Contents<\/strong>: introduction<\/a> \u00b7 the playground movement<\/a> \u00b7 settlements in the united states<\/a> \u00b7 recreation as social reform<\/a> \u00b7 conclusion<\/a> \u00b7 further reading and references<\/a> \u00b7 how to cite this article<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> The development of organized recreation programs in the American settlement<\/a> and playground movements during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was part of the progressive reform response to industrialization, urbanization, and immigration and reflected concerns about the influence of the physical and social environment on the individual. This paper offers a brief background on the settlement and playground movements in the United States and gives an overview of core themes surrounding recreation, as expressed by social reformers from 1900 to the 1930\u2019s. By current standards, some of the concerns and issues regarding recreation sound very earnest, and almost quaint. However, recreation activities, particularly recreation for youth, were a serious subject of social reform. Health, fitness, and physical activity for the individual were viewed as important national assets. Recreation was a means by which life in a urban industrial society could be made more tolerable, immigrant children molded into Americans, and children of all classes protected from vice and prepared for citizenship. Equally important, reformers viewed organized recreation as a way to reconcile the needs of an industrial nation with the principles of democracy.<\/p>\n The American settlement and playground movements shared many of the same theories about the importance of recreation. The two movements evolved at essentially the same time and cross-pollinated both ideas and personnel. Recreation ideologies and programs in both were influenced by turn of the century progressive reform spirit; belief in both public and private solutions to social problems; and emerging theories of psychology and child development, including the recognition of adolescence as significant developmental period. Across the country, particularly in poor, urban areas, settlement houses and playground associations established some of the first playgrounds and fought for public funding for recreation. They developed core themes and methodologies that emphasized the relationship between organized play, health, character, and democracy.<\/p>\n Histories of the playground movement credit the Sand Gardens in Boston, which were established in 1886, with being the first supervised, public playground in the U.S. When Charlesbank Gymnasium opened in Boston in 1889, it became the first public, free, equipped outdoor playground. The first playground in New York City opened in 1890 by University Settlement. In 1894, Hull House playground opened in Chicago. By 1905, 35 American cities had supervised playgrounds and the city of Chicago alone spent $5 million on 10 new playgrounds. (National Recreation Association records, \u201cBrief History of the Playground and Recreation Movement in America\u201d; Knapp and Hartsoe, 1979; Curtis, 1907 \u201cThe Playground\u201d)<\/p>\n As the call for play space for children gained ground, the Playground Association of America (PAA) was established in 1906. The founding meeting of the Association was held at the YMCA in Washington DC on April 12, 1906. The delegates were eighteen men and women from playground associations, public school and municipal recreation departments, settlements, teachers\u2019 colleges, the kindergarten movement, and charity organizations. Luther H Gulick<\/a>, director of physical education in the New York City school system and founder of the Public School Physical Education Society and the Academy of Physical Education, was elected as the association\u2019s first president. Gulick brought a YMCA-influenced belief in the connection between physical and spiritual health to the PAA. [In 1891, while head of the gymnasium department of the YMCA\u2019s training school in Springfield, Illinois, Gulick, along with James Naismith, developed the game of basketball.]<\/p>\n Henry S. Curtis, supervisor of playgrounds for Associated Charities of Washington, D. C., became the secretary. President Theodore Roosevelt, who received the delegates at the White House, and reformer Jacob Riis were selected as honorary president and vice president, nicely symbolizing the association\u2019s concern both for promoting health and character through exercise and organized sports and the improvement of conditions for the poor through supervised recreation. Among its founding principles, the fledgling association stated:<\/p>\n That inasmuch as play under proper conditions is essential to the health and the physical, social, and moral wellbeing of the child, playgrounds are a necessity for all children as much as schools. (National Recreation Association records, \u201cEarly Days,\u201d undated)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The association\u2019s first annual conference, called the Play Congress, was held in Chicago in 1907. The program clearly illustrated important themes of democracy, citizenship and morality that continued to guide recreation through the mid 20th century. Speeches included \u201cRelation of Play to Juvenile Delinquency,\u201d \u201cPlay as Training in Citizenship\u201d and the \u201cSocial Value of Playgrounds in Crowded Districts.\u201d Jane Addams spoke on \u201cPublic Recreation and Social Morality.