Chapter 18 of 18 · 10241 words · ~51 min read

Chapter 194 of the Acts of the Virginia General Assembly for the

session of the year 1906 provides as follows:

“Any city or town of this Commonwealth may acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation property adjoining its parks, or plats on which its monuments are located, or other property used for public purposes, or in the vicinity of such parks, plats or property, which is used and maintained in such a manner as to impair the beauty, usefulness or efficiency of such parks, plats or public property, and may likewise acquire property adjacent to any street, the topography of which, from its proximity thereto, impairs the convenient use of such street, or renders impracticable, without extraordinary expense, the improvement of the same, and the city or town so acquiring any such property may subsequently dispose of the property so acquired, making limitations as to the uses thereof, which will protect the beauty, usefulness, efficiency, or convenience of such parks, plats or property.”

CONGESTED AREAS

In considering a model plan for the city of Chicago, attention is naturally called to the example of European cities which have removed the inhabitants from whole areas where the population was congested or the arrangement of the streets unwholesome, and have transplanted them to new territory while the condemned area was being renovated or rebuilt. The Plan of Chicago does not contemplate any imitation of such examples. The police power is adequate to the destruction, without recompense, of single buildings which are insanitary or unsafe; but the legislature of Illinois has not yet undertaken to go further and license the condemnation by municipal authorities of congested or unwholesome areas under the power of eminent domain. Local drainage districts may be organized, with power to reclaim wet agricultural lands and locate ditches over private property, on the payment of proper compensation; and it would also doubtless be competent for the legislature to sanction the taking by eminent domain of a district even within the city which was by nature low or pestilent, as was done with the Back Bay flats in Boston. Different considerations, however, apply to an area where the noxious conditions are due to the arrangement of streets or to the manner of building upon land by individual owners. Each proprietor might with reason demand the right to be dealt with individually; and if his own lot was vacant, or was improved with buildings transgressing no sanitary laws or regulations, he might well oppose any scheme which required him to part with his land on account of the transgression of his neighbors. A tract of land fit to breed pestilence because of the niggardliness of nature might be reclaimed under the power of eminent domain, because the arch offender was not subject to the police jurisdiction of the state; but if a plague spot has been created by the fault of men, an innocent victim of their malfeasance would have some reason and more law on his side if he insisted upon the state proceeding against the culprits singly.

Accordingly, the Chicago Plan deals only incidentally with this subject. The city can, as has been done in some European capitals, open wide thoroughfares and avenues through congested areas, or take the heart of the district for a public park; and the legislature might authorize the condemnation of a zone of reasonable width around these open spaces on the principles already laid down. It may be doubted, however, whether the courts would sustain as constitutional a statute designed to appropriate a whole congested area merely for the purpose of renovating it. If the power to do so in a flagrant case were sustained by the Supreme Court of the state, or if such a project were authorized by constitutional amendment, the measure would probably not be condemned by the federal courts as contravening the Constitution of the United States. To the opening of wide streets, however, through congested districts, as proposed in the Plan, there is no obstacle unless it be the lack of financial resources.

PRESENT BORROWING AND TAXING POWERS

In carrying out so comprehensive a scheme of development as is outlined in the Plan of Chicago, some subsidiary sources of revenue may be found, but the main dependence must be upon the taxing power of the state and its agencies. Current expenses are properly met by current taxes; but it is a main principle of economics that the cost of permanent improvements should be distributed over a series of years commensurate with the probable duration of the benefit. Lest, however, the existing generation should lay inordinate burdens upon posterity, limitations have been set upon the amount and duration of indebtedness which may be incurred by any municipal body. Section 12 of Article IX of the constitution of the State of Illinois declares that no municipal corporation shall become indebted for any purpose to an amount exceeding five per cent of the value of the taxable property therein, as ascertained by the last assessment; and that, at or before the time of incurring such debt, the municipality shall provide for the collection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest and to discharge the principal within twenty years from the time when the debt was contracted. Under the present revenue laws applicable to Cook County, all taxable property is valued by assessors at its “full value,” and one-fifth of that figure is entered in the books as the “assessed value,” and, as afterwards equalized, is made the basis on which all tax and debt limitations are computed.[89]

The constitutional limit of municipal indebtedness does not mean that every public corporation has power to incur debts to that amount. Municipalities have no greater powers than the legislature confers upon them. There is no constitutional limit on the amount of taxes that the legislature can authorize municipalities to levy.[90] They may incur only such debts, not exceeding the constitutional limit, and levy such taxes as the general assembly authorizes them to do. Several municipal corporations, however, may be created under legislative authority for different purposes, embracing all or part of the same territory, and each of these overlapping municipalities may be given power to levy taxes and incur debts up to the constitutional limit. To restrain the increasing burden of taxes, the legislature in 1901 passed the so-called Juul law, designed to limit the aggregate taxes which might be levied upon any community in any one year to five per cent of the assessed valuation of property therein; but the constitutionality of this statute has been questioned and the amendments of and numerous exceptions to its provisions made by the legislature have left its operation, if not its continued existence, so doubtful that its repeal has been sought on divers occasions.[91]

The county of Cook is permitted to levy taxes not exceeding seventy-five cents on every one hundred dollars, without popular vote, and to levy any additional taxes voted by the people. County bonds may be voted by the people in any such amount as not to cause the total debt of the county to exceed five per cent of the assessed value of the property therein. The assessed value for the year 1908 was $514,730,186, of which five per cent is $25,736,509. Up to that limit the county might become indebted by vote of the people. The present bonded debt is $9,360,000, and the floating debt averages about $1,600,000. Without aiming at nicety of detail, it may be said that the county has at present a borrowing capacity, in round figures, of $15,000,000. The operation of the Juul law, however, now reduces the tax available for the general expenses of Cook County to sixty-five cents on one hundred dollars; and the increasing demands upon the county would probably necessitate a modification of this law, so as specifically to exclude from its limitations the taxes necessary to care for additional bond issues and provide for future maintenance of county parks or boulevards.

The city of Chicago is practically indebted at all times to the constitutional limit of five per cent of its assessed valuation, and has been given power by the legislature to levy an annual tax for corporate purposes not exceeding two per cent on that valuation, exclusive of taxes levied for the payment of bonds. Under the operation of the Juul law, the maximum rate has been cut down to one and eight-tenths per cent. The assessed valuation of city property for 1908 was $477,190,399. A two per cent tax on that amount is $9,543,808, and a five per cent indebtedness would be $23,859,520. The legislature could authorize a higher annual tax, but could not, under the constitution, increase the limit of indebtedness unless by means of some change in the method of assessing the property on which the limitation was to be computed.[92] One of the chief reasons for asking a new charter was to increase the bond-issuing power of the city by changing the basis of computation of the limit of indebtedness.

The taxing powers of the three park districts in the city of Chicago are contained in a mass of separate laws, which authorize the issuing of bonds for particular purposes and the levying of taxes to pay the interest and retire the principal. The park boards could be authorized by the legislature to incur debts somewhat in excess of their present bonded liability, without infringing the provisions of the constitution; but here also the tax limitations of the Juul law would have to be modified unless maintenance expenditures were scaled. The assessed valuation for the year 1908 of property in the West Park district was $105,614,809, of which five per cent is $5,280,740. The present bonded debt of the West Park board is $3,270,000, leaving a possible margin of about $2,000,000 of additional indebtedness that the legislature could authorize to be incurred by the board.

