Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1867-12-05
The Improvement Of Penn.ylvania Av-
euue.
AN INTERESTING LhrTEs PROM eIpxRAL ".
q. WIGS.

4
| AN IrTHRBsTINe LETTEa FROM eEpkRAL ".
q. WIGS.
The followin IL the letter OF General NJ e.
| Meige, Quartermaster General, bow travelling
| in Europe directed 10 Gen. Michler, Commis.
sioner Of Public Buildings, and which accom-
papies his report:
are, eeheye, now IN charge OF the paving OF
the avenues, for which sppropriations have
been msde by Congress. and OF the ex pendlture
Of ne funds appropriated for the paeIic places
in Washington.
The streets of the cities OF Germany. Der
mark ana Prussia, which 4 have la.ely seen.
are SO well paved that am induced 20 send
you few q oies thereon.
The pavement in general use 10 like wha.
We call Belgian. The blocEs used are not
large, but tksy are laid in regular courses
along The line OF travel. j noIiced ma; larger
blocks are often used on the margin Of ca--
r1ege roads iaan in the more freq ne led middle
Care seems 10 De taken 20 lay the courses a.
right angles to the line OF travel. In q few
streets they are laid diaGona ally, bat ia only q
lev: Tne stones seem 70 be lad on bed Of
seen making, i saw no other preparation as
foup6ation, bat am not sure that in frs. pa
wing street some greater and more elsborsts
preparation is not made. The French POINTS
et Ceausseer repor;s VIII doubtless give full
details.
Sidewalks here are never paved with brick
There is generally line OF nags admitting OF
walking IN single fie; in the wider and more
important streets two snch lines. The rest OF
The sidewalk is ei,her paved a. the street,
which are torture 20 the feet, or else IL i. paved
with small stones about the size used for con
crete or macadamizlng, which are laid IN sand
down and nat base up, and then rammed TO a
smooth and even euiface. These make q pave
ment easier to the foot than either flags or
bricks, and As the stones are sorted and laid In
patterns, far more pleasing 20 the eve than
either. A space around every fountain or stat
ne in the PUBLIC places and streets Of Berlin is
paved with this mosaic. The colors used
are red, grey, black, brown, which seem TO be
gI anites and sand stones, and white which Is
OF marble fragments.
In the pavement about the monument 10
Frederick the Great, the pieces of stone aver
age two square inches surface each, or % OF
them NIL space OF l0xl0 inches. White stars
l0 rayed-wi,h red centres, The color OF
white
This pavement never gets muddy like our
gravel walks. 1t dries after q show wer quickly,
even more QHickly than brick, and far more
rapidly than nag-stone. A shower brings out
the celors more vividly and improves It's ap-
pearance. II Is very pleasant 70 the foot and
Your resources in Washington are red and
grey sandstone from the Seneca ouarries
brown from the stone. yards, blue limestone
granite, red fragments Of brick, white spaals
from the marble yards of the city, and doubt
less other colors would be found If the attempt
10 in ntroduce this pavement around the Gree
nough's w ashing on, the Jackson, the Mills
Washington, The fountain at the Capitol, &C.,
was made.
Shop. keepers in Berlin lay the whole pave
ment In front OF their shops IN this rude and
cheap mosaic, sometimes. The name of the
store or the number is sometimes introduced
In block letters-white or black. The expe-
rIence OF these old towns leads them to pave
the " whole Of their public squares which are
Lot PARKS. They are used as market places
fol
They are paved as the streets-nearly level
with very shallow undulations serving 10
carry on the weter 10 the gully holes OF sew
ers passing under them. The streets which
come in irregulsrly seem 10 continue their
pavement across on the direct lines OF travel
The intermediate spaces are paved in irregular
mes or iaio on into circles, uiangles, &c, In
Wnich sometimes stones sorted of different
tins are used with good ornamen ntalIeffest and
sometimes the decoration depends upon the
courslng above the block.
The space in front of such buildings as the
Capitol 10, in Europe-as far as 1 have Vet
seen always paved. The court yards of
nags or regularly cut stones, bat with rough
rectangular blocks like those used in Belgian
pavenente and with mosaic of the small two
incn stone like Berlin trottoirs.
RaIn and the broom keep all free from dust
Inc waste OF gravel and sand east OF the Capt.
tol would be much improved by such q pave
meht-beIeian on all lines much used by car
riagee; small mosaic on those parts used prru-
cipally by footmen.
Aspbalte Is also much uesd S>r sidevaIks
IN IN me German cities. as In Paris. With us 1t
is too expensive, and do not fnd Il as pleasant
10 tne Ioot as the small stone mosaic pa ayement,
whose lrregularity is suffi cient TO prevent the
soreness caused BY treading always upon q
nat, nard stone surface which presses the
same parts OF the sole al every step without
any relief or change. My feet have been an
a gooo conaition TO TEST the quality Of pave
Inent since have been here, for since nv sick-
ness little walking makes them very sore
Inc Cnter-der-Linden is q street Of great ce-
iebrity in Berlin, and the people are still prais-
Ing the electors who laid il out two hundred
years ago. IL 10 the principal street OF city OF
oOO,OOO people; upon 1t are the royal palaces
those OF most OF the princes-the principal
snops ana hotels. Ii has wide gravel walk
In Its centre, four rows OF trees which give
shade, wide trottoirs or sidewalks next the
houses, and yet II is never encountered. The
central walk 10 sometimes filled in the evening
with promenaders enjoy ing the long summer
twilight OF this northern latitude, in which
darkness does not come until 10 m. 4 give
You sketch OF II, and hope that Pennsyiya.
MA avenue may yet be arranged ike il IL
would, in our hot climate, be a great Improve
msht ano the economy in paving it and keep
ing it in repair would be very great In
Berlin, droschkies are the common carriages
Iney are large carriages, TO opep or close: the
top lets down, and they carry four TO six per-
SON. SON. All oenind one horse. The streets are
very level, and the pavements are excellent
1 nave seen q man and dog pulling MANY a
lour- wheeled wagon, with az much furniture
or truck on IL as q good horse and cart can
draw with us. Dogs are IN universal use by
the street porters, IN place OF horses-generally
only one dog harnessed along a pole: the man
or boy takes hold OF the pole and pulls by A
"brlcoie" over gutters the dog does the whole
work In smooth places.
But to the Inter der Linden, whose trees are
not very large. They have, 1 suppose per
isned In occupations OF the city by hostile ar
mics, and been repeatedly renewed.
III the thirty three feet carriage way hap-
pens 10 De full or obstructed, carriages take
the twenty-four feet line between the trees
but these twenty -four feet lines are ordinarily
used only By equest rians and by porters VINO
orag their wagons a ssIsted by their dogs One
OF them, that on the north eide OF the prome.
ade, Is gravelled, TO be used as a summer
road.
This street is the resort for business and re-
creation OF all Berlin, and OF all Strangers
Pennsylvania avenue is capable OF a similar
improvement. You see 90 feet are given ex-
clusively to footmen, sixty six feet TO car
rlages, forty.eiRht feet are common properly
OF iootmen. horsemen, and carriages.
Hoping that these details will interest vou
ana serve, perhaps, as authority in introcu.
eng Improvements as yet novel in Washing
ton: am, with regards TO our frierds al the
ciGo, yours Iuiy, NC. MBIGs.
GEN. WIcHL1R, Washington. ID. G.
Inc eketcn accompanying the letter of Gen
Meies shows that on each side Of the street
next TO the housee Is a paved footway fifteen
N0