Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-17
EXTENSION OF STREETS
Another Report Received From Mr.. Fred
erick Olmstead.
He Treats of q New Section of the
District and Recommends Several
Change of Plan.

tension Of the streets and avenues CT the
District will shortly be placed on file. To-
day Engineer Commissioner Powell, who
| has direct charge and supervision OF the
| work, received a report from Mr.. Fred
erick Law Olmstead on the fourth portion
of the first section. Only one other por-
ton now remains for him to report upon,
and then the Commissioners will place
the plan Of the first section on record.
The remaining portion upon which Mr..
Olmstead will report is that section lying
along the upper part of Rock Creek Park
| between 10Th street and the park. When
that is received the Commissioners will
carefully consider the subject correct the
original map where they think it neces-
sary and submit the whole for record.
In former report Mr.. Olmstead recon-
mended system Of curvilinear streets for
the Blasden tract, and that section inlmedi-
regular-shaped blocks. When the owners
Of the property heard of this they called
upon the Commissioners and protested
vigorously against such a scheme. declaring
it would injure the property. The Commits
sioners thereupon adopted another plan.
The Last Report.
The report received today embodies sug-
gestions for Piney Branch and Spring Lake
parkways, and for revision Of Prospect
and 18th streets. and is as follows:
THE most economical and suitable PLAN
ming for the junction of all the various
streets connecting and intersecting with
the Piney Branch parkway at and near 10th
street is a very di1Iicult problem and is not
of the sort that we had expected to study
at all in detail when we undertook to offer
you suggestions in connection with your
plans for the first section.
The ideas indicated in our sketch must
therefore be considered to be very preiiln-
mary and necessarily crude. as We are
MI hn1 Cr1ffi fioin inf
posed profiles Of the various streets and
avenues, and could not very we'll, there
fore. go into even rough calculations Of
quantities of earth work. The Viaduct
which you proposed for 10th street, seems
to be, SO far we can judge, a convenient
and econo omical arrangement. In order to
make any headway in the study Of the
parkway at this point, we had to make
assumptions as to the grades of intersect-
ing streets. Having assumed what seemed
to be reasonable in this respect, it ap-
peared to us that both for reasons Of econ
omy and of landscape design 1t would be
better to place the street crossing, the
parkway, on grade, next west of 10TH
street, as near to that street as possible.
The result of this arrangement, as you
will observe, WILL after the work has been
carried out, have the effect of hillside
road, having been built on slope west Of
18th street from Spring Lane parkway to
Omaha street.
This hill would continue sloping down to
the westward to a pond. which would be
Of sufficient size to appear natural In
other words, tie new roads east and west
and south Of this pond would appear to
have been designed to skirt the shores OF
the pond. It seems to us. on the Whoie,
that some picturesque treatment Oh sucn a
complicated and Irregular plot OF ground
would prove much more SatiSfactory-and
probably considerably less eXpensive-than
the formal treatment suggested In your
plan, The diversion from the direct course
of the street, which may be called 1Ith
10
but 1t will result, it seems to US. in con-
siderable economy in grading. Our prin-
cipal object, however, as we have opSerVeu
above, is to start with consistent theory
of landscape treatment which will make
the result appear natural, sensible ana
reasonably economical. 1t seems TO US
that the houses on the block between Phll-
adelphia street and Omaha street may bet
ter face these streets. and so avoid the
necessity for a special road in 10th street
on the low grade of Philadelphia street :,
TT seems to US if you will adopt the land
taking lines. as suggested, further, more
detailed study for the internal arrange.
ments may safely be postponed. You Will
notice that the south line OF Spring Lane
parkway is not continuous with the south
line of Pirey Branch parkway west OF l6th
street. This, at first sight, seems obJec-
tionabIe, but we concluded that on the
whole it met every requirement OF con-
venience. and we hardly think the taking
OF more land at this point would De WORTH
for appearance sake, what 1t would cost
You will notice that we suggest one slight
change in the lines of Spring Lane park
way east of 14th street.
In regard to the intersection OF Prospect
and 18th streets, we have simply to say
that we regard our sketch as very de-
cded Improvement 1t seems TO US tnat
the width OF 18th street might as well be
reduced at Florida avenue instead OF at
Prospect street, in order to economize in
land damages.
Upon the receipt of this report Captain
Powell sent for his engineers, and In
structcd them to prepare sketches of the
plan proposed by Mr.. Olmstead and pre-
sent them to the board. When these
sketches are made they will be carefully
studied, and II the Commissioners decide
to adopt any OF the suggestions they win
be transft rred to the big map.