An entirely new taxing body could, with the consent of the voters, be created by the legislature, having jurisdiction over all or part of Cook County. That body, if properly constituted, could be invested with power to levy such taxes as might be deemed advisable, and with power to issue bonds up to the constitutional limit of five per cent of the assessed valuation. It is also to be borne in mind that by some slight changes in the method of fixing the assessed valuation of property, which is now arbitrarily defined as one-fifth of the full valuation, the legislature could largely increase the borrowing power of all the taxing bodies.

Large improvements need not only extensive borrowing powers, but the distribution of the burden over a long series of years. While twenty years has been heretofore deemed the limit of time which ought to be allowed for paying any debt incurred by the issue of bonds, it may be thought that the radical changes contemplated by the Plan of Chicago are of such unusual magnitude and of such permanent character that justice might demand distribution of the burden over more than one generation. Upon that view, bonds running for a longer period might be thought reasonable. The present constitutional limit of twenty years is, however, absolute, and an amendment to the constitution would be required to enable any municipality to issue bonds for a longer term.

CONCLUSIONS

From the foregoing examination of the legal aspects of the Plan of Chicago it appears

First: That without any additional legislation many of the recommendations of the Plan can be adopted and practical steps be taken to carry them into effect;

Second: That the legislature has ample power to grant either to the city or to other governmental agencies such additional authority as may be necessary to carry out all of the recommendations of the Plan as fully and as rapidly as may be found wise; and

Third: That additional authority, and especially a substantial increase in the local bonding power, is essential to the effective accomplishment of the most important of these recommendations.

It remains for the people of Chicago, through their legally constituted representatives, to decide upon the wisdom of the suggestions and to adopt them in the order of their relative importance and availability. The necessary funds can no doubt be secured as rapidly as it can be clearly shown that their expenditure will result in real advantage to the individual citizens who constitute “the public,” and upon whom rests, directly or indirectly, the burden of expense. In the last analysis it must be clear that a community which makes wise expenditure for public works not only imposes no real burden upon private property, but increases the value of all private property within its limits. Such a community should be given adequate authority to levy taxes and incur debt, subject always to such intelligent supervision of expenditures as will effectively guard against extravagance and waste. Certainly, any limitations upon a progressive municipality should be broad enough to make it possible to undertake such public enterprises as are recommended in this Plan.

Fortunately, this is entirely possible in Chicago within the constitutional limitations upon municipal indebtedness. By consolidating the local authorities within the city of Chicago under the provisions of the so-called charter amendment to the state constitution (Article IV, Sec. 34), the present bonding capacity of the city can be multiplied five times, less the aggregate indebtedness of the consolidating bodies, and subject to such limitations as may be imposed in the consolidating act. By merely changing the statutory method of fixing the assessed value of property, the present bonding power will be proportionately increased. By utilizing the county for making such improvements as it may well be authorized to make, we can secure additional bonding capacity even greater than that available through the agency of the city. There would seem to be no valid objection to an act authorizing any county which chose to adopt its provisions by popular vote to acquire, construct, and maintain parks and boulevards, with all the powers (including those of eminent domain) already recommended as to cities and park or forest-preserve districts, and with appropriate increase of taxing and of bonding powers subject to popular approval. For many, if not all, of the purposes now sought under the Forest-Preserve Act, the county of Cook would seem to be the appropriate and available agency. It would be a distinct public gain to enlarge its functions so that membership on its board of commissioners would both demand and permit the highest type of public service. If the Forest-Preserve Act, or an act of this general character, is constitutional, the agency thereby provided is also available for many of the purposes of the Plan, and could be given additional bonding power subject only to the constitutional limitation. It will thus be seen that ample bonding power for all the purposes of the Plan can be conferred by the legislature. Significant precedents are not lacking to justify the expectation that private generosity will co-operate in the accomplishment of some of the recommendations here made for the practical and effective promotion of the public welfare. Some of the conspicuous benefactions of this general nature, already made by public spirited citizens of Chicago, have been mentioned earlier in this volume,[93] and the movement for small parks and playgrounds has already received very substantial assistance from the generosity of private individuals. To other individuals other features, such as outer parks or the improvement of tenement conditions, may make an equal or greater appeal.

Some increase in the bonding power of the city is, however, essential to the effective accomplishment of certain park and street improvements which the city itself should immediately undertake. The two great connecting links—that between the North and South Divisions at Michigan Avenue, and that between the West and South Divisions by means of Twelfth Street—might well proceed immediately; and yet to raise the entire cost of these improvements by special assessment, spread over a wide area, would be to arouse vigorous opposition both in and out of the courts. This contest should, if possible, be confined to the adjustment of damages and benefits to the property directly affected and which abuts on or is in the immediate vicinity of the improvements. Property which is clearly benefited in a special and peculiar manner should be assessed its fair share—and only its fair share—of the cost of these improvements, and the remaining cost should be borne by the city at large as a public benefit. The present machinery of the special assessment law is adequate for all these purposes. What is needed is sufficient bonding power to enable the city to issue bonds for the portion of the cost assessed as “public benefits.”

The power to condemn or otherwise acquire easements, and to acquire and thereafter sell the fee simple title to property in the immediate vicinity of public parks and boulevards, subject to such easements as may enhance and protect the public use, would be of great advantage in the practical accomplishment of many improvements, and might aid in overcoming serious financial obstacles. The available space will, however, not permit the discussion of the particular instances to which this suggestion especially applies.

It remains only to consider the official agencies which are most desirable and most available for the effective working out of the Plan. As a matter of theory, the best results could be achieved through a consolidation of the city and county governments, or by placing the entire metropolitan district, which constitutes the real city of Chicago, under a unified municipal administration, endowed with broad powers of local self-government, including the power to levy taxes and incur indebtedness. Practically, however, the enlargement of the powers of these two governing bodies—the city and the county—within the limits permitted by the present constitution, is probably the most available method of attaining desirable results. As a means of co-ordinating the two it is respectfully suggested that a permanent Commission on City and County Plan should be created by joint resolution or ordinance of the city council and the county board. This commission should contain appropriate representation for each body, and it should be charged with the duty of reporting to each its recommendations as to all matters falling within the general scope of a city and county Plan. It might well be ordained by the city council that no public buildings should be hereafter located or erected, and that no parks should be acquired and no streets or boulevards be opened, without a report from the commission or the city members thereof. The commission might be composed entirely of city and county officials, or might contain some representation of those who are not public officials but who are particularly interested in and particularly qualified for its work. The city board of local improvements and the present park boards or any future consolidated park board should be directly represented.

Whether the functions of the Commissions on Municipal Art and Small Parks should in the interest of simplification and efficiency be transferred to such a Commission on City and County Plan might be profitably considered. While such an advisory commission would be entirely extra-legal, it would be of distinct service in securing the harmonious development of a single comprehensive Plan for the city of Chicago and its environs.

FOOTNOTES:

[27] Freund on Police Power, sec. 182, note 5.

