USA > New York > New York City > The City of New York : a complete guide : with descriptive sketches of objects and places of interest > Part 3
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THE SOCIETY LIBRARY,
the oldest public library in the United States, is situated on the eastern side of University place, between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. It was incor- porated in 1700, under the name of " The Public Library of New York," which name was changed to "The New York Society Library" in 1754. The library is open from 8 A. M. until sunset, and the reading room until
IO P. M. Only members are admitted to the privileges of the institution.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN.
This building, on the north-western corner of Twenty-third street and Fourth avenue, was opened in 1865 Its peculiar style of architecture, cop- ied from a building on the Rialto, in Venice, makes it an object of interest to all strangers. In it are held, twice a year, exhibitions of the works of the artists of the National Academy of Design, at which times the building is open to all visitors. The cost of the building was about $150,000.
BELLEVUE HOSPITAL
Occupies the main portion of the area bounded by East Twenty-sixth street, First avenue, East Twenty-eighth street, and the East river. It is un- der the charge of the Commissioners of Charities and Correction. It may be visited daily, from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M. In 1866 a Morgue, or Dead-House, modeled after the Morgue in Paris, was opened in connection with it, where dead bodies that are found are taken. These bodies are kept seventy- two hours, and if not identified at the expiration of that time are buried
THE WOMEN'S BUREAU
Occupies the brown-stone house, No. 49 Twenty-third street, near Fourth avenue. The objects of this associa- tion are the organized advocacy of universal suffrage, and of all the rights of women. Under its auspices, also, committees of members attend to the wants and instruction of different classes of women, and free lectures on physiology and other subjects of
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interest are delivered for the benefit of all women who desire to attend them. Strangers who are interested in the Bureau and its objects are always welcome to its rooms, and women who are not acquainted with the city are directed to good and respectable lodg- ings, or if desirous of obtaining em- ployment are aided in their endeavors. The office of the Revolution is on the lower floor.
THE HOTEL FOR WORKING WOMEN.
This large and costly structure, commenced in 1869, stands on Fourth avenue, between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth streets. Its owner, Mr. A. T. Stewart, designed it as a home for working-women, where they may enjoy every comfort at the least possi- ble cost. The building is provided with reading-rooms, parlors, refectory, ele- vators, and, in short, almost everything which can add to the reasonable wants of its inmates. There are two other homes for working-women in the city beside this palatial " Hotel" of Mr. Stewart's-one at No. 45 Elizabeth street, and the other at No. 27 Wash- ington Square, North. These estab- lishments have been in successful ope- ration for some years, and have been of great advantage to friendless young women coming to the city in search of a livelihood.
THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRIS- TIAN ASSOCIATION.
The building of this Association oc- cupies a large lot on the south-western corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty- third street. It was built at a cost of about half a million dollars, which sum was raised by subscription among wealthy citizens of New York. The lower part of the building is leased for
various kinds of business-the Amer- ican Tract Society occupying the cor- ner store, and the upper stories are rented as artists' studios. The re- maining two stories are used by the Association, being conveniently ar- ranged as reading, conversation, and lecture rooms, while in the sub-base- ment is a large gymnasium and bowl- ing alley for the use of members. The institution is designed to furnish an attractive place of resort for young men who would naturally be drawn to places of dissipation or haunts of vice, as well as to engage Christians in ef- fective work for religious purposes. Strangers, especially young men, who intend remaining in the city are ear- nestly advised to avail themselves of the Association in procuring good and respectable lodgings, and in forming desirable acquaintances. Beside the privilege of frequenting the elegant and commodious rooms of the Asso- ciation, members have the opportu- nity of joining classes, in which at a moderate cost they may learn the modern languages and various other useful and desirable accomplishments. The Association has branches at 476 Grand street, 285 Hudson street, and at the corner of One Hundred and Twenty-second street and Third ave- nue, Harlem.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- TIONS.
Under this title are included only chartered institutions, thus, of course, excluding the public schools, for which New York City is justly celebrated. The first to be mentioned, as it is the oldest, is
COLUMBIA COLLEGE.
This institution, chartered by George
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II., in 1754, stood on a hill in what is now Park place until a few years since, when it was removed to the old Deaf and Dumb Asylum building, East Fif- tieth street, between Fourth and Fifth avenues. It was originally called King's College, which name was changed to Columbia College in 1781. The corporation has become very wealthy from the enormous advance in the value of the real estate which it has owned for many years. Its present location is regarded as temporary, it being the design of the corporation to erect, at no distant day, a number of buildings worthy of the name and fame of the college.
