THE CHICAGO PARK SYSTEM: THE MOVEMENT FOR PARK EXTENSION:
PLAYGROUNDS: OUTLYING PARK SYSTEMS IN LONDON, PARIS, BERLIN, VIENNA,
AND BOSTON: PROPOSED TREATMENT OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE: AN OUTER
PARK BELT
Chicago, on becoming a city, chose for its motto _Urbs in horto_—a city
set in a garden. Such indeed it then was, with the opalescent waters
of the Lake at its front, and on its three sides the boundless prairie
carpeted with waving grass bedecked with brilliant wild flowers.
The quick advance of commerce and manufactures, the rapid building
of railroads and factories, and the hastily constructed homes of
operatives crowded out nature’s parterres of flowers. Still the motto
lingered in the minds of men, and in 1839 the struggle began to secure
for the fast-growing population park spaces which should at least
recall the gardens that of necessity had been sacrificed.
In the year mentioned, a half-square on Michigan Avenue, where the
Public Library now stands, comprised the entire park system of the
city of Chicago. Three years later Washington Square was added; then
followed at intervals Jefferson, Union, Ellis, and Vernon parks, each
representing the public spirit of individuals rather than the foresight
of the city. In 1864 the Common Council, having been awakened to the
necessity of providing recreation places for the growing multitudes of
citizens, secured a portion of the lands which later came to be named
Lincoln Park, and the sum of ten thousand dollars was appropriated for
park improvement.
At first no effort was made to provide connections among the various
parks; but in 1869 a movement was started, by those whom the practical
people of that day called dreamers, to realize the then half-forgotten
and wholly disregarded motto, by framing the city of Chicago with a
garden of parks and boulevards, beginning at Lincoln Park on the north
and connecting Humboldt, Garfield, Douglas, Washington, and Jackson
parks. The attempt succeeded; the Chicago park system came to take
second place among the park areas of the United States, and was the
pride and glory of the city. Substantially, park acquisition in Chicago
halted there—thirty-nine years ago. Second only to Philadelphia in
1880, Chicago has now dropped to the seventh place in so far as park
area is concerned; and when the relative density of population is taken
into consideration this city occupies the thirty-second place! At least
half the population of Chicago to-day live more than one mile from any
large park, and in the congested sections of the city there are nearly
five thousand people to each acre of park space. The average for the
entire city is 590 persons to each acre of park. For health and good
order there should be one acre of park area for each hundred people.[20]
The seriousness of present conditions being generally realized, a
movement to bring about radical changes has already taken direction,
and is fast gathering the force necessary to accomplish its ends.
The state of Illinois has authorized the respective boards of park
commissioners to connect Grant Park with Lincoln Park on the north and
with Jackson Park on the south, and has granted the submerged lands
along the Lake shore for that purpose, providing, however, that in all
cases the commissioners must reach an amicable understanding with the
riparian owners, the right of condemnation being withheld. Moreover,
the state has also authorized cities, towns, and villages to grant to
park authorities the right to take and improve streets not more than a
mile in length without the consent of the abutting property owners, and
to construct surface and elevated ways and turn the same over to public
park corporate authorities.[21]
In 1899 the Chicago City Council created the Special Park Commission,
at the same time adopting resolutions recognizing the value of parks in
preventing crime, promoting cleanliness, and diminishing disease; also
declaring the need of greater area for parks, both large and small, and
providing for a systematic study of the present and future needs of
the city in the matter of parks and recreation grounds. In 1903, Cook
County having created a commission to secure an outer belt of parks and
boulevards, co-operation between the Special Park Commission and the
Outer Belt Commission was established.
At the instance of the Special Park Commission legislation has been
enacted to enable the several park authorities to locate parks and
pleasure grounds, of not more than ten acres in extent, in any
portion of their respective districts, and to raise money by bond
issues. On the South Side seventeen new parks, with a total area of
671 acres have been acquired. A feature of these small parks is the
neighborhood-center building, provided with baths, gymnasia, refectory
service, club rooms, and reading rooms for the district served. These
“clubhouses for the people,” as they are called, are in service both
summer and winter. The outdoor swimming-pools and athletic fields are
in charge of expert directors furnished by the authorities. The aim of
the commissioners is to improve the health and morals of the people,
and to stimulate local pride and patriotism; and the work has attracted
international attention. The South Side expansion movement, now nearing
completion, will cost about seven million dollars.
