i^i!j|^i%:. , MS;; ,^ ^ ~oM ** ^ •afct-'w- ^3;=^ *• i-HgftS- ^^•; «=-3C^ i ROCRFGM) PLAN CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FINE ARTS LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 924 099 339 826 1^^ ^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924099339826 GEORGE D. ROPER .IRMAN HOCKFORD CITY PLAN CO m mjwmjuiU AmmimmimMmmmmimmiMMmuiMMilMmMM LAN FOR THE IMPROVE^ MEKIT AMD EXTENSION OF ROCKFORD • ILLINOIS BY MYRON HOWARD WEST OF THE AMERICAN PARK BUILDERS CHICAGO • ILLINOIS NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHTEEN CONTENTS PAGE FOREWORD 11 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 14 INTRODUCTION 15 THE CITY OF ROCKFORD 20 Location and Topography .... 20 Growth and Population 21 THE OBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE PLAN 24 Streets 24 Railroads 25 Interurban Lines _ 25 Local Electric Lines 25 Districting 25 Parks 25 Public Buildings 26 STREETS 27 Existing Layout 27 Proposed System of Outlying Streets 28 What is Accomplished by the Street Plan 29 SPECIAL STREET CHANGES 32 The Widening of Church Street 32 Peach Street 33 Main and State Streets 33 Wyman Street Extension 34 Esplanade Along River Front 36 Grove Street Extension 36 Seventh Street 37 Kilburn Avenue 37 Horsman Street 37 Hovey Avenue 37 Adams Street 38 Second Avenue 38 St. Anthony Hospital District 38 Oxford Street 38 North Second Street 38 North Bridge 38 GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATION 39 Winnebago Viaduct 39 Seventh Street and North Western Crossing 39 Other Grade Crossings 39 West Side Streets 41 Street Grades 42 PUBLIC COMFORT STATIONS 43 Page five THE ROCKFORD PLAN D D PAGE THE BUILDING OF STREETS 44 Underground Service 44 Electric Wires 45 Lighting 45 Paving ..... 46 STREET TREES 48 Recommendations ... 49 Organization 49 Design in Planting ... 50 Planting in the Residential District .... 50 Trees for the Business District 52 Avenues and Center Parked Streets 52 Parkways 53 SPECIAL ORNAMENTATION OF STREETS 54 RAILROADS . 55 A Scheme for Railroad Rearrangement . 59 Union Station . 61 Freight . 61 The Central Freight Terminal and Warehouse District . 62 Round Houses and Railroad Shops . 62 Some Benefits of the Proposed Railroad Layout . 63 STREET CAR SYSTEM .... 64 Present Conditions . 65 General Recommendations .... . 66 Discussion of Proposed Car System . 68 Transportation and the City's Growth . 71 Interurban Lines . 72 Needed Interurban Line to South .... 73 DISTRICTING . 74 The Factory Problem . 75 The Factory District , 76 HOUSING . 78 Present Conditions . 78 Recommendations . 80 PARKS . 85 What Rockf ord Has Done . 86 Present Park Distribution .... . 87 Types of Parks . 88 Grounds Around Public Buildings . 88 Neighborhood' Parks. ... .... . 89 Playgrounds . 89 Small Landscape Parks .... .... . 89 Large Landscape Parks . 90 The General Parking Scheme for Rockford , 90 Radial Parkways . 90 Keith Creek Parkway . 90 Kent Creek Parkways .... .... . 93 The Spring Brook Tract . 95 Southwestern Reserve .... . 96 Page six PLANS, DIAGRAMS AND SKETCHES Parks — continued The River Parks Indian Mounds Central Pumping Station Neighborhood Park at Avon and Cedar Streets . Street Triangles Swimming Pools School Playgrounds . .'. Community Parks for the Future City A Connecting System of Boulevards PUBLIC BUILDINGS The Municipal Group HOW THE PLAN MAY BE CARRIED OUT . . CONCLUSION PAGE 97 102 102 102 102 103 103 105 105 107 109 115 121 PLANS, DIAGRAMS AND SKETCHES PAGE Curve showing average percentage of decrease in increase of population for Eight Cities similar to Rockford .... 21 Curve showing probable future growth of Rockford . . 22 Arrangement by divisions of native and foreign born inhabitants .... 22 Suggested treatment for Esplanade 35 Proposed treatment East Terminus of Elm Street .... 35 Proposed Street corrections 36 Proposed Street corrections .... 37 Profile of proposed change in Winnebago Street Viaduct 40 Longitudinal Section of Seventh Street showing crossing separation and Treatment of Buildings . . 40 Skeleton Map of Rockford showing present locations of Railroads and Fac- tories 57 Proposed layout for Railroads, Interurban and Local Electric Lines 60 Railroad plan of proposed Central Warehouse District and Freight Terminal . . 62 Diagram showing Distribution of Population and proposed arrangement of Electric Lines within the present city 64 Survey of Blocks showing area and character of buildings in congested neigh- borhood 79 Arrangement of Blocks to show Model Housing 81 Present distribution of Buildings and Utilities 83 Zoning Map 84 Keith Creek Parkway 92 Proposed Park, along North Branch of Kent Creek 94 Park Development proposed for River Front North from Civic Center. . . 98 Park Development proposed for River Front South from Rockford College. . 99 Plan of Rockford's proposed Civic Center 106 Bird's-eye View showing proposed Civic Center 108 Study for proposed Union Station 112 Study for proposed City Hall 113 A Study for one of the Supporting Buildings of the Municipal Group 113 Bird's-eye View of Proposed Municipal Group and Parking along River Banks . 115 General City Plan for Rockford 122 Page seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS Page Frontispiece — George D. Roper . ... 1 Map of Rockford, 1836 27 Later Map of Rockford, showing First Changes in Street arrangement 27 Looking South on Church Street towards Site of proposed Union Station ... 32 East State Street, Rockford, 1855 33 Wyman Street — showing insuf&cient width to admit car line 34 West River Bank at State Street 34 Good Building Line and Lawn Treatment in Rockford 50 Looking North along Kenosha Branch of North Western Railroad showing Character of River Bank 55 Burlington Railroad Bridge and Water Power District 56 North Western Railroad Bridge over Rock River ... 59 Looking North on Main Street 61 Railroad Yards East of Winnebago Street 62 Ice Houses and Factories on River Bank North of City 75 Factories and Electric Light Wires in the Wrong Place 76 Southeast Factory District from Harrison and Twentieth Streets 77 How Rockford's citizens use their Parks 88 Meadow and Woodland. A Tract Northeast of the city selected for a Future Park 91 Keith Creek near Tenth Street showing section subject to floods 93 Available Park Lands along Kent Creek near School Street 95 Looking into the grounds of the Tinker Home from Main Street 96 The Confluence of the Kishwaukee and Rock Rivers 96 Rock River thrusts its Beauty well into the Heart of the City 97 The River south of Fifteenth Avenue Bridge 100 River Bank near North Bridge 101 The Playground of one of Rockford's Schools 104 View across River from Library Building 109 Rockford Public Library 110 Page eight ROCKFORD CITY PLAN COMMISSION ROCKFORD CITY PLAN COMMISSION EXTRACT FROM RECORDS OF ROCKFORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ESTABLISHING ROCKFORD CITY PLAN COMMISSION "In the month of April, 1915, Mr. Adam Gschwindt, then President of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce, appointed the following citizens of Rockford as members of a special committee for the purpose of investigating the feasibility of establishing and adopting a modern city plan commensurate with the needs of the municipality and its environs. The personnel of the committee was :" Geo. D. Roper, Chairman. Robert Rew. Robert H. Tinker. K. E. Knutson. Rt. Rev. P. J. Muldoon. E. P. Lathrop. E. W. Brown. G. J. Boehland. P. A. Peterson. W. H. Gaffney. A. J. Anderson. Rev. Wm. H. Fulton. Wait Talcott. Mrs, Katherine Keeler. Mrs. Darwin Keith. Mrs. W. C. Free. The Mayor of the City of Rock- ford 1915-16, W. W. Bennett. The City Engineer, 1915-1916, Edwin Main. County Supt. of Highways, 1915- 1916, A. R. Carter. President Rockford Park Board, 1915-1916, Levin Faust. President Rockford Chamber of Commerce, 1915, Adam Gschwindt; 1916, J. S. Joslyn. Chairman Board of Supervisors, 1915, C. E. Austin; 1916, Wm. Andrews. President Rockford Real Estate Board, 1915, Chas. Knapp; 1916, Frank Horner. President Rockford Woman's Club 1915-1916, Jessie I. Spafford. President Catholic Woman's League, 1915-1916, Isabelle Duffey. Page nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS The City Plan for Rockford was made possible by funds donated by public spirited citizens and business enterprises named below: Geo. D. Roper. P. A. Peterson. Robert Rew. E. W. Brown. Bishop Muldoon. A. J. Anderson. W. H. Gaffney. G. J. Boehland. K. E. Knutson. Wait Talcott. Rev. W. H. Fulton. Mrs. M. K. Keeler. Mrs. D. M. Keith. Mrs. W. C. Free. Miss Isabelle Duffey. Mayor Bennett. Edwin Main. Levin Faust. Frank S. Horner. Adam Gschwindt. W. F. Woodruff. Andrews Wire and Iron Works. Willard Ashton and wife. Warren B. Thayer. Rockford & Interurban. E. H. Keeler. T. D. Reber. Chandler Starr. Winthrop IngersoU. N. H. Parsons. J. H. Krause. A. S. Ruhl. C. S. Brantingham. F. K. Houston. Rockford Park Board. Chas. A. Hillner. E. P. Lathrop. H. R. Trahern. Armour E. Johnson. Ashton Dry Goods Co. C. E. Medaris. R. E. Breed. W. S. Harper. L. Fred MuUer. Dr. W. R. Fringer. Ross P. Beckstrom. H. C. Porter. E. A. Wettergren. H. B. Burpee. Dr. J. E. Harned. E. H. Keller. Geo. D. Bennett. Duel & O'Shay. Chief A. E. Bargren. C. M. Beer. Edwin Kool. E. C. Stockburger. Countryman & Co. J. B. Whitehead. E. R. Reitsch. Donald Ferguson. R. V. D. Giddings Co. Morning Star. Rea Hart. Arthur Nordvall. John A. Croon. F. L. Cleveland. Dr. M. R. Harned. Rockford Gas. Co. S. S. Budlong. W. F. Pitney. W. J. Roberts. Fred L. Burr. H. B. Andrews. Geo. B. Gregory. Dr. S. D. Wilgus. C. W. Wharton. Fred L. Morgan. Mrs. Kate Roper. Hess & Hopkins Co. C. P. Briggs. W. H. Boom. Page ten FOREWORD There are big towns and there are Uttle cities. The big town is an overgrown thing which must presently settle down to its appointed lot. The little city is a living community which must move on to realize its manifest destiny. Rockford is a little city. It is moving on and must still move on. City experts insist that its industries and bank clearings warrant a population double that which it now has, and do not hesitate to prophesy such a population within a few years. Its growth has been marked. It has outstripped other places in the state which were well known in the nation when Rock- ford was but a village, scarcely known outside the county. It is ex- panding steadily and rapidly in almost every direction. Observing this rapid growth of the city, our most fore-sighted people long since became apprehensive as to the results of unguided expansion. They saw addition after addition platted and new streets laid out with little or no reference to existing streets; they saw land fitted by nature for parks and recreation ground pre-empted by fac- tories which might easily have found more advantageous sites else- where; they saw ever increasing congestion of traffic in the down- town districts, and owing to that congestion transportation systems becoming less and less adequate; they were, in common with the whole community, shocked at the news of tragic accidents at grade crossings; they saw housing conditions for factory employees be- coming more and more unsatisfactory while near the factory districts were lands almost ideal for numberless homes. In view of these conditions a number of our most progressive citizens began a quiet agitation for a City Plan which would provide for the city's develop- ment, at the same time conserving its industrial advantages, preserv- ing its great natural beauty, and insuring the welfare and comfort of the rapidly increasing population. They happily succeeded in creating no little sentiment, responding to which Mr. Adam Gschwindt, President of the Chamber of Commerce at the time, appointed in April, 1915, a commission of representative men and women to investigate the feasibility of procuring and adopting a modern city plan, commensurate with the needs of the municipality and its environs. In spite of the anxieties incident to the great war and the many interests which tended to divert attention, the commission, under the efficient and tireless leadership of Mr. George D. Roper, laid hold of its task with enthusiasm and painstaking devotion, and after Page eleven THE ROCKFORD PLAN months of earnest study decided to invite into conference the most competent expert of City Plans available. Accordingly, on April 8, 1916, Mr. Myron Howard West, President of the American Park Builders of Chicago, met with the commission and -sketched the possible features of a plan for a greater Eockford. So impressed were all the members of the commission with Mr. West's compre- hension of Rockford's needs, that the executive committee was authorized to enter into contract with his firm on condition that the necessary funds ($5,000) could be secured. A canvass for the funds met with a generous response and the committee made the contract with the Park Builders on February 6, 1917. The plan was completed and submitted in its final form February 28, 1918, and was, on March 2, unanimously adopted by the commis- sion. In all its procedure the commission has felt the wisdom of making haste slowly and has therefore refused to be hurried, carefully de- liberating at every step, inviting suggestion, and welcoming criticism from all. It has received most cordial co-operation and makes par- ticular and grateful acknowledgment of the intelligent interest shown in its work by the city officials and various public spirited or- ganizations, and of the unfailing support and generous publicity given by the local press, the Register Gazette, the Morning Star, and the Republic. Substantial aid was also given by the Park Board, which assumed the cost of that part of the Plan relating to the survey and establishment of boulevards and driveways connecting the parks of the Rockford Park District. The Plan is, of course, not infallible, but it has, we are glad to record, commended itself to city officials, business men, and all pub- lic spirited citizens who have studied it sufficiently to become acquainted with its aim and scope. In the nature of things the Plan can never be finally carried out, for the reason that the city is a living thing in which, as in a tree, vital expansion forces will continually develop new forms to embody the unfolding corporate hfe. But while impossible of complete and final realization, the Plan is, we believe, in harmony with the city's ideal evolution. It is, therefore, presented, not as fixed and unalterable. It would be strange indeed if the new generations should not develop wisdom of their own and see the necessity of making some changes Page twelve FOREWORD and adaptations. We seek not to lay a dead hand upon them, but to lay for them foundations broad and true, realizing that the Rock- ford which ought to be tomorrow will be possible only if we wisely plan for it today. We assume that before any changes are made, their relative bearing and effect upon the scheme as a whole will be carefully studied and analyzed in order that the motif of the Plan in general may not suffer. The most cursory examination of the maps and charts will make it evident that the design has been to cover the city as a whole in the broadest sense without partiality or favor to any particular section or district. The guiding principle has been to build upon natural features and so far as possible to follow present lines of development. If to any it seem that owing to the war the times are inopportune for launching so ambitious a project, let it be remembered that City Planning is fundamentally a conservation measure. Its aim is to get full value for every dollar spent in public improvement, to prevent waste, and to avoid blunders which must later be corrected at great cost. A Plan is as truly an economy in building a city as in building a house. It should be borne in mind that the Plan is drawn with reference to a half century of growth. Some of its features, therefore, must await that growth. Many of them on the other hand may be real- ized without undue delay. In the meantime, our hope is that the Plan may be so wrought into the consciousness of all our people and of the growing generation especially, as to become an ideal which none will venture to transgress and all will seek to approach. Such an undertaking as the Plan involves, is a challenge to our civic spirit. It offers a curriculum in community effort. Can we achieve it? Yes, if we will work together, if as members of one body we unselfishly seek the good of the whole, emphasizing not the things that divide but the things that unite us. Rockford is potentially a city to stir in its people the emotions of the man of Tarsus, who in the midst of his world-molding activities uttered with pride the boast : May, 1918. '/ am a citizen of no mean city" WM. H. FULTON, Secretary, Rockford Citv Plan Commission. Page thirteen THE ROCKFORD PLAN LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL February 1, 1918. To the City Plan Commission Rockford, Illinois. Gentlemen : We take pleasure in submitting herewith a report and recom- mendations concerning the general development and betterment of Rockford from a structural standpoint, illustrated by maps, charts and sketches in order to visualize these recommendations. We have not attempted to go extensively into the reasons for city planning or to more than touch briefly on its value and scope, taking it for granted that your members are largely cognizant of these mat- ters from study and observation. We realize that this report is being submitted at a time when the thoughts and energy of the nation are centered on the great war and that there is, therefore, hesitancy in undertaking projects which may be deferred. In this connection, however, it is well to consider that the very foundations of city planning are conservation and efficiency. No more opportune time will ever exist to apply these to city building. While, therefore, we do not recommend that all the projects of this plan be undertaken at this time, we would urge upon you an immediate putting into effect of those suggestions having to do with control, especially in connection with the city's future growth, that the city may at once begin to save money and to insure itself against the duplication of past mistakes. AMERICAN PARK BUILDERS, By Myron Howard West. Page fourteen INTRODUCTION In the building of cities, progress has been made chiefly in the development of the component parts. City planning as a science aims to further improve these parts and to co-ordinate them into a satis- factory whole. The application of highly specialized branches of engineering,, architecture, medicine and sociology has, for instance, given us our wonderfully constructed fireproof buildings, scientifically arranged, heated, lighted and ventilated, made accessible by fast running ele- vators and pleasing to look upon. We have secured thereby, sani- tary water supply and sewage disposal, efficient street lighting, pav- ing and transportation. Our parks, playgrounds, social centers and schools have been developed into highly specialized units often grouped together to form a system thereby giving greater effective- ness in their particular service. Fire control, public hospitals, the supervision and prevention of disease and epidemics; the care and control of public dependents, the development and application of the building code, all these and many more factors in city building, maintenance and control have been developed to a high state. This progress has not been uniform. Some cities have advanced along one line, others along another and oftentimes, striking improve- ments adopted in one place are copied largely and hurriedly elsewhere without consideration of their local value. The great deficiency, however, in the building of cities, has been the lack of perspective. We have not built comprehensively and to a broad purpose. Though, for the most part, good material has been at hand with which to build, it has been applied to the structure erratically and in a way bound to produce misfits and confusion. The function of city planning is, therefore, to introduce and con- tinue a program whereby control may be given to the growing city and to benefits installed within the present city in such a way that the best practice may be applied uniformly to the parts and that the parts may be put together to form a city, workmanlike and econom- ical in its building, convenient in which to do business, safe, health- ful, attractive and one which will adequately meet the demands of our civilization. Comprehensive city planning is not new. The most workable cities we have are those the plans for which were laid down in the Page fifteen THE ROCKFORD PLAN beginning, and this, in view of the fact that engineers could not have foreseen present-day conditions, is noteworthy. The answer H^s in the fact that the foundations were well laid. The street system to- day fundamental and a century age forming practically the limit in city planning, in these cases was designed with care and made to ex- tend logically and without interruption. Where this was done, as for instance, in Washington, and in the many replanned and widely renovated cities of the old world, later needed features have been in- stalled easily and satisfactorily. The crux of good city building has always been in premeditated action and governmental or central control. The American city has been largely built by spasmodic action and individual control. Con- sidering this, it is little short of remarkable that the results in sum total have been as good as they are. What we have achieved has been largely by virtue of intelligent public opinion. Upon this we must depend. To crystalize pubHc sentiment is then the first to be accomplished. City planning may be made to appeal strongly to the average American citizen trained as he is in thinking along lines of conserva- tion and business prudence. He is appealed to by the fact that a city may be built at less expense due to a more economical use of land, a smaller percentage of street area used and by means of more direct and logical proceedure generally. That a city so built is less costly to maintain is obvious. All this has a very direct bearing on the matter of taxes, something which at once touches a responsive chord. It appeals strikingly to the practical man that a city built in an orderly way is more convenient in which to live and do business and convenience is immediately measured by him in dollars and cents. A systematic street design with arterial thoroughfares of ample width connecting important points and leading to outlying