1G
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE 19, 1911.
HIVES OCCUPIED BY THE BEE-From Small, Humble
Fort? years ago the flnt Omaha Be was laiued
from a pine frame home. The issue of today goes
out from a palace of granite. Iron and marble. Then
The Dee waa no more pretentious than Its habitation.
Now the Imposing structure that bears Its name Is
typical of lta pre-eminence among the great newspa
pers of the west. In the successive changes by which
The Bee rose from Its obscure birthplace to its present
palatial surroundings Is chronicled the history of its
trials and Tlctories. The necessity for more commo
dious accommodations grew with the development of
the paper and each change of quarters indicated that
another forward movement had been achieved.
. The first home of The Bee gave no indication of
its subsequent progress. It stood on the southeast
corner of Twelfth and Dodge streets, a point then In
the business center of the city. The building waa
two stories in height, rough and unpalnted. It stood
close to the sidewalk, and as the street was brought
to grade the basement was rendered useless. It was
owned by the Redfleld Bros., who' ran a printing es
tablishment that was fairly well equipped according
to the Ideas of the period. From this structure the
unassuming sheet which was destined to develop into
a great newspaper went out to sink or swim. While
it was soon deserted by The Bee in favor of more
convenient quarters the old Redfleld building con
tinued to occupy that corner until the spring of 1889,
when it was torn down to make room for the brick
building which succeeded it.
Second Home of The Bee.
After The Bre had been issued from the Redfleld
offloe for three months Edward Rosewater leased the
building which occupied the adjoining lot on the
south, and here the p. per flourished until the building
was burned down in June, 1872, about a year after
the first copy wss Issued. The building was scarcely
more pretentious than the former quarters, but it ex
ulted in a front porch and a wooden basement. It
had previously been used as a fourth rate hotel under
the name of the Cedar Rapids house, and it now
served for the first business office and composing room
of The Bee. The press work was still done by Red
field Bros., but The Bee was now fairly launched on
Its career as a permanent establishment, with a build
ing devoted to its uses. At the same time that this
building waa occupied Mr. Rosewater purchased the
Beobachter Missouri and the Pokrok Zapadu, of which
be had also been the founder, and which were all
issued from the same office.
' ' - ' I
Third Home of The Bee.
When on June 11, 1872, an incendiary flre de
stroyed the entire building, with all Its contents, the
establishment was moved to a two-story and base
ment brick building, located on Farnam street, be
tween Ninth ana Tenth. This building had been
erected by Mr. Rosewater in 1869 and It now afforded
abundant space for the three papers. An entirely
new plant, Including news and job type for all three
papers, was purchased at Cincinnati and St. Louis,
and, as the revenues of the office were still limited,
the purchase was largely a matter of credit. This
building answered all purposes for six years, and dur
ing that time no particular improvements were added
to the facilities of the establishment. In 1879 Mr.
Rosewater leased the wooden structure on the lot east
of the Farnam street building and eventually the lot
was purchased from Milton Rogers for $5,000. This
gave The Bee a frontage of forty-four feet on Farnam
street, one-half of which was occupied by the original
brick building and the remainder by the two-story
frame which stood on the Rogers lot. An entrance
cut in the east wall of the brick afforded communica
tion between the two buildings, and together they
answered all purposes for another period of six years.
In 1885 this building was reconstructed and
merged Into the four-story brick which now occupies
the property. The counting room was then the most
elegant in the city. The floors were tiled with. mar
ble, the walls were handsomely frescoed and an ex
pensive cherry counter separated the counting room
proper from the lobby.
As The Bee continued to flourish additional space
was secured by leasing the upper story of the Strang
building on the west, so that the plant practically
covered forty-four front feet in addition to the one
story brick on the east.
The Great Bee Building.
The building at Seventeenth and Farnam streets,
now occupied by The Bee, situated upon the highest
point of the business district, will remain for genera
tions to come a magnificent monument to' the success
of a great newspaper and to tlje enterprise of lis pro
genitor. The distinguishing feature of The Bee building is
the impression of solidity and durability which it
gives to all beholders. Its broad foundations, mas
sive pillars and imposing superstructurepromlse to
resist the encroachments of time until long after the
Omaha of today has become a memory.
As an office building it has long been conceded to
be unequaled. While the general plans were worked
out by the architect, they were designed after the
personal ideas of Mr. Edward Rosewater, and during
the period in which it grew Into its finished grandeur
no detail was too unimportant to command his per
sonal attention and supervision. The minutiae of its
construction was as carefully planned as its most im
posing feature. Nothing was overlooked and noth
ing slighted, and the result has abundantly justified
the additional expense and labor involved in such an
undertaking.