In suggesting additions to the smaller parks, the principle has
been followed of placing them, as far as possible, on the proposed
circuit boulevards. The intersections of these boulevards with
streets will necessarily form round-points, which should be treated
as part of the park system. The same principle of placing is followed
for the larger play parks, in order that they may be reached from
one another by passing through a continuous line of planting. The
question of density of population has been considered with reference
to the relative sizes of those parks which lie within the congested
center, particularly with regard to the first circuit; and although
all such parks cannot be placed adjacent to boulevards, they are
shown connected with one another by important thoroughfares, so that
the natural lines of travel will pass them. The smaller play parks
disregard to some extent the above principles, because these are in the
strictest sense neighborhood centers. The play parks and squares are
thus balanced equally around the civic center, which may be said to be
the center of the varying densities of population. In this way, they
serve to accentuate the scheme of circuits laid down in the system of
circulation on the general plan.
[Illustration: XLIV. CHICAGO, GENERAL MAP SHOWING TOPOGRAPHY,
WATERWAYS, AND COMPLETE SYSTEM OF STREETS, BOULEVARDS, PARKWAYS, AND
PARKS.
The parks and parkways encircle the city; they are placed in relation
to the radiating arteries, and increase in area in proportion to their
distance from the center (green). Also showing railroads (red), the
proposed harbors at the mouths of the Chicago and Calumet rivers, and
the location of outlying townships. The elevation of the ground is
shown by increasing depth of color (orange), from the center of the
city.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
[Illustration: XLV. BERLIN. BLOCK PLAN SHOWING THE PARK SYSTEM (GREEN),
AND PROPOSED FOREST RESERVES (DARK GREEN).
Reproduced from “Gross Berlin.”]
[Illustration: XLVI. VIENNA. BLOCK PLAN SHOWING THE PARK SYSTEM
(GREEN), AND EXISTING FOREST RESERVES (DARK GREEN).
Reproduced from “Gross Berlin.”]
The report of the Special Park Commission, issued in 1904, contains a
detailed study for a metropolitan park system embracing all of Cook
County, together with recommendations for an outer system of parks
and boulevards, in the main following the watercourses throughout the
area of the county. Thus foundations have been laid for a systematic
and aggressive campaign to obtain for the people of Chicago those
means of recreation and refreshment absolutely necessary to a growing
city. Extensive as the recommendations of the various park authorities
appear, a consideration of the whole problem will show that they
scarcely do more than meet the situation as it exists to-day, and that
the near future will demand more ample spaces. The development of the
suburban service on steam roads, the extension of the electric lines
which give quick and frequent service between Chicago and cities sixty,
seventy, and even a hundred miles distant, and the increasing use of
the automobile have brought within the sphere of Chicago’s dominating
influence the towns and country for a radius of at least sixty miles
from the geographical center of the city. From Kenosha on the north,
around to De Kalb on the west, and thence to Michigan City on the
south, all roads lead to Chicago; and this entire region might well
be included in a metropolitan area within which large parks shall be
located, improved, and maintained at joint expense.
[Illustration: XLVII. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. BLOCK PLAN SHOWING THE PARK
SYSTEM (GREEN), AND ADDITIONS (DARK GREEN).
Proposed by the Senate Park Commission.]
The time to secure the lands necessary for such a system is now, while
as yet the prices are moderate and the natural scenery is comparatively
unspoiled. Every year of failure or neglect to act largely increases
the expense and diminishes the opportunities, for all of the lands
about Chicago are almost equally available for building purposes.
Already the prairie state of Illinois is nearly one-half urban, and the
tendency towards city life is fast increasing. At the same time the
need for breathing spaces and recreation grounds is being forced upon
the attention of practical men, who are learning to appreciate the fact
that a city, in order to be a good labor-market, must provide for the
health and pleasure of the great body of workers. Density of population
beyond a certain point results in disorder, vice, and disease, and
thereby becomes the greatest menace to the well-being of the city
itself. As a measure of precaution, therefore, the establishment of
adequate park area is necessary.
