The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-08-27
az "HoNBYMooN FLATS.
An Apartment House In Chicago where
Happiness Aiways DwclIs.

an apartment bOuse IN thtcARo Wnere
Happiness Always Dwells.
The Honeymoon Flats" contain
more innocent happiness than any 9TH
or domicile in Chicago. All Its ten,
ants are young married couples. 1t Is
the dovecote Of eighteen blooming
| brides at present, and when they all
put their pretty heads out Of the win
dows at once they present to the vision
a bouquet of loveliness that Is unsur-
passed. Even the street cars stop to
permit the passengers to enjoy the
beauty of the spectacle.
This elysium Of the newly welded
stands at Francisco and Walnut
streets. II is rather pretentious
building Of oream-colored brick. $50
feet long by 100 feet wide, and two and
one-half stories in height. 1t encloses
cool court or plaza In which all the
flower beds are In the form of hearth
or "Cupid's bow" Most of the flowers
| In the beds are of bleeding hearts. coli
umbine, narcissus. heliotrope, and the
| blushing red rose. A fountain sends
a delicate shaft OF water into the air.
| AT night the garden Is Illuminated by
| four tall lamp posts, with little Cupid
| on top of each. The robin redbreasts,
the blue jays, and the sparrows come
| into this court to bill and coo, too.
In the windows of the Honeymoon
Flats" are statuettes OF such subjects
| as Romeo and Juliet, Cupid and Psyche,
Hector and Andromache, Paris and
| Helen. The pictures which adorn the
rooms are chiefly shepherds and shep-
herdesses making love In the summer
| fields. Canary birds hang In the win
dows and sing of love all day long.
| II tha halls In, yi0inttu
| like wedding bells. Whenever they
| ring people in the neighborhood say:
Some one is going to move into the
Honeymoon Flats" Near by stands
| the Alfred Tennyson public school,
which suggests Locksley Hall to the
| happy tenants.
The Honeymoon Flats" are the
| property OF real estate dealer OF a
practical turn Of mind, though he al
| lows his tenants to have their own SEN
| timents. He decided to rent his apart
ment house at Francisco and Walnut
| streets to families without children.
| Now, families that have been married
| ten or fifteen years either have on
| spring or have borrowed or adopted
children. So only young couples just
| from the ministers were received as
| tenants, and thus 1t came about that
| the Honeymoon Flats" contain so
| many brides.
The youngest bride in the building
| Is only eighteen years old, beautiful
| blonde. Others are nineteen and twen-
| ty, and the eldest is not more than
| twenty-five. The building Is divided
| into small apartments of four rooms
| each, like doll houses, and in these the
young brides play at housekeeping.
Tba,, ,tott hor rlr fnrth rhoftar like
| BIRDS borrow cooking recipes, and ask
| such question as How long do you
| bake cake?" How long do you broil
steak?" How do you make biscuitsr
| Eighteen newly welded couples thus
| try the experiments of housekeeping in
| one house. They get along harmoni-
| ously together, and when the young
women exhaust their domestic know
ledge they go to two old couples who
| live in the adjoining houses and act as
philosophers and guides for the young
people.
The brides who are already estab-
| lished in the house make all the rules
as to the admission Of new tenants.
| The only qualifications required are
that they shall be good tempered and
| handsome.
| The most recently welded pair in
the Honeymoon Flats" date their nup-
tials from three weeks ago. None has
been married year. Many are in the
third month Of their honeymoon. Two
| of the couples go out bicycling togeth-
er. Two OF the most bewitching of
| the brides wear a sort of souave cos
| tune when out for exercise a-wheel.
| The rule Of the landlord prohibiting
| children in the flats under any circum-
| stances is already arousing discussion
among the tenants. Some threaten to
| leave within the next three or four
years, at the very least, unless the rule
| Is rescinded. 1t is believed that chill
| dren born in the Honeymoon Flats"
Will be considered naturaliZed and will
be allowed to remain. The brides visit
| among themselves a great deal. Some
| of them eloped and they compare
stories of cruel parents. rope ladders,
and daring flights to Milwaukee. Dis
putes are created In this elysium only
when the brides try to outrival one an
| other in praising their husbands.
In the older part of the Honeymoon
Flats" facing Walnut street, dwell the
eighteen newly welded couples. In
the new part of the building, just COM
pleted, in Francisco street, lives one
bridal pair, and three more couples
| recently at the altar are about to move
in. The new edition will offer flats for
twenty-four more tenants. Young men
who expect to be married next week or
next month call and engage flats in ad-
vance, saying, II am not married yet.
| Don't say anything about this. ."-Bos-
ton Evening TRANSCRIPT