| Viewing Forest Park Master Plan From Rehab Perspective
The Forest Park Master Plan follows the standards for "Rehabilitation," the treatment recommended for Forest Park by the Historic Preservation Advisory. " This created Lake Forest's first conserved open space and the first North Shore public park north of Evanston. o Restoration and rehabilitation of the road to repair deteriorated surface and solve drainage problems and bluff erosion. These are reasons why the Master Plan proposes, consistent with rehabilitations standards: o Expansion of pedestrian walking paths beyond those suggested by Simonds. • The Park must meet contemporary and future needs to better accommodate pubic use, municipal budget constraints, pedestrian safety, accessibility, and ongoing maintenance. • Rehabilitation differs from "Restoration," which involves restoring a landscape to a particular period of significance. • Rehabilitation differs from "Reconstruction," which involves replicating a non-surviving landscape to its appearance at a specific time and in its historic location. "Rehabilitation" is consistent with the process used at Forest Park Beach and at Market Square. Brief 36 of the National Park Service defines parameters for the four possible treatments of historic properties: "False historicism in every treatment need to be avoided. As can be seen, considerable plant material shown on the Simonds' plat was not in evidence in 1939 and there were significantly more views to the Lake than in the plat. 75 feet wide in the location specified by Simonds' plat, and was paved with macadam. ) • Maple, cherry, and apple trees existed in the park woodlands, as documented by the surveyor's notebook. • The south portion of the Ring Road along the bluff conformed to Simonds' plat, ending in a turnaround on the south bluff and including a triangular island at the Spring Lane intersection. The history of Forest Park documents it as a natural resource reserved for passive enjoyment from 1856 to the present day. C. Simonds shaped Forest Park by conserving and enhancing the natural resources of its unique site between ravines on the bluffs of Lake Michigan. Over the past 150 years, Forest Park has changed from a landscape typical of 19th century Lake Michigan tableland to that landscape being cut through and cleared for timber and a road, planted or altered by an 1896-appointed Park Board authorized to "solicit funds, labor, and plants," maintained and planted by City staff to meet City requirements and requests from members of the community. The remnant native landscape, the road, and the altered view sheds may be defined as its "features of historical or cultural value. Simonds to develop a plan for Forest Park. o A west-to-east central walking path through the park, together with a path down the bluff to the beach, both believed to follow existing footpaths. The 1911 Survey A May 13, 1911, "Plat of Re-Survey water, Lake Michigan. ) o The following aerial photographs from the report of the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee contrast the condition of the Park in 1939 and 2007 with Simonds' plat. These materials are low key to blend into the natural landscape, weather as natural resources, and achieve low maintenance costs for the City. • Lighting designed to be consistent with the historic overhead lighting and minimize light spill into the neighborhood. It may involve preservation of existing fabric along with new additions and alternations. • Rehabilitation differs from "Preservation," which involves ongoing maintenance and repair of the original and isn't intended to accommodate new additions. Simonds' plat included: • A 25-foot-wide Ring Road, from which the public could enjoy dramatic views of Lake Michigan while strolling or driving along the lakefront bluff. o There has been found no other documented inventory of specific plant material in specific locations within the Park until recent surveys undertaken by The City of Lake Forest. (Early 1900's journals describe plants seen in this area, but are not specific as to location or relation to Simonds' plat. • No street lights existed in the Park. Examples of inappropriate work include the advent of historic-looking benches that are actually new design, a fanciful gazebo placed in what was once an open meadow, executing an unrealized historic design, or designing a historic-looking landscape for a relocated historic structure within "restoration. o Seating, picnic, trash, bicycle, and other amenities designed to avoid "false historicism" through the use of stone and wood that relate to materials used at the beach level and historically throughout the community. o Restoration to open up obstructed views with reference to both the Simonds plat and the 1939 aerial photograph of existing conditions 30 years after the plat was drawn. • South Parking Lot and Redistribution of Parking Priorities During the Few Days of Peak Use will minimize Ring Road parking during peak use. |
Friday, 18 May 2012
Viewing Forest Park Master Plan From Rehab Perspective