[28] Freund on Police Power, sec. 181, note 50.

[29] Freund on Police Power, sec. 181, note 50.

[30] Statutes at Large, vol. 102, p. 730; see also subsequent Acts shown in Chitty’s Statutes, vol. 8, “Metropolis” p. 253, and vol. 10, “Public Health” p. 53.

[31] House Document No. 288, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dec. 29, 1903, pp. 62 and 63, and citations there made from _L’Economiste Français_.

[32] _City of Belleville_ v. _Turnpike Co._, 234 Ill. 428, 437; _City of Chicago_ v. _Gunning System_, 214 Ill. 628, 635.

[33] 22 Amer. & Eng. Encyc. of Law, 916.

[34] In the case of _Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Co._ v. _People_, 212 Ill. 103, 116, the Supreme Court quotes with approval the following language from the American and English Encyclopædia of Law:

“The police power is to be clearly distinguished from the right of eminent domain; and the distinction lies in this: that in the exercise of the latter right, private property is taken for public use and the owner is invariably entitled to compensation therefor, while the police power is usually exerted merely to regulate the use and enjoyment of property by the owner, or, if he is deprived of his property outright, it is not taken for public use, but rather destroyed in order to promote the general welfare of the public, and in neither case is the owner entitled to any compensation for any injury which he may sustain in consequence thereof, for the law considers that either the injury is _damnum absque injuria_ or the owner is sufficiently compensated by sharing in the general benefits resulting from the exercise of the police power.”

This decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, 200 U. S. 561.

[35] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1532.

[36] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1546.

[37] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1574-5.

[38] Acts of 1893, chap. 407.

[39] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1129.

[40] See _Russell_ v. _High School Board_, 212 Ill., 327.

[41] House bill No. 350, introduced in the Illinois legislature, March 23, 1909, provides (Art. IV, Sec. 9) that “the city shall have power to acquire, by dedication, gift, purchase, or condemnation, lands or easements inside or outside of the city limits, for park purposes, and for ways connecting parks with the city or with each other.”

[42] Constitution of Illinois, Art. IV, Sec. 34.

[43] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 316.

[44] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 336.

[45] _Shoemaker_ v. _United States_, 147 U. S. 282; _Dunham_ v. _People_, 96 Ill. 331; _People_ v. _Brislin_, 80 Ill. 423.

[46] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 421.

[47] House bill No. 350, Illinois, 1909, already mentioned, which contemplates the merger of the park boards in the city government, provides (Art. IV, Sec. 19) as follows: “The provision of the statutes governing the making of local improvements in the city shall be as nearly as possible applied to the proceedings for the taking of lands and the meeting of the expenses in connection with such improvements, except that the board of park commissioners shall act in place of the board of local improvements.”

[48] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 321.

[49] _Kreigh_ v. _Chicago_, 86 Ill. 407.

[50] _Harder’s Storage Co._ v. _Chicago_, 235 Ill. 58.

[51] _Cicero Lumber Co._ v. _Cicero_, 176 Ill. 9; _Brodbine_ v. _Revere_, 182 Mass. 598.

[52] _People_ v. _Walsh_, 96 Ill. 232.

[53] _Ligare_ v. _City of Chicago_, 139 Ill. 46; _Smith_ v. _McDowell_, 148 Ill. 51.

[54] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 408.

[55] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1518.

[56] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1521.

[57] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1890, p. 1560.

[58] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1569.

[59] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1544.

[60] House Bill No. 350, Illinois, 1909, already mentioned, contains the following provision: “Art. IV, Sec. 14. The city shall have authority to acquire and hold lands for the erection and maintenance thereon of public buildings of the city and for public grounds surrounding such buildings or connected therewith, and shall have the right to permit buildings of the County of Cook, the State of Illinois, the United States of America or other governmental or public bodies to be erected and maintained on such lands and grounds upon such terms and conditions as the city council may prescribe. Subject to such use, the board of park commissioners shall, when directed by the city council, have the same power to manage and control, improve, maintain, and beautify such lands and grounds, as is in this Act conferred upon said board with respect to parks; and for any of the purposes hereinbefore in this section specified, the city may acquire or dispose of the title to or rights in lands or rights or easements in or over lands abutting on or in the vicinity of such lands or public grounds in like manner and to like extent as in this Act provided with respect to parks.”

[61] Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1129.

[62] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1570.

[63] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1572.

[64] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1577.

[65] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1578.

[66] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1562.

[67] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1563.

[68] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1564.

[69] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1565.

[70] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1570.

[71] Hurd’s Statutes, edition of 1908, p. 1540.

[72] House Bill No. 352, introduced in the Illinois legislature on March 23, 1909, proposes to confer on the city complete legal power to create harbors and provides as follows: “Sec. 14. For the purpose of acquiring or constructing wharves, docks, levees, or in connection with such wharves, docks, or levees, elevators, warehouses, vaults or necessary or appropriate tracks or terminal facilities, the city may reclaim the submerged lands under any public waters within the jurisdiction of or bordering upon the City of Chicago, and shall thereupon be vested with the absolute title, in fee simple, to the lands so reclaimed; and for any of the purposes aforesaid the city may acquire, by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, the title of the private or public owners, if any there be, to lands lying beneath such public waters and to any lands penetrating into or abutting on such public waters, and also the riparian or other rights, if any there be, of the owners of the shore lands abutting on such public waters in or over such public waters or the submerged lands under such waters. The city and the owner or owners of any such abutting lands or riparian or other rights are hereby authorized to agree upon a division of the said submerged lands between the said city and the said owners, and upon a boundary line dividing the submerged lands acquired or to be acquired by said city, and the submerged lands to be taken, owned and used by said owners in lieu of and as compensation for the release or transfer of such riparian or other rights to said city; subject, however, to the requirement that in all cases in which said city shall have agreed upon any such division, the said city shall file a petition or petitions in chancery and obtain a decree of court thereon, in like manner as is provided with respect to boards of park commissioners in and by a statute of the State of Illinois entitled, ‘An Act authorizing park commissioners to acquire and improve submerged and shore lands for park purposes, providing for the payment therefor, and granting unto such commissioners certain rights and powers and to riparian owners certain rights and titles,’ approved May 2, 1907.”

[73] _Lobdell_ v. _Chicago_, 227 Ill. 218

[74] See Report of National Civic Federation Commission on Public Ownership and Operation, Part 1, Vol. 1, p. 25.

[75] Digest of City Charters, prepared for Chicago Charter Convention, pp. 25, 26.

[76] Vol. xx, p. 43.

[77] _McPherson_ v. _Village of Chebanse_, 114 Ill. 46.

[78] _Welch_ v. _Swasey_, 193 Mass. 364.

[79] _Attorney General_ v. _Williams_, 174 Mass. 476.

[80] _City of St. Louis_ v. _Hill_, 116 Mo. 527; _Chicago_ v. _Gunning System_, 214, Ill. 628.

[81] _City of St. Louis_ v. _Dorr_, 145 Mo. 466.

[82] _Dunham_ v. _Hyde Park_, 75 Ill. 371.

[83] _Matter of Albany Street_, 11 Wend. 148.

[84] _Embury_ v. _Conner_, 3 N. Y. 511; _Dorgan_ v. _Boston_, 12 Allen, 223.

