1214 



PARK 



landscape of a rural park; yet small passages of inter- 

 esting and agrcfiibic si-cmny an- ufti-ii attainahli', ami 



the obviously ai-hii.'ul --I-jiti- ■.■.liiri, m;,', imi-u^l.' ii|<<mi 

 them can often i . i , : ' 



effect. The s. ■.-,,. •• , . ■ . :■ ::- ,,i 



pearanoe, but ii r:ni ..i ■ '. ' • ~ .\^\■.A. n .-.r uimi 



elaboration, ek-yaiice aui i -: i < n. t- lakmi; dis- 

 place of the more quiet : Ii. ityof thelargo 



park, in a way that app. > i > to many peo- 



ple, and there is theni r l.^s tendency to 



develop large parks in ih. :u imiiiun. It is un- 

 fortunate that it should be sn, for as these ends can 

 be attained almost as well upon small parks as upon 

 large, it is clearly a mistake to treat one large park in 

 this style instead of several of smaller size so distrib- 

 uted as to serve conveniently a liii.n |i..].iil:iii(iii. It 

 is because more cities have small ; elabor- 



ate and what might almost be call i. treat- 



ment than have large and sini).!' inin i:iii,-. ihat so 

 many people have a perverted coueei.iiun ui: what con- 

 stitutes a park. 



Morningside Park. New York (Fig. 1645), is an ex- 

 ample of a small city park upon an extremely rugged 

 and pietuvi-sijue site, planned, in order to enhance this 

 quality, wiil, ,,,, ;,^ .iMl.une ..t Merorativ,. ,-1 a I M .ra t iou . It 



PARK 



athletics, band concerts or what not, are so arranged as 

 to produce a pleasing effect on the eye as well. This is 

 ilie iii.ir,. difficult from the fact that these grounds get 

 'iird usage: and it is practically impossible to 

 I MM a respectable turf on the area devoted to a 

 |il.i> -tMtunl. This is somrtimps left in loam worn bare 

 in .streaks riii.l jeit.-li, ■,• l,v the playing, but it is better 

 surfaced >'"'; .>.!:,,... :,.,^ , ,1 .:,xel. So far as any 

 single i\:ii )~ <-lass, which must 

 vary in e\. 1 , 1 ,. , : ,ii eouditions, Charles- 

 bank, in H.i-i 111:1) I" iiil.i h ,1- Mil illustration. This 



playground occupies a tract of al>out ten acres upon the 

 borders of the Charles river at a point near a district of 

 considerable congestion, and occupied by a population 

 of a poor class. A promenade was established on the 

 edge of the sea wall about two thousand feet in length, 

 and between it and the undisturbed streets a play- 

 ground was laid out, having an average width of about 

 two hundred and fifty feet. Within this long, narrow 

 belt of public ground were established two outdoor 

 gymnasia, each with a running track and a building for 

 dressing and bathing. One of these outdoor gymnasia 

 was designed for women and children and the other for 

 men and hoys, and they are at the op))osite extremities of 



^ or biiihlings. From its situa- 

 V shape it is essentially unse- 

 5 most notable features is the 

 unrural view which it offers 

 and houses of Harlem, that 

 This view and tin' l.olilness 

 ten-are aloiii; the 



eps fitted to the 

 I ing among the 

 ed sort such as 

 while the more 

 treated by contrast 



the land iiiirn !■ 

 tion as well a- i 

 eluded: inde, d . 

 impressive and 

 over the busy 

 stretch away from its has 

 of the crags is emphasized by 

 upper edge, supporting a pr< 

 boundary street. Convenieii 

 numerous broad paths, with 1 

 irregularities of the ledire-. 

 ledges was designed to I" 1,1 

 often clothes broken Iedi;e> 

 level land at the base of the c 



as a smooth lawn, with scattered trees. The natural 

 boldness of the crags is partly lost by an effort to ex- 

 tend turf over every possible area, and the shrub plant- 

 ing is possibly rather too garden-like in style to be in 

 entire accord with the situation, but in general the park 

 is treated in a manner approaching that of the large 

 parks, although without any attempt at complete rural 

 seclusion. It contains a little over thirty acres, ex- 

 clusive of the various liouiidary streets and prorae- 



More commonly small parks are used for the display 

 of interesting ami showy th.wering shrubs and trees, 

 and make a feature of fountains, statues and other 

 sculpture more or less good. In moderation and skil- 

 fully used such objects, together with terraces and 

 other architectural work, are entirely appropriate and 

 desirable in parks of this class, and add much to the 

 effect of elegance and richness. The predominant pur- 

 pose is to please the eye, as in the large parks, but in a 

 way that has often a little of the element of spectacular 

 effect and certainly more of interest in the individual 

 objects than in the case of the quiet rural park. The 

 enjoyment is more closely related to that offered by 

 architecture and decorative design and other pleasures 

 forming a part of the daily city life. 



