126 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
DEVELOPING TACOMA’S UNIQUE NATURAL PARK 
Within the limits of the Metropoli- 
tan Park District of Tacoma, Wash., 
are 1,020 acres of public breathing 
places, of which 637.90 acres make 
up the area of Point Defiance Park, 
in which lie myriad opportunities for 
the development on a comprehensive 
line that the commissioners have al- 
ready started. In features Nature her- 
self provided Point Defiance Park is 
undoubtedly without a rival in the 
world. 
Bordered on three sides by that 
magnificent inland sea, Puget Sound, 
the park affords views of water and 
mountains — the latter including that 
majestic all-the-year snow-covered 
Mt. Tacoma, the highest mountain 
in the United States, and in the op- 
posite direction the jagged Olympics 
— that entrance those who behold. 
There are six miles of water front, 
including a beach presenting unlim- 
ited possibilities for enjoyment, and 
the larger portion of the park area 
presents a native forest the like of 
which cannot be found outside the 
wildest regions. 
The Park Board of Tacoma recent- 
ly employed Hare & Hare, landscape 
architects of Kansas City, Mo., to 
prepare detailed plans for the devel- 
opment on a generous scale of all of 
the unique natural features of Point 
Defiance, and their report from which 
the following descriptive details are 
drawn outlines one of the most inter- 
esting and extensive pieces of park 
development in the country. 
Probably no other city in this 
country has such a beautiful natural 
park. Its setting and relation to the 
city are unique and ideal. Surround- 
ed on three sides by Puget Sound 
and rising some three hundred feet 
above the tide level, it affords as 
beautiful views over land and water 
as can be seen in this or foreign 
lands.. The view to the northwest 
from the point toward the great 
Olympic range, with its snow-capped 
peaks glistening in the sunshine, has 
been pronounced by those who know 
to be equal to the views in Italy and 
the Mediterranean. 
While the park will doubtless al- 
ways be best known because of its 
beautiful natural scenery, the ex- 
panse and natural arrangement, to- 
gether with the diverse inclinations 
of the public, justify the devoting of 
reasonable areas to other attractions. 
The whole park naturally falls into 
three general divisions, namely: (1) 
athletic field, (2) zoological garden 
with entrance and beach, (3) natural 
woodland. 
The athletic field is well located, 
being separated from the remainder 
of the park by the car line. The field 
proper for baseball, field games, par- 
ades, pageants or drills covers an 
area of 198,150 square feet, being 618 
feet long and 367 feet wide. Around 
this field, and slightly elevated above 
it, is the running track of three laps 
to the mile, with a straightaway dash 
on the east side of ample length for 
the 100-yard dash and the 120-yard 
hurdles. On the south and east a 
sloping lawn will provide a place for 
many people to view the games and 
meets. On the summit of the ground 
east of the field are located the ten- 
nis courts, six in number, with ample 
opportunity for air as well as a beau- 
tiful view over the Sound. 
The field house should include an 
indoor gymnasium, shower baths, 
lockers and a large auditorium for 
meetings, entertainments or concerts 
when the weather does not permit 
outdoor gatherings. The auditorium 
and gymnasium might be combined 
if necessary. 
In connection with the field house 
are outdoor gymnasiums for men and 
women. 
The children’s playground, with its 
sand courts, wading pool, swings, 
see-saws, giant stride, ladders and 
other suitable apparatus, should be 
thoroughly controlled by a trained in- 
structor. 
The present bath house or natori- 
um is well located and has been made 
a unit in the athletic field. 
To the east of the athletic field and 
over the summit of the hill will be 
located the service buildings and 
yards, stables, greenhouses, garden, 
nursery yards, compost heap and 
places for construction and repair 
materials. 
In considering the entrance the 
landscape architects recommend that 
there should not be an elaborate 
architectural display, but rather a 
gradual change from the formality 
of the boulevard to the naturalistic 
treatment of the zoological portion 
of the park. However, they fe.el that 
with its relation to the zoo two piers, 
