PARK AND C EM ETER 
658 
Board of Park Commissioners. By 
this ordinance a non-political, unpaid 
commission of four members was 
provided. These commissioners were 
to be appointed by the mayor, sub- 
ject to the approval of the common 
council. 
TYPICAL LA CROSSE RIVER SCENERY 
pay for tliemselves; (4) that the 
adoption of a permanent park policy 
is more than likely to bring rich gifts 
of land and money for park purposes. 
Of the general soundness of these 
views, the audience was convinced, 
and at the conclusion of the meet- 
comprehensive, well-distributed sys- 
tem in which the needs of each sec- 
tion were adequately and fairly pro- 
vided for. The situation of the city 
is remarkable and of great beauty. 
With one of the finest parts of the 
Alississippi River on the west and a 
The next step was the selection by 
the Board of a landscape architect as 
its expert adviser and the arrange- 
ment soon after for a public mass 
meeting to present to the general 
public the tentative plans for a park 
system and the reasons for such a 
system in a city like La Crosse. The 
meeting was held in the opera house. 
The arrangements were unusually 
well made, the local newspapers co- 
operating heartily and as a result a 
large and representative audience 
completely filled the hall. The may- 
or presided. Mr. Xolen w'as the 
principal speaker and pointed out the 
value of parks and the direction the 
work should take. 
The four conclusions to which the 
addresses of the evening pointed defi- 
nitely were: (1) That park lands 
for the city of La Crosse would nev- 
er again be so cheap; (2) that once 
acquired, they would steadily in- 
crease in value; (3) that the experi- 
ence of every city that has judi- 
ciously undertaken park improve- 
ments had demonstrated that they 
ing, resolutions were unanimously 
adopted providing for a park com- 
mission and the levying of a one mill 
tax to be set apart and expended 
under the direction of the park com- 
mission for park purposes. 
At a meeting of the council held 
a few days later, this enthusiastic ac- 
tion of the people was confirmed by 
the levying of a one mill tax for 
parks and later by the issuing of 
bonds for seventy-five thousand dol- 
lars for the purchase of land and for 
the necessary construction. Thus in 
six months the work of park making 
in La Crosse was successfully inaug- 
urated. 
It was the aim of the park com- 
mission and its landscape adviser to 
select property that was naturally fit- 
ted for park use, that could be de- 
veloped economically, that would re- 
flect and preserve the characteristic 
and beautiful topographical features 
of La Crosse, and that, when im- 
proved, would constitute a whole, 
each part having relation to every 
other part, and together forming a 
noble range of high and rugged 
bluffs on the east, it occupies a broad 
and fertile valley, offering an ideal 
site for both business and residence 
purposes. The most striking and 
characteristic natural features are, of 
course, the river and the bluffs. It 
was decided at once that these should 
be included in the park plans and that 
all the forms of recreation that river 
and bluffs make possible should be 
provided. 
The existing parks available as a 
nucleus for the new system were the 
two half blocks in the built-up sec- 
tion of the city, Myrick Park and the 
Losey Boulevard. After a great deal 
of investigation on the ground, sup- 
plemented by careful study and plan 
making, the following system of 
parks, parkways, squares and play- 
grounds was adopted: 
(1) Copeland Park. This is a tract 
of more than twenty acres in North 
La Crosse with a frontage of half a 
mile on the Black River, command- 
ing some of the finest views of the 
Minnesota bluffs. A wide promen- 
