Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-03-09
NEW YORK LETTER.
A MAMMOTH TEMPLE GOING UP AT
MAp.soN-s0uARe GARDEN.
A $4,000, 900 ssrueture--wau Street at
Lenteu scrvices--Cieve,snd and Dana
Chat About wcll-Known People.
tcorr.spoaasncs Of the Richmond pl,Ds,ch.l

NV York, March s, 1890.
The last traces Of the old Maaisoh-
Square Garden. the scene of rovels, shows,
balls, and spectaclcs innumcrabie, nave
disappeared. For over twenty years new
Workers have gone there in droves 70 the
circuscs, walking-matches, and morse
shows. The old garden Witnessed the rise
and decline OF the pedestrian craze, ana
Charley Rowell, the "trotung tnglsh,,
mar. v with many hers after him, entered
II poor enough and left 1t as rich men.
All the great American and Eng
iish modern pugihsts have won
fsfic fame. there. and NJ was upon us
platform that John l.. Sullivan thumped
his way into the hearts OF sport-ioving
New Workers. The memories OF the gar,
den are weird tumble OF barnum ana
Rngslo Rjll goy French balls and roller
skating carnivals. political meetings and
doo-shows. With the exception OF the
memorable accident, when the falling OF q
platform while homeopathic fair was IN
proeress several years ago caused the
death of nearly a score OF persons, no Sc
nous disaster mars the record OF the great
est Of Gotham's many old-fashioned plea
sure resorts.
THE LkRoFsT IN TIE WORLD.
Six hundred workncn are now busily en-
gagged on the site Of the old garden, con.
The cnstiiest temple Of Amusement IN the
world. The new building will occupy, the
entire block from Fourth TO Madison
avenues between rwenty-sixth and Iwenc
ty-seyenth streets, with depth OF
l2b feet and a frontage on the two ave:
nues Of 2s7jS feet. -Four mlllIons OF
Pittsburgh brick and fully 5000 tons OF
iron VIII be used. II VIII lnclude an
nmphitheatre 3l0xl9i feet, and 80 feet
HIGH with an area containing 10000
square feet. and a track one tenth OF a mile
long. The seating capacity will be for
COCO persons. including those who can be
accommodated in the $50 boxes. but du-
ring political or similar gatherings, l2'OOO
can loo safely admitted. Besides the am
phitheaire, there will be beautiful Ihe-
atre. decorated in Louis NV. style, IN
white and colo. aud with q seating capacity
Of !, 800. There Will also be a restaurant, a
concert hall. and roof garden, the equip
ments and decorations Of which, 1t Is pro-
missed. will eclipse 10 magnihcenco any,
thing heretofore seen in New York.
MN or MILLIONS.
OF course. the projectors are men Of mil
lions. They are J. Pierpont Morgan, Da-
rims o Mills. Adrian Iseln, Charles Lanier,
Hiram Hitchcock, Adolf Ladenburg, Her
man Oelrichs. and w. A. Haines. names
equally well known in Wall street and on
Murray Hill. They propose 70 ,expend
g.. 500, 900 on the building, and the lot cost
exactlv the same amount.
One of tho stockholders in the new ven
ture spoke very enthusiastically OF the pro-
ject. ~
We expect TO have the amphitheatre
finished in April" be said, but the entire
building will not be completed before July
or August. twill probably be opened with
A grand ball given by thoNlrectors, ana at
which the best people in town Will be pres
ept. No. can't say just yet whether ward
McAllister viii have charge OF the ar
rancements. It's little too early, The
hall will take place about the middle of
NAV. and Strauss and his entire Vienna
orchestra will render the kind OF music
that New Workers 60 wild over. ms VIII
be followed hy musical festival; during
the summer the amphitheatro VIII DO occn-
pied As a circus, and in the fall the Paris
Uinnodrome will come over and exhibit.
Tbev are not permitted to leave France IN
summer, you know"
TIE BUILDING.
sWhat will be the general appearance OF
the new building go
"Tbo buG brick will be embellished with
terra-cotta on the Madison and Fourth
avenue sides. On heformer, atthe south
west corner, will be a tower 300 feet hlSh,
The architectural decorations on which are
10 be especially fine. The main entrance to
the gmphitheatre will be on Madison ave-
nue.. but there will be another on Fourth
avenue. and these. with six additional ex-
its. will be sufficient to empty the build
ing in very few minutes, no. matter how
crowded. Under the amphitheatre on the
ground floor will be great hall, available
Tor horse shows and containing fifty stalls.
The drainage system Will he the most
scientific IN the United States. The am
phitheatre, which is the full width of the
lot and 800 feet long, will have IRON trusses
with span of 16S feet.
Our thcatre-whIch We shall call the
Nadison-Square Garden Theatre-will be
more like a boudoir than an ordinary play
house. The stage will be wide enough to
permit of the most elaborate productions.
Like the rest Of the building it will be alb
solutely fre-proof. The entrance Will be on
the Twentv-seventh-st street side. Jherestau-
rant. which Will bethe equal of Delmonico's
in its equipments, VIII be on the twenty
sixth-street corner of Madison avenue, and
the kitchen Will be on the roof. lmmedl-
etely over the restaurant will be the con-
cert hall, which can be used as ballroom
or for banauots. Fifteen hundred persons
can be seated there. Like tho theatre, 1t
will be beautifully decorated IN the style
of Louis Quatorze. white ana eoio Delhg
the prevailing tone"
WALL STREET AT CHURCH.
The ease with which the average New
Yorker Jumps from the gay TO the serious
Il astonishing. Only few weeks ago we
were in the midst of wildly-dlssi-
mating social season. The mask-balls were
az their height, there were dinners galore.
dancing until sun up, and card-parties far
into the Sunday morning. Now, however,
tboushts arc turned IN other directions,
and during the past ten days New Workers
have Witnessed scenes which even to
them must seem somewhat surprising. A
famous pulpit orator has opened one OF
the biggest churches III tho city at high
noon each day and attracted enormous
congregations. THIS would not be so sur
prising if the church was situated in the
residential part of the city, for then one
might suppose that ladies and children
would be the chief auditors. But 1t was no
less o place than old Trinity that Phillips
Brooks, the great Boston preacher, select
ed as the place in which to deliver series
OF noon sermons 20 businessmen. 1t was
an experiment that has surpassed all ex-
pectations. The fat and jolly broker Is not
usually supposed TO be man who
cares much about spiritual affairs.
but in tins instance he has even ne
elected his trading in the Stock Ex--
change, and Trinity church mas witnessed
one Of the events Of its long and useful
lie, LOT " hrs tNku tiONQtt w NAt NOtA ,
every day and by such a congregation OF
wealth and brains as could not be gathered
together in any other city in the Union.
Even the aisles were filed with chairs and
on more than one occasion the steps lead
ing to the pulpit were occupied by those
who preferred not 10 stand up. DR.. Brooks
IS in all respects finished orator. When
he stands up in his pulpit aud begins his
discourse every eye is upon hlm.
AUDIENCE WORTH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS.
And there could be no better test of his
influence aud popularity than the eager
ness displayed by his auditors in follow
Ing every word of his discourse. He
j. man Of over SIX feet in height.
brusque in manner, somewhat careless
in attire, but his cheek CLOVIS with
health his eye is sharp and clear, and
every word Of his sermon is distinctly
heard in all parts Of the vast building.
His congregation joins fervently in an
old-fashioned tune, and then, after q
prayer. the scrIaon is begun. During
The thirty minutes that 1t lasts you
cold hear pin drop in any portion of the
church. Every eye in the vast assembly is
on the preacher. There is the deepest in
terest in every word he utters and q re-