Frederick Law Olmsted        SUBJECT FILE        Parks          Fall River, Mass.     1870         Report

To the
Committee on Park Im'pv't

of
Fall River
Mass

June --  --1870To the Committee on Park Improvement

Fall River, Mass --
June 16. 1870

Gentlemen,

In accordance with instructions 
we made yesterday a preliminary examination 
of the lands at Fall River appropriated to 
park purposes also of the Town farm property 
and of the Ridge Road and Eight rod road 
improvements and having had the opportunity 
to confer freely with your Commission and 
the Mayor we are led to make the 
following suggestions.

The preeminent advantage of the 
Bay Park seems to be the views across the water 
to the North and West which it commands 
the opportunity for uninterrupted outlook 
in these directions is [?] now limited to 
the (somewhat narrow) stretch of park ground immediately 
on the shore, there is however a small 
strip West of the railroad and North of 
the present bounding line which might 
probably be secured at the present time 
for a moderate price and which could 
in effect double the water front of thepark we therefore think that the city 
should obtain possession of this additional 
land.  The Eight rod road when extended 
to Cooks Pond will offer an attractive drive 
in a Southerly direction and it should 
if practicable be connected, with the Bay Park 
by a new road from [the] its South East 
corner [of the Bay Park].

The outlook from the North or Cherry 
Park will be upon back yards of dwelling 
houses as the boundaries are at present 
defined, this is a disadvantage which 
should be remedied if the property is 
retained either by the opening of new 
streets or the acquisition of additional 
territory.  On the high ground of the 
town farm to which one attention was 
directed there is a site a few acres 
in extent that commands a noble prospect 
up the Taunton River and it is a question 
for serious consideration by your Committee 
at this time whether the section of the 
city especially interested in a North Park 
would not be more decidedly benefitted 
by an improvement and extension if necessary 
of the desirable portion of this property 
rather than by a retention of the Cherry 
Street location which has no marked attrac-tion of a landscape character.  

As the Ridge Road now laid out 
[from] forms an agreeable drive and 
connects directly with the town farm 
property it would give that locality an 
additional advantage as a site for the 
North Park, a new road might probably 
be with advantage laid out from a point 
a few rods West of the town farm line 
to connect the Ridge Road with Main Street 
by easy grades, the intention being that 
the improvement should take the place 
of the present line of road directly up 
and down the hill which is much too 
steep for pleasure travel.

Although the natural advantages 
of your city for refined and healthful 
out of door recreation are very great 
they seem thus far to have been singularly 
disregarded and the wealth which exists 
in them waste.  Your narrow streets 
and the habitual confinement of a 
large part of your population within 
walls during the greater part of the 
day, makes it particularly desirable 
that some such comprehensive scheme 
as we have suggested should be adopted

It will be seen that the object
of the above general suggestions is to draw 
your attention to the desirability of securing 
for the city in some judicious way a circuit 
of pleasure travel that would include in 
one scheme the social improvements already 
contemplated, Main Street being the central
line with the Bay Park, the Eight rod 
road and Cooks Pond on one side and 
the North Park and the Ridge Road on the 
other, and we hope it may commend 
itself to your favorable consideration -- 

Respectfully
O. V. [?]