LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IN OUR NATIONAL 



FORESTS AND PARKS 



BY S. R. DeBOER 



LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT FOR THE CITY OF DENVER 



IT is only in recent years that organized effort towards 

 better human development has reached the stage of 

 recreation. Terrible crowding — overcrowding — in our 

 large cities primarily led to the establishing of city parks. 

 They were the necessary outcome of the tenement prob- 

 lems. Man has lived in nature and close to nature until 

 only a few centuries ago. The call of the wild is not 

 extinguished, only weakened in him. Too much crowd- 

 ing by buildings, with their smoke and soot, created a 

 reaction, and he demanded open spaces where he could 

 enjoy nature to a certain extent. 



But there was no question of actual recreation involved 

 in the beginning. Lawns were carefully guarded, flower- 

 beds and trees were for distant observation only. It 

 gave some satisfaction but soon proved to be insufficient. 

 For man, imprisoned in his city walls, lacked more than 

 just the attraction of nature. In primitive life he had 

 enjoyed the freedom of the wilds, his muscles had been 

 in constant use. Now with his rapidly growing civiliza- 

 tion, with machinery taking the place of muscular work, 

 his whole physique had weakened and his brains had 



grown beyond bounds. He needed more than just a 

 park to look at, and especially did he need it for his 

 children, who, growing up on asphalt streets and con- 

 crete sidewalks, missed the open meadows and the for- 

 ests on the now building-covered farm. And so the 

 park lawns became play meadows — under the trees play 

 areas were set aside. Boating, swimming, skating and 

 all athletic sports entered the once so carefully guarded 

 quiet park scene. 



We are in this stage now — the stage of recreation for 

 those who want recreation. Or better, I should say, we 

 are just leaving this stage and passing into the next 

 stage of development. Man, under the pressure of his 

 rapid evolution, in twenty years has outgrown this new 

 idea, embodied in the city playgrounds. Like the original 

 park ideas, it will have its place, will become even more 

 valuable, but it also is insufficient. Leaders of thought 

 have already pointed the way. Universal physical train- 

 ing must become the next step, compulsory physical 

 training like universal mental training already is and 

 lias been for many years. And in this system of physical 



LOCATING A CAMP 

 The Wapiti Camp Grounds on the Shoshone National Forest offer much attraction to the lover of the out-of doors. 



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