\u201d The convention concluded with a massive \u201cplay festival\u201d in Ogden Park, attended by 4000 spectators. The program included: marching, singing and circle games by 300 kindergarteners; eighty girls in gymnastic games and eighty boys on gym apparatus; 100 girls playing volley ball; relay races of 100 boys and girls, respectively; Swedish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Bulgarian national dances in costume; and 100 boys demonstrating six athletic events \u201csuitable for use in large or small playgrounds.\u201d (National Recreation Association records, Program of the first annual Play Congress, June 20-22nd, 1907) At PAA conferences, even the delegates were encouraged play games in order to experience the \u201cplay spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n The PAA, which became the National Recreation Association in 1930, lobbied for municipal funding of supervised public playgrounds, developed training programs for \u201cplay leaders,\u201d provided professional consultation and coordination services to fledgling local recreation departments, and facilitated community surveys and playground campaigns. It also offered lectures and a publication service. The association\u2019s journal, Playground<\/i>, was a source of practical advice, programming ideas, and playground theory. During the PAA\u2019s early years, funding from the Russell Sage Foundation helped the organization finance services and start-up costs.<\/p>\n From the earliest days, it was clear that recreation was not just about sports and physical fitness. In 1909, the PAA developed a curriculum<\/a> for training playground and recreation directors. \u201cA Normal Course in Play\u201d covered: child development, psychology, evolution, education, play theory, social and industrial conditions (including \u201crace history, tendencies and prejudices\u201d), hygiene, eugenics, heredity, the playground movement in Europe and the U.S., playground facilities, playground management, games and activities, handicraft, nature study, playground planning, landscaping, record keeping, and fund raising. Texts included works by settlement movement leaders, such as Mary Richmond and Jane Addams<\/a>. Writings by educators, psychologists and reformers were also featured, including: Freiderich Froebel<\/a>, German education theorist and inventor of Kindergarten; pioneer psychologist, G Stanley Hall; Karl Groos, who introduced the idea that children\u2019s play was preparation for adult life; and journalist turned reformer, Jacob Riis.<\/p>\n The first social settlement, Toynbee Hall<\/a>, opened in 1884 in the East End of London. It was the inspiration for the American settlement movement. The social settlement was based on the idea that those who wanted to help the poor would live (or \u201csettle\u201d) in the neighborhoods that they hoped to improve, often in a building purchased or donated by a benefactor. Many of these settlement workers were young, female graduates of education and nursing programs or women\u2019s colleges. They endeavored to improve the lives of their working class, often immigrant, neighbors though social reform, educational programs, health services, and friendly example (or \u201cuplift\u201d).<\/p>\n The first settlement in the United States, University Settlement on New York\u2019s Lower East Side, was founded by Stanton Coit in 1886. In 1889, Jane Addams<\/a> founded Hull House in Chicago. Andover House in Boston and the Henry Street Settlement New York opened in 1891 and 1893, respectively. The National Federation of Settlements was formed in 1911, although associations of settlements in individual cities had been meeting since the 1890s.<\/p>\n Settlement houses, which existed on the \u201cfront lines\u201d of poverty and urbanization, were logical sites for recreation programs in working class, immigrant, urban neighborhoods. They often provided the only recreation facilities and programs available in these areas. Even prior to the formation of the PAA, settlements fought for public funding of playgrounds, often with mixed results when faced with disinterest or lack of funds on the part of municipal governments. In the face of government indifference or foot-dragging, many settlements formed their own recreational facilities and programs.<\/p>\n Recreation was a natural component of the settlement program, not only because it promoted the health of urban poor, but also because of its socializing effects: neighborliness and neighborhood action and cohesiveness being crucial to the settlement idea. The connection between sportsmanlike play and good citizenship, so often touted by recreation reformers, was also an attractive consideration for settlement workers, whose programs and priorities were colored with concerns about transforming the poor or foreign-born from a civic liability into a civic asset.<\/p>\n Several core themes motivated settlement and playground reformers. Both movements drew on ideas about industrialization, psychology, child development, and the effect of the environment on the individual to form a core argument that organized recreation was essential to the physical, mental and moral well being of the individual and critical to a modern, democratic, industrial society.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, an important argument for recreation was the health and fitness of individuals. Physical exercise improved overall health, and benefited both mind and body. Recreation advocates cited toned muscles, improved circulation, increased vitality, better appetite, and improved coordination. Physical<\/i> fitness was only one component of the recreation movement, however. Individuals were made fit, not only for their own sake, but for the good of democratic society, the industrial economy, and the future of American civilization.