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THANKS to J mtceptlonally 1fhUy !
location and iun fundings, Portland
ha been able tn set aside a ayatem
of public parka which vary in charaotar
from open lawns, bi athlng- plafcea, near
the bualness center, to beautiful wood
land retreats farthiv- out. which have
been preserved In al! tliolr primeval beau
ty. Although the !i::rk system la not
largre, compared with that of many other
cities,, it comprise:!, several tracts that
re nowhere curpu.'fed in beauty, and
which call forth t:, a admiration of all
beholders. In addit vft to the land already
reserved for the r reatlon of the public,
there are many aces near the city which
adapt themselves readily to park pur
poses. There is row a strong sentiment
in favor of addinp a large portion of this
ground to the j'.irk, system, and It Is
quite possible thrt before the end of tha
present year bon.is will be voted for its
purchase.
In the very c nter of the West Bid
business and residence district there Is a
long chain of park blocks, each 100x200
feet. As a relief to the eye from the
monotony of long vistas of brick, stone
and asphalt as resting-places and as
Playgrounds for children, they have
proved their value for many yeara. and
their usefulness will Increase with the ex
pansion of the business district. Apart
from this chain of parks axe two blocks
bounded by Third, Fourth, Salmon and
Clay . streets, even nearer the business
center. They are known as the Plaza
blocks, and are welcome breathing-places
ior thousands of weary men and women
ach day during the Spring and Summer.
Between the blocks is a handsome drink
ing fountain, given to the citv bv the late
D. P. Thompson. On the north block was
rected during the past year, by popular
aubscription, an artistic monument in
honor of the Second Oregon Volunteers.
The City Park Is the best-known pleas
ure exouud of Portland. Embracing an
area of more than 40 acres, it lies on the
tipland at the western edge of the city,
with its entrance on TVashlnston street!
the main business thoroufthfare. Original
ly this land was so rugged that there was
much opposition when it was purchased
In 1S71 for $32, C. Toly. however, it has
ben so Improved that its beauty offers
new charms at every visit. By grading.
laying out of walks and driveways and
GROWTH OF CITY
Over $200,000 Spent in 1906 for Build
ing Completed and Nearing Completion
SCHOOti buildings, recently finish
ed or now nearing completion
In Portland represent an expenditure
of more than J 1)00,000. The East
Side High School alone will . have
cost, when furnished, not less than
U0,00n, and It may be as much
as JM0.O00. It stands on' the block
bounded by East Washington, East
6tark. Bast Thirteenth and East
Fourteenth streets, the focal point of
the residence district east of the Wil
lamette. The substantial character
and architectural attractiveness of this
building make it an ornament to the
city, and it offers accommodations
"which for some time have been urgent
ly needed.
Until a few months ago it was
thought that it would be necessary to
finish only the rooms on the lower
floor, 12, for recitation purposes, and
an auditorium, 30x54. In this, however,
the Board of Education decided with
out an adequate conception of the rapid
growth of the school population. It
has now been decided that the entire
structure must be completed for use
as soon as possible. There will be 21
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planting flowers, trees and shrub, tba
sightliness of the park has been greatly
Increased, while care has been taken not
to Impair Its wonderful natural beauty.
Macleay Park, of more- than 100 acres,
1s the largest single holding of the city.
It lies in a deep gulch, known as Batch
Canyon, through which winds a clear
stream. Above it rise wooded hill. Its
charm is In Its wild beauty, and every
SCHOOL SYSTEM
recitation rooms in the building, be
sides halls for literary societies, labora
tory work and manual training. Super
intendent Rigler Is authority for the
statement that every room will be re
quired as soon as completed.
It Is probable that soon a thlrcl High
School will be erected In the vicinity
of Albina or Irvlngton to accommodate'
the northeastern part of the city,
which has been showing greater gains
than any other section. The directors,
who have been considering the matter,
contemplate a four or six-room build
ing designed in such a way that it can
be added to as time goes on. An ap
propriation of perhaps (30,000 will have
to ba made to defray the cost. For
the new East Side High School $100,000
was voted, but the cost has so far ex
ceeded the original plana that more
than $30,000 additional must be paid
out of the general fund.