3. IVeighborhood pleasure grounds are spaces of 

 varying size coming within the scope of the park sys- 

 tem, and including numerous aims other than the en- 

 joyment of scenery. Sometimes the leading feature is 

 a playground for athletic sports, sometimes a sort of 

 outdoor kindergarten for little children, sometimes a 

 grove and promenade, sometimes a menagerie. 



object is to offer the maximum of outdoor recreation 

 for the people of a single neighborhood, when they 

 have not the time to go far afield. As children out of 

 school hours are most in need of such provision, play- 

 grounds form an important feature in many grounds 

 of this class; but in all the best examples the means 

 of meeting the various practical requirements, whether 



within the very lieart of the city, a tract of ground oc- 

 cupied by greensward and trees despite the fact that it 

 is frequented by thousands of men, women and chil- 

 dren. The city of Boston proviiles free instruction in 

 gymnastics upon the phiyground, and yearly over 70.- 

 000 women and girls, and 'jno.ntMt men and boys have 

 made use of the faeilities ..ilVn il. The total cost of 

 this playground for land and improvements to date is 

 $382,000, and the yearly cost of maintenance is $10,000. 



4. Squares, places, gardens, and the like, usually 

 of small area, are scattered about a city at street inter- 

 sections and the like. Their principal functions are to 

 furnish agreeable sights for those passing by them or 

 through them in the course of their daily business, and 

 to provide a pleasaut resting place or promenade for 

 the much smaller number who take the time to use them 

 so. On account of the almost constant passing through 

 such squares the best arrangements all provide for rea- 

 sonably direct and convenient paths along the lines 

 most used. Where this is not done many of those who 

 use the square are likely to be so irritated by the indi- 

 rectness as to miss much of the pleasure they might 

 otherwise receive. A formal plan of walks, either on 

 straight lines or curved, is generally adopted for such 

 squares, and is well suited to the conditions and to the 

 decorative treatment of the area, providing much more 

 effectively than an irregular plan for the numerous 

 statues, fountains and gay flower beds which have their 

 most appropriate location in such a place. Shade trees, 

 either as a complete grove, or in rows along the paths, 

 or grouped in some more complex iihm, :iii .ihiii-i es- 

 sential features of such squares, bin i i.i I : of 



flowers are to be made open spaces lull : ■ 1 -nn- 



light. Amodification of this type of sijiiii 1 1 em. nines 

 met with where the space, instead oi bein^ useil as 

 a short cut and for enjoyment from within, is designed 

 primarily to present an agreeable picture to those pass- 

 ing it upon the adjacent streets. When the area is very 

 small and the passin-; is almost wholly along one side, 

 and in .iiiiei- speei.il 1:1 .1- I h I - 1 leatiiient is most effec- 



ti\e. Iier;ill-e, u||,!. I ;. m , e, is abCaUtiful plctO- 



rial e tier I In Hi! a I , ! . r I I ,, , lew. better results can 



b.- i.hi.iiiii d ili.in «li.:i all" riMiirrs must be reconciled 

 wiih .11 her ine~ i,i' the lanil. Xevertheless there are few 

 ea-ev ill xvhirh a small square will not have a greater 

 rernaii\e \alne to the public if its pictorial aspect is 

 somewhat saeiiiiced to such uses as resting and prom- 

 enading. 



5. Prirkwai/s and boulevards as parts of a park 

 system serve usually as pleasant means of access to 

 parks from other parts of the city, or from one park 

 to another, and also as agreeable promenades in theiii- 

 sepe--. I eniniereial traffic is usually excluded from 

 thrill, r.iiiilin mils are arranged formally, usually upon 

 sirai^hi lines, w itli rows of shade trees and parallel 



