Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-24
A QUESTION OF TASTE
PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE OF
THE UNION STATION.
Mr.. Charles Moore Replies to the Crit
icisms of Mr.. George Alfred
Townsend.

Mr.. Charles Moore, clerk of the Senate
committee on the District of Columbia, to-
day discussed the statements made by MIR.
George Alfred Townsend in communism
ton published in The Star last evening
concerning the location and style of archi-
lecture proposed for the union railway sta
ton in this city.
Mr.. Townsend" said Mr.. Moore, says
the pictures published of the union depot
have been of a Romanesque or bastard
Gothic style, too prevalent in the later
architectures of Washington If MI. Town
send could establish that statement he
would revolutionize the entire history Oh
architecture. The idea that the arch Oh
Constantine is RomaneSQue or bastard
Gothic is both novel and startling. The sta
ton designed by Mr.. Burnham is essentlal-
ly Roman, and was purposely designed 10
harmonic with the Capitol, while frankly
accepting the superiority and dominant
character of the latter building. ,
Mr.. Townsend is easily within the truth
when he says Mr.. Mullett's State, War and
Navy Department is to many dlsparageu
by the copiouS miniature pavilionS or colon
nades If any person desires to test the
question of the architecture OF that bulid-
ing all he has to do is to paste piece or
paper over the roof of the building IN
photograph to see how the reStiesSnesS Oh
the structure is at once toned down. Ar
chitects have long speculated as to wheth-
er, by rakng down the porticoes. the build
ing could not be made to present as dignl-
fled an appearance as the treasury depart
ment now presents.
Suggestion of Brick.
Mr.. TOwnSend'S suggestion that brick
and terra Gotta be used for the new station
can hardly be said to be an acceptable idea
in the capital city. Mr.. McKim is to
build the new Pennsylvania station in New
York city of brick. but that station is to
be located in a business section of the city
and is to be surrounded by brick buildings
of a strictly commercial type. The New
York station is to have a plaza in front
of it, and the cornice line of the buildings
facing the plaza is to be controlled so
as to make setting for the station itself.
If such an architectural effect can be OBJ
tanned in New York city, where land is
worth fabulous prices, ought the national
capital to put up with any makeshift that
will save a few thousand dollars today,
whereas a considerable original outlay
would result in such improvements that the
taxes would quickly repay the increased
cost? Washington now possesses two enor-
nous brick structures in the pension bu-
reau and the government printing office.
Neither of these buildings was the idea of
an architect. In each case the architect
was called in to carry out the ideas already
fixed upon by persons without architectural
training. The pension office destroys the
effect of the District court house as seen
from Az street. The court house has al
Navs been considered a simple, dignified
building, having a remarkably fine loca-
ton. The new government printing office
has been carried to an absurd height for a
government building in this city, and lis
effect is. in large part. to shut off from the
Senate end of the Capitol the beautiful
view of the northern hills and to substitute
for that pleasing landscape huge box of
brick and mortar.
Hints of the Farnese Palace.
'It is hardly fair to the Farnese palace
to say that it furnished the idea for the
pension office. There is quite as much of
the Fernese palace in the White House as
there is in the pension office, which is say
ing that the student of architecture would
recognize certain features in each building
that are taken from that celebrated build
ing, which differs essentially and radically
from both of them