[85] _Brooklyn Park Comm’rs._ v. _Armstrong_, 45 N. Y. 234, 243.

[86] _Heyward_ v. _New York_, 7 N. Y. 314; _Rexford_ v. _Knight_, 11 N. Y. 308; _Malone_ v. _Toledo_, 34 Ohio, 541.

[87] _Meyer_ v. _Teutopolis_, 131 Ill. 552; _People_ v. _Wieboldt_, 233 Ill. 572; _Wisconsin River Improvement Co._ v. _Pier_, 118 N. W. Rep. 857.

[88] House Bill No. 350, Illinois, 1909, already mentioned, contains the following provisions, the legality of which is based upon the conclusions above stated.

Art. IV, Sec. 10. “The city council, on recommendation of the board of park commissioners, shall have power to extend the park system of the City of Chicago, both within and outside of the city limits, by adding to or otherwise enlarging any parks, and by opening and establishing new parks, and by extinguishing or acquiring such title to, or such easements and rights in or over, any lands abutting on or in the vicinity of any existing or projected park as may be necessary or appropriate to control the surroundings of such park so as to increase the advantage thereof to the public, or secure to the public the full benefit, use and enjoyment thereof. For any such purpose the city may extinguish easements or rights in land, and may acquire lands and easements and rights in or over land, by gift, devise, dedication, purchase or condemnation, and may in its discretion, take under the power of eminent domain or otherwise the title in fee simple absolute to any land which the city is authorized to acquire, or in or over which it is authorized to acquire easements and rights as aforesaid, and such title shall not terminate or be defeated by cessation or abandonment of the use for which it was acquired. The declaration of the city council that any such lands or easements or rights in or over land are necessary or appropriate for any such purpose shall constitute sufficient prima facie evidence of such necessity or appropriateness. The city council may vacate streets and alleys within the limits of or adjacent to any lands acquired for the purpose of this section.”

Art. IV., Sec. 13. “The provisions in this Act contained authorizing the city to acquire the absolute title in fee simple to lands in or over which the city is authorized to acquire easements or rights, shall be subject to the provision that any lands so taken for such purpose shall, unless appropriated to some public use within ten (10) years after acquisition of the title thereto, be sold and disposed of by the city in the manner now or hereafter provided by statute for the sale and conveyance of property no longer required for the use of the city, subject, however, to such easements or rights in said lands, and to such conditions, covenants and restrictions respecting the use or improvement thereof as the city, upon recommendation of the board of park commissioners, shall, in the deed of conveyance, impose or reserve, and subject further to the power (which is hereby granted) of the city council, with the consent of the board of park commissioners, to release, waive or (by or with the consent of the grantee or owner of the conveyed premises) alter any such easements rights, conditions, covenants or restrictions.”

[89] House Bill No. 293, introduced at Springfield, March 11, 1909, seeks to make the assessed value one-third, instead of one-fifth, of the full value.

[90] _Schnell_ v. _Rock Island_, 232 Ill. 89, 98.

[91] For the Juul law as amended see Hurd’s Statutes of Illinois, edition of 1908, p. 1814.

[92] House Bill No. 293, Illinois, 1909, already mentioned, would, if enacted into a law, give the city power to issue bonds for its share of the cost of the north and west connecting boulevards, or for a beginning on the Civic Center. The other necessities of the city would, however, exhaust most of the increased bonding power provided by this bill.

[93] See Chapter VIII.

INDEX

Advertising, regulation of, 127, 131, 132, 140.

Algonquin, 40.

Alvord, John W., his paper on good roads, 39 (note); his report on Chicago pavements, 83.

American cities, centers of industry and traffic, 4.

Annapolis, Md., laid out on lines similar to those proposed by Wren for London, 29.

Ancient civilization, decay of, 13.

Antwerp, 100; the influence of the Rubens collection on, 116; treatment of the river banks in, 116.

Apartment houses, 33, 34.

Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, Paris, begun by Napoleon I, finished by Louis Phillippe, 17.

Arc du Carrousel, Paris, 17.

Architects, present plans for World’s Columbian Exposition, 6, (note); should work together in street building, 86.

_Architectural Record_, quoted, 18.

Armour Institute of Technology, 120.

Arnold, Bion J., estimates increase in the population of Chicago, 33.

Art, a source of wealth and moral influence, 116.

Art Institute, the Lake Front improvements presented at, 6; students at, 109; new building for, 114; cost of, 120, 121.

Art Schools, 34.

Ashland Avenue, 117.

_Atlantic Monthly Magazine_, quoted, 19.

Athens, works of Pericles in, 11; characteristics of architecture in, 11; the Acropolis, 117.

Athletic Field, proposed location on the lake front, 116.

Aurora, 40.

Austria, finds new strength in union with Hungary, 19.

Automobiles, damage to roads by, 39; promote suburban life, 42, 46.

Avenue, the, character of, 82; division of traffic on, 84; use of the ellipse in, 90.

Babylon, the greatest commercial city of ancient times, 10; description of, 10.

Baltic, the, yachtmen of, 52.

Baltimore, improvements in, 28.

Baguio, summer capital of the Philippines, plan for, 29.

Batavia, 40.

Baths, in Rome, accommodations of, 13.

Baumeister, German city-builder, 21, (note).

Baxter, Sylvester, secretary of Metropolitan Improvement Commission, Boston, 20.

Beauty, Greek passion for, 11; commercial advantages of, 110.

Berlin, rapid growth of, 1; physical conditions in, 14; parks of, 49, 80; building restrictions in, 107.

Bill-boards, 41, 131, 140.

Blue Island, 40, 41.

Board of Local Improvements, powers of, 133.

Boating facilities, need of increased, 115.

Bois de Boulogne, 48.

Bois de Vincennes, 48.

Bond issues for improvements, 151.

Boston, defenses of, 9; cost of park system, 27; metropolitan sewage and park commissions, 38; extension of streets, 38; extent of park system, 49; apartment houses in, 88; improvements in Back Bay district, 108, 110.

Boulevard, character of, 82.

Boulevards of Chicago, 84, 93, 120.

British Museum, 110.

Brown, Glenn, Secretary American Institute of Architects, 21, (note).

Brussels, boulevards in, 20, 90.

Budapest, commercial progress of, 19; treatment of the Danube in, 116.

Buildings, regulation of the height of, 141.

Building lines, 127.

Burnham, Daniel H., 6 (note); plan for San Francisco, 28.

Burns, John, town-planning scheme of, 22, 128.

Bushy Park, London, 48.

