Remarkable Race for Supremacy
in Mnnicipal Attractiveness
at Every Notable Center in the
United States
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J3Y DEXTFR MARSHALL.
0XE or the most Interesting races the
world has ever known is being run
by the cities In the United States, a
ra.ee the running of which will Involve
the expenditure of untold Bums of money
and' consumo year3 of time, instead of
minutes. But at the finish the cities will
be transformed almost beyond recogni
tion, and they will be so much better
and more desirable places to live In that
no one will begrudge either the time or
the money expended.
Humanly speaking, there will never be
a finish, since this race is for greater
beauty, and there will have to be a radi
cal change in the temperament of the
composite people we call Americans be
fore the desire to excel along the lines
the cities are now pursuing will be sat
isfied. But there will come a time, earlier
with some than with other cities, or
course, when such Incomparable sites as
that of New York, built on three islands
and the mainland and almost surrounding
one of the most magnificent harbor8 In
the world; of Boston, with its hills,
which save It the name "tri-mountaine."
and Its smaller harbor; and of Washing-
ton, the Nation's capital, which, like
Boston, has something of a start In the
race, and many others will have been
'taken such advantag-e of as they never
have yet
Then, too, the possibilities of such flat,
marshy sites as that upon which Chicago
is built, apparently unpromising- to the
last degree, will have been realized, and
then the tourists of the world will' have
to visit the American centers as well as
those of Europe. If thoy wish to see the
"City Beautiful" I ilea wrought out to Its
greatest perfection.
No one who has not given attention to
It can have any notion of how Ren era! is
the present movement for greater munici
pal beauty. New York's plans probably
are the most ambitious and naturally,
since New Tork Is the biggest and richest
city; but In scores of other cities similar
plans and Quite as ambitious In propor
tion to wealth and population are being-
pushed forward. There Is hardly a city
in the land, Indeed, that has not already
got the transformation process well under
way. Baltimore and Buffalo. Chicago,
Detroit, Duluth and Indianapolis, X-ouls-
viiie, .Nashville, New Orleans and
Omaha, both Portlands, St. Louts and St.
Paul, and many others have half made
themselves over in the last 30 years.
In some of these cities, especially those
farthest West, the transformation has
been nothing- less than startling-. Broad,
well-paved, and shaded streets have taken
the place of dirt roads, bare tracts of
land have been transformed into beau
tiful parks, inadequate and unsightly
wooden town halls and courthouses have
been replaced by structures of real archi
tectural merit, business "blocks" resem
bling exaggerated packing cases more
than anything: else have Riven way to
bulldlnga that are beautiful as well as
useful.
There is hardly a city of 100,000 in the
country today which does not boast somQ
beauty spots that would be a credit to
almost any Old "World city. Tct, while
every one of the European centers has
been improving upon itself for centuries,
there are hardly half a dozen cities in
the TTnlted States away from the Atlantic
. Coast old enough to have devoted half of
one century to making themselves beau-
tlful. Central Park, In Now 'York, which
lias received the highest praise from Eu
ropean experts, was not begun till l&os.
Boston Common Is older, and so are some
of the smaller parks In several Eastern
cities: but none of the other famous great
American parks has yet been In existence
SO years.
It is to the credit of the people of this
country that while the beauty of nearly
every European city Is largely made up
of churches and palaces built in medi
aeval times and under governmental or
ecclesiastical compulsion, American cities
are being made beautiful by the people's
money, freely voted by the people them
selves. It is a credit to the cities that
they are now engaged in generous com
petition for beauty. It is something to be
proud of that such men as Daniel H.
Burnham, who has Just taken up the plan
to make Chicago beautiful as well as
busy, a pleasant as well as a profitable
place to live In; Whitney Warren, who
wrought out the stupendous scheme for
beautifying New. York, outlined in the
Jflew York Olty Improvement Commis
sion's recently Issued report, and scores
of other citizens are willing to give their
service free to the cause of Improving
the cities.
