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CHAPTER IV 



A CITY WITHIN A CITY 



How the Child Grew up a Giant — The Past Speaks in Thunder Tones of the 

 Prosperity Advancing Years Bring to the Home, the Merchant and the 

 Manufacturer — What Rapid Transit Stands for in the Growth of a 

 Metropolis. 



A.RVELOUS as has been the growth of The Bronx in 

 the last decade, it is very little compared to what 

 the near future has in store, awaiting the comple- 

 tion of new subways and rapid transit lines. With 

 better transit facilities, territory in outlying sec- 

 tions, heretofore inaccessible, will be at the disposal of 

 men of moderate means who will build homes which may be 

 easily reached from their places of business in the metropolis. 

 New York City is daily becoming more congested and the overflow 

 of population must inevitably find its way to nearby suburbs. It 

 is only a question of a few years when the entire lower section of 

 Manhattan will be devoted exclusively to business. 



That the Borough of The Bronx will draw the greater share 

 of this influx, needs no prophet to foretell. The close proximity 

 of The Bronx to Manhattan, and the many substantial bridges 

 which span the Harlem River and practically extend the streets of 

 Manhattan into The Bronx, give it decided advantages over the 

 other boroughs. Moreover, it is admirably situated; it covers an 

 area double that of Manhattan; and it needs but the magic touch 

 of better transportation facilities to make it the Empire City of the 

 future. This is no idle boast, for The Bronx is on the brink of 

 another evolution, and history is sure to repeat itself. Few 

 dreamed thirty years ago that the region north of the Harlem 

 River, known in the earlier days as the "Annexed District," would 

 ever be the giant city it is today. And it will continue to exceed 

 the expectations of even the flightiest prognosticators, as it is at 

 present only at the beginning of its greatness. 



Men of capital and keen business foresight who have made 

 a study of realty conditions say that there has never been a more 



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