John F. Kennedy is remembered for his “Ask Not” speech, but nearly 60 years earlier, John Charles Olmsted made a similar declaration about people and their communities:
“It is constantly becoming more generally and more clearly realized that every inhabitant of a city owes to it, in return for benefits and advantages derived from it, certain duties not specifically compulsory according to law. Among such duties is that of aiding in every possible way to make the city more beautiful and more agreeable to live in and work in and more attractive to strangers.”
– Report of the Park Board, Portland, OR 1903
Why couldn’t somebody from Everett say that?
He was from NYC, not PDX. PDX and SEA hired him to develop a park plan. I’m not sure where Seattle is with theirs, but we’re working on trying to make up for the suggestions we didn’t follow.