LESSON 45 
Civic CENTER 
HE purposes of this lesson are to develop the sig- 
nificance of the civic center in city and country 
planning, to place two or three simple examples 
before the student’s attention, and to make a 
study of civic centers in the pupil’s home neigh- 
borhood. 
Definition 
A civic center is a group of public buildings placed conveniently 
near together, with the grounds surrounding them. 
These buildings may be few or many, large or small, simple or 
grandiose in the extreme. There may be included in the group also 
certain quasi-public buildings, such as churches, parochial schools, 
telephone exchange, hotel, etc. Any buildings largely used by the 
public may be grouped for the purpose of gaining certain manifest 
advantages. 
There may be civic centers of different kinds. For example the 
city hall, post office, customs house and court-house would form an 
- administrative center; the city library, high school and concert 
hall would constitute an educational center; a union railway station, 
interurban trolley station and steamboat wharf grouped together 
would make up a traffic center. 
Discussion 
The advantages sought in such groupings of public buildings are 
both practical and esthetic. On the practical side it seems obvious 
that the public business can be. transactedgmost efficiently if the 
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