The possibility of a super-dancing-saloon being erected on the site of
Apsley House is, we fear, likely to be relegated to the limbo of lost
opportunities.
It will be remembered that a few weeks ago London in general and the
West-End in particular was excited and delighted by the announcement
that Apsley House had been sold to an influential syndicate and
would shortly be converted into a massive and monumental block,
forty storeys high, crowned with the dancing-saloon and including
a concert-hall with the most powerful organ in the world, and
a swimming-bath with salt water conveyed by a special pipe from
Brighton.
It will also be remembered that Mr. Chumpley Swope, the chairman of
the syndicate, issued a powerful manifesto in which he explained
the purely humanitarian motives of the enterprise--to obliterate
the militaristic associations of the site; to replace an unsightly
building by a fabric which would be one of the architectural glories
of London, and simultaneously to cheer the patients in St. George's
Hospital with the sounds of harmony by night.
Unhappily the realisation of these beneficent and artistic designs
seems likely to be indefinitely postponed, to judge from the
authoritative statements made to our representative by Mr. Doremus
Pomerene, architect to the owners, and by Mr. Chumpley Swope himself.
"There never was any idea," said Mr. Pomerene, "in the minds of
the present owners, Mr. Otis Flather and Mr. Virgil Onderdonk,
of converting the site of Apsley House to the uses of a
super-dancing-saloon. Mr. Flather is a convinced opponent of the
dancing mania and President of the Anti-Tarantulation League, while
Mr. Onderdonk has always been a profound admirer of the great Duke
of WELLINGTON. Subject to the approval of the present Duke it is our
intention to re-erect Apsley House on the Playing Fields at Eton, and
utilise the site for the building of flats for the New Poor."
"The erection of a Neo-Georgian super-dancing-saloon on the Piccadilly
frontage of Apsley House," said Mr. Chumpley Swope, "has long been the
dearest dream of my heart. My first negotiations with Messrs. Shumway
and Prudden were conducted for the express purpose of facilitating the
realisation of this project. Moreover, when Mr. Flather joined me in
the purchase of the entire site his representative, Mr. Onderdonk, was
fully aware of my plans and expressed his cordial approval thereof.
"Eventually my friends and I accepted offers made to us by Mr. Flather
whereby the entire site was vested in him, subject to an agreement
that the Piccadilly frontage to a depth of two hundred kilowatts
should be reserved for the erection of the dancing-saloon, the
concert-hall and the swimming-bath.
"Owing however to the difficulties connected with the laying of the
pipe from Brighton and the unaccountable and irrational hostility
displayed by the Governing Body of St. George's Hospital the plan of
erecting this Temple of Terpsichore has fallen into abeyance and
the West-End is threatened with the loss of an educational asset of
incomparable value. I may add, however, that negotiations have been
opened with the Dean and Chapter of WESTMINSTER and that I do not
altogether despair of obtaining an alternative site and making a fresh
start with my plans for beautifying and humanising London."
* * * * *
Limitations.
There was a young lady of Clacton
Whose knowledge was wide and exact on
Jazz, jumpers and plays
And the cinema craze;
But she never had heard of Lord Acton.
* * * * *
"'Obregon signed the flag as did others at the convention,'
said Villa. 'He kissed the mlag, and cried as he kissed it.
Then those who wanted to break the agreement stole the blag
with the signatures of the delegates."
_American Paper._
This helps us a little to appreciate the confusion of Mexican
politics.
* * * * *