Morning journal and courier., 1881-03-18
shefiield Scientific School.

Public Parks-Lecture by Prof. Baldwin.
 The eleventh lecture in the mechanics' course was delivered last evening at North Sheffield Hall by Prof. s. E. Baldwin of the Law school Before the lecture began, an- nouncement was made that the last lecture
 in the course, to be given by Prof. Lyman,
 will not be on the subject heretofore an-
 nounced, but on ssThe Sun.n Prof Baldwin
 in opening defined the origin and history of
 parks, and historically considered the sub-
 ject, referring to noted parks in Europe.
 In America we have not needed parks un-
 til within the last 30 years. In 1888 New
 Haven Green was laid out. Even as late as
 the revolution the lower part was mere swamp with huckleberry bushes growing on it's edges. The speaker referred now to Gen. tral Park, New York, and other noted Amer ican parks The first American park was in New York, and only dates back from 1851. Hartford's beautiful park was referred to. For 20 years New Haven has needed park, and she might have had one in 1861 if she
 had only accepted the offer of the Hallock family. East and West Rock have always been marked features of New Haven. Jas. A. Hillhouse refers to them as Sassacus and
 Regicide.
 Mr. John W. Bishop offered to give the city the two eastern spurs of. East Rock for park-site, but owners of real estate wlo | wanted park in the western part of the city defeated this project. In 1876 the subject of ! public park was again opened by petition | to the city government headed by President Porter and William Fitch. The result was East Rock Park, tract of a mile and half | in length, with an average width of half mile, including about 37O acres. The speaker here ventured the remarkthat hardly dozen persons present were aware of the natural attractions of East Rock, after which re- mark he gave long and interesting descrip- tion of the park, it's attractions views and | methods of approach. It has taken about a | year to settle it's boundaries and it will take another year to get all the land included | therein.
 l As yet the park exists only on paper. Pri- vate subscriptions have greatly aided in pur-
 chasing the land to compose it. Fortunately no buildings are to be removed. Three hun dred houses were removed in the first years work at Central Park and thirty or forty | were removed in laying out Bushnell at Hart ford But when all the land is bought how
 are we to improve it? A park should repre- sent the best natural features of the country
 round about 1t. A park should be nature at \ its best It is too large to be artificial. The | speaker last summer saw the folly of attempt I ing artificial resemblances of nature on 8
 large scale. At Leyden Gin Holland, where
 the country is wholly fat) they were determined to have hill. And scooping out clayey mud from the l canal, the Leydenites heaped it up into a | hummock about 25 feet in height and set | thereon temple with the incription, Sacred to the Muses." It is the highest hill in Hol- | land, but what 8 burlesque on nature! To secure our East Rock Park $2O,OO0 in land l and money has been given by citizens, and
 an annual appropriation of $6,OOO has been
 made by the city. Adjoining land proprie- | tors are liable to be assessed for the benefit to their land. Now, what is it all worth to
 us? There never was park yet which was
 not worth all it cost, and more too. In IS years the ratio of increase in the valuation of the three city wards adjacent to Central Park was 800 per cent, while in the rest of the city it was about 90 per cent. Similar statis- | tics from Philadelphia and other cities show | an increase in the value of property near to parks to the extent of 400 per cent. in each | case. But this is not the only money benefit. | The saving of money by the prevention of sickness among all classes of citizens is i'm mense.
 Furthermore, parks, like all public institu- | tions, inspire a sentiment of patriotism in
 the souls of citizens. Citizens cannot but
 love the country that thus provides for them. l A park, then, does not alone make city population happier, healthier and better. It l may give back to government directly more than it receives in new spirit of patriotism l resting on new sense of what government l is-that it really is ''of the people and for 1 the people,"