places, direct street car service, the elimination of grade crossings, the lessen- ing of freight congestion and a hundred other benefits which can be brought about only by comprehensive planning, mean a direct and continuous saving in time and expense which in the aggregate becomes tremendous. Furthermore, the advertising value of such a work is at once ap- preciated. Cities are in active competition with each other in se- Page sixteen INTRODUCTION curing industries and increased population. Admittedly, the first principle in advertising is to prove quality. In no better way can a city do this than show a definite and sensible program for its own advancement and to be able to point out improvements which have been carried out in accordance therewith. To meet municipal competition, cities must be made convenient. They also must be made attractive. Art has a large place indeed in good planning and is largely responsible for the interest being shown toward the work. It is the element on which attention is centered. It is something which can be seen and pointed out with pride to visitors. It helps the city meet competition. The manufacturer, in moving to a new location, although critical as to a proper site for his plant, as to freight facihties, labor, good housing and other like necessities, looks beyond to the schools, the parks, the character of the residential district, and in general, to the things which make the town comfortable and attractive; to those features which would make his home and the homes of his employees more pleasant. But here especially is city planning prone to go astray by laying too much stress on the artistic. Many of our earlier plans in America have fallen short because they were limited to ornamentation and applied only to a restricted area. We cannot afford to copy Caesar's Rome or Haussmann's Paris, where splendid creations of great cost predomi- nated a small portion of the city with squalor existing all around. Art is worth while and should be given due consideration, but it must not be made to overbalance. It must be judicially interwoven with the utilitarian. In many instances, improvements excellent in themselves, prove an obstruction because they hamper other equally important but un thought of benefits. Frequently parks have been installed which, while serving well their own purpose, have blocked ex- tension of streets and have thereby caused inconvenience for all time. Public buildings, excellent in themselves, have been misplaced. Rail- roads, oftentimes the chief reason for the city's existence, have be- come a menace to its value as a place of work and residence. To have met the ideal, the plan should have been drawn when there was no city. The problem now is principally to provide for the city to come. To bring about needed rehabilitation in the present city is important, but to a less degree. Cities of Rockford's Page seventeen THE ROCKFORD PLAN size and character may be looked upon to double in size in thirty years and while the rate of increase will probably diminish as the city grows larger, the city of to-day should be considered as a nucleus of that which is to come. To stop the duplication of past mistakes and provide a better city for the future may be brought about merely by proper regulation which necessitates only thought and foresight ap- plied now. This part of the program does not call for taxes in excess of what in any event would be needed, but rather insures a direct saving as applied to improvements which must take place as the city grows. By this policy, parks, school sites and other ground for public purposes would be acquired while it is still low in price, land platting would be regulated to provide for a well designed system of streets and the costly widening and cutting through so usual in the making over of cities would be obviated. In another half century, this section constructed upon the present city's environs, will be of the greater importance and the generations to come will profit immeasurably. Having accomplished the planning of the city to come and pro- vided for the application of common sense practice from this time on, it is time to turn our attention to the city as it exists today. The problem here is to keep it from becoming the antiquated and discarded old quarter. As an early settlement, it served well as a trading post and later as a farming center and manufacturing town, but as it passed on in its history to a city of thirty, forty, fifty thou- sand, its meager foundation and its unguided expansion caused the city to function improperly. Like an old factory, it must be strength- ened and rearranged to accommodate heavier machinery and im- proved methods of handling goods. It would be too costly to try to make it do, and, like the factory, the old city must be made over, especially with a view to the additions bound to come. Rehabilitation is costly and because its effects are more imme- diate, this becomes naturally the part in city planning upon which public attention is most keenly focused. The method with which the work is attempted becomes extremely important to the success of the whole enterprise. It is necessary to impress on citizens the policy for which the whole program stands, that of conservation, and sys- tematic progress. These internal improvements should be taken up and disposed of prudently and as opportunity affords, the most needed Page eighteen INTRODUCTION being undertaken first and continued in sequence. No city is finan- cially able to correct the mistakes of half a century in one, five or ten years, but on the other hand, to temporize when the time has come to act denotes poor business judgment and spells greater cost in the long run. Courage and thoroughness are needed in city building as much as in the many enterprises centered within the city. At the onset, a clear understanding should be taken as to scope of a city planning program. Of this the expert's report must neces- sarily be elementary as compared with the great work continuing over the years to come and of which it is an exponent. The larger effort lies in holding and guiding a working majority to insure against political interference and above all, in skillfully ap- plying to the ground the suggested improvements making such cor- rections and additions thereto, demanded by changing conditions as will further the policy of uniform and co-ordinated benefits. "Progress toward a better day for cities owes more than might be guessed to the impetus of dreams, and hope and high resolve, for these furnish the inspiration to practical achievements." —CHARLES MULFORD ROBINSON. Page nineteen THE CITY OF ROCKFORD As a basis for recommendations to follow, a survey has been made of Rockford's principal activities and structural features, the findings of v^^hich, while used chiefly under various chapters following, may be here partially set forth. Location and Topography Rockford extends along both sides of the Rock River for a dis- tance of some four miles and back therefrom in each direction to about one-half this distance, in all, covering an area of fourteen square miles within the present platted territory. The city lies in the midst of a fertile and prosperous area and is surrounded by flourishing towns and cities. Topographically as well as strategically, the city is well placed. In all directions except to the southeast, the land is high and rolling forming well drained and healthful sites for homes. Areas subject to floods are few. In all directions may be found beautiful tracts of woodland broken by streams and excellently suited for future parks. Along the east bank of the river the land rises abruptly forming commanding bluffs on which are located the two larger park units of the present system. To the southeast is an extensive area of nearly level land upon which have been placed many of the city's industrial plants, and where farther to the south lies the great government cantonment. Although more uniform in its direction of growth than many cities, the built-up sections have extended somewhat more to the northeast along the river and along the railroad lines to the east and west. Considering all areas shown on plats of record within and be- yond the city limits, there is included 9,160 acres. Of this there is devoted to : Housing (built-up) 4,060 acres or 44 . 32% of the whole Business 153 acres or 1 ^67% of the whole Industrial and R. R 100 acres or 1 . 09% of the whole Parks 255 acres or 2 . 78% of the whole Schools 43 acres or . 47% of the whole Institutional 54 acres or . 59% of the whole Cemeteries 106 acres or 1 . 16% of the whole Vacant and Scattering 4,389 acres or 47 . 92% of the whole Page twenty THE CITY OF ROCKFORD Based on the 1917 estimated census, there would be an average density of 6 people to an acre over the entire area or 13.6 an acre over that part devoted to housing. Growth and Population Barring the peHod between 1880 and 1890, there seems to have been no period of spasmodic growth in population. The average of the several decennial rates of growth since 1860 is 44.5%, the present rate being 32.3%. Rockford has in no sense ever been a boom town. Her growth has been due to conservative business and industry aided by an ex- cellent tributary agricultural district. A study of the population growth of eight cities similar to Rock- ford as to tributary area, industries and other factors, shows that while the rate of increase in population is not as high as the average of these cities, the decrease in the percentage of increase, which takes place as cities grow, has been less marked. By prolonging the popu- lation curve, using the average rate of increase of these eight cities, it will be seen that by the year 1970, Rockford will have a population of 204,000. This is conservative. By figuring Rockford's future population on the basis of her present rate of growth, the city would reach a population of 227,000 by the same year. The discussions in this report are based on a population of 215,000. '00 30 „ CURI/E QhOWING 4VLRAQL RaTE' OF iNCftEACE FbFULAT/ON OF ^IGHT ClTlC^ 'SiMILAB IN In no 1 T^ATE or /ncpease: Fek Decade. in-Ths Population, of F^ockford Si e.0 H 1 5 U 5. ^ X \ \ 3 \ f - r7 \ * ^-. 1 V s ^ Cj ^-^ k 1 1 ~~~' — - — i: ^ ^ ? ^ s s s ? 5 5 s S t 1 ^ 5 1 g ? 5 1 J 1 Fofu LATION In Th OUS^h /05 Page twenty-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN 1^ p A A — tUTURE O-fiOH/TH OF FioCKFORD CoMPursD From Cuhvc of /^vzrage. k^wr/No RiT£ OF e Or/£S J3 — FuTUFfE Growth of RocHford Computed From Present Rati If Gomtaait C - FuTURB Growth of Fqckford CoMPtfTED FflOM ^VFRAGF BmT EaTE If Growth Co/v^tant 1 , / zoo 1 1 / 1 / 1 1 / 1 / / <0 160 1 // 9 1 i^ ' // f^ t / jt 1 / / / ■/ § ,'■ / BO // ^ ^ / 1 c- ^^ / '^ ^ .--^ g> ■" y£4R So ' /£ ISO / w IS so /» *o -IS /s 90 The charac- ter of Roekford's population is ex- ceptional. Ap- proximately 10- 000 are listed in the 1910 census as wage earners, 728 as clerks, 278 as salaried offi- cers, superin- tendents and managers, 2 8 as proprietors and firm mem- bers. To a large extent, the owners and important officials in manufacturing concerns have their homes in Rockford. The wage earners are practically all highly paid mechanics and artisans employed in high class manu- facturing concerns. Working men generally own their own homes, making Rockford comparatively free from tenements and slum con- ditions. The bulk of Roekford's population is of Enghsh or Scan- dinavian descent. The following chart shiojws graphically the divisions under which both native and foreign born are arranged. Industrially, Rockford stands second to Chicago in the state. With nearly three hundred man- ufacturing establishments, situ- [^7k7w^ ated as she is near the greatest labor market in the middle west and having her products known the world over, she holds an enviable position among cities of her class. Labor troubles are rare. The diversity of man- . » . 11-1 ,. Arrangement by Divisions of Native and Ufactures and a higher type of Foreign Born inhabitants. Page twenty-two THE CITY OF ROCKFORD workmen make for stability and guard against boom and depression periods common to single industry cities. Rockford is a retail trade center for a wide area containing over 100,000 people. The city is well supplied with schools and churches, clubs and associations for civic advance. Music, art and drama are well represented. The city government has for the most part been pro- gressive and efficient as shown by the quantity and character of pub- lic improvements installed. Rockford is an attractive city beyond the average. To a large extent, her attractiveness has been retained rather than developed, the unusual in American cities. Such examples as Blackhawk and Sinissippi Parks show well the appreciation the people have for Rock- ford's natural beauty, while the character of the homes, the lawns and the well shaded streets show an impelling desire on the part of her inhabitants to keep the city free from the sordid and the ugly and to weave through it some of the beauty so strikingly apparent amid Rockford's surroundings. Page twenty-three THE OBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE PLAN In preparing a general plan for Rockford's future growth, an area has been included which based upon an average population density of six to the acre will accommodate 215,000 people, estimated for the year 1970. This area would comprise fifty-six square miles. The platting has been extended principally along lines of growth already defined with the added consideration of locations especially suitable for industries, business and housing. The objects of the plan may be summarized under the following headings : Streets The arrangement of an outlying system: To meet through and local traffic requirements. Provide for the growth of business. Secure an economical arrangement of land. Meet conditions of topography. Provide suitable connections with other elements of the plan. The correction of the present system of streets to provide better facilities for traffic circulation: By establishing logical connections with the outlying street system by means of: Widening. Opening through. Providing better intersections. Bridging river and creeks. Elimination of grade crossings. To make streets more attractive by: Regulation of buildings. Uniform building lines. Systematic tree planting. Improved street lighting. Regulation of bill-boards and overhead wires. Treatment of street intersections. Street ornamentation. Page twenty-four THE OBJECT AND SCOPE OF THE PLAN Railroads To obtain a more direct routing of freight from main lines to and from industrial plants with special consideration to the factory district as extended by : Removing unnecessary tracks. Reducing switching within the city. Secure more attractive approaches to the city by rail. Recover the river front for public use. Secure Union Passenger Station to serve all steam and inter- urban lines of the present and future. Interurban Lines Secure fast service in and out of city. Use of Union Station for terminal. Arrangement for transfer points with local electric lines. Local Electric Lines Better routing to serve present city. Extension of lines over specially designed streets to serve uni- formly and adequately, the future city. Districting The restricting of types of buildings and utilities for the purpose of : Protecting the home. Aiding industries. Insuring normal and uniform growth of city. Parks To provide a uniform distribution of park units, forming a nearly constant ratio of park area to the population as growth takes place. Provide equally spaced and convenient sites for future schools and neighborhood centers. Arrange parks in conjunction with the street plan so that the latter will be obstructed to the least possible degree. Page twenty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN Parks — continued Form a series of radial parkings leading out of the city. Secure tracts having natural beauty. Utilize lands having comparatively little value for residential purposes. Secure and preserve the river banks for public use. Protect streams from pollution and floods. Public Buildings To arrange for public building sites so that as new structures are needed, they may be so placed and built as to form a dig- nified and beautiful group conveniently located and provided with attractive approaches and settings. Page twenty-six STREETS Existing Layout Originally the town was platted along the ri\-cr where now exists the central lousiness district. The streets ran northeast and south- west, forming nearly square blocks. Street direction was changed repeatedh' as the town grew, gradually merging into a north, south, east and west sj'stem as the cit}' aii]:)roached its present size. The con- tinual change in platting has brouglit about a ^•aried assortment of odd shaped l)locks, irregular intersections and stub end streets. The three creeks leading through the city have interfered seriously with street extensions. The platting, aside from being inconvenient, has been decidedly extra\agant. Due to the small blocks, al>out thirty per centum of the entire platted area is taken up by streets. Streets are for the most part sixty-six feet wide and this, generalh' is sufficient. It is, however, inadecjuate for the main thorough- fares leading to outlying territory. In general, the grades are easy, although in certain sections, as that to the south of Sinissippi Park, there are extremely steep inclines and a much better arrangement could have been obtained by the use of curved streets. The city is approached from all directions bv an Map of Rockford, 1835. f.l""""*,! J- 1' '' w ^ 't*^ -'K Later Map of Rockford Showing First Changes in Street Arrangement. Page twenty-seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN excellent system of roads which for the most part make direct entry to the business section. In some cases, however, important connections have been cut off or blocked after entering part way into the city, as in the case with Woodruff and Kilburn Avenues. Bridge connections between the east and west sides are infre- quent and until recently, this has caused undue congestion in the business district. This condition has been to a degree relieved by the new Morgan Street Bridge, and will be further relieved by the Chestnut Street Bridge now under construction. The city is badly cut up by railroads, which with few exceptions, cross the streets at grade, forming no inconsiderable menace to life and limb. While many of the above defects are serious and need correcting, the chief defect lies in the lack of control of the width and arrange- ment of streets beyond the hmits of the present city. New subdi- visions are constantly being added with little care exercised in secur- ing an orderly layout, and in no case doing more than to extend the checkerboard scheme regardless of topography and the need of a more varied arrangement to meet special conditions. Proposed System of Outlying Streets The outer system of streets as shown in the general plan consists in the main of a series of rectangular blocks, superimposed upon which is a system of diagonals and circumferential thoroughfares. In addition to this, wherever the topography seems to call for it, areas have been laid out with curved streets designed to fit in with the rest of the system and to carry traffic through as directly as pos- sible. A number of the main diagonals shown are existing country roads; these should be widened to fit them for use as city streets of this class. Cross diagonals are placed to collect local traffic and carry it to logical distributing points. Altogether, these diagonals constitute the skeleton of the city upon which the rest of the street system is built. Whereas, in all cases possible the minor streets provide for uninterrupted traffic, every encouragement is given to divert heavy traffic from them thereby giving to these streets the quiet and privacy so much to be desired. The diagonals would be of ample width to provide for double car tracks and for two lines of moving vehicles on each side. They Page twenty-eight STREETS would also be designed as business thoroughfares, to take care of trunk line sewers and in general to serve as the main artery system of the city. On each side and parallel to these is placed a secondary diagonal planned to carry lighter and fast moving traffic and further for the purpose of providing a better block frontage on the central street, to separate cross traffic at greater intervals and to force the odd shaped blocks back into residential territory where they become desirable rather than the reverse. The boulevard system connecting principal park units is inde- pendent and designed to carry only pleasure traffic. Blocks would range in size from 264 x 594 feet to 264 x 814 feet in residential districts and 356 x 800 on business streets. Blocks would be without alleys except where business development may be expected. It is recommended that the width of streets be as follows : Main diagonals: 108 feet wide providing for two 24 foot road- ways, a 20 foot reservation for street cars, two 10 foot side walks and 10 foot planting spaces, the tree space to be used for additional sidewalk when needed. Secondary traffic streets: 84 feet v/ide; two 16 foot roadways, 20 foot spaces for street cars, 8 foot planting spaces, 6 foot walks with a two foot strip between walk and property line. Residential streets: 66 feet wide. 32 foot driveway, 10 foot planting spaces, 6 foot walks, and 1 foot strip between property line and sidewalk. In certain instances the roadway to be diminished to 28 or 26 feet, the planting space in such cases to be widened propor- tionally. Boulevards: To be not less than one hundred feet or 150 feet where central parking is carried out. What is Accomplished by the Street Plan By this plan local traffic from every direction would be easily and quickly centralized on main diagonals and taken into the city by the most direct route, thus insuring the handling of the city's business in the most expeditious manner and with the least cost. Residential streets would be protected to a large degree from the Page twenty-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN noise and danger of through traffic. Business would be encouraged to develop along specially designed thoroughfares of ample width and would correspondingly be discouraged from encroaching upon the residential sections. By the use of curved streets on areas of rugged contour, land would be developed more interestingly and a large amount of money would be saved in grading operations. By the arrangement of streets as shown, a tremendous saving in cost would be made over the fifty years contemplated for the fulfill- ment of the Rockford Plan. Based on the comparison with present standard platting in the city, it is found that the total street area of the proposed layout would be 26.1% of the total area as compared with the 29.3% in existing platting, saving ninety-four miles of street over the entire new section involved. The cost of improving streets per mile at present prices is ap- proximately as follows: Sewers, $2 per foot .... . . . $10,560 Water, $1.50 per foot. .. . . . 