26 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
THE SEASON’S WORK IN CHICAGO SOUTH PARKS 
One of the most efficiently organized and 
systematically managed park organizations 
in the country and one that probably ren- 
ders a wider variety of service than any 
other is the South Park Board of Chicago, 
which is generally regarded as a model in 
the administration of those broader park 
functions that are associated with the serv- 
ice and play parks. 
A brief review of the season’s activities 
in the maintenance of this highly special- 
ized park organization as detailed in the 
latest annual report of the South Park 
Commissioners, will offer profitable sug- 
gestions concerning the orderly routine of 
a year’s park work. 
During the past decade, the South Parks 
have been greatly enlarged by the addition 
of eighteen parks and thirteen boulevards, 
increasing the length of the boulevards 
fifteen and one-third miles and the aggre- 
gate area from 1,535 to 2,494 acres. But of 
much greater importance is the increased 
usefulness and beneficial influence of the 
parks brought about by providing increased 
opportunities in many directions for the ac- 
tivities of the people, both pleasurable and 
instructive — opportunities which only a few 
years ago were not to be found in any pub- 
lic park. The park of today with its public 
golf courses, archery grounds, bathing 
beaches and pools, bait casting pools, tennis 
courts, ball diamonds, foot ball fields, skat- 
ing ponds, assembly halls, gymnasiums, 
children’s play grounds, branch libraries 
and other facilities for recreation, amuse- 
ment and instruction, all furnished at no 
cost to the users, are very different places 
to maintain and operate from the park of 
a score of years ago, the existence of 
which had for its chief justification the 
presentation of opportunities to enjoy in 
a recreative way the beautiful in nature, 
harmoniously placed and properly main- 
tained. In the modern parks the attractive- 
ness of nature must be provided as hereto- 
fore, but under conditions which make it 
much more difficult. 
It is this Twentieth Century develop- 
ment of the service rendered to the people 
by the parks that brings many new prob- 
lems to park management. Not that any 
of the activities introduced into parks are 
new creations or require the service of 
hitherto unknown workers, but the amplifi- 
cation of the service in the parks makes 
necessary a more extended classification of 
employes. The difficulty the management 
experiences is in uniting the efforts of all 
classes of employes in securing successful 
results in all directions. This means a de- 
velopment of organization making it pos- 
sible to bring about between gardeners, 
carpenters, gymnasium and playground 
supervisors, plumbers, police, machinists, 
painters, roofers, electricians, refectory 
managers, fieldhouse directors, boatmen, 
teamsters, clerks, construction men, fire- 
men, and all other classes of employes that 
co-operation essential to the success of the 
service as a whole. 
A recent study of the conditions resulted 
in a reorganization of the park service. 
Briefly described, it divides the service into 
eight divisions, operated under the direc- 
tions of the General Superintendent, J. F. 
Foster, with a responsible officer in charge 
of each division. The divisions and the 
title of the chief officer of each division are 
as follows: 
Engineering and Construction Division, 
Chief Engineer. 
Maintenance and Repair Division, Super- 
intendent of Maintenance and Repair., H. 
S. Richards. 
Divisions of Playgrounds and Sports, 
TABLE OF AREAS AND DISTANCES OF SOUTH PARKS AND BOULEVARDS 
Total 
Area 
Acres 
Total 
Length 
Miles 
Improved 
Area 
Acres 
Improved 
Drives 
Miles 
Improved 
Drives 
Sq. Yds. 
Improved 
Walks 
Sq. Yds. 
Artificial 
Lakes Area 
Acres 
Improved 
Lawn 
Acres 
Planta- 
tion Acres 
Bridle 1 
Paths 
Sq. Yds. 
Buildings 
Sq. Yds. 
Sand 
Courts 
Sq. Yds. 
Ooutdor 
Gym- 
nasiums 
Sq. Yds. 
Jackson Park 
Washington Park 
Marquette Park 
542.89 
371.00 
322.68 
205.14 
80.00 
74.88 
60.60 
60.54 
40.48 
66.19 
29.95 
22.88 
20.00 
10.00 
10.00 
10.00 
10.00 
10.00 
11.47 
7.41 
19.16 
18.52 
20.00 
20.19 
542.89 
370.00 
50.28 
109.62 
80.00 
62.77 
57.28 
56.27 
39.94 
7.19 
6.93 
■98 
.81 
2.58 
.33 
1.14 
.43 
222,701 
140,613 
24,675 
5,140 
59,095 
9,432 
25,092 
9,394 
250988 
79,410 
10,940 
10,555 
14,542 
26,968 
22,380 
33,581 
20,980 
107.64 
23.00 
14.50 
252.25 
244.11 
34.97 
72.04 
53.10 
38.92 
26.24 
23. S8 
24.31 
65.47 
50.00 
30,893 
10,511 
40,111 
25,076 
600 
150 
15,315 
Grant Park 
Midway Plaisance 
.28 
5.00 
7.19 
7.59 
5.86 
9,015 
McKinley Park 
9.S9 
10.66 
10.56 
.89 
2,475 
5,079 
5,655 
3,128 
898 
2,251 
2,550 
90 
2,887 
3,636 
2,383 
2,536 
3,290 
1,575 
Sherman Park 
Ogden Park 
Palmer Park 

737 
838 
1,043 
10,564 
13,727 
12,412 
Calumet Park 
Hamilton Park 
29.60 
19.72 
20.00 
9.93 
9.00 
8.97 
8.90 
10.00 
5.64 
32,177 
10,524 
14,145 
9,372 
8,585 
6,540 
8,864 
13,090 
6,742 
695 
.43 
.57 
.98 
.20 
.16 
.18 
.24 
.28 
.14 
14.85 
10.83 
15.00 
5.21 
3.31 
4.76 
4.51 
3.65 
3,41 
2.25 
2.41 
2.16 
.25 
.90 
.63 
.57 
1.24 
.33 
215 
1,002 
225 
711 
492 
252 
S13 
151 
272 
19,155 
9,893 
7,943 
7,935 
7,321 
5,794 
6,835 
2,199 
Bessemer Park 
Gage Park 
Mark White Square 
.10 
1,700 
Armour Square 
Davis Square 
Fuller Park 

Russell Square 
Hardin Square 
No. 15 Park 
No. 17 Park 
6.16 
3.50 
2.81 
2.00 
1.48 
1.23 
.75 
.67 
.50 
.31 
.14 
.17 
.03 
1.47 
1.38 
4.12 
2.08 
.94 
.65 
.48 
.18 
1.82 
.12 
66.59 
84.85 
68.12 
48.00 
35.58 
5.78 
6.88 
2.81 
6.09 
3.05 
189,i87 
182,160 
79,305 
132,560 
75,640 
84,540 
39,645 
33,569 
21,020 
27,250 
13.47 
39.05 
48.07 
16.09 
14.55 
1.98 
5.24 
6.02 
2.23 
.25 
.67 
.50 
.31 
6,122 
16,275 
17,060 
8,282 
1,710 
9,098 
4,500 
1,946 
.39 

1.56 
.37 
• 
.37 
.03 
900 
900 
Vincennes Ave. 66' “ 
Totals 
2043.98 
32.99 
1810.79 
46.86 
1,205,333 
811,156 
180.32 
968.90 
152.13 
56,319 
1 10,220 
6,901 
120,893 
The total area under the control of the South Park Commissioners is 2,494.59 acres. 
