Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-24
THE MUNICIPAL HOME
Offices Nearly Always in
Rented Quarters.
THE PRESENT ABODE
ERECTION OF NEW BUILDING
MADE CERTAIN BY CONGRESS.
City Hall, Built in 1920, Too Big an
Undertaking for the
District.

than ever interesting to look back over the
low1y places in which the District govern
ment has been housed from time to time
since Its organization. Where other cities
of the size of Washington have long boast
ed magnificent city buildings, the District
government has had to make itself con-
tent with rented quarters, the present Dis
trict building at 464 Louisiana avenue be-
ing about the best the government has ever
leased for the purpose. The District offices
have been located in this building since
May, 1895. Prior to that time there were
many vicssitudes in the life of the corpo-
ration and its places of abode were many.
The city offices were once in the building
in Judiciary Square, known as the City
Hall, and now the home of the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbia and the
Court of Appeals. The City Hall was
built by the District in 1920, but the under
taking was too large one at the time and
inch by inch the District sold out to the
government until finally the building was
abandoned entirely as place for city
offices, with the exception of those of the
surveyor, which are still there. Many Wis
itors to Washington wonder that the City
Hall should be the home of the courts and
not the city Offices and are still more as
founded at learning that the District Is
without home of it's own, an unprece-
denied state of affairs. it might be said, in
the history of modern municipalities of any
pretenSionS whatsoever as to population.
The history of the homes of the municipal
government is told in interesting fashion
by Dr. William Tndall, at present secre
tary to the board of District Commission
ers in a paper prepared for the records Of
the Columbia Historical Society DR.. Tin
dali has been connected with the District
government for the past decade and is
thoroughly conversant with it's affairs. In
his paper DR.. Tindall also tells in amusing
style of the famous adjournment Of the
feather buster" legislature, which existed
under the territorial form of government
here.
Never Housed Together.
1.-THE homes of the municipal government
Of the national capital have been of a some
what peripatetic nature" says DR.. Tindall
land the whole family has never yet been
housed under the same roof"
This is true at present for while the main
offices Of the District government are To-
Gated in the building at AGA Louisiana ave-
nue., police and fire headquarters and the
department of insurance are located in the
Harper building on G street, lust Jack of
the District building. Reciting the history
of municipal homes from the time of the
first mayor, DR.. Tindall says:
The first mayor, Robert Brent, appears
to have resided up to 1907 on the north side
of south G street between 9th and 10th
streets west L have been unable to ascer-
tain where he resided during the suisse
quent five years of his mayoralty, but he
built a residence at the southeast corner
of 18th and Maryland avenue southwest,
where he died. This allusion to his resi-
dence is submitted under the presumption
that it was also his office, 1 find no ac-
count of the renting or use of building for
general municipal business at that time.
Daniel Rapine, his immediate successor,
resided at the corner Of south B street
and New Jersey avenue The subsequent
mayors We're not so careful to publish their
places of residence in the public documents,
so that l find no further record of even the
presumptive location of their offices until
the mayors office was esta blished in the
west wing of the City Hall.
Meetings of Councils.
Section of the first act of incorporation
of the city of Washington, approved May g.
1902, provided that the city councils should
hold their sessions in the city hall, or, until
such building was erected, at such place as
the mayor may provide for that purpose.
If the first councils had as much difficulty
IN finding quarters as l have had in ascer-
tanning where they found them, that digni-
fed body must have had very little time for
legislation during its first year. The first
record l encountered on the subject is that
they met in the old Capitol, at the southeast
corner of LIST and streets northeast, Mon
day, June IA, 1902 How long they con-
tinued to meet there is yet mystery to
me-
ION May 4, 1903, they paid William Lowell
S15O6 for rent OF room. Mr.. Lowell was
the lessee of ground on the north side of
PENNSYLVANIA avenue, just east of 18th
street Their sojourn Ilere must have been
brief, for on December %, 1904 they paid
the Washington Building Company $11O for
one years house rent, ending June - 1904
and on June 10, 1905, $11O to the same COM
pany for rent until June II, 1905. This
building was located upon lot A. square 800,
en- the north side of Pennsylvania avenue
somewhat west of the middle of the square
hGtu an1
The fence seems at that early day to have
cut some figure in politics, for on July H.
1906 the councils paid $15 for fixing theirs.
They also show that they knew something
about junketing. for it is recorded they
paid $3.50 on June 80 1903, for dinner and
club for the judges of election
In Masonic Hall.
Building Company they moved to Masonic
Hall. The accounts show that on June rs,
1906 the councils paid 500 rent to Alex
ander Mccormick for use of this hall, which
was situated on the west side of 18th
street near c street, where the new city
post office Is located. This hall was subse-
quently used as the rooms Of the Washing
ton City Library Company. The last semi
annual receipt for rent of this hall for the
councils is $15, and is dated December d
1920.
ION the 10th day Of June, 1922, the coun-
ellis held their first meeting in the city hall,
Judiciary square.
in the fall Of 1914 the greatness of the
federal capital had so far impressed upon
its inha bitants the notion that the munich
pal dignity required accommodations for
the transaction Of the citys business more
nearly commensurate with the Importance
Of the city, as the political center of
mighty and growing nation, that thew re-
Solved to build city hall.
by the act of the corporation of Wash
ington, approved February %, 1915, it was
decided to raise by lottery $4O,O for the
purpose OF building, establishing and en-
downing two public school houses on the
Lancastrian system, for building a peniten-
tiary and building town house or city hall
From time to time similar predatory action
was taken by the councils until April 1,
1920, when the matter came to a head by an
ordinance authorizing the mayor to adyer-
tise for plans and specifications for CITY
hall to cost 500 900.
THE first plan of George Hatfield was so
magnificent that the councils were COM
PEELED, in the interest of economy to reject
it. Mr.. Hatfield subsequently modified and
reduced his plans until they became prac-
ticable, and on July IA, 1920, the corpora
ton authorized the advertisement for uro-
ll-r