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One more interesting piece of information on Loring
Park. Who was Charles Loring?
Charles M Loring was an early Minneapolis
businessman, arriving here in 1860. He first suggested the need to begin
setting aside land for parks right after the civil war. At that
time the young city had begun to grow rapidly and people were drawn to
the many jobs available in the industry that was growing around the power
available at St Anthony Falls.
Many other businessmen agreed with Loring but the
opposition stated "There will never be a house south of 10th Street, and
everything is like a park beyond that!" The opposition further stated
that those young men (Loring and his followers) "would ruin the town with their
extravagance". Stand down on 10th street some time and think about
that.
Loring's followers expressed their concern for
the people one hundred years in the future (us) when Minneapolis would be a
densely populated city of as many as (they thought)50,000
inhabitants. They were concerned that we future inhabitants should
have beautiful green breathing spaces for pleasure and relief as well as safety
from fire and disease as had happened in New York and other eastern
industrial cities.
Charles Loring began having contests to see who
could do the finest job of planting out their neighborhood with trees and
he offered the cash prizes himself.
Although they were not able to establish a The
Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners until 1883, a few property owners
did set small parcels of property aside.
The daughters of Franklin Steele (another
early settler) dedicated property to become Franklin Steele Square
and placed it in the care of Charles Loring. He hired Chicago
Landscape Architect, HWS Cleveland to design that park in 1882.
In 1883 the board of Park
Commissioners was formed. It consisted of several primary business
leaders of our city and they elected Charles Loring as their first President, a
position in which he served off and on until 1906.
Loring hired HWS Cleveland in 1883 to provide
them with their first Master Plan for Parks. Cleveland envisioned the
concept of our park system as a series of parks, and parkways encircling the
city. His plans are interesting to study and read. He moved to Minneapolis in
1886. He designed the first plans for park properties, like a sub
contractor to the Board of Park Commissioners. Cleveland lived in
Minneapolis for about 9 years. He later returned to Chicago. He died
in 1900 in Hinsdale Illinois, but was buried here in Lakewood
Cemetery.
At the recommendation
of Cleveland, Loring had hired William Berry to become the first full
time Superintendent.(Heard of William Berry Park and Parkway?) William Berry served as Superintendent 1885-1906. Under
his Superintendence the monies were invested in park properties which
expanded to 1810 acres and some development of Cleveland's plans.
Charles Loring was also responsible for hiring
Theodore Wirth as the second full time Superintendent (1906-1935). Loring
and Wirth became close friends and Wirth began to rapidly expand, embellish and
refine the dreams and accomplishments of Loring, Cleveland, and
Berry. Wirth nearly tripled the expected size of the park properties,
and added his own skills with horticultural,design, and
extensive recreational programs.
Loring remained interested and invested in our
Minneapolis Parks for the rest of his life.
When Charles Loring died in 1922, he left an
endowment to Victory Memorial Drive for the planting and replacement of
trees. Largely because of his persistence and good judgement, the
Minneapolis Park Board was formed in 1883 before the city was overgrown and
the majority of the land too difficult to acquire. He is considered "THE FAther
of the Minneapolis Parks System"
The Minneapolis Park System became rated
number one nationally in 1928 and has remained at the top ever
since.
We elect our Park Commissioners. They follow in the
footsteps of great dedicated commissioners such as Charles Loring.
They are the guardians of over 12% of the property in the city on our
behalf. They are constantly watchful for additional greenspace which can be
acquired for us. They hire our Superintendents and our Landscape Architects.They
decide upon and expand our recreation
programs. The property and programs that they
protect are important to all of us because they belong
equally to all of us. At this time in the history of our economy these
public parks provide activity and relief necessary for all of us. And they bring
us all together.
Think of what the quality of life in our
city might have been like had it not been for the persistance and
dedication of Charles M Loring. That is why the name of Central Park was
changed to Loring Park.
Joan Berthiaume
Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society
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