Scene Along the Des Plaines River, circa 1904
1 2021-03-02T09:46:21-06:00 Kate Flynn 89ab0aeaf9441ebcfe2d9d020d3b00b0ffd82873 13 8 The Des Plaines River became a focal point in arguments for the proposed park and preserve system. Perkins and Jensen envisioned a system of boulevards that connected open spaces like this with the city's commercial and residential districts. Forest Preserve District of Cook County records (MSFPDC09), FPDCC_00_01_0002_034, box 0-1-2, item 34, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Illinois Chicago Library. plain 2023-09-15T15:26:12-05:00 Dan Harper eff3db32ed95b3efe91d381826e2c10c145cd452This page is referenced by:
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Introducing a Vision
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Before any plans could be adopted, supporters of the forest preserve had to earn the public’s trust. To this end, Dwight Perkins and Jens Jensen talked to several organizations that wielded social, political, and cultural influence in Chicago. Particularly useful were endorsements they won from Chicago’s City Club and Commercial Club even before the details of their sweeping and expensive program proposals were spelled out.
Perkins did, however, lay out the general features of the plan at a 1904 meeting of the City Club of Chicago. He called for improvements to city park space. He sought approval for the construction of thirty-six parks in congested areas of Chicago, dozens of barrier reefs off Hyde Park, and a driveway between downtown and Jackson Park. These portions of Perkins’ plan later became part of Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago.
For the county, Perkins called for the purchase of 33,000 acres of land. He wanted to create Skokie Park, which would stretch more than sixteen miles north to south and cover 9,000 acres. Another preservation program would be carried out in the western suburbs along the Des Plaines River (with a trolley line servicing the proposed 25-mile preserve) and in the southern sections of the county along the Sag Valley and Lake Calumet. Perkins predicted the total cost would amount to somewhere between $25 and $50 million.
These proposals appeared to rectify differences between the preservationists and advocates of the boulevard system. Perkins agreed to both agendas and found little conflict in having boulevards connect the different parks and preserves. In fact, he proposed several boulevards that would connect suburb with city and suburb with suburb. Boulevards, for example, would be built between Evanston and the Des Plaines River, and along Ogden Avenue from Union Park in Chicago to the suburb of Riverside. He also wanted to extend the boulevard system along Belmont Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Thirty-seventh Street, and Seventy-ninth Street.