<\/p>\n Reformers also argued that recreation promoted spiritual, moral, and character development. In \u201cPlay and Democracy,\u201d written in 1907, PAA president, Luther Gulick, refers to the playground as \u201cour great ethical laboratory.\u201d (Charities and The Commons<\/i>, Vol. 18, August 3, 1907) PAA promotional literature touted the benefits of organized recreation and hinted at the dangers negligence. \u201cPlaygrounds develop [:] health, initiative, purity of mind, cooperation, ambition, honesty, imagination, self-confidence, obedience, and justice. Playgrounds diminish [:] idleness, delinquency, exclusiveness, unfairness, gang-spirit, selfishness, rowdyism, temptation, social barriers, reformatories.\u201d (National Recreation Association records, \u201cPlaygrounds Develop, Playgrounds Diminish,\u201d undated) Recreation was described as an \u201canti-vice, anti-saloon, anti-cigarette, anti-gambling influence and a positive training in morals.\u201d (\u201cSchools for Play,\u201d Survey<\/i>, Vol. 28, no. 17, July 27, 1912)<\/p>\n Biology, psychology, and evolution were used to support the argument that play was an essential part of the human character and that constructive, supervised recreation was necessary to positive character development. Humans, and children in particular, were described as having natural instincts and needs for play, outdoor activity, and group association. The very first sentence of the NRA philosophy describes play as a \u201cfundamental urge in human existence, scarcely less powerful and important than the urges of physical hunger and sex.\u201d (National Recreation Association records, \u201cBrief Summary National Recreation Association Philosophy,\u201d undated) Reformers argued that natural instincts lead youth to want play and fun, but could also mislead them. Recreation channeled and refined the play instinct.<\/p>\n Connecting recreation and character led some to draw links between physical and moral weakness. Citing physical studies of college students caught cheating or boys brought to juvenile court, Lee Hamner of the Russell Sage Foundation Child Hygiene Department and the PAA concluded that the physically inferior \u201clack \u2018backbone\u2019 in both the physical and moral sense\u201d and that \u201cThe physically weak seem to be a prey to temptation.\u201d (Hamner, 1910. \u201cHealth and Playgrounds\u201d)<\/p>\n Gendered concepts regarding natural abilities of boys and girls also influenced arguments about recreation and character. In particular, boys were portrayed as having instincts for camaraderie, leadership, war, hunting, and physicality that could be developed for citizenship or lead to crime, delinquency, and immorality. Athletics and recreation were promoted either as a natural antidote to, or training for, boys\u2019 war-like instincts, depending upon who was writing. Both boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 recreation emphasized fitness and health, leadership, self reliance, and courage, but promoters of recreation for girls also emphasized how sports added to beauty, grace, and friendships. Some recreation workers made the assumption that girls did not like competition.<\/p>\n Whereas boys were portrayed as training for leadership, girls recreation aimed to promote \u201csturdy, normal womanhood,\u201d \u201cwise, efficient motherhood,\u201d and \u201cworthy citizenship.\u201d (National Federation of Settlements records, Study of Young Girls<\/i>, circa 1921) In some cases, girls were portrayed as needing more vitality and intelligence than their foremothers, presumably to offset the stresses of modern life or to survive their lives as urban shop girls or garment workers with their morals and reproductive ability intact. (National Federation of Settlements records, \u201cConference on Girl\u2019s work,\u201d circa 1920) Recreation for girls related to preserving and improving racial stock as well as to preparation for citizenship. \u201cThe continuance of the race and its welfare, which is the main business of life, is left in the hands of careless children without any preparation or guidance whatever. The guardian of the future of race must herself be guarded from her own ignorance and folly and the selfishness or vice of others.\u201d (Kennard, 1912. \u201cEmotional Life of Girls\u201d)<\/p>\n Some girls\u2019 recreation programs were hampered by concerns for health and over exertion. At times, girls\u2019 recreation staff seemed conflicted about how to reconcile physical activity for girls with assumptions about feminine characteristics. Participants in a United Neighborhood Houses of New York Girls\u2019 Workers meeting in 1924 concluded \u201cIt is best to develop athletics for girls alone, since the ideals should be entirely different from the boys, stressing group work and the development of general physique instead of training individuals for record-breaking.\u201d A \u201dMiss Wyman dwelt upon our moral responsibility in supervising athletics for girls\u201d and \u201cpointed out that the question of jumping for girls is a mooted one, and that in no case should indoor jumping be allowed, nor out-door jumping without a soft sand jumping pit, on account of the jar.\u201d (United Neighborhood Houses records, Scrapbook 4-94, 1924) At first glance, recreation advocates of the 1910s appear to have taken more active, athletic approach to girls\u2019 recreation than their counterparts of the 1920s and 1930s. However, more research is needed to determine the existence and prevalence of such attitudes.