New-York tribune., 1868-03-17
THE POSTOFFJCE SITE.


It does not matter, however. While the selec-
ton of a site was an open question, great
| many selfish influences were brought into the
field, and none, perhaps, were more conspicu-
ous than those which directed the course OF
| The Herald and its political ally, admirer, and
humble imitator. The World. But now, it seems,
the Beekman-st. organ is under new lnfiu-
encc, and the victory over Ann-st so recently
| celebrated in v0ciferous Growing, is not only no
victory at all, but miserable mistake. The
| Post-Oflice, says The World, will be III the
wrong place-there will be great crowds there
the streets will be blockaded-all creation
will rush and crush into the small space be-
| tween the Astor House and LOvejoy's Hotel,
and confusion worse cOnfounded will reign.
E Let us look into this matter little. The
present Post-Ofice is accessible for the people
on two sides only Nassau and Cedar
sts. These streets are each about 80
feet wide. The new ediice will be
accessible on Broadway, Park-row, and
the open Park, beside the semi-circular
space at the lower sde-that is to say, on all
sides. Broadway, corresponding for the COM
parison with Nassau-st, is 80 feet wide; Park
row. corresponding with Cedar-st., is also 80 feet
wide. The lower curve Gears being removedb
will give in itself more room than there is IN all
the streets around the present Office, and, in ad-
| dition to all this, the northern front on the
Park will give three times more room for ingress
! and egress, for boxes and general business,
! than we have in the whole establishment at
| Libcrty-st.
! The rapid and safe delivery of the mails is
| prime consideration, and here, too will be vast
! Improvement At present, the mail bags foreyery
! direction are brought and carried, at great risk
! and loss of time, in wagons from and TO the
railway stations. with the Post-Ohce In
| the Park, just Mt the meeting-place OF
nearly all the city railway tracks. there is no
! reason why the United States mail-cars should
| not come to and depart from the interior OF
| the Post-01ice building. The great mails
from Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati ST.
| Louis. New Orleans, Washington, and all lead
cities, may be brought directly into the Post
| Office with not more than two tracks to cross
Broadway, as they now do at Bieecker and
! Canal-sts), and thereby the utmost celerity
and safety would be assured.
! As for the terrible crowd anticipated by
! The World, n few words will suffice. The
terrible crowd now gets along very quietly in
| Nassau and Ccdar-sts., and nobody complains.
| Does not The World know that every week
dmnishes the crowd at the Post-Ollice The
| free delivery system and the sale OF stamps III
other places, have already done away with
these old-time crowds, and bid fair, within
! few years, 10 make the Post-0ilice one OF the
least frequented Of all our public buildings
! If the contracted streets, and still more con-
| tracted sidewalks of Nassau-st. (one-tllird of
the walks being devoted to candy peldlers)
! accommodates the existing POSt-Ofce busi-
| ness, what shall prevent ample accommodation
! in the seven times enlarged space ut the Park
The place for Government Offices is just
where the greatest number of people usually
go. Business hourishcs in a crowd. Even men
| in the same calling rush to single place
| Twenty years aCO nine-tCnths OF the dry
goods business in the city was done within an
area of n quarter Of mile in and around
! lIanOver-squaTc-a place nearly forgotten 10y
the present generation. For half century,
! the money business of the city and the contl-
| ncnt has been either in or within few steps
| of Wall-st The World itself selected its
present location because it WAS as near as
possible to THE TRIBUNE, The Times
The HeraH, StadtS Zeitung, and other
journals Why is not this principle
equally good for Government ofcesP We
hold that it is that for years gone, for the
present, and for years to come the one hundred
acres of which the New Post Office will be nearly
the center, will be the grand gathering-place of
business men. 1t is all well enough to send
amusemcpts and political meetings uptown !;
but Government business, wholesale trade,
banking and brokerage. and the making of
newspapers, are not likely to rush off in search
of the airy regions of Yorkvillc.
Let the Post-0liice go up in the selected To-
cation. Set apart the breadth of Il hundred
feet of the now almost useless Park between
the Post-0l 0llice and the City Hall, for a grand
railway depot; run all the cars now stopping
opposite the Astor House into this open space;
compel the companies to build convenient
sheltered depOts, where passengers could wait
for cars-do this, and instead of crowding
Broadway below the Park, much of the pres
ent crowd would be drawn away; ; the east
and west side business men, the casual visitors
that now crowd down as far as the old Post
Office, would 90 no further down than Beck
man st. and Park-place. But, crowd or no
crowd, we want the Post Office and United
States Courts right in the very path of the
human tide. 1t may suit The Worlds idea of
business propriety to place the Post-Oifice in
the Central Park, but we prefer that it shall
be Just where the Commissioners propose TO
build it.
The PeDudidfor (St LOuis) thus inVOkes