The Secrets of the Great City | Page 5

Square, containing all the principal newspaper
offices of the city. Old Tammany Hall once stood on this Square, but
the site is now occupied by the "The Sun," and "Brick Pomeroy's
Democrat"--Arcades Ambo.
Beyond the City Hall, at the north-east corner of Chambers street and
Broadway, is "Stewart's marble dry goods palace," as it is called. This
is the wholesale warehouse of A. T. Stewart & Co., and occupies the
entire block. The retail department of this great firm, is higher up town.
Passing along, one sees, in glancing up and down the cross streets, long
rows of marble and brown stone warehouses, stretching away for many
blocks on either hand, and affording proof positive of the immensity
and success of the business transacted in this locality.
Opposite Pearl street is the New York Hospital, standing back amidst
its noble old trees; the yard is cut off from the street by an iron railing.
Crossing Canal street, the widest and most conspicuous we have yet
passed over, we see the handsome establishment of Lord & Taylor.
rivals to Stewart, in the retail dry goods trade; on the corner of Grand
street. The brown stone building opposite, is Brooks' clothing house,

the largest and finest in the country. Between Broome and Spring
streets, are the marble and brown stone buildings of the famous St.
Nicholas Hotel. On the block above, and opposite, is Tiffany's, too well
known to need a description. On the corner of Prince street, is Ball &
Black's, a visit to which palace is worth a trip to the city. Diagonally
opposite is the Metropolitan Hotel, in the rear of which is the theatre
known as Niblo's Garden. Above this we pass the Olympic Theatre, the
great Dollar store, the Southern Hotel, the New York Hotel, the New
York Theatre, and Goupil's famous art gallery. On the corner of Tenth
street, is a magnificent iron building, painted white. This is Stewards up
town, or retail store. It is always filled with ladies "shopping," and the
streets around it are blocked with carriages. Throngs of elegantly
dressed ladies pass in and out, the whole scene being animated and
interesting. Above this is Grace Church, one of the most beautiful
religious structures in the city. On the corner of Thirteenth street, is
Wallack's Theatre. At Fourteenth street, we find a handsome square,
formerly a fashionable place of residence, but now giving way to
business houses and hotels. This is Union Square. Passing around it,
Broadway runs in a north-westerly direction, and at the intersection of
the great thoroughfare with Fifth Avenue, at Twenty-third street, we
see the magnificent front of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. On the block
beyond are the Albemarle and Hoffman Houses, with the St. James a
little above. Opposite are the Worth Monument and Madison Square.
Above this are several minor hotels, and Wood's Theatre. The street is
but little improved above Thirty-fourth street.
Below Twenty-third street, and especially below Union Square,
Broadway is built up magnificently. Marble, brown stone, and iron
warehouses, extend in long rows on each side of the street. There are
some old shanties still standing on the great thoroughfare, but they are
rapidly disappearing, and in a few years will be entirely gone. The view
from any point below Fourteenth street, ranges from Union Square to
the Bowling Green, and is grand and exhilarating beyond description.
The windows of the stores are filled with the gayest and most showy
goods. Jewels, silks, satins, laces, ribbons, household goods, silver
ware, toys, paintings; in short, rare, costly, and beautiful objects, greet
the gazer on every hand.

There are no railroad tracks on Broadway below Fourteenth street; the
public travel is done by means of omnibusses, or stages, as they are
called. Several hundred of these traverse the street from the lower
ferries as far up as Twenty-third street, turning off at various points into
the side streets and avenues. At night the many colored lamps of these
vehicles add a striking and picturesque feature to the scene. They are
filled with all sorts of people.
The Broadway side walks are always crowded, and this throng of
passers- by is, to our mind, the most attractive feature of the busy scene.
Every class and shade of nationality and character is represented here.
America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and even Oceanica, has each its
representatives here. High and low, rich and poor, pass along these
side-walks, at a speed peculiar to New York, and positively
bewildering to a stranger. No one seems to think of any person but
himself, and each one jostles his neighbor or brushes by him with an
indifference amusing to behold. Fine gentlemen in broad cloth, ladies
in silks and jewels, and beggars in squalidness and rags, are mingled
here in true Republican confusion. The