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encourage a greater civic pride in the care and improvement of public and private property" (The Constitution of the Society, Bulletin No. 1).

It is governed by a board of directors composed of eighteen members, elected at the annual meeting, and the Chairmen of the several standing committees. President, John M. Holcombe; Secretary-Treasurer, Henry Robinson Buck.

The Wadsworth Athenaeum, while not a club, may well be mentioned here. This building, situated on Main Street, contains the rooms of the Connecticut Historical Society and of the Art school; and a Public Art Gallery which, having occupied its present location since 1842, is soon to be moved into the new Morgan Memorial building, to be treated of later in this article. The Athenaeum was begun in April, 1842, and completed in July, 1844. A large brick addition was built in January, 1893, to accommodate the Hartford Public Library on the first floor and the Watkinson Library on the

second, and adjoined by the library of the Historical Society. The total cost of the Athenaeum buildings, including land and fence, was about $200,000.

A proposal is under consideration for the iederation of all these organizations above mentioned. This, if carried through, will prevent much working at cross purposes, and insure a greater unity of interest. Also, in the event of the accomplishment of this federation, a clubhouse will probably be bought, or built, which will adequately house these various societies.

In Hartford there is, perhaps, as much natural beauty as in almost any other city of equal size. Foresighted persons have preserved many trees, even in the center of the city, and in places on the outskirts are thick woods. while all the residential streets are lined on both sides with trees. The ornamental and economical value of trees is, of course, a well-known fact. A stranger, introduced to Hartford for the first time and getting his first glimpse of it from the hills round about,

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would find it difficult to believe that a city of 100,000 inhabitants nestled there among the greenery.

The Municipal Art Society, numbering now some five hundred members, and the other societies already mentioned, are working valiantly, each in its respective field, to augment these natural resources. To make a city beautiful, convenient and healthful-all these compose the duties of such societies, and to accomplish it in harmony with the city officials and with the least possible expense to the city should, of course, be their aim; and with these ends in view large work has been undertaken and some really striking results have been obtained.

One thing under consideration is the selection and adoption of a uniform street marker which shall be both useful and ornamental. The present sign is metal, enameled black, with aluminum letters about three inches high. While neat in appearance when new, these rust quickly and are not easily

readable from a distance, at night they are quite illegible unless a street lamp shines directly upon them. It was proposed to find some type of sign which should be more satisfactory in both the above-mentioned respects, and at the same time be artistic. To this end the Committee on Street Fixtures and Advertising Signs, of the Municipal Art Society, opened correspondence with the city engineers of other large cities, at home and abroad, to ascertain what had been done in this line elsewhere. The inquiries invariably received prompt and kind attention, and sample street name-plates were supplied, and even in one case the model of a sign-post. Having a collection of this kind at hand, it was exhibited and the case presented to the public in open meeting, and finally to the Street Board. As a result permission was obtained to erect six signs at such street intersections as the Committee should choose. The marker selected as being in every way most suitable is of

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At the corner of Pearl and Ford streets, and overlooking beautiful Bushnell Park, is a row of very unattractive low wooden shanties. These had, until very recently, a fringe of billboards along their base, and were crowned with another along the edge of the roofs. In response to public opinion the committee has been able to persuade the owner of the buildings and the lessee of the advertising privilege to remove most of these billboards, and a serious eyesore has thus been largely eliminated.

On the roof of the building at "Exchange Corner," in the very center of the city, stood for a number of years a huge round sign, on which appeared the picture of a man, many times life size, mixing something in a glass, while large letters informed the shuddering watcher, "Highball. That's all." Most everyone thought it was quite enough, if not one too many. And so after much agitation by individuals through the public press and by the Municipal

Art Society, the lease was not renewed, and great was the public rejoicing.

This illustrates the power of public opinion. A bill has recently been passed which will at least restrain the use of billboards within the city limits, and it would be a very welcome departure, here and in other states, if the outlying districts also could be protected.

Traffic in the city streets is becoming more and more congested as the city grows in size. It has been found necessary within two years to station policemen at five of the principal street intersections in order to protect pedestrians while crossing, and also to enforce the rules of the road. The Municipal Art Society is agitating the question of locating isles of safety at such points. In order to arouse public interest in this subject, there has been held a competition, recently closed,designs of isles of safety with electroliers being submitted, for vote and adoption by the Society, and the suc

cessful design is "to be presented to the city with the recommendation that it be adopted and reproduced from time to time," as the need may arise.

Hartford has a splendid park system, being surrounded by a chain of eleven, ranging from 2,85 acres to 663 acres in extent. Keney Park, the gift of the late Henry Keney, situated at the north end and partly in the town of Windsor, is the second largest park in New England, only the Metropolitan Reserve, near Boston, having the pre

Park, equipped with sand boxes, swings and other suitable apparatus. It is expected that this area will be doubled

next season.

Pope Park, in the west side factory district, has also a playground, and Goodwin Park at the Southwest a public golf course. The Board of School Visitors has the oversight of all these playgrounds.

At Pope Park there is a gymnasium for children too old for sand boxes and swings. Day classes for the children

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