If Chicago is to equal or surpass London in size, the provision for
open spaces here certainly should be no less than that which the
British metropolis has found necessary. And yet London is constantly
adding to its recreation grounds. As respects large parks, that city
counts Epping Forest, sixteen miles to the north, which with the
neighboring Hainault Forest includes 5,600 acres, an area opened by the
Corporation of London in 1882, as a free and inalienable public park
and place of recreation; and Bushy Park, fifteen miles to the west,
comprising a thousand acres; and Richmond Park, with its 2,255 acres,
not counting the famous Kew Gardens; while Windsor Great Park, 1,800
acres in extent, is but twenty-one miles from the city. Thus within a
radius of twoscore miles from his city, the Londoner has at his command
large parks comprising in the aggregate more than ten thousand acres;
and every traveler who has found himself in London on a pleasant Sunday
in summer knows well how the city empties itself of people on that day,
and how every vehicle available is brought into service to accommodate
the crowds seeking rest and recreation in the woods and on the Thames.
On such an afternoon the Thames at Richmond is so covered with canoes
and wherries that one might walk dry-shod across the river, stepping
from boat to boat. The great crowd of all sorts and conditions of men
and women is gay and good natured, and the scene, as looked down upon
from the terraces of Hampton Court, has a charm beyond the power of
words to express.
[Illustration: XLVIII. LONDON. A VIEW OF ROTTEN ROW IN HYDE PARK.]
The name of Henley brings to the mind of the Englishman all that
is beautiful and picturesque in the amateur aquatic life of that
country. Henley is situated on the Thames in one of its most beautiful
stretches; the valley is verdant; the trees are old and stately, while
velvet lawns and gardens gay line the banks at frequent intervals.
Back from the water the Chiltern Hills rise in a mass of green woods
and waving grain. During regatta week, bunting, flags, flowers, and
decorations of all kinds attract the eye, and the picturesque old place
is made a scene of brightness and gayety. In the evening the many
house-boats are aglow with colored lanterns; lights from boats of every
sort flash hither and thither on the water, and fireworks light the
heavens in beautiful colors.
Paris, which is one of the great manufacturing centers of the world,
has the Bois de Boulogne of 2,250 acres at its very gates; and only
five miles distant, skirting the eastern boundary of the city, is the
Bois de Vincennes of somewhat greater area. Thirty-seven miles distant
is the forest of Fontainebleau, which covers no less than 42,500
acres, the most beautiful of all French forests; while the gardens
of Versailles, with their wonderful fountains, are but fourteen miles
away. Berlin has its great pine woods on the east, west, and north
of the city, the park development having been made to keep pace with
other radical changes which since 1878 have transformed the German
capital from a badly arranged, ill-built, and ill-kept town into one
of the magnificent capital cities of the world. At Vienna the forest
park known as the Prater, 4,270 acres in extent, extends along the
east side of the city; and so diversified are the uses to which this
recreation place is put, that perhaps no other single park in the world
accommodates so many people. Large as these spaces seem, no one of the
cites mentioned is satisfied with its present park area; but each one
is striving to enlarge its opportunities for recreation.
In 1893 Boston began the creation of its system of metropolitan parks,
by the adoption of a report made that year by a special commission.
Thirteen cities and twenty-six towns are now included in the
metropolitan district; and upwards of ten thousand acres are controlled
by a board of five commissioners. The funds for the acquirement and
development of the system had been raised by loans represented by
forty-year bonds issued by the State of Massachusetts, to be repaid
from sinking funds made up of annual payments by the various cities and
towns included within the district, except that the entire commonwealth
has assumed about two and a half millions of one of the three loans,
which aggregate about ten and a half millions. The annual payments
for sinking funds, interest, and maintenance are made according
to a table of percentages fixed by the supreme court of the state
upon the report of a special commission appointed each five years.
The original plan, although somewhat modified from time to time to
accommodate new circumstances, has been adhered to with great fidelity
as constituting the project for a complete outlying park system, to
the gradual accomplishment of which the state and the district has
committed itself. The appropriations, averaging between six and seven
hundred thousand dollars a year for sixteen years, have been general
in form; the commission has never made direct appeals or efforts to
secure grants of money; but citizens concerned in the accomplishment
of some particular portion of the system have interested themselves
to secure the necessary funds. The woods reservations were acquired
first; then Revere Beach and the banks of the lower Charles River; and
lastly the twenty-seven miles of connecting parkways. After the first
ten years, the legislature reviewed the entire situation, and, finding
the work good, provided three hundred thousand dollars a year for four
years for its continuation. Each year increases the number of friends
of the system, and the necessary funds for enlargement or for special
treatments, such as building ocean-front driveways, the acquisition
of some specially desirable natural feature, or the construction of a
connecting parkway, are provided.
