USA > New York > Onondaga County > Past and present of Syracuse and Onondaga County, New York : from prehistoric times to the beginning of 1908 > Part 68
USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Past and present of Syracuse and Onondaga County, New York : from prehistoric times to the beginning of 1908 > Part 68
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559
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
of the night watch, and Detective William O'Brien was placed in charge of the Detective Bureau, with Lieutenant Charles Fessenmeyer as prosecuting officer. In 1904 the requirement went into effeet for members of the police force to attend gymnasium, and Charles H. McCormick was appointed gym- nasium instructor. Chief Wright was retired upon a pension of half his former salary by a bill signed by the Governor on June 2, 1905. Two days later the actual retirement took place, Chief Wright being sueceeded by . Martin L. Cadin. On January 1, 1908, Harlow W. Clark became Commis- sioner of Publie Safety, Commissioner Bowen retiring because of the demands of his personal business. The total arraignments in Police Court in 1907 were four thousand eight hundred and forty-three and the receipts from fines three thousand and fifty-three dollars.
Police Department expenditures since 1890, exclusive of the Police Court, and since 1900 of the Department of Public Safety, are as follows:
1890
$ 67,000
1891
74,000
1892
84,500
1893
85,000
1894
85,000
1895
83,000
1896
83,000
1897
90,000
1898
90,000
1899
84,500
1900
142,940
1901
138,290
1902
142,330
1903
140,900
1904
149,270
1905
149,330
1906
152,320
1907
162,730
In seventeen years the cost of running the Fire Department for a year was practically multiplied by three, an indication in itself of the growing belief in fire protection. This was not a sudden growth by reason, say, of the big fire of 1891, or an aggravated loss beeause of a series of fires. Rather it was a steady increase of appreciation of the value of the service and a belief that it was better to pay in taxes than insurance. The bring- ing in of Skaneateles water and a distributing service from the Woodland Reservoir was also an addition to the fire department which does not appear under the head of Fire Department disbursements. Prior to the high pres- sure service it was imperative that an engine should get to a fire quickly. The high pressure increased the number and usefulness of hose wagons, the force being sufficient in many parts of the city to raise the water one and
560
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
two stories in a burning building without the use of an engine. This resulted in the present efficient system of hose wagons and an immense saving to the city.
In 1887 the electric fire alarms were received from but fifty-seven alarm boxes, and in 1907 there were one hundred and eighty-four stations from which to send in alarms. The system was established in 1870, the first test being . on September 5 of that year. In the meantime the telephone has come into service for the sending in of notices of fire and in 1907 the statement was made that more alarms were received by telephone than from fire boxes.
Besides the improved apparatus for fire fighting, chemical engines, exten- sion ladder, trueks, etc., the city established a life saving service with fire nets and scaling ladders, and put in a water tower. The first water tower was brought to the city on March 29, 1892. In 1887 there were seven fire com- panies, which included Chemical No. 1, East Genesee street near Grape street ; Engine No. 1, opposite the City Hall; No. 2, Division street near North Salina street: No. 3, Wyoming street near West Fayette street; No. 4, Wolf street near North Salina street ; Hook and Ladder No. 1, opposite City Hall, and No. 2, Division street near North Salina street. In twenty years there has been added Engine No. 5, Fayette and Hamilton streets; No. 6, 524 South Clinton street; No. 7, 1019 East Fayette street, near University avenue; No. 8, 1410 South Salina street, near Colvin street. which went into commission August 22, 1898; No. 9, 608 Oak street; No. 10, Euclid avenue and Westcott street; Hook and Ladder No. 3, Park ave- nue and Wall street; No. 4, 913 South State street; the water tower, 506 East Genesee street. and Combination Hose and Chemical No. 2, Elliott and South Geddes streets Also Engine No. 2 was placed at 729 North Salina street, and Truek No. 2 at East Division and Gebhardt streets.
Upon the death from injuries received going to a fire June 1, 1886, of Chief Eekel, Henry Riley was named Chief. holding the position until his death, December 3, 1895. He was succeeded by Nicholas Eckel on Deeem- ber 19, 1895, who died June 4, 1897. Then the present Chief, John P. Quigley. who with Nicholas Eckel and Hamilton S. White, was assistant in 1897, was named on August 30, 1897.
Protection from fire as a matter of annual municipal expenditure has been as follows in the city budgets :
1890
$ 75,000
1891
93,000
1892
100,000
-
1893
100,620
1894
103,000
1895
105,000
1896
105,000
1897
110,000
1898
134,604
1899
140,000
1900
176,137
-
HOMEOPATHIC HOSPITAL.
ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL.
.
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
1901
173,15]
1902
179,320
1903
182,890
1904
218,465
1905
202,215
1906
198,520
1907
205,080
561
The first Board of Municipal Serviee Examiners was appointed by Mayor Thomas Ryan in the spring of 1885, under the State law for the improvement of the Civil Service. The first Board consisted of Joseph A. Hoffman, E. O. Farrar and Charles R. Sherlock. With the changing administrations there were changes, and upon the coming in of the White Charter quite deeisive alterations in methods.
Syracuse was one of the first cities to provide a place other than a jail for the unfortunate penniless and homeless, with the Municipal Lodging House, which was established August 1, 1899, with John Hazeltine as the first superintendent. A bath, meal and bed were furnished applicants, who were then required to work upon the streets in payment. The lodging house was arranged in a building across from the City Hall in Market street. The succeeding superintendents were L. D. Dexter, Jacob Vroman and Floyd II. Prosser. In the winter of 1907-1908, when the financial situation caused not a little distress and the Salvation Army with its Industrial Home established a "bread line" and drove about the city with soup carts feeding the poor, the Municipal Lodging House was found to fill a need and was a valuable assistant in the dispensing of publie charity.
The relative valuations of real and personal property in the county, as presented by the Equalization Committee of the Board of Supervisors of 1907, showed the following estimates with a total of one hundred and twenty million nine hundred and sixty-six thousand three hundred and thirty-two dollars; Camillus. two million six hundred and one thousand and ninety-one dollars; Cieero, one million four hundred and eighty-seven thousand eight hundred and thirty-five dollars; Clay, one million seven hundred and eighty- three thousand seven hundred and ten dollars; Dewitt, three million five hun- dred and seventy-three thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven dollars; Elbridge, two million three hundred and forty-one thousand one hundred and forty-five dollars; Fabius, eight hundred and seventy-nine thousand two hun- dred and eighty-one dollars; Geddes. five million one hundred and sixty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-five dollars; Lafayette, eight hundred and seventy-eight thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven dollars; Lysander. two million seven hundred and ninety-three thousand and sixty-nine dollars; Man- lius, three million two hundred and ten thousand eight hundred and ninety- seven dollars; Marcellus, one million four hundred and fifty-one thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven dollars; Onondaga, three million two hundred and fifty-five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven dollars ; Otisco, five hundred and twelve thousand and thirty-five dollars; Pompey, one million four hundred
562
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
and thirty-seven thousand four hundred and four dollars; Salina, one million four hundred and sixty-two thousand seven hundred and forty-seven dollars; Skaneateles, two million five hundred and twenty-seven thousand three hun- dred and fifty-four; Spafford, five hundred and ninety-eight thousand and twenty-nine dollars; Tully, seven hundred and eighty-eight thousand eight hundred and sixty dollars; Van Buren, two million one hundred and eighty- two thousand two hundred and fifty-five dollars; total of towns, thirty-eight million nine hundred and thirty-four thousand eight hundred and seventy- three dollars; Syracuse, eighty-two million thirty-one thousand four hundred and fifty-nine dollars.
The first year of operation of the mortgage tax law in Onondaga, upon the report made in December, 1907, to the Board of Supervisors, showed a total tax collected in the county of forty-two thousand four hundred and fourteen dollars and forty-four eents, of which twenty-nine thousand three hundred and sixty dollars and forty-four cents eame from the eity, the tax being one-half of one per cent., fractions of hundreds up to fifty dollars not eonnting in the tax. The cost of collection was one thousand five hundred and twenty-six dollars and eighty-six cents. Of this tax twenty thousand four hundred and forty-three dollars and seventy-nine cents went to the State, nine thousand seven hundred and four dollars and eighty-three eents was applicable to the payment of school taxes and a like amount for State. County and town taxes. This tax meant a payment of a total of eight million four hundred and eighty-two thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight dollars in mortgages.
It took a great many adverse reports upon the condition of the old peni- tentiary, which stood elose to the exaet site of the North Side High School, to get a new penitentiary outside the city line. Although Governor Black signed the bill allowing the removal of the penitentiary on March 10, 1898. and the State Commissioners of Prisons on May 3, 1898, urged the Supervisors to hurry and build a new prison as the needs were great, it was not until December 19, 1898, that the Board decided in favor of a new penitentiary. After much politieal consideration of sites the Poffett farm at Jamesville was chosen on June 9, 1899, and the present substantial building had the first prisoner removed to it on April 15, 1901. Upon January 1, 1908, there were five hundred and forty-eight prisoners in the penitentiary, the largest num- ber at that season of the year in its history, there being but one hundred and seventy-two prisoners on January 1, 1907.
