THE ACADEMY OF DESIGN,
At the corner of Twenty-third street and Fourth Avenue, is one of the most beautiful edifices in the city. It is built in the pure Gothic style of the thirteenth century, and the external walls are composed of variegated marble. It has an air of lightness and elegance, that at once elicit the admiration of the gazer. The interior is finished with white pine, ash, mahogany, oak, and black walnut in their natural colors; no paint being used in the building. Schools of art, a library, reading room, lecture room, and the necessary rooms for the business of the institution, occupy the first and second stories. The third floor is devoted to the gallery of paintings and the sculpture room.
An annual exhibition is held during the winter months, when the public are admitted at a small charge. Only the works of living artists are exhibited.
The hospitals and benevolent institutions of the city are numerous, and are conducted in a liberal manner. Visitors are admitted to all of them at stated times, and much instruction and profit may be gained from an examination of the system upon which they are managed.