Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-04-30


India, the general post office, the war
office and other administrative depart
mentS.
Passing under the triumphal arch,
one Immediately finds himself in one
Of the cleanest and most interesting
cities in Latin Europe. 1t is clean in
more respects than the mere absence
Of rubbish in the streets. To be sure
the streets are clean, for Lisbon has
one Of the best sewerage systems of
any European city; 1t also has won
derful water-supply system, thanks to
Pombal. The buildings are clean, the
shops are clean; so are the shopkeep-
ers and their stocks. The street ur-
chins are clean; yes, and so are the
ragged beggars.
But, what counts most, Lisbon, as
Latin or southern European cities go,
is morally clean. 1t is not Immaculate
or sinless, but no large city abroad
has fewer homicides, less thieving, or
is troubled with social problems of
such insigniflcance in comparison
Lisbon is interesting as a study in
municipal planning. It is an index
Of the versatile mind of it's builder,
Pombal, who was in mental combina-
ton an engineer, an architect, a finan-
cier, an administrator and man of
vision His civic schemes were q CEN
fury, and in some details two CEN
turtles, in advance of contemporary
h.11d To To- 60
construction of buildings to forestall
damage by earthquake tremors and
shocks are still enforced, and they
have saved the city several times since
his day
Cidade 5aixa and AIcantara.
From the Triumphal Arch of the
Praca to the Rocio, or Praca de Dom
Pedro Quarto, one traverses that part
Of the new city, the Cidade Baixa,
planned to be the location for genteel
shops and high-grade mercantile
houses. Eight parallel streets running
north and south, crossed by eight 9TH
ers running east and west, make a
checkerboard district accessible from
all sides, and in the mind Of Pombal,
who gave the streets names sugges-
| tive of the trades and industries to be
housed thereon, this would be the
shopping section de luxe of Lisbon.
Until about 1890 PombaIs plan was
adhered to, but since that date the
adoption and extension Of electric car
/ lines has made other parts of the
growing city regional trading centers,
| and fine shops are scattered here and
there along the avenues and in less
congested sections.
How to gain the heights on either
side of the Cidade is matter of some
| concern to strangers. One may, of
course, walk, but to the casual visitor
this is back-breaking method. Other
schemes include more intriguing meth
DDS. Cogwheel electric cars ply up
and down the inclined portions Of the
hillsides, but where the banks are
sheer and perpendicular huge eleva-
tors (ascensores) have been installed.
| To go from the shopping district Of
| the Cidade direct to the upper eleva-
tons of the Alcantara district to the
west, one need only board the ascen-
sore in she Rua de Santa Justa and
take hop up to the iron bridge lead
ing to the Largo do Carmo.
Lisbon's most beautiful street is the
Avenida da Liberdade. In its broad
expanse are alleys of trees, myriads of
Towering shrubs, subtropical plants,
palms. kiosks, bandstands, flower
beds, fountains, rockeries, statuary,
promenades, grottoes, and every ap-
pealing construction and growth to at
tract, not only human beings, but all
manner of birds and insects. The
Avenida shrills with the songs of birds
and huns with the drone Of bees; but
terfiies fit among its vivid blooms and
colored fish sport in It's pools and
fountains.
Bordering the Avenlda are hotels,
theaters, cafes, shops, and, as one
leaves the vicinity Of the Obellsk, resi-
dences and clubs.