PARK UTILITIES 



the Yankee one, " What are the uses of a park? " Parks are pro- 

 vided, not only for recreation of the mind, but to promote health and 

 comfort of the body. The facilities, therefore, which administer to the 

 needs and convenience of visitors may be called the utilities of parks. 

 Seating, provisions for shelter and public comfort, refreshment places, 

 receptacles for the throwing of rubbish, and means of lighting all come 

 under the category of park utilities. None of these can be omitted 

 without inconvenience to visitors and peril to the practical success of 

 the park. Upon the nicety of their design, moreover, will depend 

 the artistic finish of the park. 



SEATS AND SHELTERS 



The need of seats in parks is obvious ; it is expected that they shall 

 be provided, and it is presupposed that they shall be substantial and 

 reasonably good-looking. Their appearance and the manner of their 

 placing have usually been a discredit to parks, a matter which is con- 

 sidered of sufficient importance to justify the presentation of the 

 previous chapter on the subject. 



Provisions for shelter are an indispensable adjunct to parks, 

 especially so in those of such extent that considerable time is required to 

 reach the exits in the sudden advent of showers or inclement weather. 

 Such provisions for shelter may take a variety of forms, but simple 

 designs in rough-hewn timber or field stone are preferable to exotic 

 palmetto shacks or pagodas. Whether shelters are provided for shade 

 or to furnish protection from sudden change in weather, the park 

 designer need not fear the inclusion of too many in a park, provided 

 they are not so uniform in design as to appear monotonous, or so 

 within sight of one another as to appear crowded. The matter of their 

 location will be governed by conditions, and is so controlled by the 

 general design that no independent direction may be given for their 

 placing. 



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