The plans for a Women's Building at the County Home at Onondaga Hill was approved by the Board of Supervisors on December 16, 1907. The esti- mate was placed at one hundred thousand dollars. The committee of con- struetion named, to be known as the Women's Dormitory Building Com- mittee was composed of Supervisors Moses D. Rubin, John P. Schlosser and Floyd R. Todd.
The good country roads awakening in Onondaga got in just a little ahead of the fifty million dollar bonding of the state amendment to the
563
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
Constitution in 1905, and when the State Engineer announced that the allot- ment to Onondaga under the issue of bonds would be two hundred and twenty-three miles of roads, about three hundred and fifty miles had already been petitioned for. This showed a good roads education, which, although begun late, was ahead of the possible supply. Already a new state road from Fabius to Tully was being laid, and in 1905 the office of Superintendent of Highways for the county was created by the Board of Supervisors, Frank E. Bogardus of Dewitt being the first appointee on March 17, 1905, his term of office being for three years from April 1, and a reappointment following in 1908. In 1905 the Supervisors' committee upon good roads, consisting of Robert E. Gilman, W. C. Newell, M. A. Maxwell, Daniel P. Gere and C. H. Livingston, took up the subject of having a complete system of highways in Onondaga, and at a special meeting held on March 16 and 17, 1905, the Board of Supervisors considered and voted in favor of such a system. Upon Deeem- ber 1, 1906, the Superintendent of Highways reported to the Board that the total mileage of highways in the county, exclusive of eity and village roads, was one thousand five hundred and eighty-three miles. Of this mileage, .nine hundred and seventy-four miles were under the money system of care and five hundred and ninety-two miles under the labor system of working highways, while seventeen miles were in the Indian Reservation.
CHAPTER LXV.
THEATERS, HALLS, HOTELS, HOSPITALS.
Not only have recent years witnessed many changes in the theaters, greater productions in the staging of the drama and the development of new forms of theatrical entertainment, but there is not a theater standing in Syraense which was in use twenty years ago. Shortly before two o'clock on the morning of September 3, 1896, the fire was discovered which burned Wieting Opera House. It was the Wieting of which Lawrence Barrett said: "A very beautiful theater, in every way worthy of its founder and of the taste of one of the most cultivated cities in our land." Twice before, on January 5, 1856, and July. 19, 1881, had theaters of Dr. John M. Wieting, upon practically this same site, burned. Wagner & Reis had taken the lease of the Wieting on April 21, 1891, and they were the lessees at the time of the fire. The loss was placed at ninety-nine thousand one hundred and fifty dollars. Mrs. Wieting decided to rebuild and enlarge the theater, acquir- ing about twelve feet of land to the west upon Water street. taking in the historie stairway of the old Townsend Block. Upon March 6, 1897, the contract was let to A. L. Mason, the plans having been drawn by Osear Cobb, the architect of the former Wieting Opera House. Upon the night of Sep-
561
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
tember 15, 1897, just a year and twelve days after the burning, the new theater was opened with Lillian Russell, Della Fox and Jefferson De Angelis in "The Wedding Day."
In 1895 Mrs. Wieting had had the opera house refitted at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars, and electric lights were put in. John L. Kerr was the manager for the Wagner-Reis circuit, as he has been since, continuing when the lease of the new theater was taken in the name of Moses M. Reis. Many notable productions have been seen at the Wieting, among the foreign aetors being the late Sir Henry Irving for several performances and Bernhardt and Coquelin in "L'Aiglon" on April 3, 1901.
The Bastable Theater was built in 1893 by Frederiek Bastable upon a site to the east of that where Stephen Bastable's old Shakespeare Hall was located. The cost of the Bastable, according to the Fire Marshal's books, was fifty thousand dollars. Upon October 10, 1893, the theater was opened under the management of Frank D. Hennessy, who had been formerly con- nected with the Grand Opera House. the opening event being Richard Mans- field in a repertoire of three plays. Upon December 14, 1897, Samnel S. Shubert secured the lease of the Bastable and began his short but brilliant career as a theater manager. having already been successful as a road manager. It was upon January 1 following that he reintrodueed the stock system to Syracuse with the Salisbury Stock Company. The Shubert management at the elose of five years was succeeded by Hurtig & Seamon, who used the theater for popular priced attractions in the drama and musical faree, Harry A. Hurtig acting as the local representative. This lease expired on July 1, 1908, when the theater was taken by the General Amusement Company, a local corporation in which the Bastable estate was interested.
