St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-10-15
MINNEAPOLIS.
CITY IMPROVEMENTS.
A Summary Of the Work That
Has Been Done the Past Year.

a NJ - 80
Has Been Done the Past Year.
As the season draws to close, the
general public is anxious to know what
has become of the money appropriated
for the public improvements during the
year. The answer that it has been eX-
pended would hardly suffice for him
who wants TO know what it was used
for. To do this would require very
large book, but general idea can be
easily given. In the first place, there
Is the extension of the wat.r mains.
This is most important branch of the
city improvements, and naturally
enough more has been expended i'll this
department than in any other. These
mains are all laid by day laborers un-
der 70 emen appointed by the water
works Office, the whole being under the
supervision of Supervisor j. 81. Neon
nell. Something like twenty-five miles
of pipe, varying in size from six TO
thirty inches in diameter have been
laid. This work has been scattered over
nearly every portion of the city. but
several very long stretches have been
laid. Among them are the following:
North Lyndale. from Twentv-ninth
to Forty-tirSt avenues, 1890 feet of pipe,
1,42l being 16-inch pipe and the remain
der 24-inch; Chicago avenue. from Lake
street to Thrty-eighth strert, 5.1S9 feet,
2.5l3 being S-inch pipe and the remain
der Pinch; 3.096 feet of. Pinch pipe
OIL Washington street, from Summer
street to Seventeenth avenue north
east; 1850 feet of 6-inch pipe from Oak
street TO Malcolm street.
Last Wiufar thn rpSidnntc RidO-
wood avenue complained that they
could not get any water. The trouble
then was that the main on Lyndale av-
enue was supply main. and what
water there was in it was drawn out by
residents who occupied houses farther
down the hill and left practically none
for those at the top. This system has
now been rev0utioniZed, or will be
when the work of laying the North
Lyndale main is completed. This main
will he connected with the north side
pumping station by thirty-inch main,
and will then form feed main for the
water works system in that portion OF
the city. AT present the water that is
supplied to that portion of the city
comes through the large main on Sec
Ond street to Hennepin avenue and is
forced out Hennepin avenue and up
Lowry'S hill. The addition of the Lyn-
dale main will be of great benefit to
Ridgwood and Mount Curve avenue
residents by affording better pressure
for fire purposes, and at the same time
supplying them with an abundance of
water.
The city engineers department
hasn't been idle, and sewers have baen
built in all parts of the city. A great
deal of this work has been done by the
street railway company, which, in its
anxiety to build its electric lines. has
voluntarily advanced the money neces-
sary to build sewers in streets upon
which it desires to run its lines, and has
agreed to wait until 1892 for its pay.
This is particularly the case on Chicago
avenue.
A great deal of paving has also been
done, particularly on Western avenue.
from Twelfth street to Irving avenue;
on Eleventh avenue south to Franklin,
and on Twentieth avenue north. This
paving is all cedar block, but Park ave-
nue. has been paved with asphalt fIom
Tenth to Twenty-fifth street.
Other departments have not been
idle. The police commission managed
to scrape up some money and expended
it i'll building police station, which is
said to be one of the best in the country.
at Third street and Nineteenth avenue
hOltAs iO ulS lLlCllt ldo QlSO
built two new engine houses, one at
Chicago avenue and Thirty-ffth street.
and one at James and Fifth avenues
north. There have also been purchased
two chemical engines, two hose carts
and two engines.
Bridges have also been erected by the
dozen. Among them are the second
half of the steel arch bridge, the
strengthening of the Washington ave-
nue. bridge; bridge over Single creek
at Forty-fourth avenue north; bridge
over the railroad track at Fifteenth ave-
nue. southeast and Eighth street; one al
Eighteenth avenue southeast and Fourth
street; three over Minnehaha creek al
Twenty-eighth, Thirty-fourth, and Min.
nehaha avenues; the substructure OF
the Twentieth avenue north bridge
portions of the Laurel avenue, the
North side crossings, and the Seventh
street bridges over the railroad tracks
The park board has done great dea
of work, among which is the boulevard
ing of North Lyndale avenue, the beauti
flying of the new Second ward park
work on the boulevards at the lake. ant
the work at the Lake of the Isles. Wheu
the returns are all in Minneapolis will
show up well in the amount of perma
uent improvements made.