EAL Estate Record

AND   BUILDERS'   GUIDE.





Vol. VI.                       NEW YOKK, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1870.                      No. 134.





' Publislied Weekly by

THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION.

TERMS.

One year, in advance__....___.......;.. $6 00

All communications should be addressed to

106 BilO.\.UWAY. COB.  OF PlNE STREET.

PUBLIC FOUNTAINS.

There is one noble feature of public improve¬
ments to whicli we have hitherto paid little or
no attention, but which as much as any other
adds beauty and dignity to the aspect of a great
city,—we mean the frequent appearance of pub¬
lic fountains. By this Ave do not mean the loca¬
tion of wooden troughs here and there, for the
use of thirsty horses; nor a common hydrant,
■with chained tin dipper, left running at long in¬
tervals at our dusty street comers. These are
very useful contrivances, to be sure, as far as
they go, but give neither elegance nor beauty to
a city. What Ave allude to are such sculptured
gems of art, in stone or bronze, as are to be
found scattered at random among the streets
and squares of all the cities of Continental Eu¬
rope; beautiful objects that arrest the atten¬
tion of -the artistic traveller wherever he
moves, in Germany, France, Belgium, or Italy.

Without speaking of that queen of modem
cities—^poor beleagfuered Paris—there is'scarcely
a to-wn in France, of any pretension whatever,
without several fine fountains. Rome is literally
crowded -with these pleasing and refreshing ob¬
jects. Turn where you vrill, you have but a lit¬
tle way to go before you come upon some
' '■Fonte ddkt acgua "—something or other; some
rich de-vice of well-carved figures in groups, pour¬
ing water in every direction. Water is playing
and bubbling everywhere; now emerging from
huge basins placed in the centre of some spacious
square, now rushing and foaming like a torrent
from the solid flank of some buildingj in the
very centre' of the city, among sea-horses and
Tritons spouting water from their shells. And
this not for any grand holiday exhibition, like the
sumptuous water displays at Versailles, but for
every day and constant enjoyment. German'
cities, too, are famous for these public objects of
usefulness and decoration. One at Augsbourg is
particularly remarkable. Around a richly-carved
octagonal structure, rising out of a large basin
and surmounted by a colossal bronze group of
Hercules slaying the Hydra, are seated exquisite
female figures in bronze, of life size, in most
.graceful attitudes. One is squeezing her long
tresses, another pressing her breast from which
flows the limpid flaid, while, at the base, among
mermaids squirting water from their lips, area
number of merry little urchins strangling geese,
from whose upturned beaks the streams of wa¬
ter spout up aadcroBs each other in every di¬





rection. These figures are aU. of costly bronze;
there is not one of them but, as a work of art,
is fit to grace any Gallery in Christendom, and
yet there they are, not for any private show,
but as a common street ornament! We really
think travellers are more impressed by the foun¬
tains in those German cities and elsewhere than,
perhaps, by any other single feature in their
rich treasures of art; for it is high art ap¬
plied in a direction to which we are here so
totally unaccustomed.

And why should this be so.? In every de¬
partment of art we are making such rapid
headway that New York bids fair to become,
in anothier decade or two, one of the stateliest
capitals in the world. We have a supply of
water in unusual abundance, and our natural
draining facilities are unsurpassed. There is
no city in the world more capable of adorn¬
ment in this direction, if we only applied the
proper taste and energy to it. Even the Cen¬
tral Park, beautiful as it is in eveiy respect, as
far as it has gone, and carrying evidences, as it
does, of more concentrated and uniform taste
in aU. its details than perhaps any other park in
existence, is still far behind with its fountains.
But it is not so much the united efEort upon
one such grand work as would be here applica¬
ble to which we now especially allude; it is
rather to such fountains as would be fit to be
placed in any of the prominent locations still
left us as breathing places: for instance, in
City Hall Square, in front of the new Post Of¬
fice; in Union Square, Madison Square, in all
the spaces left at the grand junctions where
Broadway cuts diagonally across the avenues.

