Results of a "Sane Fourth." The result of the second "Sane Fourth" was eminently gratifying. The day was characterized by an almost complete absence of the ear-splitting and nerve-racking explosions of fire-crackers, bombs and fire-arms which for so long a time have been considered an indispensable means of expressing patriotic sentiments on Independence Day. The casualties to life and limb were greatly reduced, and so were the losses by fire. Fire Commissioner Joseph Johnson, Jr., in giving comparative figures on fires on the Fourth of July for the last three years reports that in 1909 there were 129 fires, causing $14,620 damage, in Manhattan, the Bronx and Richmond. In 1910, there were nine fires in the three Boroughs, with $1,630 damage. In 1911 there were only four fires attributable to the celebration. The total damage was only $80. The Commissioner said that there were several other fires, but they could not be charged to fire-works. Mayor Gaynor's Thanks. On the day following the Fourth, Mayor Gaynor sent the following letter to Hon. Herman Ridder, President of the Fourth of July Committee: "Dear Mr. Ridder. In behalf of the people of the City the Mayor wishes to thank your Committee for the way in which it organized the celebration of Independence Day. There was no part of the City in which the day was not duly celebrated. "Last year when we inaugurated the celebration of the day without the promiscuous use of firearms and explosives, much opposition was encountered, as is generally the case in all changes, however meritorious. This year there was no opposition, and it is now a thing established, not only here, but apparently throughout the country, that Independence Day is to be hereafter celebrated without causing so much loss of life and property and so many physical mutilations. Sincerely yours, W. J. GAYNOR, Mayor." OPENING OF THE NEW BUILDING OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. History of the Site. The new building of the New York Public Library, Astor, Tilden and Lenox Foundations, was opened with formal exercises on Tuesday, May 23, 1911. The building is bounded on the north by West Forty-second street, on the east by Fifth avenue, on the south by West Fortieth street, and on the west by Bryant Park. [See plate 44.] In 1823, when the Potter's Field (Washington Parade, now Washington Square,) was leveled, its use as a place of interment was abandoned and the City bought for the same purpose the area bounded by West Forty-second street, Fifth avenue, West Fortieth street and Sixth avenue, containing 128 building lots. The price paid was $8,449. In 1835, the citizens of New York voted to issue bonds for the introduction of a water supply from Croton river, 40 miles distant, and it was decided to build one of the receiving reservoirs on the eastern end of the new Potter's Field on the site now occupied by the library. This reservoir had ponderous stone walls rising above the ground level, the exterior surface sloping inward in the Egyptian style of architecture. [See plate 45.] On June 27, 1842, the Croton water was admitted to the "upper reservoir at Yorkville," that is, the old reservoir in Central Park, and on July 4, 1842, it was admitted to the reservoir "at Murray Hill, a short drive from the City." The latter was the reservoir formerly on the library site. On both occasions there were formal ceremonies. Thereafter for many years, the unoccupied portion of the Potter's Field was known as Reservoir Square. Eleven years later, on July 4, 1853, a World's Fair was formally opened by President Pierce and a distinguished company in the Crystal Palace erected in Reservoir Square. Here, among other events, an ovation was given to Mr. Cyrus W. Field on the successful laying of the Atlantic cable. On October 5, 1858, the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire. In 1884 the name of Reservoir Square was changed to Bryant Park in honor of the poet, William Cullen Bryant. As early as 1893 the reservoir site was suggested for a new library building for the New York Public Library, Astor, Tilden and Lenox foundations,* and in 1897 the Legislature enacted chapter 556 of the laws of that year, authorizing the City to erect a building for this purpose within the legal limits of Bryant Park and to enter into a contract with the Library corporation for its occupation. It was not, however, until the spring of 1899 that the preliminaries were so far arranged as to permit of entering into a contract for the removal of the Reservoir. The demolition of the old Egyptian walls was a slow process, portions remaining standing long after the work on the Library had been begun. The cornerstone of the Library was laid on November 10, 1902, and the building was erected according to the plans of Carrere & Hastings. Ceremonies of Dedication. On Tuesday, May 23, 1911, the sixteenth anniversary of the agreement of consolidation of the Astor and Lenox Libraries and the Tilden Trust, the new Library building was opened with formal exercises held in the rotunda. About 600 persons were present. At 2 p. m. the official procession marched from the Trustees' room on the second floor to the platform in the rotunda in the following order: Dr. John S. Billings, the Director of the Library, and Mr. Edwin H. Anderson; Messrs. John Henry Hammond and John W. Alexander; Messrs. Henry W. Taft and Edward W. Sheldon; Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge and Hon. Samuel Greenbaum; Dr. Andrew Carnegie and Mr. William W. Appleton; Messrs. George W. Smith and Charles Howland Russell; Mr. George L. Rives; Messrs. John L. Cadwallader and Frederick Sturges; Mr. Thomas Hastings, of the firm of Carrere & Hastings, architects, and the Hon. Charles B. Stover, President of the Park Board; the Right Rev. David H. * See page 104 preceding. A very full history of the founding of the Library and of events leading up to the selection of the Reservoir site for the new building, is to be found in the first number of the Library Bulletin of January, 1897. Other historical allusions will be found in the addresses on the following pages. |