Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1883-06-06
the soldiers, Monument,
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
I read with satisfaction the commune

/ To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
1 read with satisfaction the communication
of &c. II. T." in Mondays COURIER and
heartily endorse his suggestions as to the
plan and location of our Soldiers monument
| East Rock Park is destined to be as famous
as is our city itself, not simply in this vicin-
ity or this country for that matter, but in
the old world as well. This park is possess
ed of natural advantages without a rival
advantages that must impress themselves up
| on all who visit it. The view from the top
of the rock is enchanting and to one wan
deripg on foot through the grounds wonders
and beauties are springing up at every STEP
This much and more is apparent now, and as
| the years go on and improvements are made
the attractions of the park must greatly in
| crease. Place our Soldiers monument there
| and you add that much to the park and you
give the monument a location which must in
| crease its own glories. Build it, as &c Fl.
| T." suggests, of native rock, let it be massive
| rather than fine 1--WE do not want GEM,
| provide it with inches for statues or slabs
| or whatever the future may suggest, on its
top place the Goddess of Liberty or some
other attractive object, only let it be gilded
and bright so that the sun may play upon it
and render it visible far and near Surely
this would be far better than any work of art
| located anywhere upon the Green And of
| all places on the Green what can be worse
| than sthe site of our poor old dilapidated
| State House, with the back of the Center
| church turned toward it and the back of the
North church and the back of Trinity church
| and the broad and increasing back of our
| venerable college quadrangle turned toward
| tin truth backside of everything! Heaven
| save it from such location.
/ possess a volume of the American
Magazine published in New York in 1887
| 8, the first volume of the first magazine ever
published in New York and from the Feb
| ruary number, 1887, 1 extract the following,
| relating to New Haven and its public square,
| for it's quaintness and its bearing upon the
| subject in hand
| "NewsHaven was laid out on a most beau.
tiful plan, which has, however, suffered in
| the execution. The streets cross each other
| at right angles as in Philadelphia and divide
| the city into convenient squares. But in
| the center is large public square, the sides
of which are more than two hundred yards
| in length and adorned with rows of trees.
Through the center of this square runs a
| line of elegant public buildings viz, the State
House, two churches and a school house.
the town, but is liable to two
exceptions First, it is too large for the pop
ulousness of the city, which contains about
500 buildings. In SO small town it must
generally be empty and consequently gives
the town an appearance of solitude or dull
ness. In the second place, that half of the
square which lies west of the public build
ings is occupied by the church yard, which
| is enclosed with circular fence. This, be-
sides its depressing effect, reduces the public
ground on the opposite side to parallello-
| gram, which is less beautiful figure than a
square, and annihilates the beauty of the
western division which it occupies Not
outstanding these circumstances the Green
| in the center of Now Haven renders il per
haps the most beautiful small settlement in
America
Having got rid of the school house and the
Objectionable grave yard, and with a prosnect
of the removal of the State House, is it wise
to repeat the mistake of one hundred wears
ago by placing upon the Green the Soldiers
monument, and thus bring back the mortua.
ry feature which the better judgment of
that period deprecated? Let us rather take
Excelsior for our motto, and put our monu-
ment on the top of grand old East Rock,
where all may see it and learn the lesson it
would teach, remembering that ''a city set
on hill cannot be hid TOWN BORN"