height. Some are twenty stories, one is thirty, and it is reported that
a sky-scraper fifty stories in height is projected. Do they pay? Here is
the account of a modest one of only nine stories, the Mills Building on
William Street, New York. The cost, with land, was $2,500,000. It is 175
× 150 feet. It contains 400 offices, has 1,200 tenants, and pays an
annual net rental of $200,000, or eight per cent. It is related of Mr.
D. O. Mills, the owner, that in completing his magnificent residence on
upper Fifth Avenue, he gave a _carte blanche_ order to a decorator, and
departed with his family to California. On returning he was delighted to
find the place transformed into an Aladdin’s Palace, but his joy was
somewhat modified at the presentation of the bill which amounted to
$450,000.