That they are able to do so is proof that
the American purse string opens more
easily than any other in the cause of
art; were it not so such men as Burn
ham and Warren could not offer their
services freely as they do.
The world awoke to a realization of
Mr. Burnham's quality when It first saw
the wonderful White City that sheltered
the World's Columbian Exposition at
Chicago In 1893.
Notwithstanding his aversion tQ fees
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from the public purse, no other man in
bis profession has done so much aa be
to make so great a number of American
cities beautiful. Since the World's Fair,
at the request of the late Senator Mc
Millan, he has made . an elaborate plan
for the gradual rearrangement of Wash
ington, and now is chairman of the com
mission for the beautlficatlon of that city
and the commission for the beautlficatlon
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of Cleveland. He originated its cele
brated "ground plan,", which Includes
the grouping of all Its public buildings,
and will add Immensely to its beauty.
Before the earthquake be was chairman
of. the commission to beautify San Fran
cisco, and has visited that city since It
was thrown prostrate to help his associ
ates take advantage of the splendid op
portunity which the tragedy brought. At
the request of the Government he went to
the Philippines, and has since made plans
for the rearrangement of . Manila, in
which not only beauty but sanitation are
considered, and has laid out a scheme for
Bagula, a health resort In the mountains,
to which American ' off icers and officials
will flee In the hottest months.
"My work both at Manila and at Wash
ington has been done without pay," Mr.
Burnham said the other day. sitting in
his office, from whose windows there Is
a fine view-of Lake Michigan's expanse,
"because it gave me an-authority which
I would otherwise not have had. Fewer
objections are likely to be made to the
Ideas of a chap whose attitude is one
of complete Independence than to those
of a man on a salary, who is suggesting
plans for public expenditure. Every one
knew that my Interest in these matters
was purely unselfish."
The Merchants' Club of .Chicago has
raised a sum of money to pay the ex
penses of preliminary, work toward a
"City Beautiful," and of this movement
Mr. Burnham is the controlling spirit-
"It will mean," said he, "a plan for the
city which will make clear all Its proper
relations and proportions. We are try
ing to look Into the future and furnish
a big. broad guide which those who come
after us may follow, thus carrying the
development of the town along on a
scheme consistent and admirable.
"Our- aim is a plan which any logical
man can go on with a plan which will
include all traction systems, surface, ele-'i
vated and underground: terminals of the
great through railways and thetr lines
of progress through, the city, which will
adapt Itself to the best utilization of the
lake, the canals and the river."
Are you working for legislation to help
your scheme along?" I aaked.
"Oh." said he, "the legislation will come
because u is the next step In the advance
meat oi th modIa. Human nature
THE SUNDAY OEBGONIAN, PORTDATTD, JANUARY 6, 1907.
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doesn't change, but its beliefs and knowl
edge do. Education has just begun here
in a broad sense. With every passing year
there is a larger proportion of the public
ready to approve such efforts as ours.
There is a growing desire for order in
place of the chaos in which our unprece-
dentedly rapid development baa resulted.
AH the cities are beginning to want some
thing better in arrangement and appear
ance. "We do not need to work for legislation.
Before long the people as a whole will
begin to demand It- Then the politicians
win pass what laws are necessary. You
can bet on that. This tendency toward
municipal betterment and beautlficatlon is
everywhere apparent. We are not trying
to arouse a dormant feeling, for the feel
ing is not dormant. In nearly every large
city in the country there is this demand
for improvement.
"?o," said he in answer to another Ques
tion, "It is not acsthetcism. The people
are being handled by nature in one of
her inevitable moods. They have read
and they have learned. Nov they are
beginning to demand their own." v
Although the( Burnham plans for "Wash
ington's improvement are complete and
have been visualized in the form of 14
or 15 foot models, which ' are on exhibi
tion in the Library of Congress and gen
erally a center of attention from visitors.
the. Chicago plans have hardly been begun
as yet, and therefore cannot be described.
