N SEPTEMBER, 1936, instructors at twenty-four of the Minneapolis Park playgrounds were furnished with. craft materials for the construction of miniature houses and furnishings. Each playground was permitted to design and construct a house of its own choice. A sample house was built by the craft supervisors to demonstrate building technique to the instructors, but the style of architecture, the size and the arrangement of the rooms were left to the individual playground. Each playground was asked to have its house ready by December 15th, as it was planned to present the completed houses to the children in homes, orphanages and hospitals as Christmas gifts.

The playground children went to work with great enthusiasm, digging up plans, designing rooms and planning furniture. Although no awards were offered in competition, the children on each ground wanted their house to be more attractive than the neighboring park's house. The result was that the young builders fairly outdid themselves in creating houses of original and unique design, and in furnishing them in excellent taste down to the most minute detail. Playground instructors reported that few projects had aroused so much interest as the construction of these miniature houses.

On December 15th the completed houses were brought in from the parks and placed on display in the Mayor's reception room at the City Hall for three days. At the end of the three days so many people still crowded the display room that Mayor Thomas E. Latimer decreed that the houses be permitted to remain on exhibition for three more days. This was done at the expense of city boards and commission which regularly use the Mayor's reception room as a meeting place.

The houses ranged in architecture from English Tudor and Spanish adobe down to our latter-day American bungalow and the ultra-modern house of the type exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair. They varied in size from two feet to five feet in width and length, and from four rooms to twelve rooms, but all were uniformly well executed from a craft standpoint, and all were tastefully furnished. A detailed description of two or three of the outstanding houses will give an idea of the thoroughness of execution and the attention to detail which marked the project.

North Common's Old English Half-
Timbered House

The house constructed by the North Common's playground children was built in the English halftimbered bungalow style. The house was about three feet square and built with a detachable roof to provide access to the interior.

Three ply panel wood served as the basic material for the walls. The half-timbers were applied, and the panel wood surface was plastered both on the exterior and interior. Mottled tones of color were then stippled onto the plaster and given a swirled effect by use of water mix putty applied heavily and textured while still wet with a stiff bristle brush used with a swirl technique.

Trimming such as window casings, door casings, mop boards and rafters were made from balsa wood of a scaled width and thickness. The chimney was constructed of plaster shaped to look like flagstones and variously colored red-sienna, blue-violet, grey and sand. Shingles, two inches long and varied in width, were cut from suit boxes. One inch of overlap was used in laying the shingles.

The porch, the vestibule and the stoop were built separately and attached to the house. Doors

were eliminated from all rooms with the exception of the bathroom. Sheet celluloid was used for the windows.

The interior of the house was divided in five rooms: living room, dining room, bedroom, nursery, kitchen and bathroom.

A short walnut-stained stairway with a carved rail led from the vestibule down to the living room, which was built lower than the other rooms. The color scheme was red, gold and green. Furniture in the room included a grand piano, a radio, a fireside bench, andirons, a davenport, two chairs, a footstool, two end tables and two lamps.

The dining room, which was of the sunken variety, contained eight pieces of furniture - a Tudor table, a buffet and six chairs which were upholstered in red. All of the furniture was handcarved.

The master bedroom contained an English bed, a chest of drawers, a vanity and a cedar chest. All of the furniture was of two tones. The accessories-drapes, rug, curtains, spread and pillowswere done in orchid.

The nursery, done in blue and peach, contained a bed, a chest of drawers and a vanity. The accessories were in peach.

The kitchen, which was in white with black trimming, contained a sink, built-in cupboards, a table, two chairs, a refrigerator, an electric range and refuse container.

The bathroom, located between the nursery and the bedroom, was done in or

chid and green and contained a bath tub, a lavatory bowl and a stool.

Powderhorn Park's Colonial House

The house from Powderhorn Park was built in the Colonial style with a gabled roof and window shutters. The exterior was completely sided with a deep siding, its one end being broken by a wide brick chimney. Exterior colors were green and white.

The interior had its full length living room, complete in all its details of trimming and furniture. Wallpaper was used throughout in the interior scheme of the house. A dining room, kitchen, bedroom and large hall completed the first floor arrangement. The second floor had three large bedrooms, upper hall, nursery and a bath. The craftsmanship in the construction of the furniture was unusual. Miniature wax fruit, crepe paper flowers and other minute details were not lacking.

Living Room. Full length, in gold color scheme with gold curtains. Tan-gold carpet. Overstuffed davenport and chair to match. Over stuffed occasional chair and footstool. Magazine rack and bookcase. White wax vase with chrysanthemums

on the floor by fireplace. Candle holders of yellow construction paper and yellow candles over the fireplace, together with a clock made of wood and construction paper.