The demand for Increased High.
School facilities has been paralleled
In the grammar grades. The registra
tion In public schools for the present
school year will pass the 20,000 mark,
a notable increase over the total at
tendance for 1905-6. which was 17,031.
As a still more rapid Increase In popu
lation Is probable from this time on,
the demand for new schools will be
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THE MORXIXG OREGOXIAX, TUESDAY, JANUARY 1,
v.
VliiiiT
eara has been taken to preserve this fea
ture. Holladay Park and Hawthorne
Park are the most Important parks on
the East Side. The latter Is leased by the
city, but tli Park Board has for some
heavy, and several will have to biT
built this year.
Besides the. East Side school, only
one new school building was erected
In Portland during the past year. This
was. a four-room structure at Midway,
which is already filled 'almost to ca
pacity. But large additions were made
to the Sunnyside. East Twenty-eighth
and Holman schools. The improve
ments cost about 130,000 each, and will
meet their respective needs for some
time to come, although three districts,
especially in the case of the Sunnyside
and East Twenty-eighth Street schools,
are growing rapidly.
The greatest demand of the present
year will be for the improvement and
enlargement of the schools in the dis
trict recently annexed to the city. A
typical case is the Highland school,
which, with an attendance of 1000. is
the largest Institution In the city.
Four years ago a four-room school was
opened at this place, with an attend
ance of 127. Now 22 teachers are em
ployed, and at the opening of the term
lust closed It was found necessary to
transfer 125 pupils to the Woodlawn
and " Irvlngton 'schools. A new four
or six-room building Is scheduled for
this locality this year. It will prob
ably be located at Vernon.
The largest building of which there
is immediate need will be erected at
Arleta. The pupils there are now ac
commodated in a number of two and
three-room structures, which are poor
ly equipped and insufficient for the
needs of the community. The board is
now considering the advisability of
building a modern lt-room school
house. Portsmouth at present has a four-
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Some of the
Advantages
of Portland
as a Resi
dence City.
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time been considering Its purchase for
JiiiO.ooo.
The value of the city's park" system, es
timated by th City Auditor on prevailing
realty values at the close of 3905, was
room building which has been greatly
overcrowded d"urins the past year.
Residents In the vicinity have been
clamoring for better school, facilities,
especially as the building is old and in
poor repair. The old structure will
soon be abandoned for one of six
rooms.
The 'Williams Avenue Sohool will
probably be the first of the old build
ings replaced. A new aita is being
secured, as the present one Is inade
quate, and the building is so old that
it is worth little. On the Peninsula
there Is also .a demand for a new
structure to take the place of the
present schoolhouse.
In all the cases cited the new build
ings will bo on the East Side, as it is
there that the greatest demand for new
schools is found. In' fact tha Ter
wllliger building at Fulton will prob
ably be the only West Side structure
changed. With the opening of the East
Side High School next month, rooms
in the Ladd and Atkinson schools, now
occupied by classes above the grammar
grades, will be available aniKwill re
lieve the pressure on that aide of the
river.
What extensions of "the school sys
tem will be made within the next few
years can only be surmised. If the
suburban district's of the East Side
continue, to grow as rapidly in the fu
ture as they have during the past year,
the expenditure for construction work
will reach a very high figure. The en
tire movement shows the rapid strides
with which the city is forging ahead
In population and tells in its own way
the story of hundreds of new dwellings
springing up in the outlying districts.
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1,252,!00. Purlng the post year, realty
has advanced at least one-third in all
portions of the city, uoon which basis
the parks would now have a value, of
tI,6S9.60t. Besides the parks already men
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PURE WATER IS PORTLAND'S PRIDE
Abundant Supply Piped to City From Bull
Run River, an Ice Cold Mountain Torrent
THE fame of Portland's Bull Run
water has spread far and wide, and
there is perhaps no aBset on whicn
the city can more justly pride itself
than the ' purity and sufficiency of its
water supply. At present there are
22,500,000 gallons of absolutely purs
water flowing into tha reservoirs of
tha city each day, enough to fully sup
ply the needs of the present popula
tion. Portland, however, is experienc
ing an era of unprecedented growth.
