The New York herald., 1922-07-22
Gray New York.
Progress Of New City Buildings
Toward Brightness and Light.

Toward Brightness and Light.
To THE NEW YORK HERALD: New
York has begun to be a light gray city
as to her more pleasing architectural
creations. The substantially and good
taste evidenced in her newer buildings
that are faced with soft gray sandstone
seem to promise a continuing steady
progress toward an ultimately predom-
mating grayness that may be attained
within the next quarter Of century
The older New York buildings. of the
civil war and even OF an earlier period.
show a preference for a rather ugly
shade Of red brick. The red brick stage
seems to have been followed, beginning
about fifty years ago. by the era when
brownstone fronts were the fashion.
They were even more darkening In their
effects upon built up streets than the
red brick.
And now are coming more brighten
ingly upon the scene clean looking light
gray buildings OF a stone that resem-
bles both the Michigan and the Oregon
sandstone and takes a reasonably
smooth and not easily marred finish AID
that easily can be sandblasted to orig
inal cleanness or chemically treated for
like result In removing the darkenins
root and the smudging dust and the dis
colorins streaks of storm waters.
From Fifth avenue bus top the other
day I noted new gray stone buildings
on the east side Of Central Park alone
Along there in stretch OF about 10000
feet. with about 10000 feet Of It build
ing frontage, checked off $500 feet
Of light gray stone buildings That
means 80 per cent. of the actual build
ing space fronting the east side Of the
park already is turned gray, and It Is
all in higher class dwellings or apart.
ments or buildings of quasi-public
character, and ranging from five to more
than ten stories In height.
1t seemed on casual observation that
a similar or even a larger percentage
of light gray sandstone frontage nov
characterizes the buildings Ranking both
sides OF Fifth avenue for distance oi
more than two miles southward from
the park and all obviously Of the more
recent construction period.
When New York becomes a gray city
when perhaps electric energy Will b
transported from generating plants ir
the coal fields 200 miles to the west.
ward, as 1t Ia transported from hydro
electric plants In the mountains of the
Far West to the cities Of the Pacific
coast. what beautifully clean. light
fascinating general effect New York viii
present with no more SCOT. no moro dust
no more smoke. no more ashes. and
every street made lighter and more
easily kept looking sol
Washington steadily Is trcndIng to.
ward becoming a white city, followine
the Lead of the huge Government build.
ings. and all its newer and finer struc.
lures are conforming to that evident
suggestion. And Washington. with he,
2e0 miles of the widest streets OF any
city in the world. streets double o,
quadruple rowed with shade trees
fianked by lawns in private gardens
and dotted with hundreds of acres ol
lawn carpeted parks. can be pure white
because essentially Washington is q
residential city. approximately without
factory or commercial smoke and In.
dustrial noises. eliminating crowding ol
dwellings. ARCHIE RICE.
NEW YORK, July 81