boiler; Q, cold-water supply from tanks to distribution system.

The highest point of every hot-water riser F or G is connected with the lower side of its hot-water boiler by its circulation pipe H or I, and with the atmosphere by its half-inch open vent or expansion pipe J or K. This prevents the collection of cold water at any point of the system, and provides for the delivery of the hottest water in the boiler at any valve on any branch immediately on its opening, in conformity to the well-known principles of pressure head and circulation. The first is provided by the tank storage and gives sufficient uniform levels of water throughout the system, and the second insures the continual ascent of the hottest water to the summit of the system and corresponding return flow of an equal volume as fast as its specific gravity is increased by cooling. The open expansion pipe taken from the highest point of the loop, prevents accumulation of air or steam, which, if in sufficient quantities, would interfere with the circulation in those pipes, and its upper open end allows all vapors to pass over and into the tank.

Two vertical 4-inch galvanized-iron fire mains S S are supplied from the roof tanks and extend the full height of the building, connecting in the basement with the pump system and providing complete fire service by outlets taken off at each floor and controlled by a 2½-inch fire valve, which is provided with 50 feet of 2½-inch hose and nozzle housed on a swinging hose rack. By the proper manipulation of valves, the entire contents of the three tanks on the roof can be used for fire service, or, at the will of the engineer, the discharge from the fire pump in the cellar can be turned directly into the fire mains and used upon any floor. Each of the 19 sections of risers and lines of fixtures is designated by a letter which identifies every main pipe therein and locates any vertical pipe in the house, as soil D, vent G, intermediate cold E, upper hot F, etc. The save-alls of each of the 19 sections of fixtures have an independent waste. The lower ends of all of them are assembled over a large sink in view of the engineer. Each waste has a brass label lettered to show its section, so that if it shows a leak the engineer can shut off the supply valves lettered to correspond with this section. Excepting the valves of the cold water tor the upper system, all valves are under his immediate control. To prevent the passage of cellar air or sound through them, the ends of each of the safe wastes are provided with a hinged flat disk, so hung as to close by its own weight, but to open out for the discharge of leaking water,

All the water pipes were made of galvanized wrought iron, those for the upper system being extra heavy throughout, although the specification only required special strength below the ninth floor, where they were subjected to very heavy pressures, reaching a maximum of about 100 pounds per square inch. The diameters of risers are cold and hot supplies; 1½ inches; return circulation, 1 inch; vent or expansion, three-quarters inch; and emptying pipes, one-half inch. The hot-water risers and circulation pipes of the upper system having a direct rise of 220 feet, their expansion was provided for by a lateral spring at the ninth floor, as indicated in Fig. 3 and shown in detail in Fig. 6. The return bends A and elbows B are extra heavy; the lower section was hung from the crosspipe C, its expansion being downwards and allowed for at the lower end by flexure of a horizontal connection. The upper section was made fast at its center, and so expanded up and down from that point.