<\/p>\n Building character on the playground benefited society as well as the individual. Citizenship and neighborliness were touted as outgrowths of recreation. Speaking to the National Conference of Charities and Correction in 1910, Lee Hamner declared, \u201cThe playground of today is the republic of tomorrow. If you want twenty years hence a nation of strong, efficient men and women, a nation in which there shall be justice and square dealing, work it out today with the boys and girls on the playground.\u201d (Hamner, 1910) \u201cHealth and Playgrounds\u201d)<\/p>\n Settlement and playground advocates were eloquent on the subject of recreation as a foundation of citizenship. References to honor, loyalty, subjection to the rule of authority, fairness, honesty, and recognition of merit flowed freely. (Gulick, 1909; Lies, 1926; Kennedy ca.1931; National Recreation Association records, \u201cA Constructive Creed,\u201d 1910) They emphasized the group as a means of socialization and sports as an excellent source of group cooperation and loyalty. \u201cPlayground National Song\u201d states \u201cWhile playing we learn our duties, We owe to one and all, For with fair play and square deal, too, we are ready for our country\u2019s call.\u201d (National Recreation Association records, undated) \u201cPeople who play together find it easer to live together. Individuals enjoying a wholesome happy play life are more loyal as well as more efficient citizens.\u201d declared the PAA\u2019s \u201cA Constructive Creed.\u201d (National Recreation Association records, 1910) (See Kenneth E Reid on the formulation of group work as a method<\/a>).<\/p>\n Much has been written about the efforts of settlement workers and other early 20th Century reformers to Americanize immigrants. Teams of first and second generation immigrant children playing American sports, such as basketball or baseball, or participating in track and field events, with their classical Greek associations, were an important way that settlements fulfilled their role as socializers and trainers of new citizens. \u201cPlay as a school of The Citizen,\u201d written in 1907 by Joseph Lee (philanthropist, reformer and vice president and future president of the PAA), is a densely-packed exploration of child development, democracy, and recreation. In it, Lee expresses ideas about freedom and cooperation through sport that were an important theme of recreation reformers. Lee argues that recreation develops \u201cspiritual communication,\u201d \u201cbravery,\u201d a \u201csense of organization,\u201d \u201csingle minded determination,\u201d \u201cconscious participation,\u201d \u201crhythmic instinct,\u201d \u201cloyalty\u201d and a \u201csense of membership.\u201d Significantly, he contrasts these traits to \u201cthe mechanical soldier of an autocracy,\u201d the \u201chypnotic performance of a stereotyped part,\u201d or the primitive \u201ctribal consciousness.\u201d (Charities and The Commons, Vol.18, August 3, 1907) In this light, organized recreation was one of the building blocks of the republic. Properly equipped and run by a good leader of \u201ca high personal type\u201d the playground was \u201ca school of all civic virtues.\u201d (Curtis, \u201cThe Playground\u201d, 1907)<\/p>\n But what about those who lived in poor urban areas or worked long hours in factories, shops and offices? What kind of citizens would they become? It is not an accident that the settlement and playground movements evolved along with the industrialization and urbanization trends of the later 19th early 20th centuries. Reformers in the settlement and playground movements expressed profound concern about industrialization, urbanization, and mechanization – – concern for how Americans could retain their health, individuality (as opposed to citizens of non democratic countries), and moral character in the modern world.<\/p>\n Settlement and recreation workers often used the phrase \u201ccongested districts\u201d to described poor, tenement neighborhoods. The concern with congestion related not just to overcrowding. The affect of crowding on physical health, nerves, and character was a constant refrain of the recreation and settlement movements. Furthermore, reformers argued, the natural physical energies of children, especially boys, led them to want play and fun, but had no good outlet in the city. Speaking to the first Play Congress in 1907, Jane Addams noted \u201cWe see all about us much vice which is merely a love for pleasure \u2018gone wrong.\u2019\u201d (\u201cPublic Recreation and Social Morality\u201d 1907) Without space for supervised play, children played in streets, \u201croamed\u201d the city, or fell prey to commercial recreation places. Streets were described as a \u201cschool of crime.\u201d (Curtis (1907) \u201cThe Playground\u201d)<\/p>\n The urban environment made recreation more difficult, but even more necessary. The fresh air, sunlight, activity, and freedom of movement of the country were contrasted to the \u201cvitiated air,\u201d idleness, confinement, and overcrowding of city life. Lack of sunlight and pure air in cities was a constant refrain. Helene Ingram, Superintendent of Relief for the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor cited \u201c\u2026small dark bedrooms, the damp, unwholesome basements, the tall, overcrowded houses, the narrow street, the scorching pavements, the airless atmosphere…\u201d in her paper on \u201cfresh air\u201d work at the National Conference of Charities and Correction. (\u201cThe Value of the Fresh Air Movement,\u201d 1907)<\/p>\n Repeatedly, reformers expressed the fear that the nation\u2019s youth were unfit for citizenship and not prepared to defend the country and identified urban life as one cause of the crisis. During the 1920s, the poor results of many World War I era selective service exams, in which 25 percent of inductees were supposedly found not fit for service, were cited repeatedly. \u201c\u2026[W]e have seen for the first time the nation\u2019s child, measured, weighed and found wanting..