Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1915 — Little Paris of the new World [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Little Paris of the new World

THE railway from the port of La Guaira to Caracas, capital of the republic of Venezuela, is about twenty-four miles long, following the track of the road built by the colonial Spanish governors along the of the mountain wall, writes L. Elwyn Elliott in the Pan-American Magazine. As the railway track winds up in a series of curves the traveler sees a few yards below, all the way, the highway newly built up and splendidly surfaced where automobiles are climbing or descending—negotiating the frequent bends with care. No better road could be desired, and this is but one of the excellent systems of public highways which are the pride of Venezuela. Up in the mountains we get a quick and grateful change of climate with some suddenness; it is not really cool, for Caracas is sheltered by the double range that closes it in on either hand, but it is exceedingly agreeable—a perfect soft spring temperature almost equal during the whole of the year and only varied by the seasons of alternating dryness and moisture. The first, and I think the last, impression that one gets of Caracas is that it is very clean, very spick and span, very much “embellicida.’' It is indeed the most embellished city of the Caribbean countries. Large sums have been spent during several successive presidencies on the adornment of this greatly beloved capital city, and there is no Venezuelan who grudges the continuous expendi-

ture that is used in making this a place of pride. To the 20 year regime of President Guzman Blanco were due the first layings of modern pavements, the erection of many modern edifices for public use, the introduction of up-to-date utilities; his ideas have been added to as well as maintained, and the result is that Caracas has made the most of her natural advantages and is the prettibst, best paved, best managed of cities. Many Handsome Plazas. Caracas is laid out in squares intersected by a quantity of public gardens oFplazas in the style common, to Span-ish-America, and a very excellent system of town planning; in the case of the Venezuelan capital each square is beautifully tended, shrubs and fountains are kept in fine condition, the paths are paved with bright tiles, and the roads leading away,at each side are macadamized or asphhlted, like the streets of Paris. The newcomer is always proudly told that Caracas is called the "Little Paris of the New World,” and her people have certainly done their best to earn the title for their capital. The Plhza de Bolivar marks the center of Caracas, the chief government building being accessible to it. It is a fine square, v with an equestrian statue of the Liberator in the middle, flowering trees all about it, and the warm ipidday atmosphere cooled by fountains; a fine band plays here twice a week. One one side, or rather at the northeast comer, stands the cathedral, the. remainder of the side taken up by stores; the post office and Museo Boliviano, together with the Hotel Klindt and mqre stores, take up another side; the palace of the archbishop and certain of the mupiqipal office buildings lie on the south, while the Casa Amarillo, seat of the department of foreign relations, is on the west side. One block west and a block south of the Casa Amarilla stands the Capitolio, occupying with its airy spaces an entire block. It is surrounded with trees,, and has a beautiful patio, gay with palms and statues and fountains, in the center, while about it are. government offices, the chambers where the senators and deputies meet, and a magnificent reception salon. . . Some Notable Buildings. Among the many handsome buildings perhaps none are more attractive

than the National university; on on* side a great series of shallow steps run along the front of a delicate lacy facade, rowß of pillars shading the cloisters; the rounded front of the Capitolio, already mentioned, Is architecturally fine, and the yellow House is a fine spacious building. It does not, by the way, really correspond to the White House at Washington, to which it is often compared, for the president of Venezuela does not rdbide here. The president’s residence is a lovely palace built over a rock opposite the Calvario hill, and is known as Miraflores. • j South of the main plaza are the business and largest dry goods stores — which are not too busy to shut up tight in the middle of the day, when everybody is supposed to be at lunch —most of the financial houses and important offices; north the shops thin out and big residences, many of them two storieß in height, crowd the streets. Like those in many another Spanish-American city, they have deeply embrasured entrances, are painted in gay colors, and decorated externally In a manner only possible in a land of the sun. VParaiso and Calvario. The Paraiso is the neck of valley that runs out in a southerly direction from the capital; there are two magnificent roads, meeting at the valley’s head, and with a broad strip of green between where there is an almost continuous series of parks and residences. Delightful country homes deep in trees edge the hillsides along the

roads, and as a background stand the emerald heights themselves, velvet with soft verdue, the peaks softly capped with trailing clouds. This drive in the, afternoon is one of the pleasures of Caracas that no one can afford to miss. Seen from the Paraiso roads Caracas lies embowered In trees delicately spread at the foot of the protecting heights, an enchanting position. If there is another view of the city for which one would exchange this, it is the enchanting scene laid at one’s feet when seen from Calvario hill. To reach this point we drive out from the city one fine balmy afternoon, cross-

ing the outskirts and approaching a westerly hill dominating the whole of Caracas. Once upon a time this was nothing but a grim height, but now an encircling driveway winds up to the top, a series of stone steps invite the energies of the pedestrian, and on the summit is a botanical garden and a zoo where Venezuelan animals and birds are spaciously housed. A fine triumphal arch guards the foot of the hill, and the park at the top is adorned with statues of Colon and of the soldier Sucre; from the breezy brow one looks down on Caracas itself and on tile smiling green strip, bill guarded* which la the Caracas valley.

ARCH OF THE FEDERATION

Statue of Bolivar