The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-28
A CITY BEAUTIFUL
81 FREDERIC J. HAskIN.

I hills and lOwlands by the Potomac. He
saw squares in norasses and obelisks in
trees. Ii has taken over century to
realize some of the dreams Of the dreamer
/ long dead. The new city was dreaTy
| sight for President Adams and his pOliti-
cal family. Not until MOnrOes prosper
Gus times did the city grow to 1900 IT
1900 inhabitants. When Shepherd took
charge of the public works many years
later the dreams began to take more def
mite shape.
Trees have always played an important
part IN the beauty of Washington. II has
now more trees than any other city in the
world. AS early as 1903 there was an ordi-
nance prohibiting damage to trees. Trees
guard every avenue, they cluster in thick
cts on the reclaimed Potomac fiats-the
plaza of the future. they stand in prime
val grandeur on the hundreds of acres
in Rock Creek park. When the proposed
Lincoln memorial has been erected, the
Grant memorial bridge across the river
built, the further plans of the city beauti-
| fiers Will have added the bed and banks
of Rock creek to the speedway plan, and
a drive will follow the silvery stream
where II is now uglified BY dumpage and
trash The Durham plans call for white
administration buildings all along the
mall from the White house to the capitol.
and suggest a memorial arch on the great
hill at the foot of Sixteenth street.
In 1902 there were only four cities in the
United States with definite. well defined
plans. Cleveland was a pioneer in the
movement having insugurated a city
beautiful' crusade in 1899 Now there are
fifty or more. The latest of these Is Den
yer, with a new scheme recently approved
by its park board, calling for radical
changes in existing plans and for the ex-
pendituTe Of S, 900. 00O Memphis. whose
park system is only few years old, is
negotiating for the site of an old railway
depot to be beautified and added to the
parks as a children's playground. New
Orleans. with Bienville's old plan. and
Salt Lake City, with its mathematical
.
them, have depressed in varying degrees
from original plans. DetrOit's plan is
copied from Washington. San Francisco,
missing a great opportunity for making
of itself the model city of the world, is
rebuilding from its disaster on pretty
lines. but not unlike the old ones.
New York seeing a relief Of cOngested
population with the completion of each
new bridge. has had plans drawn for
parking about the water fronts. Chicago
expects TO restore many of the good fea-
] lures of the Columbian exposition in
new park system. and Boston, with the
highest per capita expenditure on parks
of any city in the United states. and with
the first women's civic Improvement So
cieties. is redeeming land and building
more parks. Kansas City had one of the
hardest fights for Improvement, being
Handicapped by its charter. When all
the other big cities were pointing with
pride TO their new buildings, their parks
and their systems of Identification. Kan
Il had not one acre Of park land. The
charter was revised, land condemned and
/ bought and after twelve years work it
showed over 200 acres of park to its
credit The preservation of part Of the
famous old Santa Fe trail came in the
way Of its driveway making.
Cleveland, with monumental municipal
and federal buildings and its giant rail-
way station, improved itself on a plan
that cost from S20.OO000O 10 $50. 000.0 600
Providence. Harrisburg. Philadelphia,
Hartford. St. Louis and Springfield have
long since wheeled in line with the pro-
cessiOn of cities beautiful, and there is
/ daily record Of other cities planning and
questioning and legiSlating with the aim
Of civic Improvement along all lines well
| in view. The little town of Gary, Ind,
which prophecy says viii one day rival
Chicago, was all planned on paper be
fore a stone was laid, and its potential
/ beauty is already apparent.
Aside from the artistic and sanitary up
lift that comes TO a city from the erection
Of beautiful public buildings. the creation
of parks and Fairgrounds and the open
ing Of long avenues with a complement Of
trees and flowers. there is the economic
and moral value that IS often overlooked.
Paris, for example, has spent over $3.50
| 600. 900 under the Hausmann plans. and is
spending as much more. It is said that
with such focal points as the Arch Of
Triumph, the Place of the Nations. the
Bestile. etc. the resemblance to Len
fart's plan of Washington is clearly seen
.
tiveneSs to tourists. and ii is said that
the expenses, past and prospective, of re-
generating Paris have already been more
] than paid by increased tourist travel. II
| lies in the power of every American city
/ of ambition and energy to reap a like
financial harvest in the coming years If
| it only lives up to its chances.
The moral effect Of civic improvement
is said to be one of the biggest argu-
ments in favor of city beautifying. When
Shaftcsbury street was cut through the
London slums some years ago, bringing
light, health and beauty into some of the
most degraded centers. the decrease in
crime was not only notable, but marvel
GUS. Crime cannot live among beautiful
things, nor can it flourish long in God s
OuL-Of-dOOTs. so every new civic building
every new statue. every additional foot
of park or playground means a big gain
for the health and the morality Of that
municipality.
Copyright. 1903. by Frederic J. HaskinJ
TOmorrow-'The Tide of Tourists"