THE REAL ESTATE RECORD Rate of One in Every Five Years
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REAL ESTATE RECORD AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. VOL. XXI. NEW YOBE:, SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1878. No. 537. Published Weekly by sible of the surface of the islaud to these liberally poses on an island of the limited dimensions of defined parks. New York must rank the absurd infatuation of %h %ml (BsMt Setffcb %BBatmiimx. In 1807, at the time of the plotting out of the now resisting any curtailment of these parks or city north of Fourteenth street into streets and proper utilization of their surfaces. AA''e have at TERMS. • avenues, a provision more than liberal was made length reached a point in the development of the ONE YEAR, in advance.. ..SIO.OO. for park accommodation. In less than twenty park sj'stom where over one thousand acres, com years, however, many of these small parks were prising the area of sixteen thousand city lots, Communications should be addressed to closed and converted into common lauds by act have been thus appropriated, a sequestration and of the Legislature. As the port of New York at direct loss of real estate which is now being C. AV. SWEET, tracted an ever expanding commerce, and the seriouslj' felt. city sprang from its swaddling clothes into the As stoutly as the advocacy of these parks may Nos. ;i45 AND 347 BnOADWAV. form and stature of a municipal giaut, these re be maintained, there is uo likelihood, judging spectable gentlemen, pioneers of city land specu from past experience, that sentimental and lation, looked on complacently and thought they iRsthetic considerations will entirely overcome CITY PARKS. saw the realization of their prophetic dreams iu the common sense of our people. A review of It has become the fashion of late with au im theadvance of New York in wealth and import park history is decidedly instructive in forming pressible public, and a preoccupied press to lay ance, the same being clearly attributable in their an opinion as to the probable future of the exist inordinate stress upon the value of our city parks, opinion to the wise forecast which had led them to ing parks. AVe have no record of the number of and to decry as a pubHc outrage au}' attempt to suggest, urge and linallj' consummate the plan of small parks which were closed and abandoned by curtail or utilize their dimensions. providuig city parks. The burden of their constant the Legislature of 13'27, but it is matter of recent Behind this uudiscriminatiiig uiul seutimeutal refrain is that city parks increase population and historj' that Observatory Park and a large por drift of opinion, there is a coterie of very respect consequently increase real vabies aud taxable tion of Hamilton Park have beeu sold bj- the able and estimable old gentlemen who were bom values. The latter condition is indisputablj- the sinking fund coniinissionei-s, while the remainder in the beginning of the century, and have been natural product of the former, but the argument of Hamilton Park has been donated to various accustomed for fifty yeai-s to extol the value aud is too often inversely stated. It seems to be the charitable and protective associations. Manhat necessity of these parks. The secret of their pre conception of some real estate speculators that tan ,S(iuare ha.s been dedicated to the uses possession it is not difficult to lind out. Many of public improvements, such a.s parks and boule of a natural museum. Citj- Hall Park has been them are veteran opei-ators or siieculatoi-s in real vards, directly enhance the value of property; so far encroached upon as to obliterate if not to estate, and a small number were w-ise enough to and that this enhanceiiieut attracts wealthy and completelj' destroj- its original outlines, and retire thirty years ago from the real estate areua desirable population. the Batterj- has been so far shorn of its pristine with ample fortmies. In the beginning of theii- It has been the privilege of the present genera features as to threaten and almost to in careei-s, J'ourteenth screet was the uoi-therly limit tion to witness the fullest and loftiest develop vite its total abandonment as a ]>ublic resort. of civilization on this Lslaud, while the line of ment of the park and boulevard mania, and not a Its iiartial occupation as an einigi-ant depot and building improvements hardly exteuded as far as few of us are now sulfering from the reaction barge oflice, maj' be littinglj- followed bj- its Houston street. In those days the omnibus was which invariably attends the collapse of a great complete surrender to the general government the sole motor of local transit, and the utmost fever. The enormoits growth and wealth of the for the uses of the Custom House and Sub- stretch of its capacity was the feat of carrj'ing city that have risen collaterally with the develop Treasurj-. That most obnoxious development of passeugers to Greenwich and Chelsea iu from two ment of the park and boulevard systems, are the park sj-stem, known as the private park, has to three hours time. In tliose daj's lands uorth of phenomena eagerly .seized upon by short-sighted been so far condemned as to receive but two con Fourteenth street wei-e reckoned by the acre, aud and impulsive real estate speculators, and de spicuous illustrations. One of these, St. John's seemed destined to be treated us farm lands for au clared to sustain to eac!i other the relations of Park, has beeu taken up bodilj' for busiuess pur indefinite period iu the abseuce of auy expeditious elf ect and cause. A candid investigation into the poses, while the other, Gramniercj' Park, is only method of reaching them. The great problem of real state of the case will develop an entirely op awaiting the iiieviuible extension of Lexington real estate speculation then was to absorb as much posite conclusion. avenue to bisect and secularize it. Reservoir as possible of the vacant laud of the island, aud Square was once, and maj- be again, appro The growth of New York has beeu obedient to to take it permaueutly out of the market in order priated to iiublic purposes. But recentlj a laws whicii are more or less obvious and defined. that there might be a well grounded appre- movement in favor of utilizing what is left of Its possible magnitude and volume can be better heusiou of a possible scarcity of residence sites. AA''ashington Square was all but successful, imd measured by a calculation of what we have lost of doubtless the historj' of this famous parade AA''heu we consider the enormous ai-ea of vacant resident population, of the overplus that has flowed ground is drawing gradually to a close. property that then existed, w-e can imderstand into adjoining suburbs, than of what we have how irresistibly and legitimately this great prob actually gained. These suburbs sm-ely.had few or AA'hatever anticipations maj- have beeu once lem presented itself. No wiser or surer scheme no attractions in tho way of parks and boulevards indtdged of laj'ing out New York as a garden for reduciug the stock or area of vacant property when they so easily carried away a full half of citj-, its i-apid and invincible growth has deter could be devised than that of laying out innumer the population that naturally belonged to New mined conti-ariwise. A sj-stem of public parks able parks. The inventive genius of the real estate York. So far from being an advantage to the and gardens is appropriate to retired inland speculator had not then acquired the boldness to city's development it could easily be proved that towns and places abounding in accessible cheap project a single park of nearly a thousand acres. the elaboration of numerous and expensive parks land, but is not at all suitable for a great, ac In fact, the method of detached and scattei-ed and boulevards has really restrained its growth tive and irrepressible insular seaport like New small parks was more serviceable in the game of and repressed its population and wealth. Be York. The scarcitj- and value of land render buch speculation, as it tended to distribute the ideal cause the absorption of so much vacant land has appropriation too costlj', and the invidious and charms of these city garden plots through the dif the tendency to unduly enhance the specu exclusive character of any isolated or scattered ferent sections of the island. lative price of remaining property, while the projections causes them to be objects of di.sdain It required no great prescience, eveu in those expense of organizing and maintaining these differ rather than of envy. It is a noteworthy fact, early days, to foresee that New York, as the most ent parks compels an unwelcome addition to that the property surrounding the several exist prominent and accessible city of tbe continent, local tax rates. These two forces of high land ing parks in this city, is relativelj- the cheapest would attract representative business men from values and high taxation have been the principal that can be found on the island, and even home and abroad as its ultimate residents. It levers used in transferring our great middle class our great Central Park has failed to realize its became but a matter of time when the island population from this island to Long Island and early and vaunted promise of becoming the should be thickly populated, and the very acme New Jersey.