House iff Garden 
THE ARCHITECTURAL EMBELLISHMENT OF THE 
NEW WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE 
NEW YORK CITY 
P H LEGMATIC 
critics declare the 
municipal art move¬ 
ment has yet to find 
itself. Its promoters 
are said to be over- 
enthusiastic clam- 
orers, their ends 
vague and their 
course still more un¬ 
defined. Neverthe¬ 
less their voices have 
not been unheard, 
and the truth under¬ 
lying their plea has 
begun to create an 
a ppreciation of 
beauty in cities, in¬ 
tangible, perhaps, 
but more general 
than can bemeasured. 
Whether this appre¬ 
ciation be gathered 
within a close organi¬ 
zation and made to 
follow a pre-deter- 
mined program, or 
whether it remain 
simply an earnest 
desire, penetrating 
ultimately city halls 
and council chambers 
is a matter of little 
importance. There 
are some things that 
organization cannot 
create, and art is one 
of them. But knowl¬ 
edge, organized to 
pass judgment upon 
works of art, is not 
only possible but 
desirable. 
The Art Commis¬ 
sion of New York 
City, created two 
years ago by the 
charter tor the new 
THE TOWERS ORNAMENTED BY THE ARCHITECTS 
metropolis, is one ot 
the first and most 
conspicuous exam¬ 
ples of esthetic taste 
assembled for the 
purpose ot sanction¬ 
ing or condemning, 
from the point of 
view of their artistic 
aspect, the undertak¬ 
ings of an American 
municipality. One 
ot the most recent 
works upon which it 
has passed judgment 
is the proposedarchi- 
tectural ornamenta¬ 
tion of the new Wil¬ 
liamsburg Bridge, 
now half completed 
across the East 
River. It was doubt¬ 
less the interest in 
civic beauty, of which 
we have spoken, that 
inspired the Bridge 
Commission to re¬ 
tain the architects, 
Messrs. Palmer & 
Hornbostel, and 
invite their designs 
lor adding architec¬ 
tural grace to a work 
hitherto directed by 
the minds of engi¬ 
neers alone. 
An ornamental 
finish to the summit 
of the towers was 
manifestly the most 
needed addition to 
the original designs. 
Our illustration, re¬ 
produced from the 
architects’ drawings, 
on page 144, shows 
the pinnacles pro¬ 
posed for each tower 
141 
