The Philadelphia Parkway 
and the City Hall. The former is the first 
to be executed. It is not to be 300 feet wide, 
as the art societies recommended, but 250 
feet, as the two million dollars available for 
the work is to be devoted entirely to this sec¬ 
tion, and the width finally fixed is a mathe¬ 
matical proportion between funds at hand 
and the value of property which must be con¬ 
demned. The Parkway does not widen as 
proposed to 400 feet as it reaches Logan 
Square, nor does it enter the Square with 
neat architectural symmetry; but there were 
political reasons why this was impossible and 
consolation must be had from the assurance 
that the axis of this much of The Parkway 
is about in line with the City Hall tower. 
Between Logan Square and the center ot 
the city the axis changes on account of the 
Cathedral, which it adroitly avoids, and on 
account of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s de¬ 
sire to gain all the space possible tor track- 
room east of the Schuylkill River. The 
new plan also answers the railroad engineer’s 
demands in connection with the proposed 
extension of Broad Street Station. There¬ 
fore the city end of The Parkway has been 
pushed outward clear of the Station and 
also throwing the City Hall tower out of The 
Parkway's center. It is held that otherwise 
the northeast angle of the Station would 
encroach upon the width of the avenue, 
whereas, in truth, the projection would be 
but slight; and it occurs to architects, if not 
to railroad engineers, that such an angle 
might be made architecturally valuable and 
would afford, by means of windows, a com¬ 
manding view 7 of the whole Parkway. The 
complacency with which Philadelphians sat¬ 
isfy their railroad president may be height¬ 
ened by the prospect of a view they may 
obtain of the central feature of the City Hall 
facade in approaching it by The Parkway ; 
but the tower—£;20 feet high — is pushed 
back on the building line, dethroned, as it 
were, from its proper eminence—a fate which 
often befalls our most important architecture. 
L EAGUE Island Park enjoys a fine situ¬ 
ation in the plan of Philadelphia, not only 
by virtue of its water front, but on account of 
its relation to the streets, which must neces¬ 
sarily reach it as the City grows. It lies on 
the axis of Broad Street at its southern ter¬ 
minus, four miles below the City Hall, and 
is separated by a waterway from the Govern¬ 
ment Navy Yard and by farm lands from 
the present boundary of the built-up City. 
The scheme to bind it into close relation 
with the City plan is the most practicable, 
and at the same time the most architectural, 
improvement yet devised for Philadelphia. 
It is also the most feasible, as it concerns 
only land which has not yet been built upon 
and aims to improve a region which, if the 
grade be raised, will grow into a very useful 
section of the City. The improvement is 
largely the suggestion of Mr. Frank Miles 
Day, whose plan was published in the 
March, 1903, issue of this magazine. By 
referring to it, it will be seen that a plaza was 
proposed at the present end of the built-up 
City, with diagonal streets radiating sym¬ 
metrically from it on either side of Broad 
Street. Broad Street itself was to be widened 
by taking in a block on each side, thus 
forming a magnificent boulevard reaching 
to the Navy Yard. In the center of the 
plaza might appropriately be placed the 
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, designed 
several years ago by Messrs. Lord & Hew¬ 
lett ; and this, together with the distant City 
Hall in one direction and the gateway to the 
Navy Yard in the other, would compose a 
very fine example of city designing and 
building. The Philadelphia City Councils 
and the Mayor have now lent themselves to 
the scheme by passing a bill for the con¬ 
struction of the plaza (occupying four 
blocks) and for widening Broad Street to 
three hundred feet, which, though narrower 
than Mr. Day’s plan called for, would still 
give an imposing effect and sufficient areas 
for refreshing verdure and parking. This 
much of the scheme will be officially placed 
upon the City plan within a few months and 
half a million dollars has been appropriated 
for the execution of the work. 
48 