Planning, therefore, for the future
rather than the present, it is probable
that before the year Just begun has
closed another treat conduit, which
will be double the capacity of the
system, will be under construction.
The source of Portland's water sup
ply 1 the Bull Run River, a rapid
mountain stream, heading In a lake of
the same name, at an elevation of
3500 feet seven miles northwest of
the summit of Mount Hood. The lake
is fed by Icy springs. From the lake
it flows through a channel in solid
basalt, gushing forth 35J feet below
to form Bull Run River.
The conduit through which the water
comes to Portland takes water from
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tioned, there is land for this purpose aet
part In Albina, and Ladd's Addition and
Columbia Park, Governor's Park, Terwll
ligcr Park and Fulton Park.
A. plan fostered by a local organljiaytm
contemplates bonding the city for J1.000,
000 to be spent for parks, boulevards and
one sightly hridge across the "Willamette
River. Th scheme Includes the construc
tion of a scenic skylins boulevard along
the river at an elevation of 720 feet
above the city datum, and 21 miles
distant. The carrier Is a riveted steel
pipe, varying from 12 to 33 inches In
diameter, and emptying in reservoir
No. l at Mount Tabor, which has a
capacity of 12,000,000 gallons and an
elevation of 110 feet. The supply for
East Portland and Lower Albina is
stored in reservoir No. 2, at the base
of Mount Tabor, with a capacity of
20,500,000 gallons. That for West
Portland flows through two cast-iron
mains, and empties into reservoir No.
3, of 16,003,000 gallons capacity, lo
cated in the City Park. The high sur
face mains are supplied from this di
rect, but those for low ground run
from reservoir No. 1, with a capacity
of IS, 000.000 gallons, also in the City
Park. In passing from reservoir No.
3 to reservoir No. 4 the water furnishes
power to pump the supply for Port
land Heights and Willamette. Heights.
The project of laying another con
duit with a capacity of 15,000,003 gal
lons dal)y from Bull Run la now re
ceiving serious consideration. and
bonds for this purpose will probably
be voted at the municipal election next
June. A report covering this plan was
recently prepared by Chief Engineer
Clarke, who estimates the cost of he
pipe laid and completed at 11.465,00),
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ortlajid Relgbta, from which a super
view of the city, river and snow-capped
mountains would be had. Along the routi
of this boulevard park sites would be laid
out, and others would be located on the!
East Side.
Among the projects of this character
most favorably considered at this time Is
the purchase of a large tract for park
purposes on the summit of Mount Tabor.
with additional reservoir construction
bringing the outlay up to $2,530,000.
The conduit will vary In diameter
from 51 t? 12 inches. For this, as
well as the present line, there will be
an abundant supply of water, even at
the lowest stage of Bull Run River.
No municipal problem Is of more im
portance than that of pure water. In
selecting a home no question is given
greater weight. The fact that Port
land has an abundance of water,
proved absolutely pure by chemical
test, and which, In addition, is cool
and palatable, even in the warmest
weather, gives it an advantage over
nearly all other cities of metropolitan
size In the United States. That the
quality of the water will be main
tained Is guaranteed by the fact that
the source Is protected by a forest
reserve of 222 square miles, including
the entire watershed.
During the past year the distribut
ing system has been greatly extended,
the most Important addition being a
21-inch main which supplies the High
land district and the Peninsula. This
was completed in November at a cost
of $225,000, and will provide complete
relief from the scarcity of water felt
In this district last Summer because
of the poor distributing system. Other
extensions will be made, the aim be
ing to meet every need of a growing
city.
At present all expenses of the water
system are paid by the consumers. A
movement is now on foot, however, to
amend the city charter so that a por
tion of the coat will be borne by
property owners. Schemes have been
presented, which If adopted, will throw
the cot for extensions upon property
ownera
.