PARK UTILITIES 



interior arrangement of a comfort station is properly designed and 

 maintained, the building will not be found to be utilised only by 

 prowlers, as has been asserted. The new comfort stations in the 

 Washington parks are constantly being made use of by the general 

 public. 



In European cities the comfort stations are sometimes designed 

 and supplemented with newspaper stands or open stalls for the sale 

 of cigars, post-cards and souvenirs. It has been suggested for this 

 country that if, in addition to the ordinary service, there were provided 

 telephones, city directories, and facilities for checking bundles, etc., 

 the buildings would prove less objectionable. This appears, however, 

 to be merely a subterfuge and evasion of the problem, and while it 

 might be desirable to add such a service to comfort stations, such addi- 

 tions should be made in response to a demand for them, rather than 

 for the purpose of making a comfort station' appear in the guise of 

 something else. In the Washington stations, locker rooms have been 

 provided for the park watchmen and a storage yard added to the rear 

 of the buildings, which have thus increased their usefulness. 



DRINKING FOUNTAINS 



Drinking fountains in parks should be numerous and of the 

 modern sanitary type. Many appliances are offered to the trade for 

 rendering the old style fountains hygienic. In design and material, 

 park drinking fountains should appear suitable for outdoor use. 

 Cement or unglazed terra-cotta should be substituted for the white 

 vitrified bubble-fountains which are rapidly gaining place in the parks 

 and appear disturbingly like betrayed bathroom fixtures. A con- 

 certed demand from park authorities for outdoor character in the 

 material and design of the modern type of drinking fountains will soon 

 encourage terra-cotta manufacturers to enter the field for supplying 

 this park accessory. 



308 