Area and External Architecture.
The Bee building occupies one-fourth of the entire
block, with a frontage of 188 feet on Farnam street
and the same on Seventeenth street. While Its erec
tion had long been contemplated by Mr. Rosewater,
no active steps were taken until June, 1887, when
8. S. Beman of Chicago, famous designer of great
office buildings, was directed to prepare the plans.
Several months were occupied In deciding on the de
tails of the undertaking and in letting the contracts
for the work, and It was September before the excava
tion was begun. Work on the foundations was com
menced a month later and from that time the build
ing was vigorously pushed to completion.
The general structure of the building Is of rough
faced brick. It rests on an Impregnable foundation,
the walls being from three to five feet thick at the
base, with assisting piers eight feet thick. From this
point they gradually decrease to a thickness of twenty
inches at the parapet. Their strength is augmented
by Iron columns which are enclosed in the brick piers
above the first story. The granite which composes
the walls of the basement and first story Is from Wau
paca, Wis., and In color and textile qualities it Is con
sidered fully equal to the famous Scottish granite.
It is a brilliant red In color and the effect is height
ened by the rough rock finish. The granite la but
tressed at the corners of the building and above each
a beehive Is suggestively carved In the pilasters. The
main front on Farnam street Is supported by eleven
polished pillars of the same material. Beginning
with the second story, the granite gives place to the
brown brick. This Is trimmed with terra cotta of a
Shanty to the
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THE PALATIAL
similar color and brown stone, moulded brick and
carved terra cotta serve to relieve the severity of the
vast stretch of masonry. At the top of the walls at
the seventh story a frieze of obsidian brick delicately
carved Is In simple but effective relief.
On the Farnam street side an eighth story extends
for sixty feet along the center of the building. Aside
from adding two or three very pleasant rooms to the
capacity of the building, this addition serves to break
the effect of the long lines of windows which stretch
across the main wall. Above the eighth story two
small turrets rise to a height of 115 feet above the
sidewalk and between them the inscription, "The Bee
Building," in plain Roman letters graces a terra cotta
panel.
Striking Central Court.
The most remarkable feature of the building Is
the great central court, a 'comparison to which Is
scarcely to be found In any office building In the coun
try. Whether it is seen in daylight or by the com
bined radiance of the numerous incandescent lamps
that line its walls, it presents an unparalleled viBlon
of architectural magnificence, and has been' pro-
nounced one of the finest examples of Interior treat
ment known to architecture. It is based on the
ground floor at a level with the street and Its walls
rise in unbroken white to the skylight 120 feet above.
The court Is forty-three feet square and In the center
a handsome fountain, with a fish pond, adds an appro
priate touch to the simplicity of the design.
A series of pilasters which ' extend to the third
floor divide the court into three bays. In the base
ment story these pilasters are crowned with an en
tablature of a severely classic design composed of
architrave, frieze and cornice. The frieze is orna
mented with -circular and diamond-shaped panels,
while a simple dentil design adds to the effect of the
cornice. The pilasters, which extend through .the
first and second stories, rise from this entablature
and are surmounted by a semi-circular arch around
the third story. The whole Is crowned by a hand
somely moulded modlllion cornice, underneath which
the spannels are wrought In an Interlaced Moorish
fretwork. The capitals which bear the arches are
beautifully moulded with a delicate French detail
ornament.
The decorations of the fourth and fifth stories
consist only of simple lines of molded cornices and
still courses which are in architectural harmony with
the more elaborate ornamentations of the lower
Henry D. Estabrook's Experience as City Editor
I presume every American boy, normally consti
tuted,, with perhaps an extra literary kink in his men
tal makeup, has had an ambition to become an edi
tor, and has Indulged this ambition whenever and
wherever opportunity offered. From the eruptive,
semi-occasional periodical published at tne age of 10
appropriately printed on foolscap with the aid of a
lead pencil and a protruding tongue; for which pub
lication, I may add, hla immediate relatives were the
only subscribers, and of which his darling mother
was the only reader from this earliest manifestation
of the symptom, I say, up to the age of 16, and his
first anonymous communication to the city press (over
the quaint and curious nom de plume of "Vox
Popull") he has simply been pluming his wings and
preening himself for the glorious career of a full
fledged editor.
At the age of 16 I sent to the editor of our dally
paper, The Omaha Bee, an item of news over the
nom de plume of "Vox Populi" of course. I was
proud and happy when it appeared in print the fol
lowing morning. It was considerably altered as to
language, to be sure; still, the central Idea the great
and luminous thought expresseo that Is to say, the
item of news, was there in all its glory; my manu
script bad been accepted. Later on, when I fell In
love, I tackled the editor on poetry. But that manu
script, for some occult reason, was not accepted.