COLUMBIA COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL.
This school, opened in 1858, has met with remarkable success, and now ranks with the first institutions of the kind in the country. As evidence of its prosperity, it may be stated that the first class to graduate from it num- bered nine, while that of 1867 num- bered seventy-seven.
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Is located on the eastern side of Wash- ington square, between Washington and Waverley places. The building is of the Gothic order of architecture, and measures 180 by 100 feet. The institution was incorporated in 1831, and the edifice was completed in 1836.
THE COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
Until recently called the New York Free Academy, was established in 1848, by the Board of Education, in pursuance of an act passed by the Le-
gislature the year previous. It occu. pies a handsome edifice in East Twen- ty-third street, corner of Lexington avenue, which, with the furniture, ap- paratus, &c., cost nearly $150,000. The institution is open to all graduates from the public schools of the city, free of all expense to the students. It was the first and is still the only institution of the kind in the country.
COLLEGE OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER.
This college, under the charge of the Jesuits, was founded in 1850, and is situated in West Fifteenth street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.
N. Y. COLLEGE OF PHYSI- CIANS AND SURGEONS.
This institution, founded in 1791, and chartered in 1801, is located on the north-eastern corner of Fourth avenue and East Twenty-third street, and is in a very prosperous condition.
UNIVERSITY MEDICAL COL- LEGE.
The building occupied by this insti- tution was destroyed at the great fire in 1866 with the Academy of Music. A valuable library and cabinet, and the large collection of anatomical pre- parations contributed by the late dis- tinguished Dr. Valentine Mott, were destroyed. The college is temporarily located in the N. Y. Hospital building on Worth street, near Church street.
Besides the above mentioned there are several
OTHER MEDICAL COLLEGES, which space will only permit us to give the names and locations.
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Bellevue Hospital Medical College, foot East Twenty-sixth street.
College of Pharmacy of the City of New York, at N. Y. University.
Hahnemann Academy of Medi- cine, 105 Fourth avenue.
Homeopathic Medical College, 105 East Twentieth street.
New York Academy of Medicine, N. Y. University.
New York College of Dentistry, 16I Fifth avenue.
New York College of Veterinary Surgeons, 179 Lexington avenue.
New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College, 97 Sixth avenue.
New York Medical College for Women, 102 East Twelfth street.
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES.
Of these institutions there are three in the city, viz. : the Union Theologi- cal Seminary (New School Presbyte- rian), incorporated in 1836, and lo- cated at No. 9 University place ; the General Theological Seminary (Prot- estant Episcopal), West Twentieth street, corner of Ninth avenue ; and the Seminary of St. Francis Xavier (Roman Catholic), West Fifteenth street, between Fifth and Sixth ave- nues.
CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
Whatever may be said of the vices of New York-and it has its full share of them-the stranger cannot fail to note the great number of charitable institutions in the city. Some of the principal of these will be briefly de- scribed.
N. Y. LUNATIC ASYLUM,
Located at Bloomingdale, a little
south of Manhattanville, between Ons Hundred and Fifteenth and One Hun- dred and Twentieth streets, and be- tween Tenth and Eleventh avenues. It is conveniently reached by the Hud- son River Railroad. (See "Walling's Hudson River Route Guide.") The grounds include about forty acres, with trees, walks, shrubbery and flow- ers, laid out in a tasteful and pictu- resque manner, the utmost regard be- ing paid in all the arrangements of the institution and its surroundings to make it a pleasant home for its unfor- tunate inmates. A visit to this insti- tution will well repay the tourist or philanthropist. The scenery in the vicinity is very beautiful, and there are many other objects of interest. Applications for admission of patients should be addressed to the Physician of the New York Lunatic Asylum, Manhattanville Post-office, New York. (Dr. D. T. Brown acts in that capacity at present.) Letters or packages for patients or other inmates may be left at the New York Hospital, Broadway, New York, and they will be duly for- warded.
