PARK AND CEMETERY . 
168 
A report of the San Francisco park 
department shows that the tract of 
Golden Gate Park, acquired 30 years 
ago for $80,000, is now worth a mil- 
lion, while the land about the park 
has so increased in value that it might 
have paid for the reservation tenfold. 
Parks pay unquestionably. 
The immense dome of the new con- 
servatory in Garfield Park, Chicago, 
has been a failure through poor con- 
struction since its completion, and as 
it will cost some $40,000 to rebuild it, 
and as it is claimed that it was not 
built according to contract, a lawsuit 
is possible. It would appear that the 
contract was let without expert ad- 
vice, and to the lowest bidder, a 
method in the hands of quasi-political 
officials not by any means conducive 
to the best results. 
* * * 
Experts have been called in by the 
Westerly, R. I., Light & Power Co., 
to determine the cause and responsi- 
bility for the destruction of the shade 
trees, elms and other kinds, on the 
streets underlaid with the company’s 
mains. Prof. Stone, of the Rhode 
Island Agricultural College, and Dr. 
Stone of the Massachusetts State 
College, examined the trees and street 
conditions and will report at an early 
date. 
PARK IMPROVEMENTS 
The whole park system of Louis- 
ville, Ky., is to be overhauled • and 
many important changes are to be 
made. ^ 
Fairground Park is the latest ac- 
quisition of St. Louis, Mo., to its park 
areas. It was recently dedicated to 
the city with imposing ceremonies. 
The Daughters of the Revolution 
are moving to establish a national 
park on the site of the battle of 
King’s Mountain, which was largely 
on South Carolina soil. 
The first park in Calumet, Upper 
Peninsula of Michigan, will be under 
construction next spring, and it will 
include playgrounds, etc. 
The Northern Indiana Improve- 
ment Co., Wawasee, Ind., is develop- 
ing a 500 acre tract adjoining Lake 
Wawasee as a residential park for 
summer cottages. By means of a 
dam at the head of the lake a chain, 
of what are now six lakes, will be 
made into one large lake, the shore 
line of which will afford exceptional 
building sites. Mr. Howard Evarts 
Weed, of Chicago, is Tn charge of the 
landscape work for the company. 
A by-law authorizing the city coun- 
cil to issue bonds for $150,000 for the 
purchase of land for park sites has 
been passed by the citizens of Winni- 
peg, Canada. The Parks Board pro- 
poses to secure land for three neigh- 
borhood parks, and for a large sub- 
urban park along the Red River, 
north of the city. The city council 
has turned over to the Board two 
small and one larger parcels of land, 
in all some twelve and a half acres, 
for park purposes, and plans are now 
being prepared by the superintendent, 
Air. G. Champion, for parking these 
areas, grading on which has already 
begun. 
A strong movement is on foot to 
preserve the grounds of the late ex- 
position at Seattle, Wash., as a pub- 
lic park, a proposition much favored 
by prominent citizens. The money 
question is the chief barrier, and the 
city council is considering the lease 
of the fair grounds until Alay, 1911, 
in order to give opportunity to the 
legislature to provide a fund for 
their maintenance. . 
The active work of securing data 
for the improvement of Pittsburg’s 
park system was taken up last month, 
and the great work of municipal im- 
provement for that city will soon be 
under w'ay. The Civic Commission 
has called in Frederick Olmsted, 
John R. Freeman and Bion J. Arnold 
to advise with them on the general 
plans. 
Great Barrington, Mass., has ap- 
propriated $16,950 to purchase land 
in the village for park purposes. 
The Wilson Creek Park Associa- 
tion, Springfield, AIo., is preparing 
for a vigorous campaign to secure 
an appropriation of $200,000 from 
Congress to create a national park 
of the Wilson Creek battlefield. The 
bill is pending in Congress. 
The city council of Alalden, Mass., 
have agreed upon an appropriation of 
$10,000 for improving Bell Rock 
park, the site of the proposed sol- 
diers’ and sailors’ monument. 
Acting on the advice of Mr. O. C. 
Simonds and under the energetic 
handling of Mr. E. J. Parker, Quincy, 
111., took immediate steps to begin 
work on the beautifying of the river 
front, and the people were very soon 
able even in the preliminary work to 
see what they had been losing for 
years. 
Senator Isaac Stephenson has given 
$100,000 toward the improvement of 
the new Wisconsin state park oppo- 
site Menominee, Wis. 
The Toledo, O., council committee 
on finance recently approved a $60,000 
bond issue for park and boulevard 
purposes. 
North Comtnons, Minneapolis, 
Alinn., is now under improvement 
by the park superintendent, Theo- 
dore Wirth. The plans contemplate 
recreation grounds attractive to both 
adults and children, including a sun- 
ken lawn to provide for skating in 
winter and baseball in summer, out- 
door gymnasiums for men, boys and 
women, tennis courts, croquet 
grounds, wading pool, children’s play- 
ground, etc. 
The city council of Duluth, Minn., 
has voted a levy of $10,000 to pur- 
chase lands to create Nemadji park 
on the Nemadji river. A vote for 
$1,000 with which to replant trees in 
one of the citywards was also passed. 
Plans have been submitted to the 
Atlanta, Ga., park commission by Mr. 
John C. Olmsted for the improve- 
ment of Piedmont Park. The pro- 
posed beautification of the park will 
run into a possible few hundred thou- 
sand dollars before completion, but it 
is expected that some road work will 
be constructed during the ensuing 
year under an expenditure of $10,000. 
The park authorities of Grand Rap- 
ids, Mich., have appealed to the Ways 
and Aleans Committee for an appro- 
priation of $4,500 to be expended on 
grading and improving John Ball 
Park before the next summer season 
opens. 
Fort Aleigs, Toledo, O., is to be 
parked. The old military lines and 
all the historical surrounding points 
are to be marked out, and the whole 
place beautified and made to set off 
the massacre monument erected a 
year ago. 
The city council of Birmingham, 
Ala., has instructed the mayor to 
purchase the plot of ground adjoin- 
ing the Lakeview school for park 
purposes at a cost of $30,000. 
