Year: 1879

80.
due to the fact that from the east side of the
city, account of the prevailing Winds sailing
the west side where it is often impossible for


vessel to leave her berth without the aid Of tug.
When the English occupation took place the Dutch
had already mOnopoliZed the east side or the city
far up the 'Bouwerie Bowery including
the Stuyyesant meadows-Peter Stuyvesant himself
owning large tract where the Stuyvesant
Park. The natural social and business antagonism
between the Dutch and English necessitated the
Broadway became the choice. where were erected the
English churches-Trinity and st. Paul-and here
the English merchants built their residences and
their stores. The Dutch churches were in Fulton
and Nassau streets, and as the religious
element. especially in small communities is always
important factor in social life find two distinct
centres OF civic progress developing themselves and
maintained with great energy and determination for
many years. The Typographical advantages were
however. in favor of the English. and the building
up of New York, along the line of Broadway. the
backbone" of the island was the result. But time
and prosperity causing q rapid increase of popula-
ton the city assumed cosmopolitan character local
religious social influences ceased to have the
determine the direction and character OF the
citys growth. Yet no one anticipated then or for
years afterward what the city might become. There
are many persons still living who can remember
Canal street out Of town. where they
went for days shooting in its swampy sur
roundings or to fish from the bridge that spanned
the sluggish stream Broadway. and there are ut
present residents Of Fourteenth street who
regarded with amazement by their friends for estab
fishing their homes in such q remote locality. Yet
the city has continued to grow the centre of active
trade shifting from place to place as the city
tended itself This has been especially the case with
the dry goods trade, which at time centred it.
self in Pearl street. in the old homes of the Dutch,
shifting thence to lower Broadway. afterward oc-
cupylng tho streets running from that thorough
fare ON the west side most Of which widened
from forty to sixty feet to make accommodations for
this rapidly increasing trade and were lined with
fine marble buildings, soon, however to be aban-
doned for Church street, middle Broadway and the
streets eonnoeng tSs them where now now rests
apparently followed in the wake, and occu-
pied the localities deserted by the 1obbng trade
leaving vacancies but filling up, II were, the
interstces fast as they were made. but from the
very force Of numbers and the great bulk OF this
business the dry goods traders have always led the
way. On the other hand. in the development of the
appropriated for tho purposes of residences the
governing elements have been of entirely different
character. Any one who will take the pains to
anime from one decade to another the progressive
northward extension of the building limits
will observe remarkable huctuation similar to the
irregular and spasmodc lines that indicate on dia-
gram the rise and fall of gold during the imitation
period. At time this line forward along the
course OF Second avenue, leaving all others behind
Again. the extension is transferred to Seventh avenue
which 1s44 far ahead of all Others At another
Third avenue which has distanced all compct-
tors and prolonged itself to Harlem. With the
better class OF residences Fifth avenue rushed
onward leaving Madison avenue behind in quite
insignificant position; but again Madison
takes up the race and has now outstripped Fifth
avenue


FASHION SEEKING A RESTING pIAcR


These apparently capricious fluctuations due to
such obvious causes that instead of being singular
they directly the reverse, since with the
stances that brought about these results IL would
have been remarkable had they been otherwise.
tract in this locality belonged to the heirs of the
Stuyvesant estate. many of whom had sufficient
means to erect expensive structures for
their residences and encouraged others
to do the same in their vicinity. The
sequence that for time many first class
Improvements were made in the neighborhood
of Stuyvesant square and along that region of the
alluded to. But the disposition to erect fine
buildings in that section soon passed away and IL
has never gone beyond oasis of responsibility in
desert OF mediocrity. Again. st. Marks place
selected by an enterprsing citizen as an exclusive
faubourg. but IL proved mere halting place OF
fashion. Bond street another effort, where
enough gentlemen taste and means established
precinct for decade or more but its glory has long
since faded.


Some thirty years ago the movement III Fifth avenue
initiated. and it has held its own with growth
above and decay below from that time to the present
day. This fno avenue has become thoroughly
invaded from Washington square almost to the Gem
trail Park with fancy shops. jewellers hotels and
boarding houses and its exclusiveness has vanished
forever Murray HILL. the line of which it Crosses
was for o considerable time regarded the syn
onyme of fashion. but in time IL will be more
strictly synonymous with shabby gentiity. Fifth
avenue northward Is limited to the east side of
the Park and has a jumping or place ut iO2d
street. tho Harlem fats which checks its career
OF availability. Madison avenue has to some extent
usurped tho place OF Fifth avenue due in large
measure to the convenience afforded originally by
the extension Of the Fourth surface road
that avenue The Third avenue road. which
in its ncipient stages had been o losing con-
cern (the stock of which ut time sold
for three cents on the dollar. began ut last.
through the mere element of convenience. to cause
the building up of the desert OF vacant lots through
which it originally projected. and at the time
the construction of the elevated line along it's route
was paying it's stockholders every year hundred
cents the dollar OF its original cost. and twenty
cents per annum its enormously watercd capital.
OF course this involved tho transportation OF very
great masses OF people. amounting to many millions
accompanied by much crowdng and dis
comfort This immense volume OF travel is now
being absorbed by the East Side Elevated Railroad


cRNTRE


Lcnox Hill. ON the line OF Fifth and Madison ave-
nuee from the very nature of its elevated position
affords very attractive building SITES which the largo
and opulent class of our Hebrew fellow citizens have
not been slow to appreciate In this vicinity they
have with generous and noble hberality, erected
tho superb Mount Sinai Hospital for the and
comfort OF the sick of their people. and many
OF the handsomest private residences in this hne
locality have been erected by them.


In fact this favored territory is really limited
by the sudden descent into Harlem Flats at Tooth
street, In very doubtful whether IL will be sufficient
even to accommodate all OF that faith who are likely
to erect here their ''lares and pcnates The inquiry
growth OF the city thus limited and circunscrbed in
the channels 1t has pursued for three decades be



The answer to this question is TO DO found in the
logic of facts that propose to pre-
sent. In the glance have taken at the great CAPT
tails of Europe. over some OF which not only cenu-
rcs but tens OF centuries have rolled since their
foundation. and on which successive monarchs have
sought. i'm lavish expenditure. to stamp tho glory
by parks aud promcnados, avenues
and squares, by grand monuments of brass aud
marble. triumphal arches and gorgeous palaces-un-
like what the New world has yet dreamed OF and
may never posscss--in this glance what
important element the broad shaded and fine
parks have been In their development We have
recognized that regardless of all other considcra
tions these avenues and drives have been the fixed
centres OF attraction. the hnal resting place OF