Public parks in the United States on a small scale are as old as the cities. A seaside walk was originally the most common. The Battery in New York, and the Bay Side in Charleston, S. C., are familiar examples. The City Hall Park in New York was originally a playground or common. Boston Common was specifically dedicated to public use by the founders of the city. and has more perfectly fulfilled its use than any other equal area in the country. Pub lic squares in nearly all the cities, notably around Yale College in New Ilaven, have shown the noble expression that may be given to a very limited park by avenues of full-grown native trees. The period of land slK•eulation from 1830 to 1S:17, when great numbers of Western cities were planted, was peculiarly Unfortunate in the failure to dedicate ground liberally either in park-places, pill squares, or larger grounds. Many of the so-called 'boom' cities which have since been planted farther west have provided for parks and other public grounds in a most liberal manner. The be of the era of public parks for large cities. commensurate with their size, was made when the city of New York secured special legislation to create the Central Park. Though inferior in many respects to older parks, especially if its comparatively recent growth of trees be compared with noble old park forests, and its limited ranges of lawn with the great expanse of the finest English parks. yet it has this merit in a remarkable degree that, in proportion to the ground which it covers. the loss of space by the great reservoir being consid ered as well as its proportions and topography, it has developed more beauties and interest for public use than any other. The property was secured in 1857, and the plans for its laying out submitted by Frederick Law 1/Inisted and Calvert Vaux were adopted and put in their charge to be executed. The ground occupied is two and a half miles long north and south, and a half-mile wide cast and west. The city reser voirs within it occupy 142 acres, forming a lake. the elevation of which does not permit it to be given the air of a natural piece of water. bust which nevertheless is a pleasing feature. Besides this water there are several artificial lakes. Ex clusive of the reservoirs and building sites, the park contains CS3 acres. About 110 acres are in lawn, little broken by rocks and only bordered by trees. and the remainder mostly broken ground, in glades and young forests, or covered with copses and shrubbery. but nearly all in a condi tion to have a surface lawn. The grand terrace by Mr. Vaux—the first great work of park archi tecture executed in the United States—is an admirable study. Prospect Park. in the Borough of Brooklyn, is an outgrowth of the enthusiasm developed by the creation of the Central Park. It contains 550 acres, all of which is available for park use. Well-grown trees already on a part of it, and larger stretches of grassy ground, gave a nobler immediate effect in sylvan features than was possible in Central Park. Its arehitee tural features, though on a grand scale, are not so interesting as those of Central Park, except at the entrance, which is liner. The heights com mand a tine view of New York Ba• and the ocean. and there are picturesque artificial lakes.
Philadelphia, in addition to her generous orig inal squares for park use, followed and outdid \ew• York in the purchase and improvement of Fairmount Park. Its extent, varied surface, tine old trees, broad expanses of turf, the Schuylkill River at its side, and the stream of the Wissa hickon, flowing through a picturesque rocky val ley clothed with OW trees, shrubs, and wild vines of virgin nature, through dark dells, broken by numerous waterfalls. altogether give it a differ ent character from that of most other parks of the United States. Baltimore has the honor
of the noblest forest park of the United States, Druid Ilill—an old forest of 700 acres acquired in 1800, previously the private park of an old estate. Most of the larger and many of the sufaller American cities have followed the exam ple of New York and Philadelphia in providing liberal park areas.
PLAYGnouxos. Recently there has been an effort to secure public playgrounds for city chil dren. When children have no playgrounds but the streets they will necessarily be interfered with in their games by the police, and thus a most unfortunate spirit of antagonism toward the guardians of the peace is engendered. Not only the moral and physical value of glaygrounds, but also their educational value, is beginning to be understood by those who have the welfare of the children at heart. The forerunner of the playground was the New England 'common,' where the boys met to play that peculiarly American game, baseball. It is not surprising, therefore, that the New England city of Boston leads in the provision of children's playgrounds. At the close of 1901 Boston had 14 grounds rang ing in size from 0.4 acre to 77 acres, and making a total area of 1S2 acres. Brooklyn has main tained for years a fine though inaccessible play ground. In 1595 Alilwatikee established an open air gymnasium in one of its parks. In the city of New York. portions of Central Park have for years been set apart as children's playgrounds. A general movement for the establishment of mu nicipal playgrounds throughout the city, and especially in the congested tenement-house dis trict, was inaugurated in 1887. In that year an net was passed by the State permit ting an ammal expenditure of $1.000,000 for the establishment of small parks. The City Park Department. however. has steadily opposed the use of any portion of this sum for the foundation and equipment of children's playgrounds. In May, 1858, the New York Society for Parks and Playgrounds for Children was incorporated under a special law giving the society unusual powers, including the appointment of special po lice. In 1594 the Tenement-House Commission secured the adoption of a law which provides for at least two parks on the lower East Side "to he furnished in part as public playgrounds." The first of these plots was opened to the children in 1900. It was merely a hare piece of ground with no apparatus for children's games and no directors. Under such management it has done little good. The management of the second of these plots, known as Seward Pa•k, was as sumed by the Recreation League, an organiza tiou devoted to work of this character; apparatus was obtained and directors secured to help the children in their games, the entire cost of equip ping and operating the playground being paid by the League. .11he playground was opened to the public on June 3, 1500, in the presence of from 15,000 to 30,000 people. From the start it has been immensely popular with the children, and is an effectual proof of the feasibility and usefulness of such undertakings. In 1903 various other parks were opened Another branch of the work of furnishing play grounds for the children of New York was un dertaken in 1SOS. In that year the school board, of lanhattan and the Bronx appointed a i.om mittee for the management of summer pla3 grounds and appropriated $15.000 for the work. On July hth twenty playgrounds attached to public schools were opened. Apparatus fur games and gymnastics were supplied the chil dren and a director was appointed to take charge of each playground. The daily attendance in the playgrounds averaged from 300 to 1000 chil dren. and many had to be turned away.