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not materially enlarge upon the present facilities; and it would put the market in a position where automatic means of relief, by overflow into the streets and into adjacent private stores, would be practically impossible. Moreover, the opinions of marketmen and of experts on the values of retail trade locations seem to be that the chances are desperately against the commercial success of any basement or underground market, no matter what skill may be exercised in meeting the problems of lighting, ventilation, and means of access.

In judging other possible solutions of this very perplexing problem it is important to consider the experiences of other large cities of the northeast states with the market business.

With only two exceptions all the markets of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington have become less and less profitable during recent years. In some cases the business has fallen off so much that half the stalls are vacant, and in others the markets have had to be abandoned. The reasons offered by market superintendents and others for this general decline, upon analysis, may be summarized as follows: (1) With the increase in size of cities and the general change in habits, retail purchasers find it increasingly troublesome to go to a central market, and attach an importance to the convenience of purchasing from neighboring local provision dealers, and of having the goods delivered. (2) Owing also to general changes in habits of life, especially to the increasing specialization of knowledge and skill of all kinds, the average retail purchaser is becoming constantly less competent to form an independent judgment of the quality of provisions offered for sale, is more conscious of this incompetency, and is more and more dependent upon the reliability of the dealer; he is therefore less able to get any advantage from purchasing in an open competitive market. This again obviously makes for the advantage of the local provision stores. An index of this tendency is the increasing amount of ordering by telephone and otherwise "sight unseen."

Both the above factors, but especially the latter, are reflected in the fact that such of the public markets as are falling off least in their business are taking on more of the character of wholesale markets where the purchasers are experts representing either local retail provision dealers, or hotels, clubs and restaurants.

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Last modified on 22-Dec 1999
Design format: copyright 1997-1999 Bruce S. Cridlebaugh
Original document: Frederick Law Olmsted, 1910