Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

the other side without any extra supplies
from the United States. So I had to ask
the WhynesS Of these Christmas trees on
the piers.
ITO ornament the steamers that'll be
at sea on Christmas day. was the Off
hand reply Of the pier superintendent to
whom / put the question. 1--WE like to
make it as comfortable for voyagers on
Christmas day as We can, and therefore
the Christmas trees. The stewardesses
will fix and fuss 'em all up the day before
Christmas with trinkets that the COM
pany provides. and every passenger. down
to the steerage people. gets 4 gift
And yet there are lot of Hermit Crabs
who maintain that the world isn't grow
ing more considerate:
77IIIi knell Of 9TH avenue as the riftiest
and most noted residence thorough
fare in the western hemisphere began to
sound some years ago: now the drge
is virtually over. Fifth avenue cannot.
today, be called a residence street at all );
it has become almost distinctly bust
ness street even as far up as the park
and beyond 1t Is even now a higher
grade Broadway, In SO far as business is
concerned The rents are and will re-
main fnordinate, but there will never be
lack of tenants The profits of the sort
of businesses that flourish on 9TH avenue
are great, and the tenants can afford
to pay the asked rents.
A great manv OF the old time residents
of 9Th avenue stuck 1t out for many
years, In the teeth Of the invasion OF
business all around them. Now they've
begun to succumb in drcves, and very
soon there will be scarcely a private
residence on 9Th avenue from the Wash
ington arch to far above the park
AS a matter Of fact, 9Th avenue has not
peen an agreeable street for wealthy and
eXclusiveness-liking folk to live on for
many years. There is and has be,n for
a decade as great roar of traffic there
as there ever was on Broadway, DESPITE
the absence of car tracks in 5th aNNliue,
and the avenue during all the day light
hours is one endless clutter of noisy
vehicles, mainly OF vociferous and nox-
ious-smelling automobiles. The -traffi;
cops NJ 9Th avenue have to be three
time alert as the traffic cops O.,
Bro. and the air Of privacy, OF set
apai has for years been wholly
stri. from 18th avenue.
III, destruction Of this famous thor
oughfaTe as a residence street is having
many curious effects upon the extremely
wealthy element Of New York, who in
former days lived thereon. For one
thing. 9Th avenue really is the last OF the
exclusive residence streets of New York
Madison avenue years ago lost that dis
tinction. Riverside drive, beautiful as 1t
IS as a driving thOroughfare. never will
do as residence street fcr the extremely
rich, even II it is superbly situated over
looking the Hudson. There is a certain
gloom. undetinable. but certain, overhang-
ing Riverside drive: moreover, its one
side is covered all over with apartment
nouses-apartment houses OF an exceed
ing magnitlcence. OF course; but apart
ment houses nevertheless; and, OF course.
the rich folk can't abide. as Sairey Camp
would have said, the idee of living along
side apartment house people.
One OF the results Of the abandonment
of 9TH avenue as residence street, then.
has been. as occasionally pointed out in
this correspondence. the taking of many
OF the former rich residents Of that thor
oughfare to the new and splendid hotels.
But now this movement seems to have
been temporarily halted. It has been
halted by the apparent determination of
literarily thousands Of the rich folk who
formerly lived on 9th avenue to live at
their country homes instead, and to give
New York the go-by altogether As a
place OF residence, even in the winter
season. The great majority OF them