The plan of Washington provides for a complete system of parks
encircling the entire city, uniting Potomac Park, which stretches along
the river front, with the present Zoölogical and Rock Creek parks on
the north; thence by parkways to the Soldiers’ Home grounds, some seven
hundred acres in extent, and on to the valley of the Anacostia, where
a tidal basin will be formed. The palisades of the upper Potomac,
the Arlington estate, and the chain of abandoned forts on the hills
overlooking the city, all become parts of the simple yet comprehensive
scheme, which is but the logical development of the original L’Enfant
plan. Already Washington is realizing in large measure the commercial
advantages of civic beauty. People from all parts of the country are
building fine residences along the broad avenues; and new business
structures vie with the government office buildings in design and
solidity. Thus the plans which seemed but a dream when they were first
exhibited eight years ago are now so far accomplished that complete
realization seems plainly in sight.
The opportunities for large parks in the immediate vicinity of Chicago
are ample. First in importance is the shore of Lake Michigan, which
should be treated as park space to the greatest possible extent. The
Lake front by right belongs to the people. It affords their one great
unobstructed view, stretching away to the horizon, where water and
clouds seem to meet. No mountains or high hills enable us to look over
broad expanses of the earth’s surface; and perforce we must come even
to the margin of the Lake for such a survey of nature. These views of
a broad expanse are helpful alike to mind and body. They beget calm
thoughts and feelings, and afford escape from the petty things of life.
Mere breadth of view, however, is not all. The Lake is living water,
ever in motion, and ever changing in color and in the form of its
waves. Across its surface comes the broad pathway of light made by the
rising sun; it mirrors the ever-changing forms of the clouds, and it
is illumined by the glow of the evening sky. Its colors vary with the
shadows that play upon it. In its every aspect it is a living thing,
delighting man’s eye and refreshing his spirit. Not a foot of its
shores should be appropriated by individuals to the exclusion of the
people. On the contrary, everything possible should be done to enhance
its attractiveness and to develop its natural beauties, thus fitting it
for the part it has to play in the life of the whole city. It should be
made so alluring that it will become the fixed habit of the people to
seek its restful presence at every opportunity.
Wherever possible, the outer shore should be a beach on which the
waves may break; and the slopes leading down to the water should be
quiet stretches of green, unvexed by the small irregular piers and the
various kinds of projections which to-day give it an untidy appearance.
Except where formal treatments are demanded, the inner shore should be
a planted space. There should be lagoons, narrow and winding, along the
north shore, and wider, with more regular lines, along the south shore.
Both margins of these lagoons should be planted with trees and shrubs,
so arranged as to leave openings of various sizes, thus making vistas
of the water and the life upon it, to be enjoyed by the people passing
along the driveways or living in the homes that line park stretches.
These plantations should be carefully devised so as to display every
form and color of foliage and blossom known to this climate; the
foliage should be arranged so as to be seen here in masses and there
at the end of vistas, by boatmen close at hand or far away over the
waters. The aspect of these plantings from the open lake also should be
studied, and especially the subject of evergreens and other forms of
winter planting demands adequate attention.
Moreover, the sweet breath of plant life so abundant in nature and so
agreeable to man should give greeting to those who seek the refreshment
of the parks. Color of blossoms, too, should be used, not in little
beds or as mere incidents, but in masses stretching broadly along the
shores of the lagoons, and even upon the surface of the water itself,
where aquatic plants of many varieties may be made to contribute their
part in this possible paradise. The cultivation and maintenance of such
stretches of natural beauty must have the co-operation of the people,
to the end that the loveliness intended for all may be protected.
[Illustration: XLIX. CHICAGO. VIEW OF THE CITY FROM JACKSON PARK TO
GRANT PARK, LOOKING TOWARDS THE WEST.
The proposed shore treatment as a park enclosing a waterway (or a
series of lagoons) is shown together with the enlarged yacht harbor,
recreation piers, and a scheme for Grant Park. Painted for the
Commercial Club by Jules Guerin.
This park may be built almost without cost to the people of Chicago, by
making use of the excavated material and general wastage from the city.
