The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20
kBIND NAN KNOWS
NEW YORK, BE SAYS. HAS ITS
DISTINCTIVE DOORS.

! DISTINCTIVE DOORS.
He Ass Travelled Much and He Insist.
That tho doors OF. New York Are LAKE
No Others in tho Worid-Theatres
|, Distinguished by Powder and Csasgns
He was a blind man OF aboAA - not
born with his misfortune. ssA he was q
great traveller. Wandering over the
land seemed to Bio the chief enjoyment
Of his life, and o q curious person
who had become intimate withfhim asked
what substantial pleasure he could de.
rive from It, for surely his plight deprived
him Of the keenest pleasure OF the
traveller.
IN a way you are right he answered
u know how much J. lose, for I used Ia
travel q great deal before I lost my sight,
and It was part Of the worst Of that afnio.
ton to feel that with my sight the zest
Of travel had to 90 also; but I was born
with O wanderers blood In my veins,
and in q comparatively short time I dis
covered that whore We lose we also gain.
My other senses had gained what my
sight lost.
ut was. for the simple reason that the
intelligence became keener. / listened
to everything that went on about me.
I asked questions. I talked to every one,
I poked about more for curious things,
and now I am positive I enjoy travelling
far moro than the ordinary person, though
I cannot see whore I 60. In most cases
the nero sight Of objects satisfies the
traveller. but It isAthe intelligence and
imagination back Of the sight that count,
and the intelligence and imagination
Of those who cannot see are on koenor
edge. ! am sure. at any rate. that ! gel
the tone and color and spirit Of Q places
far better than 1 used to.
One Of the things that helped toward
that remarkably is the nos The olfao-
tory nerves are right on edge for me
al tho time and you cannot know how Q
subordinate sense such n smell will
all out your life until you lose the pre-
dominant sense Of sight. My sense oi
smell gives that fine distinction between
persons and places and objects and con.
ditions which IL at the basis Of intelligent
innnmerabls odors-not unpleasant OF
offensive odors A most people who can
not smell fooishly imasine'-snd each
smell 10 DISTINCT and Characteristic tc
its object. You know what Helen Keller
says about each person having q dis
tinctive odor-a pleasant odor chiefly
and 10 I ind generally has each place
each condition. almost every object.
perhaps one Of the interesting thing
TO you persons who do not smell at all II
that each city has its own distinctive
odors. When you como into New York
for instance. you recognize the city By
the towering Office buildings and all the
familiar landmarks. I recognise New
York BY distinctive odors which I meo'
through the agency also Of. other inn
preesions. particularly sound-but the
sense Of smell plays . part.
.Now Broadway has . very distncdye
odor down In the business district. OF
course I don't mean to say that b mo-
ment you leave that thoroughfaro the
smell osases or the moment you enter l,
It can be recognized. should rather say
that New York's business district has q
| Characteristic odor. OF course IL 70 prao.
! tioally impossible to define in words, tc
tell what elements are In 1t.
the best way to define the Broadway odo!
-s BY contrast. You can recognise II II
YOU walk down to the Battery or aIons
boutA street or along the North River
and then turn into the business and fnAn'
oiAl district afterward. and Immediately
you notice the difference Of SMELL. Aioni
TIE river yoY not only, got the smell Of shs
but the smell Of the wAter-not the keen,
fresh invigoratlng smell Of sea water
nor vet tho smell OF inland water. but thu
smell Of the New York harbor wsterc.anc
1t has q distinctive odor OF its own. Ihavs
called It at times the river smell' and 70,
further up along the river. whore perhaps
It IL less combined with other odors..
The Broadway smell l have described
to myself as tho city smell because 1t Car
be met elsewhere too. though believe ths
odor OF Broadway IL. par excellence, tn
city smell II is faint, but clean and
10 just such an odor a. you might expect
where absolutely no Vegetation exists
where there Ia nothing but piles OF rock
brick and masonry, where even the eartf
is completely covered with mineral sub.
stance, 30 that its fresh smell cannot arise
but where. nevertheless. the streets arr
refuse about, very little smoke. but
throughout which. nevertheless, the sun
and tho wind cannot penetrate and circu.
late with absolute freedom.
strangely enough, Whenever l e into
the business district and get that city
smell Ia my nostrilR remember IL d
not at all unpleasant-k recalls to me-. al
being absolutely c%ontrasted to It. the
country smell!-the fine odors Of the
open fields, Of flowers, OF meadows, OF
grass, Of trees and gardens, Of the rich
earth-indeed, Of all that infinite variety
Of fresh, delightful odors which I believe
form the chief attraction Of the country
without people approaching it.
Another Of the few predominant
smells Of New York that the ~olfactory
sense finds nowhere else 10 the East Side
odor, the odor OF the section Of the city
where most Of the poor live. Now different
portions Of the East side have different
different from the Rowery and Park Lane
IL to the nose quite distinct from the
Jewish section. I refer by the East Side
odor to that section Of the city lyine
generally east Of the Bowery to the river
and between Blocker and Canal streets
or courpe there are various odors ovel
that large territory, but there Ia ont
general, widespread. predominant odol
that I call the East Side odor.'
x have attempted TO analyze the ele.
ments that went into forming this pc.
culiar odor many times. There IL the refus,
on the street, and there Il q faint smel
that issues from sewer openings, anc
there il the dirt and the odors OF the
produce being sold on %pushoarts, ant
there IL that odor which Issues from
the windows OF tho tenements anc
from the cellars and courtyards -thoa.
are some Of the ingredients that entel