New-York tribune., 1911-11-29

went to the expense Of paying 81 3is o5a ~
for IT, Since that time about $3o,ol0,Io has
/ been expended on It's development
The first real effort 10 establish a rocrca-
ton and rest centre was made hy MAYOR
KingslaDd In 1851. In April OF that year
the Mayor sent communication % ,ho
Board OF Aldermen In which he advised
/ them thet moral and sanitary point of
view demanded the purchase Of more
lands for the purpose Of public recreation
centres The Mayor was yolclnq tho
opinion Of leaders OF all walks .ot IN, I'm
tho city. There had been growing up n
was contonded criminal class. because
there was not enough park land Tor tho
children OF the city street tranic wag 10
ginning 10 menace seriously tho livoq n,
the cty's children Even now this is an
argument advanced for moro parks
The Legislature was prompt 10 act on
tho favorable report from tho Bee.
Aldermen, and Jones's Woods on tho Eag
Side were considered tho logical place f,..
the one big park OF the city. But when
the Legislature finally passed an at n
that effect public opinion began 10 change
10 was not central enough The clam9r
increased II grew TO such proportions
that in 1853 the site was abandoned for a
more central one. and the legislature
passed the bill favoring the purchase or
the present park Five commissioners
wcrc appointed. and later committee.
headed by Washington Irving. met 10 con.
slider designs for the park. Frederick Law
Olmstead and Calvert Vaux submitted tho
successful design.
Once a Needless investment"
To-day movement to take q tvo-inch
strip OF the park for any but park pur-
poses would be met with a storm Of rro-
test Then Central Park vas looked on a
poor and needless investment There u
perhaps no more jealousy guarded SO
acres Of land in the country than that
comprising the present Central Park. once
the site OF pig pens, bone works, diaries
and shanties. with the inseparable goat
with the development OF Central Park
came also the development OF the idea OF
setting aside ground for tho children and
grandchildren Of future generations. TIE
foresight of some citizens OF seventy
years ago is nov fully realized In the
near future a monument VIII uc erected 20
the north end of Central Park 10 one OF
those men-Andrcw H. Green. one OF the
first Park Commissioners and again a
Commissioner i'm after years. and always
identified with the building Of a system
Of parks in the city.
As Central Park developed more and
more the idea tor another largo park tlis
time a waterfront one. took shape That
park Is now called Riverside Park and
will eventually extend from 12d street 10
the Speedway on tho Harlem River II
Is the site now Of the Soldiers and Sailors
Monument and Grants Tomb. and fronts
a fine residential section OF the city. In
the near future the Firemcns Memorial
will be reared there and later the Robert
Fulton Memorial. which viii hc tho on
cial gateway TO the nation The present
Park Commissioner has begun tho work
OF roclaiming the land three hundred feet
out on the Hudson River front which
some day will extend as an additional
parkway from 72d street 10 l29th street
and the unsghtly railroad tracks will be
sunk beneath broad esplausdc.
In 1857 New York began acquiring its
many smaller parks with the develop
ment Of them also came the idea 10 de-
velop Fairgrounds What progress has
been made in that direction ie best shown