The Portland daily press., 1865-06-17
Suggestions for the improvement Of Market
Square.

Every stranger as well as every citizen,
who has occasion to pass Market Square, must
have his good taste offended by the covering 4
up of what should be beautiful open
square, by the old Market House, standing as
it does all alone, solitary in It's obtrusion on I
= what should be vacant space. But how to
get rid of the eyesore, and to make such i'm
provement as every person OF good taste con-
cedes is demanded, il the practical question,
the solution of which has caused no small |
amount Of idle thought and fruitless specula.
ton.
The site OF that building was donated to
the city, that it might be used for Market |
Houses use to which it was devoted for
many years, and until its further use for such
purpose would have been little better than a
public nuisance. The streets on each side are
altogether too public and too narrow, to ad-
nit the crowd of teams which necessarily
cluster around public market, even were
there no other objections to keeping up the
"institution" formerly established there. Z
As the lot was conveyed to the city for
specific purpose, it is commended that rever-
sionary claims still exist, which bar the city
against appropriating the location to other
and more desirable uses, and would give to
the legal heirs of the grantors just title to
that valuable spot should the city cease to
keep up something to answer to the idea of q
Market; and to meet this difficulty, and to
prevent reversion, a grocery ard provision
store Is maintained in one portion of the
building.
1t seems pity, when the symmetry of the
city and the public good demand change in
that locality, that improvement and progress
should be barred by any such plea. 1t may be
asked, why not extinguish the reversonary
claims by purchase? The answer to this
question, If we are rightly informed, is two
fold. First, it has been SO long since the grant
was made to the city-now nearly or quite
forty years-that 1t would be difficult tracing
all the branches of heirship, SO that it would
be no small task to find out how many parties
1t would be neediul to negotiate with in order
to extiugaish their claims by purchase; and,
second, II is said some Of the known claimants
that would spring up, entertain very extrava-
giant notions Of the amount that might be ex-
torted from the city, should an effort be made
in earnest to extinguish the claims referred
to.
But Is there no way to get around this diff
Guilty, and secure to the city much-needed
improvement? We believe there is, and we
submit the following suggestions.
The right Of the city to lay out new streets,
or to straighten or widen existing streets, is
unquestioned. The land of any individual
may be taken for such purpose, though it
turn him out Of house and home, or, what is
equally inconvenient sometimes, take of his
. front yard or even his front parlor. This
right we say, is unquestioned; the person
whose property is thus taken being entitled 10
damages. Whatever real damage be suffers by
such laying out or alteration of the streets, he
Is competent to recover, and the law is ample
in securing to him his rights to this extent
He cannot fix his own price, and compel the
city to pay that or forego needed Improve
ments; he can only recover damages, to be
estimated, in case of disagreement, by a Jury.
Now II any person will take tie trouble to
examine, he will find there is bend i'm Mid
, die street near its junction with Congress.
, Commencing at the last angle in Middle before
reaching its confluence with Federal street,
and continuing the north line ON st.a.-,5.
course till 1t strikes IS L.
euIted Snates Hotel, and leave only small
triangle of the ground on which that building
now stands on the northerly side of such con-
tinued line of Middle street.
What we suggest, therefore, is this: that
Middle street be Strengthened and widened bv
running its North line straight from, the an
gle spoken Of, below Federal till it strikes the
present line of Congress street. Then widen
that portion OF Elm street in front of the Uni.
ted States Hotel to, say, six rods, more or less.
and II there should be any remaining portion
left OF the present site Of the Market House
widen Congress street, on its southerly side.
from the westerly line Of Elm to its junction
with Middle street, SO as to throw the entire
lot now covered by the Market House. into
Middle, Congress and Elm streets. making IL
part and parcel of those great thorouehEares.
This, unquestionably, can be done. The
land would not be abandoned by the city, and
thus left TO revert to the heirs of the original
owner. 1t would still be used for the public
good and convenience; and who could put
forth claim for damages? Nobody. The
city alone would suffer loss of property. The
streets would only be laid out over its own
land, and there is not a jury under heaven
that would award one cent damages to claim
ants under any pretended reversionary title.
even II there should be any foolhardy lawyer
who would attempt to bring suit We have
talked this matter over with men of eminent
legal talent, and we have not found the first
one who does not take the same view of the
legal liabilities involved, that we have sue-
gested. ts pas.5 sesats4 s5ss lsG
True, the city would lose some paltry rents
now received from that building, but remove
u and make beautiful public square at that
point, and all the lots surrounding it would in
crease largely in value, the owners would be
encouraged to improve them by the erection
Of stately edidces, and the taxable property
thus increased would yield much larger and
more reliable revenue to the city than the
rents OF half dozen such buildings.
NOW II the suggestions here made seem
feasible, why not start petition to the City
Government, requesting the streets bordering
on the lot referred to, to be SO Strengthened
and Widened as to accomplish a result SO much
needed? Doubtless such a petition, in one
forenoon at Merchants Exchange, would re-
ceive the signatures of very large propor-
ton OF our merchants and men of enterprise,
every one Of whose names, in such matters,
carries with 1t the weight of tons. II the lay
ing out suggested should be made, the city