Show UPPER BROADWAY NOW GARAGE ROW Upper Broadway between Fortysecond C 5 street and Seventysecond street has been named Garage row by the automobilists In the last two years automobile garages havo strung up there at a great rate Most of the ground which the garages now occupy was vacant lots a couple of years ago some with squatters shanties on them Then ono automobllo manufacturer erected a temporary garage above Fiftyninth street It was a hIt from the start and other manufacturers followed suit and erected garages At first tho garages were only temporary affairs af-fairs tho majority being only two stories high As business increased substantial buildings took tho place of tho temporary ones Each builder tried to outdo his rivals in tho appearance of his garage with tho result that some of tho garages resemble private dwellings moro closely than business buildings When all of tho available vacant ground was utilized tho manufacturers wero forced to look elsewhere Some of them bought up buildings which were being used for other branches of business and transformed them Into garages Ono of them transformed a livery stablo Into a garage while another an-other purchased a flat house and after overhauling tho entire lower part turned It Into a garage Most of tho garages aro four or five stories high with a deep cellar for storing gasoline and oil where electric sparks or fire cant get at them Tho buildings nro all of fireproof construction with steel frames and concrete floors In some of tho streets off that part ot Broadway there Is so much auto traffic through them daily that tho asphalt Is stained a dark brown from tho oil and grease which drip from tho machines |