Civic the streets of a city are properly embellished, kept free from nuisances, and given proper attention in every detail, the city will fail of realizing its full advantages, however well it may be planned. Such embellishments comprise, among other features, boulevards, esplanades, bridge and park approaches, water gates, quays, plazas, squares, bay fronts, terraces, monuments, statuary, fountains, trees, grass plots, artistically designed electroliers, trolley poles and other like structures and details. The combination of such features makes up the impression produced by the streets, and just at this point carelessness, neglect or inadequacy in the treatment of small structures or other objects is likely to destroy the whole effect and spoil what has been accomplished at the cost of much time, skill, labor and expense.
Of the more important features of civil em bellishment are the boulevards, esplanades and plazas, with the liberal provision of grass plots, shrubbery and trees on the streets. Among the trees that are useful for city purposes are the following: Norway Maple, Sugar Maple, Scotch and American Elms, Cottonwood, Horse Chestnut, Red, White and Pine Oaks, Ash, Catalpa, Linden, Kentucky Coffee Tree, Thornless Honey Locust, Lombardy Poplar, Evergreen Pines and Cedar.
Trolley poles in cities using the overhead system, lighting poles, as well as the lighting system itself, if properly designed, may be made highly ornamental features of street equipment.
The appearance of a city and the impression that visitors, as well as residents, receive, is dependent far more than is generally supposed upon the appearance of the sidewalks, con sidered apart from their adjacent buildings. Sidewalk regulations have been in force abroad for many years, and within the past five years various American cities have adopted similar plans. As an example, the city of New York has recently added to its sidewalk regu lations by prescribing that the widening of the roadway shall be at the expense of the side walks, and the latter to regain their width by the removal of building encroachments, such as stoops, areaways, pillars, porticos and the like. Although bitterly opposed for a number of years, and though the removal of such en croachments has marred the lower sections of some of the buildings that had for years tres passed on the street, the plans of the city have been carried out, and the process is constantly being extended on all streets where traffic is congested.
A matter of the most pressing importance is that of the municipal public comfort station, a subject that has been greatly neglected. Without an adequate system, the health of the public is seriously affected, and numberless are the instances cited by physicians where their absence has been the cause of numerous dis eases and ailments. Two methods are followed in the architectural treatment of the comfort station, one being to place them underground, with entrances as inconspicuous as possible, and the other is to make of them small monu mental structures. English cities are well pro
vided, Liverpool maintaining about 40 and Glasgow an equal number. Berlin maintains 450 such stations, or about one to every 10,000 of population, which for a large city is a suf ficient number. Most of the English stations are underground, and in the United States-the same system is largely followed, with the mis take, however, of too often having the en trances for men and women in too close proximity.
When the city has fulfilled its whole duty in the embellishment of its streets, avenues, promenades, boulevards and parks, it is still necessary for the individual citizen to complete the work by the erection of suitable and artis tic buildings and residences. The work of the city is, at best, only a small share of what goes to make up the effect of the street which de pends finally upon the character of the struc tures that fill it. For the encouragement of private owners, foreign cities often offer re wards for the most artistic facades. When a new street is opened, the prizes are announced, and when the street is built up, the awards are made. The prizes are usually large, for ex ample, in Brussels $4,000, $2,500 and $1,500 have been awarded as prizes for the first, sec ond and third best facades. In Paris, they have been awarded by way of remission of one half of the street tax, and medals, and the re sult has been that there is keen and lively com petition among house owners and architects.
Building In German cities the height of buildings is subject to very strict regulations. In Berlin, the height permitted is from 18 to 24 metres, or from 59 to 79 feet. The minimum height to which buildings are limited varies in different cities. In Wies baden, Bremen and Barmen it is 15 metres (49 feet) • in Munich 12 metres (39Z feet) ; and in Kiel and Cologne, 11 metres (36 feet), this being the minimum on the narrowest streets. It is greater, however, in the wider streets. Not only is the height of buildings regulated in German cities, but also the maximum and minimum number of stories, which depends on the zone in which the building is situated. In Berlin and Hamburg, the greater number of buildings must be either four or five stories in height. Throughout the grand duchy of Baden, the number of stories runs from three to five, in the suburbs and outlying districts, three being the maximum, and in the business districts the maximum being five. In Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Halle and Breslau, all buildings must be at least two stories in height, but in Bremen, one-story buildings may be erected. In Baden, houses in the country are not permitted to be over two stories in height.