House Cf Garden 
MADISON SQUARE 
NEW YORK 
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problem in themselves—and one in which 
estheticism is not the paramount consider¬ 
ation—yet the pool’s grateful change to the 
common city scenes contains suggestion for 
ornamental open spaces. A round pool, 
flower bordered, has been adopted as the 
treatment for Bowling Green, New York. 
In this unexpected placidity rushing Broad¬ 
way terminates. There is enough formalism 
to retain the urban character of the spot and 
enough tranquility to recall the Dutch origin 
of the space. When tall office buildings 
crowd around it, the contrast may become 
too violent, so that even history will not 
excuse such incongruity ; but generally in a 
quiet residential section, far from any natural 
body of water, the treatment should prove 
very charming. 
The opportunity of the open space should 
be availed of to add to turf, and flowers, and 
idling or dancing water, two other potent 
factors, none too easy otherwise to obtain, in 
the development of city beauty. And this 
is true especially of that larger area which 
the less crowded portions of the city can 
usually spare for purposes so good and 
pleasant. These factors are clusters of trees 
and their background of verdure for civic 
sculpture. The trees are not only lovely 
in themselves, and gratifying for the shade 
which they afford ; but most acceptably do 
they close the vista of a street or make a beau¬ 
tiful screen to separate distinct sections of a 
town. For the best effect, the space should 
be large enough to include without crowding 
a goodly number. Boston Common is so 
large that a more encouraging example is 
found in the equally well known Madison 
Square, New York. Here, as on the Com¬ 
mon, the trees are the principal feature, the 
grass plots amounting to little by comparison. 
In the illustration there is shown an ex¬ 
ample of a statue with that background of 
verdure for which nearly all sculpture is the 
better, foliage strengthening the outline and 
giving life and warmth to the whole effect. 
This, indeed, is one of the most delightful 
possibilities of the open space; but it is one 
that is too little considered, for it is not 
necessary that the statue should be in the 
square to be thus benefited. A fine effect 
can very often be secured for the statue of 
the street by so placing it that it will be seen 
against the green background of a square. 
But in order that it may be always thus 
seen, some ingenuity is required. In the 
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