Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-13
GRADING FIRST STREET.
A spirited Meeting Held ON the
subject.

subject.
Pursuant to call by the City Council a
good many property owners along the
line of First street met at the Council
Chambers to discuss the matter of grad.
ing that difficult thoroughfare.
Mr.. John Robson was called to the
chair, and the City Engineer, Mr.. Fred
Eaten, was there with profile of the
street, showing the amount of cutting
and filling to do in making street at
several feasible grades.
Any one who has been over the ground
from Fort to Figueroa will not be sur.
prised that great difficulties are encoun-
tered in the matter of making practical
street along the proposed line.
By the profile shown, II grade of one
foot rise in ten feet run isadopted the cut
between Hill street and Olive must be
cut TO depth OF xty-three feet at the
crest OF the hill by the residence of Mr..
M. L. Wicks. Adopting the same grade
between Charity and Bunker Hill ave.
nue., there is a cut of % feet. Between
Hope and Flower, taking grade of
in l6, the deepest cut is 30 feet. Beyond
Flower a grade of in l6 is easily OBJ
tanned, as the cuts are less in depth.
To indicate to the uninitiated what a
grade oil in 10 or in l6 is like, it may
be mentioned that the Temple street
hill between Spring and Fort is | in IL.
The Second street hill between Fort and
Hill is in o. Between Hill and Olive
ho - \
Olive to Charity it is in 5.5. From
Bunker Hill avenue to Hope street the
grade is one in 5 even, the steepest
grade of any cable line in the world ex-
cepting that on Union street in San Fran
cisco, where the grade is the same. This
is heavier grade than that on Clay
street, San Francisco, which is familiar
to many readers of the HERALD.
There was great deal of discussion
on the part Of those present. Interests
in the natter are very contrarient. The
grades of the cross streets out to Hope
are all fixed and could not be disturbed.
First street must meet each Of them at
the intersection. Those near such cross
ings wish TO get as light n grade as they
can into the city. Those ON the high
points between naturally resist cut OF
over half hundred feet in front of
their property.
By way of compromise Mr.. Eaton
proposed to abandon the present line of
the street aud divereing and winding in
an s shape round the hill, avoid the
steep ascent. 1t was pointed out by
the City Auditor, Mr.. W. w. Robinson,
that such step would be likely to in
volve delay of perhaps ten years to
get it done. Besides he considered it
probable that the Council would find it
beyond their powers to change a street
once dedicated to public uses.
Some of those present proposed the
tunnel solution of the difficulty. This
would involve three tunnels-between
Hill aud Olive, Olive and Hope, Hope
and Pearl This was discussed pro and
con with much spirit.
The outcome was the appointment OF
a committee of five to go over the whole
ground, study up the matter and report
TO an adjourned meeting ono week from
the present, or next Friday evening at
the Council chamber, their views ON the
whole subject. The chair named as
such committee Messrs. Hopperstead,
blanchard, Wright, Prof. Won Keith
and DR.. Wheeler. The meeting then
ad d!ourned.