West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1904-11-10
THE Five MILLION STATION.
Size and Cost or the New Railroad be-
pot In Washington City

Station now building in Washington
will not be completed by March 4,
1905. 1t was fondly hoped by the
Union Station officials and a major
portion of the general public that
the large inaugural crowds could be
handled at the new station, where
facilities would be ample to please
everybody. Under existing condi-
tiOns aud at every past Inaugural
ton the railroads have resorted to
every imaginable expedient to ex-
pedite their share of the Inaugural
ton responsibilities--even TO the
extent of turning freight yards into
passenger stations and turning their
permanent suburban travel back TO
the extreme limits of the city, from
which point the luckless suburba.
mite could get to his place of en-
ployment, usually government de.
partment, the best way he could.
These exasperating conditions will
prevail once more, much to the re-
greet of every one interested. After
another year, however, the Capital
City will have Union Station to
be proud of. 1t will be excelled by
none in the whole Union and only
equaled to a certain degree by the
new terminal South Station in Bos-
ton, which is now said to be the fin
est in the world.
The area to be covered by the
station. its approaches and other
appurtenances will be twenty acres.
The site chosen, at Massachusetts
Avenue and First Street, was we'll
built up with a good class of homes.
Rents averaged SIS per month for
dwellings of 6 and 7 rooms. The
streets were asphalted, sidewalks
were granolithic AID lined with
beautiful shade trees, a feature of
Washington streets. Then came
the new Union Station project
proposition which had been troub.
ling railroad officials, committees
of Congress and the public gener-
ally for the past ten years. Whole
neighborhoods were at once obliter-
ated, costly improvements Of every
description were ruthlessly demol-
ished, over 1000 shade trees which
had been peacefully growing for IS
years were yanked up to make room
for progress. Today, after one and
half years pushing, driving effort
the work has progressed to a point
where the innate Curiosity of the
average person can be satisfied as
to what is intended to be accom-.
plished, although the methods en-
ployed to remove obstacles has
been so foreign to anything of the
kind that has ever been done in
Washington that the whole thing
has seemed more like the wanton
destruction of a peaceful landscape
and the creation of deep holes and
long pitfalls in the streets than any
thing else.
The value of the property con.
denim ed by the railroads and the
District Government for this great
work has been enormous. The
District of Columbia alone closed
and transferred to the railroads
streets valued at S7oo, 600. In the
undertaking the District of Coum
bia and the railroads arc partners,
each bearing one half the expense.
Over 600 dwellings have been con-
demned by the District authorities
and resold to be demolished and re.
moved by spectators. At one
public sale five brick dwellings
which encountered the site of the
plaza of the station sold for the
munificent sum of SOTO. Those
houses cost SIS, 900 to build. An
other group of ten houses, which
cost $40, 900 to build, brought the
District treasury 5000. 1t was all
gold but the price was ridiculous.
A great many suburban homes, and
rows Of moderate priced dwelling
houses, have been constructed out
OF material obtained in this way
During the condemnation pro-
ceedings an interesting incident
occurred. was in court at the
time and knowing the attorneys on
both sides, was an interested spec.
tor, Mr.. Hamilton, the attorney
for the railroads, in one Of our
most prominent lawyers and owns
an unusually handsome and yalu-
ale residence on New Hampshire
Avenue, in the swell part OF Wash
inglon Bernard McGrann owned
small piece Of property worth
about 80 cents, per square foot, or
all told about S07o, IN court call.
ed Cabbage Alley" lie was on
the stand leslilyine 10 the valne OF