New-York tribune., 1908-08-16
BERLIN ELEVATED LINE
Structure and Stations There Not
TgIu-Trains almost NolseIeSS.

. a., ,r;-v ,.xt Thursday before the Public
Service Commission. on the apphcaeion - - -
BROOKLYN Union Elevated Railway COMPANY "
huiId an elevated structure through tlaloush aF0-
nue extension from Fulton street. Brooklyn 10 INC
new Manhattan Bridge, the voice of the PuoHc -
likely to be heard In opposition 10 the puiiuiis %
any more elevated roads Since the nrst secli0ii
OF the existing subway were opened LOT udhc' "
October. 1904, the feeling has grown .na' ere
roads are IN several ways a back NUMBER as q
mode of transportation. All through New 1ork
the cry Of more subways" is heard.
Coupled with the demand for subways mas grown
antipathy to elevated lines Not only are lhele
lot OF New Yorkers who want no more VI 'iletH'
but there are plenty of people who belleYe tit 'ie
present elevated structures ought to be removed s
soon as possible These say they have no place at
all In the scheme of the city beautiful NOT ohS
are they an eyesore under any conoltioIs' put d
nuisance on account of the din they create ana the
amount OF dirt and dust they scatter Some OF the
more ardent opponents to elevated roads Woulu IL
they could, nave law passed at once Dahisiiihs
foreverrnore those standing in the boToughs OF
Manhattan. The Bronx. Brooklyn and Queens
People who have seen the elevated structures IN
the capitals of Europe, especially In Berlin take
a different view of their utility and beauty as
means Of rapid transit in large city. The opposi-
ton is based almost entirely, they say, upon the
unsghtljness of the existing structures in greater
New York accentuated by the ear-rending noises
attendant upon the operation Of trains
different Especially is this true in Berlin where
wonderful success has attended the efforts OF the
engineers. architects and landscape gardeners WORK
ing in unison under the direction of the city au-
thorities to make the elevated roads contribute to
rather than detract from the good appearance OF
the city.
tvpical example of the elevated station in Ber-
lin is shown in the accompanying photograph
which was taken in that city about two months
ago bv Commissioner William McCarroll of the
80, ,iccfCT -1n Wit !
Seaman, chief engineer Of the commission. spent
his vacation in studying transit conditions abroad
One need but take look at the photograph OF
the Nollendorf Platz station, the Tauenzein
strasse. and then conjure up the picture of the
Manhattan terminal of the Brooklyn Bridge or. IN
fact any of the elevated stations in greater New
York with which he has long been too familiar
to find what distinction there is in the diff
ference between the elevated stations of the Ger
man ptal and those of the American metropolis
Hardly anyone will dispute the evidence that they
do these things better in Germany.
All New Workers who have seen the Berlin ele-
waited line will agree with Commissioners McCar-
roll and Bassett and Chief Engineer Seaman that
this city is far behind In Berlin the best archi-
tectural talent has been employed to design the
stations and structure, with the result that the
former built in a way to attract and not offend
the eye. Even the plainest parts of the structure
are relieved of ursghtiness by ornamentation and
attention architectural nceties.
In some of the principal streets the line runs
through the centre Of the thoroughfare and is
made thing OF real beauty. The space under
meath is parked and covered with attractive grass
plots divided by gravel paths, while beautiful
shrubbery and trees add the attractiveness Of
the station sites.
Whenever bridge is necessary, in crossing
canals streets. that bridge Is built according
architectural design with as much ornamen-
tation as is possible give TO such structure
and keep within the bounds of reasonable outlay
There is hard and fast uniform design for sta
tions but they adapted to their locations. and
the result is a series of structures pleasing to
the eye and appropriate to their immediate
roundings Instead of ugly iron supporting pill
lars such seen in New York. the Berlin