Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-01-24
Letters to the Editor
Richmond's Parks CInsslnc,,


l" the Editor Of The Times D;spu,rb.
SILT Is with great interest have
oecil watching tho development of Tho
park system in this city. and cnuno,
help 10 compare II with those of M.
great systems in the capitals Of t,u
rope where they have been carefully.
stunned ont By experts, not only in re-
eard I" the locations of the parks but
also in the development of same. each
park being developed according To tho
function II is |" serve the public. one
cnhnot help noticing the exquisite 70
suits obtained
"" can classify our parks in three.
distinct groups. The first which sham
mention Is the playground. which is
located In the thickly populated part
Of tn" city and entirely devoted to the
comfort of the small children. In Eu-
rope these are beautiful spaces: how
ever small they may be. they arc beau
tifully planted with flowers and spc-
cial space provided for swings. chutcs.
sand piles, etc. In our cities. on the
contrary, there seems TO be an iden
That 40 planting should he done IN
these places. and think this is a mis-
taken one, as there is no reason why
utility and beauty should not lac com
bincd. These places should be located
In The sections accessible for the chill
drcn: Il child docsn't want to walk sew
sral miles 10 play for few hours. and
rs these reservations arc mainly for
lin" poorer class. the street car fare
would he u,t of tho question. Com
pairing our park system in this city
with those Of Europe. where are oui
fairgrounds located. and how arc they
kept. and what percentage of the chill
drcn are awaiting themselves Of tho
opportunities offered them?
W" have Il magnificent playground
site at William Byrd Park, which j.
near tho Mct;uire school. and with but
little expenditure this space could y,
made n beauty spot and not an eyesor,
as ii is at prcsent.
Secondly viii | mention the citA
park. This park must not be confuset
with q playground. rs this Is maInl,
lhhl out for tho comfort of the office
workers i'll the business section Of tho
city, where they can enjoy few hours
J rest Ia the middle part Of the day. an'
these parks are also beautifully plnnlt
ed with flowers and are amply pro
vided with seats. properly located
and with rcsthouses. the lack o
/ which is very noticeable in the park:
I of this country.
| The botanical garden or the Zooloe
ical garden serves the people AT large
! and in particular those vino cannot at
! ford the luxury Of II country home ol
| the country club. These, as a rule. Oc
cupy hundreds Of acres, where father:
and mothers can roam around viii
| their children aud entirely forget city
| life.
think that Richmond Is very for
, tunaie In poaScRaing one OF the mos
beautiful parks with its possibilitie:
! In this part OF the country--the vii
/ Ham Byrd Park. Many city to-da,
/ which had the opportunity in 1t:
younger days TO possess such q parl
did not avail themselves OF same. an,
! to-day they are suffering from lack o
places for their people. aud IL is to til,
+ great forcthought Of Colonel Cutshav
! that We owe our possession of thi:
precious piece or land. During his tern
aa. City Engineer he conceived the pla1
10 develop this into one big. rura
park, with beautiful lakes. drive!
walks and flower gardens for tho pub
lie. He planted beautiful avenues O
trees. which are now nearly full grown