PARK AND 
natural forces or the hand of man, is a dominant note in the 
landscape harmonies of St. Paul, for it stands out in the open, 
the most conspicuous and familiar of the natural features 
within the daily vision of the people from all the many points 
of view which look out upon the Mississippi valley from the 
river front or from the heights which encircle the city, while 
its own summit commands the splendid panorama of river 
scenery, including the sparkling crescent of the city and its 
environment of hills from Dayton’s bluff to the white prom- 
ontory of Fort Snelling. No more important duty devolves 
upon the board than the preservation and improvement of 
public use and enjoyment of these commanding features of the 
picturesque river frontage of St. Paul.” That St. Paul and 
Minneapolis have done a great deal is shown by the further 
statement : “The people of St. Paul are so well pleased with 
the river boulevard that they are eager for its speedy comple- 
tion southward to Snelling Bridge. This done there should 
be no delay in pushing its extension to the Minneapolis boun- 
dary over a mile northward, from where it will connect with 
the east side boulevard of Minneapolis. The river boulevard 
on the Minneapolis side now built from Minnehaha Park to 
Lake street is to be completed this year to Franklin bridge, 
making its whole length three and one-half miles. Thus these 
dual boulevards, supplemented on the west side by the mili- 
tary road through the reservation to' Snelling bridge will form 
a circuit of nearly ten miles of driveway, looking down on 
the enchanting scenery of the deep and narrow gorge through 
which the swift river has cut out its way.” 
The report notes that the projected parkways of St. Paul 
include the Mississippi river boulevard covering IQA miles 
of which it has secured but two. 
The report of the park board of Minneapolis contains sim- 
ilar evidence of the appreciation of the water front and its 
official park department exhibits initiative. In its report for 
the year 1905 it shows the’ remarkable success it has already 
attained in the preservation of the valley of the Mississippi 
river and of the lakes that He to the westward, a success 
which it proposes to follow up by the preservation of the 
shores of three other lakes by extending the reservation along 
the Mississippi river, all to be connected with proposed park- 
ways. 
The City Parks Association of Philadelphia published in 
June of this year a plan for the development of the Schuyl- 
kill, the treatment of the Seine being its avowed object les- 
son. 
The Park Commission on the Improvement of the District 
of Columbia five years ago urged the development of the 
water front of the nation’s capital on the Potomac as Euro- 
pean cities have been improved. 
The water front of Harrisburg is fortunate in not having 
railroad tracks along it. During the past year 4,800 feet of 
the frontage of the river has been given to the Park Com- 
mission, one of whose members is J. Horace McFarland, your 
president. Erie, Pa., has acquired 175 acres on the bay. De- 
catur, 111., has secured 10 acres on its river. Typical exam- 
ples all. 
Public Interest. 
The interest of the public is exhibited positively by favor- 
able votes upon loans for the acquisition of park land as in 
Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis, and by the membership of 
organizations of private citizens formed to further the move- 
ment. The same interest is reflected by the magazines and 
newspaper articles to which reference has been made. Dif- 
ferent associations are co-operative. The civic associations 
of the Borough of Queens of New York are 33 in number. 
The Allied Organizations of Philadelphia began with seven 
and grew with considerable difficulty to 20. A year ago the 
number was 48 and is now 56, an increase which has been 
CEMETERY. 2'^6 
made generally at the request of the new organizations. Of 
these, no less than ten are purely business organizations. 
The report of the secretary will doubtless cover the in- 
crease of new organizations formed for town and city im- 
provement during the past year. In any city or town it is 
comparatively easy to get up an organization of a certain 
number. This is because there is always a certain percentage 
of individuals who are sure to have similar aims. But when 
we find an organization like the City Parks Association of 
Philadelphia, which has been in existence over 18 years, and 
which has continually advanced its claims to public support, 
increase within the year its membership of 575 to a 
membership of 835, there is some explanation to be found 
other than that ■%vhich is sufficient for the formation of such 
an organization. These 250 new members, an increase of al- 
most 50 per cent over the old organization, represent, in my 
judgment, the educational influence exerted by associations 
of which the American Civic Association is the national type. 
The Secretary of the Erie Chamber of Commerce informs 
me that a year ago the Chamber of Commerce had the only 
Civic Art Committee in the city. Now several churches have 
organized such comittees and a Federation of Civic Associa- 
tions has been formed. He adds that there has been a probable 
increase of 100 per cent in the number of citizens interested 
in civic art and park improvement from a year ago. 
I have not attempted, even in this lengthy report, to give 
more than a few concrete examples of the notable advances 
in these six directions within a twelve month. If Ameri- 
can communities can find the money, you can depend upon 
them to do the rest. And therefore it is that one of the 
most significant of all the responses that I have received 
in answer to requests for information as to the park situa- 
tion, is this one that comes from Grand Rapids, Mich. : 
“There is an expressed willingness on the part of the tax- 
payers to foot the bill cheerfully.” 
BEAUTIFYING THE ROCK CREEK BRIDGE 
The illustration on this page shows 
one of 28 handsome lamps that will 
beautify as well as light the new $1,000,- 
000 bridge across Rock Creek, Wash- 
ington, D. C. They have been designed 
from the original models by Ernest C. 
Bairstow, the Washington sculptor, who 
is now preparing the models for the 
statuary to be placed on the new muni- 
cipal building, and have been accepted 
by the District Engineer of Bridges. The 
bases of the lamps will be cast in con- 
crete. Standing six feet from their 
foundation on the bridge, they will sup- 
port columns rising sixteen feet in the 
air, making the lamps in all nearly 
twenty-five feet tall. Surmounting each 
lamp will stand an American eagle, two 
and one-half feet high, and with a 
spread of wings measuring four feet. It 
is estimated that each lamp will cost 
$500. They will be installed early next 
spring, and will mark the finishing 
touches of the new bridge. These lamps 
are among the examples elsewhere seen 
in this bridge that beauty and utility 
may go hand in hand, and each reinforce 
the other. The new structure is to span 
Rock Creek in the park of that name, 
and is one of the most important engi- 
neering undertakings planned in the cap- 
ital city. 
ELECTRIC 
LAMP POST 
FOR BRIDGE 