7,920 " Catch-basins. ... 600 Trees ... . ... 5,000 Lighting 5,280 Paving, 30 ft. width, $2.25 per sq. yd., plus $1 per foot for curb 44,880 Side walks, $1.80 per foot. 9,504 Grading, average . . ... 11,616 Total per mile . $95,360 The reduction of ninety-four miles of streets would therefore incur a saving of $8,963,440.00. Added to this would be the saving in the amount of land which would otherwise be used. This amounts to 4|% for alleys and 3% in street area or a total of 7j% of the area involved in new platting, or in all, amounting to 1,934 acres. Basing the value of this land at ten cents a square foot, or $13.20 a front foot on average residential blocks, there would be given a saving of $8,428,070.00, which, added to that in street im- provements, would total $17,391,510.00. Page thirty STREETS The 1,934 acres of land in this way diverted from street use would be rendered free to be used for ordinary purposes. Assuming that it might be made to produce a revenue of 4% per annum, a yearly earning of $337,123.00 would thus be secured. In addition to the above, there would be a considerable saving in carrying charges. Interest and depreciation at say 10% on the cost of improvements mentioned, would amount to $896,344.00, while the up-keep and repair of ninety-four miles of streets at $100.00 a mile per annum, would give $9,400.00, or a total saving in carrying charge of $905,744.00, or a per capita charge for the 215,000 popula- tion of $4.21 per annum. Page thirty-one SPECIAL STREET CHANGES The Widening of Church Street It is plain to see that within a comparatively short time there will be need for the extension of Rockford's business district. The natural growth of this district would immediately involve Church Street. This street enters largely into the Union Station and Civic Center schemes treated elsewhere in this report. Constituting as it would an intermediate element in this scheme, its consideration be- comes exceedingly important. It is proposed to widen Church Street to one hundred feet, to treat it as an avenue with regard to planting and lighting and to bring about, if possible, a suitable facading of buildings which would make this thoroughfare one of unusual dignity and beauty. Church Street is now sixty-six feet wide. To widen it the 34 feet, tak- ing off 17 feet on a side, would necessitate the re- construction of building fronts. The undertaking, although seemingly of great magnitude, is not unreasonable and is perfectly jDOSsible of ac- complishment. Most of the improvements south of State Street are of a comparatively low type and their disturl)ance would not entail great cost other than that needed to secure the land. The widening would take place either by condemnation or ]uu'chase of the land needed, or by a method of establishing a building line back of which all future buildings will be erected. ]^y the carrying out of this project, Church Street frontage would be given marked increase in value, and its future as a shopping center would be definitely established. Looking South on Church Street Towards Site of Proposed Union Station. Page thirty-two SPECIAL STREET CHANGES Peach Street Peach Street, according to the plans, would also ha^■e an iin])ort- ant relation to the C'i\'ic Center-Station Project, one which it could not suitably fulfill with its present width. Owing to the high class character of buildings along this street, a severe widening would be extremely costh'. It is recommended that the building line, how- ever, Idc established to give a width of one hundred feet with an im- mediate widening of sevent>'-nine feet as an intermediate stage, the latter width being i^ossiblc by carrying building line back to the line of the American Insurance Building and Elk's Clul), which, on account of their costly construction, dominate the situation. With other buildings set back to the one hundred foot line, thf^re may be an opportunity some time in the future to also ext 'nd this width through to Church Street. Main and State Streets At present the congestion on these streets in the down town section is most serious. With regard to vehicular traffic, this, Jiow- ever, may be exj)ected to diminish with the construction of the new bridges across the ri\'er, by the working out of a better routing of street cars and the ultimate expansion of business. There, how(^\'er, would remain the n(>cessity of taking care of pedestrian traffic. Side walks now \'ary in width from seven to thirteen feet. They should be at least twenty feet wide. The remedy lies in cutting off of ])i'o- r ■J".. East State Street, Rockford, 1855. _ j^-m" 4» Page thirty-three THE ROCKFORD PLAN jections such as basement stairways and show windows and securing thereljy a width of thirteen feet, which is the average setback of main buildings. Where main building walls are too near the curb to allow this width, the only relief seemingly lies in arcading, thereby carry- ing the sidewalk back to the required distance, under the second floor. Wyman Street Extension Wyman Street, although narrow, is in such a location as to make it one of exceeding importance. With t'he remo\'al of the car tracks provided in the general scheme of street car lines, it may be made to serve to far better advantage, and it is questionable if a radical increase in its width would be expedient, especially in as much as the abutting blocks are narrow. It is recommended, however, that the street be extended north to Park Avenue and terminated in an appropriate feature at the entrance to Indian jMound Park. Wyman Street. Showing insufficient width to admit of car West River Bank at State Street. Ksjjlaiiadc would extend from Library grounds to Wahiiit Street Bridge. Page thirty-four Suggested Treatment for Esplanade. Proposed Treatment East Terminus of Elm Street, Showing Sidewalk Connection with Esplanade. Page thirty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN Esplanade Along River Front This improvement, as shown, would extend southward from the library as far as Walnut Street Bridge and would consist of taking a twenty-foot strip along the river bank, protected by a wall and form- ing a promenade. Shop frontage would thereby be provided and the appearance of the river front vastly improved. Grove Street Extension It is recommended that Grove Street be carried through as shown in plans to connect with Woodruff Avenue, the extension of which, to the southeast would give an important main thoroughfare. The need of carrying a bridge across the river to connect Cedar and Grove Streets is anticipated and with this accomplished, the connection of these two diagonals would be the more necessary. Woodruff Avenue should be extended along the railroad between Fourteenth Avenue and Nineteenth Street and beyond to tap outlying territory. -^''V FAIR aROUNDS^ WEST STAT Jt. K m ^m^ ^ CHESTNUT ST OtPftB. ST Proposed Street Corrections. Page thirty-six SPECIAL STREET CHANGES Seventh Street It is recommended that Seventh Street be carried north to State Street and further extended to meet Jefferson Street as shown. Kilburn Avenue To be carried throu^ to connect with Cherry Street, from whence, over Rockton Avenue and Peach Street, a more direct en- trance would be made to the business center. Horsman Street To be carried through from State to Chestnut and thence wid- ened as far as Green Street. Hovey Avenue To be carried through to connect with Fisher Avenue. Proposed Street Corrections. Page thirty-seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN D D Adeims Street To be carried through to East State Street. Second Avenue To be connected with WiUiams Park. St. Anthony Hospital District To be platted as shown. Oxford Street To be carried through to Harlem Boulevard, North Second Street To be straightened as shown beyond North Bridge. North Bridge It is assumed that the city will, at some future date give serious consideration to the correction of the grade and alignment of the North Bridge. Whenever it is found necessary to erect a new bridge, it is suggested that it may be placed as shown on accompnaying drawings. The bridge would be somewhat longer, but would pro- vide a better connection with approaching streets. Page thirty-eight GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATION Winnebago Viaduct The crossing of Winnebago Street over the North Western Rail- road at grade should by all means be corrected, especially in view of the proposed scheme to carry all other roads of the city over this right of way. The viaduct now crossing the railroad yards to the south would have to be raised to go over this main railroad group. This could be accomplished at first by starting at a point on the present viaduct and going over the high point at the North Western tracks at a grade of 3%. Eventually, the entire viaduct should be rebuilt, widened and raised with a straight grade from Cun- ningham Street to the high point and meeting the present grade to the north at Green Street. Cedar Street traffic would be carried up on an incline in the center as shown in accompanying cut. Cedar Street would be widened to one hundred feet from Court Street to Main Street to provide for this change and to give the necessary traffic circulation near the Union Station. Seventh Street and North Western Crossing Seventh Street being the important East Side business thorough- fare, should have a separate crossing with the North Western line. This is also made the more important on account of the railroad rearrangement project taken up later. A study of the plans will show how this may be accomplished by depressing the street, using a maximum of 4% grade. Business blocks would be altered to meet the new grade by inserting basement stories. The approach grade would extend north to Fifth Avenue. Other Grade Crossings The ehmination of the following grade crossings is also recom- mended: First Street, Third Street and Kishwaukee Street on viaducts to be adjusted to give satisfactory approaches. Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh, Fifteenth and Twentieth Streets and Fourteenth Avenue to be carried under the railroad in subways. In order to accomplish these improvements together with that at Seventh Street, it is proposed, to change the grade of the North Western line. The present grade is down at about .4% from a point Page thirty-nine 2 i t I ->i u o I z Id .J o x OL, Hr-f- ■a O 01 a a bO s Id O o O y3 o r IS Hvaaoi l?NipNi xf xaaHo ia tea T3 a o a M bo o o- bo o 1/3 J3 ■*-» S o > o m •3 2 bO o o ^ o h> h. h>h lA ^ M <4 -4 O Page forty GRADE CROSSING ELIMINATION one and one-quarter miles east of Thirteenth Street to Ninth Street at which point it is four feet below the track elevation at the Kishwaukee Street viaduct. It is proposed to change this to a gradient of |% eastward from Kishwaukee Street to Ninth Street, thence about level to the present grade to the east. This would raise the tracks as follows: Fifth Street 2 feet. Seventh Street 7| feet. Eighth Street . . ... . 10| feet. Ninth Street 12 feet. Eleventh Street .... 6| feet. The approaches to First and Third Street viaducts would be decreased to a maximum 6% of and to 4% wherever possible. The approach to Kishwaukee Street viaduct would be corrected by continuing the grade as far north as Third Avenue giving a 4% slope and to the south as far as Union Street. This would necessitate a severe raising in the grade of College Avenue and Fifth Avenue at Seminary Street which, although entailing necessary damage to abutting property, will in all probability have to be done in later years. From Kishwaukee and Grove Street, the grade of Grove Street extended would depress at 4% to Fifth Street, Fifth Street being carried under the railroad group. Eighth Street is important as a connecting link in the proposed boulevard system. A subway would be obtainable on a 4% slope. Ninth Street would be carried through a subway with an ap- proach grade to the north extended to Seventh Avenue. Eleventh Street would be taken under the main lines, switching leads and team tracks. Beyond this point to the east, streets may be carried under or over the railroads with comparatively little difficulty. West Side Streets Avon Street already at a low elevation would be carried through to the proposed teaming yard by subway. This would be for heavy teaming only. Page forty-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN Sanford Street from the south would be carried through to the railroad and connected by a viaduct to Tay Street on the north with an approach extending about to Cedar Street. Horace Street has existing subway which should be extended under all lines. Pierpont Street at present goes over the North Western line. This should be extended over all tracks. All existing grade crossings on Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, would be abolished by elevation according to the general plan. Street Grades A study of street grades beyond the present city limits should be made by the City Engineer Department and grades of all main thoroughfares so establis,hed as to provide separate crossings with railroads, the grades of secondary streets thereafter being so designed as to fit those of the main thoroughfares. Page forty-two PUBLIC COMFORT STATIONS Public Comfort stations are a necessity as a health measure. In Europe they have long been accepted as part of the City's fur- nishing and are built with a most careful consideration as to detail. American cities everywhere are taking steps to provide such features. Rockford's need in this respect is the more pressing on account of the great number of visitors to the cantonment and the many people who drive into' town from the surrounding country. There are no saloons and therefore these cannot be counted as they are oftentimes, to furnish toilets for men. Comfort stations should he made inconspicuous although they have possibilities of treatment which may render them not un- attractive. They should serve as convenience stations in every sense of the word. In addition to the ordinary equipment, they should provide for telephone and city directories, for checking bundles and for dressing room service. Each station should have a rest room for women and attendants could have for sale such articles as pins, needles and thread, combs, etc. To meet immediate requirements, a station could be built under the street surface near the intersection of Main and State Streets, entrance being given from the sidewalk. In connection with the Church Street improvement, a good location is afforded on the grounds of the County Building. Other sites to be considered would be : East State and Kishwaukee Streets. Seventh Street and Railroad. On proposed Esplanade along river. Public comfort stations should be a part of every park equip- ment either combined with the field house or built separately. Page forty-three THE BUILDING OF STREETS Methods of building streets change radically from time to time and it is therefore not desirable in a general city plan to discuss specifications. This is a matter however which should concern the city plan board quite as much as will the arrangement and exten- sion of streets. It should be assumed that a later organization of the board will enable it to employ expert engineering talent and to check and control in at least a general way, the material and methods which will enter into the actual construction of the streets. The preliminary city plan may however, well consider the arrangement and treatment of the elements which go to make up the street such as sewers, water mains, pavements, lighting, street trees, etc., which, although they may be added to, will always re- main to the street what the plumbing, roofing, lighting and decora- tion are to the house. While as has been pointed out, the chief mistake has been in improperly locating and fitting the street to the ground, much extrav- agance and inconvenience has been caused by poor workmanship in fitting the parts of the streets together, although the parts them- selves may have been well made. It is not unusual to see under- ground service being installed shortly after the pavement has been laid. Streets are apt to be built piece-meal in a way to serve im- mediate needs and the immediate locahty only. The type of light- ing and tree planting is apt to change frequently and to give a spotted and heterogeneous aspect to the city. All this is of course due to the lack of a broad and definite program. The following general recommendations, although seemingly obvious, would if carried out, largely aid in producing a suitable street system. Underground Service This should be laid with the idea of permanency and to conform to future requirements. With a definite street plan adopted and with a housing code which will go far to limit population density, the size and arrangement of water, sewer, gas and electric service may be fixed and installed with the fair certainty that it will only have to be molested for repairs and maintenance and not for en- largement. Page forty-four THE BUILDING OF STREETS Electric Wires City planning experts are of one accord that electric wires should be placed underground. Poles and overhead wires are manifestly a disfigurement to streets. They interefere seriously with trees and form some element of danger to human life. Ice storms and fires frequently interfere with service. The principal reasons for placing wires overhead are the comparatively low initial cost and the ease with which connections may be made with build- ings. Owing to the popularity of aerial construction with electric companies, underground service has been slow in perfecting and there has been difficulty in the past in securing types of installation which would operate satisfactorily and which could be built within reasonable cost. With the improved types of conduit, armored multiple cable, standardized hand holes and improved methods of wiring the excessive cost and faulty operation of underground lines has, however, been largely diminished. With the tendency in this direction and with cities everywhere making efforts to rid their streets of unnecessary poles and overhead wires, a radical and speedy change in the method of serving cities may be looked for. The city should co-operate with the Electric Company and facilitate its work in every way possible. The change should be brought about in the central section first and extended gradually as can be afforded until the entire city is freed from aerial installation. The franchise should be changed with regard to new streets to permit only of an approved type of underground wiring. Lighting The decorative elTect of the street may be materially increased by good lighting. In seeking the decorative however, many times the thing has been overdone. Lighting efficiency has been lost sight of. Excess lighting has been produced and cheap ornateness has taken the place of art. The chief consideration in hghting streets it would seem, should be to furnish light that streets may be made safer and more con- venient to travel. With this in mind, a careful study should be made to secure the types of lamps which will produce the most hght Page forty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN with the least consumption of current, the height and spacing of standards which on varying widths of streets will give the most uniform illumination and such shades and reflectors as will minimize glare. The chief element of decoration is then accomplished, the street being illuminated evenly with a soft pleasing light. Further dec- oration may be had by applying artistic design to the electrolier, which although with proper lighting is made relatively inconspicuous at night, becomes an important street furnishing in the daytime. In the past this detail has been left principally to draftsmen engaged by lamp post foundries aided by adroit salesmen keen in their perception of the tastes of council committeemen, the result invariably has been a superabundance of blazoned filigree and an absence of good lines and proportion. Concrete is fast coming into use for electroliers and has great possibilities, but regardless of what material is used, it is urged that the city, in giving consideration to its lighting problem, adopt a truly artistic lamp post and use it uniformly where new lighting is installed, gradually replacing the posts now in use as they are discarded. One other point should be considered. The whole city should be adequately lighted just as it should be adequately policed. This is not accomplished by installing at great cost a "white way" on some local business street already well lighted by shop windows and by depending on the moon for illumination in the outlying residential districts. Good judgement may apply to the lighting of streets as to all other departments of city planning. Paving: Pavements should be selected as to suitability of type for the streets on whic,h they are to be placed rather than on account of the popularity that any particular pavement may have at the moment of letting the contract. New pavements and variations of old pavements are constantly being placed on the market and it is granted that most of these have their merits, but the writer has observed cases where cities have wasted millions of dollars by adopt- ing new forms of pavements and applying them indiscriminately to residence and business streets, warehouse districts, between car tracks and elsewhere and while under some conditions of traffic they gave long service and were in every way suitable, in others they Page forty-six THE BUILDING OF STREETS quickly failed. Without going into lenghty discussion of pavements, the following general recommendations are made with the thought of steering the city clear of the more common mistakes. Consider with extreme care the adjustment of street grades, road drainage, and the installation of underground service. Adopt specifications drawn by competent, unbiased engineers and not by