The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-10-10
TO MAKE 1T PRETTY.
Landscape Artist Parce Talks
About Our State House Square.
WHAT OUGHT TO Be DONE
To Make 1t BeautifuI-Mr.Parce Says
There is an Opportunity for Beauti-
flying at City Park.

To Make 1t BeautifuI-Mr.Parce Says
There is an Opportunity for Beauti-
flying at City Park.
Mr.. W. W. Parce who came to Topeka
a few days ago from Rochester, New
York, with view of submitting plan
for the improvement of the state house
grounds, is a landscape artist of note.
He calls himself Landscape architect"
Mr.. Parce will return to his home at
Rochester this week but will take with
him drawings of the state house grounds
and two or three note books full of land
scape data from. which he Will evolve a
plan for the improvement of state house
square.
The plan to be prepared by Mr. Parce
Will be forwarded to Topeka by express,
and if it is accepted by the executive
council Mr.. Parce will be engaged to
come to Topeka and in person superin-
tend the work of building a state park
In talking with a STATE JOURNAL
Parce said: II always try to avoid the
artificial as much as possible, and think
a we'll kept lawn with good trees and
Towering chrubs is the best
81 do not admire a terrace even in
billy countries. l always avoid terrac-
ing if possible, and on the state house
grounds there will be no necessity for
anything of that kind. There are no
deep cuts to fill, and with little work
very handsome lawn can be laid out
When asked what he proposed to do
with the trees already on the ground Mr..
Parce said: There are some trees on
the grounds which will naturally have
to be condemned because of their shape
and position but my idea is that every
tree should be saved where it is possible.
Cottonwoods are not a good tree and
there is a very large number of them in
Topeka, I notice. 1t will be advis abls to
condemn large number of
this class of trees but that large
cottonwood southeast of the state
house will certainly be left. 1t has
growth of years which should not be
sacrificed. l have in this book the Ioca-
ton of every tree on the ground that is
worth saving" and Mr.. Parce exhibited
a note book we'll filed with figures
The reporter asked if the public Ii
brary building would interfere with his
plan, to which he replied: mo, certain
ly not We must take the grounds
as we find them, and the library
building will not interfere with a
beautiful park. the little frame build
ing at the right of the east entrance
from the governor that it is the purpose
of the executive council to have it re-
moved.
THE brick building now used as an
arsenal really ought TO be removed, and
Governor Morrill, has suggested that it
would be removed although l believe
that is not definitely decided The band
stand and those little structures just out
side and adjoining the grounds should by
all means be removed
"What do you propose doing with
that fountain in front of the east en-
trance?"
"Unless the council wants to spend a
good sum of money on a fountain it
should be taken away. I only know of
one or two successful operating foun-
tains in the country, and it costs lots of
money to put in fountain that is per-
manent. If there is enough money to
put in a good one, that is very nice
place for one, but unless there is a good
deal of money for that purpose it would
be better not to have fountain. l am
opposed to the artificial or putting any
thing on a lawn that has to be taken in
doors in winter,
Il am surprised that there are not more
Towering shrubs on the lawns here. The
soil is SO rich anything will grow here
and have seen a good variety since l
lave been here.
II have been out in the woods today
and find there are some magnificent
specimens of good shade trees here.
Especially in oaks the variety is good,
| but no one here seems to think of growing
an oak for shade tree.
THE lawn about the Santa Fee building
is the best kept and has the best blue
grass sod l have seen in town, but If the
state house grounds were properly kept
| there would soon be many other just as
nice private lawns and parks.
"In Rochester we have found that the
improvement of public parks has turned
the minds of the people in that direction
and,the result is every person wants a
park of his own just as nice as the pub
lie grounds
Il was down in the city park the
other day and there is a splendid op-
portunity there to make a beautiful
| spot l did not 60 up the river very far as
l found signs warning me that those
were private grounds At Rochester the
city has been buying up strips of land
along the Genesee river and laying out
public drives. The same thing could
De done here to advantage
OF course the land purchased
for park purposes should be wide enough
| TO give an opportunity to hide the farms
The more Irregular in shape the lark.
are the better, and they should be so ar
ranged that a person in driving through
would be lost as to the general surround
ing country as usually marked by the
farms.
II have not made very thorough ex
animation of the land along the river
but it seems to me a very fine drive coulC
be established if the city would bu,
strips of land between the farms and thu
| ri,ror fnr q col, sid era hln d iafar,caU