479 



refer briefly to the natural peculiarities of (ho ground, and the special 

 artistic requirements that controlled at the outset the location of this 

 particular feature of the general scheme. 



The park territory, with reference- to its special adaptability for 

 use as a city pleasure ground, is broadly' divisible into four prin- 

 cipal natural sections; first, the pastoral or long meadow district; 

 next, the old forest ground, containing the east, west, and mid 

 woods; third, the high lands of Breeze Hill and Lookout Hill; 

 fourth, that which holds the open waters of the Lake. To these 

 may be added a fifth, somewhat artificial, subdivision, comprised 

 in the stretch on the south side of the Lake, which is laid out 

 with wide roads and walks as the special promenade ground of the 

 park. 



To develop the variety of natural scenery above referred to in a 

 manner that should be attractive to the visitor, and, at the same 

 time, give an impression of artistic unity and largeness to the 

 park design, it was necessary to secure a circuit drive that could 

 be constructed with an easy grade throughout, on a course that 

 should not appear to double on itself in a narrow or contracted 

 way. 



It was for this reason, and with the specific object of getting 

 round the obstacle presented by Lookout Hill, that the appropriation 

 of additional territory in the direction of the Coney Island Railroad 

 station, and the changes in the line of Fifteenth street, were recom- 

 mended in our original study. In consequence of the delays and 

 embarrassments occasioned by the difficulty in obtaining the north- 

 westerly section of the park ground, this important connecting link 

 in the general circuit could not safely be made till last season ; the 

 necessarily heavy operations required by the improvement are, how- 

 ever, now well advanced, and since the drive was opened to the 

 public, in October last, the specific intention of this part of the plan 

 has been made evident, and the advantages arising from the some- 

 what costly change of boundary have, we trust, been clearly 

 manifested. 



Another important park feature has also, during the past year, 

 assumed its final engineering shape, although it does not yet produce 

 the intended effect on the eye of the visitor. The lake shores are 

 completed, and between fifty and sixty acres of water surface are 

 provided for ; the water is, however, at present much below the de- 

 signed level, and the bank slopes are, in consequence, more prom- 

 inent in every direction than they will be when the lake fills up to 



