New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-22
WHERE IS OLD BROADWAY?
A BEwILDERrNG TRENCH SUCCEEDS IT.
DISTRACTIONS NOT ONLY ExAsPERATISc BUT

DISTRACTIONS NOT ONLY ExAsPERiTING BUT
DANGEROUS AND DIRT EVERYWHERE.
once upon a time, but that was long ago. New York
City cleaned occasionally. In those old Gays
Broadway was street. To-day II Is q great ditch
stretching through filthy. town. Between the cable
road contractors, the Consolidated Gas Company ana
that tired feeling which IS troubling the streetCeaDins
Department. the handsome avenue has been trans
formed into nameless thing, which smells as BABY @
II looks. II has come TO pass THAT the Broadway DUST
ness Is surprised find limo Of trenches
and Of stone and sand before hts store, whch
he left fronting busy and passable thoroughfare inc
night before. But heretofore the corporations COLI
Quoting digging operations have left at least part Oh
the street clear Now the entire street in some sec
tons has disappeared and the sidewalks and sac
streets have been seized by the contractors ano tel
gangs.
What once Broadway, between Thirteenth ana
Fourteenth sts. is a tonup, rubbish Uttered maze
Of pipes, subways lumber, toos and rails. PhnKs
stretched at each side street, closing tnat
part Of Broadway altogether. On the sidewalks ana
along the cutters piled stones and old rails besides
such tools the workmens inchnaticns prompt them
TO leave there. From their stores the owners look out
on the devastation In helpless wrath The midoie vi
Broadway, from Fourteenthst. down TO Bleccker-st
Is taken up by the caGle-road builders The east sdc
Of the street is monopolIzed BY the men Of the Con-
leaves only few feet of the street. and that is al
ways moro or loss taken up by the different imple-
ments and the accommodations OF dirt. The space IS TOO
limited for two trucks to pass one another hhu "a"'
in the district Is almost at standstln.
What a serious loss this entails on the so'reheelcrs
can hardly Inc estimated But there is greater dan
COR and one that can be estimated. Along tna' mar
row space on the east side of the street an engine eoud
not PASS without great difficulty and delay III co VI
fires A ladder truck couldn't get In AZ all. ono",u
Company No. be called from the house, WHICH Is III
Thirteenth-st. of Broadway, to IRE "eHo VI
street. the engine could not cross Broadway at ihr-
teenth-st but would have TO go two blocks out Vi inc
vav should fire occur In that barTicaded part Oh
broadway engines would be forced TO stop IN the suo
streets use the nearest hydrants they could reac anu
then the men would have 10 drag the nose Dy maui -
the burning building The delay may amount 10 a
tow minutes only, but in lighting hres the seco"u'
are counted and minute may mean destluctioh'
But II is only theoretically that an engine oouo even
crawl through that space which mas peeh iel'' ioS
erday for instance there pile OF sand announcer
milo Of stones and two wheelbarrOWs fl Vi s'ohes
at one spot completely blocking UP tne PdSS"e0.
Further down. toward Nnth-st Pile OF dirf, cdrs
and a great beam careleSSly thrown GOWN 81 'Io'
II Law across the street efectually stopped uaho
there At Broadway and Astor Place mountain Oh
sand competed with deep hole in making the seen
cry picturesque Only narrow path was lel' anu ~
was blOckaded by long line of waiting TRUCKS. p0
tween Houston and Blocker sts lot Oh lal' nan oeo'
carelessly left en- the sidewalk, and one lay ooquey
across the street. threatening the legs OF passing HORSES
Between spring and Houston SIS. man was
serenely ploughing but the smell Of escaping gas
spoiled the peaceful impression OF that pastoral scene
Below those streets. down 20 CanaESt Broao"aS was
clear From Canalst. down to Harclay-st Broadway
looks as II a battle were going Between lnoinas-
4 and Worth there were eleven piles OF black, shlhS
mud in the gutter. They had been there two days
according to one sorekecper While the reporter Was
there a wagon rolled over and through them. ara
spread them nicely along the block. Then an a'Fca''
car,e along with two men. 1t was such rare Slght
that pe,ple gathered to watch it. Slowly, SLOWLY
ono man thrust a spade not shovel, INTO the az
tractIve mass Most Of Il fell of before he COMO
dunn II into the cart The other man yawneo
sarily the cart moved on over two other piles scat
tcrng them broadcast; then another spaheml was
nunQ in. and the imposing example of how not 10 90
1t crept away
The work OF the cable road contractors Is dragging
IN 20 slowly because so many pipes are IN the way.
According to their contracts they must dig two 1ee5
six inches below the surface Many Of the plpes arc
only two feet below the surface ana o,gS So,oii
bo sunk This IS hard work and requires carstai
manegement as the pipes include water, gas, sVSiin
subway and all other kinds Al ihIr's roui "i'''
eirhSv-sx pipes had 10 be lowered ,,,o,, and
On Wednesday the w0rhmen at brond"ey a,'
T,refb and Fourteenth sts accidentally cut Two le
denarment wires rendering the alarm boxes dseicS'
Yesterday there was also trouble with the wires