This week we give a map of the city of Chicago. It will be observed that all the streets of the city are not put down on the map, it being impossible, on a small scale, to include them. A sufficient number of the principal streets and avenues are given, however, to make it a simple matter for a wheelman to place himself anywhere in the city, and find the nearest route to asphalt, macadam, or wood-block pavement. The roads which are suitable for wheeling are so arranged in the city, as will be seen from the map, that it is possible to get to any part of it without having much disagreeable riding.
Starting from the Court-house and going north, the rider should cross the Chicago River and run out Dearborn Street, turning into Lincoln Park, and following the Lake Drive out through Evanston. This is not only the most picturesque ride in the city of Chicago, but it is the best method of getting out of the north of the city if you are on a trip by the Lake shore. By turning to the left off the Lake Drive a little more than half-way through Lincoln Park, crossing the park, and entering Fullerton Avenue, you will find good wood-block pavement. Running out to Milwaukee Avenue, and turning right into the latter, which is also block pavement, you are on the northwest exit from the city. To leave the city on the westward, cross the branch of the Chicago River, and run from the Court-house out Washington Boulevard—which is partly asphalt and partly macadam—pass through Garfield Park, and thence out of the city.
On the south from the Court-house and post-office is one of the famous runs in the vicinity of Chicago, or, as a matter of fact, in the middle West. This is a fifteen-mile run to Pullman City. It is a capital road all the way; it makes a good thirty-mile ride, and is one of the best roads for a road race that can be had. There have been several interesting experiments made on this route, such as military operations, soldiers mounted on bicycles, and carrying of despatches, and there are road races constantly being held. Leaving the Court-house, run to the corner of Jackson Street, and Michigan Avenue Boulevard over granite-block pavement, thence on Michigan Avenue Boulevard to the corner of Thirty-fifth Street, where you may either turn to the left on Thirty-fifth Street and run over to the Grand Boulevard, or keep straight on Michigan Avenue Boulevard to Garfield Boulevard, turning left into this and running into Washington Park. The former route is better on account of the fact that by this route the rider has the opportunity of passing through the entire length of Washington Park. On reaching the Midway in Washington Park, turn to the left, cross the park, and run eastward into Jackson Park, turning right into this, and thence proceed to the south of Stony Island Avenue, which is block pavement, and run by Hog Lake through South Chicago to Ninety-fifth Street. At this point turn sharp to the right into Ninety-fifth Street, turning soon again to the left, and running into Pullman City over a road of good rideable gravel. This is a run of fifteen miles, and for the entire distance the pavement and road-bed are not only good and kept in the best of condition, but some of the road is through parks and the rest through interesting scenery. At Pullman City you can get a good seventy-five-cent dinner, and the ride out and back, with the rest at Pullman, makes a capital wheelman's short tour.
Another possible ride in Chicago is to run north from the Court-house, through Lincoln Park, up the Lake Drive to Evanston; thence running back by the same route, but keeping to the right after passing through half Lincoln Park, running out Fullerton Avenue; thence turning left into Humboldt Boulevard, following this through Humboldt Park and on to Central Boulevard; thence turning left through Garfield Park, down West Jackson Street to Ashland Avenue; turning right into this, proceed to West Twelfth Street; thence by West Twelfth Street to Douglas Park, through the park and southward by California Avenue, crossing the south branch of the Chicago River, turning left into Thirty-first Street and running westward to Western Avenue Boulevard, turning right again into the latter and running to Garfield Boulevard at Tremont Ridge; thence by Garfield Boulevard to Washington Park, and so returning by Grand Avenue Boulevard and Michigan Avenue Boulevard to the Court-house, or running southward to Pullman City, as already described.
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
We Americans pride ourselves on our new inventions, and economical adaptation of systems and methods originated elsewhere. In postal matters we still have much to learn. For instance, twenty years ago Berlin introduced the pneumatic-tube system for the prompt delivery of local letters. In 1879 Paris adopted the same system, and London, Vienna, and other European cities followed suit. In London 60,000 letters are daily sent through the tubes.
Philadelphia has just been authorized by the P. O. Department to begin the work of constructing such a system at once. It is proposed to have a central pumping station at the new City Hall, from whence lines of pipes will radiate to every part of the city. The diameter of the tubes is to be eight inches, thus enabling packages of some size to be sent by this method. The capacity of the tubes is to be 50,000 letters per hour. When the system is completed Philadelphia will have the quickest local-mail delivery in the world. Probably the New York and Brooklyn post-offices will be connected by pneumatic tube in a few months, and the system is bound to expand rapidly. It would not be surprising to find Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington connected by tubes, enabling letters and parcels to be forwarded in as many hours as it now takes days. The telegraph companies will be seriously affected by the new system.