Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-12
THE MALL BOULEVARD
Statement Of an Eminent English
Architect Regarding 1t.
EUROPEAN CAPITALS C0NqRASHED
A Unique Comparative Illustration
With the RemQdeIing Of Paris
POINT OF VIEW OF AN EXPERT

The proposition to convert the mall into
boulevard" said Malcolm Coates, an En-
gnsh architect, at present sojourning in this
city, calls to my mind instane which
Is illustrative OF a scheme which failed to
CITY, calls to my mind an instance which
proved that, while men may plan to divert
the natural arteries of trade and traffic, and
formulate and promote great building pro-
jects, this natural flow cannot and will not
| be diverted from channels which its own
environment makes and controls.
In the scheme of new Paris which
Baron Haussman so ably carried out at
Napoleon the Thirds direction the famed
Avenue de fOpera, which begins at the
Grand Opera House. was designed to be-
come the great boulevard of Paris 1t is a
fine. wide thoroughfare faced with tall
buildings and lined with large shops, CEN
trally situated. and is, and viii always be-
one of the principal thoroughfares of Paris
But it was to replace it We're the old
boulevards that follow the lines of the old
Notifications, and which are well known to
all Americans as the Boulevard des Italien
Boulevard de Capucin, Boulevard de
Montmatre. etc, which. as a matter of
fact, are but one street under a new name
every few squares. The cafes and stores
here, some said would all go TO the Avenue
de rOpera. Many of these places of bush
ness were transferred to the latter avenue.
But these great boueyards lost none of
their prestige, and are now, as then. and
as they will always be, the main arteries
of Paris for all purposes, and the Avenue
de FOpera remains what 1t viii always be,
simply one Of the many magnificent avenues
of that city. The people decreed. as they
will always decree. which should be and
remain the popular thoroughfares of city,
and that decree is final.
The Great Artery for Traffic.
eff m that he
der discussion possesses many parallel
points. Pennsylvania avenue is at present
and will always remain the great artery of
Washington for traffic. and the widest and
finest thoroughfare in this or any other
city on the American continent. 1t is the
natural boulevard into which nearly all
other streets converge, and it forms the
confluence of the channels of trade and
commerce, as do the grand boulevards of
Paris, of which 1 have spoken
1t fills the needs Of the city in this re-
speot, and offers the most suitable and ap-
propriate place whereupon to erect build
frgs in which to transact the operations of
the government. With the new Star build
ing. the post office, the Raleigh, and the
large remodeled office building of the South
ern railway, a nucleus of modern structures
is here, to which should be added other
public buildings until the entire front Of
the street is lined with them. The posi-
bilities of this scheme of undermining the
nations capital are without limit, and it
REQUIRES no architect or artist to picture
the result Of Its contamination. more par
ucularly with the treasury at one end and
the white dome Of the Capitol towering at
the other.
But there are other considerations how
ever. OF equal Importance. Public buildings
for the transaction of government business
ought to be situated in the heart of the
city. It Is an enigma to me how any other
proposition could be seriously considered
"a lS>clr Of ft,, Odd t.
of the other great nations to bring this
home to you in great force. These struct-
ures are places where business is trans
acted, and therefore should be easy of ac-
cess and within convenient distance of all
central points.
In Other Capitals.
"In Paris the Hotel de Vile and Palais
de Justice are adjacent to that portion of
the Louvre, on the Rue de Rivoli where
ried on. 1t does not require a very vivid
imagination to picture the looks of amaze
ment which would overspread the faces of
PariSfans II 1t were proposed to create an
other new boulevard in the Bots de Bou-
logne, remote from the center Of the city
and yet still well within the city to be
lined with public buildings, or If the Pare
Monceaux were to be appropriated for that
purpose Yet the hall is as remote rela-
lively from the center of Washington as
are the places have named in Paris.
The same thing is true as to London.
The foreign Office and most of the buildings
OF state are within few minutes walk of
Trafalgar Square, right in the heart of the
great metropolis. closely adjacent to St.
James Palace, to which your minister is ac-
credited, and to the Marlborough House,
ingham Palace, the town abode of the
queen. A proposition to place new build
ings in Regents Park would be met with
protest ard ridicule.
&H GO, In oil Of -. -