Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-02
Another Free nrIdge Wanted.
To ne Etiitor Of he DISPATCH;
In your issue of yesterday, May 26th'
find The following:

To De FfiitOr Of hs DisDdtch
In your issue Of yesterday, May 18th, L
find the following:
With great Industries sprfnging up ana nun
d-eds of dweliing-h houses rising In the East End
with the West End " blossOmlng ike the tVscs
lt would b. strange II the property lying between
these two sections should be doomed 10 decay
The first blow struck II was the building OF tho
Free bridge Before that time All cOnihliilci-
ton between the cities Of Richmond ana MAN
oheater wns over Mayos bridge, aud from lts
Richmond terminus to Naln street. fOutteeh'I
street was a busy thOroughfarc while the tide OF
travel spread down 70 the Old market on tue east
and up TO the p0st-Oficc on the west.
The oyuers Of Mayu's bridge long fought the
Free-bridge scheme, aud even when the lattet
gu,q,ess was assured they would NOT part Hltn
their property upon terms which tho free-brldge
Commissioners could consider. Thus u came
about that the new bridge was built, and thelact
that It was a free bridge while the Oh one con,
tlnued q toll-bridge gave direction 70 ta'ei
which was not les natural direction, ana mas had
a very doletcrlOus effect upon property values III
a large section. n.
| do not see how you make that out.
Tho last census before the bridge was
Juilt showed a population of $500 for
Manchester, and 1t is now, learn, not less
than 1O. 600, much Oft settled on, ana IN
the vicinity of Hull street extension Whlch
leads right up from Mayos bridge. The
tide of travel - therefore which streaus
up and down from where Fourteenth
street debouches into Main has been
probably as great since the free bridge
was built as IL was before, and the popu-
lation of Richmond east of that point was
always "a great as now. while the popula-
ton above it Is equally accessible from
both bridges
Having had probably az much 20 do with
establishing the Free bridge as any. one
else except Mr.. W. G.. Taylor. OF Man
chester, and the late DR.. Weislger, OF the
same town, | have watched the resulting
development with great deal OF interest,"
and cannot see how tho injury you speak
of has come from the cause you assign. -,
If the travel has ever had what you call
IN natural direction" should think 1t
was not eastward, but westward"
NV own theory Of the depreciation OF
the section you speak of IL, first, the
through railroad lines, and then the specu-
| lation, or what | call gambling, In western
| property, and third, the tendency OF al
| most oil our towns to grow westWardIy,
other things being equal.
The late Mr.. Cowardln, who was one OF
| the best and most enlightened friends
| Richmond ever had, was steadfast adVo,
! cate of tho annexation Of Manchester ana
making Mayo's bridge as free as the upper
| one. But the real estate jealousy OF Rich
| mond defeated that benificent plan
| twenty years ago. 1 do not think it too
! late TO annex 1t now. and that, am per,
| suaded would help both the valley and
| the Aanks of Church and Shockoe Hills.
1t will cost nothing but the price OF
| Mayo's COR another free) bridge, and Will,
| i'm nv Judgment, be worth many times that
| viaduct with which the newspapcrs and
! the engineers have many times lately
amused the public. +. Is.