The sun., 1918-09-15

rr-HE time Is not far of when
reference to New York's financial
district will have to be more
.,.clac than now because there Is
andy developing in the Grand Cen
,-al section an important financial
coouy which even now Is re-
,srred to as the uptown Wall Street.
NM financial ascendency OF this terri
INV Is one Of the wonderful business de-
,slopments of the decade In this city.
Look back twenty years In the life of
mis- section, which may be long in the
life Of a man but not in the life Of a
civ and nothing will be found on
usich to base even the. widest hope
,hs, Forty-secopd street would in 1918
no the centre OF a financial community
holding very important place in the
business affairs of the city.
When President Mckinley answered
me wishes OF the people OF this country
and asked the Fifty-ffth Congress to de-
care war on Spain Forty-second street
,ssembled main street In a large up
STATE town. The Grand Central ter
mnal was a big, gloomy, barnlike build
irg and running off from 1t to the west
along both sides OF Forty-second street
were rows OF three and four story build
ings which even then were not modern.
On the street level were stores whose
business was supplying things over
looked in the downtown shopping tours
Of folks who lived in Westchester and
Connecticut. As might be expected the
stores had none of the air of the big
business such as permeates every estab-
lshment on Forty second street to-day.
The Columbia Bank and the Lincoln
70 10
ual Terminal and maybe ore or two
others were the only banks in the Forty
second street district when the country
was last filed with war spiri.. There
was no need for more because the few
there were ample for the local needs. To
the north and the south OF Forty-aecond
street and on Madison avenue and Fifth
avenue was dwelling after dwelling.
Trade had not yet secured much OF a
icothold In Fifth avenue. so that the on
tire character of the section of Forty
second street was residential Forty
Fcond street was a development due
entirely to the location of the terminal
Of the New York Central and the New
York, New Haven and Hartford Rail-
road
In the twenty years which have
elapsed since 1898, when the country
was talking about the capture of San
Juan Hill and the destruction of the
Spanish fleet of Santiago. great changes
have come over this section. Dwellings
have almost entirely disappeared and
In their places have been built tall sky
scraping commercial buildings which are
eassed among the finest in the country.
Crowded into them are hundreds and
hundreds Of concerns universally known
as leaders in their respective lines. Now
there are to be found fifteen banks and
trust companies. some of which are
among the great financial institutions
Of the country. Men prominent in the
Affairs Of the downtown Wall Street
have Offices in the uptown Wall Street.
They have located there because they
have interests in the uptown financial
district or in having quarters there are
able 10 keep close to the affairs In the
Street" without being actually there.
Much financial history has been made
IN these uptown quarters Of the giants
o. lower Wall Street. If stories heard
t-e true many Of the great financial