contractors unless long term guarantees are given, amply secured by bond. Make every effort possible to maintain rigid and honest inspec- tion. Lay one type of pavement continuously over main through streets or in districts having fairly uniform use. Use on down town streets, main thoroughfares, outlying busi- ness districts, freight yards and in other locations frequented by heavy traffic, pavements of the non-resilient type such as Belgian block, wood block or brick. Secondary business streets: Lighter forms of above or heavy sheet asphalt. Residential streets : A type which will be noiseless, resilient and sanitary such as sheet asphalt, bitulitic, asphalt concrete, etc. Boulevards and Parkways: Same as for residential streets or lighter forms such as tar or asphalt macadam. Outlying road connections : Brick or concrete. Page forty-seven STREET TREES Rockford has received the appelation, "The Forest City." This is fitting for the reason of the great number of trees growing on her streets. Some two years ago a tree census of the city was made by the school children. It was found that outside of the parks and cemeteries there were growing in the city, 142,044 trees, 43% of which were growing on the streets. A large proportion of these trees were over 12 inches in diameter. At that time there were 154 miles of streets. This would give an average distance at which trees were planted of 26 feet which average would be lessened on account of the stretches of parkways unplanted. In as much as street trees should be planted generally as far as 50 feet apart to produce the best effect and growth, it will be seen that tree planting so far as numbers go, has been much overdone. This is shown in many cases by specimens whiqh are stunted and ill shapen by reason of crowding. Rockford's trees have been planted and cared for by individual property owners without municipal supervision and while this has brought about a forest aspect on account of the many types, sizes and variety of spacing, it has not on the whole been productive of the best results in street furnishing. It has, on the other hand, pro- duced a problem which will take many years and a considerable out- lay of money to adjust. While Rockford's streets have been rendered spotted and to a large degree characterless by the lack of uniform planting, the principal criticism is with respect to the condition in which the trees are, due to their care by individuals. In some localities there has been indeed a total lack of care and the trees have been suffered to grow without pruning or repair and present an unkempt and dilapi- dated appearance. On the other hand, cases were noted where trees have suffered severely through the zealous but unintelligent efforts of abutting property owners. In some instances, it was noted that fine rows of elms had been severly pollarded, a needless operation, from which it will take years for them to recover. Whitewashing of trunks, an inexcusable practice, and the scraping and banding for the tussock moth on species not susceptible to attack by this insect were noted. There was also to be seen in numerous cases the handi- work of the ever present tree doctor who, keen for revenue, rarely Page forty-eight STREET TREES D D stops with the needed treatment. Due to the lack of proper super- vision by the city, the usual depredations by the electric and gas companies, teams and construction crews were everywhere apparent. In the survey of tweaty-five typical blocks, the following per- centage of species was determined : Per Cent. Per Cent. Elms 45 Linden . . ... .5 Box Elder 14 Poplar .5 Oak 7 Soft Maple 4 Catalpa 7 Hickory 1| Sugar and Norway Walnut . . • . 1§ Maple 6 Miscellaneous 4 Of these, the elms, oaks, maples and lindens constitute prac- tically the only species of the list that should be used for street planting purposes. The criticism in relation to the street trees of Rockford centers upon the lack of a competent centralized authority armed with a definite and scientific plan of operation. While the city has to thank individual effort for its trees without which it would be barren and dismal indeed, this manner of planting and maintenance can never be expected to give to a city a system of street trees properly selected, planted and cared for which will fulfill the requirements that it should fulfill as one of the standard elements in city furnishing. Recommendations Organization: There are, in American Cities, three principal forms of street tree administration; first, where authority is exercised by a board of public works, street department or some other similar public bureau; second, where authority is exercised by the park depart- ment ; third, where authority is exercised by an independent commission . As in all other matters of municipal control, the form matters little so long as the personnel of the board in control is made up of broad minded, intelligent people who in turn, delegate the active supervision to a trained and competent executive. It is of prime importance that at the onset, the trees and planting spaces of the entire present and future city be given over into the absolute control of the designated board and that there shall be no further planting, repair or interference of trees by individuals unless by permit from its executive officer. Page forty-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN Design in planting: Although it is assumed that the executive in charge of street tree work would be a trained arboriculturist, he should be guided by a general plan of procedure prepared in advance which will fix with more or less definiteness, the objects to be at- tained and the method of attainment. This program should not only heed the cultivable conditions which exist, but conform to the city plan in fitting together all things harmoniouslj'. Trees may not be limited in their use to providing shade on residence streets. Distinct types of planting shpuld be undertaken where special effects are to be produced as in the approach to a public building, monument or bridge where such is a dominating note in the scheme or in the treatment of a parkway where a naturalistic effect is desired. Formal rows of clipped trees are often used in Europe to carry out in a landscape architectural way, a motive dominated by a formal architectural element. Planting on different streets may be varied to give individual character or to better meet building conditions likely to take place. Planting in the Residential District: Residence streets being in the preponderance naturally receive first consideration in a tree planting program. As seen by the Rockford tree census, the American Elm has been used to the exclusion of most other kinds. While this tree is in many respects the American tree par excellence, its large size and spreading habit make it unsuitable for use in many instances. Unless the tree spaces are ample and the building line is well set back, it does not have sufficient room for limb or root growth and becomes stunted and misshapen. It is how- Good Building Line and Lawn Treatment in Rockford. ever, one ot the objects Page fifty STREET TREES of this plan to bring about in the arrangement of streets and buildings, the very conditions which make possible the use of the American Elm although this of course, is not the prime consideration. While in future Rockford, the elm may fittingly become a standard street tree, it should not be used to the exclusion of all others and especially should it not be planted when the street has a liklihood of being later utilized for business, for apartment houses, or where there is apt to be more than the usual amount of smoke. Other trees which may be mentioned as suitable for residential street purposes as well as for Rockford's conditions of soil and climate are the following: Norway Maple- Acer platanoides : This is one of the best maples for street purposes giving a dense shade throughout a long period of the year, being remarkably free from insect and fungus pests and able to stand city conditions well. It may be secured in several varities varying principally as to form. European Linden-Tilia vulgaris: This is a thoroughly hardy tree especially adaptable to the adverse conditions of a city. It has a very attractive form and is especially useful in avenue planting. The silver and small leaved European lindens are also adaptable for street use. Pin oak-Quercus palustris: Although a slow grower, the pin oak has achieved marked popularity. It is remarkably free from enemies and does well in poor soils. Maidenhair Tree-Gingko biloba: This is another slow grow- ing tree but extremely hardy, free from insects and disease and especially useful where a pyramidal shape is desired. It is especially useful on narrow streets or where there is limited room for root and limb growth. Oriental Plane-Platanus orien talis: This is a large tree good for wide streets and avenues. It is a rapid grower but long lived, little subject to disease or insect enemies. Among others which may be mentioned as suitable for residen- tial streets are the following: Red Maple, Acer rubrum. Scotch Elm, Ulmus Montana. Red Oak, Quercus rubra. White Ash, Fraxinus Americana. Page fifty-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN Trees for the Business District Here where the shade and restful effect of trees would be most welcome, trees are rarely planted. It is possible by selecting forms especially adaptable and by using improved methods of planting, to successfully grow shade trees in business districts. Types should be selected which have a compact crown, preferably of pyramidal shape which will not interfer with or shut off light from second story windows. Only such species can be used as are extremely hardy and which will stand the intense heat reflected from sidewalks and pave- ments. Great care must be exercised in planting that there be no leakage from gas pipes. Tree pits must be of ample size provided with adequate irrigation and protected by gravel surfacing or metal grates. Species recommended for use in such locations are: Norway Maple, Gingko, Thornless Honey Locust, European Linden. In locations where street conditions are unusually severe, the following trees by reason of their ability to persist may be used, although in most cases these are especially objectionable for general planting : Alan thus (staminate form). Black locust, Catalpa, Carolina poplar. Avenues and Center Parked Streets Wide avenues leading to some dominating objective point such as a monument, fountain or public buildiag need a special type of planting that the vista may be developed to its fullest extent and that the terminating object may be given suitable dignity. Many times this effect is lost by planting out the central parkway with trees or by using large growing forms. A better architectural effect may usually be obtained by planting double rows of smaller growing trees on each side where space permits and by leaving the center open or by using shrubbery or low growing evergreens. Page fifty-two STREET TREES Parkways The planting treatment of outlying parkways connecting large park units should in all cases be informal to carry out as far as pos- sible the predominating note of the parks themselves. This is ac- complished by grouping the trees rather than planting them in rows, by the use of mixed species and by the introduction of flowering shrubs and perennials. Page fifty-three SPECIAL ORNAMENTATION OF STREETS The final note in the harmony of the street is in suitably instal- ling those bits of decorative art such as fountains, statuary and pleas- ing bits of landscape gardening at street intersections, well designed viaducts and bridges, artistic street signs and the many other every- day fixtures which are wont to be passed over as commonplace with little thought of their real possibilities. It usually costs no more in money to do these things well and therein lies an opportunity for the city plan commission to bring about over a period of years, a series of details in civic art which in the aggregate will go far towards establishing Rockford's renown as a beautiful city. Cities are constantly the recipients of gifts of monuments, fountains and the like from public spirited citizens. These gifts are apt to be poorly placed and worst of all, poorly executed. Frequently cities have municipal art commissions to pass upon the designs and settings of such features before they are accepted. In Rockford this work might well be handled by a committee on art from the city planning board. There is offered, however, a distinct advantage in the fact that given a comprehensive city plan with which to work, suitable locations and the type of features desired may be fixed in advance. "The basic lines of the city may he faultless, the furnishings of the street may he as concentrated and as heautiful in fixtures as is consistent with their use, and yet the city must fail to attain to the commonest standards of civic art, if there be not con- scious decorative art." —CHARLES MULFORD ROBINSON. Page fifty-four RAILROADS Rockford is now served by five steam railroads. The main line of the Illinois Central running from Chicago to Omaha, Sioux City and Sioux Falls, S. D. The Freeport branch of the Chicago & North Western connecting with the main line at Elgin and at DeKalb, through Belvidere. The Rockford branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy connecting with the main line at Aurora, Illinois. The Milwaukee, Rochelle branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul connecting with the main line at Davis Junction and the Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary, the greater outer belt line of Chicago which makes Rockford its terminus. In addition to these, the Kenosha Branch of the North Western line serves the city. There are handled about two million tons of incoming and out- going freight yearly and a daily passenger average of eighteen hundred persons. The Chicago & North Western line passes through the city from east to west in a nearly direct line and at a grade which has made possible the elimination of several grade crossings. Nearly all other crossings now at grade may be abolished at reasonable cost. The Kenosha branch approaches the city from the north skirting the east bank of the river through land especially desirable fpr park purposes, traverses Madison and Water Streets, and crossing State Street at grade, forms a junction with the Chicago line near the North Western railroad bridge. This line forms a highly disturbing ele- ment in the city and although serving as it does some important in- dustries along the river, its relocation should be given serious and immediate consideration. Looking North Along Kenosha Branch of North Western Railroad, Showing Character of River Bank. Page fifty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN The Illinois Central being the only main line passing through Rockford is of proportional importance. Its location within the city is however, unfortunate and its grade precludes any possibility of separating street crossings without track elevation while its in- directness through the city gives more main line trackage than is necessary. To the east and west of the city, this line parallels the Chicago & North Western with only a slight difference in grade. The manner in which the Burlington line enters the heart of the city is also unfortunate. Although direct in its approach from the south, for over a half mile it cuts ii\to the bluffs along the river through property which would otherwise be especially attractive and valuable. The river is crossed by an antiquated and unsightly wooden bridge and the station, a rather primitive affair, is finally reached over a grade crossing on Main Street. The road makes direct connection with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul which passing under the North Western, follows along the north branch of Kent Creek, in a rather sinuous line and swinging to the northeast through the city at grade reaches the west bank of the river near the golf club. Near the south terminus of the St. Paul, a considerable area along the creek is used for shops, round houses and yards, while northward along the line, small industries have clustered making a serious barrier in the city's connections to the west. The influence of this railroad in encouraging manufacturing in the north section of the city may be noted with apprehension. The situation in general is like that of most cities. The rail- roads built into the city years ago when it was comparatively small. The manner in which they approached or built through the town was then thought of little consequence. They sought the easy grades Burlington Railroad Bridge and Water Power District. Page fifty-six RAILROADS found along the river and creek banks and were soon lined with in- dustries built up along their rights of way. The city built up around the industries. Competition for business was too keen to allow thought of co-ordinating railroad facilities or of building into and through the town in the most direct and orderly way. The view- point taken at that time was natural and to be expected. -p?- Skeleton Map of Rockford Showing Present Locations of Railroads and Factories. Page fifty-seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN It was a period rife with difficulties for the railroad companiee. Money was none too plentiful and railroad stock had to be made attractive for investment purposes. There was a vast new country clamoring for transportation and young cities were bidding high for railroads. Cost of construction was cut down to the minimum and quick returns were sought. Town councils were generous in their grants and franchises and gave little consideration to what might in later years constitute the city's best interest. What mattered it if the beautiful river banks were ravished? There was plenty of natural beauty to be had. Citi- zens were glad to stop their teams and wait for trains to pass, would these trains bring business to their town. The smoke and noise of growing factories was a delight! It spelled prosperity! The home could be built anywhere! The day has come, however, when the viewpoint needs be changed. The city is now established and important. The rail- roads, instead of being masters of the situation, have become tools with which the city works and bear the same relationship as do the traction lines, the streets and other factors of public service. The railroads now need the city, even as the city once needed the railroads, and the city is in a position to demand that the railroads adjust their physical layout for the better good of the community just as larger bodies politic have the right to regulate their service and finance. Although radical changes in railroad establishment are neces- sarily costly, such changes are often extremely important in the work of city rebuilding. In this connection, the costliness of procrastina- tion is especially to be guarded against. Largely, the city's growth is centered along railroad lines and hesitancy in bringing about needed changes in location spells vastly increased cost year by year. The city is morally obligated to posterity to make such benefits at this time as will insure against great loss and increased difficulty of ad- justment in the future. It is well to consider, however, that while in the serving of Rock- ford's best interest, there is sufficient reason to cause reasonable change in the arrangement of railroads, the interest of the railroads themselves, which have, to a large degree, contributed to the city's prosperity, should in their turn be safeguarded, and this is no less Page fifty-eight RAILROADS true of the industries which in the years past, so naturally sprung up along the lines, but now, hemmed in by residences are out of place in relation to the city's structure as a whole. Rockford's railroad problem is serious. With the fast growing population, the scores of grade crossings are an increasing danger to life and limb and form an obstruction to traffic which means serious loss to the community. Railroad shops are located within the heart of the city, taking up land more suitable for other purposes, further obstructing streets and bringing the attendant noise and disturbance in close proximity to the homes. The, lack of co-ordination in oper- ating the roads brings about a multiplication of trackage and switch- ing which is costly and to a large degree unnecessary. Some of the choicest land for park purposes within the city is taken up by railroad tracks which would be better located elsewhere, and the city has reached that stage when a well-located park unit is of more conse- quence than the money necessary to free the land of the railroad. While these conditions may not have been out of place in a country town of the sixties, Rockford is now in duty bound to see to it that in this important respect, her working structure is made; to satisfy the requirements of a twentieth century municipality. A Scheme For Railroad Rearrangement The plan, as herein set forth, calls for taking all the railroads through the city in a group with the exception of the Chicago, Mil- waukee and St. Paul, which would be elevated along its present right of way as far as the city limits from whence northward, it would be relocated in order to remove the line from the river banks. The Kenosha branch of the North Western, the Burlington and Illinois Central would be brought together at points to the southeast of the City and carried over a widened right of way on the present North West- ern alignment and at an estabhshed grade to . , J. ■ North Western Railroad Bridge Over Rock River. permitofcrossmg „, ,„., .„ ^ ,^ , . ^ . 1 •! 