Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-28

the people In all the newly uniteu STATUS
were only q little over seven times
that number. He looked from LONDON
and Paris, cities thousand or SO years
In the making, and saw as IN VISION
century or so beyond his day, city
of many beautiful buildings on the
hills and low1ands by the Potomac. ne
saw squares in morasses and oDellsks
in trees" It has taken over q century
to realize some of the dreams OF the
dreamer, long dead. The new city was
dreary sight for President Adams
and his political family Not until
Monroe's prosperous times did the city
grow to 1900 or $4,000 inhabitants
When Shepherd took charge of the
public works. many years later, the
dreams began to take more definite
shape.
Trees have always played an impor-
tant part in the beauty of Washington.
1t has now more trees than any other
city In the world. As early as 1903
there was an ordinance prohibiting
damage to trees. Trees guard every
avenue. they cluster in thickets on the
reclaimed Potomac flats, the plaza of
1.-THE future, they stand In primeval
grandeur on the hundreds of acres in
Rock Creek park. When the proposed
Lincoln memorial he's been erected, the
Grant memorial bridge across the river
built. the further plans of the city
beautiflers will have added the bed and
banks of Rock Creek to the speedway
plan and a drive will follow the silvery
stream where 1t is now uglified by
dumpage and trash. The Burnham
plans call for white administration
buildings all along the mall from the
White House to the capitol, and sug-
gest a memorial arch on the great hill
at the foot of Sixteenth street.
In 1902 there were only four cities in
H.
defined plans. Cleveland was a pioneer
In the movement, having inaugurated
"city beautiful crusade in 1899. Now
there are fifty or more. The latest of
these is Denver with new scheme re-
Gently approved by Its park board
calling for radical changes In existing
plans and for the expenditure of So
| 100000 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 children's playground. New Or
leans, with Bienville's old plan, and
Salt Lake City. with it's mathematical
| squares just as Brigham Young drew
them, have depressed in varying de-
grees from original plans. Detroit.s
plan is copied from Washington. San
Francisco, missing great opportunity
! for making of itself the model city of
| the worll, is rebuilding from its disas-
ter on pretty lines. but not unlike the
| old ones.
New York. seeing relief of con-
gested 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 features of the Co
lumbar exposition in new park sys-
TEN, and Boston. with the highest per
| capita expenditure on parks of any city
ITnffnH AfSf
| womens civic Improvement societies,
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 beautifica-
ton. Kansas City took an inventory
and found that it had not one acre of
| park land. The charter was revised,
| land condemned and bought, and after
| twelve years work it showed over 1000
acres of park to it's credit. The pre-
servation of a part of the famous old
Santa Fe trail came in the way OF its
driveway making.
Cleveland, with monumental NUM-
cipai and federal buildings and it's
giant railway station, improved itself
on a plan that cost from s2o.000,0o0 to
| $50, 900 00O Providence, Harrisburg. Phil
adelphia, Hartford. st. Louis and
| Springfield have long since wheeled in
| line with the procession of cities beau-
| tiful and there is daily record of other
cities planning and questioning and
| legislating with the aim OF civic inn
provement along all lines well in view.
The little town of Gary, Ind, which
prophesy says will one day rival Chi
cago, was all planned on paper before
stone was laid, and it's potential
beauty is already apparent.
1 - karAla au.th
uplift that comes to city from the
erection of beautiful public buildings,
the creation of parks and Fairgrounds
and the opening of long avenues with
complement of trees and flowers,
there is the economic and moral value
| that is often overlooked. Paris for ex-
| ample, has spent over 1886, 100000 under
the Hausmann plans, and Is spending
as much more. 1t is said that with
| such focal points as the arch of Tri-
umph, the place of the Nations. the
Bastile, etc, the resemblance to
LEnfant's plan of Washington is
clearly seen. Increased beauty means
increased attractiveness to tourists,
and 1t Is said that the expenses, past
and prospective, of regenerating Paris
have already been more than paid by
| increased tourist travel. 1t lies In the
power of every American city OF am
| bition and energy to reap like finan-
| cial harvest in the coming years II 1t
only lives up to it's chances.
| The moral effect of civic improve
ment is said to be one OF the biggest
arguments in favor of city beautify-
ing When Shaftesbury street was cut
| through the London slums some years
ago, bringing light, health and beauty
into some of the most degraded CEN
| ters, the decrease in crime was not only
notable, but marvellous. Crime cannot
live among beautiful things, nor can 1t
flourish long in Gods out of doors. so
every new civic building, every new
statue, every additional foot of park
or playground means big gain for the
health and the morality of that NUM-
cipality.
Copyright, 1909 by Frederic j. Haskin)
| Observation-Disclosures Projects.
/ o. that size would use about Il 600 har-