The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-07

| .eavlng Greenwich village IN sad
haste this year. Studios, with huge
north windows and facades
(, trimmed with old ross and pea
| green Ea,nt, are more numerous
than ever. but the artists are 1e-
parting. Lot because they love the
village less, but becA Sc they can
nG longer afford it. Before the in
va>i"u pf the ret 'rrng wealthy
| bourgccisie, who once more choose
to reside in the vicinity of Washing
=, ton Square. the artist must retire at
| but where?
| This is what they themselves ask
you, with a rather desperate air.
Where, indeed, can they find an in
expensive, down-at-the-heels neigh
borhood into which they can infuse
| their own careless and artistic at
mosphere without attracting a pur-
suing mob of rich, would-be Bohem-
| ians? For. like Mrs. Vanderbilt, the
| artists of Manhattan suffer from too
great popularity. AS soon as they
move into locality, get their easels
and smocks unpacked, let their
boards grow, put antique brass
| knockers on their front doors and
pink borders around their windows,
Wall street brokers follow suit, and
rents raise
| The rich grew weary and desert
| ed Greenwich Village more than
half a century ago. Their great
estate gave place to rows of mid
Victorian dwellings, owned and Oc-
eupied by respectable merchant
families. When the elevated trains
started coming down Sixth avenue
as far as Blocker street, with bust
ness in their wake, the merchant
families moved on. Clerks and
small retailers took over their
houses until in time the immigrants
came and crowded them out. The
neighborhOod had set in for a period
of rapid decay, such as that which
destroyed the once lovely Third
avenue, and property owners of
the district had resigned themselves
to great pecuniary loss, when sud
denly New York artists discovered
the possibilities of Washington
Square.
They entered and took possession
of the district. ousting the immi-
grants, remodeling the old-fashion-
ed houses and stables, lending a pic
turesque enchantment to dingy gar
rets and Easements, and encourag-
ing the establishment of cafes and
boarding houses catering to artist
ic taste. For several years Green
witch Village really contained an
art colony of genuine distinction.
Then il became famous. People
spoke of it as the Latin Quarter of
America, and as such it began to
hold enormous attraction for the
curious.
Many astute persons who had set
tied in the neighborhood to study
art now decided that it would be
much more profitable to open res
taurantS and so-calIed art shops.
Others went quietly about buying !
leases. Some of these were uptown
real estate brokers, who laid their
plans with deep sagacity. They /!
kept rents very low to attract the !
artists. who unexpectedly set to /
work remodeling and decorating
the dilapidated homes they had !
leased. Then, at the end of a year, !
the landlord rented the premises at
greatly increased prices to uptown !
business men.
Atmosphere Expensive.
Under this system, which has |
enriched SO many landlords during
the past five years. true art could /
not survive. Only rich and sue
cessful artists can now afford to |
live in the Village, which has be- |
come one of the highest priced sec
tons of the city. Try hunting an |
apartment there and you will soon |
find out for yourself. Not a single |
basement or garnet, however mean |
and lnartlstic, is to be had for less |
than SIS a month. Ten years ago, |
when the village was at the height /
of its artistic glory, the best floor |
in Washington Square South could |
be rented for $40 a month. while a |
room overlooking the park cost SIS. |
Today, a room without a private !
steam heat or electricity rents for |
$40 a month, and whole floor 1.-TWO
rooms) will cost you $3.50.
The picturesque little stables in !
News, which once rent
ed for $50 and $40 a month. now |
bring $4,000 year. in addition to !
the cost or necessary repairs, which !
must be made by the tenant. Al
well known painter rented one Off
these places for $4,000 four years
ago. He succeed it, installed new |
built a new fireplace and |!
made other costly repairs, with the !
result that the following year his
rent was raised to $4,000. He paid !
the increase, and the following year
his landlord attempted to collect
Sc, 900 for the place
Now that the influx of business
people from uptown shows signs
Of being permanent, however, the
landlords have ceased botheriug
about repairs. Instead, they actu-
ally cali attention to dinginess as