Evening star., 1902-08-14
THE CITY BEAUTIFUL
INTEREST IN IMPROVEMENT OF
NATIONAL CAPITAL.
Member of Park Commission Writes on
Plans for Adornment Of
Washington.

Frederick Low olmstead in the Independent.
There is probably more widespread in
terest at present in the municipal develop
ment of the city OF Washington than in
that of any other place In the country.
This is mainly because il Is the national
capital and because the country at large
mas something OF the pride of possession
in IL that il cannot have with regard to a
great commercial metropolis with COM
manding local interests OF its own
The plan of Washington was completely
blocked out with all its streets, squares
and parks in 1T91. while the land was still
| wild forest. by the engineer. Peter Charles
l. Enfant, under the direction OF President
Washington and Secretary Jefferson The
positions for the different grand edifces
and for the several grand squares or areas
| OF dinerent shapes. as they are laid down.
We're first determined on the most adVan-
/ tageous ground. commanding the most ex-
| tensiVe prospects and better susceptible OF
such improvements the various intents
/ or the several objects may require Drives
| or avenues of direct communication have
| been devised to connect the separate and
most distant objects with the principal and
| to preserve through the whole a reciprocity
! of sight; at the same time attention has
! been paid to the passing Of these leading
| avenues over the most favorable ground
! for prospect and convenience.
Original Plan Sighted.
Unfortunately changes, made chiefly in
| the last fifty years, when l. Enfants plan
had been buried and forgotten among the
| city archives. render a complete return 10
his plan impra cticable. The Mall. which
he had apparently intended to treat as a
great avenue of green sward. banked by
rows of trees has suffered most of all.
The first departure was made when for
the equestrian statue OF Washington. 10
be placed in the Mall at its junction with
the White House axis an obelisk sub
| stituted. and when the engineers. finding
| it difficult to secure good foundations at
| the point of intersection of the two axes.
| located ii instead on a gravelly hillock 270
| feet out of line in one direction and l25
| feet out in the other. As the purposes OF
| the design were more and more forgotten,
other notifications crept in. First the
upper end of the Mall was constructed by
selling blocks for house lots from either
side. Later. when the Smithsonian lnsti-
tuition wanted home, a building was
erected for it directly in the Mall and a
broad strip of land extending entirely across
the Mall was donated to ii as a setting
for the building.
The Railroad Trouble
But worse was yet to follow. About the
year 1872 the Baltimore and Potomac Rail-
road Company wished to erect terminal
station on Maryland avenue; but it SO
happened that there were two school
houses close by the proposed site, and the
citizens of that ward objected to having
the scholars disturbed by the trains. Con-
gress decided the wisest course would be
to give the railroad a station site in the
Mall. where the noise of the trains would
disturb no one. So for some twenty-five
years the trains steamed back and forth
across the Mall, and apparently every one
was satisfied. But more recently, in order
to avoid the very dangerous grade crossing
of the railroad and give adequate accom-
mediation for the increasing travel 1t was
al 10 ia
land 600 feet wide extending all the way
across the Mall was granted to the rail-
road for the erection of great Nladuct
and train shed, 1G0 feet high.
This the state of affairs when our
commission was appointed. we telt II 10
be essential TO return to the original pur-
pose of the Mall at least in its main out
line as a great avenue leading up TO the
Capitol. To this end the removal OF the
proposed train shed was sine qua non.
After much discussion and conslderane
onposition Mr. Cassatt, president Of the
PENNSYLVANIA railroad finally declared
that he believed his railroad had no right
to block a scheme of such natlonaI I'M,
portance and that if the commission couiu
secure a suitable site elsewhere for a union
station the Pennsylvania and the Bait-
more and Ohio, just brought under the
same control would erect il, and the sta
tion rights already granted by Congress
would be waived. Such a site was louhd
and bill is now pending In congress 70
authorize the erection OF terihiia' a' 'iia'
point
To Remove Buildings.
To n,eat the eccentricty of the Wash
ireton monument the great avenue leading
to il from the Capitol is to be slanted suih-
ciently from a right angle with the race OF
the Capitol 10 make it center on the m"hu-
ment but since the monument Is TOO lar
from the line of the White House TO Dc
brought into apparent range with that atso
a different course will there be pursued.
,l intn ~ n
marked by a yoid-a sunken garden with
great circular water basin hanked ana IN
closed by terraces, upon one or Wnlch inc
monument will stand, overlooking the pool
The Mall itself IL is proposed TO plant ON
either side with four rows or American e'ih
trees, flanking broad avenue OF green
sward, the trees expanding on the terraces
around the sunken garden Of the monument
to form an inclosing grove. Beyond the
sunken garden very long cross-shaped ba-
sin with a memorial building OF monument
tai character at its further extremity, Is
suggested as a fitting termination for tho
The Memorial Bridge.
At this point it is proposed TO construct
the memorial bridge leading across the Po-
tGmac to Arlington cemetery, a bridge long
under contemplation for neighbOr1ng site.
From the same point ii is proposed TO con-
duct a curving parkway along the bank OF
the Potomac and Rock creek to Rock Creek
Park. Inc open space uiieSliy a. .he aVor
of the Capitol and al the head or the Mail
1t is proposed to treat a formal plaza,
with three equestrian statues as the central
features-GeneralG Grant fanked by his great
ieutenants, Generals Sherman and Shert-
dan.
Such in brief is the summary Of what
the commission has suggested should be
done So elaborate is the plan that years
must e!apse before any considerable por-
ton of 1t may be carried into execution,
but we hope that at least a beginning may
be made within the next year or 50, and
that as IL materialZes the American people
will realize the truly magnificent ideas Of
the founders of the city. and win insist that
the great expenditures which must from
decade to decade be made for government
buildings and their surroundings be so made
to contribute each its share to a great
artistic whole.
Prominence.