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y&i T^i i i 1 i i MmpPi Editorial Section HE ttian who like Luther Bur bank can make two stalks? of grain grow where only one grew before must follow certan defi nite laws or the attempt would be a failure. The principles of the problem under consideration must be thoroly studied and the plans for future development follow the laws as given. The modern business man as well as the general in the field must have his work mapped out and the advance must be along the lines thus determined upon. The modern city is a business corporation and should be managed on the same principles as a great railway or other large business organizations. STRIKING AND CO A Remarkable Civic Plan The Journal presents herewith a striking and elaborate plan for the reconstruction of Minneapolis along lines of metropolitan Improvement. It Is such a plan as those which have been worked out in many European cities, and which are now being seriously taken up by American cities. The orig- inal conception of this plan is that of John N. Jager/ an architect of the finest training In this department of work, who Is now located in Minneapolis. Mr. Jager has associated with himself in the arduous and difficult labor of work- ing out the details Messrs. Ch. B. Straus, C. E. Edwins and F. E. Halden, all Minneapolis architects and men of ideas. Mrr. Jager studied the subject originally In Vienna under three of the most famous architects in the worldCamlllo Sitte, who died In 1903, and who was probably the foremost authority on "civic regulation" Carl Mayreder. professor in the technical university In Vienna, and since 1891 chief of the "regulation board" of that city, to whom Mr. Jager was assistant for some years and Max Fablanl, another celebrated authority,.under whom he worked in the reconstruction of the beautiful city of Leybach. The plan for making Minneapolis "the city beautiful and the city practi- cal" may seem at first blush Utopian and impractical, but Its proponents point out that if a carefully worked-out plan, such as that of L'Enfant for the city of Washington, Is adopted tentatively, air future Improvements may easily be made to conform to it, whereas fifty years from now It would be quite impossible to adopt so general and far-reaching a project, except at prohibitive cost. At the very least that may be said of It, the Jager-Straus- Edwins-Halden plan for the civic rebuilding of Minneapolis forms a most Interesting and In- structive study. The two maps of the city, one confined to the central dis- trict and the other showing how this plan articulates with the park system already so well developed, will repay careful study. Herewith, too, Is presented an outline of the plan, the text that follows be- ing supplied by the authors and representing, of course, their ideas and not necessarily The Journa I's. Its civic development should follow well studied and definite lines, based on natural laws of growth.the The. Washington Plan ^'.^W^aiS^kfel^ work of M..L'Enfant, for the building of the nation's capital city, is a good illus tration of intelligent and masterful planning for future growth. New York on the other hand, with its gridiron plan, has come to the realization that it must be reconstructed,'' and. plans that now seem certain of acceptance, call for an expenditure exceeding prob ably $500,000,000. Philadelphia Has begun to do the same thing, tho at much lower cost. Paris and Vienna were reconstructed at an immense cost of money, but it -would be hard today 4 to find a Parisian or a Viennese who thinks his city made a bad municipal investment. Other European cities have gone thru similar costly recon structive periods, and now .our Amer ican cities are waking up to the fact that civic art has a practical and finan cial value independent of sentiment. Minneapolis Well Situated. Few cities are as fortunately situ ated in regard to natural advantages and beauties as Minneapolis with its river and falls, lakes and parks. (Na- ture can do a great, deal in this direc tion, but art, which is man's work, must-supplement it.) The prospects of a new union station and a new postoffice building present an unusual opportunity for making these buildings the nucleus in a com prehensive plan for a great civic im provement. What we want is a city that is both practical and beautiful and we propose to show in the accompany ing drawings and the present article what are the things that help to make the city come as near the requirements as possible. Of course, many circum stances are necessary and we shall try to indicate only the principal ones. Streets and Public Squares. If there is any. one thing that mod ern civic art has learned, thru dearly bought experience to recognize as be ing of the greatest importance in mod em cities' business centers, it is the plan of the streets. To solve the problem and make an intelligent and comprehensive plan of it on a sheet of drawing paper requires no impossible genius, but in order to secure public endorsement of such a plan, it is of the utmost importance for this designer not only to be able to prove its success in other cities, but also to demonstrate the failures of tie common gridiron plan. +'i In planning an ideal street arrange ment for the city's business district, there should be, first a comprehensive scheme of artwial thorofares, whieh provide for the shortest and most di rect thru travel from point to point. This scheme, which is shown on the %ii* C^ntinae on Next Page*v.^ Defective Page & & ||AP ,S MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 2, 1906. MlNNlSUIA FOR LAYING OF THVHOLE CITY, SHOWINQHOW THE EDWINS*%* |^3^-^'S-k'- rat 4-iZ T- -Vijc \*Sr W,T HJAGER-fcTRAUS- E PARK SYSTEM, 'l&ii JW~ HISTORIC*! LINES OF USE AND BEAUTY+*-S HALDEN PLAN 18 AHTKULATcn^ Pari in rslm& 1 c i 8 1 C** 1 I 1"" rss I 1 1 1 i A *_ I ~J 'tt aa.SM5Hiigiy \^$ i 'i S -5' 9 O a Z:"- n?4 52 -v' 1 2** Jl% 2-331 "Q S a "*S/f ,-JPS*5 *&Z nt 8 I *!**$ W*NV. f* T^ljt' -H "s? ':*$ 4