New-York tribune., 1902-12-21
NEW-T0RK STORES AND HOMES.

The announcement that the firm of John
wanamaker will soon erect ten twelve
story building 10 occupy the block just south OF
its present store, at Broadway and Ninth-st,
shows that the uptown movement Of business
by no means implies the desertion Of downtown.
Some of the largest retail houses have recently
established themselves in the neighborhood Of
Broadway and Thrty-third-st., which has fire.
quently been spoken Of the new department
store centre, and it undoubtedly is a depart
ment store centre; but New-York is getting too
big 10 have one centre for any business which
concerns the general public. To a certain
tent wholesale houses are concentrated in dis
tricts the drug trade in one section, the hard
trade in another, and so on. Their GUS
toners are comparatively few, and concentration
suits the convenience of this public. But Just
the constituency served by business en-
laTges the tendency is to develop new centres
different lines of traffic accessible to the
widely scattered population. And this must
be SO still more In the future with the increas-
ing distances and crowding OF traffic facilities
Elevated railroads and trolley cars have made
possible the development of single centres OF
retail trade here TO an extent not possible in
European cities of comparable size AS New
York outSrowS its transit facilities more rap
idly than they are provided, it is natural to
expect return TO old conditions which pre-
vailed in London and Paris when the wants
of the inhabitants were supplied near their
homes. We shall probably not see any revival
of the small shops, but instead the growth in
various sections Of great stores with large con-
stituencies about them may be expected.
Already we see in Fulton-st and in lesser de-
gree in Broadway. Brooklyn and in One hun
S1red and-twenty y-fifth-st. and in Fifty-ninth-st
Manhattan IN
dition while some Of the largest stores remain
in Sixth-ave below Twenty -third-st, and wana-
makers testifes to the business advantages of
location still further downtown.
This diffusion is altogether a healthful sign
and it is TO be hoped that it will be accom-
panied by corresponding development of home
centres. New-Yorkers in home making have
followed one another like foolish sheen. A
movement Of population toward some particular
district is started. and the crowd pushes there
10 its own loss and discomfort. passing bv nm
noticed cheaper and pleasanter places While
the thousands have been spending hours hang
ing on straps going 10 and from Harlem. de-
hshful districts below Twenty-third-st have
been left to decay. Why has nor the region
about Chelsea Square been rebuilt with first
class apartment houses? Land is cheap there.
the streets are pleasant trade does not crowd.
and the region is convenient to business. thea
tres and railroads. The only reason is that a
blind passion seized, people to crowd somewhere
else similar development might take place
IN Greenwich and in the neighborhood of Stuy-
resant Square. 1t is taking place in the down
town sections OF Brooklyn. which a few years
ago were being neglected for new streets far
uptown now most inconvenient because of the
crowded condition of the cars.
New-York presents melancholy contras,