The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-01-06

relations and proportions We are try
ing to look into the future and furnish a
big, broad guide which those who come
after US may follow, thus carrying the
development of the town along on
scheme consistent and admirable.
Our aim is q plan which any logical
man can go on witn-a plan which will
include all traction systems, surface,
elevated, and underground; terminals Of
the great through railways and their lines
of progress through the city. which viii
adapt itself to the best utilization of the
lake, the canals, and the river"
Are you working for legislation 10
help your scheme along?" I asked.
oh" said he, THE legislation viii
come, because il is the next step in the
advancement of the people Human ma
ture doesn't change, but its beliefs and
knowledge do. Education has just begun
here in broad sense. With every pass
ing year there is a larger proportion of
the public ready to approve such efforts
as ours There is a growing desire for
order in place of the chaos in which our
unprecedentedly rapid development has
resulted All the cities are beginning to
want something better i'm arrangement
and appearance.
o.. @ do not need to work for legislation.
Before long the people as a whole viii
begin to demand it. Then the politicians
viii pass what laws are necessary. You
can bet on that, This tendency toward
municipal betteTment and Identification is
everywhere apparent We are not trying
to arouse dormant feeling, Tor the feel
ing is not dormant In nearly every large
city in the country there is this demand
for improvement.
No" said he, in answer to another
question, 1T is not estheticism. The peo-
pie are being handled by nature in one
of her inevitable moods. They have read
and they have learned. Now they are
beginning To demand their own
Although the Durham plans for Wash
ingtOnS Improvement are complete and
have been visualizcd in the form Of four
teen or fifteen foot models. which are or
exhibition in the Library Of Congress. and
generally center of attention from Wis
itors, the Chicago plans have hardly been
begun as yet and, therefore, cannot be
described. They VIII include. among other
things. however, an outer parkway of
many. miles, inclosing the entire city;
beautiful river front, a civic center, or
park, TO contain the city and county hall
a building to be of imposing proportions
elevated railroads. two great railroad ter
minals TO afford diguifed entrance TO the
city; perfectly paved streets: an art and
literary center, which means the location
of the Field Museum, the Crerar Library,
and eventually "a new and enlarged Art
Institute in Grant Park and a lake front
boulevard connecting the North and the
South sides. part of the way separated
from the city by a lagoon. to be formed
by inclOsing a part OF the lake
Chicago IS taking 10 the plan with its
accustomed enthusiasm A big banquet ln
its furtherance is TO be held early in the
year, and the wOmenS clubs purpose to
lend their aid unstintedly.
Whitney Warren's Vast Plans,
The plans put forth IN the recently is
sued report of the New York City I'm
provement commission. the work Of Mr.
Whitney Warren, architect of the monu-
mental New York Central terminal sta
ton, and one Of the most active members
of the commission, are as broad and com
prehensive. and as cognizant of the fu-
ture as the Durham plans. Mr.. War
rem does not wholly agree with those who
think the original plan OF New Yorl,
hopeless one.
The fact is. he said to the writer.
that it is a pretty good one. Il only
needs the Iengthening of some of the
longitudinal avenues. the proper connect
ing up of the different boroughs, and the
creation Of parks in the regions now
mainly unoccupied, but soon 10 be thickly
populated. 10 transform the city into an
ideal place. The widening Of Fifty-ninth
street by a block. so as TO make a fitting
approach to the BlackwelTs Island Bridge.
a truly imposing structure, from Fifth
avenue eastward, and then 20 the west
ward to connect with the bridge which
we hope TO see built over the North River
eventually. will furnish a great trans
verse avenue. and at the same time maxi
easy Of access for residence purpose. a
region IN Queens County. which is no
farther away from Fifty-niuth street than
is the Ninety-siXth street region Of Man
haitian. Some hundreds of thousands can
live in the newly opened territory. even
after plenty of park space has been al
lowed
THE proposed bridge across the FIud-
son simply must be built by and by. Tun-
nels are all right for railroad trains and
trolley cars for business travelling But
we must have way of crossing the Hud-
son that viii give US pleasure, and
chance Of viewing. as we cross. the won
derful panorama Of river and palIisade. OF
the crowded harbOr, the towering sky
scrapers, and such natural heights as no
other great city can boast. The long.
straight drive from New Jersey over the
proposed bridge, through Fifty-ninth
street, and over the BlackwelTs Island
Bridge. to the Borough Of Queens. cross
ing both Of New York's great rivers, and
passing over an island on the way, viii
be quite unsurpassed in itself
After West street which has already
been partly transformed into a broad es-
planadc. Americas metropolis will make
a much better impression on the foreign
tourist VIXEN he lands than il now does.
and the extension to it in straight lines
Of Seventh and Eighth avenues viii fur
nish thoroughfares through which the
best part Of the town may be reached
Miles of Driveways.
When all the parkways connecting the
various parks in Manhattan. The Bronx.
Queens, and Brooklyn are finished. they
viii furnish over forty-five miles of con-
tinuous driveway, ali beautiful. They
viii include greater variety than can be
found in and about any other great CITY.
and will cover more miles. The imposing
ferry and elevated railroad terminal at
South Ferry-the water gate-which has
already been decided upon. viii give a
fitting entrance to the city from that
direction. and the broad avenues pro
posed from the present Brooklyn Bridge
and the Manhattan Bridge, now being
built. to converge in Brooklyn at a cir
cular plaza, viii give digniied entrances
TO that borough. Now it has none. and
its many beauties are never suspected by
the thousands OF visitors to New York.
of which Brooklyn is as much part as
Manhattan.
These are only a few of the things we
hope for, most Of which we viii get about