, 1876-07-30

ing frequency and regularity: The Istruct-
ure is to cost $2,oo000o, and ae-
commodate any number Of guests: The site
spoken Of is ut the extreme western limits o. the
city, and is now occupied BY German cabbage
gardens most improbable location for hotel
I have taken the trouble to sift this muct-ad-
yertiscd project, and find that there is nothing
in it but the thinnest kind OF talk. The men
who have been named in connection with 1t say
that they have not given the matter even seri-
Gus consideration. It is pretty safe to say that
the Palmer and Grand Pacific will both be du-
plicated in Chicago before the Page Avenue
Hotel will be built in St. Louis.
CHANGES OF BUSINESS CENTRES.
Owners Of ST. Louis business property have
suffered terribly from changes OF business cen
have been wholly exempt. In Chicago these
changes have developed property in the new
locations, and increased It's value enormously,
while the abandoned localities have been occu-
pied in some other way immediately, and have
thus held their own. Thus, Field, Letter & Co.,
Farwen d. Co., Henderson S Co., with other
leading houses, established great centre for
thewhO1csale dry-goods and dboot-and-slloe trades
i'll section that was almost yaluclcss five years
ago, yet no section suffered BY their removal.
The gon-and-carTiage trade, represented By
about dozen heavy firms, has recently become
centcred on Wabash ayenue; yet no sec
tion is apparently the loser. The produce
commission business, which, up to two years
ago, Was confined to South Water street, has
overfowcd into Market street, and brauched out
on Jackson street half a mile away, yet South
Water street has not suffered. 1t is natural to
explain this BY attributing it to the great IN
crease Of business; but st. Louis has had con
trary experience, and licr business has increased
enormously both in volume and the number OF
firms engaged.
The five Streets east of Fourth-Third, Main,
Second, Commercial, and, the Levce-.
were for many years tho great whole
sale streets Of the city, and contin-
ucd SO until u few years ago. Fourth
all cast of that was built up solid, and devoted
to heavy merchandising. The lcvee, IN old
times the busiest thoroughfare in the city, is
now given over to mock-auction shops and sail
ors' boarding-houscs, and
THE PROPERTY is ABSOLUTELY UNSALABLE.
The other streets named have suffered terribly
Rents range from one-fourth to one-third Of
what they used to be; many buildings
are vacant, while many Others have te'l-
ants On the first floor only. The
grand structure OF the Merchants Exchange,
iii Witch the Democratic National Convention
was held, was located on Third street in the
hope that it would arrest the decline in proper
ty in this vicinity. 1t las tailed utterly to at
cunplish any such end. The Exchange has
frontage of an entire block on Third street. The
opposite side Of the street is occupied by sub
stantial buildings almost tenautless except on
the ground floor where there arc small lager
beer saloons aud other cheap establishments.
THERE'S not m important business house on tue
cntirc front. This entire section east Of Fourth
street, and extending about half-a-1ilic
area about three times as great as
that of South Water and East Lake streets in
Chicago, has suffered decline which cannot be
estimated, because the property cannot hc sold
Ut any price, Ono cause Of this decline was
THE DECREASE IN THE RIVER TRADE;
+hnr nF ySh,taEsfa
houses to Fifth street and Washington avenue.
The destruction of values in this section Of
which I have been writin, SO long the cream Of
the business property in st. Louis, has been
severe blow t1 many OF the old property-owncrs
Of the city. Ten years ago this property had
ready sale at little less than $1,000 per foot;
now it is offered in vain at from Sl00 to S300
per foot. And worst than all, the decline
Is hopeless. There is scarcely any chance
Of reaction for generation s 4 Ihs property is
to thu river, and is undesirable IN every respect
save proximity to the river. This consideration
is not important in these days Of railroading;
hence all this property must remain depressed
mcnt or freak Of trade shall bring it again into
activity. 1T may be for years; it may be for
cyer-'s
South Of Walnut street there have been 10
Gated a number Of warehouses and packing es-
Establishments, not enough to develop the prop
erty i'll the direction Of that kind Of business,
but quite enough to destroy its value for any
other purposes. Still south, crossing below
Chouteau avenue and the new Union Dcpot-if
an open train-yard may be SO called-propcrty is
far below the prices OF ten years ago. Business
and residence sections have suffered alike.
THE MOST VALUABLE PROPERTY
in the city is within the limits bounded on the
east by Inird street, On the south BY Pine, OH
the west By Sixth, and on the north BY Wash
ington avenue. Of this, the property on
Fourth and Fifth, and tnt on Olive r, between ,a
paying property in the city is said to
be pratt's building, known as Insurance E1-
change, on the southeast corner of Fifth and
Olive. 1t is valued at 5000 per front foot.
Washington avenue and Fifth street are mag
nifcent. They are nearly, if not quite, as fine
Us any streets in Chicago.
Real estate all over the city has suffered ter
ribly since the panic The shrinkage has been
about 33H per cent This docs not refer to the
old business section, where the shrinkage has
since January Of this year. The squeeze is
growing tighter as time goes on, and there is no
prospect of relief that can be counted on.
The symbol q To Rent" used to be consider |
I'd almost Chicago Institution two or three
are as many TO kent'' cards displayed on
business houses and offices here now as there |
were in Chicago three years ago, and about ten
LINES as many residences: The number Of
oulCco " ICl1L ID AahCA LuE GduaG u
it, and was told that the publication Of
REAvIs' FUTURE GREAT CITY,"
and the splendid success of the St. Louis Fairs |
Of 1871 and 1872, produced an almost in-
1cscribaable sensation throughout the |
Southern States, and led to a
general stampede OF young professional |
men from all sections Of the South to St. Louis,
where they expected to find plenty Of business
md fortunes easy to make. This influx Of law
yers, doctors, and the like, created q demand |
[or offices, which was soon supplied abundantly. |
The large majority Of these young men soon
their mistake, and have been drift
ng away as rapidly as they could command the |
xhcrewithal to drift thus leaving hundreds Of |
offices empty and dreary.
There is no dcmand tor business-houses. The
Inc building occupied by the Glo1e before the
purchase of the Democrat has been almost
;cnantless ever since Several banks have re-
moved into the Merchants Exchange Building,
md their old apartments are vacant.
drove out the other day with friend who |
wanted to rent q house, and, as we had q long
ist to choose from, l had a favorable op-
,ortunity to notice the number Of residences
8 To Rent" think I am well within bounds
when I say that there are twice as many as
here have been in Chicago at any time, except
N May l, since the fire. In twenty-six blocks
IN Olive street there were seventy-five resi-
lences ITO Rent.' On other streets, in first
lass localities, in two instances there were
WHOLE BLOCKS ITO REST''
EVERYWHERE the symbol preete1 the ore This !