The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-17
BUILD THE BOULEVARD.
THE SAN JOSE HERALD ADVOCATES
THE PROJECT.

The SAN JOSE HERALD ADVOCATES
THE PROJECT.
The San Jose Herald, commenting on
the proposed boulevard, says:
The building of a boulevard from San
Francisco to San Jose, as the San Fran
cisco CALL has suggested, would certainly
be great advantage not only to both cities,
but to all the country between. The Her
aid is heartily in favor of every effort to
improve and beautify both city and
country, and such thoroughfare for the
fifty miles between San Francisco and San
Jose would add immensely to the attrac-
tiveness of the whole route And it is no
mere experiment. Other cities have done
the same thing to greater or less extent
The famous Magnolia avenue at Riverside
is one of the greatest attractions of the
southern counties. Everybody goes to see
and to admire it. And Chicago has already
built a magnificent boulevard along the
lake shore for more than twenty miles and
it is proposed to extend it all the way to
milwaukee,.
AS a matter of fact the people of San
Francisco and of San Jose, too, have been
very slow to take advantage of the magni-
ficent possibilities of the soil and climate
all around them. With our glorious
sunshine and our wealth of flowers
we ought to have the finest highways on
the continent, not only as mere highways,
but as the expression of the artistic genius
of the people. Ten years ago the Herald
advocated the building of a boulevard
from the center of the city along San
Carlos street and Stevens Creek road to the
western foothills and many of the owners
of the property along the route were in
favor of it. Some, however, refused to give
the land that was necessary to widen the
street and the road and objected to the ex-
pense in other ways and nothing came of
it, AT the same time we are confident that
it would add greatly to the value of every
foot of land from the Normal School
square to Blackberry farm if a street a
hundred feet wide and ornamented with
the best kind Of shade trees should be con-
structed.
The value OF strip of forty feet taken
from one side of the street would be more
than made up in most instances by the ad-
oluonal value given to the land that re-
manned. Besides, the owners of the prop
erty on the other side of the street could
well afford to bear their full share of the
expenses of the whole improvement, in
Guiding the cost of the land which was
taken. Just think of street 100 feet wide
from Tenth street through the center of
the city, and all through to the western
foothills. Within five years after it was
opened San Carlos street would be the
busiest street In San Jose. The whole of
the vast traffic of the western side of the
valley would naturally follow its course
and bring business to the stores in the GEN.
ter of the city, especially if good business
blocks lined the street on both sides, as
would naturally be the case.
By all means, therefore, build boule-
wards, not only between San Jose and San
Francisco, but on all the principal streets
of the city and its suburbs, and the princi-
pal highways of the country. Such boule-
wards lined with fine shade trees and
fanked with beautiful homes, with their
flower gardens and other adornments,
would make Santa Clara County the most
attractive part of the State, as well as the
most productive. We have been far too
careless in these matters-far too slow in
making the most of our advantages. Ma
ture has lavished upon us all her treasures
and we have not taken the trouble to use
them.
There are symptoms OF an awakening of
public spirit, however, in this matter as in
others, and we may therefore hope at no
distant day to see some of the improve
ments which the Herald has from time to
time suggested in all the glory of reality.