New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-10

TIE COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND THE PARK
The trustees Of the Samuel Wood College
of Music" having secured possession of the
endowment of a million dollars or so, now come
before the Park Board with the formal re-
quest 10 have certain acres of Central Park set
apart az q site for their binding. They affirm
that the late Colonel Stebb,ns, while president
of the Commission, and having been duly au-
thorized by Legislative enactment, did stake of
and convey for this purpose space between
Fifth lave. and the lower Reservoir, a part of
which is now occupied by the Museum of Art.
The Park Commissioners reply that they have
no record Of any such transactiOn-whi is
doubtless true, but not sufficient. tits not so
much a question of what has been done as OF
what should be done. If it was originally right,
as a matter of principle, law and civic policy,
to give tho college a place in the Park, 1t is
right now, and no removal of stakes or de-
stiuction of records can relieve the Park
Board from the responsibility Of confirming or
renewing the grant. If, or the other hand 1t
WAS originally wrong, it is wrong now, and tho
Board stands bound to resist the encroachment
with all the defensive power it can WELD. The
Commissioners with this formal notice served
upon them cannot escape from deciding once
forall, andou the merits of thequestion, whether
the College edlce ought to he and is TO be
erected in the Park.
Now there is q strong public feeling against
every intrusion upon the city's pleasure groand
and the prospect of additional buildings,
especially of conspicuous and ambitious ones,
is'almost intolerabe. And this jealousyis al
together wholesome because itindicates a grow
ing appreciation of the Park as a consistent
work of landscape art, and determination to
protect it against every influence which is not
i'm harmony with its motive and does not help
fully unite with its natural elements to realize
Els original design. The cheap and easy-be
cause apparently popular-thing for the Com
missioners to do is to warn the College away
fromthe Park on the ground that more architec
ture will disturb the scenery. But this is an as
sailable position. For the contracted space in
question is in no sense part of the Park land
scape 1t has been definitely set apart as n site
for the Museum. Indeed, one section of the
Museum now stands there, and this fragment
disconcerts the scenery, if such it can be called,
as eiectually as the completed structure or two
structures can.
Whether the College deserves place beside
the Museum depends entirely upon what the
College is to be. 1t would be manifestly i'll
consistent to dedicate portion of the ground
set apart forever for the pleasure of the people
to any such narrow purpose as the instruction
of few students in any branch of musical
composition or practice. But music itself is q
fine art as well as painting or statuary or land
scape architecture Indeed, the city takes care
TO provide free music IN the Park one afternoon
in the week during a single Season, just as
choice examples of formative AIT ale cOntinu-
ally accessible to all In the Museum. The Mu-
scum has Il dear title in equity to its place, not
only because it ministers TO the public enjoy
ment, but because, like the Park itself, 1t ele-
Yates the public taste. 1t accomplishes this
specifically 10y familiarizing the people with
the productions of the best sculptors and paint
ers If the Wood endowment can be used 10
cultivate tue public taste in another direction,
by furnishing freely ideas OF beauty which