House and Garden 
MAIN ENTRANCE OF COMPTON HEIGHTS 
half a mile. It 
resembles the 
foregoing 
places in its 
topographical 
treatment; but 
beyond the 
rather well de- 
si g n e d en¬ 
trance, which 
screens the 
parking, there 
has been slight 
attention paid 
to the beauti¬ 
fication of the 
place. 
A departure from the symmetrical layout 
of the places noted is shown bv the survey¬ 
or’s plan and view of Compton Heights. 
Here formality has given place to an irregu¬ 
lar division of lots and a curvilinear arrange¬ 
ment of roadways, with the result that a 
more picturesque effect has been attained. 
The unconventionality of the scheme affords 
a greater diversity of vistas, and seems more 
in consonance with the idea of a private 
park, although the absence of entrance gates 
and a central parking will impart an urban 
rather than a suburban aspect to the place 
when it is built up. 
Although this list might be extended by 
the mention of many other places—both 
old and new—they would merely exemplify 
the same idea developed in a slightly differ¬ 
ent manner. 
While the work achieved in St. Louis is 
not beyond criticism, it nevertheless com¬ 
mends itself for its initiative, and is not 
without value for its suggestion of finer pos¬ 
sibilities. The idea is one that lends itself 
readily to adaptation, upon modest lines, to 
suburban towns, as well as to the more elab¬ 
orate treatment suitable to more highly or¬ 
ganized urban communities. 
In passing it may be of interest to mention 
that the tract of land which is now West¬ 
morland and Portland Places was a cow 
pasture fifteen years ago, and was purchased 
at about $5000 per acre. After grading, 
sewering, paving and planting, the lots were 
sold at prices ranging from $65 to $90 per 
front foot according to desirability of 
location. Today these same lots command 
1175 to $200 per foot—a striking illustra¬ 
tion of the enhancement in value resulting 
from the improvements, and proving that 
such undertakings provide a very profitable 
investment for the real estate promoter and 
owner, to say nothing of the far greater bene¬ 
fit that accrues to the community by virtue 
of having within its confines semi-private 
parks that make for a beautiful city. 
In view of the ever-widening appreciation 
of civic beauty, it is pleasant to picture the 
ideal place that might be evolved by the 
guiding hand of a master architect, aided by 
the revived art of landscape architecture and 
the more ancient art of sculpture—a place 
grouped with houses individual in design, 
though well controlled towards the formation 
of an harmonious ensemble. 
From the foregoing brief survey it is evi¬ 
dent that the idea of private places is one that 
promotes that union of house and garden es¬ 
sential to the art of living rightly, and its real¬ 
ization a factor that adds immeasurably to the 
attractiveness of a city. It likewise imparts 
a measure of privacy to home life that is 
highly desirable in these days of glaring 
publicity, and serves to protect a neighbor¬ 
hood from the many annoyances that neces¬ 
sarily surround localities where restrictions 
do not obtain. And, finally, it encourages 
the building of houses of a higher standard 
of architectural excellence, and thus makes 
for a well ordered city and a better life. 
191 