\u201d said the National Federation of Settlements. (\u201cStudy of Young Girls,\u201d ca 1921) Young men were described as \u201cincapable of effective service, and that at a time when civilization hung in the balance.\u201d (Lies, 1926)<\/p>\n Reformers argued that urban life not only cut people off from the land, but also from each other and from beneficial traditions. This argument was applied to immigrants in particular, who were envisioned as uprooted, deprived of cultural background, and lacking in American traditions of liberty and individuality. Luther Gulick<\/a> wrote how social pressures on the family and immigration, with its mixing of different cultures, lead to loss of traditions that were handed down from generation to generation. He believed that tradition had broken in the United States and deprived children of the guidance they needed to develop. \u201cTherefore\u201d he wrote \u201cwe need tradition carriers, play leaders \u2013 and that\u2019s what the directors of the playground are.\u201d (\u201cDoctrine of Hands off in Play,\u201d 1909)<\/p>\n Recreation advocates were conscious of living in the \u201cmachine age.\u201d The repetition of machine work and the increased pace of life that resulted from modern inventions were viewed as damaging to the nerves and body. Toil indoors with machinery and the drudgery of repetitive labor in a factory or office were portrayed as dehumanizing and enervating, as opposed to the active, outdoor work of an idealized agrarian past. The NRA philosophy stated \u201cIt is believed that even the most citified individual has remnants of biological hunger for the soil…\u201d (National Recreation Association records, circa 1931) A recurring theme was the fear that industrial society would transform the individual into \u201ca mere robot, a clod\u201d (Lies, 1926) who lacked the desire for individuality and freedom and, therefore, the desire to defend them. Urban dwellers and factory workers, especially immigrants who supposedly had no traditions of freedom of their own, were portrayed as especially vulnerable to this loss of individuality and vitality. Recreation literature sometimes contained an explicit or implied contrast between American workers and those in non-democratic countries and the fear that Americans would become \u201ccogs.\u201d<\/p>\n Some recreation leaders cautioned against over-scheduled time or regimented play and urged an emphasis on play that led to spontaneity, joy, and exuberance, what reformers called \u201cPlay Spirit.\u201d Henry S. Curtis, Secretary of the PAA, stated \u201cPlay is our education in the spirit of joyousness, but is has much to do, not merely with the joyousness of childhood, but with the joyousness and optimism of all after life [adulthood].\u201d (\u201cThe Playground,\u201d 1907) The right combination of freedom and structure was necessary in order for recreation to successfully instill a desire for freedom alongside a willingness to work cooperatively and subordinate one\u2019s own will to the group.<\/p>\n Mary Simkhovitch, founder of Greenwich House settlement, argued that \u201cRecreation, like education, has suffered from regimentation\u2026To be done good to, to be planned for, to be cast into a mold, to be the victim of a program means the fixing of well defined patterns of thought and conduct according to a predetermined standard\u2026Recreation then has to begin with the understanding of the individual\u2026.Recreational guidance, like vocational guidance, has its base in a psychology which takes into account native gifts, practical opportunity, the background of social experience and tradition in which the individual is placed.\u201d (\u201cRecreation in a Settlement Program,\u201d 1930)<\/p>\n How to pursue the benefits of organized play without over-regimentation was a tension in running though much of the rhetoric of play. The NRA philosophy stated that leaders should not \u201ccramp initiative and resourcefulness.\u201d If American children merely did what they were told on the playground, it defeated a crucial purpose of recreation: free association and energetic citizenship. They struggled to reconcile the need for structured play that would counteract the \u201crough\u201d or \u201clow\u201d play of the streets and commercial recreation places with their concern that over-regimentation led to the loss of joy and vitality. Reformers looked at the regimentation of factory work and the grinding life in urban neighborhoods and worked to put the \u201cPlay Spirit\u201d back into the lives of children – – not only for their own good, but for the good of democracy. Good citizens were not only fit, they enjoyed life.<\/p>\n Urban living in the machine age not only created problems for physical, moral and mental well being. Reformers argued that there was an increased need<\/i> for leisure to counteract city and industrial life. Modern conveniences also produced increased leisure time. With time, however, came increased danger from the negative influence of commercialized amusements, such as movie theatres and dance halls: what reformers called \u201clow forms\u201d of recreation.