N. Y. ORPHAN ASYLUM.
This noble institution is beautifully situated on the bank of the Hudson River, between Seventy-third and Sev- enty-fourth streets, and between the Bloomingdale road and the river. It commands a fine view of the river and surrounding scenery. Its grounds oc- cupy about nine acres. The building, erected in 1840, is of stone, in Gothic style, one hundred and twenty feet long, fifty feet wide, and three stories in height. It contains accommoda- tions for two hundred orphans. In 1806 a " Society for the Relief of Poor
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Widows with Small Children" was organized by Mrs. Isabella Graham, Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton (widow of Gen. Alexander Hamilton, killed in a duel at Weehawken, by Aaron Burr), and Mrs. Joanna Bethune. Addition- al contributions and bequests were subsequently made, and in 1807 the present institution was incorporated. Visitors are very kindly received by the obliging matron, and cannot fail to be strongly interested in the suc- cessful administration of this admira- ble charity.
LEAKE AND WATTS' OR- PHAN HOUSE.
Named for the original founders. It is located between One Hundred and Eleventh and One Hundred and Twelfth streets, and Ninth and Tenth avenues. The main building and its wings are two hundred and six feet in length, and the grounds cover twenty- șix acres. It has an income capable of supporting from two hundred to two hundred and fifty children. It is well conducted, and open to visitors.
INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.
This noble institution is situated on Washington Heights, near the Carmanville station of the Hudson River Railroad. (See Walling's Hud- son River Route Guide.) The build- ing is in the form of a hollow square. The front or main building is one hundred and fifty feet long by fifty- five feet wide, and four stories high, including the basement. The wings at each end are one hundred and twenty by forty-six feet, and the school-house, in the rear, one hun- dred and fifty by eighty-five feet,
completes the square. It is capable of accommodating two hundred to three hundred pupils, and is one of the most liberally endowed charitable in- stitutions in the State. Indigent deaf mutes are supported here at the ex- pense of the State ; others pay a mod- erate sum for board and tuition. Dr. Peet, the Superintendent, has an hon- orable reputation for ability and good management. The institution is open for visitors from 1.30 to 4 P.M. every day except Sunday.
INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND.
The grounds of this institution oc- cupy the entire block between Thirty- third and Thirty-fourth streets, and Eighth and Ninth avenues. The building is of granite, in the castellat- ed Gothic style of architecture, and cost about $95,000, which was partly raised by private donations, and the ba- lance by legislative appropriation. A certain number of indigent pupils are supported and educated gratuitously. Others at a moderate charge. Visitors are received from one to six P.M. Cars run on both avenues, starting from Broadway near the City Hall Park; and omnibuses from the South ferry pass up Broadway to Twenty-third street, and thence to and up Eighth avenue.
FIVE POINTS HOUSE OF IN- DUSTRY.
Five Points was formerly the centre of the vilest and most squalid section of the city. The House of Industry is lo- cated at 155, 157, and 159 Worth street, a little east of Broadway, in what was once the worst part of this plague- spot of the city. The building is fifty-
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four feet wide and seven stories high, and has constantly from 100 to 200 inmates, many of whom are rescued from their vicious courses, and from time to time sent to good homes in the country. Daily religious services are held morning and evening. Visitors a ways welcome.
FIVE POINTS MISSION.
Another institution of similar cha- racter, under the management of the Ladies' Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The building, on the corner of Park and Little Water streets, contains a cha- pel, school-rooms, bathing-rooms, and tenements for twenty families. Reli- gious services three times on Sundays, at 10%% A.M., 3 and 7 P.M.
Besides the institutions above men- tioned are the following, of which space will only permit the insertion of the names and location.
Asylum for Respectable Aged Indi- gent Females, 226 East Twentieth street.
Colored Home for the Aged and In- digent, foot of East Sixty-fifth street.
Colored Orphan Asylum, foot of West One Hundred and Fifty-first street.
Children's Hospital and Nursery, East Fifty-first street, near Third avenue.
Emigrant Refuge and Hospital, Ward's Island. Office, Castle Gar- den.
Female Christian Home, No. 14 East Thirteenth street.
German Hospital, Fourth avenue, corner East Seventy-seventh street.
Hebrew Orphan Asylum, East Sev- enty-seventh street, near Third ave- nue.
Home for the Friendless, 32 East Thirtieth street. For the relief of friendless, destitute or unprotected fe- males and children. Under the charge of the American Female Guardian Society. Office, 29 East Twenty- ninth street.
Home for Young Women, 27 Wash- ington Square, N.
Home or Female Department of the Prison Association, 191 Tenth avenue.
House and School of Industry, 120 West Sixteenth street. For gratuitous instruction of poor females in needle- work.
House of Mercy. Under the charge of the Sisters of Mercy.
Lying-in Asylum and Infants' Home, Lexington avenue, corner East Fifty- first street.
Lying-in Asylum for Destitute Fe- males, 85 Marion street.
