The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-06-30

sacola improved this opportunity now,
strangers would come here to spend
or invest money in preference to going
TO those cities that had no water
front
Referring to the old Frascati park
property, which is really the most
beautiful place in Pensacola and
which is now owned by the railroad
company, Mr.. Kessler said this should
be acquired for park purposes if it
were possible to do so. and t. not It
should be leased for park use until
such time as the railroad company
needed it for commercial purposes
In response to a question by w. K
Hyer, Jr., as to the cost OF the pro
posed improvements, Mr.. Kessler said
that no satisfactory estimate could be
made as to that. II simply depended
upon the city's willingness and abili-
ty to spend the money. He said,
however, that the individual cost to
property owners was always very
small and that when the improve
ments were once started they always
bore the cost cheerfully and usually
clamored for more. He cited the case
of Kansas City which had in the past
IL years spent nine million dollars on
this work and had found it the most
profitable investment 1t had ever
made.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Kesslers
address, the general plan. presented
was endorsed by a unanimous vote,
w. K, Hyer, Jr., making the motion
to endorse.
The PaIafox Street Parkway.
Mr.. Wright, who is associated with
Mr.. Kessler, was introduced and he
presented a sketch OF the plan pro-
posed Cor the PaIafOx street park
way. Mr.. Wright said that the first
thing visitor to a southern city ex-
pected to see was evidences of a
southern climate. To give these evil
denCes the city should take advantage
OF the climate to plant trees and
vegetation that was distinctiveIy suo-
tropical. No city he had ever seen,
said Mr.. Wright, possessed such an
opportunity for, this as Pensacola pos
sesses in Palafox street. He then pre-
sented his Palafox street plan which
calls for wide parkway in the CEN
ter, with single street car line
down each side, between the park
way and the pavement. a 30-fOOt
pavement on each side, and a fifteen
foot sidewalk between the pavement
and the property line.
r. NJ. Bushnell and G.. a Waterman
spoke in favor of the plan except
that they preferred to have the street
car lines in the center as they are
now rather than on each side as pro-
posed by Messrs. Kessler and Wright.
Mr.. Kessler said that the street
railway in the center of this space
absolutely destroyed it for the beau
tiful spot that was possible if the car
lines were moved to the outside of the
plot.
1T is" said Mr.. Kessler, simply a
question Of utilizing or wasting the
greatest beauty spot in the city and
you can do nothing to improve it
without eliminating the car tracks
will make Pensacola celebrated for
this one spot, but it cannot be done
unless the tracks are moved"
Mr.. Kessler further said that he be-
Iieved the street car company would
find it as profitable to make the pro-
posed change as the city would.
With the two exceptions noted
above, the plan 2or the Palafox street
parkway submitted by MessrS. KessleT
and Wright, seemed to meet with the
approval of everyone present, and, on
motion made by Judge Beggs, the
committee as published above was ap-
pointed to take this matter up with
the various interests and report tO
the city council and the Civic League.
In discussing the approval Of this
plan, Mr.. Mayes and DR.. Blocker each
expressed the belief that the street
car company would readily acquiesce
in a plan that was so generally favor
ed by the people of Pensacola and
that meant so much to the city it
self.
Met the Civic League.
After the adjournment of the citi-
zens' meeting, Messrs. Kessler and
Wright met the ladies of the Civic
League at the Y NJ. G. A. building,
when the plans we're again exhibited
and greatly admired. the ladies being
much pleased with the modern, prac-
ticaI and business-like methods ex-