Diary of George Templeton Strong, July 4, 1860

“The day was ushered in," as the newspapers say, with the usual racket, which has not yet abated. I lounged downtown after breakfast, and made an expedition to Jersey City; partly for want of something to do, and partly to give Miss Rosalie Ruggles the latest news from Barrington. A sweltering hot day it has been, as I found out on my walk home after lunching at Delmonico’s.

After dinner, I strolled out again and found my way to the North River, in the region of Bank Street, where the Great Eastern lies.¹⁵ She loomed up colossal in the twilight. It was too late to ask for admission (price, one dollar). So I walked home again. Looked in at the “Palace Garden” in Fourteenth Street and “looked” out again very speedily. It was hotter than the hot street and presented no attractions but colored lamps, a dismal orchestra, and an occasional skyrocket.

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¹⁵ The Great Eastern, a British liner designed by Russell Scott weighing almost 19,000 deadweight tons, the leviathan of her day, had reached New York, June 28, to find the shores black with throngs excited over her arrival. In the first five days 143,764 people paid to visit her.

SOURCE: Allan Nevins and Milton Halset Thomas, Editors, Diary of George Templeton Strong, Vol. 3, p. 37