New-York tribune., 1906-04-23
THE NEW CITY.

History will doubtless be repeated at San
Francisco upon a scale commensurate with the
occasion and the opportunity Other great cities
have been all but destroyed by fire, and have
arisen from the ruins greater and finer than
ever, literally receiving beauty for ashes"
London was thus ravaged 240 years ago, and it
is truism of English history that the fire
proved blessing in disguise, effecttng a sani-
tary cleansing of the city and making possible
such an improved rebuilding as could scarcely
have been hoped for without it. New York suf-
fered a great fire seventy-one years ago, but
was quickly rebuilt better than before. The
fire Of 1871 found Chicago a city of wood and
cleared the way for a city of brick stone and
steel and there are those who reckon that it
would have been worth while to have the fire
for that purpose if il could not havs been eff
fected in any other way. Boston's fire of 1872
was followed by notable civic improvements.
and Baltimore is now exulting in the gain that
has come TO her through the blazing pathway
OF only a little while ago.
So will it be with San Francisco beyond
doubt. younger city than the others we have
named. except Chicago, it had not so many
moulderiEs relfS of old times 10 be rid of, but
it had just what Chicago had the unsubstantial
works of haste and mushroom growth. There
were many blocks of ramshackle wooden struct-
ures dating from the boom" times of a gen
Grafton or two ago, which had Jagged super
fuous on the civic scene and it had also the
hideous warrens Of Chinatown" half the prod
uct of Mongolian degradation and half of eau
casian savagery and vileneSs- 1t was well to
have these swept away. The pity is that so
many other buildings were involved in the same
fate, buildings which would have been a credit
and pride TO the stateliest capital under the
sun. But in the rebuilding the former will be
remembered only to be avoided, and the latter
to be emulated or surpassed.
They probably will be surpassed even the
finest of them. Human progress never ceases.
The finest structures in San Francisco and the
great university buildings at Palo Alto will be
replaced with others little better. 1t will not
be merely that they are new, but that they have
the advantage of new inventions, improved de-
vices and a more generous and opulent design.
Whether or not it may be desirable in any re-
spect TO alter the general street plan OF the
city, there will now be admirable opportunity
for making any desirable changes of detail, such
as the widening of streets, the creation of parks
and parkways and the relocation of public
buildings. If the building laws Of the city need
revision it will occur TO mind that now is the
time for it. IN order that the rebuilding Of the
city may be effected under the best possible reg
ulatfonS. Prescriptions as to the height of
structures could not be enforced against exist
ing buildings, but they could be imposed upon
the new ones that are to arise. 1t may be
too much 10 wish that even the chief part of the
city might be reconstructed according 10 a sin
gle architectural scheme, as are the buildings
Of a worlds fair, but may at least hope that
the principal streets all possible attention
will he paid to harmony and correspondence of
design. 1t has been San Francisco's boast that
she is always up to date and we must con-
fess that in more than one respect she has led
the way for New York. Despite all the exped-
ton which she will and. indeed, must exercise
in the work of rebuilding, it is to be assumed
she will circumspectly observe all that is TO be
learned of other cities, and thus make of her
new self a concrete exposition of the latest and
best city building taste and skill in the world.