Suburban Station Grounds 
PLAN SHOWING POSITION OF THE STATION AT 
WELLESLEY 
public building is the town hall, and con¬ 
nected with it is the Free Library which, 
with the park of some ten acres, was given 
to the town by Hollis H. Hunnewell. The 
structure is of stone with freestone trim¬ 
mings, and the library portion alone cost 
$ 60 , 000 . Mr. Hunnewell provided further, 
however, a fund of $ 20,000 for the care of 
the library and grounds ; and, as the town 
adds something to this, they are kept in 
excellent condition. When the station is 
reached, it appears from the train exactly as 
if it were the little stone lodge to the park 
where centers the town’s community life. 
This is just the effect it ought to have, and 
together buildings and park form a civic 
center. The result is something more than 
pleasing. It is satisfying, and it enhances 
the dignity of a community which to its 
other outward attractions adds, obviously, 
that great thing—a civic consciousness. If 
from the side of the town the effect is not 
quite so good—because the station has been 
rather “ planted out ” and minimized when, 
with the convergence of roads to it, it should 
have been emphasized and made a distinct 
accent or goal—the error is easily seen and 
the way of its correction is plain. The les¬ 
son that Wellesley teaches is as unmistakable 
as if the effect from the town were as sur¬ 
prisingly delightful as from the railroad, 
and even from the town side it is excep¬ 
tionally good. With very slight changes 
the Wellesley approach could serve as a 
model. 
Five minutes from Wellesley, which is 
to say a half hour from Boston, Natick is 
reached, and one discovers even from the 
car window that the city’s suburbs have 
PLAN SHOWING POSITION OF THE STATION AT 
SOUTH FRAMINGHAM 
been left behind. That, however, is inci¬ 
dental, for we are seeking hints and there 
are still lessons for suburban stations. The 
station is now decidedly the best looking 
building in sight, and a good deal of the 
town, one has to confess, is in sight. The 
grounds from the station to the main street 
form a perfect little garden, but, as far as one 
can see, its good example has had no effect. 
Even the railroad seems discouraged and 
the slopes of the cut are now abandoned to 
their natural dreariness. If Natick would 
brace up and make itself as attractive as the 
towns to the east of it, one feels sure that 
the railroad would extend its careful work— 
a reflection that suggests the reciprocal rela¬ 
tion in this matter between a town and its 
railroad. 
A few minutes more and an important 
junction is reached in South Framingham. 
Busy railroad junctions are seldom inviting, 
for art has such a deal to overcome that 
the obstacles seem to dishearten it. South 
Framingham is no exception in the restric¬ 
tion of the ground available for planting, 
but there is a very good building and wher¬ 
ever there does appear a corner that can be 
planted the opportunity is availed of. At 
Westboro, a little further on, a highway 
crossing the tracks at right angles suggests 
that the train shall stop well to one side. 
Again the considerable space between high¬ 
way and station—crossed by path and road, 
neatly divided by shrubbery as at Waban— 
has been made a little park, the road turn¬ 
ing back in a circle just beyond the station. 
North Grafton, the next station, offers an 
excellent contrast between the old method 
and the new. There are no grounds, and 
