Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-28

City OF washington down 10 July IL,
1852, when the first cars were operated over
the avenue line of the Washington and George
town Railway Co., and prior to the date men,
toned all public vehicular conveyancing was
done with stages, omnibuses, or hacks.
The first intercity passenger service for the
City of Georgetown and the infant Capital
had its beginning in May, 1900, when two
horse stage covered the route from M street
near Wisconsin avenue to Tunnecliff's Tavern,
which then stood on street northeast, on
the site to the rear of the Old Brick Capitol,
just removed
street improvements in Washington, and what
is now our beautiful Pennsylvania avenue was
then "a deep morasS covered with elder bushes
which were cut through the width of the
intended avenue during the then ensuing
Winter"
No wonder, then, Tom Moore spoke derisively
Of the city in his oft-quoted poem:
"while yet upon Columbias rising brow
The SNOWY smile of young presumption plays,
lis heartleSS speculative i'll,
AL youths transgressions with all ages chill"
even here already patriots learn to steal
Their private perquisites from public veal
And guardians of the country's sacred fire,
Like Afric's priests, let out the flame for hire"
SIN fancy, now beneath the twilight gloom,
Come, let me lead thee DER the second Rome
Where tribunes rule, where dusky Davi bow,
And what was Goose creek once is Tiber now;
This embryo Capital where fancy sees
Squares in morasses obelisks in trees
Which second-sighted seers, even now adorn
With shrines unbuilt and heroes yet unborn"
INDEED. Christian Hines fully bears out the
poet in his description of the Avenue at
this time. saying:
THE commons, where now the Avenue is
from the foot of Capitol Hill westward was
almost impossible for vehicles of any kind; in
deed, it was difficult for a person to walk, in
some places, on account of the mud bushes,
Ghorns, briers, etc, and more particularly on
the south side, where the clumps Of thorn
bushes in some places were so thick that,
believe, they were cut down with scythes so as
20 enable the workmen to make footMay to
Fifteenth street. This they did by carting
earth, gravel, chips of freestone etc, on both
bides of the Avenue, to the full extent, until
tolerably good footway was made all the way
along. On the north side of the street it was
not quite so bad, because the road from
Georgetown to the Capitol ran pretty much on
high ground from about Ninth street. in a
boutheasterly direction, passing along the foot
Of the hill below Blodgetts Hotel (where the
Post Office now stands thence by McGirks
little jail, and on past the rear of Jackson Hall
TO Tiber Creek and thence to the foot of Capt.
tol HILL where 1t turned southwark and passed
along where Breckinridge's church was after
wards erected"
Obviously then, the stages referred to could
not have used Pennsylvania avenue for their
trips. but rather went by way of the street
ridge which was on high ground though even
this route must have been unenjoyable for the
passengers who were usually conveyed in a
sea of mud during the rainy season and in a
cloud of dust during the warm Summer months.
However, this marks the earliest of our street
transportation systems, the use of which, even
ut that. must have been much better than
walking, though If time only were to be CON-
sidered, one surely could have reached his des-
tination quicker by the Use Of "shank's mare
than ne could have by the stage. For
told that it left Georgetown at $50 a.m and
returned to its starting point by 11-just two
Id q "a nH an fnlIr and nNn rAEs