Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-15
ARCHITECTS BANQUET
ANNUAL DINNER OF LOCAL CLUB
AT RAUsCHER's.
Addresses by Thomas Hastings OF
New York, w. L. Price Of Phi1adel-
phia and ]. n. Moser.

Two score prominent architects Of the
District of Columbia met around the BAN
auet board last evening at Rauschers, and
after the menu had outlived it's usefulness,
or rather after all the good things TO eat
had been disposed of, speeches were In
dulged in and all the serious and complex
ing problems of architecture solved. 1t
was the annual dinner of the Washington
Architectural Club, and the two guests OF
honor were Thomas Hastings of New YORK
and William l.. Price of Philadelphia, potn
well-known members of their profession
The invitations sent out to the members
of the club announced that both the guests
of honor would make very eloquent ad-
dresses" and in this respect no one was
disappointed. In fact, no one was dlsap-
pointed in any other respect, for the al
fair was enjoyed from the first item on
the menu to the last after-dnner speech.
The president of the club, Mr.. c. l.. Hard
ing welded the wand as POSTMASTER and
drew eloquent responses, as only an archi-
Mr.. James Henry Moser was assigned the
subject architecture from the Artists
Standpoint" He declared that the work of
the architect is founded on utility more
than art, and that the result of his labors
is unappreciated by the masses. Mr.. Moser
said that few persons realized what work
and detail is involved in preparing plans,
and that what the people view is the finish
for the lack of appreciation.
Mr.. Price talked of the future, to GER
tain extent, and predicted that in the course
of time America would have style OF
architecture all her own.
Composite Population.
During the past century or so strangers
have come within our gates from every ma
ton in the world; our population is COM
poste, and has some characteristic of every
ioo1
American architecture. We hear of Gothic
and renaissance and other styles of the old
world but we do not hear of American
This, I believe, will come in time, and 1t
will be as distinctive as the American peo-
pie. We should commence now to build
up this style; we should display indiv1d-
uality and cease copying after the styles
of our forefathers to the exclusion OF mod
ern ideas. We have established American
standards In other professions; why not in
architecture?'
Mr. Hastings spoke along the same line.
ITO be different from those that have gone
before and different from our contempora-
ries-to be distinctly American-we must be
modern. We are still copying the styles of
the eighteenth century. Prior to that time
each period, through an evolutionary proc
ess, worked out it's own individual express
sion, but it is peculiar of the nineteenth CEN
fury that it merely copied after the others
that had gone before. 1t is for US to deter
mine not whether church shall be Gothic,
or whether a theater shall be renaissance,
but whether church shall be religious or
a theater shall typify the drama"
Those present, in addition to the pres1-
dent, were Thomas Hastings, w. L. Price,
F. B. Wheaton, Percy Ash, w. G. Peter,
L. A. Simon, Fred Upman, A. B. Heaton,
A P. Clark, jr., F. B. Pyle, ]. H. Corning,
H. c. Wilkinson, E. d. Ryerson B. S. Sim
MONS G.. P. Hales, A. t. E. Brown. ]. N.
McCluskey, jr., H. St. c. Marford, w. L.
Gideon, H F. Howes, S. c. Fiske, D. G. Lix,
c. o. Stevens, B. C. Fluorney, F. V. Muir
ply l.. ]. Wesenborn, G. o. Totten, jr., p.
C. McAllister, E. Bradbury, F. L. Molby, r.
A Parrish, G. S. Cooper, F. II. Jackson, j.
H. Blohme, r. A. Tissington, H. I. Pratt,
H. Huntington, c. r. Lombard w. b.
Wood Elliott Woods and James Henry
MOSer.