312 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PARKS FOR THE SMALLER TOWNS. 



F. H. NUTTER, PARK ENGINEER, MINNEAPOLIS. 



This subject that has been assigned to me, "Parks for the 

 Smaller Towns," marks a change in public opinion. A few years 

 ago it was considered preposterous for any but the larger cities to 

 have parks. Perhaps it came about from the fact that Central 

 Park in New York, and the parks in Paris had many artificial 

 adornments, such as terraces, bridges, fountains, etc., which the 

 photographer took as his subject, and so the idea came to be enter- 

 tained that the principal function of a park was to furnish a location 

 for those artificial adornments. In all those cases we know that the 

 artist overlooked the great central feature of these parks. Olmsted, 

 the elder, has emphasized the fact for years that the public park 

 achieves its highest purpose only so far as it affords a chance for 

 quiet rest among the beauties of nature. Now in these later days 

 a change has come over the public mind. Things that twenty-five 

 years ago were considered luxuries for the rich have now become 

 necessities for all householders, so parks, once the luxury of the 

 larger cities, have become the necessities of the smaller municipali- 

 ties. 



Now, it being conceded that a park is a desirable feature of any 

 municipal household, the first thing to be considered is the selection 

 of the site for the park. This park may be intended for ordinary 

 park purposes, or it may be attempted to combine a play ground 

 with it, though I think this will prove a mistake unless the area is 

 extended, for the noisy games of the young people will not be ac- 

 ceptable to the older ones. So we will strike this feature out. In 

 many of our villages and towns this question of site has already 

 been settled by reserving in the platting of the -town a small square 

 or block in the center around which the farmers hitch their teams 

 while they do their marketing, and on the fence of which they perch 

 while they discuss matters of farm,. state and church. Other com- 

 munities have no site, and one must be acquired. In many towns 

 and villages you may see tracts of land that are an eyesore and are 

 perhaps used as common dumping ground. Still this very location 

 may be the ideal one for a park, and if it is devoted to that purpose 

 it will add to the health and prosperity of the community and become 

 the center of attraction. It is perhaps not generally considered that 

 a stranger can frequently see opportunities which the inhabitant by 

 long acquaintance and familiarity overlooks. These sites, of course, 

 where they are selected for their fitness, may not conform to the 

 streets as thev are laid out. It is one great difficulty that the park 



