New-York tribune., 1922-05-21

sres' .ara street has come to be re-
fsF!.s. ans Of the great thorough
} r'aso Tho city, and is instantly as
a'es =, m;.h this town OF hustle and
fss'ea ..vs,y and sobriety and wealth
:asus. s.sns,c;,l supremacy, no matter
J. ..,sst is mentioned
IL m': men with gigantic plan in
s;rJ rJ lifted the street out of the ordi-
s.rr err. and placed it on the road to in
..r.,,ionai fame, The great push
sr,o i; By these dreamcrs of practica
s;s.r carried it along until the success
-. A. the first group placed the street !
s;sll greater level. Dreams, prac-
p dresnl.. again attracted attention
!. ri, street because the dreams of
s..e men called for vast outlay of |
.o;t.l and the construction of build
:. Of proportion and beauty such as
ii never been attempted anywhere in !
q, world. Until then the street Just |
sv,oped, but now its progress is
nded by men OF great mental latitude, !
,.a who figure prominently in every |
s,tvre Of business life and have set !
i'm hearts on the attainment of GER
1u Improvements.
Pasture Sixty Years Ago
Locking at Forty-second Street to-
av with its tall and massive struc-
svs and crowded sidewalks, it is
jasdly belevahle that sixty years ago
)Iss tkoroughfare Of teeming life and
asnsss activity was nothing more
an country lane, lifting and fall
" ever an undulating contoured city.
H. very idea OF this street, famous in
sy fancy and trade, ever being any
ks Important than it is to-day stiles
ssaption-one cannot see mentally
sry.econd Street in any other guise
ss = ccngested and great trading
s.er.
Tie rapld advancement of this cross
eE highway is one of the remarkable
aIes of the development of New
Tx and synonymous of the boom
Hr like growth which has character
I'd the deve elopment OF the entire city.
PHYSICAL Forty ysecond Street. from
h'd Avenue over to Broadway. rep
serts centuries of building as meas
EM By standards of progress char
a.,stic Of cities on the other side
tie Atlantic Ocean
Uptown Wall Street" has come for
rm faster in the last ten years than
asrae any similar period in the his
kr rst this street. All the tall and i'm
ssMve structures there are the handi-
ssit oi modern times and for that
s,isf the present generation In
Fnsurs the progress of Forty-second
Street is without doubt one of the
most interesting. If not sensational of
/ say N.s York City street Fifth Ave
1ls and Broa dway. in whose class
fMsy.sseond Street is. have been under
development. for many years.
Bfosdriy Dates From Colonial Days
Broadway is street of Colonial
tinsi II was the main highway from
New York to Albany when New York
vas a bit Of a town nesting close
y the fortifeat,ons at the lower end
Of Manhattan. Broadway was the ave
nae along which the city grew north
r.,d
n ruth Avenue has not been a high
ssy 50 long as Broadway. 1t was early
te'llned to be a street of consequence.
sowever, because the commission which
iaa to 90 with devising a street sys-
sm for the annexed area. which was
1afth Of say Canal Street. appreciat-
As the geographical lay of the little
'oadwsy, decided TO make it a wide
sfee', since it ran through the center
'he city This preference was fol-
msed by making Fifth Avenue lots
J . feet wide, the widest in the city,
U aoditional inducement for folks of
sealtn and prominence to build fine
ZONES along this wide street.
EoFty-second Street was not physi-
eaiiy there when these preferences were
eelns s1owered on Fifth Avenue. From
.Nehty to forty feet of earth and rock
wppeo what is now the grade OF this
..eet. 1t was the highlands Of the
.W. GENERA. Washington is said to
~ ave watched the rout of his troops by
as nli.lsn IN the Kip's Bay section
Mom mn which covered the site.of
n, n. ruo,lc Library and Bryant Park.
~. lae outbreak of civil strife between
s Nosth and the South halted the
~ u isying out Forty Street.
t,Il, re making OF the street was practi-
, . postwar undertaking. 1t was
seonstruetion operation. Pictures
SS,. we street in 1861 cut through
,,a .s' WIN high Aanking clay banks
~, iu ,Vve!nanglng houses, shanties and
eun' sard fences. Where stands the
,sa,a; .a central Terminal and the sur
~,, ~'s hne hotels and clubhouses
~, ,sisht to behold in those early
s a.,,;.Ias II was known as "Shanty Town"
ipraole H., s, houses. the homes of squat
s.,s.. clustered the hills and rocks. The
rolled away east and west.
.hg Of clay.
"a'iroad Starts Improvement
s., as : decision of the New York Cen
s.., ,Haiiroad Company to build ter
=. saa on Forty-second Street was the
.o'Ward shove given the street.
coming of the railroad was bitterly
Ssso by "shantytown" folks and
NJ. .ao mo physical battles were aplenty
s.,;., is 'ne company finally secured pos
ssss..oi sa oi the site. The terminal was
hisssea In 1871. 1t was a great
Eas In naked country.
u, sms OF the section shortly after
n,,s .mpietion of the terminal of the
III uunk system show the adjoining
ho,oosslp opposite land on Forty-second un-
kn."s k.o' The locations Of the Hotel
ASss. the Lincoln Bank Building,
h 80 s.l motel and the Heckscher Build
kiss .e open country then and far
k...a ss.aoe, as the level of Forty
q. seet o.leet had to be lifted through
R,.s e1'on' The north side of the
Asn sest Of the station, was for the
B.. r.s =. .s.s awaiting buyers.
hll. ss 1s railroad was there and nat
hss,n,ner o.ner things had to come-trade,
,,s.shss, drug stores a16 the like,
hatrs,1 the needs of New York
ssssa sa traselers.
& ,s,~n an Incompatible allurement,
ps..n .na;.nstion - Of the greatest transit
ths ~ me world, brought prestige
isA y.,se s,sieet which meant trade and
vel eh.ss. haes. An economic factor Of