Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-11
Third Section of the Permanent Sys-
tenn Of Highways.
PLAN COMPLETE IN 4 GENERAL WAY
City Streets Extended to the Sub
urban Territory.
DOUBLE SYSTEM OBSERVED

The third section of the permanent sys-
tenn of highways, a plan Of which is shown
by the above cut, is complete in a general
way, some details in block distances being
all that are wanting. In the highway act
1t is stated that the new streets shall be
n ade as nearly in conformity with the
street plan of the city of Washington as the
Commissioners may deem advisable and
practicable. This provision was made In
view of the known broken topography of
portions of the District.
The general plan on which Washington is
laid out is acknowledged to be one Of the
be ct in the world, consisting, as 1t does, of
double system of streets, one dividing
the territory into blocks as regular as con-
ditions will admit, and the other providing
system of diagonal thoroughfares for the
convenience of travel. In carrying out this
plan, where practicable, the streets of the
first system are arranged On parallel lines
at right angles to each other, and, where
the topography is sufficiently even to per-
nit this to be done without undue cost, ii
is both practicable and advisable. Where
the topography Is very much broken, the
same conditions of ACCESSIBILITY and practi
cability prescribe that the first system of
streets shall conform to a certain extent to
the lay of the land, any other system be-
ing rendered impracticable and inadvisable
by the enormous expense involved. This Is
lowed in the newer districts of broken
country adjoining the cities of Boston, New
York and Baltimore. for example.
The Dividing Line.
Just where the dividing line between the
strictly parallel streets of the first system
and those conforming more naturally to
the topography should be made is mat
ter of Judgment, and in a division between
the absolutely regular and the more nat
ural system conforming to the ground is
necessarily arbitrary. and must depend up
on the nature Of the locality as guide to
the expense to be incurred The absolutely
regular system, when once completed, pre-
sents great advantages In numbering
streets and houses. but 1t destroys the pos
sjbility of the beauty which a city would
derive from Its site alone.
An inspection of the above map will
show how the system of avenues laid down
in the city have been extended and car
red out over the county. and also that the
rectangular system Of north and south and
east and west streets has been laid down
over the central and northwest portions Of
the section.
Filled With Ravines.
Bordering the Conduit road and in the
region along Connecticut avenue extended
the land is so filled with deep ravines and
sharp ridges as to preclude a direct extern
sion of all streets, and these special condi-
tions have been treated in the following
manner:
At the places indicated by A and B are
two points less than a half mile from the
Conduit road and nearly 400 feet above the
Potomac, affording places Of exceptional
outlook toward all points of the compass.
These have been selected as sites for parks
and by retaining the Ridge road as an ave-
nue., the parks are connected by easy
grades. Midway between A and B Is q
deep ravine running nearly parallel with
Nebraska avenue, and likewise, between B
and c, where Arizona avenue is located
Hes another deep hollow. To give one an
idea of tie depth OF these ravines, Ii q
rifle ball be shot on level from A to B
and again from B to C. 1t WOULD pass on