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Dining Room. Wallpapered blue and cream. Blue curtains. Bluish rug. A dish made of blue construction paper and fruit made of wax on buffet. Candle holders of blue construction paper with red candles also on buffet. Lace tablecloth and flowers (red roses made with crepe paper) on dining room tables. Upholstered chairs covered with blue crepe paper.

Kitchen. Green and white. Cupboards, sink, table, chairs, range and refrigerator.

Two Halls. Cream-colored wallpaper. Green rug. Upstairs Hallway. Table and chair with French telephone (made of wax-black) and a telephone book. Indian rug on the floor and the same on

table.

Bedrooms. Back downstairs bedroom-pink bedspread and ivory furniture. Large bedroomtwin beds of yellow walnut. Front bedroom (small)-peach and white spread. Peach curtains.

Nursery. Blue and pink color scheme. Rugs made of pink crepe paper with a border of light blue. Furniture a

light blue. Walls pink. White lace curtains with pin tie backs. Small pink wax lamp with blue shade (construction paper) on table. A play pen, cradle, cedar chest and chair.

Bathroom. The bath tub was made from a bar of P. & G. laundry soap, carved

out, shellaced and painted white. Half-walls and floor were of black and white tile.

Sibley Field's Ultra-modern House The house from Sibley Field was unique in that it was done in the modern style. A rounded solarium and modernistic chimney done in vivid. colors were the decorative motifs of the exterior. The roof was terraced with its quarter-circular terraces trimmed with a flange in colors matching the chimney. The roof surfaces and all window and door trimmings were painted with alumium bronze. Exterior decorative colors were ivory, black and vermillion.

The interior featured seven rooms-living room with circular solarium at one end, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bath and hall. All these were painted in pleasing pastel colors. The fur(Continued on page 42)

Children of Glen Lake Sanitarium have their first glimpse of the

Program Topics and Leaders

The program topics have been selected from a wide range of suggestions from the field. Every item represents the interests of a considerable group of people. Some of the major topics will concern every worker and every layman interested in the cause of recreation.

The theme of the Congress is "Importance of Recreation in Modern Life."

Dr. J. H. Finley, First Vice-President of the National Recreation Association, and Associate Editor of the New York Times, will preside. John G. Winant, Second Vice-President of the Asso

Dr. John H. Finley, the Association's First Vice-President, who has presided so delightfully over meetings at Congresses in the past, will be with us.

At two previous Congresses Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver has given most inspiring addresses. He will speak again before the Twenty-Second Recreation Congress.

ciation and until recently Chairman of the Social Security Board, will also be at the Congress and will preside at some of the meetings.

Rabbi Silver of Cleveland, Ohio, well known to many recreation workers, will speak on "Life in a World of Confusion."

Mr. Aubrey Williams, Associate Director of the Works Progress Administration, will outline the scope of "Recreation Undertakings in the Federal Government."

Dr. James S. Plant, of the Essex County, New Jersey Juvenile Clinic, and a leader among the social workers of that state, will address the Congress on the subject, "Recreation and the Social Integration of the Individual."

Melvin E. Haggerty, Dean of the College of Education, University of Minnesota, will speak on the "Enrichment of Community Life."

Mr. V. K. Brown, Superintendent of Recreation, Chicago, will present "The Capture of Leisure for Use in Volunteer Service to the Government."

Dr. Ernst Hermann, Dean of the Sargent College of Physical Education, Boston University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, will speak on "Creative Physical Activities."

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Other well-known speakers, whose names will appear in the final program, will be present.

Discussion Groups

As usual, the main work of the Congress will be done in discus

sion groups, each with a presiding officer, several discussion leaders and a summarizer. The findings of each group will be presented to the general sessions of the Congress for information, discussion and action. These groups will have under consideration the following topics, selected as stated above, from suggestions that have come from all parts of the country.

Park and recreation maintenance problems. Facing the problems found in recent recreation

surveys.

Responsibility of recreation systems for corecreation.

Major Issues

Two years have passed since the Congress last met. During those two years social and economic changes have taken place which re-emphasize certain aspects of recreation and in others change the whole approach to the problem.

Federal reorganization and the report of the Committee on Better Personnel in Government Service have thrown the question of Personnel and the Merit System into the first rank of interest and importance. Standards of training and experience, certification and tenure of service are of vital importance to recreation leaders now and will be increasingly so during the next few years.

The depression has been officially declared "out" but we still have nine million of unemployed people, half of whom are young people who are out of school and who have never had a job. The liquidation of the WPA recreation program has begun. Vast new recreation facilities provided (Continued on page 44)

The sun porch at the Ambassador which