Evening star., 1909-05-23


now maintains q large system OF well
distributed metropolitan park reservations
and parkways OF late the district, realz-
ing the need Of Joint action of this KIND
palities to solve its railway. dock and
highway problems, appointed a metropon.
tan improvements commission to deal
with these matters. The report OF TINS
board is now being printed at the END OF
q year and a half. Briefly stated the COM
missioners in their report advocate a
unff1cation Of the railway lines by belt
line road, by tunnels under this city ana
by q system Of evenly distributed freight
yards, in order to expedite handling OF
goods. A system Of docks is recommend
ed which Is organically related to the
railway terminals and to the natural har-
Dor opportunities OF the bay. The COM
mission discuss the highway system Of
the district at length, and show plans
for its future extension and for the grad
ual elimination OF its more serious faults.
The report also deals with the utilization
Of waste land for mercantile and residen-
tial purposes and reviews the available
sites which could be occupied by group
Of municipal buildings"
Philadelphia's Gridiron Streets.
Regarding the Quaker city. Mr.. Craw-
ford said:
philadelphia is the type and prototype
Of the cast-iron gridiron city. As laid out
by William Penn, streets cutting each
other at right angles unrelieved by any
diagonal avenues formed the entire means
of inter-communication between Its parts.
This plan, which has until recently been
extended throughout the outlying regions
OF Philadelphia, has been adopted in
American cities generally. That Philadel-
phia has within the last ten years broken
away from this system In some outlying
sections and is striving to correct the err
rors of past generations IN Its built-up
sections by diagonal avenues from the
city hall is the notable accomplishment of
the last ten or fifteen years.
1.-THE movement has been one OF 6evel-
opment in Philadelphia as it has been
elsewhere. Twenty years ago with the
the attention Of the city was directed to
the problem OF bringing fresh air and sun
shine to congested districts, especially
where incoming foreigners locate them
selves.
more than fifty squares and triangles
have been acquired since then and the
initiative has been taken In their devel-
opment as Fairgrounds. An outer park
system has been preserved by legislation.
by ordinances and its acquisition begun.
New York's Great Need.
New York's needs in the way of a city
plan were outlined by Mr.. Adams, who
said:
What New York needs is permanent
city plan commission which shall have
complete control of the future develop
ments of the city. of the location Of all
public buildings, the opening up Of parks
and boulevards, and In this way cleaning
out the slum districts A commission
with wide jurisdiction and absolute power
is not unknown in the city. There is one
commission Of that character which !
think may be called a model commission.
refer, OF course. to the art commission.
Here we have ten men of great ability
and high standing, the highest integrity,
who give an enormous amount OF time
the art commission extends to every
structure that is to be built wholly or in
part on public lands. to the building OF
new ways and grounds, to all works OF
art that are to become the property Of
the city, and Its power is absolute. This
jurisdiction and this power have given the
dignity which the art commission pos
sesses.
'It seems to me that a commission Of
the same character should be established
1t should. of course. be- able to enforce
its decisions"
Progress in Kansas City.
Speaking for Kansas City, Representa-
tive Borland declared that the need of
planning q city was recognized some
years ago. and its plans for parks, large
and small. connected by broad boule-
vards have materialized, and nearly all
the plague spots of the city have been
eliminated.
Sunlight and fresh air, green grass
and waving trees are near every man 8
door and can be reached by the toddling
steps of every wOrkingman's child" he
declared. To-day we have fifteen Inn
proved parks and squares which vary in
size from seven-tenths of an acre to 1854
acres. This chain Of parks is connected
by forty miles OF boulevards, paved,
lighted and cleaned by the park board.
This system Is elastic and capable Of in
definite extension"
city. illustrates the need for comprehen-
sive city planning In any growing Ameri-
can municipality. Its citizens, he said,
have organized civic commission which
is considering every single factor in the
situation-committees on rapid transit.
parks. housing, water supply, sewerage
and general city planning-all working
under the common supervision of the
commission. Soon, he said, Pittsburg will
have comprehensive plan of progressive
improvements.
Plans for Improving Baltimore.
In Baltimore. said Mr.. Pennington Of
the Monumental city, work along the
line of city planning is being undertaken
by the Municipal Art Society. It's chief
aims are decoration OF the public school
buildings; proposed art building and
museum for Baltimore; development Of
the public grounds and suburbs; improve
ment of the park system: efforts to abate
the smoke nuisance: general city planning
for the rearrangement and Improvement
Of public space. civic center, boulevards,
etc: mural decorations in the public
buildings: procuring statues for the pub
lie squares, etc: improvement for the
city paving; placing works of art in
Eutaw place: public art exhibitions: ex-
hibition Of the NATIONAL Sculpture Society
providing for the sculpture garden, in con-
nection with parks; procuring suitable
statue to Edgar Allan Poe; publishing a
bronze medallion Of Edgar Allan Poe; me-
mortal to the late Johns Hopkins: pro-
curing legislation to enable the city to
acquire. hold and sell real estate; ar
ranging for lectures; arranging for ex-
hibitions,, proposed memorial to COM
memorate the rebuilding of Baltimore
city; recording valuable bits Of archi-
lecture in Baltimore city and it's sur
roundings.
Conditions in San Francisco.
Speaking for the city of the Golden
Gate, Representative Kahn said that. al