Page:Report of the Park Board 1903.djvu/34

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REPORT OF THE PARK BOARD
35

struction and maintenance, and at the same time having regard for the very important matter of betterments, especially in its broader sense of the general increase in taxable valuations likely to result from the acquisition and gradual improvement of parks and parkways.

A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PARKS AND PARKWAYS FOR PORTLAND.

A comprehensive system of parks and parkways for Portland may be briefly outlined as follows:

West of the Willamette River and south of Riverview cemetery there would be a large forest reservation, from which an informal picturesque parkway would pass east of Riverview cemetery leaving the west bank of the river at Fulton. It would keep along the hillsides to a connection with the City Squares, would continue on the hillsides to City Park, would keep on the hillsides to Macleay Park and would proceed thence along the hillsides to another large forest reservation on the hills northwest of Mountain View Park Addition. Attached to or in widenings of this parkway there would be areas which could be developed as neighborhood parks and play grounds. This hillside parkway and the two forest reservations would preserve some of the characteristic hill landscape west of the city, and afford fine views of the snowy peaks.

East of the river, if railroad ownership of needed lands does not prevent, there would be a river bluff parkway from Sellwood, where it would be connected by a bridge with the parkway west of the river at Fulton, along the top of the bluffs to the south end of Grand avenue.

There would be another river bluff parkway east of the river from a point north of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's machine shops (if the company will sell the portion of the bluff they own) to a bluff park west of Portland University.

These two river bluff parkways would preserve beautiful views of the river.

There would be a great meadow reservation among the Columbia Sloughs east of the electric railway to Vancouver to preserve the beautiful bottom land scenery.

There would be Mount Tabor Park to preserve hill scenery east of the river.

A mainly formal boulevard would connect the upper river parkway with Mount Tabor Park.