658 PARKS 



throughout the country. These dwellings may be new structures erected 

 specifically for the purpose or they may be old dwellings that happened 

 to be on the property when purchased. This practice has the advantage 

 of always having some one in authority on the premises and is frequently 

 a means of supplementing the meager salaries of the men, as the houses 

 are usually given rent free and often with free fuel, light and water in addi- 

 tion. In not a few park systems the general superintendent is also furnished 

 a house, usually located in one of the principal parks. The danger in pro- 

 viding dwellings for foremen or caretakers is that it often becomes more 

 difficult to transfer them when deemed necessary, and as a general principle 

 of management it is quite desirable to shift general foremen and care- 

 takers from time to time. In county park systems, where the parks are 

 located in rural districts and somewhat widely separated from each other, 

 a resident employee is highly desirable. The same may be said with respect 

 to various units of metropolitan park systems of cities. 



Barns. Barns are not so important a type of service structure as 

 they were fifteen or twenty years ago, but inasmuch as many park depart- 

 ments still use horses or mules for motive power to some extent barns are 

 met with frequently and new ones are being erected from time to time. 

 They may be a unit among the structures on the central service area or 

 combined with a shop or storehouse or in a structure including all three 

 facilities, or they may be separate structures located in some of the principal 

 parks of the system as subsidiary services stations. 



On page 659 will be found an illustration of a barn erected in O'Fallon 

 Park, one of the parks of the St. Louis Park and Recreation System. It 

 shows a barn combined with shop and storage facilities. 



In the construction of barns, stall space eight by ten feet should be 

 provided for each animal. It is quite common to arrange the stalls on 

 either side of a central passageway ranging from a width of a few feet 

 sufficient for feeding purposes only to a width sufficient to allow a wagon 

 to pass through for unloading feed or for removal of manure. The left 

 space will be determined by the height of the building. At least from ten 

 to twelve feet head room should be allowed for the stalls. A harness room, 

 feed bins, a composting pit and a corral are other desirable features connected 

 with the construction of barns. 



Shops. Many park departments rely upon outside commercial shops 

 for repairs to machinery, tools, recreation equipment and supplies and for 

 repairs to structures. Unless the system is a very small one this method 

 is likely to be wasteful both of time and money. Any park department 

 that has grown to such a size as to have a goodly supply of machinery, 



