New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-04-19
EXHIBITION SITES.


The recent discussion of locations for the
proposed New-York Worlds Fair has con-
/ frmed the view taken by THE TRIBUNE when
the question was first mOOtcd, that when the
choice comes TO be made 1t VIII lie between
the vacant lots on Eighth-avc., facing central
Park. and some essentially suburban site haY-
ing the advantages of ample space and easy
communication with the city by rail and
water Several sites on the upper part OF Man
haitian Island have been suggested IN the
newspapers, but no one of them IL desirable,
and some are so wholly unavailable that their
mention shows Il remarkable ignorance Oh the
Topography of the thinly settled see ions oil the
city. For instance, one of our journals recently
recommended Riverside Park. This prospect
i've park is n long, narrow strip of unmprOyed
wood md stretching from Seyenty-secOnd to
One Hundred and TwentY-eightl-st. At no
point is it more than a stones throw in width,
and il is tilted up at Il sharp angle from the
railroad tracks to a stone wall skutlng the
brow of the hill, at the top OF which the
Corporation is constructing an expensive
road In the whole Park there is nowhere
to be found a level space large enough to
mark out a baseball ground upon. Another
paper suggests Washington Heights, an
equally impractical idea. The Heights are
covered with handsome villas surrounded
with ornamental grounds, and their surface
is so rugged and broken 10y valleys and
ravincs that if private ownership did not
stand IN the way 10 level spaces could be
found for the large Exhibition buildings. a
third suggestion, and one much more practical,
is the so-called Parade Ground, an open tract
lying between the Kingsbridgc Road and Harlem
River, opposite the Fordbam landing. with a
good deal of cutting and filling, this tract might
be made to answer but 1t is comparatively
inaccessible lying long way beyond the
reach of strcet-car travel. The nearest rail-
road is half milo distant and the river Is
TOO shallow to be nayigated by any buJ small,
light draft boats.
If a suburban location must be sought it
would be better TO 60 off Manhattan Island
altogether, and select some PLACE with q water
front where large vessels can land. The ar
clImcnts for such a selection were folciby
presented by Commissioner Mccormick in
recent letter to THE TRIBUNE. \ location IN
Wcstchcstcr County facing the Sound. which
seems TO meet the principal requirements
named by Mr. Mccormick, was suggested by
Mc,srs. Yaux and Eadford in Fridays TRB-
CNE. Other points on the Sound Will
no doubt be pressed as the discussion
progresses, and the merits of Staten
Island Will not be overlooked. In consider
ing the advantages of suburban localities
we should moi, however, lose sight Of the
fact that if we 20 iato the country with the
Exhibition We must foreGO one important and
lasting benefit which might come from it in
ease the Eighth-ayc. site Is chosen, namely,
handsome, spacious tIc-proof structure adapt
ed for museum purposes. The Centennial
gave to Philadelphia the stately granite Art
Hall, i'm which there are already the promis-
ing beginnings Of a museum Of industrial arts
ON the Kcnsington plan; the French EXhibi-
ton of 1878 bcfucatheG 10 Paris the great
cdifcc on the Trocadero Heights and our COM
ing Ncw-York FAIR ought, If possible, TO leave
a like legacy behind rs q gift TO the people in
return for the grants OF public money IL will
require from the City and State. Let u there
fore first determine whether it is not feasible
to hold the Exhibition within the limits of
the Metropolis proper, before we search the
surrounding country for desirable locations.