The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1921-11-02

He paid the increase, and the follow
ing year his landlord attempted to
collect $4,000 for the place
Now that the influx Of business
people from uptown shows signs of
being permanent, however, the land
lords have ceased bothering about re-
pairs. Instead, they actually call at
tention to dinginess as a mark of
atmosphere. ''Yes. it is trifle dark,
a real estate agent will say 70 a Broad
Street broker, who is looking at an
apartment, ''but very quaint don't you
| think? No hideous electric bulbs or
steam diators or other modern afro
cities. You will find a gas heater quite |
warm, and it throws such delightful
shadows on the wall. The woodwork |
painted? Well, you could have it done |
if you like, but this mellow shade of
white is admired down here Perhaps
You also dislike the wallpaper; some
people Of course, do not care for such
an intricate design,
"On the contrary, it was the wall
| paper that attracted me-" says the
broker, anxious to show that he knows
something about art. THAT, and the
fireplace. | grew quite accustomed to
! fireplaces in England How much is
the rent-$150? Well, wrap it up and
! III take it along
Some of the real estate agents, being
art students on the side, are expert
creators of atmosphere. They find
artistic merits in every gIaring defect
and so dazzle the prospective tenant by
descriptions of Bohemian life in the
village that he is willing to sacrifice
all comfort in order to live within the
/ charmed circle. No, this room does
not get the sum-" the agent will explain
with patient patronage, "but the mar
] velous reflection of the sun so neces-
sary to artists" (He looks around
hurriedly searching for some good
! points to play up, but sees moth ng but
rusty fixtures, cobwebs and dirt Never
theless, his kind patronizing manner
does not desert him). "The charm OF
this particular house" he continues,
is its privacy and freedom There is
only one apartment to a floor. so that
one is never disturbed by the prox-
unity of neighbors. My friend, So
, and-so (you may have heard of him In
the Village) particularly admires the
Gothic appearance of this building"
| - TTOHldUIc WTeCH.
, This f5ll small-town woman who
had loog revered the name Of Green
wick Village, decided to buy a house
there. Her idea, like that of the first
! art colonists years ago, was to secure
dilapidated place for small amount
OF money and remodel it to suit her
self. After searching throughout the |
district, she came upon precisely the !
| kind OF house she was looking for in |
| Washington Square South To her
practical, Western eye.. the !
! place seemed to be rapidly falling to !
pieces. 1t sagged Imply toward the |
east, and its front steps looked as if F:
they had been used for artillery pract- !
Ice. No one has lived here for years
she thought and hurried to the nearest
real estate office.
That house is not for sale" the real
estate clerk told her, "but if it were /
it would cost you s50,0OO."
Vou cannot know the one ! mean"
persisted the woman. 81 am referring
TO. which would have to be ex-
| tensively repaired before anyone could
live in it. Surely, it can't be worth /
even half Of s50,O0O."
But it Is" said the clerk, laughing. /
And the only reason 1t is not for sale /
is IndI the landlord can make more !
money out of it renting it out in apart /
ments. If you will go back and examine /
the place closely, Madam, you will see
that there are tenants living on every
floor"
With the village growing less artistic
and more expensive every day, the art I
lists are scattering in all directions i
small colony settled in the Old Chel- /
sea section, but it now being ousted by
the same clever real estate tactics /
Others have fled the city altogether
and have taken refuge in Brooklyn
and in outlying suburbs. large I
group has taken up its aooce IN the !
former aristocratic Brooklyn Heights, t
but with no faith in the permanency
or their security. The Heights so /
closely resemble Greenwich Village in |
every way that it is unreasonable to |
suppose Latin Quarter established |
on their old-fashioned soil would long
escape the attention of commercial in
terests. The same is probably true of
the art colony near Spuyten Duyvil
Bronxville and New Rochelle shelter
may distinguished artists, but there