This material aggregates at the present moment an amount sufficient to
fill as many as twenty-two acres per annum. In this manner Grant Park
has already been created, and its extension down the south shore will
be only a question of time.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
[Illustration: L. CHICAGO. PARK DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED FOR THE LAKE SHORE
FROM JACKSON PARK TO WILMETTE
This park, enclosing lagoons for boating, would be a continuous
playground for the people, and may be built by utilizing the wastage
from the city and excavated material at practically no cost.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO
Diagram A. Lake shore from Chicago Avenue on the north to Jackson Park
on the south. ]
[Illustration: Diagram B. Lake shore from Chicago Avenue on the south
to Wilmette on the north.]
[Illustration: L(a). CHICAGO. VIEW OF THE PROPOSED PARK ON THE SOUTH
SHORE, LOOKING NORTHWEST TOWARDS THE CITY.
From the drawing of D. H. Burnham and Paul Lathrop, 1896.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
[Illustration: LI. CHICAGO. VIEW LOOKING SOUTH OVER THE LAGOONS OF THE
PROPOSED PARK FOR THE SOUTH SHORE.
Painted for the Commercial Club by Jules Guerin.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
[Illustration: LII. CHICAGO. SECTION THROUGH THE PARK PROPOSED FOR THE
SOUTH SHORE.
A boulevard is suggested above that portion of the railroad
right-of-way used for freight; additional right-of-way open to the air
to be provided for passenger trains; approaches to the outer park to
run from the boulevard over the tracks.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
The building of parks along the shore is dictated by considerations of
health and enjoyment. The ease with which the work can be accomplished
becomes apparent when one considers that the refuse of the city seeks
a dump which cannot be found anywhere else than on the Lake front.
Probably 1,000,000 cubic yards of waste are annually conveyed to the
Lake front from Evanston to South Chicago, enough to fill twenty acres
of ground, raising it seven feet above the surface in twenty feet of
water. The necessary breakwaters having been built, this constantly
growing amount of waste material can be put in place cheaply.
Therefore, it is wise to provide now for the disposition of it, and
to design beautiful and extensive park strips along the entire shore,
which will almost build themselves in the course of another generation.
Indeed both health and danger to navigation prohibit the emptying of
this spoil in the Lake, as has been done in the past.
[Illustration: LIII. CHICAGO. THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE, SHOWING THE
PROPOSED WATERWAY CONNECTING THE LAGOONS OF WASHINGTON PARK WITH THOSE
OF JACKSON PARK, AND EVENTUALLY WITH THE WATERWAY OF THE PROPOSED SHORE
PARK EXTENDING FROM JACKSON PARK TO GRANT PARK.
COURTESY OF THE SOUTH PARK COMMUNITY CLUB ]
These lagoons, protected from the waves of the open Lake and sheltered
from the wind by the city on one side and the park strips on the other,
will be a powerful attraction toward open-air athletics, both winter
and summer; they will afford a course for races for Northwestern
University at the north and the Chicago University at the south.
House-boats, launches, canoes, rowboats, and small sailboats will ply
upon them, as well as craft for the public use, such as are usual on
the Thames, the Seine, and the canals of Venice. The waterway should
be lined with restaurants and pleasure pavilions and with public bath
houses; swimming beaches should be constructed on their shores, which
by careful designing can be made as picturesque as any inland river.
Both shores should be a part of the general design, and together with
the lagoon itself these shores should be owned by the park authorities,
in order that the whole may be effectually policed.
Imagine this supremely beautiful parkway, with its frequent stretches
of fields, playgrounds, avenues, and groves, extending along the shore
in closest touch with the life of the city throughout the whole water
front. What will it do for us in health and happiness? After it is
finished will the people of means be so ready to run away and spend
their money in other cities? Where else can they find such delightful
conditions as at home? We should no longer lose so much of the cream
of our earnings, now spent in other lands. When this parkway shall be
created, our people will stay here, and others will come to dwell among
us—the people who now spend time and large amounts of money in Paris,
in Vienna, and on the Riviera. It will turn back the stream of profits
which have to such a large degree gone away from us, and every one
living here will feel the result of this change, for between prosperity
and bad times there is often but a small percentage, and the community
which can keep its earnings at home prospers.
