St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-08
MINNEAPOLIS.
A TREATISE on PARKS.
Recommendation Which the PaPl
hoard Must Act Upon.

w. w. FolWell, nad prepared an extern
sive report to be submitted to the park
board yesterday. But it was not read.
Both Commissioners NorthrOp and Fol-
well were absent. the latter on account
of illness. so the reading of the report
and consideration thereof was post
poned. This report Is most
exhaustive treatise on the Min
neapolis park system, as it
was projected, as it is and as it should,
in their opinion, be. First, the report
details how the board was organized
and how it began work by engaging
landscape artist. who drew up plan for
a comprehensive connected park Sys-
TEN, that the board might have plan
upon which to work. That plan has not
been carried out, why the committee
does not care to discuss further than to
say that the boards means have never
been sufficient to carry it out fully.
What the committee does do, however,
is to urge the adoption of some definite
plan by the board. On this point the re-
port says:
For the past two or three years the
board have been confined III their eff
forts to the Improvement of areas al
ready acquired. No objection has been
made nor can be made to this policy.
Meantime the original plan has not only
been neglected, but the board and the
public seem to have lost the idea of a
plan. Further, both the board and the
public seem TO be folding their hands to
sleep under the comfortable deluSiOn
that the city has now or is i'll way of
getting all the park area it will ever
need. This is delusiOn. The city of
Minneapolis, considerable as her park
areas now are, does not possess more
than one-third the park lands she ought
now to own, or TO be in a way of acqulr-
ing. 1t does not need to be argued that
the one paramount duty of the board OF
park commissioners in these early years
Is to secure the lands necessary to
generous and orderly system of parks.
Such lands may now be acquired; after
the lapse OF few years it may be i'm
possible TO obtain them. If we know
this duty and neglect it, we shall justly
lie under the cenSure OF generations
which can only deplore. not remedy, our
fault. To meet the wants of the city as
whole, then. there must be general
plan, organizing a system. Such plan
will guide the board in tho designa-
ton of lands to be bought and in
the acceptance or rejection of gifts.
Your committee is strenuous only on
this point. That there must be a gen.
eral plan for park enlargement. AS to
details of the scheme, and the partlcu-
lar ways and means of its execution,
they are less urgent, and they further
recognize the truth that details must be
left to the future"
Then the report takes up and dis
cuSses the parkwayS, now established or
projected, encirciing the solid parts of
the city, including the various park
ways from Central park to and around
the lakes and the projected boulevard
from Lake Harriet to Minnehaha Falls.
1t is suggested that these parkwayS
should not be confined to the southwest
ern part of the city, but so extended as
to encircle all parts. Then follow the
recommendation of the committee on
this point, as follows:
A boulevard from Kenwood to Cedar
lake. thence to Glenwood, TO the north
of Glenwood a park not less than 1900
feet wide, extending to the northern
limits of the city. From this northwest
ern park a cross town parkway east
ward. directly across the northern part
of the city by the most feasible route,
to terminate in another large
park of oblOng shape on the
northeastern flank of the city.
From this northeast park continuation
of the main parkway, leading south to
join on to the Stinson boulevard, 200
feet in width. already belonging to the
city. The StinSon boulevard prolonged
southwark along Eighteenth avenue
southeast, and later, after a slight
change of direction along Seventeenth
avenue southeast to the university
campus. From the university campus
parkway along the east bank
of the Mississippi river to the
county line not only should suffi-
cient to be acquired for the parkway it.
self, but all the land between its outer
line and the Mississippi river TO be OBJ
tanned tor two reasons; first, to prevent
the erection of buildings on the river
bank; and second to secure control of
the landing flats; an ample parkway
controlling the banks in the same man
ner as above indicated should proceed
from Riverside park down river to
terminate i'll Minnehaha park.
Such a plan, carefully followed out,
would, in the Judgment of the COM
mittee, complete the park system as it
should be completed. encIrcling the city
with magnificent park way system.
The committee believes that the city
will yet be compelled to acquire a con-
siderable strip of land on each side of
the river above Camden place, in order
that the city's water supply may be
kept pure. 1t believes that such land
should be acquired and converted into
parks. The establishment of numerous
''neighborhood parks" as Murphy,
Elliott ana Steele, is also recommended.
Regret is expressed that former
members of the park board failed to
acquire Thirty-fourth streeG. which
could have been widened and would
have made a straight. beautiful thor
Oughfare from Lake Calhoun to the
river, and via Summit avenue to the
very heart of st. Paul. The employ
ment of streets of ordinary width as
parkways, to be maintained at the eX-
penSe of the city, is not commended,
and the committee recommends that
Hennepin and Lyndale boulevards be
abandoned. The report of tbs commit
tee concludes thus:
Whatever the future may have in
store for our city, it will pay Minneapo-
lis to eXpend liberal money on her parks.
If this city is to be city of the first
rank in manufactures and trade, the
parks will be the breathing places and
Solace of thousands of busy operatives
when resting from their combining la
bors. If, on the other hand, Minneapo-
lis shall become the center of higher
OodSdtiOi VI al III lOlulS, anu
of the best Intellectual culture for
the great Northwest, then to pre-
serve and adorn those natural features
of the beautiful and picturesque, amid
which she now sits, will be policy in
keeping with her destiny and one which
will insure that destiny. Let Minnepo-
lis aspire to be, what it is now in her
power to become, the beautiful city of
the land, it will attract residents and
visitors of the most desirable sort, who
will bring not only wealth, but what is
better, taste, refinement, culture. 1t is
not numbers our city should want, but
high quality in her citizens"