Birmingham state herald., 1897-04-28

l The pendentives formed between the | circular dome and the arches are decor 1 ated in high relief seulptur, emblematic l of the military and civic life of Gen | Grant
 The windows. are twelve in number, | three in each side of the cross-shaped | interior
 1 The crypt is reached by side stairways,
 which lead directly into the passage en- | clrcling the space in which rests the sar- | cobhagus. This passage is shut in by 1 square columns which support the pan- 1 nalled marble ceiling.
 1 The sarcophagsus rests in the center 1 of the crypt 140 feet below the dome. l Of all the perptexing questions which | arose inr connection with Che new tomb l the greatest was that of obtaining suit
 able material fer the sarcophagus. The 1 proper quality was found, after long | search, in the quarries of Montello Wis, 1 a porphyry of fine texture brilliantly | reddish in color. Cut from the solid rock, 1 it Is highly polished, refiecting the near | by surfaces as it rests in the crypt The
 great block is 10 feet inches lorg, 5 1 Feet 6 Inches wide and feet inches | high, and weighs five tons. In this im- l Tnen9e bgSck a space was hollowed out l into which the coffined remains of Cen l erM Grant were lowered. Then the cap stone was set ard the sarcophs gus gain l became as a solid block. It is plain, sa.ve l for the simple engraved inscription at the head of the capstone, Ulysses s. Grant,,
 | ,-Thes pedestal on which the sarcophagus
 rests Is square of 10 feet 10 inches. The | lQWEr course of 1 foot inches Is made in s5ctions, abovN which is a five-inch indente,d couree Still above this are two heavy blocks of marble. on which the sarcophagus directly rests. The tot3l height-of all is seven and one-half feet. Some day the body of Mrs. Grant will
 reP0se beside that of her husband in duplicate of the sarcophagus now in the
 crypt of the tomb.
 .~ WHERE THE TOMB STANDS. Riverside park ts, indeed, fitting place for shs tomb of a hero. Nestled cn ihe | banks of the Hudson. It seems to Mlt | Itself. up from the smoke and grlme of | the scenes below to a purer atmosphere. Massive walls of gray granite that t;om .lle river look like rows of parapets guard the park on tha water frcnt. The steep incline is thickly wooded and only here ard fhera can the gray rugged sides of the hill bs seen from the river
 From nos~otfsir poirt in the city can
 such a View be otoained as from River
 side park. For twenity miles the placid
 Hudson can be seen vending it's wir1ing
 way 10 where the taM nTist-covered pals
 ades blend with the western horizon.
 On the Jersey side is cid Fort Lee. the
 feny-fOuse and daity villas that dot the
 banks and look like Swiss chalets nest
 llng in the warm h of tha Alpine sum
 mer with no grim STONY peaks to cast a. shadow on their rural loveliness. On the bosom of uhe Hudson pe,atial pleas l ure yachts, ferry boats, steamers and puifing tugs make their way by summer,
 while in winter solitary craf. p12ughs through ice. and siluent grandeur rligns Looking to the east are the signs of a great city. hha tall smoke-Teaclzs of fac | tories, the hum from he busy streets and the distant shriek of trains and ships | To the south is the smoke of JerSsy City, 1 with. it's myriads of maSts and oui:lines of cocks thal gradually grow indistlnct
 until rllehing Is seen. but the blue waters Of the bay that seem to mingle with the eastern sky.
 The striking features with which kind nature has endowed the park have been added to by the mechanical genius of man, for almost within a mile of the great tomb colossal structures have been erected and today this part of the city is practically the scholastic center of the
 metropolis, although some of these build | ings are not yet entirely completed. The | new Columbia university buildings on the l heights to the east of the park are of
 great architectural beauty. Near them | is the new Barnard college Just bc- | yond on the elevation of Morningside | Heights is the Teachers college; St. Luke's hospital also overlooks these heights and at night its many lighted windows shine like some heavenly con stellation Some of the heights will be
 
 copal Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
 which for size and grandeur, promises to surpass anything on this continent and to rival the ancient cathedrals of Eu rope.
 eWith such exceptional natural advan- tages it is not surprising that Riverside Park has become a favorite summer resting place for the New Yorker. On | a warm day its sloping green sides are | crowded with children, while along it's -in1i cl,a he ha inv in, | his carriage is frequently seen drawing new life from the refreshing breezes that l blow from the bay or down through the | leafy palisades. And when the sun | sets and the Hudson glimmers with the | reflected light of thousand quickly | passing portholes the benches in the park l are almost always filled with those l grateful people who love the silence and
 who sometimes, in the silence love. | The area of the park is about TT acres and It's exact location is on the bank of | the North river from Seventy-second street to where One Hundred and Fourth street would cut through.
 Its average breadth is 300 feet, but the | drive" as the park is more familiarly | krown, is much broader where the curves | on the coast or inland sides contribute | to it's area. Running north 1t presents | a series of elevations, each rise a little | higher than the last, until at the sum- | init of the hill it meets an abrupt descent | of l5O feet. Ine 'QrlVe When OrlSiDdlly | laid out provided for two carriage drives, | a bridle path and a promenade. Bi- cyclists have found the park a delightful | wheeling ground and are always to be seen in great numbers on it's paths. | The history of the park is as interest," l ing as it is unknown. Before reyolu- l tionary times the English aristocrats I built their summer homes there and l around many a board in mansions long | since gone to decay, glasses clinked to the l health and long reign of George III. Mod | flied by modern architecture, with but | few traces left of what they were in 1 earlier days, few of these old land- | marks still stand. The many mounds along the surface of the hill tell with silent eloquence the fate of their former owners.
 l. It was not until 1872, however. that the city acquired the property, although ne gotiations for the purchase had been op- ened in 1869. While the natural beauties of the place were manifold there re- mained much to do. So the road -build- CTS and landscape gardeners were put to work, but it was not until after 1865 that the drive began to present any thing likesthe appearance it has today. It