Book of the Royal Blue, Monthly, Volume 8
INTERSECTION OF BROADWAY, FIFTH AVENUE AND TWENTY-THIRD STREET.
The "Flat-Iron" Building, Hoffman House, Fifth Avenue Hotel.
NEW YORK CITY AND ITS INTERESTING FEATURES.
O obtain an intelligent idea of Greater New
York it is necessary to see it; an adequate description can hardly be given. While in point of population it is second in size, it is practically the metropolis of the world; its only rivals are the ancient cities of London and Paris. It is a city of the present age, while the latter are mainly interesting from their historic past. Its enterprises, wealth, energy, magnitude, beauty, progressiveness and influence in the commercial world all tend to individualize New York and place it in the lead of the cities of the world. Architecturally it is a labyrinth of tall and massive buildings of noble style and construction. The pulse of Wall Street indicates the financial health of nations. The rush and turmoil in the busy streets down town gives one the impression that each day was the last day, so apparently anxious are the people to get their business
finished. All nationalities are represented, and there is a separate quarter" for each. It
" has been stated one hundred thousand strangers come to New York each day, a greater number of which are merely sight-seers on pleasure bent.
Every modern facility for rapid transit "on the island" has been provided; the latest and most wonderful is the "Subway," with its express trains running at the rate of forty miles an hour. Although the trains of the Subway are crowded at all hours, there seems to be no diminution of traffic on the elevated or surface electric lines. These modern methods of transportation are in strange contrast to the old and dilapidated horse cars which are still in use on some of the cross-town lines. On Fifth Avenue the old and popular "stage" competes with the commodious twelve-seated automobile.
'Seeing New York" is a popular amusement and there are many ways to do it; you simply "pay your money and take your choice."
Entering the city by ferry, at the lower end, the great "Statue of Liberty" stands imposingly on Liberty Island to the south. To the right of it on Ellis Island is the Immigration Depot. East, across the channel, lies Governors' Island, with its fort, Castle Williams. The beautiful bay is enlivened with the most diversified marine craft, from the saucy tug boat to the stately European liner.
The sky line of the lower city is an object of special interest, having no parallel in the cities of the world. Standing monarch of all the high buildings is the towering Park Row Building, which is 390 feet high from sidewalk to top of towers and 447 feet to top of flagstaff, with thirty-one stories. It is the highest office building in the world, but will be superseded by a new building which it is reported will be 565 feet high, exceeding in height all structures made with human hands.
The Manhattan Life Insurance Building on Broadway, near Exchange Place, was the first to adopt the caisson for high building foundation work. It has eighteen stories and is 350 feet high. The American Surety Building at Broadway and Pine Street has twen -one stories and is 308 feet high. There are many notable buildings in the skyscraper class, among which are the Broad Exchange, Empire, St. Paul, Bowling Green, Washington Life, Commercial Cable, Standard Oil, New York Life, American Tract, World Building, Gillender, Bank of Commerce and Postal Telegraph. Some of these buildings are remarkable for their magnificence. Many others of lesser height are said to equal or probably excel in superb architecture.
New York's squares are historical and beyond ordinary interest. Madison, Washington and Union squares were once burial grounds or potter's fields, and as population increased they were transformed into public parks. Union Square at Broadway and Fourth Avenue, between Fourteenth and Seventeenth streets, has numerous statues and fountains. The plaza north of the park is a favorite place for outdoor political gatherings and mass meetings.
Madison Square is practically the heart of New York. It is bounded on the south by Twenty-third Street, which is the principal cross-town thoroughfare and the main entrance to the city by the big trunk lines
various equipages. The Art Museum and the Obelisk are the special features.
Riverside Drive, along the Hudson, affords the most beautiful view of the river.
Fifth Avenue is the great thoroughfare which represents more money than any single street in the world. It is the street of fashion of the new world. Here are the costly mansions, hotels, clubs, churches, libraries—the grand promenade for six miles. A stranger should never come to New York without riding the street from end to end with a competent guide to point out each place of interest; then when he goes home he feels he can understand his newspapers better when they chronicle the daily doings of American financiers and fashion leaders in leaded type and columns of space.
There is only one Broadway, and the
from the west and south. Broadway and Fifth Avenue lie along the western side of the park, with Madison Avenue on the east and Twenty-sixth Street on the north. In its immediate vicinity are the Hoffman House, Fifth Avenue, Albemarle and Bartholdi hotels, Madison Square Garden, Delmonico's, and a number of prominent clubs. Many beautiful bronze statues perpetuate the memory of Farragut, Arthur, Conklin, Seward and Worth.
Washington Square, once the center of fashion, marks the southern end of Fifth Avenue, and, it might be said, the northern end of the tenderloin.
Central Park is the great play ground where fashionable children get their airing and fashionable grown people display their
THE OBELISK-CENTRAL PARK.