Chapter 12 of 18 · 6885 words · ~34 min read

CHAPTER IV

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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.

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.

[Illustration: LXII. CHICAGO. PLAN OF A PARK PROPOSED AT WESTERN BOULEVARD AND GARFIELD BOULEVARD, BEING AN EXTENSION OF GAGE PARK.

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.

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.