The Barton Opera House beeame the Park Opera House, and when recon- structed by John Moore was rechristened the Grand Opera House, which the theater upon that spot has been to this day. Upon September 13, 1888, the Grand Opera House burned and was completely destroyed with the bloek. The Grand had played many of the highest elass attractions and had a merry theatrical war with the Wieting, that its success as a popular house began when Jacobs & Proetor included it in their circuit of popular priced theaters. Upon September 1, 1896, Patrick Lyneh bought the Grand Opera House property. Upon March 29, 1897, the A. A. Graff and H. R. Jacobs combination in the management was formed. April 15, 1899, Sam Shubert joined with Mr. Graff in the control of the Grand and the Shubert control extended after Mr. Shubert's death, with the Shubert interests, the theater passing from melodrama to vaudeville, back to melodrama and then to its greatest success with Keith vaudeville.
The Dunfee theater was built by John Duufee upon property on the east side of Clinton street, between Washington and Water streets, formerly owned by the Alonzo C. Yates estate. It was but a narrow theater, having only a double-store front, and was never a success by reason of the inability to accommodate sufficiently large audiences to make it a paying venture. It. was opened on February 6, 1899, and in its career tried burlesque, stock
563
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
and vaudeville. A. A. Graft, who had the lease of the Grand for a number of years, took a lease of the Dunfee on May 1, 1899. Later the name was changed to the Lyceum Theater, and as the Lyeenm it burned on April 21, 1904, and lay a charred wreck for several years. The property was finally taken in 1907 by the local order of Elks for its lodge building, which was begun late in that year.
The Alhambra, built for a roller skating rink in 1884, became, because of its eapaeious auditorium rather than its acoustic properties or conven- ienees, a convention and concert hall as well as the scene of many charity balls and large parties. So necessary was such a gathering place found, when the Alhambra was completely destroyed by fire on Wednesday morning, December 20, 1899, it was rebuilt the following year upon the same site, the northwest corner of James and Pearl streets. It was in the midst of the roller skating craze, when the profits were such as to warrant the building of the Criterion rink in James street and the Empire rink in Dickinson street, that the Alhambra was erected. The Criterion burned in the height of its profit as a rink, while the Empire went through an evolution of factory and storage nses before it met a similar fate on September 5, 1902. The seandal-killed skating eraze would have left the Alhambra a profitless hulk were it not for its convenience of location and that Syraeuse had no other hall so large for "big things." Claims were made that the first Alhambra would hold from three thousand to five thousand people at a mass meeting, where the seats were not used in the floor space, but the Alhambra erected by George II. MeChesney, Sr .. in 1900, was built upon a smaller plan but similar arrange- ment, the principal ehange being in the allowance of a smaller assembly hall in place of the old gallery above the entrance, and more spacious reception rooms.
With decorations which committees invariably considered it necessary to hide by extra adornment and a stage which was built out for many per- formances, the Alhambra was so indispensable to the eity that the manager who engaged the hall frequently captured the attraction. One of the most famous political gatherings of recent years was that of the "Dandelion"" Democrats held at the Alhambra upon May 31, 1892. Former Governor David B. Hill had the State Democratic Convention called on February 22, at Saratoga and the Cleveland Democrats. called the "Anti-Snap" convention to send a delegation to Chicago to protest that Hill was not the choice of New York State Democrats. Former Mayor Grace of New York city was the leading spirit of the "Dandelion" convention, with Frederic R. Coudert. E. Elery Anderson. Charles S. Fairchild, W. S. Poucher, John D. Kernan and William A. Beach, the latter a Cleveland appointee to the office of Internal Revenue Collector in this city. A protesting delegation was chosen, and. as a result of that May convention, Cleveland was nominated for President. even though his own state regular delegation was against him.
