The sun., 1919-09-28

ths latter years Of his life of old local.
ties antique buildings and corners in
forgotten or built over parks. These
were most gracefully shown by a
we'll known art house Immediately
after his death, and they attracted
more by their handling, it must be
confessed, than by a general interest in
the subjects. And yet to the seeker
after the picturesque who has been in
the habit Of going far afield for 1t
these etchings demonstrated how close
at hand 1t was. Except that Charles
Meilatz began to paint old New York
too late-after. that is. many OF its
monuments lad been swept away Nv
what is called progress. his work re-
vealed that the city held within its an
ctent borders as much charm OF an
uquity as London itself.
His exhibition and the recent one
OF old prints shown by the Grolier
Club and the Society of Iconophiles
have been seen by scores of admirers
and taste for these old views is surely
becoming wider spread. In spite of all
powerful progress there still remain
antique evidences to call up an impress
sion Of what the city looked like In the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
One picture OF the City Hall and
park in 1881 is particularly interesting
al the moment, when the project of
removing the Post Office and restoring
10 the park its former demesne is Being
discussed. The City Hall is easily
recognizable because it has withstood
any attempt to Improve" it out of
likeness to its beautiful self. Park
Row Is another story. The buildings
that fronted on the park at the date
OF the picture, including the Park The
stre, have all gone. and the life that
now flows in the vicinity has no like
ness to what once flowed and ebbed
there. The antique fence with it's
huge brick pillars can find no existing
counterpart any more than the little
volunteer fire engine or the watering
cart, advertising and supplying spring
water before the days of the Croton
Aqueduct.
The Old Tontine CoHee House.
The Tontine Coffee House, which
stood at the corner of Wall and Water
streets, Is shown as 1t appeared about
1897, the busy centre OF traffic COM
mon to seaports. Barrels and bales
Indicative OF the rich life OF the me-
tropolls as It was even then occupy
the foreground, while on the balconies
OF the hosiery are seen in their pic
turesque garb the citizens to whose
leisure these importations contributed
A sketch OF Wall street in 1888 shows
the progress made In the way Of mas
eVe building. Between these two pic
lures more than a century OF the
eity's life has been traversed. A later
picture, one Of the same localities at
the present day, would exhibit even
greater strides across history.
Like poets vision the Academy of
Design building that stood as a speci-
men of Venetian architecture at the
corner OF Twenty.th third street and
Fourth avenue has vanished, leaving
not wrack behind" save In the
memories Of many still living. The
SITE Is now occupied by the gigantic
structure OF the Metropolitan Life In
surance building. The institution
which this destroyed monument once
housed has gone like so many other
Things. persons and institutions
FARTHER up town" The National
academy was beautiful building and
oHered attractive setting for its MEM
oers' canvases. but long before II was
razed the complaint was heard that
was not commodious enough for its
needs. Incidental 10 its removal many
smaller buildings IN the vicinity which