284 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



however, some general characteristics which belong to cer- 

 tain great districts, and afford a basis for a division of the 

 city in accordance with these distinguishing characters. 

 The districts as here given, are as follows : 



1. The down-town business district, with its great office 

 buildings, south of Chambers street. 



2. The general business district, between Chambers and 

 Twenty-third streets, including the east-side tenements. 



3. The older residential district, between Twenty-third 

 and Fifty-ninth streets. 



4. The newer or up-town residential district, with its large 

 apartment houses, between Fifty-ninth and One Hundred 

 and Tenth streets. 



5. The west-side heights and Harlem, from One Hundred 

 and Tenth street to the Harlem river. 



6. The less compactly built and suburban twenty-third 

 and twenty-fourth wards of the city, lying north of the 

 Harlem river. 



In the down-town district, as here given, that is, from the 

 Battery to Chambers street, a remarkable transformation is 

 going on in the appearance of that part of the city, and 

 large all-stone or stone and brick structures, eight to thir- 

 teen stories in height, are replacing the older brick, iron, 

 and brick and stone-front buildings. 



The increased height and more massive walls demand 

 more care in the substructures and stones of larger dimen- 

 sions than were formerly used. Granites are preferred for 

 the foundations, and are put in the lower story fronts 

 also, with sandstone or limestone in the walls of the upper 

 stories. The number of notable stone buildings in this part 

 of the city is larger than in the other districts, excepting 

 churches, which class is best represented in the up-town dis- 

 tricts. Here, also, are the various public buildings of the 

 United States government and the city offices. The sub- 

 stantial character of these newer constructions and the rapid 

 increase in their numbers, points to an increasing demand 

 for the best building stone and in blocks of large size. The 