Magdalen Asylum, East Eighty- eighth street, near Fifth avenue.
Mount Sinai Hospital, 138 West Twenty-eighth street.
New York Juvenile Asylum, West One Hundred and Seventy-fifth street, near Tenth avenue. House of Recep- tion, 71 West Thirteenth street.
New York Eye Infirmary, 216 Sec- ond avenue.
New York Infirmary for Women and Children, 126 Second avenue.
New York Ophthalmic Hospital, 387 Fourth avenue. Diseases of the eye gratuitously treated.
Orphans' Home of the Protestant Episcopal Church, East Forty-ninth street, near Lexington avenue.
Presbyterian Home for Aged Wo- men, 45 Grove street.
Protestant Half Orphan Asylum, 65 West Tenth street.
Protestant House of Mercy In
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charge of the Episcopal Sisters of Mercy. Foot of West Eighty-sixth street
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum, Fifth avenue, corner of East Fifty-first street (boys). Prince street, corner of Mott street (girls).
Sailors' Snug Harbor, Staten Island, Office, 156 Broadway.
St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, under the charge of the Sisters of Notre Dame, East Eighty-sixth street, cor- ner of Avenue A.
St. Luke's Hospital, Fifty-fourth street, corner Fifth avenue.
St. Luke's Home for Indigent Chris- tian Females, 487 Hudson street.
St. Vincent's Hospital, 195 West Eleventh street, under the charge of the Sisters of Charity.
The Sheltering Arms, Broadway, corner of One Hundred and First street.
Union Home School, West Fifty- eighth street, near Eighth avenue.
Women's Hospital, 244 East Thir- teenth street.
Workingwomen's Home; 45 Eliza- beth street.
PUBLIC PARKS.
In addition to the Battery, Bowling Green, City Hall Park, and Union and Madison Squares, of which descrip- tions have already been given, there remain nine others, exclusive of the Central Park, to which the attention of visitors to the city should be called. Until 1867 there were ten of these far too rare openings in the maze of streets and buildings, but in that year St. John's Park, bounded by Hudson, Beach, Varick, and Laight streets, was purchased by Cornelius Vander-
bilt, President of the Hudson River Railroad Company. The land was originally owned by Trinity Church, although each owner of the surround- ing lots had a proportionate ownership in the square itself. The railroad company paid a million dollars for the square, and the noble old trees, which had for so long a time been an orna- ment to the vicinity, quickly gave place to the vast pile of brick, granite, and iron which now occupies the ground and serves as a freight depot for the railroad. On the Hudson street front is a very large and costly bronze casting commemorative of the life and achievements of Commodore Van- derbilt. This bronze is well worth seeing, although by no means fault- less in an artistic point of view.
WASHINGTON SQUARE,
Bounded by Waverley Place, Macdou- gal, Fourth, and Wooster streets, and containing 93% acres, is one of the lar- gest of the older public parks of New York. In the early part of the present century it was set apart for the Potter's Field, and was used for that purpose until 1832, when it was converted into a park. It is estimated that 125,000 bodies rest within its limits. For years it was the most aristocratic portion of the city, as the style of the houses around it still attests. At present, however, it is decidedly “ down- town," and may yet be sold, like St. John's Park.
TOMPKINS SQUARE.
This is bounded by avenues A and B, and Seventh and Tenth streets. Formerly it was used solely as a parade ground, but is now a pleasant place of
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resort for the people who live on the extreme eastern side of the city.
STUYVESANT SQUARE.
This is a portion of old Peter Stuyve- sant's farm, and was given to the city by one of his descendants, on condi- tion of its being enclosed with a strong iron fence. Its eastern and western boundaries are respectively Stuyve- sant place and Rutherford place, and its northern and southern boundaries are East Fifteenth and East Seven- teenth streets. The Second avenue runs through it, thus dividing it into two distinct parks.
GRAMERCY PARK,
Is a charming little square lying be- tween Third and Fourth avenues and East Twentieth and East Twenty-first streets. It is owned by the property owners around it, each of whom contri- butes to keeping it in order. It is strictly a private park, the gates being always locked, and keys furnished to only those who reside around it.
RESERVOIR SQUARE,
On Sixth avenue, between West For- tieth and West Forty-second streets, is the site of the Crystal Palace, which was destroyed by fire in 1858. Imme- diately adjacent to its eastern border is the distributing reservoir of the Cro- ton water.
OTHER SQUARES.
