The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1896-02-19
INCREASING PARK AREAS.
Extension In Size and Number of the Pleas
ure Grounds of American Cities.


At the time of the acquisition OF the
new and extensive parks in the annexed
district (provided for by an act of the
Legislature in 1884 and legally acquired
and paid for in 1S69) New York city
had only 1,094 acres of park land, COM
pared with All area Of 5000 acres in
Philadelphia and 5000 in Chicago,
among American cities, and 5000 acres
in Berlin, 5000 in Vienna, $4,000 in
London and 172, 900 in Paris. The insult
fciency of New York's park area had
led to the appointment of special COM
mission for the acquisition of new park
lands, and these were acquired to the
extent Of $500 additional acres, at
total cost to the city of $9,S00,000 ex-
elusive of the sums paid for the smaller
parks in the more thickly populated
parts of the town, the last of these sites
being at Mulberry bend and Corlears
Hook. With these acquisitions the park
area of New York is STA acres.
A similar increase in the park area OF
other American cities has been noticed
recently. Chicago has four parks Of more
than 200 acres each-Jackson park, the
site Of the Worlds fair; Washington
park, not very far from it; Lincoln park,
in tho north end CT town, and Humboldt
park, on tho West Side. Cleveland has in
a short time increased its park area
from 200 to 900 acres by tho purchase
of land for small parks in six districts
of town. St. Louis has a park area Of
2,1O0 acres, San Francisco 1,190, and
Philadelphia 3,175. The park area of
Baltimore, which was 700 acres seven
years ago, is now Oil, including Druid
Hill park, ore Of the finest i'll the United
States. The extension Of the park sys-
tenn in American cities has been so rapid
of late that only four large cities had on
Jan. more than 1000 population to an
acre of park area within their municipal
limits. Of these four cities, one, Cleye-
land, has already acquired additional
park land; another, indianapolis, has
large park for the use of its inhabitants
a little beyond the city line and,
third, Brooklyn, has a commission, au-
thorized by an act Of the legislature in
1892 to acquire land for park purposes.
BY the annexation of the former county
towns of Kings county which are now
an integral part of the city Of Brooklyn
1870 additional acres have been added to
the former $50 of park land, exclusive
of either the Ocean or the Eastern park
way. The area of Prospect park is 526
acres, and Brooklyn has, besides. half
dozen small parks, of which Washing
ton park is the largest. The city of New
ark is behind other American munich
palities in park area, deficiency which,
it is said, the Trenton legislature at this
years session will be asked to correct by
the appointment of a commission with
authority to buy additional land.
One Legislative condition which is IA
yorable to the extension of park areas in
American cities is the practice of pro-
viding for purchases by the issuance Of
bonds to be paid at a future date, and
only the annual interest on which is to
b. met from the proceeds of taxation.
By this means park lands may be secur-
ed without additional burdens upon the
taxpayers Of any city, and taxpayers, it
is well known, are not at all reluctant
to incur obligations which others will
liuuidate. All over the United States,
in the west as we'll as in the south,
where the facilities for parkmaking are
perhaps better than anywhere else, the
size ard number of parks are being in
creased and tho landscape beauties of
parks developed and extended.-NeW
Vorl, CIV