2b9 
F ARK AND CEMETERY. 
CITY BEAUTIFUL PLANS FOR LOS ANGELES, CAL. 
Charles Mulford Robinson, of Roches- 
ter, N. Y., v/hose reports on the beauti- 
fying of a number of cities have been 
noted in these pages has recently com- 
pleted elaborate city beautiful plans for 
Los Angeles, Cal. Mr. Robinson s plans 
are not intended for making immediate 
changes in the_ city, but are to be used 
as a guide to systematic development 
and the gradual changes and improve- 
ments that time and the city’s treasury 
will make possible in the course of its 
future growth. 
Among the more important recom- 
mendations are : 
A union depot to be placed on the site 
of the present Arcade st.ation. Convert- 
ing Fifth street into a broad way, lead- 
ing from the railway depot to Central 
Park. The purchase and transforming- 
of the Normal School grounds into a 
park to be connected with Central Park 
by a straight thoroughfare, and to be 
capped by library and art buildings. The 
formation of a civic, or administration, 
center, with the Court House as a base 
and a new city hall on the present site 
of the Bullard block. The extension of 
Aliso street to Main and New High to 
Broadway, to be a part of the civic cen- 
ter plan. Creation of Fort Hill Park 
on Buena Vista street on the hill be- 
tween Sunset boulevard and Temple 
street. Removal of street car tracks 
from Figueroa street and converting it 
iiito a boulevard. Various improve- 
ments of a minor nature in certain 
streets and parks. Establishment of 
little parks and fountains in gores and 
sharp bends in streets. Permanent elimi- 
nation of electric signs from over side- 
walks. Lowering the grade of the Broad- 
v'ay tunnel. Elimination of fences. 
Wider side parking in the residential 
districts. Planting of more and better 
trees through the city. 
The report suggests that the Union 
Station be located on the land now oc- 
cupied by the Arcade Depot and its sur- 
roundings ; that the Southern Pacific 
abandon the use of Alameda street by 
through trains. 
Concerning the approach to the sta- 
tion Mr. Robinson has the following to 
say in his report : 
“The city, in requiring these change.s 
and the construction of a splendid Union 
Station, should improve the opportunity 
to provide a worthy approach. This can 
be done easily and effectively, as shown 
in the diagram, by widening and 
straightening Eifth street, placing the 
new station on the present Southern Pa- 
cific holdings at the Arcade Depot and 
out to Central avenue. The drawing sug- 
•gests a big terminal station built on the 
modern plan. The building is placed on 
the axis of Eifth street centering on it, 
so as to give a fine effect, closing the 
vista of the street. The effect is fur- 
ther heightened by the suggested peri- 
.=^tyle, a colonnade describing a long arc 
across the structure’s front. Fifth street 
is widened to 192^2 feet, from Gladys 
avenue to Los .Angeles street, and is 
straightened so that it leads straight 
away from the broad plaza planned in 
front of the station to the heart of the 
business district. A very remarkable 
effect can be secured here at relatively 
little cost. For the four blocks from 
Central avenue to Crocker street, a 12^2 
foot alley runs parallel to Fifth street at 
a distance of only 100 feet to the south. 
By widening the street on this side to 
include the alley, there is obtained thus 
the whole broad sweep desired. For the 
block beyond Crocker, the alley has not 
been cut through, and the strip to be ac- 
quired is 12A feet wider as a conse- 
quence. 
Then comes the street’s present awk- 
ward turn, which is remedied by taking 
such decreasing amount on the south 
side and increasing amount on the north, 
as to maintain its straight line. From 
Wall street to Los Angeles street the 
taking is all on the north. For the 
whole of this distance, a half-mile stretch 
from the station plaza, there is not a 
single building of importance to block 
tlie improvement. Much the greater 
number are small frame structures, often 
of only one stoiw. How long such a 
condition may^ continue cannot be said. 
It is sheer good fortune that it has last- 
ed as long as this. 
Any student of the map or the street 
itself will be struck by the advantage of 
continuing the widening all the way to 
Hill street, where this broad boulevard 
W'ould connect with the improvements at 
Central Park, of which I shall speak 
later. I stopped the widening at Los 
Angeles street, not because unconscious 
of this advantage, but because at that 
corner there is met, in the new King 
Edward Hotel, the first substantial build- 
ing to oppose the boulevard’s prolonga- 
tion ; and beyond the King Edward, one 
gets at once into “close-in” business 
property of perhaps as much value as 
any in the city.” 
