PREFACE 



familiarise Americans with the progress being made in their caj)ital 

 city; and, on the other hand, because examples in Washington are 

 frequently emulated when it will be seen from the text that Wash- 

 ington parks furnish an equal number of good and bad examples. It 

 is hoped, however, that the aid and influence of the National Com- 

 mission of Fine Arts, the members of which are giving their individual 

 time to the service of the Government without compensation and fre- 

 quently at great personal inconvenience and sacrifice, will before many 

 years bring the civic beauty of Washington to a jDreeminence that may 

 be safely emulated in whole or in part. 



For the guidance of town and city officials entrusted with the 

 development and maintenance of parks; for the assistance of land- 

 scape architects and superintendents in the designing of parks; and 

 for the enlightenment of the public in whose interest all parks are 

 created and whose active support is indispensable to the successful 

 realisation of park projects, this volume is respectfully submitted. 



George Burnap 



Washington, D. C, 

 June 1, 1916 