<\/p>\n Settlement workers believed firmly in the settlement as a positive influence and as a counterpoint to life at home or on the streets. They were particularly concerned for the development of the children of immigrants and the negative influences of poor neighborhoods and \u201cold country\u201d ways of immigrant parents. This fit hand-in-glove with theories about the benefits of \u201cwholesome,\u201d supervised activities and the dangers of unsupervised, commercial recreation. The \u201ctenement home was no longer a qualified place in which education, recreation and association could go on\u2026 many parents were so far out of relation with the actualities of life that they were not competent guides to their children in matters of health, education, recreation and vocation.\u201d (Kennedy, \u201cSettlement Method\u201d) Bad homes and the lure of commercial leisure activities threatened these children. Louise de Koven Bowen, President of the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago, speaking at National Conference of Charities and Correction in 1910, described with delicious horror the result of this situation. The \u201c\u2026girl living in tenements and working in the shop is nervously tired at end of day, home is unattractive\u2026\u201d \u201cShe goes out onto the street and to the cheap theater, whose standard she possible adopts because she has none of her own, or else she goes to the dance halls. Her vitality is at a low ebb<\/i>. [Author\u2019s emphasis] She takes her first drink, which the boy in order to show his gallantry presses upon her, and so she takes her first downward step\u201d (\u201cThe Need of Recreation,\u201d 1910). Recreation programs in the settlements and city playgrounds provided one counterbalance to the leisure-time problem, but an attack on commercialized recreation was essential to winning the fight for the character of the nation\u2019s future citizens. Motion picture houses, saloons, pool halls, vaudeville theatre, and even candy stores and ice cream parlors were portrayed as low, vicious, lustful, cheap, sordid, and dissipated. (Bellamy, 1914; National Recreation Association, 1917; Thomas, 1910) Dance halls were a chief target of recreation reformers. Robert A. Woods<\/a> of the Andover House settlement wrote in the \u201cVice Problem in Boston,\u201d dated 1923, that \u201cThe special evils which they present come of the free and indiscriminate mingling of young people who would ordinarily maintain quite a range of moral standards.\u201d Woods suggested that social workers could combat \u201cobjectionable forms of dancing\u201d with \u201cattractive presentations of the better way.\u201d (Woods, 1923) Anti-dance hall advocates expressed tremendous concern for the protection of innocent girls who might enter dance hall and the mingling of middle class girls with working class girls or even prostitutes. Dance halls were portrayed as scenes of predation and moral downfall.<\/p>\n It was not just commercial recreation that was viewed with suspicion. Unsupervised or unconstructive forms of play were also cause for alarm. George Bellamy of Hiram House settlement in Cleveland noted that a community recreation survey discovered children on the streets engaged is such activities as: \u201cchalking suggestive signs on buildings,\u201d \u201cthrowing mud at street cars,\u201d \u201ctelling bad stories,\u201d \u201clooking at pictures of women in tights on billboards,\u201d \u201cwatching arrests,\u201d smoking, and drinking, among other unwholesome pursuits. (Bellamy, 1914)<\/p>\n \u201cRecreation is stronger than vice and recreation alone can stifle the lust for vice.\u201d wrote Jane Addams in The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets<\/i> (1909).<\/i> Settlement and playground reformers took these words to heart. Good recreation was described and contrasted to \u201cevil\u201d recreation as wholesome, vigorous, manly, stimulating, joyous, free, organized, and cooperative. To settlement and playground reformers, good recreation meant supervised recreation. Their programs focused on athletics (team games such as basketball, volley ball, and baseball), circle games for young children, gymnastics (or \u201cdrill\u201d), track and field games, play festivals or sports days, hikes and outings, and camping. Basketball was king of boy\u2019s recreation, especially in urban areas. \u201cBoys Athletics in 33 Settlements in the City of New York\u201d notes that, of the 33 settlements studied, all had basketball programs and 32 had baseball teams. Handball, boxing, volleyball, track, swimming, and \u201cinformal games\u201d were also popular. (Welfare Council of New York, 1931, in Albert Kennedy papers) Settlements fought for and then arranged to use city athletic fields. Most had indoor gyms and many had outdoor playgrounds. Some resourceful settlements that could scrape together funding even erected playgrounds on their roofs. There were at least 13 such playgrounds in New York City by 1931. In addition to sports, recreation also included settlement clubs, dancing (aesthetic or folk dances), handicrafts, pageants, dramatics, \u201csings,\u201d stunts, and cheers.<\/p>\n Properly organized and filled with play spirit, recreation combated the temptations of commercial amusements and produced healthy citizens who were willing to be lead by those who showed themselves to be worthy captains. PAA literature was full of stories of children saved from drudgery, delinquency, and squalor by recreation. \u201cLittle thin hands and arms, flabby from inactivity, have become brown and firm. Pinched faces and dull eyes have taken on new light and expression. Coming from stuffy hot rooms, many of them have for the first time come into a real children\u2019s world and have been free.