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8.12.2004
God I Love Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, always one of my favorite writers, has another excellent essay in In These Times, I Love You, Madame Librarian
8.6.2004
Nuts! Bunghole
Here is yet another reason why LBJ is my favorite modern president (via)
Lemons! For Everyone!
Harper has a really well-written post up over at Lemons.
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[LEMONS]
6.17.2004
Park Pride - The Nation's Largest Urban Parks
When I was in L.A., a friend referred to Griffith Park as the nation's largest urban park. Since this was the 3rd city, after Portland and San Francisco, where I've heard such a claim, I thought I'd try to check it out. Here's what I found:
GGNRA (Golden Gate National Recreation Area), San Francisco:
Acreage: 75,398
Claim: The GGNRA is the largest urban park in the world. (Official site says "one of.")
Reality: The GGNRA consists of numerous parks such as Alcatraz and the Presidio, many of which are not connected to the others. And not all of which would I consider "urban."
South Mountain Park, Phoenix:
Acreage: 16,500
Claim: South Mountain Park/Preserve often is referred to as the largest municipal park in the country.
Reality: This seems to be the real deal.
Fairmont Park, Philadelphia:
Acreage: 9,100
Claim: World's largest landscaped city park
Reality: Like the GGNRA, Fairmont Park is made up of several (65) parks.
Forest Park, Portland:
Acreage: 5,124.28
Claim: Forest Park is the largest urban wilderness within US city limits.
Reality: I gather that South Mountain Park is not entirely "within US city limits." Either that, or they just lie.
Shelby Farms Park, Memphis:
Acreage: 4,500
Claim: The 4,500 acres of Shelby Farms comprise the largest urban park in the United States. (Official site says "one of.")
Reality: This is, in fact, the largest urban park in the United States. Unless you count parks in Portland, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.
Griffith Park, Los Angeles:
Acreage: 4,107
Claim: Griffith Park is the largest municipal park and urban wilderness area in the United States.
Reality: Is it the combination of municipal park and wilderness area that lets them make this claim? Of those surveyed, Griffith is the smallest park that claims to be the largest.
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