In order to appreciate the recreation which the Lake front when
properly developed will afford, one has but to recall the pleasure
which similar waters afford to the people of other countries. For
example, the clusters or fringes of islands in the vicinity of
Stockholm form a favorite resort for the yachtsmen of Sweden, their
chief rendezvous being Sandham, a pilot station on the margin of
the Baltic. Tourists enjoy the exhibitions of swimming given in the
public baths of Stockholm, and the canoeing on the numerous lakes and
waterways. The winter sports and competitions—skating, skee-running,
skate-sailing, ice-yachting, sledge-kicking, and toboganning—are famous
the world over; and the Sport Park (Idrottsparken) at Stockholm is one
of the features of the city.
[Illustration: XLIV. CHICAGO. TYPICAL VIEW ACROSS THE PROPOSED SOUTH
SHORE PARK, FOR EXAMPLE, AT WOODLAND PARK.
COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
From South Chicago to Grant Park the treatment proposed is made up of a
parkway along the actual shore line, following the right-of-way of the
Illinois Central Railroad; and also a wide park strip entirely in the
Lake, enclosing a series of lagoons. On the north a similar treatment
is suggested, except that here the parkway is somewhat narrower than on
the South Side, and an additional element is introduced in the form of
a chain of outlying islands. The arrangement on the north comprises two
roadways, the first following the shore as it exists to-day, while the
second roadway runs within the park strip lying beyond the lagoons. In
the latter parkway the line is simplified and irregularities disappear
to a large extent, the outer line from North Avenue to Evanston finally
becoming a double curve. This is further enveloped with a line formed
by the chain of islands which it is proposed to build on the shallows.
This line curves gently from the north in a southerly direction
until it joins the outer park strip north of the River. This point
is the beginning of the line which flows towards the south shore. A
yacht harbor should be constructed at the northern end. The sport of
yachting is very greatly in need of encouragement of this form, as
the navigation of Lake Michigan is rather dangerous, and there is now
no point north of the River to which a yacht can run for shelter. In
addition to the northern yacht harbor, there should be other harbors,
in the lee of the proposed islands, out in the Lake. These would be of
the utmost value to yachtsmen, as they would afford from mile to mile a
point of refuge in case of surprise by squalls.
For the most part, an informal landscape treatment is proposed for
the two park strips; but where the bridges cross the lagoons, a more
formal treatment is introduced and pavilions are provided for the
various recreation purposes. It is also proposed to create a yacht
harbor just north of Jackson Park, where the shallowness of the water
permits the formation of extensive meadows by filling; and also to fill
in above the shoals dotting the shore, with a group of islands. Broadly
stated, the treatment of the shore from South Chicago to Wilmette may
be said to be one which will result in the restoration or perfection of
the line already existing; while the formal treatment proposed at the
bridges, which are spaced at intervals of from one to two miles, will
create a rhythm which even in this broad, general scheme must have its
value.
[Illustration: LV. ENGLAND. HENLEY-ON-THAMES: THE REGATTA COURSE.]
[Illustration: LVI. ENGLAND. HENLEY-ON-THAMES: A REGATTA.
Illustrating the life which would develop in the lagoons of the
proposed Lake Shore Parks.]
Next in the importance to the development of the Lake shore
possibilities is the acquisition and improvement of forest spaces. Both
the water front and the near-by woodlands should be brought within easy
reach of all the people, and especially of the wage-earners. Natural
scenery furnishes the contrasting element to the artificiality of the
city. All of us should often run away from the works of men’s hands
and back into the wilds, where mind and body are restored to a normal
condition, and we are enabled to take up the burden of life in our
crowded streets and endless stretches of buildings with renewed vigor
and hopefulness. Those who have the means and are so placed in their
daily employments that they can do so constantly seek the refreshment
of the country. Should not the public see to it that every one may
enjoy this change of scene, this restorer of bodily and mental vigor,
and will not citizenship be better thereby? He who habitually comes in
close contact with nature develops saner methods of thought than can
be the case when one is habitually shut up within the walls of a city.
If a census of the purposes and acts of all of the people of Chicago
as they affect the general good could be made for this year of grace
1909, and again in 1933, after the creation of extensive forests in the
suburbs, the percentage of improvement affecting the whole community
would probably be quite surprising. The existing public parks go far in
this direction, but not far enough. The spaces to be acquired should
be wild forests, filled with such trees, vines, flowers, and shrubs
as will grow in this climate, and all should be developed in a natural
condition. Country roads and a few paths should run through these
forests, but they should not be cut into small divisions. There should
be open glades here and there, and other natural features, and the
people should be allowed to use them freely.