\u201d (\u201cSix True Stories\u201d undated) Recreation not only benefited individual but also transformed a nation of alien immigrants, or downtrodden, unhealthy factory workers, into cohesive, healthy, population of citizens working for common good or ready to defend their country.<\/p>\n Addams, Jane (1909). The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets<\/i> (New York: Macmillan, 1909; BoondocksNet Edition, 2001). http:\/\/www.boondocksnet.com\/editions\/youth\/<\/a> (July 6, 2001).]<\/p>\n Addams, Jane (1907). \u201cPublic Recreation and Social Morality\u201d in Charities and the Commons<\/i>, Vol.18, August 3, 1907, pp492-494.<\/p>\n Albert Kennedy papers. Welfare Council of New York, \u201cBoys\u2019 Athletics in 33 Settlements in the City of New York,\u201d 1931, Box 5, folder 44, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries<\/p>\n Bellamy, George(1914). \u201cRecreation and Social Progress: The Settlement,\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, 1914, pp376-377<\/p>\n Bellamy, George (1918). \u201cA Community Recreation Program for Juveniles\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, 1918, pp65-67<\/p>\n Bowen, Louise de Koven (1910). \u201cThe Need of Recreation\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, p. 102<\/p>\n Bowen, Louise de Koven (1914). Safeguards for City Youth at Work and at Play<\/i>. New York: The MacMillan Company<\/p>\n Chapin, T.F.(1902) \u201cPlay as a Reformative Agency,\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, 1914, pp437-440<\/p>\n Curtis, Henry S. (1907). \u201cThe Playground\u201d in Proceedings<\/i> of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, p285<\/p>\n Daniels, Harriet McDoual (1914). The Girl and Her Chance: A Study of Conditions Surrounding the Young Girl between Fourteen and Eighteen Years of Age in New York City<\/i>. New York: Fleming H. Revell<\/p>\n Forbush, William Byron (1907). The Boy Problem<\/i>. Boston: Pilgrim Press.<\/p>\n Gillin, John L. (1918) Wholesome Citizens and Spare Time<\/i>. Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Foundation Committee.<\/p>\n Gulick, Luther (1907). \u201cPlay and Democracy,\u201d in Charities and the Commons<\/i>, Vol. 18, August 3, 1907, pp481-486<\/p>\n Gulick, Luther (1909) \u201cDoctrine of Hands Off in Play,\u201d National Recreation Association records, Box 14.<\/p>\n Hamner, Lee F. (1910). \u201cHealth and Playgrounds\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, <\/b> p155-156.<\/p>\n Ingram, Helene. (1907). \u201cThe Value of the Fresh Air Movement\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, p288<\/p>\n Kennard, Beulah (1912). \u201cEmotional Life of Girls\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, pp146-148<\/p>\n Kennedy, Albert. (ca. 1931)<\/b>. \u201cThe Settlement Method,\u201d (manuscript) Albert Kennedy papers, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries<\/p>\n Knapp, Richard F. and Charles E. Hartsoe. (1979). Play for America: The National Recreation Association, 1906-1965. Arlington: National Recreation and Park Association.<\/p>\n Lee, Joseph (1907). \u201cPlay as a School of the Citizen\u201d in Charities and the Commons<\/i>, Vol.18, August 3, 1907, pp486-491<\/p>\n Lies, Edward T. (1926). \u201cCommunity Recreation: Its Significance, Objectives, Machinery, and Standards\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Social Work<\/i>, pp493-500<\/p>\n Moley, Raymond (1920). Commercial Recreation. Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Foundation Committee<\/p>\n National Federation of Settlements records, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries<\/p>\n Study of Young Girls<\/i>, circa 1921, p3<\/p>\n \u201cConference on Girl\u2019s work,\u201d circa 1920, Box 5, folder 36<\/p><\/blockquote>\n National Recreation Association records, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries<\/p>\n Historical material, \u201cEarly Days,\u201d undated, Box 1, folder 1<\/p>\n Program of the first annual Play Congress, June 20-22nd<\/sup>, 1907<\/p>\n \u201cBrief History of the Playground and Recreation Movement in America,\u201d undated, Box 1, folder 4<\/p>\n \u201cPlaygrounds Develop, Playgrounds Diminish,\u201d Box 1, folder 3<\/p>\n \u201cBrief Summary National Recreation Association Philosophy,\u201d undated, Box 2, \u201cPhilosophy\u201d file<\/p>\n Playground Association of America, \u201cA Constructive Creed,\u201d 1910, Box 1, folder 2<\/p>\n \u201cPlayground National Song\u201d, undated, Box 2,\u201dAssociation Song\u201d folder<\/p>\n \u201cBrief Summary National Recreation Association Philosophy,\u201d circa 1931, Box 2, \u201cPhilosophy\u201d folder, p3<\/p>\n Playground Association of America, \u201cSix True Stories,\u201d undated, Box 1, folder 3, p.2<\/p>\n \u201cMaking a Recreation Survey,\u201d 1917, Box 39, \u201cForms, old\u201d folder.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n National Recreation Association. Committee on a Normal Course in Play (1910). A Normal Course in Play for Professional Directors<\/i>. New York: Playground Association of America<\/p>\n \u201cSchools for Play\u201d in Survey<\/i>, Vol. 28 (17), July 27, 1912, p585<\/p>\n Simkhovitch, Mary (1930). \u201cRecreation in a Settlement Program\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Social Work<\/i>, p373<\/p>\n Thomas, W. I. (Mrs.)(1910) \u201cThe Five Cent Theatre,\u201d in Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction<\/i>, 1910, pp1445-149.<\/p>\n United Neighborhood Houses of New York records, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries<\/p>\n Girls\u2019 Workers meeting minutes, scrapbook page 4-94, 1924, Box 63, folder 17<\/p>\n Minutes of the Round Table on \u201cA City Plan for Settlement Athletics,\u201d 1928, Scrapbook 9-15, Box 66, folder 32,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Winter, T. (2004) \u201cLuther Halsey Gulick,\u201d The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education<\/i>, www.infed.org\/thinkers\/gulick.