St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-01

THE EARLY EFFORTS
of the park board to acquire lands, re-
suited in the acquisition mostly of de
tached patches of ground that did not
convey to the eye the notion of park
system. But now the city begins to see
the logical idea of park area take
definite shape. The natural antipathy
of owners to give up their lands, and of
lake front holders to surrender their
shore rights, has been so far over
come that the main parks
now form system connected by
boulevards. The most important
step in this connection has been the ac-
QUESTION of the state park at Mime
haha. The first steps toward the trans
formation of that romantic spot into a
park were taken in 1885, when the leg
islature appointed a board OF appraisal
TO value the lands. E. S. Corser, W. A.
Barnes, of Minneapolis, and Peter
Berkey. of st. Paul, were appointed,
and in due time their report was filed
taken, but the court affirmed the
award. The session of 1887 switched
Off from the proposition for state park
and went in for state soldiers home
ground. The commission appointed
to locate the home had a
long struggle with the different
communities that desired the honors,
but Minnehaha prevailed finally, and
fifty acres were acquired between Min
nehaha creek and the Mississippi, and
taking in the historic falls. AT the last
session of the legislature the state park
commission report was accepted. the
state took the property and turned it
over to the city in consideration OF a
round sum of 100000. The park, as
finally agreed upons contains 173 acres,
in the center of which is the soldiers
home ground of fifty acres. The park,
in its native state. is
A ROMANTIC SPOT,
bounded by the Mississippi on one side
and by Minnehaha creek on the other,
while below it stretches, in its natural
beauty, the Fort Smelling reservation.
A scarcely less important part of the
park system are the bOulevards about
Lakes Harriet, Calhoun and the Lake OF
the Isles, which the board has acquired
after several years OF hard work.
The boulevardS form the connecting
links of the system. As yet the chain
is incomplete, but when the Lake Anne
liza boulevard is laid out, the eXpanSe of
driveway will extend from the city hall
ny way VI l1ulilCu
from park to park in semicircle to
Minnehaha Falls. An idea of the work
of the commission may be obtained only
by actually driving over the ground
that has been secured and improved.
When the boulevards mentioned above
are completed, driving party may
start from the West hotel and
IN HALF A DAYS
riding see enough to convince them
that Minneapolis is one of the most
beautiful spots in the country. They
would drive up Hennepin avenue, past
Central park, with its pretty lake and
its surrounding clusters of fine residen-
ces on up the hill past the Lowry house,
and catch glimpse of Fair Oaks on the
left as the driver lets his
horses out for spin down the
Hennepin boulevard toward Harri ct.
On switching off at Groveland avenue
and Superior street boulevards a few
minutes drive brings them to the lovely
nook known as Lake of the Isles,
whose incomplete development serves
to show that it will in few years sur
pass in charms the finest bOulevards of
the Eastern cities. From there a