Finally there was presented an opportunity of a
lifetime. Mr. Rosewater's city editor, who was also his
only reporter for a newspaper man in that time
played many parts bad been given a vacation, and
previous to h's departure bad visited the high school
to engage one of the larger boys to assume his duties.
Present Palatial Bee Building
w cy a lAfe.'vsA. .jwa jw,
BEE BUILDINO FARNAM AND SEVENTEENTH
stories. A double set of pilasters surround the upper
or sixth story. One set forms a continuation of the
main pilasters below, while the othor serves the pur-
poBe of mullions between the windows. These are
crowned by capitals of the same style of ornamenta-
tlon as those below and the openings are surrounded
by semicircular arched heads with a label molding.
The whole Is overhung with a deep frieze and dentil
cornice which displays the same rich architectural
sentiment that pervades the entire Interior of the
court.
Access to the upper floors Is afforded by means of
two modern fast passenger elevators of the latest
type, and an elegant stairway, which is constructed
Independent of the building. In the rear of the build
ing is a huge freight elevator and another iron stair
way, also constructed Independent of the building.
The lighting and plumbing are features In which
,The Bee building excels. The greatest care has been
taken to afford the best possible sanitary arrange
ments, and such a thing as an unclean odor has never
been known in the building. All offices are supplied
with running water and Italian marble basins. Each
floor is provided with separate toilet rooms for men
and women! The entire building la provided with
combination fixtures for gas and incandescent lights,
and the current for the latter is furnished by a sep
arate plant in the basement.
In the matter of flreprooflng, every precaution has
been taken that modern skill can suggest. All the
partitions, furring, floors, arches, etc., are of fire clay
tiled, and all the structural work Is of the heaviest
iron. The result is that each room In thebulldln g is
for all practical purposes a fireproof vault, but a ddl
tlonal protection for boks and documents Is provided
by seventy-four separate vaults in various parts of
the building.
For many years the business office and counting
room of The Bee was on the main floor of the main
building, while the editorial rooms and composing
room were on the top floor. This arrangement was
looked upon as excellent at the time the building was
completed, but the later growth of the business of the
paper, as well as the exigencies of modern methods
of publication demanded that both publication and ed-
itorlal offices be brought closer to the public and
closer together. To achieve this, the editorial rooms
were removed In the fall of 1904 from the upper floor
to the main floor, contiguous with the business office.
At the same time the composing room was removed
I was the lucky chap to be invited, and I accepted
with alacrity. For two whole weeks I was not only
to write just what I pleased, but what I wrotu was
bound to be published. Moreover, I was to have $20
per week Into the bargain.
The first morning I was at The Bee office bright
and early. Mr. Rosewater dropped into my 2x4 sanc
tum to wish me good morning and success in my ex
periment, and to Indicate my route. Incidentally he
remarked that a quartet of male voices had serenaded
him the night before and It might be well to say an
appreciative word about their singing. I did. I said
that four roysterers had made last night hideous with
their catawauls, and had selected the editor f this
paper for their especial and particular victim; that
men with such voices as thelra ought not to be per
mitted to run at large, etc., etca The fact Is, I was
a songeter myself, and belonged to a rival quartet.
When I arrived at the office next morning I met Mr.
Rosewater going out to post a letter. . He gave me a
stony glare and hastened his footsteps. I afterwards
learned that this letter was addressed to the absent
reporter commanding his immediate return. Mr.
Rosewater had scarcely made his exit when the sec
ond baBso called and stopped hla paper stopped tt
off short never to go again. He also said In his most
raucous voice that be wanted to see the responsible
editor of that dirty sheet. I told him that the re
sponsible editor had just stepped out, but that be
might consider me the irresponsible editor, if be
were so disposed. He laughed a nollow. mocking,
blood-curdling sort of a laugh and vanished.
During the day the remaining members of the
quartet dropped in one after the other and cancelled
their subscriptions. The cheerful Idiot who edited a
STREETS.
from the seventh floor to the ground floor, being In-
stalled in the space originally occupied by the press
room and mailing room, which bad to be removed to
the basement in 1898, at the time of installing a'new
press room equipment. This arrangement was soon
found inadequate for the proner handling of a stead-
ily increasing business, and the publication office of
the paper was removed to quarters on the ground
floor, at the corner of Seventeenth and Farntfrn
streets, where the office force Is now installed in one
of the most commodious and adequately equipped Of
fices known to the newspaper world. At the time
this move was made plans were laid and later carried
out for the erection of a workshop building, in which
the great operations for the publication of a modern
dally newspaper are going steadily on. day and night.