They will Include, among other things,
however, an outer parkway of many
miles. Inclosing the entire city: a beauti
ful river front, a "civic center" or park
to contain the city and county hall, a
building to be of Imposing proportions
and design; subways for the surface and
elevated railroads; two great railroad
terminals to afford dignified entrance to
the city; perfectly paved streets: an "art
and literary center," which means the
location of the Field Museum, the Crerar
Library and eventually a new and -enlarged
art Institute in Grant ' Park, and
a lake front boulevard connecting the
North and the South Sides, part of the
way separated from the city by a lagoon,
to be formed by inclosing a part of the
lake.
Chicago is taking to the plan -with its
accustomed enthusiasm. A big banquet
in Its furtherance is to be held early In
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the year and the women's clubs purpose
to lend their aid unstintedly.
The plans put forth In the recently
Issued report of the New York City Im
provement Commission, the work, of Whit-
ney Warren, architect of the. monumental
New York Central terminal station and
one of the most 'active members of the
commission, are aa broad and comprehen
sive and as cognizant of the future as
the Burnham plans. Mr. Warren does
not wholly agree with those who -think
-the original plan of New York a hopeless
one.
"The fact is," he said to the writer,
"that it Is a pretty good one. It only
needs the lengthening of some of the
longitudinal avenues, the proper connect
ing up of the different boroughs and the
creation of parks in the- regions now
mainly 'unoccupied, but soon to be thickly
populated, to transform the city Into an
Ideal place. The widening of Klfty-ntnth
street by a block so aa to make a fitting
approach to the Blackwell's Island bridge.
a truly imposing structure, from Fifth
avenue eastward, and then to the west
Ward to connect with the bridge which
we hope to gee built over the North River
eventually will furnish a great transverse
avenue and at the same time make easy
of access for residence purposes a region
in Queens County which is no further
away from Fifty-ninth street than is the
Ninety-sixth street region of Manhattan.
Some hundreds of thousands can live in
the newly opened territory, even after
plenty of. park space has been allowed.
"The proposed bridge across the Hudson
simply must be built by and by. Tunnels
are all right for railroad trains and trolley
cars for business traveling. But we must
have a way of crossing the Hudson that
will give us pleasure and a chance of
viewing as we cross, the wonderful pano
rama of river and palisade, of the crowd
ed harbor, the towering skyscrapers and
such natural heights aa no other great
city can boast. The long-, straight drive
from New Jersey over the proposed bridge
through Fifty-ninth street and over the
Blackwell'g Island bridge to' the' Borough
of Queens;- crossing both of New York's
great rivers, and passing over an Island
on the way, will be Quite unsurpassed in
Itself.
"After West street, which has already
been partly transformed into a broad -
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;-rr. Views of Daniel H. Burnham
Whose Plans for Beautifying Various Cities Have
Added to His Fame
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planade, America's metropolis will make
a much better Impression on the foreign
tourist when he lands than it now does,
and the extension to it In -straight lines
of Seventh and Eighth avenues will fur
nish thoroughfares through which the
best part of the town may be reached.
"When all the parkways connecting the
various parks in Manhattan. The Bronx.
Queens and Brooklyn are finished they
will furnish over 45 milps of continuous
driveway, all beautiful. They will include
greater variety than can be found in
and about any other great city, and will
cover more miles. The imposing ferry
and elevated railroad terminal at South
Ferry the water gate which has already
been decided upon, will give a fitting
entrance to the city from, that direction,
and the broad avenues proposed from the
present Brooklyn Bridge and the Man
hattan bridge, now being built, to con
verge In Brooklyn at a circular plaza,
will give dignified entrances to that
borough. Now It has none and Its many
beauties ate never suspected by the thou
sands of visitors to New York, of which
Brooklyn is as much a part as Man
hattan. 'The are only a few of the things we
hope for. most .of ; which we will get
about as fast as they can physically be
put through, for the people of New York
are not going to worry about the cost.
I have never counted It up, but, great
as it will be, it- will give such returns
even in the vulgar measure of dollars
and cents as will make the whole scheme
a profitable one to the city and Its people.
