The herald., 1898-11-04
WANT STREET WIDENfD
PROPERTY OWNERS PROTEST
AGAINST sILURIANS
A BOOM TIME Renaissance
Revised Plans for Third Street and
Broadway Tunnels Being Pre-
pared-Petitions and Protests

The prospect of lively row before the
council between property owners holding
frontages on Twenty eighth street, between
San Pedro and Trinity streets, is more tnan
a possibility. For some time past the resi-
dents of the south side of the street between
these points have been cndeayoring to per
sllade Mrs. John Webber, who owns 450
feet on the north side, to widen the street
and join with other property holders IN
grading, curbng and placing cement side
walk on each side. So far, however, their
efforts have been in vain, as Mrs. Webber
has refused to do the smallest thing to bet
ter the condition of the avenue, which Is
said to be in a very bad state.
Yesterday, as forerunner of more de-
clded action, property owners representing
400 feet filed petition with the city clerk
asking that the attention of the council be
called to the street, and urging that that
body take the necessary steps TO secure the
much needed improvement.
East Twenty-eighth street, between Main
street and $50 feet east OF Trinity street,
is sixty feet wide, is curbed and graded and
has cement sidewalk on each side. At this
point there is Il twenty one-foot jog in the
north line of the street, making the distance
from curb to curb only thirty feet The
street is not graded or curbed from that
point to San Pedro street, distance OF some
450 feet and is so dusty and ill-cared for that
the property owners claim that their prop
erty is greatly damaged thereby. East from
San Pedro the street is graded, is eighty feet
wide and is beyond doubt one of the best
avenues in the city.
The jog, which is the cause of breaking the
otherwise symmetrical street, is made by
the projection of the property owned by
Mrs. Wehber. This land in this. section
formerly belonged to Mrs. Shaw, who, when
the boom of 1889 came, subdivided her tract
of twenty acres into lots and blocks and laid
out streets. The first map of the tract
showed all streets, including Twenty-eighth,
to be sixty feet in width: The latter was
marked as running from Main to San Pedro
At this time it is true the street was not
graded, but property owners clam that the
land was sold on the south side OF Twenty
eighth street with the understanding that
the street would be put through as shown on
the map. Afterward however, in order to
save well and tank, which is now, upon
what the petitioners claim ought to be the
street, Twenty-eighth was cut to thirty
nine feet in width.
When other sales were made, so +. w.
Whittier says, the agents sold the property
without telling the purchasers of the change
in the street. After all the lots were dis
posed of, with the exception of that por-
ton which Mrs. Shaw reserved for herself,
Mrs. Shaw caused fence to be erected out
on what the nelghb0rs supposed was tne
street. When Mrs. Shaw died she left all
of her property to her daughter, Mrs. John
Webber. Before Mrs. Shaw's demise she
stated, it is said, that she would open the
street to its full width, and that the same
would be of benefit to her property as well
as to her neghbors. Her untimely death
left the matter unsettled and since then
her heirs have failed to take the same view
Of the improvement.
The property owners in the neighborhood
think the heirs could well afford to pay the
expense connected with widening the street,
as extravagant prices were paid for the lots.
1t is stated on good authority that 800, 900
was netted by the deceased on her twenty
acres, which was practically worthless be-
fore the subdivision. For some time resi-
dents of Twenty.eighth street have suffered
in silence at the broken-down fence. 1t has
been an eye-sore and: as they claim, an injury
to their property. They will ask the council
that the fence be removed at once and that
the street be opened, graded, graveled,
curbed and widened to sixty feet.