Thomas County cat., 1886-02-25
THE EAST SIDE.
The Most Remarkable Part of the Amer
lean Metropolis.

lean Metropolis.
A seedy-looking chap went through
the smaller hamlets of New England
few years ago lecturing on "New York
City" He told his hearers that the
part of the city lying west of Broadway
was called the West side and the part
east of Broadway the East side, and that
all who dwelt on the West side were
social aristocraS, while all who lived
on the East side were of no account
socially. If he had been somewhat ac-
quainted with the subject he. could
have stated an actual difference be-
tween the East and West sides of the
town which would have been as marked
as the one he imagined and considera-
bly, more interesting. For little more
than two miles from the Battery Broad
way separates the East and West sides.
From Washington square to the Har-
lem river, some seven miles, Fifth
avenue is the dividing street. In re-
spect to the population the West side
is like most American cities-contain-
ing preponderance of native
born residents with fairly
even sprinkling of people of
other nationalities. The exceptions to
this statement are the regions in the
vicinity of Thompson street and of
Twenty-seventh street, favored by the
colored element, and the French quar-
ter, which lies close to the break in the
dividing line near Washington square.
But the great East side has distinctive
feature, a feature that is found probab-
ly in no other city of the globe stand
ing out SO conspicuously-its quarters
where the people are almost without
exception immigrants, or the children
of immigrants from another land. The
Germans of the East side make New
York the third largest German city of
the world. They are found pretty
nearly all over the East side, but there
are regions in which there is little that
S not German. The Irish element also
is numerous, but is so well ditfused
that there is no Irish "quarter. But
most of the other nationalties repre-
sented are confined chiefly to some dis
trict of which they have taken posses
sion, but there is hardly any national
custom or observance, social or re-
ligious. which is not kept up in these
colonies. The Gar is killed, and there
is memorial service in the little Rus
sian church in lower Second avenue
Garibaldi dies, and there is gathering
to do honor to his name, at which every
thing is purely Italian. An anniver-
sary of the Bohemians comes around,
and the Bohemians flock from the tene-
ments over beyond avenue A and be-
low Sixth street to keep the day accord
ing to the custom of their people. The
Franco-Chinese war-cloud looms up in
the East, and the Chinese of Mott street
hold meeting, and you might as well
be in Canton as in this meeting. The
New Yorker who has not gone up to
Jones Wood to attend the Volksfest
has missed q great national anniversa-
ry. He who has not strolled through
the jew market-place down at Norfolk
and Hester Streets think it is-has
missed an opportunity of seeing those
who might have been the originals of
Cruikshanks' drawing of Eagin. And
now recently suu of Nine. Modjeska
is married, and a noteworthy company
gathers in the little Polish church at
Stanton and Forsyth streets, right in
the thickest of the jammed-up tenement
district. Truly, the Great East side is
a wonderful part Of wonderful town.
N Y. Cor. albany Journal.