How New York Welcomed The New Century

<I>New York Journal</I>, Dec. 31, 1900 -- This is the last day of the Nineteenth Century. Tomorrow the Twentieth begins, with all its promises.

The celebration of the funeral of the old year will merge into that of the birth of the new. Throughout New York there will be exercises, watch meetings and festivals. The principal gathering will be in City Hall Park tonight. A concert by Sousa’s band will begin at 10 o’clock. Then there will be patriotic songs by a thousand singers of the People’s Choral Union, led by Frank Damrosch, and by 500 voices, from the United German Singing societies.

There will be a large display of fireworks in from of the City Hall beginning between 11:30 p.m. this century and 12:01 in the next century.

There will be a device in fire; “Welcome Twentieth Century,” accompanied by a discharge of 40 lyddite bombs, covering an area of 2000 feet. Then will come a grand illumination in scarlet and emerald; bombshells with diamond dust; bombshells with electric silver effects; a fine portrait of Mayor Van Wyck, covering an area of 400 square feet; variegated gattling batteries, Vesuvius fountains, bouquets of flowers and forests of fire. The display will conclude with a magnificent slight of variegated bombshells.

The suggestion of the Journal that every home in New York be illuminated in honor of the Twentieth Century has been received enthusiastically by the public. Arrangements have been made to burn arc lights, incandescent bulbs, gas and even candles as a salute to Little 1901. On the East Side, there were to be seen yesterday thousands of candles already set in the windows, ready to be lighted just before the clock strikes 12.

All Cities to Celebrate

The idea has been spread all over the country. In all the big cities, such as Chicago, New Orleans, Omaha, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis and Los Angeles, the motto of the night will be “Light Up.”

In every Roman Catholic Church in the world, midnight mass will be said tonight. His Holiness the Pope has notified every archbishop and bishop that he expects them to say mass at their cathedrals. Archbishop Corrigan will celebrate pontifical High Mass at midnight in St. Patrick’s Cathedral.