Omaha daily bee., 1886-12-12
LEAvENwoRTH STREET GRADE.
Additional Cuts aud Fills Proposed to

auultfOnht SutS anu ffiiS frOpOStu W
Make the Street n Thoroughfarc.
An ordinance is now. pending before the
city council providing for changing the grade
of Leavenworth street from Sixteenth street
10 the city limits.
IA public meeting for the purpose of conSid-
ering the changes proposed has been called
for Monday evening at Porter Bros store, at
the corner of Phil Sheridan and Leavenworth
streets. 70
A reporter of the BEE, for the purpose of
ascertaning the nature and extent of the
changes proposed, called upon City Attorney
Connell, who is largely interested as a prop
erty owner. Mr.. Connell, in response to the
inquiries made, stated in substance as fol-
lows:
Yes am interested in the grade pro-
posed, which seriously affects my property
and makes a cut of thirteen feet opposite
my ground In addition TO the twelve feet cut
already existing, but Notwithstanding this
| believe the grade good one, and will favor
1t, II adopted before | make additional inn
provements. | have seen the result of bad
grade on st. Mary's avenue, and do not wish
to see the mistakes made upon the avenue re-
peated on Leavenworth street, which | be-
lleve can be made one of the best business
thOroughfares in the city.
do not hold myself responsible, however,
for the bad grade on st. Mary's avenue, for
the fact is, always favored making radical
cut at the top of the hill, provided correspond
ingiill was made at the Twentieth street
intersection, which would not only have
greatly benefited the avenue, but would
have. much improved Twentieth street
As it now is. st. Mary's avenue from
twentieth street to the upper end of the
avenue will never be business property, and
though travel will never go up and down that
hill, If good grade is made upon some other
through street. Leavenworth street is the
street OF all Others, which best accommodates
through travel, and although the cuts and
nils proposed are somewhat radical, but few
substantial improvements have yet been
made.
The proposed cut at Parke avenue of six
feet, the proposed fill at Colorado street of
eight feet and the proposed cut of thirteen
feet opposite my property and extending
eastward to Twentieth street, are reasonable
changes and are essential and necessary to
make good grade, and will not only double
the value of property along Leavenworth
street, but will benefit the entire property in
the southwest portion of the city.
When these changes are made l'eaven-
worth street will have the best grade of any
street extending westward out of the city.
In addition to greatly beneiitting property
on Leavenworth street, the grade on nearly
every cross street will be decidedly inn
Twenty-tirst street, where the cut will be
about six feet, South avenue, where the cut
will be about ten feet, Twenty.tnird street,
through McCandish place, where the cut will
NC tcH lect, anu ulhc dNtllut W tllc
north, where the cut will be about six feet.
The property on all other cross streets where
no changes are made will, of course,
be greatly benefited by the improved
grade of Leavenworth street. In fact, every
lot, with perhaps dozen exceptions, west of
Sixteenth street and south of Leavenworth
street, aggregating IN value upwards OF ten
million dollars, will be improved and bene-
fitted by the changes of grade proposed, for,
| as the result of such changes, Leavenwortn
street, which is and will be the natural line
OF travel to and from business for the occu-
pants and owners OF all real estate in the
southwest part of the city, will have grade
from Parke avenue to Sixteenth street and
along Sixteenth and Fifteenth streets to
Boyd'S opera house. which will be constant
descending grade toward the east and north,
at no place equaling three feet to the hun
dred.
When it is considered that the grade on St.
Mary's avenue is eight feet to each hundred
feet, the desirability and beauty of the pro-
posed grade of Leavenworth street, which
will be without hill or a hollow can better
be understood and appreciated.