1 ^"^ proposed Railroad Group would cross the river separation as described at this point Page fifty-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN in the chapter on streets. To the west of the city, the lUinois Central would follow parallel to the North Western line and at the present grade of the latter to a point beyond the proposed street platting. The changes would remove the Kenosha branch of the North Western and the Burlington from the river banks and carry these lines well to the eaist of the city. The Illinois Central would be relocated over a distance of approximately two miles. Proposed Layout for Railroads, Interurban and Local Electric Lines. Page sixty RAILROADS Union Station The above plan would make possible the establishment of a Union passenger station which would serve not only all steam roads now entering Rockford, but interurban lines as well. It would also serve such roads as might enter the city in the future. This station as shown in plans would be located on the axis of ChurcJa Street, and would occupy a prominent place in the scheme for the arrangement of public buildings. A local sub-station serving roads east of the river would be placed at Seventh Street. Freight Union classification and distribution yards would be located to the southeast of the city, where the bulk of carload shipments would be left for distribution. There would be arranged two distinct freight zones connected by a running track along the main group. The east zone would include the classification yards and pro- posed system of switches to serve the segregated factory district. It would also absorb the present belt lines of the Illinois Central and Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary. The tracks of the Illinois Central main line would form a north link and complete the circuit. A leg formed by a section of the Illinois Central main line carrying across the river would serve the water power district by connecting with the switch tracks located therein. Freight destined for the section west of Main Street would be carried over the running track of the Looking North on Main Street. Eight railroad tracks cross the street at grade between this point and the viaduct seen in the distance. Page sixty-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN main group. Thus, with the possible exception of the switch serving the International Harvester Company warehouse, which should also be removed at the earliest opportunity, there would be no tracks crossing Main Street at grade. Factories to the north along the river would be served by the electric line making connection with the running track of the main railroad group. Freight carried over this line could be handled principally at night. It would be aimed to serve all other industries east of the river as at present, it merely being necessary in some instances to readjust switch tracks. The west freight zone would be served by the running track from the main classification yards with a possible exception of shipments arriving over the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, and from the west which could be handled, if desired, through a secondary dis- tribution yard at the Central Freight Terminal. The Central Freight Terminal and Warehouse District This would be placed in the depressed area now occupied by the railroads west of Main Street. Here are located three freight and two passenger stations, several industries together with round houses and a large area of switch and storage tracks. There is shown in accompanying plans, a proposed treatment for this district calling for a series of warehouses and wholesale estab- lishments to occupy that section lying between Winnebago and Main Streets. Back of these, and made accessible by a rearranged street system, would be the main freight terminal with team tracks and transfer sheds having a capacity of 400 cars, ample for the city's needs for generations to come. An additional freight station and team tracks would be located at Tenth Avenue and Ninth Street. Round Houses and Railroad Shops These, under the plan, would be moved out of the city to a point immediately north of the classification yards, thus releasing for other use, areas which Railroad yards east of Winnebago Street which ,1 would be dispensed with in carrying out the central they now occupy. warehouse district project. Page sixty-two Railroad Plan of Proposed Central \ strict and Freight Terminal. RAILROADS Some Benefits of the Proposed Railroad Layout The co-ordination of railroad activities into and through the city. Faster and safer operation of trains. A more systematic and direct distribution of freight to indus- tries. The elimination of fifty-three grade crossings on main lines. The changing of twenty-four main line crossings to switch crossings. Removal of over three miles of track along the river front. Removal of three and one half miles of main track from the city. Throwing open for other use approximately 115 acres of land. The making possible of the civic center project by the removal of tracks. The elimination of eight grade crossings on South Main Street. The removal of the Burlington Railroad Bridge. The convenience and saving in cost to be brought about by the Union Passenger Station. The making available of highly desirable locations for a future warehouse and wholesale district. More conveniently arranged freight terminals. The reduction of switching within the city. The immediate aid to the better parking of Rockford. Making more desirable for residence and park purposes, land now lying between the Illinois Central and Chicago and North Western railroads to the west of the City. Page sixty-three STREET CAR SYSTEM The following discussion and recommendations in relation to the street car system for Rockford have to do primarily with fitting car lines into the proposed street system so that in future the city may be served uniformly and efficiently. It is intended that such lines will serve equally well the present city. It is urged that the municipal authorities, after fixing upon a definite plan, cause by necessary legislation and franchise, the extension and correction of the present car system to meet this ultimate scheme. Diagram Showing Distribution of Population and Proposed Arrangement of Electric Lines Within the Present City. Page sixty-four STREET CAR SYSTEM Present Conditions The City Traction Company of Rockford at present operates 35.85 miles of electric street railway based on single trackage. The plant is modern and in roadbed, rolling stock and frequency of ser- vice compares favorably with those of other cities of Rockford's size. Recently there has been under consideration a franchise pro- viding for certain extensions and relocation of track. This franchise has been studied and reported on by Messrs. Hegenah and Erickson, engineers, in whose report various recommendations have been made relative to improvements in certain sections of track, the purchase of rolling stock and concerning the manner in which the books of the company should be made accessible to the public. From our study of the situation, these recommendations in the main seem sound, although they are of a subject not proposed to be undertaken in this work. One suggestion made by the engineers in question is pertinent to the city plan and is one in which we heartily concur, namely, the abolishing of the waiting room at State and Wyman Streets. In the matter of track extension, we do not concur with the provisions of the franchise in all cases. As at present laid out, the convergence of car lines over State Street brings about undue congestion, which if allowed to materially increase, will necessitate severe and costly widening of that thor- oughfare. The same is true on Main Street, and it is to obviate this fast growing tendency to bring about in these two named streets a condition unnecessary in a city the size of Rockford that forms one of the objects of the plan. At present, one of the principal residential districts for laborers lies south of the railroads and west of the river. To reach the main factory district in the southeast section of the city, all traffic by street cars must traverse Main Street and cross the State Street bridge, forming a roundabout way and necessitating considerable incon- venience.. Consequently, the natural tendency has been for working- men's homes to develop in the midst of the factory district rather than in more desirable locations farther away. This in turn tends to the reduction in passenger movement producing a loss to the traction company. Page sixty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN At present there is about one mile of track to each fifteen hundred people. The operating revenue from passengers in 1916 was $378,100, or $10,500 to the mile of track. There was an average of 141 rides per capita per annum and a gross revenue of $7 per capita. Hegenah and Erickson's report shows a return on valuation in 1916 of 9.5%, and an average return on valuation for the five year period ending December 31, 1916, of 8.3 per centum. General Recommendations There should be an extension of lines and the construction of new lines in order to carry people from every section of the city to the principal objective points either by through direct routes or by the use of not more than one transfer. Lines should be situated not more than one-fourth of a mile from all points with cross town lines near the limits of the platted district not more than one and one-half miles apart. Car lines should eventually cross the river at Harrison Street, Fifteenth Avenue, Morgan Street, Grove Street, State Street, Napoleon Street, Auburn Street and at the proposed street one and one half miles north of Auburn Street. To provide against abnormal density of traffic in the business district, it is proposed to provide one way routing of cars on Main Street going North and on Church Street going south. The general routing from all parts of the city would be past or through a point near the Union Station, the busi- ness district and civic center. The location of main through lines would be as follows : 1. From west on Preston Avenue over Cedar Street to Church and Main loop, thence east on State Street, branch to north at west end and to south on Twentieth Street at east end. 2. From west on State Street over Church and Main loop, thence east via Grove Street and south over Eleventh Street through west end of factory district. 3. From north over Main Street via Church Street to Church and Main loop, thence south via Main Street to terminal branches on River Road and Prairie Road. 4. From northeast on diagonal and its branches via Beloit Road, Auburn Street, Harlem Boulevard, Church Street, Church and Main loop, thence via Grove Street to Kishwaukee, south through Page sixty-six STREET CAR SYSTEM extreme west end of factory district and terminal branches to resi- dence districts. 5. From northwest over Kilburn Avenue via Auburn Street, Rockton Avenue, State Street, thence over Charles Street to east with branches at north end to Kilburn Avenue and to Rockton Avenue. 6. From east over Guilford Road via Rural Street, Second Street, State Street, thence via Main Street, Kent Street, and Byron Road through residence districts with branch to north via Beloit Road. 7. From north over Huffman Boulevard via Napoleon Street, Second Street, East Street, Seventh Street, Twenty-second Avenue, Eleventh Street, thence east on Harrison Street. 8. From two branches in Northwest corner of platting via Pier- pont Avenue, Preston Avenue, Sanford Street, Michigan Avenue, Fifteenth Avenue, Kishwaukee Street, thence via Harrison Street through Factory District to two branches east and north, east on east side of railroads. 9. From two branches viz.: Johnston over Preston Avenue, and Central Avenue via School Street and Avon Street to Sanford Street, thence via Kent Street, Morgan Street, Kishwaukee Street to Fourteenth Avenue and thence south on Fifteenth Street. These routes supplemented by shuttle lines forming a system of feeders would provide direct and rapid service to all parts of the pres- ent city and to its extensions as planned. The proposed franchise provides for the following extensions to the present car line system : 1. Montague Street, Main Street to Central Avenue. 2. Island Avenue, West Street to Clifton Avenue. 3. Rockton Avenue, Ashland Avenue to limits. 4. Whitman Street, Church to Ridge Avenues. 5. Ridge Avenue, Whitman to Auburn. 6. Auburn Street, Ridge Avenue to Huffman Boulevard. 7. Huffman Boulevard, Auburn Street to Fulton Avenue. Double tracking 7th Street line and removing loop from Ninth Street to Eleventh Street. 8. Fourteenth Avenue, Kishwaukee to 7th Street. Page sixty-seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN 9. Benton Street, East to Longwood. 10. Longwood, Benton Street to Jackson Street. 11. Jackson Street, Longwood to Prospect. 12. Prospect, Jackson to Rural Street. 13. Fifteenth Avenue, Seminary Street to Blackhawk Park. 14. Kent Street, West to Sanford Streets. In order that the present and proposed extended system may be better co-ordinated, the following changes from the franchise scheme and in the existing lines are recommended. Montague Street and Island Avenue lines at present take pas- sengers via Main Street. This leads to congestion. It is necessary at present because Main Street is the only car hne crossing tracks west of the river. Eliminated, better service would be given by Sanford Street line across tracks, diagonal line to west and Michigan Street to west farther south tending to more direct and more even distribution of traffic. Benton Street, Longwood Street and Jackson Street lines would be aboHshed. A more direct line via Rural Street would serve a larger community. Whitman Street line to be replaced by a line on Napoleon Street from Church Street to Ridge Avenue. This change is dependent on construction of bridge. Present Fourth Street line to be replaced by line on East Street to State, making more direct connection to Seventh Street business district and to factory district. Gives through line from north side district via Napoleon, Second, East and Seventh to factory district. Eliminate 22nd Street Line, 7th Street to Kishwaukee and run 7th Street to 11th via 22nd and serve factory district via 11th Street. Discussion of Proposed Car System The entire proposed system as shown contemplates approx- imately 135 miles of track which, for a population of 215,000 taken as a maximum for the Rockford Plan, gives a ratio of 1,600 people to the mile as compared with 1,500 to the mile as at present. The number of rides per capita would increase with the increase in population. Page sixty-eight STREET CAR SYSTEM A table of estimated use of car lines and gross revenue is inserted below : YEAR Ten Year Rides Population per cent per Increase Capita 48,180 131 49,565 141 50,950 129 52,337 124 53,870 141 60,000 34 160 81,000 35 201 107,000 32 250 136,000 27 303 169,000 24 362 204,000 21 425 Total Rides Gross Revenue based on 5c. fare Gross Revenue Per Mile 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 9,600,000 16,300,000 26,700,000 41,200,000 61,100,000 86,700,000 $ 314,251 349,087 329,899 324,838 378,100 480,000 815,000 1,335,000 2,060,000 3,055,000 4,335,000 $10,500 The above table shows rides per capita and gross revenue for past five years, and estimated rides per capita, also estimated gross revenue, based on estimated increase in population, and on the Watkin's formula, according to which total rides increase at double rate of increase of population. To be conservative, it is assumed that the number of rides per capita would reach a saturation point at about 300. On this basis, a population of 215,000 should give a gross revenue of $3,225,000 or $23,600 a mile, which, although an increase of that at present, would be necessitated by the lengthened haul and frequency of service. It is believed that the street car layout as planned will serve the entire city in an efficient and convenient manner; will cause the city to expand normally and will, therefore, tend to establish a greater equalization in land values. It is, however, important to show that such a system as laid out can be built and operated at a profit. While it is impossible to estimate the cost of construction and main- tenance up to a point fifty years hence, it is assumed that increases in such, should they take place, will be offset by other factors such as increased fares or greater efficiency in operation. The following deductions are made to show that based upon an average popula- tion density of six to the acre covering the platted area shown in the general plan of Rockford, the car lines, as spaced and operating at sufficient frequency, will adequately pay out. Page sixty-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN The gross revenue in 1916, as has been stated, was $10,500 a mile, giving a net earning for that year of 9.5% on the valuation and an average net earning of 8.3% for five years preceding. Population based on six to the acre would give 1,600 people to the mile tributary to lines as laid out. Assuming 300 rides per capita per annum, there would result a gross revenue of $24,000 a year to the mile, or an increased gross revenue of $13,500 a mile over that at present. It will be seen from the following table that a gross revenue of $14,000 will pay for ten minute service during rush hours and twenty- minute service during off hours. 10 minute service, 6 A. M. to 9 A. M. 20 minute service, 9 A. M. to 4 P. M. 10 minute service, 4 P. M. to 7. P. M. 20 minute service, 7 P. M. to 11 P. M. Total 69 cars a day. Fixed charge, 10% on present valuation of $40,000 tothemile $ 4,000 Operating cost @ 20c. a car mile . 10,000 Total cost per annum a mile $14,000 Necessary supporting population at 300 rides per capita per annum, or $15 a year=950 people a mile. Based upon an average density of six an acre, there would be given a tributary population on lines spaced one-half mile apart, after deducting one-third for cross lines, of 1,280 people to a mile of line. At $15 per capita, there would be produced $19,200 gross revenue for each mile of line, this being based on a regular system having one-half mile intervals longitudinally and intervals of one and one-half miles transversely or a trackage approximately 30% in excess of the system shown. With a gross revenue of $10,500 to the mile and an average valuation of $40,000 a mile, deducting the net earnings of 8.3% on this valuation, or $3,300 from the gross revenue, would give a maintenance and operating cost of $7,200. Assuming that the in- creased haul and frequency of service will double this expense, mak- ing $14,400 a mile, and allowing a dividend of 7% on the valua- Page seventy STREET CAR SYSTEM tion or $2,800 a mile, there would be given a gross cost of service of $17,200 a mile which is well within the estimated revenue as shown above, therefore, as we have shown, the lines, as planned, serving an estimate population of 215,000, can be installed and main- tained at profit. While, however, the estimated average population of the entire platted area of the city is 6 an acre, the average density within that part of Rockford at present devoted to housing is 13^ an acre. Based on this population, the number of people to the mile in the regular car system as outlined, would be 2,880, which at $15 per capita per annum, would give a gross earning of $43,200 a mile, which would be ample to support metropolitan service of not exceeding five minute intervals. Transportation and the City's Growth There exists a vital relation between the street car system and the city's growth and prosperity, which in the main is lost sight of. While this relation exists directly with all other transportation facilities, including the streets and railroads, it is especially marked in connection with the surface lines. It is of fundamental importance to good city building that the home be separated from industry, that it be built amid healthful surroundings and that ample space be pro- vided for good housing and for lawns and gardens. There has been a constantly increasing tendency to separate the home from the work, and that which makes this possible, is good trans- portation. If this transportation, furnished largely in cities by electric surface lines, is inadequate, one thing is inevitable, namely, that congestion, the bane of American cities to-day, will take place. If the city cannot spread out it must build up in the air or dov^m in the ground. Where this has taken place, there have been born the slums with all their attendant evils. Private corporations operating car lines generally endeavor to retard the extension of lines that greater profits may be derived through density of population. What is good business for the car company is of the greatest menace to the city. Car lines should extend well into districts, but sparcely settled so that people will be encouraged to build out away from the city, that the height of buildings may be better regulated and that Page seventy-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN property values may be more equally distributed. Even if it should be necessary to subsidize companies in order to operate cars into this thinly settled fringe of the city, it might be justifiable from a stand- point of general benefit. Such loss might indeed be reimbursed by a system of special assessments or by legislation similar to the idle land tax law of Canada. It is, however, possible to extend car lines considerably beyond the area of population density set forth in the foregoing estimates, and to operate without loss in districts inhabited by as few as an average of two and one-half people to the acre. Assuming that car lines be extended into this thinly settled district and that cars be run to the end of the line on half hour schedule between 6 and 9 A. M. and 4 and 7 P. M. and on hourly schedule between 9 and 4 P. M. and between 7 and 11 P. M., there would be a total of twenty-three cars daily to each line. Allowing a fixed charge of 10% on the valuation of $40,000 a mile, or $4,000 and an operating expense of twenty cents a car mile for the forty-six car miles involved or $3,360, there would be a total cost to the mile per annum of $7,360. Upon a revenue of $15 per capita based on 300 rides, there would be made necessary a supporting population of 500 people a mile or 2^ an acre based on a regular system as outlined, but not including cross-town lines. This would cover only actual expense necessary to build and operate the additional length of track needed to tap such outlying districts and does not assume increased cost of service on the inner system. It would therefore be possible, under normal conditions, to operate car lines on one-half hour intervals on a paying basis into territory in which there would be an average of two families to the city block, blocks being 300 x 600 or into territory divided into three acre farms upon each of which there would live one family of five pe&ple. It may be readily appreciated what an enormous benefit would accrue to the city as a whole could car lines be extended uniformly in this way. Interurban Lines The interurban lines of Rockford at present enter the city partly over their own right of way and partly over the tracks of the local system". All trains enter and leave over State