The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-01

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especially IN this last No us q Holda,
Number
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MOI Tor sale by ncwsdcaers. Order di-
! rect by mail
mond trade. Prices are advancing IN
a number of lines. This Is probably
due TO the increased wages being paff
| by manufacturers, itself an element of
the general prosperity. People t;enerally
| are buying II higher grade of goods. M
unmistnkablc sign of cnsy times
Stores have been greatly enlarged. and
sun III three or four instances, have al
most. II not quite doubled their business.
Trade is expanding In every direction.
Inc merchants are becoming aroused to
.he possibilities of wonderful develops
meht during the twelve months. The
Retail Merchants Association has inst
been organized to correct trade nbuses
eieVate business standards, and bring
us members Into n sympathetic coon
eia ati.e movement that will rebound to tho
sfeat penefit OF each and to tho, trade
as a whole, and through the trade tn tha
city. $500 " VIZ
Activity in Building.
WHAT the East End business bJoc,,s
gained during 1904 in massive buildings
.i.u. gave TO section OF Richmond d
new and distinctly metropolitan skyline
mas IN the past twelve months been
addcd, though in different form of conrss'
70 the residential districts IN the west
INC building boom that began nearly two
Years ago took Il new bent in the early
months of 1906. but showed then and
SHOWS to-day no sign of Interruption. Tho
uoiiars and energy expended In 1904 on
gigantic Office buildings. immense facto-
ries ana other structures. notable CHI city
FOR their size, have been turned with
ABOUT equal force to tho upbuiid!ns OF the
residential! quarter, particularly in the
beautiful Lee District OF the far West
End. There are fewer sky-scrapers this
year. but the loss hero is a gain else
Where Dwellings have sprung up like
magic and innunlerable small business
houses have been erected. "A br:ef time
ago Lee District was IL wilderness of dirt
roads and barren fields, with Il house set
lodge Il, forest; to-day, where the shay
sy corn and green tt,raips so lately -four
ished. are rows OF handsome residences,
and stretching out from them In every
direction are the skeletons of others,
forrlless now. but forming. 1t is a con-
slant source of wonder anu qualification
TO Richmonders returning home ar er an
absence OF q year or two, and TO visitors
who pass through the city at different
intervals. Lee District has always some
thing new for them. The clang of the
worlimans hammer has not ceased for
many months and every week or two
sees some new development, inudSank
reclaimed and transformed into n green
lawn. a hut removed to give way to
n palatial home. Broad avenues have
taken the place of the ancient,roads-the
most notable of them. -.,onument Ave-
nue.. with its famous statue o. Lee and
the other memorials now being erected
upon 1t. promising to become socn one OF
the beautiful streets OF the entire coun-
try.
1t is no New Year day romance. this
view of Lee District. The upouluins OF
the far West End and tic rapldity with
which houses are being erected and ten
anted is remarkable in its way. IT is Il
fact worthy of note also that the con-
struction and style OF the residences show
marked Improvement. Better material
and better workmanship are going INTO
the walls and floors meaning better wear
and consequently better and more durable
appearance; when to this the new arts
tic taste is added, demanding beauty as
well as comfort and soldity, the result
Is very striking. There is scarcely a
house In Lee District that is not an orna-
ment. The precise and conventional
square building. sauatting upon los
that leaves but a bare fringe of earth
beyond the foundations has disappeared
and certainly no one is mourning its loss
A new artistic architecture has come
into favor and green trees and pretty
lawns give 1t proper setting
The wonderful development OF the resi-
Dental quarter must not be taken TO
mean, however, that there has been an
entire lack of attention TO business houses
and structures not dwellings The inn
mense Mutual Assurance Society build
Ing has been completed during the year.
and the Virginia State Insurance Com
pany building occupied The new Capi-
tol will be opened in few days. The
magnificent cathedral of The Sacred
Heart, in the West End. costing about
half a million dollars. will be dedicated
by Easter or shortly thereafter. The
work of restoring the Jefferson Hotel
on grander lines than ever has begun.
The splendid new Second Baptist Church
has been completed. Many less notable,
but still important. improvements have
been made, and the work is still going on.
Tobacco.
Willie there were no notable develop
ments of any sort in this Important
branch Of Richmond industry, the to-
bacco trade has fully sustained its old
time viEor and has even in some direc-
tons made advances over the cXcellent
standard set in the year 1904. The opera
tons of the so-called trusts have in re-
cent years greatly changed the appear
ancc of the trade and have diverted the
flow to new channels, but tho smoker
still smokes and the chewer chews as Of
yorc and Richmond under trust-rule or
any other has been, and apparently VIII
continue forever TO be an important cen
ter Toy the sale and manufacture of the
weed.
Several Of the factories here are among