Later Growth of The Bee.
Across the alley from the main building tn annex
was erected, in which were installed the city editor
and his forces, the night editor, the telegraph editors,
society and club editors, sporting editor, the editors of
the Twentieth Century Farmer, the great agricultural
paper that succeeded the Weekly Bee; the staff artists,
the photo-engraving department, the composing room,
with all its costly equipment of special machinery, the
stereotyping and electrotyping department, equipped
with the very latest of mechanical appliances,' and the
boiler plant. In this great annex is the manufacturing
plant of The Bee, with the exception of the preBS
room, the dynamo room and the mailing room, which
are yet maintained in the main building. The office
of the editor-in-chief and the managing editor are still
on the rear corridor of the ground floor In the main
bulldlhg, and the quarters left by the local and tele
graphic news forces are now occupied by the adver
tising manager and his staff. The whole disposition
of the working forces Is planned to achieve a maximum
of result in a minimum of time. A central telephone
exchange, together with a "house" system provides
Instant communication between the many departments,
and permits each to be instantly connected with the
world outside. In this way the publication of the sev
eral editions of The Bee is possible without the dis-
turbance or annoyance of any tennant, the only
knowledge they may have of the operations being
gained from the bulletin board in front of the busi
ness office.
That the experiment began in 1871, admittedly as
column in our "loathsome contemporary," called the
"Public Fountain," took up the cudgel on behalf of
the quartet, and through the medium of bis column
Intimated that the ad Interim reporter of The Bee was
not yet dry behind the ears. I retorted that that
was because I was in the habit of washing my ears,
and thought it would be'sanltary If he would occasion
ally follow my example. "Wash 'em in the Public
Fountain," I said, "along with your dirty linen. What
an appropriate freak of chance It Is, any way, that
such a fountain should be run by a squirt!"
On receipt of bis chief's letter Mr. Al Sorenson,
for whom I was substituting, shortened his leave of
absence and hastened home, but not until I had time
to be thoroughly licked by a saloonkeeper named
Taylor; not until Mr. Rosewater's life had been several
times threatened on my account, and not until I had
Involved The Omaha Bee In a $20,000 libel suit. Then
the editor came out In one of his famous editorials,
over his own signature, and explained to a bewildered
publlo just what happened. He commented severely
' upon my Inaptitude for a journalistic career, and at
tributed his recent sorrows to what he called my
, "trick-mule performance." And yet I swear when I
hurled my reportorlal thunderbolts Indiscriminately
at the public, It mas more for the fun of manufactur-
lng thunderbolts than for the purpose of injuring
those who happened to be in the way of them. But
that phrase, "trick-mule performances," stuck In my
craw. If the much vaunted liberty of the press would
not permit gentlemen to indulge in a little personal
join a profession which would! So I quit journalism
and entered the law. HENRY D. ESTA BROOK.
an experiment and not with any Intent of becoming I
Permanent Institution, dnvolnnrd lntr nn of tha rnnni 7
Important of the world's newspapers, a journal of
recognized standing throughout the world, Is due
solely to the persistence of Its founder. Edward Rose
water found in his path such obstacles as would dis
courage a man of unquestioned grit, but la him the
greater the obstruction, the greater his desire to over
come it. Within a year of the publication of 1U first
number, The Bee was burned out, fired by an Incen
diary. Once again It suffered the same way through
a similar agency. Its editor was assaulted and a des
perate effort made to take hla life; he fought against
poverty and underwent the severest of hardships, but
he would not give over the work he had set about.
And Inch by Inch he fought his way, little by little he
made progress, until he got hla enterprise on a solid
footing, and then he went about to make his paper
what he had dreamed It would become, the leading
journal of the west. During all this time he did not
waver In his policy. He boldly attacked corruption
wherever located; he championed the weak against
the strong; he set himself against the domination of
the afalrs of the public by the corporations, and fear
lessly opposed the leadership of men who were active
In the interest of the moneyed oligarchy that sought
to control. His sympathies were always with the
people, and his advocacy of their cause never slack
ened
In the earlier days of the struggle
itsle of The 'Bee
against the many Influences lined up
up against It, its
editor felt many times that the life
of his paper was
to It. At the end
trembling by a thread, but he stuck to
of two years It had grown to proportions where he
must enlarge Its size, and although the panic of 1873
was at its height, he bought more and better machin
ery and entered upon the real career of a journalist.
Varying Size of the Prr.