Street. A station is Page seventy-two STREET CAR SYSTEM maintained on the corner of State and Wyman Streets, a loop being formed by Wyman, Main and Church Streets. Trains, by reason of using the city streets, are forced to make local stops, thereby retarding their running schedule. Congestion in the center of the city is materially increased by interurban cars, especially on Wyman Street, which has a pavement of but 31 ffeet in width. The primary object of interurban service is to facilitate suburban transportation. The main object of such lines is thwarted when the passage through the city is hampered and made unnecessarily slow. Wherever possible, interurban lines should maintain their own rights of way into and through cities, stopping only at important points and at transfer points with the local lines. In Rockford, such an arrangement is possible in connection with lines entering the city from the east and west. It is recom- mended that these lines be relocated to parallel the North Western right of way from a point near Twentieth Street and Nineteenth Avenue to the west township line. As planned, all interurban lines would enter the Union Station. The line from Beloit would enter the city as at present skirting the parkway along the river continuing over Second Street and crossing the river on the North Western railroad bridge, which would be widened to care for interurban as well as added steam lines. Needed Interurban Line to South There is an apparent need for an interurban line to the south of Rockford, to serve the important territory along the Rock River in the direction of Rock Island. Such a line would serve such points as Byron, Oregon, Dixon and Sterling, which at present have no direct connection by railroad into Rockford. Provision for such a line should be made to enter the city over its own right of way to con- nect with the railroad group near Township line road, west of the city from whence it would extend east to the Union Station. Page seventy-three DISTRICTING The restriction of certain types of building and activities to definite areas is one of the ideals of modern city planning. It is based upon the premise that fundamentally, these various types should be protected from the encroachment of other types. The idea probably had its inception in the fact that residence sections are continually disturbed and injured by the encroachment of fac- tories and business enterprises which springing up near at hand, cause a deterioration of land values and make the home less desirable. As a matter of fact, in many cases the industry came first and homes clustered around. In turn, this resulted in hemming in the factories and making their own extension difficult and costly. In Europe the plan has been successfully worked out of setting aside zones wherein the various main -divisions, such as heavy manufac- turing, wholesale and retail districts, railroads, as well as various types of residential districts, are given certain defined areas in which to build. The result has been that these cities have built more uni- formly, land values have been stabilized and there has been a marked cessation in the development of overcrowded and unhealthful dis- tricts. While as a general thing districting is as yet a long way ahead in America, we are without doubt tending in its direction. In our study of Rockford, we find an especial demand for a dis- trict wherein manufacturing may expand. To properly lay out an area so that factories may operate to the ' best advantage, there obviously would be no room for homes. In as much as workingmen and their homes are an indispensable adjunct to the operation of factories, there has been arranged in suitable proximity, a workingmen's home district. All this has been done for the purpose of furthering to the greatest extent, Rockford's industries. Inci- dentally, it strikes the keynote to the whole idea of districting. If this may be done for the factory, there is ample reason why it should be done for the home itself. In Rockford several examples may be seen wherein factories have sprung up within established resi- dential districts, causing nearby homes to be less desirable and in general, forming a disturbing element in the community. In all of these cases, the factories themselves have been poorly placed consid- ering their possibihty of growth and extension. The same principle holds true with respect to public garages, warehouses, stores, etc. Page seventy-four DISTRICTING The Factory Problem Rockford's factories are established principally in three main groups, in addition to which there are a number of detached plants scattered through the city. The central group comprises what is known as the Water Power District, extending between Main Street and the ri^•er and h'ing mostly south of the Xorth ^^'estern Railroad. This is the original factory section of Rockford, the first mill having been built some- what to the west on Kent Creek. Power for this district is mostly furnished by the ri^'er which is dammed at this point. It was largely owing to the outi)ut of thc>sc factories that Rockford became estab- lished as a city. The necessity of expansion has caused industries to cross Main Street on to land rented from the railroads and even to extend north almost to the heart of the l:)usiness section. Here, however, extensions have had to sto]). An outlet was found along the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Piail- road and to the west along the North Western line, forming a second rather scattered district wliich is, however, limited in its extension because of topography and the built-up section of the city sur- rounding it. While considerable ^'acal^t land to the west of the Emerson Brantingham plant is a^'ailable for factory purposes, the hills beyond make the consideration of this section for a general factory district impractical. Various plants occupy sites along the east bank of the ri\-er as far as Sinnissippi Park. These factories interfere seriously with the river front beautification scheme. While the cost of removing all these would be prohibitive for many years to come, it is hoped that further erection of manu- facturing plants there will be successfully discouraged. The third main district ' .. may be said to be east of ji • 1 j.'u t j-1 I'^^ Houses and Factories on River Bank the river and south ot the North of city. Page seventy-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN Factories and Electric Light Wires in the Wrong Place. View North on Second Street Near River. Xorth Western Railroad. Here has been developed a combination belt line formed by the Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary, Illinois Central and Burlington railroads encompassing about one scjuare mile with a series of feeder lines bisecting this area between 18th and 20th streets, together with various factory switches leading off the main belt. The land in this section is nearly level, and its selection as a factory district was fortunate. It was, however, most unfortunate that this area was not retained exclusively for factories and laid out in such a way as to facilitate in every way their operation and extension. It transpired, however, that the land within this square mile was allowed to be platted and built up with residences so that in- dustry and homes have been intermingled to the detriment of both. It is to guard against a repetition of this that it is proposed now to set aside a distinct area which will be used exclusively for factories and which may be designed as to railroad and street arrangement for their particular use. The Factory District The plan for the new factory district calls for the setting aside of 855 acres lying directly to the south of Harrison A\'enue and east of Kishwaukee Street. Based upon the j^ast growth of industries in Roekford, this area would be sufficient to meet the needs of future industries for plant sites and yards for the fifty years taken as the period of the Roekford plan. The land is le\el and continues so to Page seventy-six DISTRICTINC; the southward, giving ample opportunity for furtlier extension of tlie district at the expiration of this period. The soutli boundr}' would be formed by the proposed union railroad classification yards from which ser\ice tracks would be carried to the north through the factory zone. Streets would l)e i;)lattcd forming blocks 208 x 814 feet, the streets being 66 feet wide with intermediate switch track si^aces of 45 feet. These streets are so platted as to meet the regular j^latting on one- half mile inter\-als and would be carried under the classification yards to the south. The location of the district is such that the prevailing winds from the southwest would carry the smoke principally away from the city. By convenient bridge connections across the nver and direct car lines, an encouragement would be given to the de^'elopment of work- ingmen's homes in tliis more desirable location. South East Factory District From Harrison and Twentieth Streets. Showing character of land on which proposed segregated factory district would be developed. Page seventy-seven HOUSING Present Conditions For the most part Rockford's housing is beyond criticism. The majority of workmen own their own Httle homes with ample garden patches and take pride in keeping their lawns and buildings wholesome and attractive. The opposite conditions are found in a few distinct locations, principally inhabited by Italians, who occupy rented property. In the survey of the housing situation these sections stand out in alarming contrast to the usual home conditions of the city. While the percentage of ground area occupied by buildings in these sections is not above that which would be allowed under advanced building codes, individual buildings were found to be occupied far beyond their normal capacity. Added to this, there were found in frequent cases, bad arrangement and ventilation of rooms, inadequate fire protection and unsanitary conditions of a varied nature. Briefly, in these instances, there was found the seed that will quickly germinate into slums if conditions are not at once checked and controlled. Two of the areas surveyed are shown in detail in the accompanying charts: Plate No. 15 located at Green and Court Streets. Land Area 1.11 acres Percentage occupied buildings 33 . 9 Percentage out buildings 9 4 Total percentage built up . ... 43 . 3 People to the acre 112 Plate No. ISA — South Madison Street near North Western tracks. Area of land 37 acres Percentage occupied buildings 30 . Percentage out buildings 4.9 Total percentage built up . . . . 34 . 9 People to the acre 184 Some examples of bad housing are as follows : On Madison Street. . . Windowless bathrooms and bedrooms, inside living rooms. On Cedar, West Green and Houghton Sts. .Unsanitary ramshackled buildings. Page seventy-eight HOUSING GRZ^EN 3' r 10 ^1 II . . . . . LEGEND D DWELLING 3 STABLE. T OUTDOOR TOILET O OUT BUILDINGS * OENEEAL STOEE. • ■^ ^%-n r D II ^1 D ^ D 1 — 1 r ^ V ID -^ . m 1 o 1 "1 L n 5 ^ L_ _ * ^ / ALLEY y^ / o_ r > ■ 11 ■" /// D 8 1 o 1 S / C D / / 3 o Tl COURT ^ KAKD ^ i^ mmr-i p:r-i ' ' r D L I / r-^ r D » i 1. D 1 — 1 m_ D D : E r "r" D D j" ' L^l D J '=1- il l_ CEDAR 5T PLATE IS Survey of Blocks Showing Area and Character of Buildings in Congested Neighborhood. On Rock Street ..... One toilet for four families. Unsanitary; no windows in toilet. Unsanitary cellar, open drain from privy. On Montague Street. .Offensive outside toilet. On Lane Street Congested. River Street Buildings on over-flow ground. No basements, damp and unhealthful. Page seventy-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN Rock Street Houses on alley. Old barn used as dwelling. Fire hazzard. River, Knowlton and Rock Streets Italian bakery on alley with stables directly opposite. District crowded. Donaldson Street. . .Houses have no sewers, out-door privies. Same Neighborhood . . Tenement house, twenty-seven rooms. Nine f amiUes, (all had boarders) . No baths, sink in hall for common use. Madison and Jefferson. Open privies in rear. Apartment house, fourteen families, over- crowded. (This would come out with building of civic center.) South Water Street. . .Houses below street grade. Recommendations While Rockford has a building code, it is antiquated and for years has been given little consideration. It is of the utmost conse- quence that a modern workable code be provided and followed if the fullest benefits of the city plan are to be secured. Such a code may be divided into two main parts : 1. That having to do with erection of individual buildings that careless or unscrupulous owners or builders may be prevented from erecting structures unsafe or unhealthful. 2. That community interests may be safeguarded by providing a proper amount of light and air space and by guarding against popu- lation density. The first of these requirements is usually met in city building codes, while the second, having to do with the newer science of hous- ing has but recently been taken up. While the building code strictly speaking, guards against structural defects, fire hazards, and the spreading of disease caused by insufficient ventilation, poor plumbing, etc., the larger scope involved in housing provides mainly against an intensive use of land for dwellings and the bringing about of slum Page eighty HOUSING conditions, which in turn are so directly responsible for disease, im- morality and poor citizenship. Furthermore, by a proper drafting and regulation of the code, there may largely be determined those conditions which will materially aid in uniformly extending the city as by limiting the height of buildings, the bringing about a more equal distribution of traffic on streets, the making possible of street widening, when a need takes place, and other important bene- fits which will later be demanded. a Tnmnnf as ' rm Till mil rm nm Ul ml m mi DID] UU 1111 1 Oil mr ggp m QimninijjTirnn nnriiim £[D|innnr^ iqj'TirM in y d [ pr TYPICAL APAETMLNT £LtVATI0N5 E)LOCK "PLANS £iLOC:iv3 TO EiL iOO, feOO aekangeme: blocks to model housi TYPICAL YLOOTi PLAN :J A?ATlT/V\r:MTi The above diagram shows three possible arrangements for apartment house blocks. This is drawn to emphasize the possibilities of using the interior of the block for community purposes. Page eighty-one THE ROCKFORD PLAN A well worked out and carefully supervised building code will reduce expenditures for health work, will reduce the death rate, largely prevent losses from fires, stabilize property values and make the city more attractive. While not attempting to cover all the details which should be embodied in a building code for Rockford, the following synopsis is recommended for consideration: 1. Structural: Provision for depth and strength of founda- tions, size of carrying beams, bracing, roof construction, etc., to in- sure necessary strength and stability 2. Fire Protection: Provision for means of egress, fire escapes, bulk heads, stairs, hallways, cellar entrances, fire walls and limiting the storage of combustible materials. 3. Light and Ventilation: Sizes of courts and side yards, air intakes, lighting and ventilation of rooms, height of rooms, sizes and number of windows. 4. Sanitation: Prohibition of dwellings in basement rooms. Provision for properly graded courts and yards. Sanitary plumbing and sewerage, waterproofing of cellar walls, limitation of occupancy to provide standard air space. 5. Maintenance: Proper repair of rented buildings by owners. Prohibiting of water closets in cellars. Cleaning of catch-basins, the cleanliness of dwellings, application of wall paper, providing of re- ceptacles for garbage, ashes and rubbish, prohibiting the keeping of objectionable animals, and the conducting of dangerous business. In addition to the above, which should be extended and amplified, the following recommendations are made that the code may bear a closer relationship to the policies of the city plan: 1. Size of Lot: The erection of single family houses should be prohibited on lots of less than 50 feet frontage or on those having less than 6,250 square feet. Duplex or multiplex dwellings should be restricted to lots of not less than 75 feet frontage. 2. Percentage of Lot to be Used: No building for residential purposes should cover more than 30% of the lot. Outbuildings should be no more than 12 feet in height and should cover not more than 25% of the lot. Page eighty-two HOUSING Present Distribution of Classes of Buildings and Utilities Showing Widely Scattered Areas Devoted to Manufacturing. 3. Location on Lot: Single or duplex dwellings should be set back from front line at least 20 feet. From side lines, not less than 10 feet. Out buildings should be set back from rear line not less than 5 feet. 4. Character and Height of Buildings: To be determined by zones in which they are located. Page eighty-three THE ROCKFORD PLAN Residential Zone No. 1 Limited to single and duplex houses. Houses to be not over two and one-half stories high, set back 20 feet from front property line and 10 feet from side property lines. Stores allowed only by special ordinance. Residential Zone No. 2 For multiplex dwellings, single and duplex houses allowed with same restrictions. Set back from front property line 15 feet, from side lines 10 feet. Apartment houses to be built without blank end walls. Stores allowed on first floor. Multiplex dwellings to be of fireproof construction. Page eighty-four M#f" ,;-,}4»'' ■jrziZ JdJL .:rj]r~j[i: :"Ji::;:jr jnjcjnjz]c Ht^H^ ni SL..JCOL ■:K:~-Jic:.-rjr.-3:: sjc::di:::jc:2i: '.:3C7:3c::iL-.-:ii. ":i[::;3r_":3r:;jc :"Jc::]c:;:]l::jc: :;]c~:3c:;iicjr: vj[;::jc::jc.~' :jz::ji:: jCTIji ii ^L :r"T! — ^1 — !i" -ir II ^1 II — ;:jc::ir'ic":[:::"j[;: :.icdi..ic::jl':::l: .-jL__i[_jL_Dr.._jL. ■.'juMcrjC'JC'JC "jr_:]c:_ic.ir;.:-ji" :iL:-j[::K~2r.::'ir. .:]c:::i:::]i::"jr;;:"jf; .:ji:::j[::][:jr::;j[: rjCji ^ai :-ic::x.':ar::]c: ■■ir~"jC'"T""JL" :ii:!i.ir:;jL":!}c:: -Jt;::"Jc::"Jt"JL:" :it::::ic::3c:::L: :ii::;::L;:.Tjr:jr: :]t:::i["jf::][: :jc::3L:::]bc: :]c::j[::j[:;][: .....:]L-:;jr.:-JL-:lIinnDOnPD— i-p,u., >^ :jiv;;]L:.:ji:::]C'DDDDnnannaB[]^*=5^ :jr:.:jc:j!:::ii::]nDDDannnnranHoP^ ■ji:::][:::3r::::naDDDnnanDaanDH :]r.::jL::]t:;:j[::]nnDDnnaDnaHDr^^' ir_:]i:::jc:]c:]Cj!L--jnDnnD[au, irvjiiur-VJc: i;L":ir:.ii:r_ir- JL--jt.-JC.iL- ;][::jr::jc:3[: "jr.:j!::i]i:;:3i:: r_jc::]c::j!:::a[: :]i:::ic::]i:r.al..Ji :]l:.^l"::jc:.-:[::j: : ■□□!:::] c::.":!! ;:L;::i:::ic::]r::.'; :]c:jc::!r::j[::ji :j[::ii:::][::]c:::i[ :ir ir::j[- ::jc:-"][:]L:ai:::_-_";c:j v-~:::3aL:-Jc:::jaG ::"ji;::jl:]c:.1[;:;5RB ::3!::.-jr:x::j[:-. --ir--ir-Tr"]r — J I II iuLj; ]l II ilUEIj: l».L/Z:;r-, J2 u O rt +-• wh •n O 1) H-) n tJ Oh O 13 as ^.§ ft u PARKS As the public conception of city planning largely begins and ends with city ornamentation, this again is commonly held synon5Tnous with the creation of parking features. It is perhaps a fault in Amer- ican city planning that too much stress has been laid upon securing great areas for parks while equally important factors in city building have been neglected. Parks have grown in popularity to a wonderful extent in the last two decades, and it has perhaps been due to this popularity rather than to a scientific analysis of the city's needs that has brought about most of our park development. In undertaking to secure parks for a city, we should first analyze their real functions in order that we may determine how they shall be located, arranged as to size and improved. Parks have ceased to be considered as merely objects of ornament. They give a recog- nized service to mankind which is shown strikingly in modern park design and use. Whereas, they serve an aesthetic purpose to an even greater extent than formerly, they also render the city service from an ethical, sociological and hygienic standpoint. It has been amply demonstrated in our larger cities that the playgrounds which all parks are fast becoming in reality, have a direct influence on the ethics and morals of the community in which they are situated. The playground park, supervised and organized as it is in these cities, is doing what the school, the police department, and even the church is unable to do. The attraction of sports and recreation brings hither boys and girls who have reached the age when school, church and parental control are no longer effective. They assimilate the spirit of fair play and uprightness, those qualities which lead to better citizenship. Added to all this is the very important service which is rendered in developing physical manhood and womanhood. Parks have other uses. They enhance the value of surrounding property, and, therefore, create larger returns to the municipality in taxes. They perform an educational service with their zoological collections, gardens and aboretums. A panacea for the nerve racking, enervating influences of the city, they extend that atmosphere exerted by real beauty and charm. It, therefore, is seen that parks have an important place in the city's structure, that they are an element of everyday use and it is Page eighty-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN most important that all people in the city make use of them, therefore, the location of park units within easy access to the homes is one of the first considerations. Parks selected without reference to a city plan are usually located according to sectional influence or in order to utilize some tract of land which has natural beauty. The first is extremely baneful and has resulted in large expendi- tures with small returns from a city wide standpoint. In the latter case, while it is granted that it is desirable that parks should be natur- ally beautiful and while conversely, the beauty spots existing around a city should be preserved, it is of even greater importance that parks be placed where they may be easily reached, especially by the little ones. Landscape gardening can transform a plain into a naturalesque combination of hills, streams and woodland, and especially can it combine such treatment with playgrounds, swimming pools, music courts and other features which may be given an every-day use. Consideration should be also given to the size and shape of in- dividual tracts of land that they may furnish the right material for the park needed in the particular neighborhood and may so fit into the topography that the most may be made of the land in question. After this comes the problem of development which in modern day practice may be summed up as follows : The greatest use to the greatest number of people; the lowest cost consistent with good