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July 24, 1909
RECORD AND GUIDE
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Dented TO [^LEs7AJi-BinLDiK(3Ap.c^nTe'iiJKE,HousErioii)p^3<i(^^
BusiWess Ali) Themes of GEIJ£R^L lifttn^si^
PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS
Communications should be addressed to
C- W. SWEET
Published EVery Saturday
By THE RECORD AND GUIDE CO.
President, CLINTON W. SWEET Treasurer, F. W. DODGE
Vlce-Pres. & Genl. Mgr., H. W. DESMOND Secretary, F. T. MILLER
Nos. 11 to IR East 34111 Street. New York City
(Telephone. Madison Square, 4430 to 4433.)
"Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., aa sccojid-class matter."
Copyrighted, 1009, by Tbe Record & Guide Co.
Vol. LXXXIV.
JULY 24, 1909.
No. 2158-
THE RECORD AND GUIDE has frequently pointed out
that in all probability improved means of communi¬
cation with Long Island and New -Jersey would tend to re¬
vive the importance of Greeley square and its neighbor¬
hood as a good location for theatres and lestanrants- Re¬
cently, of course, Long Acre square and its vicinity has
been getting all of this class of business; and it has looked
as if eventually a large fraction of it migiit move as far
north as Cohimbns Circle. But theatres and restaurants situ¬
ated near the circle or even near Long Acre square, will not
be very convenient for Long Island and New Jersey residents,
and this fact will tend to checit the hitherto prevailing ten¬
dency to a constant shifting farther north. Id confirmation
â– ol this prediction several theatres have recently been erected
just north of Thirty-fourth street, and now a prominent firm
of restaurant-keepers have leased a location on Thirty-fourth
street, just west of the square. "We understand, also, that
another large hotel will soon be built in this vicinity. In
view of this very obvious condilion, business men to whom a
location near the Pennsylvania terminal would be useful
should try to secure them before prices go any higher. There
can be no doubt that all the streets and avenues leading to¬
wards the terminal will become far more valuable for retail
trade than they have been hitherto. Riker Bros, showed
their appreciation of this fact by securing a location on Sev¬
enth avenue under a long lease; and this example will have
to be followed by other companies, such as the United Cigar
Stores, Huyler's and the like, which seek locations wherever
traffic is or promises to be peculiarly dense. During the com¬
ing real estate season a large amount of business of this kind
will be transacted, and brokers will do well to prepare for it,
and to persuade'their clients to secure locations before prices
become too high. The retailers who have made money on
Fifth avenue were those who leased or bought sites while
prices were still reasonable; and the same statement will
prove to he true of the Pennsylvania terminal district.
T T IS a fair inference from the course of events during the
^ past few years that the tendency even on the East Side
is setting away from private residences and towards a fur¬
ther increase in apartment houses. Up to 1906 the district
tc the east of the Central Park was the only part of Man¬
hattan in which the private residence still held its own. OE
course apartment houses were huilt in that section, particu¬
larly on Madison avenue; but the value of land had never¬
theless been increasing for some years, owing exclusively to
the demand for private residences,. Since 1906 the increase
has riot continued. Owners who have received exceptionally
high prices for their dwellings have been those whose lots
were needed for apartment houses. Cer Lain owners, who
were forced to sell their property, had to accept substantial
concessions from the figures formerly prevailing. To be
sure the process of replacing the old brownstone houses with
new American basement residences still continues; but'the
movement has lost its earlier impetus and volume. Many
families, who formerly would have bought dwellings, have
been content with proprietary apartments in one of the new
co-operative apartment houses, Olhers have preferred to
rent apartments at very high prices. Most of the new apart¬
ment houses recently erected on the East Side have been
leased quickly and at rentals very remunerative for their
owners. The consequence is that they are being erected in
large numbers and that they will continue to be-erected in
large numbers during the coming year. Unless some change
in condition takes place, it is improbable consequently that
much higher prices will be reached for residence property
east of,the Central Park. People will flnd apartments, even
if rented, less trouble and on the whole less costly. Even
Park avenue, which it was expected would become a Fifth
a\enue, will have on it comparatively few private dwellings
compared to the larger number of apartment houses. The
side streets cannot, of course, be improved with tall build¬
ings and so must remain the location of small dwellings; but
Ihe value of the lots will not go much higher. In the end,
ol course, some other location must be found for the homes
of Ihe wealthy, unless the wealthy should diminish in num¬
bers, but that end wili not come for another ten or fifteen
years.
lyjOW thai all the tunnels built by the Hudson & Man-
J-'' liattan Tunnel Company under the river are in use,
the next question iu reference to them of interest to the
Manhattan property owner concerns their possible future
extension. The McAdoo system is fairly complete at the
present time; but it "could unquestionably be made much
more complete. The management of that road under¬
stands clearly the desirability of collecting and distribut¬
ing its, traffic over the widest possible area; and it is this
understanding which has made it extend its northerly
route, first to Greeley square and then to the Grand Cen¬
tral station. No official announcement has been made that
further extensions are contemplated; but there can be
little doubt that as soon as the company is in receipt of
its full income under present conditions, further extensions
will be proposed. Its terminus at Greenwich and Cort¬
landt streets is as well situated as possible for the finan¬
cial district that will supply the bulk of its traffic; but
as yet no sufficient provision has been made for the col¬
lection and distribution of passengers throughout the old
mercantile district. There is every probability conse¬
quently that eventually seme plan will be submitted to
connect the Sixth avenue line with the Cortlandt street
terminal by means of a lower West Side route running as
near as is practicable to Broadway. An extension of this
kind would enable the business population of the older
mercantile district to take the north or south tunnels as
suited their convenience, and it would give improved
means of communication lo a part of Manhattan which
has hitherto been neglected in all the accepted plans for
rapid transit development. Another extension which has
been suggested is that of an East Side subway connecting
the Cortlandt street terminal with the present northerly
terminus of tbe system at Forty-first street and Park ave¬
nue. This line also would he very valuable to the New
York & New Jersey Tunnel Company, because it would
enable it to collect and distribute traffic throughout the
M-hole city and the East Side, between City Hall and the
Grand Central station. In case both were constructed the
tunnel company would have a belt line around the lower
part of Manhattan, tapping substantially the whole busi¬
ness district of that borough. It should be added, how¬
ever, that this East Side line would cost a great deal of
money, and many years may well elapse before the man¬
agement of the company can afford such an increase of
its responsibilities.
T TOW should these extensions be regarded from tbs
â– ^ -^ point of view of a comprehensive rapid transit sys¬
tem for the whole of New York City? Could the local
authorities afford to permit the occupation of so much
space in Manhattan for the benefit of lines that would
be really supplenientary to the railroad system of New
Jersey? Probably they could not afford to do so in case
Ihe proposed lines interfered with essential longitudinal
subways, designed to carry passengers to and from north
New York: but we do not see why such lines should so
interfere. When the franchise for the original Sixth ave¬
nue extension was granted, the old Rapid Transit Commis¬
sion arranged that it should be built too deep to interfere
with another subway nearer the surface, and there is no
reason why a similar precaution should not be adopted in
relation to both of the extensions we have described. In
that case they would not interfere with any important
longitudinal express routes, while at the same time they
would constitute a valuable additon to the purely local
transit system of Manhattan. A belt line running around