The furnishing of food supplies has always been a question of great
importance to cities, and there are few of the latter, great or small,
where the establishment of markets is not the order of the day.
At Paris especially, by reason of the massing of the population, which
is annually increasing, the multiplicity of the wants to be satisfied
renders the solution of this question more and more difficult. The old
markets, some of the types of which still exist in various parts of
Paris, were built of masonry and wood. They were massive structures
into which the air and light penetrated with difficulty, and which
consequently formed a dangerous focus of infection for those who
occupied them, and for the inhabitants of the neighboring houses. So
the introduction of iron into the construction of markets will bring
about a genuine revolution whose influence will soon make itself felt
in all branches of the builder's art.
The Central Markets were to have been built of masonry, and the work
had even been begun, when, under the pressure of public opinion, the
architect, Mr. Baltard, was led to use iron. Evidently, the metal that
permits of covering vast spaces with the use of distant bearing points
that present a small surface in plan, and leaves between them wide
openings that the sun and air can enter in quantity, was the only
thing that was capable of giving the solution sought. So it has
been said, and rightly, that the Central Markets are, as regards the
distribution and rational use of materials, the most beautiful of the
structures of modern Paris. This system of construction at once met
with great success, and the old markets are everywhere gradually
disappearing, in order to give place to the new style of buildings.
Notwithstanding their number, the Parisian markets long ago became
insufficient, and wants increased with such rapidity that it became
impossible to supply them. The municipal administration was therefore
obliged, especially in populous quarters, to tolerate perambulating
peddlers, who carried their wares in hand carts. This system has the
drawback that it interferes considerably with travel, and especially
in streets where the latter is most active. Moreover, the merchants
and their goods are exposed to the inclemency of the weather. In
other places, where large spaces were utilizable, such as squares and
avenues, very light structures, that could be easily put together and
taken apart, were erected, and markets were opened in these once or
twice a week. This method presents serious advantages. Iron markets,
in fact, despite the immense progress that they mark, present
disadvantages that are inherent to all stationary structures. It
is necessary to erect them in populous centers, where land is
consequently of great value; and the structure itself is costly.
The result is that the prime cost is very great, and this forces the
city to charge the merchants high rents, and the consumer has to pay
for it. With movable markets, on the contrary, the city can utilize
large areas of unproductive ground, and find new resources, although
renting the stalls at a minimum price. The expense connected with the
structure itself is very small. In fact, the distinguishing character
of such structures is their portability--so that the same shed can be
used in any number of different places.
The principal expense, then, will be for carriage; but it is easy to
see that there will always be an economy in their use. This is a fact,
moreover, that practice has verified, for it is well known that Paris
does not get her expenses back from her stationary markets, while the
movable ones yield a revenue.
On another hand, as stationary markets are costly, it results that
they cannot be multiplied as much as necessary, and so a portion of
the inhabitants are daily submitted to a loss of time in reaching the
one nearest them.
Finally, from a hygienic standpoint, movable markets present a
very great advantage over stationary ones. The latter, in fact,
notwithstanding their large open spaces, never get rid of the vitiated
air that they contain, and the bad odors that emanate from them are
also a source of annoyance and danger to the neighborhood. In movable
ones, on the contrary, when the structure is taken apart, the air,
sun, and rain disperse all bad odors, and the place is rendered
wholesome in an instant.
We have now demonstrated what great advantages the city of Paris and
her population might derive from the establishing of movable markets.
It is easy to see that well established structures of this kind would
render great services in small towns also. They might entirely
replace stationary iron markets, the high cost of which often causes
municipalities to preserve their old, inconvenient, and unhealthy
structures. As a general thing, market is held but once or twice a
week in small towns. In the interior the structure could be taken
apart, and the place rendered free.
The question, then, is to have a system of construction that shall
satisfy the different parts of the programme that we have just laid
out, that is to say, strength, lightness, rapidity of erection,
and ease of carriage. The shelters that are at present employed
for movable markets at Paris are very primitive, and are wanting in
solidity and convenience. They consist simply of wooden uprights to
which are affixed cross-pieces that support an impermeable canvas.
In order to render it possible to extend the system of movable
markets, it became necessary to first find and study the proper
material.
During the year 1883 the city of Paris resolved to make some
experiments, and the Direction of Municipal Affairs commissioned Mr.
Andre, director of the Neuilly works, to submit to him a plan for a
structure that could be easily taken apart. The plan finally proposed
seemed to meet all the requirements of the case, and a group of
ten structures was erected. The trial that was made of these proved
entirely satisfactory. The city then made concession to the Neuilly
company, for six years, of the market in Boulevard Richard-Lenoir,
of those of La Reine Park, and of the Madeleine flower markets. A six
months' trial has shown the great resistance of the materials that we
are about to describe in detail.
The structure is supported by cylindrical hollow iron uprights that
are firmly connected with the ground as follows: At the places where
they are to be fixed, small catches are inserted in the ground so that
their upper surface comes flush therewith. These catches consist of
two cast iron sides bolted together, and of a bottom and ends formed
of flat iron--the end pieces being bent so as to form cramp irons.
Each of the sides is provided internally with a projecting piece, and
an inclined plane as a wedge. In case the catch becomes filled with
dirt, it can be easily cleaned out with a scraper. The iron upright
terminates in a malleable cast iron shoe, which is screwed on to
it, and which is provided beneath with a projection in the form of
a reversed T, the upper part of the horizontal branches of which is
beveled off in a direction opposite that of the inclined planes of the
catch. This projection enters through the slit and fits into the two
wedges, and a simple blow of a hammer suffices to make the adherence
perfect.
The front and hind uprights differ only in length, and the roof
timbers are joined at their upper extremities. The figures so well
show how the parts are fitted together as to render an explanation
unnecessary.
The dimensions of these structures vary from 6.5 to 5.75 feet in
length by 6.5 in width and 6 in height. The rafters are prolonged so
as to project 4.25 feet in front, in order to form a protection for
the purchaser. This part of the rafters, as well as the longitudinals,
is supported by three curved iron braces, which are put in place as
follows: The timbers are provided with a ring fixed by a screw, and
one extremity of the brace is inserted into this, while the other is
held against the upright by a sliding iron socket. The longitudinal
timbers are supported between each two uprights by an iron rod that
rests upon a block of stone fixed in the ground.
The front ends of the rafters are connected by a longitudinal, 18 feet
in length.
The structure is covered with waterproof canvas held in place by
wooden rods, to which it is attached.
The wood employed is pitch pine.
An entire market of 300 stalls can be put up in three hours by one
workman and four assistants.--_Le Genie Civil._
[Illustration: THE MOVABLE MADELEINE FLOWER MARKET AT PARIS.]
FIG. 1.--GENERAL VIEW OF A MOVABLE MARKET.
FIG. 2.--SHOES.
FIG. 3.--MODE OF JOINING THE ROOF TIMBERS.
FIG. 4.--IRON SUPPORT.
FIG. 5.--SECTION OF A SHOE INSERTED IN THE CATCH.
FIG. 6.--CATCHES.
FIG. 7.--WATERPROOF CANVAS.]
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