Chicago, rapid growth of population, 1; realizes that a city plan is necessary, 1; the plan presented the result of experience, 2; justification of the plan, 4; legal aspects of plan, 127-156; Chicago a center of industry and traffic, 4; future greatness, 4; public spirit, 4; understands the necessity of experts, 4; results of the World’s Fair, 6; plans for improvement of the Lake front, 6; Merchants Club begins plan, 7; prosperity the result of comprehensive plan, 8; the Spirit of Chicago, 8; a typical example of a palisaded town, 9; surroundings similar to those of Paris, London and Berlin, 14; opportunity for systematic improvement, 15; population greater than that of Paris when Haussmann’s work began, 18; nature of the Chicago problem, 30; the metropolis of the Middle West, 31; extent of city’s influence, 32, 34; probable growth, 32, 33; size of the city not the first consideration, 32; lack of foresight after the fire of 1871, 32; B. J. Arnold’s estimates of growth of population, 33; James J. Hill’s prophecy as to growth, 33; circulation of Chicago newspapers, 33; bank reserves, 33; commercial influence, 34; political headquarters, 34; responsibilities of the city, 34; Commission to lay out territory adjoining the city, 34; provision should be made for public buildings and playgrounds, 35; churches, 36; suburbs, 36; need of highways into surrounding country, 38; building of good roads, 39; highways surrounding the city, 40, 41; streets of Chicago, 43; beginnings of park system, 43; park area second to that of Philadelphia, 44; park extension begins, 44; small parks, 44, 54; proposed arrangement of new parks, 44; park area relative to population, 44; park circuits, 45; recommendations of Special Park Commission, 46; development of suburban railway service, 46; need for outlying parks, 47; compared with London, 48; opportunities for large parks, 50; development of Lake front, 50; yachting, 52; Chicago made largely by the railroads, 61; problem of freight traffic, 61; necessity for revising transportation facilities, 62; only goods to be consumed in city should enter therein, 63; a traffic clearing-house proposed, 64; railway and water traffic compared, 64; relief from congestion of traffic, 65; harbors, 65; tunnel system, 65; a loop system, 66; excursion piers, 68; circuits for freight and passenger traffic, 68; passenger stations, 70, 71; locations of passenger stations, 72, 112; street-car loop system, 73; extension of business area, 74; suburban passenger traffic, 74; mail service, 76; ideal nature of proposed transportation system, 78; natural features of Chicago, 79; how effective results may be obtained, 80; needs of the growing city, 80; adequate circulation and sufficient park area essential, 80; cost of postponing improvements in circulation system, 81; report on street paving, 83; existing diagonals, 84; location of the city, 89; advantages of rectilinear street system, 89; circular avenues, 90; necessity for platting outlying district, 91; preserving width of existing avenues, 92; circuit arteries suggested, 92; avenues paralleling railways, 94; diversion of traffic from the business center, 95; proposed circuits, 95-96; encroachments on the river, 97; treatment of river banks, 97, 112; widening of streets, 97; requisites for area outside the business center, 98; the heart of Chicago, 99; spread of population, 99; disposition of traffic within the business center, 99; Michigan Avenue the base line of the city, 100; width of streets, 100; bridge at Michigan Avenue, 105; expenditures for permanent improvements, 107; the improvement of Halsted Street, 107; slums of the city, 108; Berlin an example for housing conditions, 109; opportunity for comprehensive treatment of the central portion of the city, 110; development of Grant Park, 110; economy and effectiveness of group-plan for Grant Park, 111; a yacht harbor, 111; gifts by citizens should be encouraged, 112; Congress Street as the grand axis, 113; reasons for choice of Congress Street for grand axis, 113, 114; the civic center, 115; buildings composing civic center, 115, 116; dome of civic center, 116, 118; Federal group of buildings, 117; increase in real estate values, 119; raising street levels, 120; creation of the park system, 120; purification of Lake Michigan, 120; cost of World’s Fair, 120; cultivation of the fine arts, 120; influence of the universities, 120; taxing powers, 153.

City-planning, begins in Paris, 13; in Europe, 19; French and German theories, 20.

Civic Center of Chicago, buildings comprising, 115; location of, 115; architecture of, 117; dome of, 118; cost of, 123; power of park commissioners to acquire land for, 134.

Civil Law, unifying force of, 31.

Cleanliness, a necessity for the city, 82.

Cleveland, Ohio, group-plan for, 27; cost of improvements in, 27.

Club houses for the people, 44.

Colbert, one of the Paris planners, 15, 20.

Commerce, governing motive in location of cities, 9; beginning of in Europe, 13; expansion of, 19; makes art creations possible, 22.

Commercial Club, undertakes plan of Chicago, 1; designs for Lake Front improvement presented to, 6; consolidates with Merchants’ Club, 7; carries on work for plan of Chicago, 7; meetings of, 7; discussion of good roads, 39 (note).

Condemnation, limitations on the right of, 128; congested areas, power to open, 151.

Congress of the Confederation, 31.

Congress Street, should be developed as central axis of city, 113; width of, 114; its relation to Grant Park, 115.

Cook County, creates outer belt Commission, 44; County building part of the civic center group, 116; attempt to organize a forest-preserve district, 132; limited powers of, 134; taxation in, 152.

Courtland, 40.

Courts, building for, 116.

Crerar, John, endows Crerar Library, 109.

Crerar Library, 108, 114, 120.

Crown Point, 40.

Calumet Feeder, 55.

Calumet River, importance of harbor, 57.

Canal Street, location of railway stations on, 107; widening of, 113.

Cathedral, the, embodied the highest expression of civic art, 13.

Cedar Lake, 40.

Cemeteries, Roman, 12; characteristics of modern, 36.

_Century Magazine_, quoted, 21, (note).

Charles River, Mass., improvement of, 49.

Charleston, 9.

Chicago Avenue, traffic on, 116, 117.

Chicago Heights, 40.

Chicago Ridge, 41.

Chicago River, forests along, 56; improvement of, 97; treatment of the banks, 116.

Chicago University, 51, 120, 121.

China, opening of, 33.

Christianity, unifying force of, 31.

Churches, usually not architecturally important, 36.

City, the, formless growth of neither economical nor satisfactory, 1; overcrowding and congestion of traffic paralyzes vital functions of, 1; complicated problems of not beyond control of public sentiment, 1; efforts to bring about best conditions of life in, 1; parks the lungs of, 12; strain of life in, 32; opportunities for the ambitious, 33; needs adequate circulation and sufficient park area, 80; needs created by increase in population, 81; reasons for growth of population, 81; general character of, 82, 87.

Danube, the, 110, 116.

Darmstadt, 20.

Defense, governing motive in location of cities, 9.

De Kalb, 40, 47.

Department of State, facilitates work on plan of Chicago, 7.

Des Plaines River, scenery along, 40; beauty of, 55, 90, 91.

_Der Stadteban_, magazine, 21, (note).

Dewey, Stoddard, on foreign money spent in Paris, 19.

Diagonals necessity for, 84; function of, 91; those proposed for Chicago, 92.

Diodorus, his description of Babylon, 10.

District of Columbia, L’Enfant plan extended over the entire District, 25; plan of, 91. (See also Washington, D. C.)

Douglas Park, 44.

Drainage Canal, 55; cost of, 120.

Dresden, 20, 110, 116.

Driveways, extent of proposed, 58.

Dundee, 40.

Du Page County, 55.

Du Page River, 40.

Eagle Lake, 40.

Education, unifying force of in the Northwest, 32.

Edwards, Percy J., his history of London street improvements, 21, (note).

Egypt, defended by deserts, 10; pyramids and temples of, 10.

Electric railways bind outlying towns to central city, 42; promote neighborliness, 42.

Elgin, 40.

Eliot, President, Charles W., quoted, 123.

Ellis Park, 43.

