TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V. 207 



Htate Fair Grounds. The plans and report being satisfactory to 

 the committee, secretary was instructed to issue warrant to Mr. 

 Simonds for $1,000, same being balance due on contract.. The 

 following is a copy of Mr, Simonds' report and should be studied 

 in connection with the preliminary report found on pages 309-313 

 of the Iowa Year Book of Agriculture for 1910. 



Chicago, February 16, 1911. 

 State Board of Agriculture of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. 



Gentlemen: In our letter, dated August 29, 1910', to the secretary of 

 your Board, the problems which we were to consider were stated as fol- 

 lows : 



"First, to arrange, on a given piece of land, buildings, for the purpose 

 of protecting and showing the advantage of various exhibits; second, to 

 make these buildings easily accessible from the various entrances and 

 from each other, by means of roads and walks; third, to make an ar- 

 rangement of trees, bushes and flowers which shall enhance the beauty of 

 the buildings and of the grounds themselves; fourth, to make, the woods 

 and hills available as a camping place, as a place for pleasure driving, as 

 a place for exhibiting the beautiful natural scenery in the vicinity of Des 

 Moines, and, at the same time, to preserve our native forest growth so as 

 to show specimens of all of Iowa's native plants and keep forever an area 

 of native woodland; fifth, to locate an electric railway, making a circuit 

 of. the grounds for passenger traffic." 



In studying these problems, we are to take as a basis, the land which 

 has been secured by the state for the fair grounds. The shape of this 

 land and its general topography are indicated on plats which were. sent 

 you, the land being a little over a mile in length and less than half a 

 mile in width, with a variation in level of about one hundred and sixty 

 feet. Naturally, the exhibition buildings should be placed on the western 

 portion of the grounds, which is comparatively level and is also nearest 

 the city. As certain permanent buildings had been erected, it was taken 

 for granted that live stock should be shown on the level area just north 

 of Dean Avenue and opposite the Rock Island switching tracks. In this 

 area the buildings for horses were to occupy the northwestern corner, the 

 buildings for cattle, the northeastern corner, for swine, the southeastern 

 corner and for sheep, the southwestern corner. Permanent buildings had 

 been built or commended for the first three groups, so the only question 

 remaining was in regard to the sheep. The space left for them seemed 

 rather small, but there was a possibility of its being increased by the pur- 

 chase of additional land, which we strongly recommended. 



In our final plan, the buildings for farm machinery and transportation 

 exchanged the places that were shown for them on our preliminary plan. 

 Some other changes were also made, the cement industries being placed on 

 the plan in the present stock pavilion, while the space for exhibiting and 

 judging stock was to be provided for in the new building, somewhat 

 larger than the present one. The final plans show this building opposite 



