The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-07-13

school was The Parks of London. 1t
made such an impression on me that
in after years in reading of cities l
have always been impressed with the
parks of the different capitals and have
seen the essential utility of these
breathing places and the more so as the
population of different countries be-
comes largely congested in centers.
The immense acreage within greater
London utilized as parks, commons, or
open spaces, was not intentionally set
aside for the sole purpose of affording
recrea ton grounds, but largely came
down to the people from cultivated
adjoining lands and grew into an in
herited and vested right, the city grad
ually growing beyond and around such
commons. Also great areas OF land were
reclaimed from the river Thames and
various marshes.
If any one will take a good map of
London and note the innumerable
parks sprinkled through it, and also
note the great width Of the embank-
ments on the river and the large num-
Der of Places, as the intersection of
streets are called, he will not be sur
prised when informed that within a
radius of twenty-five miles the city has
an area of more than twenty-five
thousand acres of land devoted to parks
and recreation grounds and under the
care of the city. Many of these parks
by exchange, but all goes to show the
wisdom of the Council of London in
making provision for the health, enjoy
ment and future necessities of the in
habitants.
OF the cities of the continent of
Europe, probably Paris ranks first with
it's great number of parks and boule-
wards, which latter are really extended
parks and We're the cites where the
ancient city walls stood and which
have gradually become intramural and
the ramparts dispensed with. The mag
nificent terraces along the winding
river Seine, which runs through the
city, or, rather, about which the city
was built, furnish grand and spectac-
ular recreation grounds for the inhabi
tants. The parks of Paris afford very
attractive features for the globe trot-
ter, and tourists invariable carry away
pleasant impressions of the drives
through and about the city. The num-
Der of public squares in the city is
being continually added to by purchase
and projected improvements. It it said
that Napoleon III. added to his col
of a prior knowledge of such projected
improvements and buying up property
in the line thereof There is hardly a
district in Paris which has not its we'll
planted square maintained at municipal
expense.
I am unable to give the acreage of
Paris devoted to breathing places, but
it is enormous, and the French people
do not hesitate to search the world for
rare trees and plants to beautify their
capital. The forest of Fontainbleau
may be described as one of the parks
of Paris, although at a distance of
thirty-five miles from its center. It is
of over $4,000 acres in extent and trav-
ersed by 12,C00 miles of roads and walks.
1t is no wonder that the French speak
of their land as La Belle France" as
from Paris, as a center, there radiates
to all it's towns and cities this love of
the beautiful as displayed in we'll kept
parks.
Not all the continental cities of Eu-
rope can boast of parks of any great
extent, although most of them have their
boulevards and places which are orna-
mented with magnificent buildings and
fine statuary.
When we come to the new world, as
America is called by her European
neighbors, we find every city having
large reservations of ground for breath
ing places. We can almost determine
the character of the original settlers or
founders by the extent of these reser-
vations. Philadelphia, for instance,
where three fourths of the people own
their own homes, takes the lead of all
American cities in the number of acres
set aside for parks. Including 373 acres
of surface water, she has more than
1850 acres in parks. Chicago, so much
newer than Philadelphia or New York
has 1856 acres in public grounds and its
site on the lakeshore gives it's inha BIZ
tants grand opportunities for outdoor
New York comes third, and good
map of it will show with what studied
wisdom her recreation grounds are To-
Gated so as to beautify the city and
afford resting places for her people. She
has upwards of 115O acres of well kept
public grounds
1t would be futile to attempt to emu
merate what has been done in every
city of the United States in this line.
but it suffices that there is not one city
of the Union which has not made pro-
vision for breathing places to a lesser
Or greater extent. The immense sums
OF money annually expended in caring
for these parks and recreation grounds
is something enormous. but as it is al
most entirely spent amongst the poorer
classes it might be termed a slight
redistribution of the common wealth.
Honolulu is yet in its infancy, and
the manner in which we set aside
grounds for public pleasure and health
will be one of the means our successors