THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



r,n,^ 



During his stay on Lung Island lie niatlc the ac- 

 quaintance of Mr. F. G. .Mcnse, formerly superintend- 

 ent of Danas Island and the Perkins Estate at Glen 

 Cove. In June. IS'i.^, he married his daughter, Miss 

 Leonie .A. -Mense. hi tlu- Spring of 1896 Mr. Wirth 

 was appointed superintendent of parks of Hartford, 

 Conn. The new Park Commission of Hartford had 

 just been organized and the constructive period for 

 a park system for that cit\. then just inaugurated, of- 

 fered a splendid opportunity for an energetic and 

 progressive young landscajjc gardener. Olmsted & 

 Elliot were the architects ni the commission, and Mr. 

 W'irtli carried out the plans furnished by them. Eliza- 

 beth Park, one of Hartford's favorite parks, came 

 into possession of the Park Board later on and 

 .Mr. Wirth designed the ]j]ans for the improvement 

 of that beatitiful tract of land, and carried them 

 out. 



In P'O.T Mr. Wirth received an invitation from the 

 Park L'ommi.-'sion of Minneapolis to look over the park 

 system of that city, and to consider the acceptance of 

 the superintendency of same. The great possibilities 

 of this much larger system, which was yet in a more 

 or less undeveloped condition, together with the many 

 natural attractions, almost unlimited possible exten- 

 sions, and the numerous and difficult problems, offered 

 inducements which overshadowed the very strong af- 

 fections he held at that time for his position and the 

 citv he served. He took charge of the Minneapolis 



MI.NNEII.\H.\ I ALLS, MIN\F..\l>OI.IS P.\R1< SYSTEM. 



t;;.\il .\lijng l.\ke caliioux. mixne-\polis park system. 



Park System at the lieginning of 1906, and has since 

 then carried out a large amount of improvement work 

 in dififerent directions. At the time of his entrance into 

 the service of Minneapolis, the park s\-stem consisted 

 of 1.810 acres of land, all of which was mostly in the 

 south half of the city. The last, which is the Thirtieth 

 Annual Report of the ISoard of Park Commissioners, 

 shows that since then the park area has more than 

 doubled in size, cnd)racing now 3,710 acres. During 

 the seven vears Minneapolis has spent a total of $4,- 

 106,509.02, '$2,218,41''.16 of which was for acquisitions. 

 ,'j;884 ,412.50 for improvements, and $1,003,677.36 for 

 maintenance. 



Mr. W irtli has al all times been an adxocate of giv- 

 ing the peo[)le the fullest use of park property for 

 recreation and rest. He was one of the first to banish 

 the sign "'Keep off the grass" and to introduce play- 

 grounds and other features of park utilities. Horticul- 

 tural advancement in park work li;i> been (Uie of his 

 favorite aims. 



The Park Commission of Minneapolis does not em- 

 plov a landscape architect, and Mr. Wirth has had the 

 opportunity to plan the extensions and imjirovements 

 of the system, and carry out his own plans. He takes 

 a great deal of pleasure in this very inspiring and in- 

 teresting work, which means the developing of a jiark 

 system which will make his new home city fanmus and 

 a good place to live in. 



