A tale of two city parks: how public-private partnerships have helped to revive two Olmstead-designed parks.

Like many older city parks, New York City's Central Park and Montreal's Mount Royal were created on land rejected by developers. Ironically, for more than the next 100 years, the two parks suffered from governmental indifference. What has saved these parks from eventual ruin has been their most valuable allies, citizen volunteer groups.

Frederick Law Olmstead, the father of landscape architecture, co-designed Central Park with Calvert Vaux, and was the sole designer of Montreal's Mount Royal. Olmstead believed strongly in creating natural spaces for citizens of all backgrounds and income levels. He was especially keen to the needs of the poor, because they had almost no way to vacation outside the city. Of course, not all people saw parks in the same way For the rich, city parks were a place to see and be seen, especially from a horse-drawn carriage. For the working class, parks were a refuge from overcrowding at home and work, and an alternative to the tavern.

Olmstead also believed that it was the government's responsibility to provide opportunities for restoration and recreation, and the city park was just the answer. His hope for governmental responsibility has been called into question more than once over the histories of Central Park and Mount Royal. Likewise, as much as Olmstead desired that the rich and poor could co-exist in public parks, class tensions have affected park developments.

Central Park's Prehistory 

Before Olmstead was designated architect-in-chief of Central Park in 1858, the land was home to squatters living in tin can shacks and lean-tos Everything from swine, cattle and goats, not to mention dogs and eats, roamed free. There were swamps, slaughterhouses, bone-boiling buildings and garbage dumps throughout the 700-plus acres in upper Manhattan.

Progress came quickly--portions were opened to the public that same year. By the turn of the 20th century, Central Park was already famous and cherished for offering a plethora of recreational opportunities. Citizens both rich and poor, immigrant and established residents, could choose from passive leisure activities such as sitting on park benches and viewing wildlife to more active pursuits such as strolling and ice skating. For those with money; there were snacks from the dairy building, carousel rides, row-boats for hire and motor-powered swan boat rides. The park became so popular that carriage makers and saddle industries boomed, and streetcar companies had to add extra cars to existing routes to accommodate park goers.

At the beginning of the Great Depression, many without jobs and homes took up residence in the park, and the reservoir was drained to make room for the shanties. Things improved during the mid 1930s, when Robert Moses took over the administration of the park for more than 25 years. Almost single handedly, Moses put people back to work through government make-work programs such as the Civil Works Administration and the Public Works Administration. Fences, benches and playgrounds were repaired, new buildings replaced wooden structures, a zoo opened, and statues and monuments were overhauled. Moses also added restaurants, including the posh Tavern on the Green, which came complete with a dance floor. It is important to note that the improvements made during this period stemmed from Moses' impetus, and his savvies at securing federal rather than city funds. It is also important to note that not all of the improvements were well received. An avid sportsman, Moses transformed more than one pastoral park area into ball diamonds and soccer fields.

After the Moses period, chronic government neglect meant that the park's appearance was analogous to the social circumstances that spurred its development in the first place. Instead of pigsties and swamps, the park sported silt-clogged ponds, lakes and roads. Ornamental fountains ran dry, structures were vandalized and graffitied public restrooms were locked, and previously manicured lawns turned to dirt and dust. By the late 1970s, it seemed the park was doomed.

Fortunately, since the 1920s, community organizations such as the Parks and Playground Association, Parks Conservation Association and the Central Park Association had formed to address various park issues over the years. These groups were harbingers to the Central Park Conservancy, the organization that saved the park in recent years.

Montreal's Mount Royal

Montreal--Canada's most populous city during the late 1800s--had a 735-foot-high mass of trap rock one mile long by half a mile wide. This geological feature was uniquely situated in the middle of the city between the St. Lawrence Seaway to the south and the suburbs to the north. When the city government decided to transform the land, it hired Olmstead for the task of designing a park for the citizens of Montreal.

Creating the park was a challenge because the mountain had eight distinct geological regions. For Olmstead, this meant highlighting certain characteristics while diminishing the less-appealing features. He embraced the use of overpasses and underpasses to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic, because he thought the presence of one would ruin the experience of the other. Equally challenging was working with park commissioners who were not conversant in park development. Consequently, many of his plans were abandoned or changed.

Like its New York cousin, Mount Royal benefited from Depression-era make-work programs. Workers constructed a cement-edged retention basin called Beaver Pond. Designed by Frederick Gage Todd, the pond provided boating, fishing and skating, and was well-received by the public, despite its masonry edges. Mount Royal's master plan, revised in the 1950s, called for a theater, equestrian center, tennis courts, parking lots and a major road through the park to improve accessibility. Of these, only the Camillien-Houde Parkway and new parking lots were constructed.

One of the city's finest examples of modern architecture, the Pavilion, sits on Beaver Pond's edge. Over the years, however, the park's landscape and pavilion have declined. Critics argue that Mount Royal really represents a 125-year work in progress as opposed to the result of a park plan. Still, citizens flock to appreciate what is one of the most popular destinations in the city.

Montreal's officials have a history of balking at the need to acquire open space for parks and recreation. This is surprising, given the Canadian government's reputation for providing basic services to its citizenry. From the 1950s to the late 1970s, the city council's involvement in parks was limited to providing only modest funding for park operations and capital development. In fact, there was less open space in Montreal per capita in 1970 than in 1930.

Over the years, neighborhood park associations eventually merged into the Montreal Parks and Playground Association (MPPA), dubbed by one Canadian writer as one of the city's "most articulate and persistent, but least successful pressure groups." The MPPA and the city council constantly struggled over whose responsibility it was to build and maintain parks and playgrounds. One notable success story of the MPPA was in defending Mount Royal from high-rise apartment developers. There has been limited development around the mountain park over the years, and most has been institutional, such as hospitals, religious institutions, cemeteries and universities thought to benefit from the rugged mountain setting.

