Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-16
SOME CITIES SPEND MORE
THAN LOS ANGELES
FIGURES SECURED FROM ALL
OVER THE COUNTRY
Local Commissioners Collect and Conn.,
pile Data Showing What Other
Municipalities Are Doing
for Children

The department of Fairgrounds of Los
Angeles has recently secured some In
teresting data from the Playground Asso-
citation of North America of which Thco-
dore Roosevelt is president.
The commissioners under Mayor Harper
are Mrs. Willoughby Rodman, Miss Bessie
d. Stoddart, Rev. Baker p. Lee, James G.
Scarborough and Fernand Parmentier. q.
b, Raitt is superintendent Of the work.
The data secured shows that millions are
being spent in the large cities In further
ance of playground work of which Presl-
dent Roosevelt said: "Since play is fun
damental need Fairgrounds should be pro-
vided for every child as much as schools
New York in the past eight years has
spent about S15,OO0,O0O. Seward park play
ground, containing three and one"third
acres, cost $1,S11,OOO. This area is about 90
per cent larger than the Violet street
ground in Los Angeles. Thomas Jefferson
park, more recently acquired, cost $2,74S,-
0O0 Land is high in New York, but was
much cheaper some years ago. Had the
purchases been made then the land would
have cost much less.
Chicago has in three years expended
about $11 200, 900 for public Fairgrounds. 1t
has probably the finest in the United
States A large recreation center con-
tains not only outdoor apparatus but also
a swimming pool surrounded by dressing
booths and a building containing an in
door gymnasium, baths for women, re-
fectory, club rooms, branch of public
library and large auditorium.
Special attention is paid to architecture.
The Sherman park buildings, for instance,
cost $162, 900; other improvements $3O4,OOO
There are fourteen of these finely equipped
recreation centers which accommodate
adults as well as children The areas
from four n sixty In winter
about fifteen men and women are en-
ployed in each ground; in summer twenty.
Boston Took the Lead
Boston, the first to demonstrate the need
of public Fairgrounds, has spent hun
dreds of dollars on them. The Columbus
avenue playground cost $327,0 000 This Is
about five acres, the size of the Echo
park playground. The Prince street play
ground less than half an acre, cost $780,
900 Municipal baths and gymnasiums are
maintained in many of the wards. The
Cabot street baths and gymnasium cost
100000. The North End baths and gym
nasium cost S46lO 900. There are twenty
two municipal baths besides two supported
by the state, the latter costing $30O,OOO
Philadelphia has recently appropriated
$500000. most of which will be used In
acquiring Fairgrounds.
Congress appropriated $S1, 800 last year
for securing Fairgrounds in Washington,
that sum being for sites only.
Before the fire San Francisco voted to
issue bonds for s741 900 to secure sites for
Fairgrounds in the congested districts.
Portland. Ore, made an appropriation of
$4,000 for its population of 16l,OO0
~>--penver, with population of 200, 900, has
contracted to purchase three Fairgrounds
to cost $5O,5OO, besides which $4,000 has
been appropriated for maintenance and
improvements for 1907. For public baths
the sum of $4,000 has also been appro-
priated
Cleveland, besides the playground work,
maintains siXty-three baseball diamonds
A movement is on foot to build model
recreation center, like Chicago's, at a cost
of $171,000.
Newark, N. j., recently appropriated
100000 which will be used mostly for buy
ing playground sites.