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cost Five Hundred and Forty-three Thousand. The upper portion, 

 taken from within the boundaries of Brooklyn, containing 350 acres, 

 cost two million seven hundred and ten thousand dollars. That is to 

 say for each dollar spent the city has obtained between three and 

 four times as much land where it has taken it on the Flatbush side, as 

 it has, where it has taken it on the Brooklyn side ; and the cheap land, 

 on an average, is much better for park purposes, and involves very 

 much less expense for improvement than that which has cost so much 

 more. The great body of visitors will always enter at the Plaza. 

 Once within the park it matters little where they travel. It was, and 

 is, therefore, true economy to elongate and narrow the park toward the 

 city, and to spread it out on the cheap land on the Flatbush side as we 

 have done. 



But to return to the main question— keep your mind fixed upon the 

 end we had in view. With certain obvious natural advantages over 

 New York, but as yet with confessedly less wealth and population, we 

 wanted to guard against the danger, that Brooklyn would take the 

 character of a second-rate suburb of New York ; we wanted to aid in 

 establishing for Brooklyn in the minds first of all of our own citizens, 

 and afterwards throughout the country, the character of a first-rate 

 quarter of the great metropolis. 



And who will say that we have not thus far done our part towards 

 this end? 



Although our park is incomplete, only about 200 acres being as yet 

 fairly improved, it is unquestionably the fact that it is talked of to-day 

 all over the United States, by those whose opinion is of most value, as 

 equal, and in many respects superior to Central Park — and what has 

 been the consequence ? It has been said by those who should know, 

 that the day we opened the park saw a rise in value of the real estate 

 of our city of ten millions of dollars. 



We submit then that so far we have served our city well. But we 

 think that we can do more. We are convinced that the city, by a lucky 

 chance, has the opportunity of gaining a still better reputation. We 

 not only think that the impression can be established that Brooklyn 

 offers places of residence as good in respect to park privileges as any 

 in ISTew York, but we also believe that an understanding can be estab- 

 lished that the very finest sites for city residences, in connection with a 

 noble park, need not be looked for in New York, they must be sought 

 in Brooklyn. 



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