[Illustration: LVII. VERSAILLES, FRANCE. PLAN OF THE PALACE, PARK, AND
GARDENS, AND THE GREAT ARTERIES LEADING TO THE GATES.]
In the disposition of interior parks the main consideration should be,
first, to distribute the areas about the city as evenly as possible,
so as to make large parks readily accessible to all citizens; and
secondly, to select for improvement those localities which have the
greatest charm and value as park lands. Happily nature has furnished
the opportunity to combine both considerations. The wooded bluffs and
ravines at the northern boundary of Cook County in Glencoe mark a
natural park entrance from Lake Michigan. The virgin forest known as
the Peterson woods, south of Peterson Avenue, the Gibbs woods, north of
Gibbs Street, a beautiful spot on the Chicago River south of Central
Avenue, are especially attractive features of this stretch. In spring
the bloom of the thorn, the crab-apple, and the wild plum are features
of the landscape; the ground is everywhere carpeted with flowers; there
are forests of elm, oak, ash, willow, and cottonwood; and the Skokee
marsh in beauty vies with the Lake itself. At a distance of a mile
inland the valley of the North Branch of the Chicago River is reached.
In this valley the views are particularly beautiful, especially where
the stretches are unbroken by constructions of any kind. To the north
the valley stretches far beyond the county line; to the south it is
framed on both sides with forest lands. In the region of Central Avenue
these forest lines spread, taking in the grounds of the Glenview Golf
Club, closing again between Kenilworth and Bryn Mawr avenues, where
the foliage closely follows the banks of the River. The area which
should be taken for this particular northern park includes upwards of
eight thousand acres, and at the present time the land can be had at
comparatively small expense.
[Illustration: LVIII. VERSAILLES, FRANCE. VIEW FROM THE TERRACE,
LOOKING DOWN THE MAIN AXIS.]
The opportunity for a park area entirely surrounding the city is to be
found in the extension of the Lake entrance at Glencoe westward until
it reaches the valley of the Des Plaines; thence the park stretch would
extend south along that valley to Riverside, and, taking in the valleys
of Salt and Flag creeks, still southerly to the Drainage Canal. Turning
to the east, the line would extend along the Calumet Feeder, Stony
Creek, and Little Calumet River to and including Lake Calumet, and
thence to the Lake front.
[Illustration: LIX. PARIS. VIEW OF THE SUNKEN GARDEN IN THE LUXEMBOURG
GARDENS.]
[Illustration: LX. ST. GERMAIN, FRANCE. VIEW OF AN AVENUE IN THE FOREST
AND ROUND-POINT.
This avenue crosses above a railroad.]
The Des Plaines River from the county line to Riverside flows mainly
through thickly wooded country which the parkway plans include;
the forests for the most part lie on the east side of the River,
occasionally crossing to the west side. There are places of great
beauty on the River banks, including Thatcher’s Park at River Forest,
which has been fenced in, and where an admission fee is charged.
South of River Forest the parkway divides, and, passing around the
cemeteries at Harlem, joins the River at Riverside. From Harlem to
the southern extremity of Riverside the foliage and the scenery
generally are exceptionally fine. The boulevard from Summit, running
in a southwesterly direction to Spring Forest, commands fine views,
particularly over the rising wooded land of Du Page County. Mount
Forest is covered with trees, and presents many delightful outlooks
from its height; these are particularly fine in the southwestern
extremity, where the valley of the Des Plaines to the southwest and
northwest, and the Sag valley to the east, all are visible. Evergreen
Park is noted for its evergreens, and Sherman farm is thickly wooded.
As in the Chicago River region, the thorn, the crab-apple, and wild
plum abound; and the great forests consist of elm, cottonwood, and
willow, the elm seeming to predominate. The forests in the Palos region
stretch south as far as the eye can reach.
[Illustration: LXI. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED ON THE MAIN
EAST-AND-WEST AXIS OF THE CITY AT CONGRESS STREET AND FIFTY-SECOND
AVENUE.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
[Illustration: LXII. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED AT WESTERN
BOULEVARD AND GARFIELD BOULEVARD, BEING AN EXTENSION OF GAGE PARK.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
The Calumet is an ample stream, and on every hand the silhouettes of
steel industries give strong evidence of the coming importance of
this channel as a harbor. Every effort, therefore, should be made to
concentrate the vehicle traffic crossing this river at well-chosen
points where great bridges might be constructed, in order to create as
little friction as possible between the vessel and the land traffic. On
the banks of the Calumet, in the neighborhood of One Hundred and Third
Street, are large swamps capable of being developed into fine parks;
the country is gently undulating, with plenty of woodland, and the
view across Calumet Lake is fine. It is proposed to create a driveway
around Lake Calumet, and to reclaim the low lands south of the lake
without essentially changing their present topography; also to plant
a belt of woods surrounding this lake park set in one of the greatest
manufacturing districts in the world; and to construct roadways to form
connections with the different park reservations and at the same time
to become highways to the city.