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n Woods, Robert A. (1923) The Vice Problem in Boston,\u201d Reprint from National Municipal Review<\/i>, Volume 12, December, 1923, pp710-711.<\/p>\n Acknowledgement<\/b>: Photograph of children playing at the University of Chicago Settlement, captioned “Gymnasium of University Settlement.” From page 388 of The Kindergarten Teacher, vol. 13, 1900-1901. Sourced from the Wikimedia Commons where it is said to be in the public domain. http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>How to cite this article<\/b>: Anderson, Linnea M. (2006). ‘\u201cThe playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: Social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s’ The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education<\/i>, https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Linnea M. Anderson is Assistant Archivist, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2007 Linnea M. Anderson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a>The playground movement<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Settlements in the United States<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Recreation as social reform<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Conclusion<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Further reading and references<\/h4>\n
![http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>How to cite this article<\/b>: Anderson, Linnea M. (2006). ‘\u201cThe playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: Social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s’ The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education<\/i>, https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/<\/a>.<\/p>\nLinnea M. Anderson is Assistant Archivist, Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n\u00a9 2007 Linnea M. Anderson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Linnea M. Anderson explores the development of organized recreation programmes in the American settlement and playground movements. She examines core themes and methodologies. These emphasized the relationship between organized play, health, character, and democracy. Contents: introduction \u00b7 the playground movement \u00b7 settlements in the united states \u00b7 recreation as social reform \u00b7 conclusion \u00b7 further … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30578,"parent":0,"menu_order":309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"class_list":["post-3584","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\n"The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Linnea M. Anderson explores the development of organized recreation programmes in the American settlement and playground movements. She examines core themes and methodologies. These emphasized the relationship between organized play, health, character, and democracy. Contents: introduction \u00b7 the playground movement \u00b7 settlements in the united states \u00b7 recreation as social reform \u00b7 conclusion \u00b7 further ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"infed.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-20T09:26:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"25 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-07T14:31:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-20T09:26:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":666},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/\",\"name\":\"infed.org\",\"description\":\"exploring education, pedagogy and community action\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/infed.org\\\/dir\\\/welcome\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org","og_description":"Linnea M. Anderson explores the development of organized recreation programmes in the American settlement and playground movements. She examines core themes and methodologies. These emphasized the relationship between organized play, health, character, and democracy. Contents: introduction \u00b7 the playground movement \u00b7 settlements in the united states \u00b7 recreation as social reform \u00b7 conclusion \u00b7 further ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/","og_site_name":"infed.org","article_modified_time":"2025-08-20T09:26:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"25 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/","name":"\"The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s - infed.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-07T14:31:22+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-20T09:26:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/children_playing_University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium_pd_wiki-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":666},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/social-reform-and-organized-recreation-in-the-usa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow\u201d: social reform and organized recreation in the USA, 1890-1930\u2019s"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/#website","url":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/","name":"infed.org","description":"exploring education, pedagogy and community action","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infed.org\/dir\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:University_of_Chicago_Settlement_Gymnasium.jpg\"){kind=link}