New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-06-26

rnoe OF Municipal Art Commission. 1t should
be possible to erect such structures n these
comes unpleasant revelation TO many who
believed that In the future at least. New-York
vas destined to live down the reproach Of ugh
hess laid at the doc, of all American cities
TO those who familiar with the manner tn
which the Partisan architects and engineers
manage to combine beauty with utility and
make their public improvements add to the at
tractiveness OF their city. the prospect Of the
hideous structures the subway has thrown out
wht rever II ventures into daylight II disheart-
ening In the extreme That the Municipal Art
Commission should be powerless to prevent the
ERECTION Of such monstrosities seems incredible:
Yet such appears to be the case By law this
commission is authorized to act only when the
cost OF undertaking exceeds 81 100000 At
the direct request OF the Mayor the Board of
Aldermen The members Of the commission take
HE position that they not justified In
Iardng the subway a single project. which
would. Of course. bring II under their ken. bu,
that each station and viaduct must be regarded
a separate structure and In this manner they
seem to escape all responsibility.
As a result Of this Interpretation OF the law II
has been possible for the contractors building
the subway TO erect such hideous structures
that which disfigures One-hundred- and twenty
hfth-st- at Broadway. Here a broad street az
fords splendid vstas of trees But the subway
has cut Off this vista. and the street Is
framed by \ hideous low iron bridge precisely
the type Of railroad structure that u used along
the lines Of steam railroads to cross creeks and
gues
Similarly the subway has dotted the finest
avenues OF the city with its little stations vary
Ing in impressveness from the model Of a dmin-
Utive bootblack establishment to that Of
binary stable At the Seventy-second- st. plaza
there is a good example of the latter class OF
station its native ugliness looming up In the
midst Of the newest and some OF the finest
structures In the city. Certainly there Is little
Indication here Of the effort to outlive the repu-
tation New-York has had. even among American
cities. for ugliness deliberate and foreseen-
Still another notable example OF municipal
ugliness is furnished by the great Caremont
viaduct. which carries Riverside Drive the
low valley at ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS twenty ninth
st. For half mile this high. massive but
grim looking structure towers up shutting OF
the view of the distant Palisades across tho
Hudson and sending its ungainly shadows far
out over the valley. A fair example of the sort
of structure railroad would throw over a val
ley solely to carry it's tracks. this immense via
duct lacks even a rudimentary concession to the
aesthetic sense. NewYork ugly. rather than
New-York beautiful. seems to have been the
successful purpose of the builders Of the sub
way, direct SUCCESSORS Of those who constructed
this huge viaduct That a permanent ugliness
should succeed temporary chaos. such the
subway has furnished for several years will
lasting regret to many who believe that
utility is only part Of the requirement for
civic structures.
What Is said to be Of the most striking
Illustrations of the high handed manner In which
telephone and telegraph companies destroy nat
ural beauty even within the corporate limits of
New-York City. Il to be found In Broadway,
Bayside Long Island. Along that thorough
fare for q distance Of more than two blocks 4
rev Of big naples At ono side Of the road has
been stripped Of the branchea. practically moth
hs but the stumps Of the trees being left The