I' ARK AND CEMETERY. 
41 
angles, . giving the opportunity for a 
monumental square at this point. 
Continuing to Brookline avenue, it 
passes in front of the nev^r dormitory 
group of Simmons College and then 
across Muddy river to Beacon street. 
From Beacon street it goes by a di- 
rect line to Cottage Farm bridge and 
so across to Cambridge. At this point 
the boulevard divides, one branch go- 
ing direct to Harvard square by way 
of Putnam avenue, and the other 
through East Cambridge and Somer- 
ville to Broadway Park, where it 
joins the Mystic valley and Revere 
Beach parkways. 
The “outer boulevard” starts from 
Field’s Corner in Dorchester, the 
junction point of two great thorough- 
fares, Neponset avenue and Dorches- 
ter avenue. From Field’s Corner the 
first section of the boulevard is form- 
ed by the widening of the present 
Adams street to Meeting House Hill. 
This is one of the most interesting 
spots in Boston, and deserves to be 
made more accessible. From the crest 
of the hill, at the rear of the school, 
a fine water view is to be had, which 
could be much improved by cutting 
through a vista to the water’s edge. 
From Meeting House Hill the boule- 
vard traverses the highland district 
of Dorchester, crossing, in turn, Co- 
lumbia road. Blue Hill avenue, War- 
ren street, Humboldt avenue and 
Washington street, to the junction of 
Center street and Columbus avenue 
in Roxbury. Thence in the general 
line including Brookline Village and 
Coolidge’s Corner would offer an ad- 
vantageous refute for encircling lines 
of electric cars. 
Bronx River Parkway, New York 
One of the most important of the 
many projects for beautifying and im- 
proving New York City and its en- 
virons, is that set forth in the report 
of the Bronx River Parkway Commis- 
sion. which practically contemplates 
transforming the Bronx River Valley 
into a beautiful park all the way from 
Bronx Park to Kensico Lake, in 
Westchester county. This commis- 
sion estimates that the cost of ac- 
quiring the necessary lands along the 
river would be $1,650,000. Governor 
Higgins named the commission to as- 
certain the feasibility and necessity of 
preserving the river- from pollution 
and acquiring a park reservation. Its 
report follows a year of survey and 
investigation. 
All told, the river reservation would 
extend fifteen miles and would vary 
in width, from three hundred to a 
thousand feet, taking in a strip on 
either side the stream. It would in- 
clude 125 acres in the city of New 
York and 900 acres in Westchester 
county. It is recommended that the 
city bear two-thirds of the cost and 
the county of Westchester the other 
third. Assemblyman Duell, of West- 
chester, has introduced a bill in the 
legislature providing for a permanent 
commission to be known as the Bronx 
Valley Parkway Commission, to carry 
out this work. This commission is 
to consist of Madison Grant and Dave 
Hennen Morris, of New York City, 
and James G. Cannon, of West- 
chester. 
Control of Land Abutting Parks 
Mr. Henry A. Barker, of Provi- 
dence, R. L, secretary of the Metro.- 
politan Park Commission of Rhode 
Island, and vice-president of the 
American Civic Association, in 
charge of its department of parks 
and public reservations, is making an 
active campaign in educating public 
sentiment to the point of increasing 
the authority of public park boards 
over abutting property. We quote 
as follows from a recent contribution 
of his to the Providence Journal, 
which will be suggestive to other 
communities: 
“When is a parkway not a park- 
way? That is easy enough to an- 
swer. A parkway is no parkway 
when it is lined with advertising de- 
vices and three-story bill boards and 
cheap shops all along the edge. It 
cost the city of Providence $250,000 
to “boiilevard” Elmwood avenue, but 
all hope of making it a beautiful 
street was out of the question as 
long as individuals had the right to 
build or maintain shops painted scar- 
let and emerald green out on the 
very edge of the lot line. Perhaps 
it may be that building restrictions 
that limit the sacred right of the in- 
dividual to establish public nuisances 
and neighborhood destroyers on the 
edge of a lot that he has bought and 
paid for, are considered repugnant to 
the proud spirit of Rhode Island lib- 
erty, but they work pretty well in 
some places after all. They are also 
fairly easy to establish in the' case of 
a wholly new parkway or any part 
of a parkway that does not take the 
place of an existing highway and on 
which, therefore, there are no rights 
of access to bordering buildings ex- 
cept through the favor of the proper 
authorities. 
“I have before me a contract which 
is made by the city of Cleveland with 
the property owners abutting on its 
new boulevards and parkways and it 
is worth consideration in Providence. 
This Cleveland contract provides 
that abutting owners shall have no 
access to such boulevard except sub- 
ject to such reasonable rules and 
regulations as are considered neces- 
sary by the Board of Public Service, 
which has charge of the city parks, 
and the Board, of course, may easily 
cut out any view of offensive proper- 
ty by any sort of a wall or screen of 
trees that it may consider effective. 
“In return for the right of access 
and frontage upon the boulevard the 
property owners agree that ‘no build- 
ing or structure or fence of any kind 
shall be erected, nor hedge be plant- 
ed, within 30 feet of the line of the 
boulevard; that no building or struc- 
ture within 100 feet of the boulevard 
shall be used for a stable, saloon, or 
any mercantile, mechanical or manu- 
facturing purpose; that no bill or 
sign board, telephone or electric 
light wire pole shall be erected or 
placed within 100 feet of the boule- 
vard; that all planting and floral dec- 
oration within 15 feet of the said 
boulevard shall be subject to the per- 
mission and control of the duly au- 
thorized officers of the city of Cleve- 
land.’ Further than this, it is pro- 
vided that ‘no flat or terrace shall be 
erected within 100 feet of the boule- 
vard without the written consent of 
the proper officers of the city of 
Cleveland.’ 
“Thus all the other property owners 
are assured that their parkway shall 
be a thing of beauty and everlasting 
joy and that it is safe for them to 
build accordingly. This is the only 
way to guarantee the future of such 
a parkway.” 
Beautifying Niagara River 
Secretary Taft, for the purpose of 
formulating plans for the beautify- 
ing of the American shore along the 
Niagara river, attended a conference 
in New York with Charles McKim, 
F. L. Olmsted, and Frank B. Millet. 
In his decision of Januar}' 18, grant- 
ing quantities of water to power 
companies now operating along the 
Niagara. The Secretary designated 
these three men as a committee to 
make suggestions for the improve- 
ment of the appearance of the un- 
sightly power plants and factories 
adjoining the falls on the American 
side. This commission with two rep- 
resentatives of the corps of engineers 
has since visited Niagara Falls to 
investigate conditions. 
