Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-30
NEW POTOMAC PARK
Col. Bromwell Reports on Its
Improvement.
WORK ACCOMPLISHED
ROADWAYS AND FENCES THAT
HAVE BEEN FINISHED.
Need for Further Work on Unimprov-
ed Portion and the Estimates
Made Therefor.
WORK ACCOMPLISHED

| Colonel Rromwell the engineer officer In
charge of public buildings and grounds, has
made a special report 10 General Macken-
zie chief of engineers, in regard to pro-
| iected improvements Of Potomac Park, the
| reclaimed area of the fats opposite this
| city, Work for continuing the improve
| ment of that part of the park which lies
| on the east side of the tidal reservoir ana
| extending from 18th and streets north
| west to 14th street and Maryland avenue
| southwest" says Colonel Bromwell, was
| in progress from July to December, I'V''
at which latter date the available 1unds
| were exhausted. The work of laying
ma ca dam pavement with Telford base upon
| the main roadway under contract was com
pleted October 10. 1903, the trap rock gut
| tiers on either side of the roadway having
been finished under the same contract IN
| August previous. This roadway rs 500 soy
| feet long on its center line and forty-nVe
| feet wide between cutters and contains an
area of 21,7s1 square yards. the cutters
are two and one-half feet wide on elther
| total length Of 500 feet and an area OF
| Q 246 square yards. The roadway was
| opened to public travel Monday. OCTOBER 10
| and Saturday afternoons between anu
| o'clock have, by authority of the chief OF
| enereers been set aside for speeding pur-
| poses The grading Of the ground on either
side of the 18th street entrance to TINS road
| way was practically completed
Roadways Complete.
| ."rhe roadways on either side of the large
| elliptical piece of lawn surface back OF the
| power house of the Washington monument
which connect the main roadway OF Poto-
mac Park with the roadway on the west
side Of the Monument grounds We're COM
| pleted These roadways are laid with a
! dar of trap rock. A Slldil
| portion of the unimproved ground west OF
| the propagating gardens was covered WIN
| soil and seeded, and some roueh sraulns
4 was also done on this ground with eaIth
| filing brought in without expense to the
United States. and 800 cubic yards OF earth
| grading was done along sea wall Conslo-
| cradle work was done in the way or sod
| ding borders on lines of road and bride
| path A part of the bride path south OF
| the ellipse back of the power house or the
| monument, on the east and north sizes OF
| the new main road, was rough graded ana
| covered with cinders for length OF l,po
feet for a return drive.
Iron Fence Put Up.
| can iron pipe fence 2,1O7 feet in length
| with a pinch top rail was built along the
| ton of the revetment wall on the east side
| of the tidal reservoir and painted; 1,SOi
| feet Of 1A-inch galvanized iron water pipe,
| 927 feet of pinch and 1892 feet of 3-inch
| were laid for irriga ting purposes The
work of fitting up the old stone lock house
| at the 18th and B streets entrance as q
| lodge house was completed during the early
part of the fiscal year. The two chlmneEs
| were repaired and pointed up, the two
| rooms on the first floor plastered, some or
| the woodwork and the roof painted,
| wash basin placed in position and gas pipe
| run in the building One hundred ana
| twenty carloads of manure We're spread on
| the lawn surfaces of the completed por-
| lions Of the ground
To Complete This Portion.
ITO complete this portion of Potomac
| Park from 18th to 18th streets the eastern
portion between the new roadway and the
propagating gardens will have to be raised
| two to three feet and much of the area en-
braced covered with soil for the growth of
| grass, and some will have to be sodded and
the rest seeded; some additional drainage
will have to be put In, about 2,CO0 feet of
| cinder path for sidewalk and 2,OOo feet of
cinder bride path will be required; about
500 trees will also be needed to complete
| the tree planting required.
TT is also very much desired that 10Th
| street between the bureau of printing and
engraving and the propagatlng gardens
| from 3 street south to the new waterside
drive may be improved. as 1t is needed as
| the eastern approach to this new drive.
| This portion of 18th street is not city
street, but a park road, and therefore It's
! improvement must be provided for as a
work on 18th street is needed that the
greater waterside drive and Improvement
| may be rendered pleasantly accessible and
more useful.
ut is hoped that the work outlined In the
| two preceding paragraphs can be accom-
plished with the $4,000 provided for the
completion of the improvements in sundry
civil appropriation act for the fiscal year
19O4-19O5, and every effort will be made to
that end.
Nursery for Trees and Shrubs.
THE part of the unimproved portion OF
Potomac Park lying between the causeway
Of the railroad bridge, the tidal reservoir
and the Potomac river was, by authority
of the War Department, dated November
q, 1903, turned over to the supervision and
control of this office, by the engineer officer
in charge of the Potomac river improve
ment for a nursery in which trees and
shrubs can be grown and cared for and pre-
pared for use in the public grounds, the
present grounds at the propagating gardens
not having sufficient area for the purpose.
These grounds have not yet been used for
the purpose, as there have been no funds
available for laying them out. These
grounds should be utilized as a nursery for
the growing of trees, shrubs, plants, etc;
roads and walks should be laid out for the
use Of the nursery and for the public, the
grounds embellished with proper landscape
gardening and a suitable building of brick
and wood erected for tools, storage, use Of
occupied by the nursery, roads and walks to
be put into grass and reserved for games,
etc. Plans for the Improvement of these
grounds on the lines indicated have been
prepared in this Office and can be carried
out it is estimated. for the sum of SG5, 600.
and the appropriation of that amount is
earnestly recommended
North and West of Reservoir.
That portion of Potomac Park the
north side and west side of the tidal reser-
voir is now in a condition to be improved to
a certain extent, and the construction Of a
roadway there would give the people of the
city way Of getting to those sides of the
reservoir hitherto not accessible in pleas
ant way. 1t is therefore suggested and
recommended that along the north and west
sides of the reservoir there be constructed a
macadam roadway Telford base (sim-
liar to the roadway now on the east side Of
the basin) running from the terminus of
the 18th street roadway opposite the bath
ing beach to the Potomac river entrance to
the reservoir. The cost of this proposed
roadway constructed in accordance with
plans prepared in this Office will be $65 900,
and the appropriation of that amount is
earnestly recommended"
SUMMER COMPLAINT