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There are several particularly well known city parks in major U.S. cities of various size. Smaller cities and towns also have wonderful city parks. Each have their own ubique character and special features. The most well known American urban park is of course Central Park in New York. One interesting view of Central Park in 1919 is available in HBC. Central Park was a huge urban park. Rock Creek Park on Washington, D.C. was even larger and part of the Nation Park System. There were many other city parks that were not nationally known, but very well known locally. Many cities had small parks. All big cities had important parks. Nothing was as large as Central Park, but there were many important parks around the country. Hopefully, American readers will tell us about the parks that they enjoyed as children.
Bethesda is an unincorporated city in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is just northwest of Washington, D.C. It is today a suburb of Washington. Befote the modern expansion of the Federak Givernment, especially with World War II. Bethesda was essebtially a small town. The mane came from a local church--the Bethesda Meeting House. This was a Biblical name. It is asmall local parl ticked awaybin a lefy neighnorhood. We are not sure when the park was founfed, but it was fuvtioning by the 1920s. It appears to habe begin with some playgroind equipmemt. The modern park is well wiided and features a playground, soccer field, softball field, basketball court and two tennis courts. There is also shelter in the picnic area which can be booked for group events.
Detroit was one of the major American cities. Other than Chicavgo it was he mnajor city of the ndistril mid-West. It was the automobile capital of the world at a time that the United States dominted the internation car industryh and the automobile and other motor vehicles were the keystone of American industry. Amd the great bulk of american cars were manufctured in and aound Detroit. It vplyed a key role in American manufacturing of trucjs and tanks during World War II. The foreign competion beginning in the 1960s gradually ate into Detrout's market share. Labor's unrealistic demands for wages poor mamagement led to Detroit losing a huge share of the American market on both price and quality. Eventually General Motors went bankrupt and how to be bailed out andthen the city of Detroit wnt backrupt. Many American states and cities face a similar fate. Detroit went first because of incredibly poor municipal management and the collapse of car sales in 2008. The city in its hey day built severl city parks. Surely the most charming is historic Belle Isle Park which the State of Michigan recently took off the city's hands. The 985-acre island park is situated on the Detroit River which mark the boundary between the United States and Canada.
The most well known American urban park is of course Central Park in New York. It was the the first landscaped public park in the United States. It was a very interesting concept. Europeans parks were often beautifully tends ornamental flower gardens. Central Park was a nature park carved out of the city. As New York City grew into the major city in America, wealthy merchants and landowners, many well traveled who were impressed the public grounds of the great European cities, especalkly London and Paris, promoted the idea of an urban park in ghe city if it was also to have a prestigious international reputation. Beyond that they publicized the bnefits for all New Yorkers. Wealthy New Yorkers would have a place for splendid carriage rides in natural settiungs. Working-class families would have a healthy place for weekend outings. New Yorkers debated the issue for 3 years. Issues included the location aand the cost. The question became a state issue, largely because of the legal issues involved. New Yorkers decided they wanted the new park in the middle of Manhattan, not in a remote location. Existing houses and farms would have to be purchased and buildings torn down. Finall just before the Civil War, the New York state leguslsture authorized the City of New York to use the power of eminent domain to purchase in excess of 700 acres. It would be a rectangular shaped park dead located in the center of Manhattan (1853). Fortunately it included an irregular terrain of swamps and bluffs with rocky outcroppings which was not yet heavily overtaken by the expanding city. As a result the realestate between Fifth and Eighth avenues and 59th and 106th streets was not the most desirable for private development. As a result the city had begun to grow ariund it. Some 1,600 mostly poor residents were displaced. This included an irate Irish pig farmers as well as German gardeners living in what might be called shanties. And at Eighth Avenue and 82nd Street, Seneca Village had devloped. The was one of the city's most stable African-American settlements with three churches and a school. Buildings were torn down and earth moved to create interesting natural features. When it opened (1857), few American cities had any sizeable parks. The limits of the park were subsequently extended to 110th Street (1863) creating the modern boundaries. Central Park proved quite inflential with urban planners throughout America. The Central Park Zoo is one of the best in the country. One interesting view of Central Park in 1919 is available in HBC. Central Park was a huge urban park. It was not, however, the only park in New York City. The five boroughs had numerous parks totaling 29,000 acres of urban greenery. [Meyerowitz] Here Mayor Blooberg is encouraging the planting of a million trees. These smaller parks offer charming hideaways. And the system is still growing. The city acquired North Brother Island, a 13-acre island in the East River (2007). It is being allowed to revert to nature.
St. Louis was the gateway to the West. During the first half of the 19th centuryt, the West was the area between the aalanchins and the Mississippi. During the sccond half of the century, the West became the area west of the Mississippi. Annd st Louis wax the city that proived to be jumping off pont foir the movement west. St. Louis and Chicago were for a time the most wstely big cities in America. We see two boys playing with their sail boat in an unidentified St. Louis Park. We do not know the name of the park. Perhaps a reader will recognize the park. The park has a nice pond for sail boats. The photograph we found was taken in 1922. One boy wears a shirt with a sports collar, above the knee knickers, and knee socks. His little brother wears a sweater and short pants.
We see a large children's wading pool in Seattle's Hiawatha park in 1923. The children seem to be having a good ime on a warm summer day. Not all of the children are wading. Strangely there is not an adultv un sught. Children were not as closely supervised as is the case today. It is very shallow, about ankle deep. There is all kinds of playground equioment in the background. We are not sure what the large building is. Only one of the children, a boy, seems to be wearing a swimsuit. One boy is even wearing long pants. One girl looks to be wafing in prunt rompers. We do not think, however, it is a romper suit. We see this a lot in England with girls runching up the skirt of their dress so as not to get the dress wet. Many of the boys are wearing knickers or overalls. We are not sure if these are actually overalls whch were a mostly rural garment or children's coveralls.
Springfield is a relatively small city, but surprisingly has one of the largest city parks in the country. It is located on the Connecticut River set in the middle of the city and features a small lake (Porter Lake) and zoo. The land for the park was donated (1884). The park enphasizes nature and wildlife activities such as bird watching, hiking, and viewing wildlife. Here we see some boys enjoying the wildlife during the summer of 1938 (figure 1). There are some sports facilities such as tennis courts. In the winter there is skating on the lake. We note images from Forest Park showsing children with animals (snakes, turtles, rats, etc.) enjoying nature trails, boating, and skating.
There are quite a number of parks in Washington, D.C., but the most important is Rock Creek Park. Most people think that Central Park is the largest urban park in the United States. Actually Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. is even larger--more than twice as a large as Central Park. It is also among the oldest of the national parks. The park is large, but narrow. It runs from the Maryland border south to Geoegetown and the Potomac River. It essentially cuts the city in two. It is part of the Nation Park System. The Park was established by act of Congress and signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison (1890). This was the same year that Congress established Yosemite National Park. The Park is centered on the Rock Creek Valley. Associated with the major part of the Park are Glover Archbold Park, Montrose Park, Dumbarton Oaks Park, Meridian Hill Park, Battery Kemble Park, Palisades Park, Whitehaven Park, and several other small parks. The National Zoo is located in Rick Creek Park, bit the size of the park affords a wide range of activities. I can recall as a boy having my birthday party in one of the picnic areas. And my brother and I used to bike tgo the zoo. At the time there was very little traffic. Boy Scouts used to camp in the Park. It was useful at atime when people were not as mobile as they used to be. Today the hiking paths are motr utilized, but there are many other activities such as horese back riding
Meyerowitz, Joel. Legacy: The Preservation of Wildreness in New York City Parks (Aperture, 2009), 209p.
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