Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-10
TO WIPE OUT MALL
Part of the Plan of the Getty
Beautiful" Commission.
PROGRAM OF SPOLIATI0N
New Agricultural Building the Real
Opening Wedge"
BLOW AT PEOPLES PARK
City Breathing Place May Give Way
to Geometric Arrangement of
Squares, Avenues and Walks.
BLOW AT PEOPLES PARK

| When Supt Smith of the Botanic
| Gardens raised the first voice of pro-
test against the Telling of the historic
| trees at the east end of the beautiful
Enclosure which has been his care and
| pride. the nurseling of half century,
he spoke of the plan to erect the
Grant memorial at the expense OF the
trees as the entering wedge to the de-
! struction of the Mall"
But now, 1t appears, the wedge had en-
| tered long before this recent step was
taken. When the new Agricultural De-
! partment building was erected its site
was selected with reference to the 'axial
relations between the Capitol and the
monument" the cherished dream of the
projectors OF an imitation Versailles for
Washington. The structure was put to
| the south of the line of the proposed
straight drive. which is planned to be at
an angle of several degrees with the
present walk through the Botanic Gar
| den and the foundations are laid eleven
feet lower than the present surface re-
quires. SO that when the projected lower
ing of the level at that end of the Mall Is
completed no alterations need be made 10
the building. and it will At into that bar
rem scheme OF Things
Spoliation No Dream.
IT is evident, therefore. that the spolia-
ton and alteration Of the Mall Is no phan-
tasmic nightmare existing in the minds
Of alarmists. One important step to-
ward the realization of artificial ideals,
imported from Frances formal system of
municipal Identification. has been taken,
q
third may be readily imagined as ap-
proa ching II not already close at hand
Neutrality-suspicious. and the nation at large
take great pride In the capital OF the
United States. and any plan for the in
crease of the city's beauty would meet the
sincere approval and hearty cooperation.
If needed. of the great number Interested
in the improvement of the municipality
if the changes to be made were evidently
such as to enhance the charm characters
tic of Washington.
The names of the distinguished gentle
men who form the park commission
i aniel H. Burnham, Frederick Law Ohm
stead, jr., and Charles F. Mckim-inspire
the greatest respect with regard to artistic
judgment, but it is conceivable that even
they may be in error, misled by devotion.
ingrained during their student days, for
foreign ideals, especially those which in
Paris they were taught to consider as
beyond criticism. What may be suitable in
Paris need not be the best for Washing
ton The genus of the two cities Is not the
same There is a certain resemblance be
tween them, due to the unexpected angles
between streets and avenues, Paris having
also. unlike Washington, the additional
variety of boulevards. wandering, appar
emily at their own sweet will, along the
lines occupied by the fortfcations of diff
ferent periods.
Baron Haussman, who, under the third
Napoleon, planned the Paris of today
| borrowed much from L Enfant's plans
of Washington, then more than half
century old. Possibly the park commits
sion feels that it is no more than fair
| to give Paris a chance at supplying Wash
| ington with ideas.
| A glance at the accompanying picture
| of the square which it is proposed to
| substitute for the beautiful Botanic Car
| dens will at first cause wonder how any
one could think that such a devastated
| area could ever replace that great breath
| ing spot, shaded with great trees and
restful to the eyes with its broad sweeps
| OF lawns.
Source of the Plan.
| The source of the plan is so obvious
that 1t insults the intelligence. With an
obelisk in the center, the picture might
be that of the Place de la Concorde, In
Paris and the avenue leading out of 1t,
toward the west. might be the Champs
EIysees, If only the great bulk Of the
Arc de Triomphe doomed In the distance.
The little files of dwarfed trees at either
side of the avenue are arranged like those
in the French capital, and need only
Jardin de Paris. a Cirque d Etc and
brace of restaurants to make 1t the rea!
thing.
Paris did the best 1t could with the
| bank of the Seine, but to achieve the re-
| suits which have aroused so fierce a de-
sire for savish imitation in the minds of
| American architects 1t was not necessary
| TO destroy a thousand magnificent trees
and to nullify the work of a century.
| Frenchmen would not have obliterated
| beautiful park to replace 1t by a barren
| waste.
| One of the hottest places on earth is
the Place de la Concorde In summer
| But If the park commissions plan Is
| carried out the Union Square, proposed
as a substitute for the Botanic Gardens,
| will easily run the thermometer far
higher. and Washington VIII pc ape 10
| boast of its own private Gehenna- Where
| now Is d breathing spot, the lungs OF the
| city, there will be broad expanse of
| stone and asphalt, broiing and baking
| during the summer and a wintry waste.
swept by freezing blasts, during the cold
| months. The acme of the undesirable
| will have been reached at great expense
and in violation of the wishes of the
| people.
The Peoples Park.
The Mall. with its welcome shade and
beautiful walks. is within easy reach of
all, perfect park in the center of the
city No automobile or carriage is neces-
sary TO take one to it. 1t is there for all,
close at hand and inviting. On a great
scale it does what the smaller parks scat
tered throughout the city accomplish, and
the value of such breathing spots is en-
phasized by the attitude of the District
Commissioners in putting grass and trees
in every little triangle left by the inter
sections of streets and avenues.
1t seems impossible to view the park
commissions project of devastation and
destruction from any point of view that
can give 1t Justification. Its only excuse
appears to be a mathematical laundering
after the straight line and an Unsuitable
longing to substitute for the natural
beauties of Washington the empty desola-
ton of a Partisan square.
The Princess Alexandria, wife O,
Crown Prince Christian at Copenhagen