Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-22

wanted dojnot beliA.e that they Intend
to tunnel to Fifth avenue as has been ru
mored, because they could run down on al
elevated road ct comparatively no expense
They viii hagdly be allowed to run through
on grade< do not believe the citizeni
would Stand such an imposition, il it coulG
be.ealled such. Opposite the church prop
erty on Oak alley is the building owned by
/ Robert Gregg, which has not ye
beeniFsold. 1 should not be surprised
if the Pennsylvania Railroad peo
/ pie should build an immense depot
either on Liberty street or on:sthe site o.
the Smithfelds NJ. E. Church." Acros.
Cherry alley from the First Presbyterian
Church the entire strip of property from
Oak alley to Seventh avenue is owned BY
the Sehenley estate.
BIG MONEY WANTED.
The First United Presbyterian Church
| holds down the northwest corner of Seventh
avenue and Cherry alley, and the church
property extends back to the First
Presbyterian property. 1t is under.
stood that the trustees will take
$500 for this piece of real estate
if they cannot get the railroad people to
| yield any more. Continuing on down
Cherry alley over ash barrels, broken dry
goods boxes, dilapidated wagons, through
mud, water and pack of hungry mongrels,
The DISPATCH representative reached
Seventh avenue, and, crossing that thor
oughfare, entered Schmidt's saloon at the
corner of Seventh avenue and Cherry alley.
Mr.. Schmidt was in a happy frame of
mind and while he kept an eye on the
thirsty crowd which was lined up in front
of the bar, anxious to get a glass of beer
before commencing their Sunday devotions,
said:
SOLD SEVERAL TIMES.
''Yes, this property has been sold; in fact
it has been sold twice within the past six
weeks. 1t is owned by Mrs. Cooper, who
through Black & Baird, sold it first to A.
B. Mahood, for $4,000, who sub
sequently kicked on the title, and it
was then sold to Philadelphia parties,
who I understand represent the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, for $34, ,000." Mr.. Schmidt
was greatly puzzled as to why the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad should spend hundreds of
thousands of dollars in getting an opening
to the heart of the city down Cherry alley
when it has the right of way down Liberty
street, and he thinks that the company
would have been ahead if they had pur-
chased the property bounded by Sixth street.
Liberty street, Virgin alley and the Hotel
Anderson, and put up depot adequate to
the needs of the passenger travel of this city,
and of design and appearance due to such
city as Pittsburg.
ONCE MORE IN THE wILDs.
Leaving Mr.. Schmidt's presence THE
DISPATCH man charged once more into the
wilds of Cherry alley, and at the corner of
Cherry and Strawberry alleys found a
broken-down gentleman of fortune commun-
ing with a lampposJ; from the top of which
few uncertain rays cast q ghoulish light
on the surrounding habitations.
From the relic of past greatness it was
learned that the property on the north side
of Cherry alley from Strawberry alley back
to the property recently owned by Mrs.
Cooper and now occupied by Mr.. Schmidt
as an oasis, was owned by a gentleman
named Means, who insisted on his pound of
flesh from the railroad magnates, and is
holding out for the long green.
INFORMATION EXTRACTED.
With the promise of the price of
a bowl of milk, the wrecked hulk
further stated that half the prop
erty between Strawberry allev and
Sixth avenue was owned by Mrs. Null
lins, a Mrs. Helfers, and some one else
whose name he could not recall at that
moment, who had 20 feet frontage.
The two ladies, he said, had disposed of
their property recently: "But dis udder
party is waitin' fur more cases, an will
block dem blokes' game unless dey put up
more cases. Yer see dat gospel shop"
Continued the relic, "weI dats de Second
q. P, and dey own two houses dis side but
dey can't sell it, because We
see pard, de earth was given dem
on condition dat dey use it for
pious purposes only, but dey can rent it out
fur go years or longer if wat I heard is
right. Ye see, ole man, dey can talk bout
dis, dat or de udder ting, but tell ye when
desc mOnops go into ting dey generally git
dere, see"
SOME MORE INFORMATION.
Crossing Sixth avenue the news searcher
was soon picking his way through the
muddy precincts of Virgin alley, and at one
corner of Cherry and Virgin alleys met
handsome young woman with babe in her
arms, who seemed to be acquainted in the
locality. When she learned the OBJ
ject of THE DISPATCH representa-
tive she cheerfully disclosed all tine
Information she possessed on the matter.
The property on the north side of Cherry
alley, from Sixth avenue to Virgin alley,
she said, is owned by a Mrs. Walters, of
Allegheny, and it was the impression among
the tenants and denizens of .he locality,
that the property had recently been sold.
MR.. SANDS HOLDING.
The property on the north side of Cherry
alley. from Virgin alley half way to Fifth
avenue, is owned by a gentleman named
Sands, who resides in Sewickley, but it was
not known that the property had been sold.
Between the Sands property and the
Hotel Duquesne property on Virgin
alley the real estate is the posses
son of the Avery M E Church
over which Mrs. Swigo. or Maraglia pre-
sides, She also owns property Immediately
opposite Virgin alley. which she said she re-
Gently sold, but for so small an amount that
she was ashamed to mention it. me knowa
de railroad wanta, no getta de prop" was
the way she expressed her mind.
STRIKING A BALANCE.
Reverting to the original informant who
appears to have had clever idea of what
he was discoursing upon, the road which
will-with all due and few undue provisos
traverse the heart of two long blocks to
vicinage close enough to make faces at
Uncle Sans habitat across the street, may
be an elevated, grade or an underground \
arrangement. Recognizing the manifest
impossibility of the road being any more
than one style of the three methods ac-'
cepted, it is clearly case of ''you pays your
money and takes your choice"
The original rumors were of an elevated
road; the rumors of the present are of de-
pressed tracks. Now it must strike the
average observer that it would be good
idea to split the difference and put tracks
on grade. There has been such q vast
amount of curbstone engineering in connec-
ton with the whole scheme that the engi-
DeefA of the Pennsylvania road NAV find |