The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-04
FLOWERS RECLAIM
- ENTIRE CITY BLOCK
Christopher Park Section
Transformed by the Example
One Woman Set.
LONG FIGHT WON AT LAST

long FIGHT WON AT LAST
Christopher Park in the heart Of old
Greenwich Village is like a debutante
with her first bouquet these days, and
she wears also q look Of conscious pride
to the accompaniment Of her galaxy Of
window boxes filled with bright bios
SONS. for she has come TO her own
once more. with the flowers on her
window stills she mods and beckons
10 her admirers with all the grace Of a
pretty young girl at her first party, yet
II is n rei%ncarnation, not a new birth,
she is celebrating, for Christopher
Park was old long before those who
now walk her gravelled paths were
known or dreamed Of.
Once upon a time 1t was the abode
of smartness and fashion, and there In
the evening the bellies and beaux or
| old New York were wont to gather
49,
| under the trees and talk and gossip
Of the doings Of the day. But evil
days then fell upon the little village
| square. and in time 1t became the
rendezvous for social outcasts Of both
sexes. To-day It Is the Mecca for trim
| nurse maids and pretty. well groomed
| children, for kindly faced men ana
| women OF sunny Italy. who sit ana
| dream Of their own sunny shores as
they watch the bambinos at play.
And the strangest part OF II all 10
| that two small box trees and a handful
| OF red geraniums were responsible Tor
recreating its environment: surely a
| small thing TO convert an entire neigh
| borhood from one of s~habbiness and
| almost saualor to a self-respecting
glad you're living sort OF place. But
such is the influence Of flowers on
people and things when o n q
desire to serve are back OF them. II
all came about like this:
Ono day some six years ago there
came TO Christopher Park . young
sculptor and his wife. Mr.. and Mrs,
Willard Dryden Paddock, who in seek
ing Q home put OF the beaten track OF
Soullees dwellings became charmed
! with the quaintness Of Greenwich VII
lasa. They saw IN the small brick
! houses about the triangular square
! the possibilities Of . real homo such
as could not be had IN the more ex-
| pensfve and moro etereotyped mats In
| the more fashionable parts of the city.
So In this little eddy Of tho stream
Of humanity that II seeking an outlet
further and further away from the old
part Of own tho young couple set up
their hres and penates in No. ~ and
on their front doorstep planted two in
conspicuous tubs fIled With box. On
their window sills were set bright red
seraniums and trailing vines and a few
other plants which they thought would
survive the stress Of wind and weather.
Thus started tho window box move
m>nt In Greenwich Village OF which
Mrs. Paddock was the pioneer. . move
ment which IL bearing fruit all over
the country.
n seemed . prop1tious beginning,
the advent OF box trees n Mowers
on the doorstep Of No. 81, and tn
belief was that they would retain their
pristine glory and freshness for weeks
II not months to come. In Just twenty
minutes by the clock their doom was
sealed. Just long enough in fact fol
The hoodlums on the street corner
to espy the innovation and resent II
Having held lawless way % Iona
they were in no mood to appreciate
beauty In any form. and by tho tim
Mrs. Paddock had nor hat of the
bell n She opened the door ant
found her two lovely box trees tick
to the door knob
She replaced them and awaited de,
velopments. They . not long II
coming. Another ring and tho actor
was repeated with variations. VIII
patient tact Mrs. Paddock replantet
the box. set out new geraniums ant
looked into the future. In less tim
than Il takes to tell the boxes wer,
rified Of their contents and tho yount
plants and flowers strewn along tn
street by tho vandalA who whom sh'
came to the door ran away yelling
and emitting hideous catcalls.
But still Mrs. Paddock restrained
her wrath. II she got neal enough {
the urchins she talked kindly to them
but at frst her words fell upon dea
ears. She tried to make them under
stand that the boxes were put ther,
quite "a much for them As for herself
more in fact. since she spent eigh
or nine months Of the year at he
New England homo. She explainec
what she vas trying to do was I,
make the square a pretty instead O
an ugly place to live in, and in tim
her patience had its reward.
Now the spot 10 a veritable ''blocl
beautiful" and a Joy to all who pas
hat way. Mrs. Paddock has one O
the comeliest houses In the square
II Is a simple three story brick dwell
ing painted a soft apple green wit
deep oream shutters and trim and Il
each window Is a box OF bright gera
NUNS, while thanking the Colonia
doorway with Its old fashioned bras
knocker arc w smart pots OF box.
Mrs. Paddock can now relate ne
trials with . smile. and It Ia the smil
that won't como of. whereas In tn
early days when she was trying 70 In
culcate the principles Of beauty an,
service in the street gangs OF tn
neighborhood II was often 4 yer,
forced sort Of smile she wore In press
Inc hQr potpt