329 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
ese gardens of Mrs. Gardner and of Mrs. Anderson 
were much admired by the visitors. 
At the Somerset in the evening, Mr. John C. Olm- 
sted gave a stereopticon lecture on the Boston park 
system. Mr. Olmsted, associated with his father, 
■designed the Boston parks and his comments on and 
■explanations of the motives of design gave a thorough 
understanding of the system, preparatory to its inspect- 
ion/ Since the begining of construction an ample 
interval has passed for the development and adjust- 
ment of effects in arrangement and uses to enable 
some merits of the design to be determined. This 
paper will be published in full in succeeding isssues of 
Park and Cemetery. 
The next day the park system of Boston was visited 
in a most interesting and instructive manner under 
the- guidance of the men who had planned it and 
watched its development. The principal areas of the 
Boston system and parts of the Metropolitan system 
were visited. 
The society now numbers 34 members, sixteen of 
whom are known as fellows and eighteen as juniors. 
The officers are : President, John C. Olmsted, Brook- 
line, Mass.; Vice-President, Samuel Parsons, Jr., of 
New York; Treasurer, Chas N. Lowrie, New York- 
Secretary, Downing Vaux, New York. 
The following were present at the convention : 
John C. Olmsted, of Brookline; Charles N. Lowrie, D. W. 
Langton, and Downing Vaux, New York ; Ossian C. Simonds, 
of Chicago; Charles W. Leavitt, Jr., James L. Greenleaf, 
Charles Downing Lay, Frederick C. Hoth, C. F. Pilat, of New 
York; Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., J. Frederick Dawson, Emil 
Mische and H. V. Hubbard of Brookline ; Dana F. Dow, New 
York; Warren H. Manning, Percival Gallagher, Sam P. Negus, 
Arthur A. Shurtleff, James Strugis Pray and Guy Lowell, of 
Boston, C. D. Lay, New York, and P. White of Brookline. 
G. A. Parker, Hartford, Conn. ; Charles Mulford Robinson, 
of Rochester, N. Y., and Sjdvester Baxter, Robeson Sargent 
and Wm. J. Stewart, of Boston, were present as guests. 
Annual reports or extracts from tkem^ historical sketches, 
descriptive circulars, photographs of improvements or dis- 
tinctive features are requested for use in this department- 
REFORMS IN THE WEST PARK SYSTEM OF CHICAGO. 
The New West Park Board, which is relied upon to re- 
move the West Park system from the blight of politics, has 
gone busily about its immense task. President Eckhart has 
begun by dropping a number of political job holders from the 
pay roll and making a careful investigation of present condi- 
tions in parks. He made a detailed report to the Board at 
its meeting August 8 th on the dilapidated condition of the 
different tracts and made recommendations for their improve- 
ment. Some of the conditions he noted were as follows : 
Greenhouses were falling to pieces, their girders and sup- 
porters having crumbled into rust. Band stands were toppling 
on shaky foundations, while walks and driveways were filled 
with ruts and mud holes. Lagoons were eating their way into 
the banks, and acres of land were without trees or shrubbery. 
Fountains were out of repair, bridges had rotted until they 
were dangerous to cross, and the whole system bore evidences 
of rack and ruin. Reform and repair were the themes of Presi- 
dent Eckhart’s report. The reforms, it was pointed out, will 
result in economy, but the repairs will depend largely on the 
vote given in November on the proposition to issue $2,000,000 
in bonds for the extension of the system. The repairs most 
urgently recommended were as follows : Humboldt Park — 
Immediate repairs to greenhouse; reflooring of basement of 
east room of pavilion and repairing of slate roof ; completion 
of electric light system ; improvement of western portion of 
park by planting of trees and shrubbery ; building of roadways 
in new section and resurfacing of roadways in old; construc- 
tion of new walks and creation of lawn spaces, extension of 
water system and erection of a natatorium at an early date; 
concrete sidewalks on Kedzie avenue, Augusta street and Sac- . 
ramento avenue. Garfield Park — Strengthening of trusses in ; 
greenhouse ; resetting of coping around band stand and re- ! 
building of rear wall ; repairs on power-house smoke stack t 
and on stables ; erection of a modern refectory to replace pres- 1 
ent “inadequate and unserviceable building” ; removal of horse ! 
racing and bicycle tracks; shrubbery planting and extension j 
of water system. “The greenhouses in both Humboldt and j 
Garfield parks are in such poor condition that they will be j 
beyond repair after this year.” Douglas Park — Construe- ; 
tion of new refectory building; planting of trees and shrub- | 
bery; hedge rows around borders to screen off adjacent streets; i 
erection of a new music court; reconstruction of lake shore, j 
Union Park — Trees and shrubbery should be planted through- ! 
out park; gravel walks should be surfaced; concrete around : 
lake replaced and a new lavatory erected. Vernon Park — 
More trees and shrubbery and repairs on lavatory. Jefferson ; 
Park — More trees and shrubbery; a better water supply; re- ; 
surfacing of walks. Wicker Park — More trees and shrubbery. 
Ogden — Resurfacing from Twelfth street to Douglas Park; 
regrading of foundations in many places. Marshall — Ex- 
tension of boulevard at earliest possible moment. The exten- . 
sion of this boulevard is one of the most essential and im- 
portant pieces of work under consideration. 
The Board elected Mr. Jens Jensen superintendent of the 
entire system, and Mr. Jensen will take immediate charge as 
soon as he can arrange his personal affairs. He was formerly 
superintendent of Humboldt Park but was retired because he | 
refused to mix politics with professional park work. Since 
then he has been engaged in private landscape work in which ^ 
he has built up a large practice. Mr. Jensen recently submit- 1 
ted to the following interview, which embodies some of his I 
ideas on park work : “We have a new park problem to solve I 
in Chicago,” said Mr. Jensen. “No park system ever has been I 
developed with the thought uppermost that the people of a 
great industrial community are the ones to whom appeal is 
to be made. The mass of the people who seek and who will 
seek the parks of the West Side work in one room, it may be' 
over one piece of work. Nature is a great unknown book to 
them. It must be opened and learned a page at a time. Give 
them the whole book, or the whole canvas, if you liken it to 
