The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-04-02
How to Beautify Hammond
second Article in TIMES Series, Dealing With
Problems For Civic Organization to Take LID

One Of the most important matters
to come before the Hammond civic or
ganization when it is organized along
lines broad enough to warrant it's mem
bers interesting themselves in civic
matters of general interest will be that
of inducing the railroads to make GER
tain improvements and changes in the
interest of utility and beauty.
The Michigan Central railroad is not
only building new depot, which will
be the finest in the city. but it is con-
verting its right of way through Ham
mond into a park which viii be pleas
ing to the eye and will add wonder
fully to the estimate Of this city of
the man who goes through town
At that remarkable Holman street
crossing where five railroads and a
street car line intercept, there are two
stretches of right of way extending
clear through the city. One, that of
the Michigan Central, runs nearly east
and west, and the other, the Erie, Mo-
non and Nickel Plate, runs northwest
and southeast.
The Michigan Centrars Improvement
Will create a strip of park through
the city along one stretch, but the
other right OF way of the three above
mentioned railroads are simply a de-
pository for refuse a weed garden and
altogether most forbidding spot to
look at
There is no reason why the attention
of the Erie, Monon and Nickel Plate
railroads cannot be called to this con-
dition of affairs, the Improvement con-
templated by the Michigan Central
railroad cited as an example and the
officials induced to build a strip Of
park on their right of way through the
city.
Vacant spaces now filled with cinders
and tin cans could be converted into
grass plots and flower beds and where
driveways are necessary they could be
built and confined to proper limits.
1t is even possible that the idea of
making beautiful that usually most
ugly of spots railroad crossing,
would appeal to the railroad officials
to an extent that would make them see
~AAS AAOSNSolNS Va PIOpGT QGpOL accom-
modations where they have not already
been provided
Hammond would then appear to the
traveller who simply gets a glimpse
of it from the car window to be a
veritable garden spot, and the adver-
Using the city would get from the
thousands of people pass through the
city every year would be worth while.
The tangle OF tracks at Englewood
where this idea has been acrried out
is an example of what can be done.
A man would not dare to construct
a disgraceful coal shed or a shabby
news stand in such a vicinity, and the
entire neighborhood nears the railroad
tracks would get an inspiration from
their very back doors.
If the railroads refused to consider
the matter and gave the representa-
tives of the Commercial club a frigid
reception. the application of the
screws" could be begun.
The Commercial club could cooper
ate with the city council, the mayor
and the board of public works to make
life for the railroads in Hammond one
round of misery until they finally capt.
tulated.
Another problem that is becoming
more and more pressing in its need for
solution is that of doing away with
the obstruction of the Erie yards. Time
was when Hammond was entirely on
the western side of these yards and in
fact was built up along just one end
of them.
At that time they did not interfere
with traffic and no one cared how far
out in the country they extended But
as time went on and the city grew in
a southerly direction and all of the
space between the yards and the state
line was filled up, they began to ap-
pear as an obstruction.
Gradually the population in it's de-
sire to build residences on the high,