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museum that could fence it in and show it for a fee！ Long contemplation
of this structure from my study window has printed every comic detail on
my brain。 It starts off at the ground level to be an imitation of the Doge's
Palace （a neat and appropriate idea in itself for a Broadway shop）。 At the
second story； following the usual New York method； it reverts to a design
suggestive of a county jail （the Palace and the Prison）； with here and there
a balcony hung out； emblematical； doubtless； of the inmates' wash and
bedding。 At the ninth floor the repentant architect adds two more stories in
memory of the Doge's residence。 Have you ever seen an accordion
（concertina； I believe； is the correct name） hanging in a shop window？ The
Twenty…fifth Street Doge's Palace reminds me of that humble instrument。
The wooden part； where the keys and round holes are； stands on the
sidewalk。 Then come an indefinite number of pleats； and finally the other
wooden end well up among the clouds。 So striking is this resemblance that
at times one expects to hear the long…drawn moans peculiar to the
concertina issuing from those portals。 Alas！ even the most original designs
have their drawbacks！ After the proprietor of the Venetian accordion had
got his instrument well drawn out and balanced on its end； he perceived
that it dwarfed the adjacent buildings； so cast about in his mind for a
scheme to add height and dignity to the rest of the block。 One day the
astonished neighborhood saw what appeared to be a 〃roomy suburban
villa〃 of iron rising on the roof of the old Hoffman House。 The results
suggests a small man who； being obliged to walk with a giant； had put on
a hat several times too large in order to equalize their heights！
How astonished Pericles and his circle of architects and sculptors
would be could they stand on the corner of Broadway and Twenty…eighth
Street and see the miniature Parthenon that graces the roof of a pile
innocent of other Greek ornament？ They would also recognize their old
friends； the ladies of the Erechtheum； doing duty on the Reveillon
Building across the way； pretending to hold up a cornice； which； being in
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proportion to the building； is several hundred times too big for them to
carry。 They can't be seen from the sidewalk； … the street is too narrow for
that； … but such trifles don't deter builders from decorating when the fit is
on them。 Perhaps this one got his caryatides at a bargain； and had to work
them in somewhere； so it is not fair to be hard on him。
If ever we take to ballooning； all these elaborate tops may add
materially to our pleasure。 At the present moment the birds； and angels； it
is to be hoped； appreciate the effort。 I； perhaps； of all the inhabitants of the
city； have seen those ladies face to face； when I have gone on a semi…
monthly visit to my roof to look for leaks！
〃It's all very well to carp and cavil；〃 many readers will say； 〃but ‘Idler'
forgets that our modern architects have had to contend with difficulties
that the designers of other ages never faced； demands for space and light
forcing the nineteenth…century builders to produce structures which they
know are neither graceful nor in proportion！〃
If my readers will give themselves the trouble to glance at several
office buildings in the city； they will realize that the problem is not without
a solution。 In almost every case where the architect has refrained from
useless decoration and stuck to simple lines； the result； if not beautiful； has
at least been inoffensive。 It is where inappropriate elaboration is added
that taste is offended。 Such structures as the Singer building； corner of
Liberty Street and Broadway； and the home of LIFE； in Thirty…first Street；
prove that beauty and grace of facade can be adapted to modern business
wants。
Feeling as many New Yorkers do about this defacing of what might
have been the most beautiful of modern cities； it is galling to be called
upon to admire where it is already an effort to tolerate。
A sprightly gentleman； writing recently in a scientific weekly； goes
into ecstasies of admiration over the advantages and beauty of a steel
mastodon on Park Row； a building that has the proportions of a carpenter's
plane stood on end； decorated here and there with balconies and a
colonnade perched on brackets up toward its fifteenth story。 He
complacently gives us its weight and height as compared with the
pyramids； and numerous other details as to floor space and ventilation； and
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hints in conclusion that only old fogies and dullards； unable to keep pace
with the times； fail to appreciate the charm of such structures in a city。 One
of the 〃points〃 this writer makes is the quality of air enjoyed by tenants；
amusingly oblivious of the fact that at least three facades of each tall
building will see the day only so long as the proprietors of adjacent land
are too poor or too busy to construct similar colossi！
When all the buildings in a block are the same height； seven eighths of
the rooms in each will be without light or ventilation。 It's rather poor taste
to brag of advantages that are enjoyed only through the generosity of one's
neighbors。
Business demands may force us to bow before the necessity of these
horrors； but it certainly is 〃rubbing it in〃 to ask our applause。 When the
Eiffel Tower was in course of construction； the artists and literary lights of
Paris raised a tempest of protest。 One wonders why so little of the kind has
been done here。 It is perhaps rather late in the day to suggest reform； yet if
more New Yorkers would interest themselves in the work； much might
still be done to modify and improve our metropolis。
One hears with satisfaction that a group of architects have lately met
and discussed plans for the embellishment of our neglected city。 There is a
certain poetical justice in the proposition coming from those who have
worked so muc