work with a careful regard for the cost of subsequent maintenance ; the application of accepted rules of art as applied to landscape architecture. What Rockford Has Done Ten years ago, Rockford had practically no parks. There ex- isted but a few triangles and squares in the older part of the city upon which a few hundred dollars were spent annually. Due to the zealous efforts of public spirited citizens, the work of creating a park system was started and continued with the result that the city now owns 255 acres of park land to a large part developed and which represents the value in land and improvements of about $600,000. On these parks there is spent for operation and maintenance about 160,000 per year. The park system at present consists of twenty-five units ranging from tiny triangles of a few square feet to Page eighty-six PARKS Sinnissippi Park of some 123 acres. About 4.1% of the entire area of the city within its present Umits is devoted to parks. The proportion of population to park area based on the 1917 estimated census, is 217 people to the park acre. It is held by sociologists and civic experts that there should be one acre of developed park land to every one hundred people. Fig- uring by this standard, the needs of the city are at present only about one-half taken care of. The following table based on the 1910 census shows a few cities of the United States that have made more than usual progress. It is interesting to note that in 1910 Rockford had 180 people to the park acre whereas at present the ratio has increased 217 an acre. NAME OF CITY Population 1910 Area of Parks, Acres Population per Acre of Parks Percentage of Park Area to Area of Citv Rochester, N. Y. . Hartford, Conn. . , Worcester, Mass. Memphis, Tenn . . . New Haven, Conn Kansas City, Mo. Lynn, Mass Tacoma, Wash . . . , Rockford, 111 218,149 98,915 145,986 131,105 133,249 248,381 89,330 82,972 45,401 1,456.1 673.2 1,072.1 973.2 1,023.3 2,055.0 1,060.8 1,020.0 2.52.0 150 147 136 134 130 120 84 81 180 11.9 5.08 4.5 9.0 8.9 12.3 15.3 4.6 4.1 Present Park Distribution While the location of the present units in Rockford's park sys- tem are mainly satisfactory, the city has failed to adequately park itself and to provide units in many sections where they are badly needed. This applies especially to the southeast and southwest sections of the city. The arrangement of units should be such that a maximum distance of one-half mile to any home will be secured. Experts have also held that the park area of a city should amount to about one-tenth of the built up area. This deduction however, is largely in the ab- stract and is perhaps of less importance than the matter of distri- bution or the manner in which land is arranged for pubhc use. Page eighty-seven THE ROCKFORD PLAN How Rockford's Citizens Use Their Parks. A children's pageant held in Fairgrounds Park, June, 1917. Types of Parks Park units may for the sake of con\-enience, be classified, the tendency however, being for parks of all sizes and character to fulfill two principal functions; that of furnishing recreation and social facilities to people li\ing within their zone of influence and to furnish artistic elements to the city. Grounds Around Public Buildings These, strictly speaking, should be considered a part of the park system. Their use, although chiefly ornamental, should be extended whcre\er possible to serve as resting i^laces and to gi\'e opi)ortunity for out of door public meetings and the like. Roads and walks should be led through them to facilitate tra\'el in the most direct wa\' and not as is frequently the case, to make a balanced drawing on ]mper. Such grounds should be ornamental in themselves and especially should they be planned to set off the buildings to the best ad\'antage. Page eighty-eight PARKS Neighborhood Parks These in the form of squares or small areas within the more densely populated sections, have usually been designed in a highly artificial manner with the view of making them more strictly orna- mental. Usually the use of playground apparatus or the playing of noisy games is objected to on the part of nearby property holders. Such bits of parking serve to brighten the city and to give convenient places where people may enjoy the shade and flowers. They become in reality, refreshing oases and as such, are important. Playgrounds These, as their name implies, are for indoor and out of door play. They consist usually of city blocks or parts of blocks arranged for games and sports and frequently are provided with buildings contain- ing natatoriums, assembly halls, libraries, club rooms and gymnasia. Playgrounds have been largely standardized and are frequently in- serted as a single feature in landscape parks. Small Landscape Parks The predominating character of a park of this class is usually that of natural landscape preserved or reproduced on a some- what limited area well within the city's confines. Although generally the nature of the design is naturalistic calling for the intro- duction of hills, lakes, curved roads and walks and massed native tree and shrub growth, especially around the exterior to shut out from view surrounding buildings, there is often introduced more formal elements such as gardens, parterres, statuary, conservatories and the like. Within recent years, the idea of using more intensively parked spaces has had a pronounced effect on their design. Lawns have been thrown open for picnicking and for games such as roque, lawn tennis and baseball; bridal paths have been opened, sharp curves in drives have been straightened to allow a freer passage of vehicles, sections have been arranged for intensive playgrounds and an attempt has been made to put to some use, every available foot of surface. This has been brought about by the serious shortage and constant increasing demand for park space in cities as they have become more densely populated. Page eighty-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN Large Landscape Parks Parks of this class usually assume the character of reservations comprising large areas of outlying lands and selected on account of their hills, streams and natural tree growth. For the most part, they are left in a natural state being made accessible by drives and foot paths and are held in reserve until the city shall have grown out to them when additional improvements needed are installed. Many times these parks are from four hundred to one thousand acres in extent and serve important uses in forest conservation, in protecting streams from pollution and floods and in giving city dwellers an opportunity to come in contact with the undisturbed beauties of nature. The General Parking Scheme for Rockford The plan as shown provides for an area of 3000 acres so arranged as to serve equally all sections of the present and future city. Sites for all future schools are included. The units are so spaced as to be not over one-half mile from any home. Refer to General City Plan and Zoning Plan. Radial Parkways The striking feature of the plan consists of several continuous parkways leading from the outskirts of the city into its center. This would give entrance to the city over beautiful parkways leading at first through large outlying reservations and for the most part entering well into the business district over boulevards maintained strictly for pleasure vehicles. These parkways would be supplementary to the main traffic thoroughfares. These radial parkways extend for the most part along bottom lands formed by creeks emptying into the Rock River and would occupy land subjected to flood for which reason the building of homes or industrial plants thereon should be discouraged. These lands possess much natural beauty which would be retained, the idea being to treat them informally and to preserve as far as possible, the existing woodlands, meadows and water ways. Keith Creek Parkway This project contemplates the taking over of land along Keith Creek from its confluence with Rock River as far as Tenth Avenue, Page ninety PARKS i J«S^!^'"^ **. « ^^ ttl jm ^^ I^StiM b»^ ^l^d MhI n Meadow and Woodland. A tract North East of the city selected for a future park. the boulevarding of Tenth A\enue and Ninth Street to Sixth A\'enue and taking o\'er the blocks Ij'ing between Sixth and Seventh Avenues from this point east to the city hmits where the parking would expand taking in a large area along the creek as shown on the general plan. This would become an important driveway entrance into the city from the direction of Chicago. The driveway would enter the business section over First Street making connection with the ci\'ic center and connecting with points west of the river over the several bridges. This project is largely dependent on the doing away with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy tracks along the river and Keith Creek, treated more in detail in the chapter on railroads. From this standpoint of parking the city, the removal of these tracks from the river front is especially desirable. Fortunately, considerable land along the creek bottom is undeveloped wdiile the new High School athletic field would merge well into the scheme. The character of contiguous property over the entire length of this improvement would be expected to improve materially, ex- cellent building sites being especially provided within the loop lying between Kishwaukee Avenue and the river. The creation of this parkway would serve to materially lessen pleasure traffic on State and Charles Streets. In as much as this light traffic would be given oiDportunity to spread out before it reached the central business dis- trict, there would also be a tendency to reduce congestion in the vicinity of the State Street bridge. At the river, it is suggested that the boulevard be carried south as shown making connection with Nelson Boule\'ard and Blackhawk Park and extended beyond along the river bank as shown. Page ninety-one Page ninety-two PARKS The section lying between Charles Street and the railroad is comparatively level and is subject to floods, making the blocks between Sixth and Seventh Avenue undesirable for homes. The cost of lowering the creek or of confining it within a sewer would go far toward acquiring these blocks and providing the neces- sary park improvements. The creek would then become an attraction instead of a menace, and the immediate community as well as the whole city would be benefited. Kent Creek Parkways Kent Creek entering the river through the water power factory district and branching to the north and west near Winnebago Street furnishes opportunity for two radial parkways ex- tending to the west and northwest. Along the north branch, the park- way would begin at the Fair Grounds Park and take in the narrow strip of land as far as School Street where it would widen out to include the ciuarry lying west of the railroad. Extending thence northwestwardh', it would terminate in a large landscape park. Unfortunately, without great expense, the creek cannot be followed south of Fair Grounds Park. A pleasing entrance to the city would however, be made over Peach Street which would be treated to form a boulevard connection with the proposed civic center. The south branch of Kent Creek (^xtends through land to the west of the city which, for natural beauty, is unexcelled; that section lying between the North Western and Illinois Central railroads being hilly and splendidly wooded. The plan would be to secure approx- imately 430 acres located as shown, connection with the city being made over existing and proposed streets and through smaller parks located along the south bluffs as far as Maia Street. Keith Creek near Tenth Street, Showing Section Subject to Floods. Page ninety-three o o u t-i pq o Z C o o 8. O Pi Page ninety-four PARKS Available Park Lands Along Kent Creek near School Street. This tract is nearly surrounded by a built up section and should be acquired without delay. By the removal of the Ihinois C'entral Raih'oad and station, a small but wonderful bit of parking would be made to open on ]\Iain Street itself. It would seem almost a crime for Rockford to suffer the bit of natural scenery preserved through these years by one of the fathers of Rockford's parks to be taken over for other purposes. The Tinker estate, historically interesting as a site of the first mill in Rockford, has long been one of the beauty spots of the city. Here this attractive little water way has seemingly made its last stand against the encroachment of the city. To the westward beyond Winnebago Avenue, its beauty has been destroyed by factories and railroads. Could this plan for Rockford have been drawn fifty years ago, this natural heritage like so many others now irretrievabl>' lost might have been saved to posterity without interfering in the least with the city's industrial advance. The Spring Brook Tract The tract extends along the narrow valley flanked by high wooded hills from Rock River eastward approximately a mile and a half where the reservation would spread out in a fan shaped tract Page ninety-five THE ROCKFORD PLAN D reaching from the high- way skirting the south border well into the wooded hills to the north- ward. This would form another elongated park through which pleasure traffic from the northeast would enter the city. The scenery along this route is extremely interesting and beautiful. The hills on (>ither side, especially to the north are fast being dcveloj^ed into high class residential sites and this entire section bids fair to become one of the show sections of the citv. Looking Into the Grounds of the Tinker Home from Main Street. Illinois Central Station at the Right. Southwestern Reserve Although not immediately necessary it is suggested that con- sideration be given to acciuiring the tract of land lying along the small creek which, flowing southeasterly, empties into the Rock River opposite the go^•crnment cantonment. Land selected as shown would furnish ample parking facilities for this section of the cit>' and would give added impetus to the building up of this quarter as a home district for workingmen for which it is so admirably situated with reference to the proposed factory district. The Confluence of the Kishwaukee and Rock Rivers. Page ninety-six PARKS 5 ^ ' ^ The River Parks Tying together these radial park reservations described aboAT, the scheme here set forth for reclaiming for public use certain lands along the ri\'er bank would become, In' far, the most important of those for the parking of Rockford. It is difficult to conceive a more beautiful river than the Rock and it is reasonable to sup])ose that the first settlers were attracted to this spot partly on account of the ex- ceptional scenery which the location afforded. Today, although th(> cit>' has encroached upon the riA'er and though through the j'ears there has been practically no effort to ])ro- tect its banks from desecration, few waterwavs leading through cities have retained so much of their original beautv. Rock River Thrusts its Beauty Well Into the Heart of the City. Looking North from a point near Fiftcontli ;\\-cnuc Bridge. Looking up and down the ri\-er from the bridges, one is surprised to behold the masses of trees along the banks which, together with the islands also tree co\ered, gi\-e a chain of A'erdure into the cit>-'s \ery midst. It would be ideal if both banks throughout the entire length of the city could be reclaimed as parks, but this would be impossible of attainment. To do what is recommended, however, would lie well within the financial means of the city and would cause no dis- arrangement of the citA-'s fimctions. Page ninety-seven BgMIT -g-M a V O u s a o o 13 s o K V Ifl o Q, o V B o. > V Q 3i i-i (S ft. Page ninety-eight V o O o « B o 3 O M a o « •a V (A o O > a Pi Page Ninety-nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN Beginning at the State Street bridge, it is recommended that land be taken along the east side of the river west of Water Street as far as Lafa^'ctte Avenue and from thence north taking in all the land The River South of Fifteenth Ave. Bridge. h'ing between the North Western Railroad and the n\ci including the railroad right of way which would be abandoned under the new railroad scheme. To the north of Spring Brook, it is proposed to take a narrow strip along the shore only wide enough to accommodate a river drive which would extend to beyond the platted area. On the west side a boulevard connection would be made with the ci\'ic center oxev North Alain Street and Harlem Boulevard to Harlem Park, the small tract now made use of as an amusement j^ark and which would, under this plan, be taken over by the municipality. Thence northward, the driveway would carry along the crest of the high bluPf, traversing the golf club grounds and entering the large i)ark unit occui)>'ing the ground now used by the Winnebago Farm Home. Here the high banks are covered witli a si:)lendid growth of trees and magnificent views are to be had up and down the river and over the hills to the eastward. This tract of 150 acres lying beyond the golf grounds marks the last opportunity for a large park unit north of the city, the land from there on becoming low and uninteresting. Page one hundred PARKS South of the center of the city, the river bank parking on the east side would extend from First and Division streets along the present right of way of the Burlington railroad past the Keith Creek reservation to Blackhawk Park. For a short dis- tance it would be necessary to cut through industrial property and to take out an unused railroad switch. South of Blackhawk Park the taking over of a narrow strip as shown and connecting with the river front parking at the government cantonment should be com- paratively easy. Across the river the plan would be to carry a boule- vard along the banks utilizing south Main Street as a connecting link and taking over the narrow banks north of the Fifteenth Avenue bridge as far as South Park Playground. All islands in the river should be included in the park system. At present they are of little value and to allow them to be raised above flood level and built upon would be to defeat the main object of the river scheme. Under the plan, there would be secured for public use nearly fifteen miles of river front made accessible by drives and forming ideal frontage for residences. While some of the land involved would be necessarily expensive to secure, to a surprising degree it represents ^J^A'^^J^S^^^Jdet-^v^ River Bank Near North Bridge. Page one hundred one THE ROCKFORD PLAN holdings of comparatively low value. In no case would the improve- ment of these lands as suggested result in other than pronounced in- crease in the value of abutting property. Based upon the experience of other cities, this increase would, over a term of years, go far to off- set the initial cost by increasing tax revenues while the value to the city in giving pleasure to its thousands of inhabitants and in the renown which would of a certainty result, would be inestimable. Indian Mounds These unusually well preserved works of the ancient mound builders existing on land lying along the river north of Park Avenue, should be preserved for the pubhc. The mounds are of different types, including the sarcophagus or burial mounds and those of ceremonial nature and are among the best ever found in the region. The suggested extension of Wyman Street would give its terminus at this point where an opportunity would be given for an architectural feature to appropriately close the street vista. Central Pumping Station As at present the buildings and grounds of this plant at the foot of Peach Street would detract greatly from the Civic Center scheme later taken up. A possible disposition of the problem may be found in pumping by electricity thus making possible the doing away of the smoke stack and by the erection, of a new station building de- signed in harmony with the library and other buildings of the pro- posed group. Neighborhood Park at Avon and Cedar Streets This block now vacant and covered with fine old trees offers an opportunity for a needed park in the neighborhood. Street Triangles A number of small triangles formed by street corrections and in the new platting would make altogether an important element in the parking scheme as well as giving opportunity for the location of suitable street furnishings. Page one hundred two PARKS Swimming Pools The question of providing swimming pools in the city parks has in the past occupied the attention of the park board. Our experience has been that these should be of concrete or tile limited in size to not over 200 x 75 feet and ranging from 3 to 9 feet in depth. Such pools should be fenced in and provided v\^ith lockers and dressing booths. They should also be supplemented with shower baths to be used by bathers before entering the pool. Only by this means and by draining and cleaning the pools at frequent intervals may they be kept sanitary. Water should be taken from the city mains and not direct from the river or creeks where it is liable to be contaminated. Popularity of swimming is at its height in the hot- test weather and experience has shown that in public parks, covered natatoriums heated for winter use do not attract sufficient attendance to warrant the large expense of their construction and operation. School Playgrounds In a very thorough review of the Rockford Public schools issued by the Board of Education in 1916, the matter of school playgrounds is touched upon. Play space of 100 square feet to the child was therein accepted as a standard. Of the twenty schools in the city, thirteen have less than this amount while only seven have more. The areas range from 25 square feet to the child at the Montague School to 285.9 square feet at the Col. EUis School. The average for all schools is 113.9 square feet. The grounds of the following schools should be enlarged in ac- cordance with the above standard: Montague, Lincoln, Kent, Gar- rison, Church, Blake, Hale, Jackson, Henry Freeman, Wight, Turner, Kishwaukee and Brown. The importance of providing ample play area at public schools has been given wide recognition. With the tendency toward erect- ing school buildings with a single story, the securing of much larger grounds than formerly is imperative. While a standard of 100 square feet to be demoted to play space for each child is generally accepted, this should be exclusive of ground used for lawn and planting necessary to properly frame the building. Many cities, recognizing the need of giving more playground than Page one hundred three