From the Park Reports. 
The annual report of the Board of Com- 
missioners of Tower Grove Park. St. Louis, 
Mo., describes in detail the work accom- 
plished by that commission during 1914. 
One of the most important improvements 
was the repairing and oiling of the prin- 
cipal driveways. Extensive resurfacing was 
undertaken and completed during the open 
season, and the old crowns were redressed, 
involving the use of more than 6C0 loads of 
macadam and screenings. The largest un- 
dertaking of the year, however, was the 
successful construction of the shelter house 
and wading pool. 
The South Park Commissioners’ report 
for the fiscal year ended February 28, 1914, 
briefly tells of the improvements, opera- 
tion and maintenance of parks in Chicago. 
The golf shelter at the first tee of the Jack- 
son Park course contains about 750 lock 
ers, accommodating four persons to the 
locker, together with shower baths, and is 
maintained free of charge to the public. 
Over 300.000 people played around these 
courses at an average cost of a little over 
5 cents each during 1913. Approximately 
17,334,716 people took advantage of the 
various facilities offered in this park. The 
commissioners anticipate making extensive 
improvements in and adjacent to Grant 
Park, and have secured all of the riparian 
rights along the lake front between Grant 
and Jackson parks, except those of the 
Chicago Beach Hotel and East End Park, 
which belong to the city, and the pumping 
station of the Sanitary District at Thirty- 
ninth street. Five new parks, though not 
completely improved, were equipped with 
playground and outdoor gymnasium ap- 
paratus and opened to the public. Consid- 
erable work was done during the year on 
the lake shore extension project of filling 
in the shallow waters along the lake shore 
between Grant and Jackson parks. All of 
the filling was delivered free of cost to the 
park commissioners. The new shelter in 
the north end of Washington Park was 
opened and one also in Jackson Park. 
Light road oil was applied to park and 
l>oulevard driveways and a total of 384,909 
gallons of light road oil was used during 
the season of 1913. Two bathing beaches 
along the lake shore were also opened, one 
at Thirty-eighth street and one in front of 
the German building, Jackson Park. 
The Department of Horticulture, Divi- 
sion of Landscape Gardening, of the Uni- 
versity of Illinois, recently published an in- 
teresting booklet on “Notes for a Study in 
City Planning in Champaign and Urbana.’’ 
This describes in detail ways and means 
by which Champaign and Urbana might be 
improved, both from an .'esthetic and prac- 
tical point of view. 
Many improvements have been carried 
out in the town of Hopedale, Mass., by the 
park commissioners during 1914, as shown 
by their sixteenth annual report. Among 
the most important was the suppression 
PARK A D CEMETERY. 
and extermination of the gypsy and brown- 
tail moths. A much larger number was 
treated this year than ever before. About 
6,474 bathers took advantage of the bathing 
facilities. New paths connecting “Rawson’s 
Bridge" with “Maroney’s Grove” and the 
big boulder in the “Texas” district with the 
“White Oak Spring” path were completed. 
The annual report of the Park Commis- 
sioners of the city of Medford, Mass., for 
the year 1913 tells of some very interesting 
improvement work done by that commis- 
sion. The development of the Mystic Val- 
ley reservation and boulevard has been 
steadily progressing. A great deal of ex- 
cavation from the river and grading of 
roadways along both banks of the river was 
accomplished. Several bridges were also 
constructed. 
The annual report of the Park Commis- 
sioners of St. Louis for the fiscal year 
ended April 13, 1914, gives some very 
interesting facts about the progress made 
and the results obtained in the public parks 
during that} year. A great deal of con- 
struction work was carried out. Among 
the more important was the construction 
of Buder Square and Carondelet Play- 
ground, a fountain and lake constructed in 
Clifton Heights Park, and Dakota Park 
graded and shaped. A large swimming 
pool was constructed in Fairground Park, 
the largest and most popular recreation 
center in that city. Over 500,000 people 
enjoyed this new feature during the sum- 
mer. A record number of trees, plants and 
shrubs were set out during the year. In 
Forest Park much construction work was 
completed. Several tennis courts were laid 
and Lindell boulevard, from Kingshighway 
to Union avenue, was reconstructed and 
oiled and the other roads kept in good con- 
dition. St. Louis also had a municipal 
Christmas tree for the first time. This 
was the gift of the city of Trondale. A 
bond issue of $2,750,000 has been asked for 
by the Park Department for the construc- 
tion and improvement of five playgrounds 
for children. 