At this time he entered the general field for cir
culation, and In return found such a welcome from
the people outside of Omaha that the next year saw
another enlargement of The Bee. In March, 1874,
It was Issued as a nine column folio, the old "blanket
sheet" type, the fifth time It had been enlarged since
Its birth three years before. On January 1, 1875,
The Bee issued the first illustrated number ever pub
lished In the west, a review of the city's activities, Il
luminated with cuts of buildings, Individuals and
other matters of interest. In 1878 the Bee Publish
ing company was formed, and the great paper was
launched on Its wider career. Ample capital, a aolid
financial basis, provided for new and improved ma
chinery, and a general plan of expansion was com
menced. The morning edition had been added some
time before, and both editions were enlarged to eight
pages. In 1881 a Council Bluffs department was set
up, and four years later Lincoln was taken In. From
that time continuously The Bee has had Its own rep
resentatives In both of these cities. A special repre
sentative has been maintained In Washington since
early In the 80s, and for more than a dozen yeara a
resident staff correspondent has been kept at pes
Moines, thus giving The Bee Its own representatives
in the great news centers of the country and the Btates
It especially serves.
' From its very start The Bee found great diffi
culty In getting Us news servioe from the world out
side. The local field was easily enough covered, but
the gathering of news by telegraph was accomplished
in the face of discouraging conditions. The telegraph
, companies would do nothing to aid the paper, and
for many years It paid outrageous tolls for its tele
graphic news. It was denied entrance to the Asso
ciated Press, and as a result, while the other Omaha
nnnnra wnro nnvlnz but a small sum. around 875 ner
" r - a V t ' '
month for telegraphic news, The Bee was held up fWJ
from $500 to $800 for what it got. Finally, In 188r
It was admitted to the Associated Press on the pay
ment of a cash bonus of $9,800. This exorbitant fee
did not seriously affect the splendid system of special
correspondents that had been built up, but made It
possible to use the force to better advantage, with
the result tnat It made The Bee pre-eminent as a
newspaper. Connections were' made with the great
journals pf the east, and an alliance with the New
York Herald that continued for many years, or until
the Herald became involved In an effort to sustain a
rival to the . Associated Press, when the connection
with The Bee wss broken off.
Superb Ifews Gathering Source. -.
It may be of interest to recite at this point a fact
that Is little known, but is of significance as showing
the Importance of The Bee In the news-gathering func
tion of the great American press. When the United
Press was about to go under, In 1896, a conference
was held in New York, at the instance of Mr. Bennett,
and arrangements were then made for an association
of newspapers that would gather the news and serve
it to their clients. In this combination were included
the New York Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the St.
Louis Globe-Democrat and The Omaha Bee For somw
rsflinn never exDlalned. Mr. Bennett withdrew over 4
night from the agreement, and the Immediate reorgan-
izatlon of the Associated Press rendered further ef
fort on the part of the others to provide for a central
news-gathering and distributing agency unnecessary.
The United Press went under and the Herald came into
the Associated Press.
In 1885 the mechanical equipment of The Bee was
expanded to meet its growth by the addition of a
web perfecting press and complete stereotyping out
fit. August 1, 1886, The Sunday Bee made Its ap
pearance. Up to that time the morning edition of The
Bee had appeared on Monday, but not on Sunday. The
success of the new venture was In keeping with the
enterprise that has marked its career. In 1889 The
Bee moved to its present home, and even during the
times of depression that came In the 90s, it con
tinued Its growth. It was in 1893 that the battery of
twelve linotypes, the first in the west, were ordered,
ard the production of the paper by machine set type
w is commenced early In the following year. In 1898
tie two Potter perfecting presses were displaced by
two Hoe presses, each of more than double the capacity
of the ones taken out. These In their turn are being
displaced by others of still more than double the ca
pacity. The battery of linotypes has grown to fifteen,
each working sixteen hours a day, and producing an
output that measures far above the average of the
country, as shown by the Mergenthaler tabulation.
Not alone In mechanical appliances has the paper
grown. Its news connections are the most complete
of any in the west. It covers the world every day.
giving to its readers the dally story of human activity
in all lines, the cream of the news, carefully written
and presented attractively and accurately. Its editor
long ago solved the question of what is fit to print,
and his views on that point are fixed law in The Bee
editorial rooms. No Item Is published In malice, nor
to needlessly wound any, nor is ever an Item to be
published whose reading would offend good taste.
that have sprung up through unusual hours of clos- v
ng malls and the like, and to secure delivery of its J
editions daily, but these are so ordered that each sua-(
scrlber gets the full news of the day.
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