Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-20
Washington Country
Club
ny Frederic ]. Haskin

opening here few days ago OF the puphc
rolf course in Potomac Pnrk another step |
was taken in the development OF what u
perhaps the nearest thing in this country
to q public country club, where All tno
residents of city may ENJOY free ol charga,
The advantages which are associated WIFI
such an institution. ooo
Nearly every city Of more than ioo,opo
inhabitants in this country now has Some
.ort of park which ia usod as a public
playground. but the development OF
Potomac Park and the plans for its future
show how much may be made OF TINS ioea
where circumstances are favorable ana the
planning is intclligcntly done.
Lincoln Park in Chicago IL typicai on
number of parks in great cities whcre bl,st.
are some facilities for amusement, but
these cities were 90 large before they began
setting aside space for the purpose OF
play that they have never come any"neic
near catching up with the public heeo'
| There is no pretense of meeting the nc
mand for recreation, and as a result oi tile
overcrowding, few Of the recreatioi'ai
| facilities are in first class condition.
put in Potomac Park there are more
than COO acres for population OF about
/ 400 600 Not all Of Washington can play
at once, Of course, but probably all of IL
that. il capable and desirous Of taking exssr-
| cise can find an opportunity to do so 10
| the course Of week. For IN addition 70
| two large groups of tennis courts, Wiiicp
Are never crowded, except for lev houfs
| in the evening, this great park contains
several baseball diamonds, q football held,
| a soccer field. a cricket field, polo teid,
and now golf course. II contains tnn or
twelve miles of bride path and bathiig
beach. There are now plans Tor seVerai
more groups of tennis courts and even lot
a croquet field.
FACILITIES FOR ALL.
The object Of Superintendent 6iiieh
and the other enthusiasts who nave cfeag
ed Potomac Park, is not merely TO proVide
an opportunity for few TO get ekerc,se, !.
but actually TO meet tn cIty's need ana 10
meet Il with facilities Just "a high class as
those of any private country club IN the
nat;on This high ideal has been pretty
well realized i'm the matter OF tennis. ! ne
courts in Potomac Park are probably az
GOOD "a any clay courts IN the country
and hayn received the approval OF chafh,
Mons They are excellcntly drained ana
aiyava kent, IN absolutely first-class con-
d;,;on They present a most pleasing con-
trast IN the typical public tennis court
with ,,a rugged net, inadequate back STOPS
and Insufficient space behind the pack
line. so1.haIl
In the matter Of baseball and iootoau
, too the local teams have been sakeii c.iie
az without much difficulty In fact ~
two great drawbacks to most Pupne
sacreation grounds conditions
and makeshift facilities been 80 ia'
! avoided with remarkable success !,
The same principle is followed IN ths
: rou course About three hundred appnofs
E Sons have been received so far, ana "
believed that about $50 players can 60 oVe
the co,,r,se in day As all Will not wan
Q ~ nlav every day, the present course VII
|, nrabahlv serve the needs Of those "nf
{ have so far applied. But beyond douO
: he number of applicants will rapidly IN
cr,,as., II Is therefore planned TO increas
,ba ro,rae from nine TO Is holes as soon ~
9 possible. -
: The idea of providing high-class facih
tics il here carried out, too. mere af'
probably no finer putting-greens IN ~
y country than those Of TINS pubhc eou,se
s and in every other way, II 's course sila ~
: hos received the praise of experts. Further
800 !. "6eld house" has been provided
which is 10 all intents and purposes
# country club house, where each man "i
. nIava Golf can get locker and a snowe
, 10Th This field house IS an attractive "
as architecture and first-class establish
,r..nt in every way. The new tennis court
a-e IN he placed near it, and It's faeiAtae
.,;i, tben he extended to tennis players
-e well. Lo,,-
= This idea of a public country club nous
:, - one which instantly appeals 70 th
! IMAGINATION. 1t IS easy to see no"
might be developed into center OF con
V munity social hfe. =
70 In putting the golf course into use q
MANAGEMENT of Potomac Park mas Il
,5 gretfuilv departed from rs tradltioni
4 noliev In one respect. 1t makes chsaI r.
25 cents for each game OF goli pI.AyGe1!, en- y
each individual. Superintendent NIll-e
saws this Is necessary because u oo91o
Last ten times as much per player TO hee
nm golf course as TO keep up any otn'
Ind o} recreational facility, and the tnln
would be impossible without this sLna
tax The tax IS also designed TO make u
;ndividual realize that he Is enjoying
nrivilege which is worth something
nsvcholorv of the thing, according 10 NJ
E;Ilen is that if the player pays soInetnlTI
bo viii incline TO be more careful OF u
course. -,
Potomac Park is that 1t was dredged Y
fron the river. Back IN the seventies, 8
of what is now park was eilhcr .tNIi
marsh In the making OF navlgabie eslA!
mol 10 Georgetown, sea-wal was pun
od @ the area behind this filled with L
JTcdged material This began about loS
Int 1he development of the park rs
Mace for recreation has taken place, aliho
Ybollv in the last ten years. here
abundant room for further deVeiopinel
and a splendid plan FOR such deVel9
men mont has been reflected by Gillen and
associates.
NATION CONTROLS PARKs.
The parks of Washington are, strange
anoueh controlled by the War Depa1
H. ment Of which the park management Is
hronrh The original theory of this {
ranganent seems to have been that t
narEs are an important factor IN the
Tense of the city in case OF invasion, a
"a should therefore be designed and C
trolIed by the War Department. frol
-. blv no one any longer fears an INVASION
1T Washington by land forces, but the pl
+ ING of the parks under the control OF
+ War Department has prevented an
II vasion of another kind. Business lntere
Il here as in some other cities, have !
t favored anv park development VIII
It eould possibly be considered TO lnterf
4 with Industrial development. In
t several wears ago an active agitation.
Il carried on by local business naen to M
It Potomac Park thrown open Tor use
It factory sites, as it occupies long st