Elmhurst, 40.

Eminent domain, exercise of power of, 129, 140, 141, 142; right to take more than necessary lands, 144, 151.

England, beginning of national life in, 13; growth of commerce, 19; housing schemes, 21, 128; town planning, 21, 22, 34; holds Northwestern posts after the Revolution, 31; roads, 39; regulation of advertising, 127.

Epping Forest, 48.

Evanston, 40, 50.

Evergreen Park, 56.

Euphrates River, tunnel under, 10.

Europe, national life begins in, 13; changes in cities, 19, 22.

Federal Building in Chicago, 117.

Ferguson Monument Fund, 121.

Field, Marshall, gives Field Museum of Natural History to Chicago, 108.

Field Museum, the importance of, 108, 114; new building for, 114; location of, 121.

Fischer, Prof. Theodore, German city-builder, 21, (note).

Flag Creek, 55.

Florence, beauty and power of, 13, 20.

Folleston, 40.

Fontainebleau, Forest of, 48.

Foreign peoples in Chicago, 1.

Forest parks, 53, 131, 136.

Fort Dearborn, 115.

Fortifications, in relation to cities, 9; changed into boulevards, 90.

Fountains, location of, 86.

Fox River, 40.

France, beginning of national life in, 13; leads the world in art and taste, 19; improvement of cities, 19; roads, 39.

Franco-Prussian war, improvements in European cities since, 19.

Frankfort-on-the-Main, 20.

Franklin, Benjamin, his connection with the Northwest, 31.

Ganges River, 10.

Garfield Park, 44.

Gary, 40, 58.

Geneva, 40.

Genoa, 40.

German city improvements, nature of, 20; modification of French system, 20; aim of to produce variety and interest, 20; in Frankfort-on-the-Main, 20; advertising regulations, 127.

Germany, beginning of National Life in, 13.

Germany, effect of peace on, 19; magnitude of the city-planning movement in, 21 (note); municipal expositions, 21, (note).

Gibbs Woods, 54.

Gifts by public-spirited citizens, advantage of to a city, 110, 116.

Glencoe, entrance to park system at, 54, 55.

Glenview Golf Club, 55.

Good Roads, economic effects of, 42. (See also highways.)

Governor of Illinois inspects work on plan of Chicago, 7.

Government, enlarged participation of people in, 1.

Grade crossings of railroads, 71.

Grant Park, improvement of, 6, 44, 52; proposed treatment of, 108; grouping of buildings in, 109, 114, 115; intellectual center of Chicago, 116.

Grant, Gen. U. S., embodiment of the spirit of the Middle West, 32.

Great Lakes, 32.

Griffith, 40.

Gurlitt, Cornelius, as to German city-planning, 20, 21.

Hainault Forest, London, 48.

Hall of Records, 116.

Halsted Street, longest business street in the world, 106; treatment of, 106; known as the king of streets, 106, 117.

Hamburg, 20.

Hammond, 40.

Hampton Court, England, 48.

Harbors, in Chicago, 65, 68.

Harlem, 55.

Hartford, improvement of, 29.

Harvard Medical School, location of, 115.

Harvey, 40.

Haussmann, George Eugene, becomes prefect of the Seine, 17; his place as a city builder, 18; builds on the foundations laid by Louis XIV., 18; character of his work, 18; cost of his improvements, 19; imitation of, 19.

Heart of Chicago, the, 99, 110 (see also Business Center).

Henley, regattas at, 48.

Highways, necessity for adequate, 38; commercial advantages of, 38; along railways, 41, 94; drainage of, 41; proposed system of, 121; cost of creating, 121 (see also Roads).

Hill, James J., predicts future population of Chicago, 33; on improvement of railway terminals, 62.

Hinsdale, 40.

Hobart, 40.

Holidays, necessity of caring for crowds on, 88.

Housing conditions in England, 21; in Chicago, 113, 141.

Hudson Palisades, improvement of, 38.

Humboldt Park, 44.

Hungary, 19.

Hunt, Richard M., presents plan for Administration building at World’s Fair, 6 (note).

Illinois, good roads in, 39; park legislation, 44, 127; tendency toward city life in, 47; constitutional limitations on improvements, 128.

Illinois Central Railway, 52.

India, 10.

Indian country of North America, settlement of, 9.

Indiana, coöperation of, 130.

Indians in the Northwest, 31.

Irrigation of western lands, 33.

Italy, 13, 19.

Jackson Park, site of World’s Columbian Exposition, 6, 44, 53.

Japan, opening of, 33.

Jay, John, pertinacity of on behalf of the Northwest, 31.

Jefferson Park, 43.

Jefferson, Thomas, aids L’Enfant in planning Washington, 23, 25.

Joliet, 40.

Johnson, A. N., Illinois State Highway Commissioner, as to good roads, 39 (note).

Juniper, suitable for lake shore planting, 38.

Kankakee, 40.

Kankakee River, 40.

Kansas City, improvement of, 29.

Kenilworth, 130.

Kenosha, 39, 40, 47.

Kew Gardens, 48.

La Crosse, 40.

Lagoons, along Lake Front, 52.

Lake Calumet, 55; park reservations near, 57.

Lake Forest University, 120.

Lake Front, improvement of suggested by World’s Columbian Exposition, 6; testimony as to advantages of to Chicago, 6; progress of plan for, 6; favored by press, 7; of right belongs to the people, 50; to be made from city waste, 50, 122; improvement of, 122; legislation for improvements, 137, 138.

Lake Michigan, driveway along shore of, 38; beauty of, 50; boating on, 51; treatment of shores, 53.

Lake Zurich, 40, 60.

Lanciani, L., his description of ancient Rome, 13.

La Porte, 40.

La Salle Street, improvement of, 107, 113.

L’Enfant, Peter Charles, makes plan of Washington, 23, 49, 91.

Le Nôtre, plans of for Paris, 15.

Libertyville, 40.

Lincoln Park, 43, 44, 135, 136.

Lincoln, Abraham, embodiment of the spirit of the Middle West, 34; Saint-Gaudens’ statue of, 112.

Little Calumet River, 55.

London, physical conditions in, 14; street changes, 20; cost of delaying improvements in, 21; opportunities offered by the Great Fire of 1666, 21; Sir Christopher Wren’s plan of, 21; cost of recent improvements in, 21; cost of proposed new thoroughfares, 21; suburbs, 34; police jurisdiction, 37; rehousing of working people, 37, 107, 128; recreation grounds, 48; monuments, 80; housing conditions, 113; treatment of Thames, 116; influence of National Gallery and British Museum, 116.

London Traffic Commission, plan for diminishing congestion, 21.

Louisburg, Cape Breton, a fortified city, 9.

Louis XIV., of France, plan of Paris, 14; his plan a model in Europe, 19, 22, 87, 91.

Louis Phillippe, finished Arc de Triomphe, 17.

Los Angeles, Cal., expenditure for roads, 39 (note).

Lutetia, original name of Paris, 14.

Mackinac, defenses of, 9.

Mail service of Chicago, 76.

Manhattan, 40.

Manila, improvement of, 29.

Manufacturers, buildings for, 86.

Marengo, 40.

Massachusetts, good roads in, 39 (note); metropolitan park commission, 131.

