Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-11-14
Cleveland Should Have a Park nm
Hha LnFrN Shoro

in favor of the city purchasing the tract
of vacant land east of the mansion of the
late Nathan Perry, and turning; it into a
public park. Since then our contemporary
has advocated for that purpose the
purchase of the vacant land on
Wilson avenue, about midway between
Euclid and Kinsman, formerly known as
" Wilson Park" containing Twenty-Five
acres The objection to the location of a
park on Euclid is patent to any observing
and sagacious mind Euclid avenue is
now beautiful beyond description, and
consequently does not need a park. The
proposed park should be located where il
will improve and b%cautify an uninviting
quarter of the city, and also at a point
from which the people can view our mag
n%iicent lake. 1t should be of sufficient
size to allow of long carriage drives, and
at the same time it should be as approach
able to the people as possible. The pro-
posed site adjoining the Perry mansion
does not embrace any of the above re-
quirements. It is too small-"t too far
from town" and it has no lake view. The
same objections exist against Wilson
Park, with the additional one that it is so
very far out of town as to leave it entirely
out of the question.
In laying out a park, we should aim to
have one that will occupy the same rela-
ton to our city hat Central Park does to
New York, and the great parks of Lon
don do to that city. 1t should embracesome
distinctive peculiaritics to make it inter-
esting.
AT an expense less than the cost of our
Water Works, our city can have a park
that will embrace all of the above fea-
lures, enc that will have a national, if not
a worldwide reputation-a park whose
beauties and grandeur would be thetheme
of prose and poetry 1t is proposed and
suggested that our city apply to the Leg
islature for authority to appropriate the
land lying between Ontario street, and as
far east as the Cleveland Wooden Mills,
between Lake street and the lake, and
| clear off all the houses and buildings,
which are all of a cheap character, and
grade and lay it out for such a park as we
have described. The dimensions of this
park would be about one mile long, and
about 500 feet wide to the waters edge.
On the brow of the bank a wide carriage
drive could be laid out, extending the
whole length, where our carriage driving
people could enjoy themselves in viewing
the lake on one side, and the splendid res
licences Chat will be erected) on the other.
For the accommodation of those who can
not afford a carriage, a street railroad
could be laid out to run parallel with the
shore, where everybody, and everybody's
wife and children, could ride and gaze on
ourunrivalled sunset scenes. Such a park
could be easily approached by the people
of the whole city-far more easily than
the proposed site on Euclid or Wilson
avenue.
This park could, at Il comparatively
small cost, be made to excel the Central
Park as far as real grandeur and sublimity
of view are concerned, and fully equal, as
to mere beauty 1t would afford more en-
joyment to our people than any one insti-
tuition we now have. 1t would attract
people of wealth to Cleveland for the
purpose of making it their perma- /
nent home. Cleveland would then be-
emphatic. lily the most popular place
of resort during the summer months in |
the Union, not excepting even Newport
Saratoga. In the summer evenings
thousands of our people, from the mil
.Eionaire in his four horse turnout, down
TO the hard working laborer with his wife
and children, will gather to view our gor-
geous lake and magnificent sunsets, wan
der through the miles of drives and walks
and listen to the music of the Park
At present, to the discredit of our city,
we have no place from which we can
gaze on the lake, to which the stranger can
90 to view the principal object in our
scenery, excepting the narrow, uninviting
and unsatisfactory spots at the foot of the
streets leading to the lake, and the little
space of ground left open on Summit
street. which, by the way, is private prop
srty, and will soon be done away by the
grade of a new street now being laid out
the new depot to the foot of Ontario
street.
London has her magnificent series Of
parks, consisting of the st. James, Hyde
Park, Regent Park, &c. Paris has her
Champ de Mars, Garden de Vers illes, and
Boulevards. Berlin and Vienna are
raced with the finest parks in Europe.
New York has her great Central Park
her "Commons," Philadelphia her {
7airmount, Chicago has her Union Park, :
f some 100 acres in extent and her al 1
nest unrivalled Michigan Avenue on the {
axe shore, and while Forest City has only a
title plot of ground called the Square"
What has been lacking in size and dignity t
I the Square our people have under
lken to make up by calling it by the high J
name of "the Monumental
ark" We have another little plot of '
OF about four acres called "Clinton j
but we venture to say not one in |
n Of our people ever heard of it or
en- it. d
The question now is, shall Cleve- G
nd, with a future population, say in less a
an twenty-five years, of over a quarter I
a million, be without n Park that shall h
respond in size ana beauty TO her q
eaIsE. population, and taste Should we "
It endsavor to take time by the fore S;
tx nor, and try and make up for the r'
istake made by Our city in not laying a "
ark years ago when it could have heen Of
so much cheaper? If such a Park W
not laid out ROW, it certainly will be re
years henoea when We are succeeded il
a more liberal and enterprising genera
IN, although the cost will be immensely
~
take possession, lay out and pay for is