New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-06-21
ANOTHER ELEVATED R1ILROAD.

POSSIBLY LOWER BROADWAY TO BE oCCUPIED-
THE PENDING SCHEME TO BE SUBMITTED TO
THE COMMON ooUNCII-PRoPERTY- owNERs TX
CIrED-THE EXISTING ELEVATED RAILROAD
COMPANIES NOT OPPOSED TO IT.
"Mr. Vanderbilt intends TO build an underground
and elevated railroad to City Hall, and further,
too" was the remark lately made in most conf
dent tone by a gentleman long in the confidence OF
the late Commodore, and known at this time to be
in the secret of most of William III. VanderDilts
railroad schemes.
"Why has he decided TO build" was asked
"Because he must. The Third Avenue Elevated
Road has ruined his entire local traffic to Harlem.
He has got to build TO recoverThis most important
traffic particularly if the Second Avenue Line is to
run through trains while the Third Avenue runs ac-
commodation trains"
Il thought his father had decided that al under
ground road was lmpracticable."
$50 he did. lie spent $50, 900 in making sur
vey from Forty-second-st. to City Hail. His en-
gnecrs found il would cost more to remove and re-
place pipes and sewers than TO build an elevated
road. The cost was put at $13,0O0OO0, with
probable increase to many millions more. The pro-
iect of an underground road was then abandoned.
The full report of this commission has already
been published, but the important clause appears to
have been generally overlooked. The commission
was appointed by Mayor Cooper to lay out routes IN
the annexed district of Westminster County only,
and it named eleven different routes which, if buit
upon will be practically extensions of the existing
rapid transit roads. But the commissioners went
even further and, it is claimed, beyond their au-
thority, in designating another line through the
heart of the city as far south as tho City Hal, ana
without restrictions to going still further south.
This route had for its northern terminus the Forty
all oil nxfn An
further north would of necessity have to be over
Vapderbl's depressed roads to Harlem River, il
naturally followed that only William Ii. Vanderbilt
could proftably build the road thus designated.
The brief clause of the long report which lays out
this line is as follows,
Rerlnping at the intersection OF the NewYork and
Harlem Railroad at line the city Of New1ork at
Bronx Rivers thence along the line OF the York ana
Harlem Railroad ana cOlncldeni Win sdII rdl' ot ~
the north OF the Harlem River aud thence across
Harlem coincIdent with said New-fork ana mar
lem Railroad to the south side Of Harlem River. Ard
also commencing AT point on the northerly SIDE o.
ysecondst below the grade OF said street, thence
under through aud Forty-second-s and thence
under through aud along the easterly side OF Fourth
n the south side OF Thirty-fourthst., ascending
TO the surface of Fourth-avej then by an elevated
read over through and along Fourthaye souherly TO
point between ac G 1be Vest s sde OF FonrbVe to
over and across Eight-hst and AsOrplace TO, over,
along and through Lafayetelace TO- over ana across
Great J3nesst through tne Dl9ca 20 0ycr t ~
Crosby-st and over through and along Crosby-st to
the block dagonally to point IN Elm-st,, near How
ardst: thence and across HOward-st.;
thence over through ana along kImst 20 peaTI-
across the block ~ Duane-St; thence across, over,
through and along Duanest TO Centrest; thence
thr0Ish and along Centre-st. and Park Row to a line
estery and westerly across the city at the south
line Of the City Hall
The magnitude of this grant will be perceived alta
glance by those familiar with the city. 1t is
Of tba feln and
callv runs parallel with Broadway and Fifh-ave..
through some of the richest trade districts, of
fine most beautiful localities for residences and past
some of the finest churches, hotels and public
buildings in the city. 1t runs under ground only
where the present tunnel under Park-ave. exists.
II emerges from the ground and springs upon stiits
in the air at Thirty -fourh-st directly In front of
the Park Avenue Hotel. Ii runs in front of the
Academy of Design the Young Mems Christian As
sociation Building. the Aston and Mercantile Libra
ries through UniOnsquare, IN the rear OF the Wash
ington Monument, which will have to be removed,
In front Of the Everett House, Westmoreland,
Union Square and other PROMINENT hotel 5 and The
following churches: II. PauPs NJ. r., at twenty
second-st; Church of the Coyenmt, presbyterian,
M Thirty -fifth-st. where will be dep0t-to the
ruin of the Church,; DR.. Howard Cros0y's PreSby-
terrain, at Twenty -second-st; calvary, Dr. j.. A.
Washburn. Episcopal, at Iwenty-hrst-st.j Cole
piate I'm Lafayett-place, at IOurt-St., ana several
others At the proposed southern terminus IT Will
have a depot directly II front OF Frehjhs Hotel,
and several hundred feet south OF the present
dcpot of the Chatham Street Branch of the
New York Elevated Road. There are no
restrictions a. to continuing II tArQugh Park-roW TO
broadway and even down Broadway, and as 1t -
we'll known that the Chatham Square branch OF
fine New-Yorb line was abandoned because 1t did
not RIM far enough South to be profitable, 1t Is not
likely that Mr.. Vanderbilt would long delay III get
ting an extension 10 Broadway or further. IL has
already been suggested that the line should extend
IN the north front Of the Post ONCE and this would
furnish n ready excuse for occupying the whole of
Park-rOw to aud III front OF lhe Herald once ana
new Post Office.
i'm operation do not seem 10 think that they have
any interest in opposing this grant, and when lately
urged by property owners VINO opposed the new
scheme, not only because 1t VIII rum fOuftn-aYe.,
Lafayettepl. and PaTk-rOw but because OF the fear
oflt,extensi0n down Broadway TO the Bowling Green,
they declined 10 take any united steps to defeat me
scheme Some of them in conversation cleared that
they did not believe such scheme, II II should be
consented to by the authorities, would affect their
laid down below Forty-secoDd-st., l., the rapid
transit people say. by far the best OF all the rapid
transit grants. and more valuable than any ever
given bY taY burdcned city to an enormously rich
non tax-paying corporation. The true reason, prob
aby that the Tapid-transit managers decline u 0p-
pose the Vanderbilt grant Is tGe fact that they
would stultify themselves, after having secured
such valuable grants, should they now oppose that
to another. But though the property holders who
sought b engage these powerful corporations In an
opposition tD the one now about TO make It's raid
an gled that the existing companies took enormous
risks in developing rapid transit on comparatively
unfavOrabe routes, while Mr.. Vanderbilt Is 10 reap
the reward OF their experiments on the best route
In the city, without risk, they still modcstly, or
from cowardice. refused TO enter the contest.
The scheme is looked upon generally as an enter
ING wedge 10 an elevated road in lower Broadway.
I'm the event Of such an extension a curve from
Palk-row into Broadway would touch OF run very
close to the front of the Herald building near the
front of the Western Union building. and would
finally result In the occupation of the Bowling
Green OF the space Immediately north OF it or else
of the Battery Park
"a