Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-17

clay of which it Is composed, but 1t Is be-
Ing changed into a thing Of beauty by be-
Ing seeded in grass. and next year the slop-
ing surface will be a smooth. velvety
green
Picturesque Surroundings.
With this grassy bank on the one side of
the driveway and a handsome lawn with
trees and shrubbery on the other the ap-
proach to the river side will be as attrac-
tive as anything of the sort in the vicinity
Of the city. Along the banks of the river,
at the point where the road comes to an
end as the basin outlet into the river forms
barrier to the further course Of the road,
a group OF willows with long, pendant
branches of green very effectively clothes
the vista with a glimpse of the broad
stretch of the Potomac.
A scheme of improvement is being carried
out on the west side of the basin similar
to what has already been executed on the
east side. The lawn and macadam road
way will begin at a point almost directly
west of the monument, and will pass along
near the edge of the basin until the side of
the river on the north of the outlet of the
basin is reached 1t will then pass along
the border of the river. and quite close to
1t, until what Is known as 1.-The creek Is
reached. The latter Is all that is left to
mark the mouth of what was once an i'm
portant stream of water-old Tiber creek.
Fine Pleasure Resort.
Inc COURSE VI the roadway Will tnen D6
east until the road to the 7th street en-
trance to the park is-once more regained.
On the north side of the so-called creek
driveway y also being built along the
rivers edge which has an outlet on B street
seen that with the completion of this sys-
tenn of driveways the entire section of
Potomac Park will be available for the
use and enjoyment of the public.
70 aorlyo Of 1a off 10
not only notable one on account of the
area that has been thrown open for the
recreat ton of the people, but also for the
reason that 1t gives access for the first time
to the river itself. The enjoyment which Is
derived from a view of this sort and from
being able to get so near the flowing water
is one doubtless that Is specially appre-
ciated in this climate.
The Trolley Lines.
On account of the extent Of the park it
seems probable that some way will be de-
vised for bringing the street cars either
very near the border Of the park or actual
ly into 1t. At the present time the only
trolley road that comes directly into 1t is
the one that runs to Alexandria The cars
pass over the embankment to the High
way bridge, and so on to the Virginia
shore.
In this way a car line penetrates about
the center of the park. Whether the ia
ClDtleS tNdC are now available Will be
found to be adequate Is question that will
have to be determined after the people be-
gin more generally to make use of this vast
recreation ground.
Millions in New Structures.
The figures showing the value Of the i'm
provements recently made in this city are
impressive on account of the amount as
well as because of the comparison with
what was done last year and in previous
years. According to the showing made in
the annual report Of the assessor of the
District the increase OF the total assessed
value of realty for the year ending June
80. 1907. Is over $14.0O0.00n
OF this amount over 3d. 600 is rep
resented by the value of new buildings, the
balance being made by the cost of various
improvements to existing buildings. This
addition to the assessed valuation of real
estate in the District brings up the total
to over 247,000,000, an increase as COM
pared with the year ended June, 1906 Of
nearly $S.0O0.O00.
Public Buildings a Factor.
These are large figures and furnish sub
stantial testimony to the character and the
extent of the btilding operations of the
city during the past year or SO. The large
additions that were made to assessed
values Of the District during the year ended
June 30, 1905 were about doubled in the
following year. It should be remembered
in this connection that while these amounts
represent what was done by private enter