PARK AND PLAYGROUND SYSTEM 



was made to give to the city 500,000 feet of land between 

 Beacon Street and the river on condition that it fill the land, 

 never allow it to be built on, and add the territory to the Public 

 Garden, which itself had been secured by filling. Unfortu- 

 nately, the value of the river front for park and other purposes 

 was not appreciated at that time, and the proposition was 

 repeatedly rejected. 



In the case of "The Fens" in Boston, the park cost about 

 $4,300 an acre. The land surrounding this park, though much 

 of it is still vacant, is worth now on an average of $86,000 an 

 acre. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



The increase in real estate values in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of Cambridge Field is a matter of interest. When this 

 Board, in 1893, recommended that this field be taken for park 

 purposes, one of the reasons advanced was that in future years 

 this enterprise would be justified by the enhanced value of the 

 remaining property. At the time this recommendation was 

 made, there was little or no movement in real estate values in 

 this neighborhood. The field was taken, and within certain 

 limits it is fair to claim that the increased values since then 

 have been due to park influences. To ascertain what this 

 increase has been and will be each year, a certain territory has 

 been marked out and the assessors' valuations taken. In 

 marking out this territory, a very conservative claim has been 

 made, and it is believed that within these lines it will be gen- 

 erally agreed that the increased values of the last three years 

 may justly be said to be due to park influences. 



The territory so considered is shown upon the accompany- 

 ing plan, and is bounded as follows: Beginning at the railroad 

 crossing, the front lots on the northerly side of Cambridge 

 Street are included to Willow Street. The distillery property 

 is not included. At Willow Street the line crosses to the 

 southerly side of Cambridge Street, and continues to Winsor 

 Street, thence along the easterly side of Winsor Street to Hamp- 

 shire Street to Bristol Street, thence along the northerly and 

 northeasterly side of Bristol Street, across Portland Street 

 nearly to the ward boundary line, and then including the front 

 lots on Portland Street (which extend nearly to the ward 

 boundary from Portland Street), to Cambridge Street at the 

 point of beginning. 



Within these limits the area of taxable land in 1893 was 



[311 