New Parks and Improvements. 
Improvement of the park tract com- 
prising approximately 150 acres, located in 
North Dallas, Tex., to be donated to the 
city by Colonel W. E. Hughes, will be 
taken up by the City Park Board with 
George E. Kessler soon. Mayor Holland, 
M. N. Baker and Emil Fretz, of the Park 
Board, recently checked up the financial 
conditions of the park fund. The fiscal 
year will be closed with a balance of about 
$10,000. During the last eighteen months 
the board has expended the $500,000 bond 
issue proceeds, buying new parks in all 
sections of the city, and during the last 
year the park maintenance fund, which 
amounted to $100,000, has been spent in im- 
provements. The city has purchased three 
acres of land at the intersection of Hall, 
Cochran and Colby streets and Central ave- 
81 
nue as a site for a park for negroes. The 
consideration was $17,000. 
The St. Vrain Valley Fair Association 
and the City Park Board of Longmont, 
Colo., have completed arrangements for the 
improvement and beautifying of the Long- 
mont Driving Park. The plans call for the 
erection of a large auditorium, an exhibi- 
tion hall, live-stock stadium and exhibition 
arena, exhibition pens and stalls, quarter- 
mile cinder track, ball grounds and chil- 
dren’s playgrounds. W. G. Sutherland, 
landscape gardener, of Boulder, has been 
chosen to lay the plans for the placing of 
shrubbery, trees, grass, etc. 
The work of beautifying the park on 
Monument Square, Racine, Wis., was start- 
ed recently. The park will be planted to 
tulips and other early spring flowers. 
Plans and preparations are being made 
by the Park Commission for the improving 
of Riverview Park, De Pere, Wis. New 
poles will be erected, a sidewalk built, trees 
and grass planted, and the grounds gener- 
ally improved this spring. 
Hon. J. P. Buchanan, S. D. W. Low and 
Robert Jahnke, of Brenham, Tex., went to 
Old Washington recently and investigated 
the matter of securing an option on some 
land for the proposed Washington Park, on 
the site where the Texas declaration of in- 
dependence was signed. The bill appro- 
priating an amount for this purpose was 
introduced bv Mr. Low, of Brenham, and 
the measure passed the Senate and is ex- 
pected to pass the House at the extra ses- 
sion of the legislature. 
A movement :s on foot among the lead- 
ing negroes of New Orleans, La., to pro- 
vide a park around the new colored public 
library, and a committee, of which George 
Doyle, secretary of the Plasterers’ and Ce- 
ment Finishers’ Union, is chairman, has 
charge of the matter. 
Another attractive park has been laid out 
by the L’nion Depot Co., of Galveston, 
1 ex., inside the depot grounds west of the 
new baggage room, between Twenty-sixth 
and Twenty-eighth, streets. The park site 
is about 100 feet in width. 
Sid J. Hare, of Hare & Hare, landscape 
architects of Kansas City, was recently in 
Springfield, Mo., drawing plans and making 
recommendations for a park and boulevard 
system for Springfield at the request of the 
Board of Park Commissioners. Mr. Hare 
recommends that the series of lakes and 
waterways be divided into two sections. 
The first is to begin at Walnut Grove and 
extend past Doling Park, where many 
springs are located and where some of the 
prettiest scenery in this vicinity is to be 
viewed. The second system would be 
started at the Country Club, where one lake 
is located, and would extend to Phelps 
Park, where a lake recently has been fin- 
ished, thence to the Elfindale school. 
Alterations and additions recently com- 
pleted in the residence at Round Hill, 
