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vicinity of this principal entrance that, after a few years, strangers 

 visiting the park would he sure to receive a vivid impression of the 

 metropolitan advantages offered hy Brooklyn as a place of residence. 

 For this purpose the ground belonging to the city, and undesirable 

 to be included in the park, is proposed to be laid out in such a way 

 that it can be disposed of in lots of unusual size, and otherwise well 

 adapted for urban residences of the very finest character. Such an 

 impression produced at one point, would undoubtedly have a favor- 

 able influence upon all the neighborhood, and upon the reputation of 

 the whole city. 



We argued the advantages of this general element, in the motive 

 of our design at length, in our Annual Report of last year, and only 

 refer to the subject now that it may be better seen why we attach 

 importance to an arrangement which tends to bring all strangers to 

 the park in such a way as to establish the strongest favorable im- 

 pression upon their minds, rather than by such indirect or sub- 

 ordinate and comparatively insignificant approaches as would be 

 necessary on the east side, if our plans in this respect should be 

 overruled. 



From all that we have said, we trust it will be seen that the de- 

 sign, as it now stands, is intended to develop the previous natural 

 and accidental advantages of the site of the Plaza, as a center, or 

 radiating and converging point, of a great residence quarter of the 

 metropolis, and that this design, to which a large expenditure has 

 already been directed, is impossible to be reconciled with the clos- 

 ing of the streets on the east side of it by a public garden. 



CONSTRUCTION AND SUPERINTENDENCE. 



Statements in detail are appended, made up from their respective 

 records by the engineer in charge and his principal assistants, which 

 show the constructive character and extent of the works which 

 have been carried on during the year, together with statistics of 

 the force employed, organization, discipline, supplies and public resort. 



We shall briefly call your attention to the more significant facts 

 in these respects of the year's history of the park. 



A winter of extraordinary, if not of unprecedented severity, was 

 followed by a season equally remarkable for the frequency with 

 which storms occurred, and the amount of rain which fell. During 

 several months, work was almost daily interrupted, or prosecuted 

 under difficulties, and a great deal of labor was expended in opening 



