Polytechnic rugby team votes to disband

The report of Charles Mulford Robinson, civic architect, in which is outlined a plan for the beautification of Los Angeles, has been completed and submitted to the Municipal Art Commission. . . .

His principal recommendation provides for

• the building of a union depot on the site of the present Arcade Depot
• the removal of railroad tracks from Alameda Street and the west bank of the river to the river bed [not a good idea!]
• the lining of the river banks on either side with trees [a good idea!] and
• the construction of a boulevard nearly 200 feet wide along Fifth Street from the depot to the heart of the business district.

This latter project involves the destruction of several blocks of buildings and the condemnation of property on either side. . . .

Fort Hill Park on the high bluff back of the Plaza church, he would treat as a terrace park.

[He suggests that] the city shall purchase from the state the grounds on which the Normal School now stands. This he would convert into a park surrounding . . . the public library and an art gallery. [This is exactly the place where the Los Angeles Central Library was built.]

Then the city should purchase a strip of land intervening and connect the library with Central Park [the present Pershing Square], which, he says, is too small for the number of persons who wish to use it. [The strip of land would have gone through the site of the present Biltmore Hotel!]

He advises the removal of all [street]car tracks from Figueroa Street, which could be converted into a boulevard connecting Agricultural Park [the present Exposition Park] with Sunset Boulevard, which would then connect with Elysian Park.

Among his more practical suggestions are these:

• The posts of the ornamental boulevard light system on the downtown streets should be painted bronze instead of green. [According to the Times, he said the lights were the most beautiful in the United States. See photos below.]
• The city or the property owners should dust them daily.
• . . . awnings shall be of a uniform height.
• The mammoth storage reservoir of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company at Seventh and Alameda streets should be inclosed in a stone tower.
• Drays should not be permitted to surround the Plaza.
• Small triangles caused by streets intersection at unusual angles should be converted into small parks or fountain sites.
• There should be more public fountains.
• The entrance to the Broadway tunnel should be lowered. [It was later abandoned altogether by cutting down the entire hill.]
• Fences between and in front of lawns should be removed by the owners.
• School yards should be beautified.
• The removal of sand from the river bed should be regulated by the city.
• The old bridges spanning the river should be replaced as rapidly as possible with more sightly structures.