In the Alhambra in October, 1893, was held the Republican State Conven- tion in which was chosen the "accident ticket," as it was afterwards char- acterized, that won by such substantial results. Cleveland had swept all
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
before him the year previous, but ITill was master of the New York Democracy. The only nominations to be made were for the heads of State exeentive depart- ments and a judge of the Court of Appeals. Thomas C. Platt, Chauncey M. Depew and Louis F. Payn were the active spirits in that Svraense convention, and Edward F. Bartlett was chosen to run against I. V. Maynard. the Hill nominee for the Court of Appeals, the campaign being waged upon Judge Maynard's position in the transposed ballots case which arose in Onondaga in the fall of 1891. Upon this Republican ticket Theodore E. Hancock of Syracuse, was named for Attorney General. It was at this convention that the Credentials Committee had to determine between Hendrieks and Belden delegates from the Second Assembly Distriet, giving each delegation seats and each delegate half a vote.
In 1895 the Democratic convention met in the Alhambra and nominated the ticket headed by Horatio C. King for Secretary of State, which was defeated. Other minor conventions were held in the old Alhambra, the last important one being that of 1898, when Van Wyek was named for Governor and the event was marked by the warm fight between Richard Croker and David B. Hill.
Among the famous political speakers in the old Alhambra have been William MeKinley, who spoke there before he was President. William J. Bryan, who was here April 20, 1899. Senator Joseph B. Foraker, J. Sloat Fassett on October 5. 1891. Roswell P. Flower, Roswell G. Horr, Senator John M. Thurston, Chauncey M. Depew on October 21, 1891, Warner Miller, Charles S. Fairchild, Frank S. Black, William R. Grace. Thomas B. Reed on October 24, 1892, and Governor David B. Hill on November 3, 1892. Famous lee- turers heard in this hall have been Henry M. Stanley, "Ian Maclaren, " Robert G. Ingersoll and Rev. Dewitt Talmage. One of the greatest musical events in the history of the old Alhambra was the appearance of Mme. Adelina Patti on April 19, 1892, under the auspices of the Syracuse Press Club. Other famous musicians heard there were Emma Jueh, Lillian Nordica, Madame Schalchi, Pauline I'Allemand and Ignace Paderewski. On February 1, 1893. the Anton Seidl music festival was held in the Alhambra.
With 1900 was begun the series of annual music festivals in the Alham- bra, under the management of the Syracuse Musie Festival Association, incorporated October 10. 1901. Emil Mollenhauer was the condnetor of the first six festivals and Walter Damrosch of the seventh. The Music Festival Association had but one object, "the cultivation and advancement of the art of music." The training of the choruses by Tom Ward were begun early each winter season for the festivals held in April, and proved educational pleasures for the vocalists. Such soloists as Mme. Schumann-Heink, Mme. Lonise Homer, Sig. Guiseppi Campanari and Mine. Blauvelt were heard in these festivals. The festival of 1908 was omitted.
Upon June 23. 1904, the Alhambra passed out of the hands of George H. McChesney, Sr., being sold to the mortgage holder, an insurance company. for eighty-nine thousand five hundred dollars.
567
PAST AND PRESENT OF ONONDAGA COUNTY
It was on January 24, 1905, that Senator Horace White introduced the bill at Albany for a new Armory to replace the building which for more than thirty years had done excellent service. Upon June 4, 1905, Governor Hig- gins signed the bill, and work was begun in 1906 and continued to the finish in November, 1907. The movement for a new Armory took form in 1900 in the presentation of a bill by Senator White, drawn by Captain John G. Butler, but the bill was sidetracked and not until five years later did it find its way back. The first Armory built in 1858 was burned in 1871, and the second
building was constructed in 1872-74. The second Armory was the scene of three large charity balls, the last being held January 2, 1900, two music festivals with Patrick Sarsfieldl Gilmore's military band and loeal choruses. a demonstration when General Ulysses S. Grant visited Syracuse, and the een- tennial exercises of the county in 1894. The Armory had the first roller skating rink in Syracuse, when the eraze swept over the country, and it was the impropriety of the State militia engaging in business and using State property which excited Major General Porter and eaused the halt of the sport in that building. The Armory was used as quarters for troops during two strikes, was an assembling place during State Firemen's conventions. and the scene of the departure of companies during the Spanish-American war.
In 1899 the State G. A. R. convention was held here, making the Armory its headquarters and convening on May 17. On May 21 the G. A. R. parade, a memorable gathering of old veterans, was held. In 1892 the Fortieth Sep- arate Company was mustered out of service at the old Armory, and, upon August 17, 1893, a Memorial Monument Association was formed, but it was thirteen years later before public interest was sufficiently aroused to gain substantial action upon the project. The little town of Fabius had a soldiers' monument long before that, its monument, the gift of James J. Belden, being dedicated July 4, 1902.
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