662 PARKS 



in use in some part of the system. Inasmuch as the central service area 

 should be surrounded by an enclosure, it frequently happens that sheds 

 can be constructed so as to form part of the enclosure, the open front 

 facing the central court or yard. The necessity of having storage facilities 

 for supplies and tools that are in use on individual areas has already been 

 mentioned. 



Storehouse. In its broadest sense storehouse includes not only a struc- 

 ture for housing the innumerable smaller articles needed in maintenance, 

 but also tool and bulky material sheds, and storage yards. As considered 

 here storehouse is a structure used primarily for handling the smaller 

 articles used in maintenance work, either new articles or old articles that 

 are being constantly returned and reissued as the need for them arises. 

 Any park department that has been in operation for several years learns 

 what type of materials, tools and supplies it needs and about the quantity 

 of each type that will be necessary yearly. If this kind of information has 

 been collected, it shows poor business judgment to purchase from hand to 

 mouth when known quantities can be purchased in wholesale lots and at 

 wholesale prices. The only serious objection to this principle is that in 

 times of rapid changes in prices a park department might presumably make 

 the mistake of paying too high a price even in wholesale lots at the begin- 

 ning of a year for articles which might be bought more cheaply later. As 

 a rule, however, it is more economical to purchase at wholesale than from 

 hand to mouth. If the plan of purchasing in quantity is followed, a store- 

 house for the proper care of the articles becomes a necessity. In any case, 

 for the proper handling of equipment and supplies already owned by the 

 department, a central storehouse is necessary. 



Many park departments have made the mistake of not constructing 

 their storehouses large enough, thus making it exceedingly difficult to 

 classify and arrange the articles properly. It is always far better to have 

 more room than is really necessary than to have too little. The interior 

 equipment of a storehouse should include as many bins as there are small 

 articles of the same kind to be stored; shelves for the storage of cans and 

 other articles that do not require large space yet cannot well be kept in 

 bins; racks for hand tools; frames for storage of lumber, pipe and other 

 articles which can thus be most conveniently stored; large open space or 

 spaces for bulky equipment and supplies, and office for the storekeeper, etc. 

 Highly inflammable or explosive material or supplies should be kept in a 

 structure or receptacles entirely outside the storehouse proper and a safe 

 distance from it. The entire interior arrangement of the storehouse should 

 be designed with a view of ease in finding and getting at the articles desired. 



At every bin or place where articles of the same kind are stored it is 