Mayor Jean Drapeau governed the city between the 1960s and the 1980s, and was obsessed with advancing Montreal as a world-renowned metropolis. Like Moses, he was primarily responsible for the substantial changes to the city through the construction of leisure facilities for the arts (Place des Arts and Expo '67), sports (1976 Olympic complex) and culture (Expo '67). Such spending of taxpayer money did not go unnoticed by Montrealers. Ironically, in a city where the government did little to acquire open space for parks, Drapeau was not averse to creating two artificial islands in the St. Lawrence Seaway to help attract Expo '67. His leisure facility accomplishments sound more like those of a city park superintendent than of a city mayor.

Regarding Mount Royal, Drapeau sought to boost the utilization of the park as a winter sports center by adding an Eiffel-like tower, bobsled course and ski jump. There was even talk of running a subway or highway tunnel through the mountain. Meanwhile, he made no efforts to acquire open space, and generally consumed existing open space when needed for other projects. According to Canadian leisure historian Graeme Decarie, the upper-class organization Parks Protection Association, reverted to hostile measures to preserve Mount Royal from all aspects of development. Their efforts, based on the claim that his reforms were without vision and were politically charged, resulted in the defeat of Drapeau's plans.

Volunteer Groups to the Rescue

Financial struggles came to a head during the 19708, when both New York's and Montreal's city governments seemingly gave up on their parks and left them to deteriorate. Park crime and littering became fodder for daily newspapers. It seemed that neither city government was willing to be a stakeholder for its parks until private citizens organized to answer the call for help.

In Central Park, two private groups joined to form the Central Park Conservancy The Conservancy then formed a partnership with the city government beginning a new era for Central Park. Support was gained on two key issues: to have the government accept the park as a scenic retreat, and to get the mayor to continue providing the Same proportionate amount of the annual budget regardless of how much money was provided by the private sector. Done professionally and systematically, Conservancy fund raising evolved into a corporate campaign. Today, there are two annual events geared toward organizational recognition and donor base augmentation, the Frederick Law Olmstead Awards Luncheon and "You Gotta Have Park."

Visitors to Central Park enjoy varied recreation from biking, fishing and horseback riding to ballroom dancing at Tavern on the Green and kite jamborees. Services include rentals for rowboats, gondolas, skating, roller-and ice-skating, cross-country skiing and swimming. Patrons can still pay to ride on the carousel, take carriage rides or enjoy food from casual eateries or from foot carts. The diverse needs of the city's recreators are met through venues for bocce, boules, cricket, paddle tennis and football, among others. There are educational and cultural offerings. The Central Park Heritage National Recreation Trail, created by the National Park Service in 1979, features a four-mile trail covering 15 major landmarks including the Dairy, Bow Bridge) Conservatory Garden and the Great Hill. Among Central Park's annual events are the New Year's Eve fireworks, a winter carnival, a moonlight tour on horseback to examine park bridges and arches; in addition, November's New York City Marathon ends in the park. It is estimated that more than 13 million people visit the park annually.

In Montreal, the Centre de la montagne and Les Amis de la montagne are two key citizens groups that organized in recent years to partner with the city for the betterment of Mount Royal. The Centre de la montagne is a nonprofit corporation environmental education organization founded by University of Montreal students in 1981. The Centre encourages the preservation and enhancement of the park's quality through fund raising efforts, an annual park dean up, and guided tours and walks. The organization also operates a combined information and gift shop with permanent exhibits housed in Smith House, a restored farmhouse from the 1850s.

Formed in 1986, Les Amis de La montagne is a well-connected nonprofit organization that provides citizens the opportunity to improve the park through political activism, stewardship and financial Support. A significant voice for the park, Les Amis's list of accomplishments include expansion of open space through the transformation of derelict property adjacent to the park, creation of a foundation for fundraising and co-organization of Mount Royal's 125th anniversary celebration. With the anniversary came a new statute, the Cultural Property Act, designed to ensure the long-term protection of the park, extend the management of the park from the city to the five boroughs, and establish a historic and cultural district through the provincial government of Quebec. Perhaps the most significant achievement of Les Amis was hosting the Mount Royal Summit in 2002, which impressed upon all levels of government the importance of protecting the park.

Programs at Mount Royal are some-what different in scope compared to those offered in Central Park. Pressure from groups like the Parks Protective Association over the years have helped the park retain its remote qualities; There are no playing fields at Mount Royal. Hiking, strolling, self-guided walking tours, cross-country skiing, cycling, winter sliding, wildlife observation and skating are common activities at the park. Services are basic, and include things like refreshment stands at the Pavilion and Chalet and paddleboat rentals at Beaver Pond. Organized programs include power walking, artistic presentations, tree planting, school group outings and day camps.

In the near future, Beaver Pond will receive a $7 million dollar face lift, thanks to private/public collaborations including Les Amis, the Power Corporation of Canada, the city of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government. Such improvements are crucial with more than three million visitors to the park each year.

Private volunteer groups like the Central Park Conservancy, Les Amis de la montagne and the Centre de la montagne are the key to future success in urban parks, especially where park and recreation dollars may not have been viewed previously as a city funding priority. Private-public partnerships can accomplish more together than separately. Partnership benefits include financial stability, political positioning, programs and services, and environmental protection of parks and open space. Partnerships have breathed new life into two old and famous city parks in North America, Such collaborative efforts offer the opportunity for a shared vision and the financial support to make it happen. Don't you suppose Frederick Law Olmstead would have been pleased with such an outcome?

Barbara Elwood Schlatter Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University. She can be reached at [e-mail].