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PARKS 



ducing tennis courts into large parks is to use lawn areas, erecting the 

 nets on posts stuck into sockets sunk flush with the soil and using no back- 

 stops. There are instances where more than one hundred courts are installed 

 in one turf-covered area (see Frontispiece No. 2). This method is not likely 

 to meet with widespread favor, however, because of the trouble players 

 have in continually chasing balls, and because large lawn areas in large 

 parks are not likely to be sufficiently even to make playing enjoyable. 



3. Baseball. The tremendous interest of American youth in this game 

 and the consequent demand for spaces to play upon have caused the laying 

 out of large numbers of diamonds in large parks throughout the country 

 wherever these parks included areas level and large enough to permit play- 

 ing the game satisfactorily. Except for occasional informal ball diamonds 

 in the vicinity of picnic groves the designs of large parks originally did not 

 provide special areas for this game. However, large and small level meadow 

 areas have been appropriated, and in modern designs areas have been defi- 

 nitely included for one or more baseball diamonds. As in the case of tennis 

 courts and for practically the same reasons, diamonds are frequently laid 



PLATE No. 89. BOATHOUSE, LAKE MERRITT, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 

 Boathouse and recreational activities on lake under the supervision of the Oakland Recreation Department. 