[Illustration: LXIII. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED AT THE NORTH
BRANCH OF THE CHICAGO RIVER AND GRACELAND AVENUE.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]
The encircling system of forest parks and park connections as thus
outlined, when taken in conjunction either with the existing interior
boulevards and the Sheridan Road, or the proposed driveway along the
Lake lagoons makes a circuit of about one hundred miles, every portion
of which would serve directly an adjoining portion of the city. Such
a comprehensive system of outlying parks is for the Chicago of to-day
quite as practical and quite as much needed as were the boulevards
of a generation ago, which have now become interior thoroughfares of
priceless value. The forest preserves, with their bordering driveways,
would in time come to be lined with residences and large estates, and
rise in the value of the adjoining lands would permit the city to
recoup in taxation many times the cost of lands now of small value.
[Illustration: LXIV. CHICAGO. PLAN OF SHERMAN PLAYGROUND AND PARK.
The assembly hall, gymnasia, and open-air swimming pool, forming a
group as the center of the composition.]
The grouping of manufacturing towns at the southern end of Lake
Michigan, and the serious attempts that have been made (especially
in Pullman and Gary) to provide excellent living conditions for
people employed in large operations, create a demand for extensive
parks in that region; because no city conditions, however ideal in
themselves, supply the craving for real out-of-door life, for forests
and wild flowers and streams. Human nature demands such simple and
wholesome pleasures as come from roaming the woods, for rowing and
canoeing, and for sports and games that require large areas. The
increasing number of holidays, the growing use of Sunday as a day of
rest and refreshment for body and mind tired by the exacting tasks
of the week, together with the constant improvement in the scale of
living, all make imperative such means of enjoyment as the large park
provides. Therefore, adequate provision for the growing populations
that of necessity must live in restricted town areas requires that in
the region south and southwest of Chicago all those marsh lands and
wooded ridges which nature has thus far preserved from being taken for
manufacturing purposes now should be secured for the parks that in
the next generation will be required, but which will be beyond reach
unless taken in the immediate future.
[Illustration: LXV. CHICAGO. MARK WHITE SQUARE.
View of the children’s wading pool and the field house.]
[Illustration: LXVI. CHICAGO. HAMILTON PARK.
View of the boys’ gymnasium.]
[Illustration: LXVII. CHICAGO. SHERMAN PARK.
Field-house seen from the west side.]
The development of a system of outlying large parks along the lines
above indicated will give to Chicago breathing-spaces adequate at least
for the immediate future; the physical character of the lands to be
taken will insure a diversity in natural features most pleasing and
refreshing to dwellers in cities; and the acquisition of the areas
entirely around the present city will afford convenient access for all
the citizens, so that each section will be accommodated. Moreover, the
development of especially beautiful sections, such as the region about
Lake Zurich, will give marked individuality to Chicago’s outlying park
system. It is by seizing on such salient features of a landscape and
emphasizing their peculiar features that the charm and the dignity of
the city are enhanced.
[Illustration: LXVIII. CHICAGO. SHERMAN PARK.
View of the open-air swimming pool.]
FOOTNOTES:
[20] Report of the Special Park Commission; Compiled by Dwight Heald
Perkins, 1904.
[21] See Acts of May 14, 1903; May 2, 1907; April 19, 1879; June 21,
1895; May 25, 1907.
[Illustration: LXIX. CHICAGO. DIAGRAM OF A SYSTEM OF FREIGHT HANDLING
FOR LAND AND WATER TRANSPORTATION, TO BE WORKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ONE
ANOTHER.
(1) A central clearing and warehousing yard. (2) A north harbor at the
mouth of the Chicago River. (3) A south harbor at the mouth of the
Calumet River. (4) Underground freight lines interconnecting the city
stations, the central yard, and the two harbors; these lines are shown
in red; they do not represent exact locations of the routes.
COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO ]