Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-16
CONCERNING THEPARKS
INTERESTING REPORT BY LAND
scAPE GARDENER BROWN.
Comprehensive Plan Which He Has
Seen Develop During Fifty Years
to Perfect the City Beautiful.

Mr.. George Fl. Brown, landscape gard
ener, has made an interesting report to
Col. Bromwel. the engineer officer in
charge of public buildings and grounds.
in regard to the parks of Washington, ID.
C. 1.-The present improved city parks AMI
park places of Washington" sail le love
/ in all of about 800 acres. exclusive
of the Potomac Park, which is now in proc
| ess of improvement. The majority of
them are park places of small extent and
| border the avenues and principal thorough
/ fares of the city and are so widely dis
| tributed that it requires good days
| journey with a fair travelling roadster to
| visit all of them.
In their present improved conditions
! they all comparatively modern crea-
! tons. Thrty-five years ago the msjpr
| number OF them were unsighty waste
| places, covered with debris and wee1
| growth, and were a menace to the health of
| the city. Now the major number OF them
are highly improved and transformed into
| verdant lawn spaces with attractions of
| trees, shrubs and flowers, forming pleas NJ
| contrasts to their city environment Of ave-
| nues and streets. The government reser-
| vations. which may properly be designat ID
| as the city parks, are of larger extent their
| area varying from four to over eighty
| acres. and include the chain of parks on
| the Mall, the Presidents Park more gen
| orally known the White Lott. at riglt
angles to the termination of the Mall;
Lafayette Park, Franklin Park, Judiciary
| Park, Garfield Park, Stanton and Lincoln
| parks. the Capitol Grounds. the Botanical
Garden, and the Agricultural Departm mt
| grounds, the three latter not under the
| control of the officer in charge of public
| buildings and grounds.
Civil War Unsightliness.
'"rhirty-five years ago the major number
of these government reservations, then I'M
| improved. had barely recovered sighth-
| ness from their occupancy by the army for
| hospitals. barracks. and cattle pens, etc.
| during the civil war; and the old canal
! and its basins, together with Tiber Creek.
| then receiving the sewage OF the city in
| large part were very unsightly blemishes
|. in and through the chain OF parks called
| the Mall
! Now all these larger reservations have
| been more or less highly improved with
| paintings of trees. shrubs and flowers, and
are traversed with good roads and walks
! on as nearly direct lines Of travel through
| them a proper preservation OF park an
| landscape character would permit. The oil
| canal and it's basins have been filled. The
reclaimed area thus gained was added to
the park grounds of the Mall and is now
| part of their lawn, road, and walk surfaces.
| The unsightly old Tiber Creek has been
| arched over, and the sewage of the city is
now emptied into the Potomac river on its
outskirts.
| Only Four Statues.
| ~ -usC JcdaS d6o tiiC SisS POI hS NoAi
| tanned but four statues-the colossal mar
| BILE statue of Washington. executed in Italy
by Greenough and erected in the Capitol
\ grounds in 1871; a corroded, poor copper or
bronze statue of President Thomas Jeffer-
| son. located in the center of the plat on the
| north front OF the White House, and which
| was subsequently removed to the Capitol;
an equestrian statue of Gen. Andrew Jack
| son, cast from brass cannon captured by
| Gen. Jackson in his southern campaigns
| and erected by Clark Mills In Lafayette
| Park in 1853 (this, 1t is claimed, was the
| first equestrian statue cast In the United
States), and an equestrian statue repre-
| senting Gen. Washington at the battle of
| Princeton, erected In Washington circle by
| Clark Mills in 1850.
| AT the present time the city parks and
park places are adorned with twenty-nine
| statues. comprising equestrian, pedestrian
| and statuary groups. all of them possessng
| historic interest and beauty and represent
| ing our military and naval heroes and men
| who have been prominent In scientific dis
| covery, in literature, medicine ana the IN
\ dustrial arts
! "The material progress as here evidenced
| in the work of park improvements of the
public grounds of Washington is largely
| due to the efforts and interest manifested
| and exerted in this laudable work by the
| various officers of the Corps of Engineers
| Of the United States army. who, from the
period of the transfer of the control of the
| public grounds in 1867 to the chief of en-
| gineers. United States army. have been de-
| tailed to this duty. and to the growing lib
| erality of Congress, which has been awak-
ened to civic pride by the past efforts made
| and present efforts now being made for the
/ park, landscape and architectural adorn-
| ment of Washington. the capital city of the
| nation.
Not Then Beautiful.
| prior to the civil war Washington was
not regarded as beautiful city at home or
/ abroad, and less than half century ago it
was yarously described as struggling
| city, with unfinished public buildings. IN
| paved avenues and streets and open wastes
| of ground weed-covered and desolate, and
low unpretentious buildings, which, taken
| altogether produced very unfavorable i'm
pressions upon visitors from abroad. Within
| Comparatively recent ates it has been full
| somely complimented, both by our own
| people and visitors from abroad. 1t has
place of parks and palaces etc. the Paris
! of America etc. and one enthusiastic
writer thus discourses about its parks: The
public parks of Washington are the pride of
it's citizens. - Their improvement did
not cost a small fraction as much as the
great public buildings or the paving of the
streets and avenues. yet 1t is question as
| to which of these three marked characters
tics of the Capital city is the most admired
by visitors. To the lover of the beautiful In
nature. however, the parks stand pre-emi-
neEt,' ETC.
Recently a convention Of the Association
| of the Park Superintendent of America
| was held in Washington. The member
| ship of this association comprises among
| Its number many of the leading arboricul-
| turists, landscape gardeners. and practical
botanists Of the United States. They visited
the parks and park places of Washington
| and its environs. and gave unstinted praise
| to its park and arboreal features. and the
| future possibilities within reach OF accom-
| plishment, which If taken advantage of
| would give 1t first place among American
cities in arboreal and landscape adornment
and beauty.
"Fully concurring In this view. I also
! have faith in its future accomplishment.
| The work now in progress and fairly well
advanced in the creation of Potomac
Park and the further improvements in con-
temptation by the officer now In charge of
public buildings and grounds are an onward
! step in this direction, but 1t will not stop
| even there. The Memorial bridge will span
the Potomac. and the completed park sys-
| tenn of the future will be amplified and ex-
tended to both sides OF the river, with the
| blue hills of Virginia for a background.
and will also embrace the valley or Rock
| Creek and the two parks now located
! tCere.
A New Washington.
| .sTakinR a retrospectiye view of memory