Many new such village improvement leagues were born, often under the auspices of the local women's clubs. By 1900, there were dozens in the South and West, especially in California. A National League of Improvement Associations approached their goal as a crusade. No task is too great for these associations to undertake. They will order down your front fences and order up electric lights with equal sangfroid.
Water flows at their command.
Indeed, they offer you prizes for the prettiest back yard and neatest alley. Under the leadership of its second president, Charles Zueblin, these local energies were redirected into the mainstream of Progressive reform. Improvement societies attempted to promote small-town beauty with order, cleanliness, and moral uplift. Civic improvement ideas spread to larger cities like St. Paul, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. The American Park and Outdoor Art Association begun in 1897 championed the third neglected element of the City Beautiful, outdoor art and the cultivation of beautiful landscapes in great city parks.