Maysville, 40.

McHenry, 40.

Media, 10.

Merchants’ Club, Lake Front Improvements presented to, 7; arranges for complete plan of Chicago, 7; consolidates with Commercial Club, 7.

Metropolitan Art Museum, New York, 115.

Michigan Avenue, the base line of Chicago, 100; traffic on, 100; proposed improvement of, 100; grades of, 102; elevation of, 103; necessity for open spaces, 115, 117; the city has power to improve, 136.

Michigan City, 40, 47.

Middle Ages, conditions prevailing among European cities, 19, 31.

Middle West, limits of, 31; Chicago the metropolis of, 31; its distinct history, 31; extent of, 32; navigable waters of, 32; phenomenal growth of, 32; meaning of term, 33.

Milan, 20, 90.

Miller, John S., on maintenance and repair of Chicago streets, 83.

Millington, 40.

Milwaukee, 38.

Minneapolis, improvement of, 28.

Mississippi Valley, development of, 33.

Mobile, 9.

Momence, 40.

Monee, 40.

Morgan, J. Pierpont, president of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, gift of, 38 (note).

Morris, 40.

Mt. Forest, 55.

Music in Chicago, 34, 120.

Nantasket Beach, Boston, bathing at, 38.

Naperville, good roads in, 39.

Napoleon Bonaparte, his belief in and work for Paris, 15, 17; suggests improvements for London, 21.

Napoleon III., transformation of Paris under, 17.

Natural forces applied to industry, effects of, 19.

Natural scenery, desirability of for city workers, 53.

Newberry Library, 120.

New Orleans, 9.

New York, rapid growth of, 1; defenses of, 9; civic improvement in, 27; railway congestion at, 62; Riverside Drive, 116; Metropolitan Museum of Art, 109, 116; sudden expansion of, and waste of money in, 153.

Newspapers of Chicago, 34.

Nile, the, 10.

Niles, 40.

Noises, 74.

North Western University, 51, 120.

Norton, Prof. Charles Eliot, his characterization of Venice, 13.

Nuisances, 141.

O’Day, Edward, editor of plan for San Francisco, 28 (note).

Ohio River, 32.

O’Meara, Dr. Barry E., his talks with Napoleon, 21.

Ordinance of 1787, 31.

Orient, rapid growth of cities in the, 1.

Outer belt of parks, scheme for, 7; Commission for, 41, 52, 121; cost of, 123; legislation for, 130, 133.

Pacific Coast, commercial development of, 33.

Palisades of the Hudson, commission for, 38.

Palisades of the Potomac, 49.

Palos, 56.

Panama Canal, influence of on growth of Chicago, 33.

Parks, economic effects of 51; character of, 54.

Paris, first modern city, 14; has reached the highest state of civic development, 14; origin of, 14; growth the result of commerce, 14; plans of Louis XIV., 14; new portions of laid out in vacant places, 14, 23; congestion of population, 15; grows according to a well-considered plan, 15; improvements of Napoleon I., 15; a center of commerce, 17; first sidewalks in, 17; the quays, 17; commemorative monuments, 17; plans of Napoleon III., 17; transformations wrought by Haussmann, 17; grouping of railway stations, 18; compared with Chicago, 18; cost of Haussmann’s improvements, 19; civic pride, 19; amount of foreign money spent in, 19; Wren anticipates features of Paris plan, 21, 54; parks, 48, 54, 87, 90, 91, 94, 108; treatment of Seine, 116; influence of the Louvre, 116; commercial advantages of improvements, 124; condemnation of land in, 128.

Paving, report of Commercial Club Committee on street paving in Chicago, 83.

Peace, results of in Europe since 1872, 19.

Pennsylvania Railroad, improvement of station buildings, 77.

People, increased participation of in government, 1; determination to secure better conditions of life, 2.

Pericles, character of his work, 11.

Perkins, Dwight Heald, compiles report of the Special Park Commission, 44.

Persia, 10.

Peterson Woods, 54.

Philadelphia, improvements in, 28; park system, 44.

Philippine Islands, plans for summer capital in, 29.

Pittsburg, railway congestion at, 62.

Place de la Concorde, Paris, 15.

Place de l’Etoile, Paris, 15.

Place Vendôme, Paris, 15, 87.

Plainfield, 40.

Plan of the City, necessity for, 1; impossibility of perfection in, 2; real test of is in its application, 2; not an expense but a measure of economy, 4; insures orderly growth, 4.

Planting, for Lake Shore drive, 38; winter effects should be studied, 78.

Play grounds, need of, 35, 45; on Lake Front, 51.

Pleasant Prairie, 40.

Plutarch, his description of the works of Pericles, 11.

Poles, disfigurement of streets by, 84.

Police Headquarters, part of the civic center group, 116.

Police power, extent of, 128, 140.

Population, density of in Chicago, 48, 115.

Post-office, 68, 76; new building for, 117.

Potomac Park, Washington, 49.

Potomac, treatment of banks of, 110.

President’s House, (White House) the, 23.

Providence, R. I., improvement of, 28.

Public Health Department, 116.

Public Libraries, 35.

Public Library, possible location for in Grant Park, 114.

Public Schools, 35.

Public service plans for heating, lighting and power, 76.

Public Works, department of, 115.

Pullman, 58.

Pyramids of Gizeh, 10.

Quebec, a fortified city, 9.

Railway stations, treatment of, 36, 42; in Europe, 70; embellishment of, 77; grouping of on Canal and Twelfth Streets, 110, 116.

Railways, dependence of Chicago on, 61; congestion of traffic, 62; necessity for improved terminals, 62; necessity of combination among to secure Chicago terminals, 62, 121; electrification of, 106; cost of scheme for terminals, 122 (see also Transportation).

Real Estate Board of Chicago, report of on Michigan Avenue, 101.

Recreation piers, 68, 115.

Residence streets, 83, 91.

Revere Beach, bathing at, 38, 49.

Richmond Park, near London, 48.

Ringstrasse, the, Vienna, 20.

River Forest, 55.

Riverside, 40, 55.

Riverside Drive, New York, 110.

Rivers, transformation of banks of, 116.

Riviera, the, 51.

Roads, John Alvord’s paper on, 39 (note); in Buena Park, 39; from Versailles to Chartier, 39; English and French roads, 39; value of good roads to the community, 39; in Los Angeles, 39; in Illinois, 39; an adjunct of Chicago life, 40.

Roanoke, Va., improvement of, 29.

Robey, 41.

Rogers Park, 130.

Roman Law, unifying force of, 13.

Rome, growth of, 1; possessed elements that characterize the modern city, 11; parks and gardens of, 12; rejuvenation of, 13; baths, 13; the Forum, 13, 117, 20; suburbs, 34; aqueducts, 72; railway stations, 87.

Royal British Institute of Architects, 21 (note).

Rouen, 90.

Rue de la Paix, Paris, 15.

Rue de Rivoli, Paris, opened by Napoleon, 15.

Sag Valley, 56.

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, opinion of architect’s meeting for the World’s Fair, 6 (note); statue of Lincoln, 112.

Salt Creek, 55.

Sandwich, 40.

San Francisco, comprehensive plan for, 28.

