The Washington times., 1905-04-09
PLAN Of BUILDING
IS NOW hOD|F led
Change in Location of the
Agricultural Department.
DECIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS
1t Win Preserve Beauty OF Mall and
Fit in With Original
Design.
DECIDED BY THE ARCHITECTS

AS a result of the deliberations Of the
committee of consulting architects, APP
pointed by President Roosevelt few
weeks ago to advise with the heads
Of executive departments upon the loca-
tion of sites for Government buildings
erected in the District of Columbia, ln:-
portant changes have peen made in the
plans for the new building for the Dc
partment of Agriculture. These changes
affect the location of the new building
rather than the architecture, but they
also include slight notifications in the
construction.
The main object the President had in
appointing this board was to insure the
safeguarding OF the original scheme OF
buildings which will be erected from
time to time along the Mall This
scheme OF buildings which WAS adopted
more than hundred years ago, had in
view the preservation of more than
mile of parking, running west from the
Capitol in straight line. Since the
erection of the Washington Monument,
however, the direction of the line has
been changed and aow runs from The
Monument to The Capitol
The Original Plan.
A part of the original plan was that
the buildings should be placed on the
north and south sides of the Mall, leay
ing a strip of parking between 800 and 900
feet in width. 1t is with particular ref
erence to the carrying out of this inn
portant phase of the scheme that i de-
cision has been reached to change the
site originally selected for the location
of the Agricultural building
About a year ago 1t was settled that
the new building should be on the south
side of the Mall, practically on the site
of the present building. A prominent
architect. who is now member Of the
consulting board, was interested in the
skeleton spodel for the new building in
the grounds of the National Museum,
which was erected for the purpose of
determining how permanent building
would fit in with an elaborate scheme of
buildings which will some day extend
from one end OF the Mall to the other.
and, while engaged in his Investigations
he found that if the Agricultural build
ing were placed as then planned the
effect would be to mar the symmetry OF
the line of buildings on the south side
of the Mall
Would 0vershadow Others.
The site Of the present Agricultural
building is on high rise and If the new
building were placed on the same loca-
ton. as was first intended, it would be
noticeably higher than the buildings OF
the Smithsonian Institution, the Ma
tional Museum and the Medical Museum
which are in a direct line with it. More
over it would when completed. have beer
n orf af -
tural grounds
One of the ideas in the general scheme
of the Mall is to have the Washington
Monument and the Capitol the com
mandfng figures of architecture a
either end of the long line of Govern
ment buildings that will one day stant
or either side OF the beautiful greer
stretch. If the new Agricultural build
Ing were allowed to stand noticeabIy
high it would spoil the grand effect O.
the two massive structures at either
erd. The location of the new buildfns
must, therefore, DE such as not to mar
but to maintain the uniform beauty O
the Mall
His Plan Adopted
The suggestion was made by thi!
architect TO those who had charge o.
the work on the new Agricultural build
ing, and it was at once adopted. The
President, when he heard of it, was
enthusiastic, and at once conceived tn,
idea of having q board of consultine
architects who would take n broad
view ot the architectural development
of Washington and keep an eye out fol
mistakes of the sort made in connec
tion with the Agricultural building
AS the plan now stands. the nev
building will be erected on the soutl
side Of the Agricultural grounds. tn
middle of the building being half wa,
between Twelfth and Fourteenth streets
10 be in symmetrical relation TO Tn
grounds. Three feet will be graded OF
the hill at the south of the grounds an
the cellar will be dug deeper than wa
at first intended
The building Will be the same heigh
from cellar TO roof, but it will be sey
eral feet farther from the moon" thar
it would have been according 10 tn
original plan. II viii be three-fourth
the length of the entire square in whic
the Agricultural grounds are located