Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-05-05
ATLANTA.
One of the Leading Towns of The
South.
Rambling and Irregular Streets Odd Ar
chitecture Fine State Building.
Clark University.
THE LAY OF THE CITY

ated on dividing ridge of hills, knolls
and of knobs On the northwest the
streams run into the Chattahoochee Riv
er, six miles away, which empties into
the Gulf, and those on the southeast, run
to the Ocmulgee and through it to the
ocean. There is but little level land
upon which it is built, but is amazingly
chopped up. In grading the streets the
knobs are cut through, and the ground
on either side where houses are built is
terraced, or else graded off first and
dumped into the hOllows. The laying
ont of the streets is exceedingly irregular.
Not many of them continue straight any
great distance, but make all kinds of an
gles-the obtuse angle, the acute angle,
the right angle, the equilateral triangle,
and angleworm fence angle. 1t looks
little as though they had followed the old
roads or cow-paths when first the town
was laid out, if indeed it was laid out at
ali. Except within radius of half
mile, the houses seem to be in punches
or clusters, with considerable space be-
tween, then another bunch of houses;
thus it continues alternating between
clusters of houses and vacancies, spread
ing out a distance of a couple of miles.
THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
or the get up of the houses is also varied.
First you see along street few old
looking muddled brick two stOried ones,
as plain as smoke house; then some
little better; next fine towering one, six
or eight stories high; here and there a
fine business block, then adjoining it
row of old style frame buildings, but
little better than shanties or the usual
negro quarters. The whole making a
mass of crudity most ludicrous-a per
feet conglomeration of architectural
monstrosities. And yet with all these
adverse conditions there are some redeem
ing features beauty inits ugliness.
PEACH TREE STREET
is the one recommended to strangers for
its beauty, its palatial private residences,
and its charming drive. 1t is beautiful
street mot straight, however), nicely
shaded, splendid drive, beautiful grounds
and all that. 1t is the principal residence
street fer the tony people. The Govern
or's mansion is on it, and many very fine
residences, all of which are set back, with
ornamented yards in front. In building
the houses, a remarkable effort is made
in the direction of uniqueness and orna-
mentation. They are frantic on the
modern style. There are the bay win
dow, the oriel, the alcove, the round cor
ner with cone top. the recess, the prOjec-
ton, the round porch and the porch all
round, the look out, and what-nOt, all stuck
on to the same house. The effect is any
thing but harmonious. Itmight be said to
be modern architecture gone wild. With
all that, the street is a handsome feature
of the city and an interesting one as we'll
There is an air of thrift and enterprise |
pervading the city that is refreshing
Manufactures, mills. and works of di- |
vers kinds are multiplying. Electric and |
dummy car lines are pushing out across
the valleys and hills for miles, away into
the extreme suburbs, and as far as they
go, buildings follow. From the tops of
the hills can be plainly seen twenty miles
away, Pine Mountain, Lost Mountain
and Stone Mountain-from the latter any
amount of fine granite is obtained for
paving and building purposes, and also
the famed Kenesaw Mountain. A huge
city reservoir is now under construction
on hill half way to the ChattahoOchee
River, from which the water will be
brought to the basin, and from thence
supply the city, costing quarter million
dollars. The capitol building is doubt
less the finest of any capitol in the Union
except New York. The population of
the city is now about 5000, is still
growing, but not rapidly. There is no
boom, but property sells pretty high
from 800 to $500 per front foot for va
cant lots. The work of building up the
town to its present status has been done
principally by Northern capital and en-
or at least it was that which
gave it the impetus, though of course,
Southern citizens helped some They,
however, talk as if it were they who did it
all. Many of them have become wealthy
by purchasing property, and then as the I
city grew, and the property increased in ;
largely by the capital and
push or Northern people-they would :
coll ~ larna aAuanno tn
they called the Northern purchasers.
There are no parks in the city-there are
two or three in the suburbs, several
miles out though not very well improved.
They say the reason they don't have any
in the city, is, they would be monopo-
lized by the negroes, of whom about half ,
the population consists. They seem to /,
be pretty thick; all the labor except part !,
of the mechanical, is performed by them.
By the way, the colored college,
'TIIE CLARK UNIVERSITY" ii
was destroyed by fire on the night of the 9
l4th inst. 1t caught in the attic from
defective flue, the wind was high, and the
fire rapidly spread beyond control. Rev.
w. l.. Davidson was delivering a lecture
in the lecture room when the fire CON- .
menced. The smoke came pouring in at
the door, creating almost a panic. The
college is about two miles out in the
southern suburbs. l went out to see it
next morning. and found nothing but the
bare walls standing, total loss. Its val
cue is estimated at s50,OOO Itwas the .
leading institution of the kind in the ,
State, was built by money furnished by
the M. Z. Church of the North, and by a
large donation from wealthy lady (Mrs. {
of Arkansas.
THE CLIMATE
and the weather ever since we came here