Scheldt, the, 110.

Schools, location of on highways, 39, 98.

Seattle, improvement of, 29.

Seine, the, 51, 110.

Senate Park Commission, the, (Daniel H. Burnham, Charles Follin McKim, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr.) makes plan for park system of the District of Columbia, 25; opposition to plan of, 25; members of the commission also planners of World’s Columbian Exposition, 25.

Semiramis, queen of Babylon, the first city builder, 10.

Shaw, Albert, as to cost of delays in London planning, 21.

Shade, advantages of in city, 84.

Shelby, 40.

Sherman Farm, 56.

Sheridan Road, 39 (note), 57.

Sidewalks, first in Paris built by Napoleon I., 17.

Sienna, beauty and power of, 13.

Sistine Madonna, 112.

Slavery excluded from the North West territory, 31.

Slums of Chicago, 106, 129.

Smith, Edward R., on the transformation of Paris, 18.

Smoke, 71, 77, 112.

Sorbonne, the, Paris, 114.

South Chicago, 51, 52, 53.

South Park Commissioners suggest improvement of Lake Front, 6; meeting of on Lake Front improvements, 6; arrangement for Grant park, 114, 134.

South Parks, expansion of, 7, 44.

Special Park Commission, plan of Metropolitan Park system, 7, 44; report of, 46.

Spirit of Chicago, the, 8.

Sport Park at Stockholm, 52.

Spring Forest, 55.

Square of the Innocents, Paris, transformation of, 93.

St. Charles, 40.

St. Louis, plan for improvement of, 28.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, 21.

St. Paul, Minn., improvement of, 28.

St. Peter’s Cathedral, Rome, 116.

Statues, location of, 86.

Stëubben, German city-builder, 21 (note).

Stockholm, yachting at, 52.

Stony Creek, 55.

Street plan of Chicago, cost of, 123.

Streets, the desirable width of, 83; regulation of traffic on, 88.

Submerged lands granted for park purposes, 44.

Suburban highways, commission for, 39.

Suburbs, apt to be ugly and squalid, 35; when attractive, 34; connections among, 38; residents of concerned with city communication, 41; railway stations in, 77.

Summit, 55.

Sweden, yachting of, 52.

Swimming, exhibition of at Stockholm, 52.

Sycamore, 40.

Taxation, limitations on power of, 129, 151.

Terminal railway passenger stations in Chicago, 68.

Territory Northwest of the Ohio River, conquered by Virginia troops, 31; retained as first territorial acquisition, 31; diplomacy, 31; endowed with freedom and popular education, 31.

Thames, the, London, the embankment a part of Wren’s plan, 21 (note); use of the river on Sunday, 48, 51; treatment of the banks, 110.

Thatchers Park, 55.

Thoroughfares, improvement of, 37.

Tigris River, 10.

Town-planning in England, 21, 34, 128.

Townships, powers of in suburban development, 130.

Trajan’s Forum in Rome, cost of, 13.

Transportation system for Chicago, suggested, 61-76; legislation necessary for, 139.

Treaty of 1783, secures the Northwest, 31.

Trees along streets, 84.

Tuileries, gardens of the, 15.

Twelfth Street, widening of, 110, 116, 117.

Union Park, 43.

United States, consuls furnish reports on civic improvements, 7; offices in Chicago, 117; constitutional limitations on city planning, 127.

Valparaiso, 40.

Venice, a commercial city, 13; canals of, 15; St. Mark’s Square, 117.

Vernon Park, 43.

Versailles, 39; fountains, 49.

Vicksburg, 9.

Vienna as a center of activity, 19; follows example of Paris in planning, 20; parks, 49, 80, 90; boulevards, 94; treatment of the Danube, 116.

Virginia troops conquer the Northwest, 31.

Walled towns, 9.

Washington, D. C., planned as National Capital, 22; L’Enfant’s plan, 23; city regarded as a unit, 23; comprehensive character of the original plan, 23; plan ridiculed, 23; effect of Civil War on the city, 23; extension of L’Enfant’s plan, 23; plan of the Senate Park Commission, 23; Union Station, 71, 87; apartment houses, 88; ownership of front yards, 92; Potomac Quay, 116; influence of Library of Congress, 112.

Washington, George, directs L’Enfant in planning the Federal City, 23-25.

Washington Park, 44.

Washington Square, 43.

Waterhouse, Paul, observations on London improvements, 21 (note).

Waukegan, 38, 40.

Wealth, rapid increase of in modern times, 1, 19.

Wellsboro, 40.

West Park Commissioners, project for improvement of Lake Front presented to, 6, 134.

Wheaton, connected with Chicago by good road, 39.

White House, the, 29.

Williamsburg, Va., suggests features of plan of Washington, 29.

Wilmette, 38, 53, 130.

Wilmington, 40.

Wilmot, 40.

Windsor Great Park, 48.

Winnetka, 40, 122, 130.

Winter Sports, 52.

Wisconsin, coöperation of, 130.

Women’s Club, Lake Front Improvement presented to, 6.

Woodstock, 40.

World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, origin of plan of Chicago traced to, 4; the beginning of orderly arrangements of public buildings and grounds, 4; results of, 6; suggests improvements of Lake Front, 6; spirit in which conceived, 6; architects present plans for, 6 (note); reasons for success of, 6; effect of on Washington plans, 25; impressiveness of Peristyle, 109; cost of, 120; indicated appreciation of good order and municipal beauty, 120.

Working classes, English schemes for housing, 21.

Wren, Sir Christopher, his plan of London anticipates certain features of Paris designs, 21; plan of Annapolis, similar to his plan of London, 29.

Yacht harbor, on lake front, 52, 109, 115.

Yachting on Lake Michigan, 52.

Zoological Park, Washington, 49.

ENGRAVED AND PRINTED FOR THE COMMERCIAL CLUB OF CHICAGO, IN THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINE, BY R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY, AT THE LAKESIDE PRESS, CHICAGO

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Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added, when a predominant preference was found in the original book.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

Page xi Replaced “Bastile” with “Bastille” 21 Replaced “beeen” with “been” 29 Replaced “Bagnio” with “Baguio” 31 Replaced “Ordinanace” with “Ordinance” 32 Replaced “Chicaco” with “Chicago” 48 Replaced “Fountainebleau” with “Fontainebleau” 51 Replaced “playgounds” with “playgrounds” 52 Replaced “Stockhom” with “Stockholm” 59 Replaced “aquisition” with “acquisition” 62 Replaced “Pittsburg” with “Pittsburgh” 63 Replaced “satifies” with “satisfies” 96 Replaced “streets” with “street” 111 Replaced “found” with “bound” 159 Replaced “Reubens” with “Rubens” Index: Replaced “neccessity” with “necessity” in “Chicago understands the necessity” Replaced “pubic” with “public” in “City complicated problems of not...” Replaced “Halstead” with “Halsted” in “Halsted Street, longest business street...” Replaced “Manilla” with “Manila” in “Manila, improvement of” Replaced “Napierville” with “Naperville” in “Naperville, good roads in” Replaced “Pallisades” with “Palisades” in “Palisades of the Potomac” Replaced “appartment” with “apartment” in “Washington, D. C., apartment houses”