The four remaining squares may be dismissed with the mere mention of their boundaries, as they are not yet fully laid out. They are as follows : -Hamilton square, situated between. East Sixty-sixth and East Sixty-ninth streets, and Third and Fifth avenues ;
Bloomingdale square, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, and West Fifty- third and West Fifty-seventh streets ; Manhattan square, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, and West Sev- enty-seventh and West Eighty-first streets ; and Mount Morris square, bounded north and south respectively by One Hundred and Twenty-fourth and One Hundred and Twentieth streets, and extending on each side of Fifth avenue.
CENTRAL PARK.
This, the great pleasure ground of the city, covers the land bounded on the south by West Fifty-ninth street, on the east by Fifth avenue, on the north by One Hundred and Tenth street, and on the west by Eighth avenue. It is two and a half miles long, about half a mile wide, and contains 843 acres, in- cluding the two reservoirs. When work was commenced upon it in 1858, it was one of the most forbidding spots that can be conceived, being little else than a huge marsh, relieved here and there by patches of trap rock, and utterly destitute of natural beauty ; now it is as attractive a spot as can be found in the country, and is excelled by few parks of its kind in the world. It contains about fifteen miles of carriage roads, eight miles of bridle paths, and twenty-five miles of walks. No trade-carts or wagons are allowed on its drives, but by an ingenious device four streets cross it from Fifth to Eighth avenue under the park roads; these streets are Sixty-fifth, Seventy-ninth, Eighty- fifth, and Ninety-seventh. There are three ponds in the park, a small one near the entrance at the intersection of Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street,
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a large one, called "The Lake," be- tween lines drawn through Seventy- third and Seventy-eighth streets, and a third of considerable size at the up- per end of the park. Boats ply on these in the summer ; and in the win- ter they are open to skaters. At the lower end, near Fifth avenue, is the old arsenal, now used as an art gal- lery, and a place for animals.
SPECIAL OBJECTS OF IN- TEREST.
With this general description of the Central Park, the visitor is ready to be informed of some of the objects of spe- cial interest within it. The first to be mentioned is
THE MALL,
A spacious promenade, running due north and south, and terminated on the north by an attractive architectural structure called the Terrace. On either side of the mall is a beautiful lawn, and on a pleasant Saturday af- ternoon, when the band is playing, it is sure to be filled with people, while the adjacent carriage-ways are crowded with elegant equipages, the whole form- ing a spectacle to be witnessed nowhere else in America.
THE TERRACE,
Is a series of steps leading from the mall to the border of the main lake, and is the most imposing specimen of architecture in the park, and the finest of its kind in the country. The view from its upper part is unsurpassed. A little to the right of the northern end of the mall is
THE CASINO,
A restaurant, under the control of the
Park Commissioners. Nothing strong er than malt liquors or light wines is allowed to be sold here.
THE RAMBLE,
Is between the Lake and the lower Reservoir, a portion of the Park de- voted entirely to walks, which are laid out with skill and taste-hills and dales, winding among rocks and caves, shaded and bordered with forest-trees, shrubbery and flowers. .
THE RESERVOIRS.
There are two reservoirs in the Park, the old one between Eightieth and Eighty-fifth streets, and the new one a few steps north of it. The capacity of the former is 150,000,000 gallons ; that of the latter is more than twice as great. The new reservoir was first used in 1862.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Besides these objects of interest, there are also the playground, the green, the flower-garden, and a num- ber of minor spots which the visitor can hardly fail to notice. A special feature of the Park are the archways and bridges, of which there are over thirty, and which are universally ad- mired for their architectural beauty ; it should be added that no two of them are alike ..
HOW TO GO TO THE PARK.
To go from the eastern side of the city, take the Second or Third avenue cars, and stop at Sixty-fifth or Seventy- ninth street, the former of which leads to the "Green " and the latter to the " Ramble." To go from the western side of the city, take the Sixth, Sev- enth, or Eighth avenue cars, and stop
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at Fifty-ninth street, which forms the lower boundary of the Park.
The Park is open every day in the year as follows: During December, January, and February, from 7 A.M. to 8 P.M. ; during March, April, May, June, October, and November, from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. ; during July, August, and September, from 5 A.M. to 11 P.M.
The best time to visit the Park, if one would see the display of equip- ages, is after three o'clock in the after- noon. Carriages can be hired within the Park for a reasonable sum, the rate of fare being fixed by the Park Commissioners. At four o'clock on Saturday afternoons fine open-air con- certs are given by Dodworth's Band.
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