Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-10-22


Der of people whose footsteps traverse
it, And it Is undeniably one OF the
most interesting, having no counter
part as a thoroughfare anywhere on
the earth.
1t is the most expensive street, bar
none. Every three or four years II
has to be repaved with planks at
cost of about $140,000-though the
work is done gradually, and not all at
once. The annual bill for keeping it
clean and in repair Is $4,000. AS 1t
stands today the boardwalk repre-
sents an expenditure of nearly $4,000
for construction.
In reference to che cleaning item
it should be said that no broom or
mop is ever applied 10 the surface of
the boardwalk. 1t keeps itself clean.
Swept by ocean breezes" Ito quote
phrase most dear to proprietors OF
seaside hotels), it Is ever free from
dust, while the rain and the sea-borne
mist continually wash it. However,
four men, at $2.10 day, are constant
ly busy at the rather curious task OF
keeping the cracks clear between the
boards-the object being to drain of
the wet.
Always Clean and Dry.
Other streets may be wet, other
streets may be dirty; other streets
may be obstructed-but the boardwalk
never When snow falls in winter it
is cleared away with a celebrity almost
Incredible The thoroughfares of
Philadelphia and New York may be
well-nigh impossible, but the ocean
pathway at Atlantic City, 60 feet wide,
Is bound to be open for traffic, and
dry at that. Presently the sun ap-
pears, and out come the invalids in
chairs on wheels.
As it stands today, the boardwalk
cost slightly more than 100000 a
mile to build-the length of it being
four and a third miles. Originally
it was composed of planks laid upon
the sand of the beach, but these were
repeatedly washed away by the cruel,
crawling waves, and the loss and dis
comfort occasioned eventually brought
structure Of today, upheld by pillars
and Orders which defy the tooth of
time and energy of the elements.
Hyperbole aside, however, it may
be confessed that this element-defy
ing condition is only now beginning
to be reached through the substitu-
ton Of REINFORCED concrete for steel
piles. which, as sad experience has
proved, are hardly more enduring
than wood, owing to the destructive
action of salt water and mist-laden
sea air. Indeed, one may, in spots,
poke ones finger an inch deep into
the metal supports. But concrete ap-
mirably, and before very long il will
have entirely replaced steel in the
construction of the wood-payed road
way.
The boardwalk, one should realize,
is no mere local affair. 1t is in
sense national thoroughfare--the
great summer. street of the United
States, and the common meeting
ground of the people from all parts of
the country. No other place in the
Union is so cosmopolitan. The Cali
fornian is as much at home there as
the man from Philadelphia or the cit
izen Of Texas. 1t is the great health
and amusement resort of the common
people, having the notable advantage
of cheapness for those who can not
afford to spend much money, while for
the rich there are accommodations in
luxurious and proportionately expen-
sive hotels.
The unthoughtful many who visit
Atlantic City, however, have little no.
ton of the more intimate peculiarities
of the boardwalk and the beach along
which 1t runs. Its landward edge is
fringed by a row of shops of every i'm
aginable kind, which offer for sale all
sorts of merchandise, from candy to
dry goods. There are also clairvoy-
ants, and palmists and various other
dealers in the mysterious. but these
are merely incidental, for there is no
proper likeness between this roadway
and the streets of Coney island Rents
are enormously high. A seasons oc-
cupancy of mere window space six
feet square costs $1,000. The pur-
chase price of real estate along the
most desirable blocks, from Maryland
avenue to Michigan avenue, is 81, 900
a front foot
Sunday on the Boardwalk.
Sunday is the big day of the week
on the boardwalk. On that day the
shopkeepers and amusement propri-
etors expect to do nearly as much
business as in the other six put to-
gether. But there is one block that
Is always closed on the Lords day;
it Is owner by Philadelphia Quakers.
who value their religion more than