THE KOCKFORD PLAN would merely suffice for out door drills in calisthenics, marching, etc., or possibly for baseketball, jumping and other games requiring only a limited area, ha\'c been more generous in providing land. Wauke- gan, Illinois recently built an elementry school on a fourteen acre site. Gary, Indiana, starting with two acres, now considers twenty acres as a standard. The Playground of One of Rockford's Scfiools. An Example of Lack of Adequate Play Space. While there is no doubt that in the ach'anced methods of con- ducting schools, much larger areas of ground may be used to ad^•an- tage than has been formerly provided, it is equally desirable that the community parks which would be thus formed, should hsbXQ the facilities which a modern school building may gi^•e. In the past, park and school boards ha\'e been in the habit of working at cross purposes, when their functions have not l^een dissimilar. Expensive school ])lants have been used but a few hours each day and have remained closed through long vacation periods and to sup- plement their use jiark boards ha\e spent great sums of money in acfiuiring play ground sites often ))ut little larger than the school grounds near by and in erecting neighborhood center buildings, for park use, similar eciuipment for which lias been lying idle in the school houses, often but a few blocks away. This ob\'iously is extraA'agance, ha\ingno better excuse than the incompatibility and lack of co-ojiera- Page one hundred four PARKS tion between two bodies of public servants, both spending money from the same pocketbook and for the same general purpose. It is hoped that this plan will influence a broader use of Rockfords future parks and school plants. Community Parks for the Future City The general plan calls for the setting aside of twenty-six units which should be secured considerably ahead of the city's growth and used for combined school sites and community parks. These range between ten and twenty acres and are located at approximately one mile intervals so that their zone of influence would be within a radius of one-half mile. It is intended that in arrangement, the park and school building should be supplementary to give the broadest service to the community, the park being laid out to provide such features as both young and old would require and the school building so built as to furnish space for club meetings, amateur plays, concerts, lectures, musicals and indoor athletic events. Around these centers would be grouped the stores, theaters and churches that repeat at fairly regular intervals over the city. A Connecting System of Boulevards Around and through the city it is proposed to carry a system of boulevards which would be designed with the idea of being restricted to the use of pleasure vehicles. These would connect the larger park units. The extensive use of the automobile has made these necessary. Whereas, in the past any one of the larger park units would have furnished ample distance for pleasure driving, a continuous parkway of many miles leading over fine pavements through interesting country and traversing the parks, now forms one of the requisites of modern park system design. The boulevards shown on the accompanying general map comprise some 55 miles carried over existing and pro- posed streets and through the various parkways. Page one hundred five THE ROCKFORD PLAN Plan of Rockford's proposed Civic Center, showing arrangement for Union Station, Post Office, Coliseum and Municipal Group connected by Church and Peach Streets widened. Page one hundred six PUBLIC BUILDINGS Manifestly, Rockford's public buildings are not of a type nor are they suitably located to add any appreciable beauty or dignity to the city. It is reasonable to suppose that the time will come when there will be needed other and more spacious buildings. To prepare for such a time, it is well to consider in a plan like this, how these build- ings may be located and arranged, not only to serve the purposes for which they are intended, but to become an embodiment of Rockford's civic art. It has been demonstrated that by the artistic grouping of build- ings of a public or semi-public nature, certain advantages to the whole city may accrue. Chief among these advantages is economy in the acquirement of land and the better use to which this land may be put. Not infrequently are cities forced to pay exorbitant prices for sites, the purchase of which is delayed until the need of a new public building is imminent. Added to this, there is frequently brought about a bitter contest between factions regarding the location. The result, oftentimes, is that the building is badly placed and in such a way that the effect of its architecture is lost as is also lost that dignity which should go with a structure of its kind. Public buildings are apt to be placed so that they are difficult to reach by the majority and on sites which give no room for extensions. By the early setting aside of ample space on which to erect the public buildings needed in the future, these difficulties may be min- imized. There results a margin of land for future extension and adjustment as needed. The bitterness and strife which are apt to dis- rupt the community are thwarted. A fixed and definite site is estab- lished the purpose of which is known and the surroundings of which take on added importance and value. Prices become stable and there is provided a desirable location where office buildings, theaters, hotels and such structures may build with a surety that they will command a pleasing outlook. There is given added convenience in the trans- action of pubhc business, larger revenues will accrue to the city and above all, there is made possible an effective combination of the arts in harmonious composition. Page one hundred seven o o n, o c o J3 CQ Page one hundred eight PUBLIC BUILDINGS It is the purpose of these recommendations not to lU'ge upon Rockford the immediate or costly creation of a monumental group, but rather to urge that steps be taken now which may make possi- ble the acquirement of such a feature by gradual stages. The Municipal Group The fundamental element of the Rockford group plan will be the proposed Union Station. It would occupy a ])osition on the axis of Church Street. Here passenger trains of all railroads and inter- urbans would unload and take on their passengers at what, strictly speaking, would be the front door of the city. It is planned to use the two blocks immediately north of the station for a coliseum and post office. Church Street widened to 100 feet would present a thoroughfare of unusual diginity, the view up which would be terminated by a monumental feature at the intersection of Peach Street. This might take the form of a memorial to the Rockford boys who will gi\'e up their lives in the world war. Along Church Street, it is assumed would be erected the better class of shops, the facades of which would lend architectural harmony to the scheme. The present Court House would constitute a commanding element. View Across River From Library Building. Shows cliaracU-r of improvements on site of proposed municipal group. Page one hundred nine THE ROCKFORD PLAN Peach Street widened and a beautiful bridge spanning the JRock River, would tie this unit in with the municipal group located on the opposite rise of land, the crowning feature of which, the city hall, would occupy the small public square known as Haight Park. The space between it and the river would be cleared of improvements to form sites for supporting buildings of the group. In both directions from the bridge would extend the river banks cleaned of unsightly structures and giving vastly improved frontage for residential pur- poses. To the west, the library, the rebuilt pumping station, together with other structures of pleasing design near by, would serve to bal- ance the scheme. 1 Bl ■ H 1 1 .^.■•-•-%1 ■—1 ^ if! t 4 i - ^'' ^^■'^^"' '"^" hmmM 3'^?«>"^*^,~r-'" ■■■'■* :;::::: ;■""". nn Rockford Public Library. Tliis building with its bit of river side lawn would merge into the group scheme. Thereby the east and west sides of Rockford would be tied to- gether by a harmonious and useful feature having a beauty and dignity which would lend renown to the city as a whole; the significance of which as a symbol of unity would go far toward cementing together its various factions in a bond of civic loyalty. Page one hundred ten ^ o •r c -a >■ (V ;:; u ,^ > c« C ^ u. -^ c; s bo ^J tr. 0) hn d -1^ yo ■n 00 4;;^: o a o fe < 9 o >> XI 3 cn „ up " ^ «J C3 ■5 ^ oj u- -£ M 82 j:; C u oj j: •a t c ~ "^ 5 )-< bo .E^ t:; •a 1- r:: a ?* 3 0. n 0: m E ^ > Hii F i:^ Page one hundred twelve Study for Proposed City Hall Tlic two wings, one intended for use as a council chamber, committee rooms, etc., and the other for engineering and administrative offices wonld be tied together by a campanile dominating the group and the surrounding city from its commanding position. A Study for one of the Supporting Buildings of the Municipal Group. Page one hundred thirteen BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF PROPOSED Ml Rockford may never have a better opportunity to acquire the land for thi )UP AND PARKING ALONG RIVER BANKS. • this time before expensive improvements are installed by private ovi^ners. HOW THE PLAN MAY BE CARRIED OUT The City Plan Board of Rockford, an unofficial body, without funds other than what may be raised by private subscription, without authority delegated either by the city council or the state legislature, but impelled by a patriotic motive to do what it can toward making Rockford a city efficient and a city beautiful and having secured a basic structural plan, is now confronted by the question as to how it may start and continue the application of this plan to the ground. At the onset, the members should content themselves with the thought that their only remuneration will be the self satisfaction that comes to those who serve generously their fellow men and the feeling that in years to come, a real gratitude may repay their efforts. Obviously, the first task of the committee is to introduce the plan to the people. This in itself is arduous and forebodes much criticism and misunderstanding. To carry this out properly, the committee should at first perfect its organization and should, if possible, arrange for a secretary who shall devote his entire time to a publicity campaign and the subsequent activities of the board. Through this publicity and the public sentiment thereby aroused, many actual benefits suggested by the plan will doubtless be achieved. This has been the history of many city plans, in fact, those which have been worked out to the largest extent in this country have not received official sanction and have been unaided by administrative agencies. If the plan is generally approved by the business interests and by the public at large, if it is promoted tactfully, important features being placed before the citizens at the proper time for adoption and if it is backed with persuasion based on sane business judgment; feature by feature, the plan will be worked out in natural sequence. Such ben- efits as the Union Station, the Civic Center, grade crossing elimination bridges, etc., may be brought into reality with no further powers than held by the planning board at this time. Dependent upon the thoroughness with which the public is made cognizant of the value of the city plan is the legal authority which the commission may hope to control later as a further aid to its work. The next step would be the use of the police powers already in the hands of the city authorities which may be exercised direct upon Page one hundred fifteen THE ROCKFORD PLAN the recommendation of the commission acting in an advisory capacity or delegated to the commission by ordinance. Briefly, the police power of a city provides that the owner of land may not do with it what would injure the safety, health or morals of the community. This has a direct bearing on the matter of housing, making possible the prohibition of the erection of buildings which would be unsafe or unhealthful. Just how far this power may be used in bringing about advanced schemes of housing, will in many cases have to be determined by the courts which, it may be said, are often disposed to decree for the good of the community against the individual. Further as applying to the scheme of districting, the courts have upheld the legality of the Boston plan which prescribes the limit in height of buildings and areas which may be devoted to business and other purposes. This is a legislative act which might be copied and extended for Illinois. Police powers may also be extended to govern encroachments on highways, nuisances, etc. Under this theory ordinances have been passed and tested in Los Angles, California, and St. Paul, Minnesota which have prohibited the establishment of works or factories within certain prescribed districts which by reason of noise, odor or un- sanitary effect, may be unhealthful, disturbing or injurious to persons or property within the district. This has an important bearing on factory segregation which is worthy of note. While court decisions have amply upheld the principle that police powers may restrain offensive odors and noises, these have not been extended to protect the visual sense. This has an important con- nection with the phase of city planning which aims at making the city generally attractive and has direct bearing on the display of sign boards, the harboring of objectionable and unsightly structures or businesses and the character of building design. It is in this protection of the optical sense that civic experts are putting forth much effort and it will be by the adoption of this principal in America that a most important aid in carrying out the city plan will be ob- tained. After exhausting the possibilities of the police powers already estabhshed, the city plan board, aided by a majority of the voters may bring about certain benefits by special procedure. Page one hundred sixteen HOW THE PLAN MAY BE CARRIED OUT The problem of street extension being one of fundamental im- portance to the future city, should at once engage the attention of the board. There are many laws and ordinances throughout the country dealing with this situation. In some instances the muni- cipality refuses to accept a plat in noncomformity with the avowed policy of the authorities having jurisdiction. In as much as this restrains the allotment from becoming a part of the city and in con- sequence of which fire protection, policing, water extension and the like are withheld, it becomes a very effective method. In addition to this, providing the street layout is economical in the subdivision of land and so fits the topography that building lots will be made at- tractive and the cost of construction will be minimized, all of which is assimaed to have been taken care of by the city planning expert, property owners are benefited materially and are saved the added expense of engineers' services in the design and layout of their holdings. If such is the case land owners may be expected to favor the plan and therefore to aid it. Owners of land determined to be stubborn and bound to ob- struct by the use of their land as they will, may only be handled by the exercise of the right of eminent domain and the payment of such compensation as juries may fix. By tactfully administrating the plan, however, and by resorting to the various practices of American cities, little trouble in this regard need be anticipated as is shown by the experiences of Boston, New York, Baltimore, and especially Philadelphia. In the control of location and design of public structures, parks and other municipally owned features, little else is necessary beyond a good plan and its public appreciation. By ordinance, the city may place this work entirely in the hands of the plan commission or may require that the city council may act only upon the advice of this commission in such matters. The danger from then on lies in the tendency to political interference or the revoking of the ordinance itself by a subsequent coimcil. In the bringing about of costly internal changes such as street opening and widening, the clearing of the river front, the securing of land for public buildings, etc., a difficult problem is presented, which brings out the principle of land ownership by municipalities Page one hundred seventeen THE ROCKFORD PLAN somewhat typical of America, as established by the Federal Consti- tution. A city may become the owner of land by gift, dedication or devise, but may not use such land for purposes inconsistent with the terms under which it is secured. Thus far, this has mitigated against the large public ownership of land which has aided so mate- rially the carrying out of the city plan abroad, where by excess con- demnation and purchase, larger areas are secured than necessary for the contemplated benefit and the excess land being rapidly enhanced in value is first definitely controlled as to development and sold to recoup the expense of the transaction. In this way, the environment of the park, the street improvement, public iauilding group or whatever it may be, is rendered attractive and the burden of a costly but important feature is made not to fall upon the tax payers. In certain cases within the United States this procedure has been carried out chiefly under the subterfuge that this excess land is not needed and therefore may be disposed of. The remnant act of Massachusetts provides for the reselling of such left over land, and which beforehand may be resubdivided. Wisconsin, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania and other states have secured special legis- lation which in most cases provides for the excessive taking of neighboring property in specific cases, such as parks, streets and civic centers, surplus holdings being afterwards sold with restric- tions to protect the improvement. Land may be received by the city as a gift to be used only as specified. Due to the inherent suspicion toward public officials, there has in the past been a hesitancy upon the part of people to give lands the stewardship of which might be misused. While it has long been an established custom for public spirited citizens to donate special features, such as libraries, monuments and the like, it has only been more recently that these gifts have taken the nature of parks, play- grounds and parkways. It is in this connection that the city plan becomes of added value. For the first time, it presents a concrete and definite program which on being accepted by the people, insures that the city will be developed accordingly. An added incentive is then given to the donation of land either from purely philanthropic motives, or from more mercenary motives, due to the fact that bene- fits will accrue to abutting holdings. In many cases, notably in Page one hundred eighteen HOW THE PLAN MAY BE CARRIED OUT Hartford, Connecticut and Minneapolis, Minnesota, valuable gifts of land have been made where the donors have been able to see before- hand that these gifts would become a part of a comprehensive scheme. Property may be taken forceably for public purposes, being paid for either out of the general fund or by special assessment levied on nearby property or both, depending on the nature of the improve- ment. This method is used generally in street widening and open- ing. While this process oftentimes is the only one by which land may be secured after other methods have been tried out, it offers serious disadvantage in a practical way on account of the disposition of juries to favor the individual as against the city. Many instances have occurred where cities have abandoned projects because of the abnormally high price fixed in this manner. In the widening of streets where conditions do not call for im- mediate action, the work may be accomplished by forcing back the building line and issuing building permits in accordance therewith, adjusting the damages, if there are any, at the time a new building is erected. This brings about a rather ugly appearance to the street over a term of years, but on the other hand, distributes the cost pro- portionately and secures the desired widening as congestion takes place. An important element of the Rockford plan has to do with re- adjustment of railroads, local electric and interurban lines. Just how these improvements may be brought about in all cases is difficult to assume. In the building of new lines, the matter may be handled by franchise. In the adjustment of old Hnes, large dependence must be placed upon the suasive powers of the commission and its ability to convince the operating companies that the changes contemplated will be to their financial interest not only in the way of reducing operating and maintenance expense, but in developing the city and in turn increasing business for themselves. While special ordinances and even state legislation may be neces- sary before the railroad plan in its entirety may be realized, the writer believes that in this, as in all other issues of the plan, the greatest factor in its realization will be the inherent disposition on the part of the majority to further the public good. In the last analysis, con- sidering the fact that ours is a republican form of government, we Page one hundred nineteen THE ROCKFORD PLAN must place our dependence upon the good sense and patriotism of a working majority of the people. It is, therefore, of the greatest im- portance that the personnel of the plan commission shall be of an un- impeachable character, that it shall abstain from political or personal motive, and shall persistently and faithfully guard the city's best interests. "Nothing will ever he attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome." —DR. JOHNSON Page one hundred twenty CONCLUSION In conclusion, we wish to express our appreciation of the cour- tesy and aid extended to us during the past year by members of your board, the city government and by the pubhc spirited citizens at large. The survey was helped materially by maps and data loaned to us from various sources, especially by private engineers, railroad and public service companies. All those with whom we have come in contact in the pursuance of this work have manifested a most unselfish interest therein, such an interest as we believe will make for its ultimate success. Respectfully submitted, MYRON HOWARD WEST Page one hundred twenty-one 11 1 1 — ~"ir""'''''^Tr^~"li(^^'"~~~il~""~'i ir t."~-i! .'■' I >i.ji,~jL_Ji-— •'----J'-