If this be.luxury beyond the reach of our
municipal authorities, surely we have indi-vidual
wealth among us far surpassing that to be
found in most European cities, and to which the
latter are able to directly trace much of their
public adornments. To what better purpose
could one of our many millionnaires devote a
portion of his surplus wealth than by presenting
his city with a splendid work of art, in the shape
of a public fountain? But Cincinnati has al¬
ready taken the start of us in this respect, and
what we have here only thrown out as a sugges¬
tion has already been realized by one of her
wealthiest citizens. Mr. Probasco—^whose
sumptuous residence in the environs of Cincin¬
nati, and rare treasures of art from aU parts of
the world are worthy of a long pilgrimage to
visit—has presented his native city with a most
costly and magnificent fountain, to be set np in
Fifth street market place: a work of art wliich,
in size, richness, and beauty of design and ex¬
ecution win, when complete, place it in favor¬
able comparison with anything of the kind to
be found in Europe. The whole was designed
and executed, at Munich, Bavaria, by the first
of living sculptors in bronze, and must be now





nearly ready to put in place. The various
groups and figures, which are all of bronze life-
size, are exquisite and appropiiate works of art,
and the whole is surmounted by one majes¬
tic female figure, with wide-spread arms,
scattering water in showers from the palms of
her hands. The whole thing is designed upon
the grandest scale imaginable. We regret that
we have not at hand the particulars of this
glorious work, of which we only had a hurried
glimpse by the model, and may revert to it
at some future time.





KEFORTED

IMPORTANT BUSINESS CHANGES.

NEW YORK CITT.

Banks & Leonard, umbrellas, dissolved; George
W. Leonard continues.

Danby, J. B. & Co., prodace commission, dis¬
solved ; J. B. Danbj"- continues.

Dickinson <fe Lathrop, drug brokers, dissolved; B.
J. Dickinson & Co., continue.

McKeachnie & Conldin (supplement) drugs ;
changed to McKechnie, Conklin & Rupert.

Sawyer, Baruaby & Co., railroad supphes, dia-
Bolved; John Sawyer continues.

Vernon Bros. & Co., paper; Samul Vernon, Sr.,
deceased.





MECHANICS'   LIENS   AGAINST   BUILDINGS
IN NEW YORK CITY.

[The dates 1,3, 4, 5, and 6, placed before the Uens, are
for Oct.   The others are for September.]

Sept. and Oct.

6 Broadwat (fe. Leonard. STS.,. s. e.
cor.. No. 346 Broadway. F. Icker
agt. Thos. Gardner, Jr............     $606 75

1 Eighty-third st., n. s., commenc-
ing 175 e. 9th av. (13 houses). Quinn
& Cunningham agt. John Carlin...       773 75

3  Eighty-third st., n. s., commekc-

ing 325 w. Sth av. (13 houses).  An¬
drew Johnston agt. John Carlin...       312 00
6 Same property.   John McAleer

agt. John Brady et al.............        15 50

4  Eighth st., n. s.,.No. 335B.. Petek

Hanunerschmidt agt. John Hussell.        75 00

1 Forty-second st., n. s., Nos. 425,
427, 429 & 431 W.     Albert Stevens

agt. W. N. Aldrich...............    1,345 82

1 Fifty-first st., s. s., Nos. 54, 56 &
58 W.    Wm. McGrath agt. Moses

Goodldnd et al...................    1,414 66

6 Forty-second st., n. s., Nos. 425,
427, 429 & 431 W.   James O'Brien
.   agt. W. H. Aldrich...............       196 00

4  One Hundred and Fifteenth st.,

n. s., 170 e. 1st av.    R. A. Mam-

' fold agt. B. A. McChrister.........       165 00

3 Sixteenth ST., n. s.. No. 645 E.,be-
tween Avs. C & B.   Nicholas Seger

agt. Elizabeth Lehmann...........    5,000 00

3 Sixteenth ST., N, s.. No. 647 E. Wm..

Schulz agt. Elizabeth Lehmann___    5,000 00

30 Thirtieth st., s. s.. No. 240 E., be-
tween 2d & 3d av«. Wm. Bishop agt.

John D. Meagher.................        59 75

1 Twenty-third st., s. s., Nos. 1.56 <fe
158 E., between 3d &, Madison avs.
John A. Wyman agt. Fransworth

&Co.............................    3,820 30

1 Thirty-seventh st., n. . s., 250 e.
10th av. 6. E. Meyers et aL agt.
— Friedgen...........,...........       213 15

5  Thirty-seventh st., n. s.. No. 441

W., between 9th & 10th avs.  James

Hanlon agt. Mathews F'riedgen___       695 00

5 Thirty-first .st., a. s.. No.. 44 E.

James Mclndo agt. Uxs. Aueny...        53 14