Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/94

7-1 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. [J^iy, manent bridge over the Schuylkill, on the line of Bridge street, as now laid out and used west of the Pennsylvania Rail- road, above grade, striking grade at Cal- lowhill street, on the east side of the river, at or near the intersection of Biddle street; and application will be made to Councils therefor. Your opin- ion on the subject will be of much im- portance, and I am therefore directed hj the committee of citizens having the matter more particularly in charge to re- spectfully ask for your answers to the following questions: First. Is not the intersection of Bridge street and the Pennsylvania Railroad, at grade, exceedingly dangerous, and an im- pediment to the business of your com- pany ? Second. Would not a crossing above grade be vastly to the interest of your company ? Third. Would it not enable the rail- road company to conduct its vast busi- ness without hindrance, and render the crossing perfectly safe for all ? Fourth. Would you not be in favor of the prompt passage by Councils of an ordinance for the erection of a bridge on-the line of Bridge street, as laid out and used west of the Pennsylvania Rail- road, as affording the surest, safest, and cheapest mode of obviating the dangers and inconveniences alluded to ? Trusting your convenience may prompt an early answer, I remain, very respectfully, your obe- dient servant, ALBERT S. ASHMEAD, Secretary. PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD, President's Office, Philadelphia, March 27, 1868. Dear Sir : In answer to your first question, I would say that the crossing at the intersection of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Bridge street is very dan- gerous to the public travel on said street and that the caution required in passing it is an inconvenience to the operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad. To your second question I would re- ply that an overland crossing at Bridge street would save the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company some attention to their trains, now necessary to the safety of the public. The third question is answered by the second. To the fourth I would say that I am in favor of any plan by which the risks and inconveniences referred to could be obviated. The profile of the crossing on the line of Bridge street, submitted by you from a point west of the Pennsylvania Railroad to Callowhill street, near the intersection of Biddle street, would meet the objections you have in view. Tours, truly, J. Edgar Thompson. To Albert S. Ashmead, Esq., Secretary of the Committee. The Age Newspaper. — The proprie- tors of The Age newspaper have re- moved to their spacious new building, Nos. 14 and 16 South Seventh street, above Chestnut. The building is four stories in height, having a front of fine-pressed brick. The exterior view presents the tasteful ap- pearance of a structure sixty feet in height, and crowned with a large sign bearing the simple words, " The Age." The basement is appropriated to the press-room, and the dimensions are thirty-four by seventy feet. It has en- trances from the front and rear, and, in adapting it to its purposes, care has been observed to provide for the comfort of the employees. The press, which was in use at the old building, is located close by the north wall and near the Seventh street side, while the engine and boilers, which are new and of recent make, are built in the northwest corner of the basement. The floor of the room is nicely boarded, and the basement itself, put in repair, giving it a cosy appearance, is very comfortable for those there employed. Care has also beeii taken by the pro- prietors to secure space enough in the