Individuals may have to submit to in
creased taxes here and there, but their
property will increase In value by leaps
and bounds In the vicinity of every Im
provement. "Long before the plan has been fully
realised New York will be more beautiful
In many ways than any city now is, and
its beauty will be something that its own
people will have brought Into being. It
will be an Individual beauty.' for no other
city In the world baa its natural ad
vantages, and as an American I am
proud to say I believe from what I know
of the general movement, that each of
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the other great cities wilt ultimately make
the bravest show possible of increased
and Individualized beauty."
It would not be possible in the limits
of one newspaper artlclo to give full
details of the beauty movement in all
the cities. Organizations, either offi
cial or voluntary, somewhat similar to
the two New York commissions in
function are now at work In many
cities. '
Althoutth Buffalo's plans have not
been made widely known, they are am-
bitlous and fully worthy of its magni
ficent site at the foot of Lake Erie and
the head' of Niagara River. The So
ciety for Beautifying Buffalo was or
ganized In 1891. Its president is rr.
Mathew D. Mann, and, although it is an
unofficial body, it has done good work.
The schemes which are being promoted
by Mayor Adam are of the broadest
scope. . They Include a waterfront Im
provement to cost $5,000,000, compris
ing a highway running five miles along
tho lake shore, 90 feet in width, ex
clusive of the sidewalks. Two millions
are to be spent further north on a
somewhat similar scheme, and the two
improvements are to be connected with
the parks by a series of parkways In a
horseshoe shaped course 12 miles long.
Altogether it is planned to expend
$10,000,000 within the next 10 years,
and the scheme includes . the grouping
of a number of beautiful buildings near
the charming park lake known as tho
"Gala "Water." These will be the New
York building of the Pan-American
Exposition, already occupied, by the
Buffalo "Historical Society, the National
Science building, the Allbright Art
Gallery and the buildings projected for
the University of Buffalo.
St. Louis plans a magnificent park
way 19 miles long, to be known as
the King's Highway boulevard, which
will furnish a connected series of
drives giving easy access to all parts
of the Mississippi Valley's metropolis
from the river, south of Carondelet
Park, over an arched course through
th city, which will terminate at th
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river to the 'north at the picturesque
Chain of Rocks.
There will be artistic bridges, long?
avenues of trppa, and many other im
provements. The -ost will be between
$1,000,000 and $'.',000,000, St.' Louis also
plans the creation of many new parks;
ordinances were rerently passed foe
Hve In tho most thickly settled parts
of the city. These will cost $675,000-
and further like expenditures are to ba
planned In the Immediate future.
Detroit Is also planning- a scheme of
boulevards connecting her parks, and
though the plan has hardly taken form
as yet, there la talk of Improvements
to the river front, which is susceptible)
of being made one of the most beauti
ful in the world. There 1h only on
other river that has the remarkable
qualities .possessed by the Detroit.
That is the Niagara. These two streams
are always filled with perfectly clear
water, flowing- full and strong and witli
the slightest possible variation of level.
Detroit's celebrated Belle Isle Park ia
on an island in this remarkable stream
The Imposing, simple monument, de
Signed by the late Stanford Whito to
stand In Belle Isle Park and symbolize
the resources of Michigan, has not yet
been erected.
Indianapolis purposes adding to Its
already extensive park system of parka
and boulevards a boulevard to run 14
miles from the city to Kort Benjamin
Harrison military reservation. It wrfl
be a continuation of the present Fall
River Creek boulevard. -The Kort Ben
jamin Harrison boulevard scheme haa
not yet been formally adopted, but ail
the city's public-spirited citizens and
organizations favor It
New Teaching Bund!.
Dr. Joseph S. Kennard, of Tarrytown,
N. T.f returned a few days ago from
Italy. He says that arrangements for
the exchange of professors between that
country and the United States on tha
same lines as the system now in force
between America and Germany, but on
larger caJ.e 2ia been completed.