park commission and to the daily and weekly newspapers pub- 

 lished in the city. And be it further 



"Resolved, That we are in favor of issuing bonds in such 

 amounts as may be necessary to carry out the recommendations of 

 the park commission." 



Tax Levied for Park Purposes. 



At a meeting of the Council held a few days later, this enthu- 

 siastic action of the people was confirmed by the levying of a one 

 mill tax for parks and later by the issuing of bonds for seventy- 

 five thousand dollars for the purchase of land and for the necessary 

 construction. Thus in six months the work of park making in 

 La Crosse was successfully inaugurated. 



It requires but a brief residence in La Crosse to see that the 

 methods of procedure followed in beginning the park work were 

 not different from the methods which the city had already followed 

 in other matters. In paving its business and residence streets 

 with an unusual degree of excellence, in placing all telegraph and 

 telephone wires underground a decade ago, in hospitality to strangers 

 and in other practical and progressive ways advancing the civic 

 \ke, La Crosse had already established an enviable reputation. 

 Thus the park project followed approved and successful precedents 

 and was not looked upon in any sense as an experiment. 



Sites Naturally Fitted for Parks. 



It was the aim of the Park Commission and its landscape 

 adviser to select property that was naturally fitted for park use, 

 that could be developed economically, that would reflect and pre- 

 serve the characteristic and beautiful topographical features of 

 La Crosse, and that, when improved, would constitute a whole, 

 each part having relation to every other part, and together form- 

 ing a comprehensive, well-distributed system in which the needs 

 of each section "were adequately and fairly provided for. The 

 situation of the City is remarkable and of great beauty. With one 

 of the finest parts of the Mississippi River on the west and a noble 

 range of high and rugged bluffs on the east, it occupies a broad and 

 fertile valley, offering an ideal site for both business and residence 

 purposes*. The most striking and characteristic natural features 

 are, of course, the river and the bluffs. It was decided at once that 



*The valley extending from La Crosse to Salem, Bangor, Rockland, 

 Sparta and beyond is a marvel of loveliness. 



Seventeen 



