Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-02


THE crrY-A BOSTON MANS PLAN, ETC.
d.. Howell, the civil engineer who has made
the plats Of a number of suburban subdivisions,
said to a STAR reporter recently that the i'm
preston seems to prevail among some that SUBJ
urban property just now is not very active.
He stated that as far as he was concerned he
never had SO much work of this kind on hand
as at present. lie is now subdividing for Mr..
Chas Barker some sixty acres, which forms
portion of his property lying northeast Of Ana
costa, about midway between that place and
Benning. The subdivision is made in accord
snce with the plan Of the city. Massachusetts,
avenue extended has been projected through
this property, and so has NJ street southeast
The lots will form desirable building sites,
affording fine view of the city.
Mr.. Howell is also engaged in making an
other important subdivision for ex-Representa-
tive John Fox and Capt. Alexander Lutz, both
of New York city. These gentlemen some years
ago purchased, through Messrs. Heiskeu q
McLeren, real estate dealers in this city, 475
acres, which formed part of the famous CAL
vert estate. As il well known, this Is located
about a mile beyond Hyattsville. The WASH
ington branch Of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road passes through this property. and there Is
q station there which is known as Riverdale.
In addition to the frontage on the railroad,
which extends for about a mile, the property
has also frontage on the Washington and Bal
timore turnpike Of about the same extent. The
land is well located and the owners propose to
make extensive Improvements in grading the
ground apd erecting buildings.
A HISTORIC RESIDENCE.
The place is one of the historic residences in
~this city The old house, which is still stand
ing. though in a dilapidated condition, was
built nearly one hundred years ago. twas the
seat of the well-known Calvert family, and the
scene of princely hospitality for many years.
A room is still pointed out in the old house
where Henry Clay slept when he visited his
friend Mr. Calvert. But long before Mr.. Clay's
time the house was the center of the social life
of the best families in Maryland. ID. b. War
den, who printed in Paris in 1916 a book about
Washington and its vicinity, states that he WIS.,
tied Mr.. George Calvert at his home near Bla-
densburg in 1912. He describes the house as
two stories high, 20 feet in length, and So feet
wide. On each side there was large portico.
while the hall was filed with Towering plants.
He found on the walls some fine paintings, and
mentions particularly Noahs Ark. by Breng-
hell; The Judgment of Paris and the portrait
of Rubens by the same artist, whom he states
was related to Mrs. Calvert. The farm was
said to contain I, 500 acres, and in the preced-
ing season liz hogshead of tobacco were raised.
1t is probable that the old house will be re-
modelled and enlarged and used as hotel
The next station beyond Riverdale is College,
and then comes Branehville, where Mr.. James
Z. Waugh has made a subdivision known as
Charlton Heights. This is a large piece of
property, and some 10 miles OF streets have
already been opened. Mr.. Waugh is building
q fine residence for himself, and it is proposed
70 build hotel there.
THE INCREASE OF SUBDIVISIONS
along this road has been very marked during
the past few years. There are settlements at
Monticello and Ivy City. - Further along large
tracts of land known as Woodbridge and High
lands have been divided up into building sites
The former contains over 100 acres and has a
frontage on the railroad extending from Mills
to Rives station. At Highlands there is a COM
modious clubhouse and the grounds have been
handsomely laid out. just beyond is the farm
Of 206 acres formerly owned by the late Ben
Holiday. This property Is now owned by
syndicate and has been subdivided. Hyattsville
has grown rapidly of late. and is now a flourish
ing place with bright future. The proposed
subdivision of land at Riverdale is only a con-
tinuation of the suburban movement. which,
beginning at the limits of the city, is gradually
pushing out along the Washington branch.
NEW CHURCH BUILDING ENTERPRISES.
The completion of the edifice of the Church
of the Covenant is apparently going to mark
the beginning of an era of rather extensive
church erection in that section OF the city. As
has been mentioned in The STAR, proposition
has been made to the authorities of ST. Johns
parish relative to starting a church in the ex-
treme northwest. A building site has been
purchased on LIE Roy street, which is west of
Columbia road and one block north of Bound
airy. This ground has been offered to the
parish for the purpose Of erecting a church or
chapel there, and the vestry has now the mat
number of residents in that locality
who are connected with the Episcopal
church and il is thought that an enterprise of
this character would receive ample financial
encouragement 1t is recognized by all church
people that this section of the city needs addi-
fional church facilities and that the time has
come to prepare for the future. In this spirit
several members of the vestry of Epiphany
church have been looking over the ground
with the result that site has been secured in
the neighborhood of Dupont circle. The
ground has been purchasedby one of the men,
bers of the vestry, who proposes to hold it
with the view of turning it over to an Episcopal
organization, should one be formed. Both of
these enterprises are in the early stages of de-
velopment, but there seems to be no doubt that
in the near future handsome church edifices
win be erected by Episcopalians in that part of
the city.
The Baptist denomination are now building
q fine church edifice at the corner of Sixteenth
and o streets. and it is said that some of the
members Of the Methodist church are looking
in that direction and discussing the best ways
and means for locating church there.
A NEW APARTMENT HOUSE.
A Boston capitalist has been in the city re-
Gently looking for site where he could build
an apartment house. He has erected quite
number of such buildings in Boston, and he
thinks that there is favorable opening in this
city for an enterprise of this character. He
proposes TO locate on ground in the northwest
and erect a fine building on the plan of having
Q &C saplete house on each floor. There will be
no cafe in the building, but kitchen will be
part of each fat well as all the facilities for
domestic life. The protector of this enter
prise proposes to give the accommodations
which family obtains by occupying an entire
house at a less annual rental than would have
to be paid for a house of the same number of
rooms in the same locality.
IN FAVOR OF STREET EXTENSION.
Mr.. Herman K Viele, the civil engineer
whose work in making subdivisions of land in
and about the city has been quite extended.
told STAR reporter recently thst there were
some ten square miles of land within the
present city limits OF this area he said that
about eight miles was already occupied with
buildings. An increase in the population of 20
per cent, he calculated, would be sufficient to
cause all the remaining ground to be occupied.
At the present rate of increase in the popula-
ton this would happen, he estimated, in seven
years. He added that, of course, the deyelope-
ment OF the city was not uniform. and that the
population would extend beyond the
present city limits as was nows the case.
leaving q great deal of ground in the
city unoccupied. But he thought that the
improvements within the city would make such
progress that in the course Of the next Eve