The Washington herald., 1908-05-06
FOR BEAUTIFUL CITY
Architects Discuss Subject at
the Banquet Board.
THOMAS NELSON PAGE SPEAKS
Timely Suggestions Presented on
Permanent Construction of Houses
and Public Ediaces i'm Washing
ton-PIeas Entered for Higher
Ideals in Architecture.

Good cheer and merriment marked the
annual dinner OF the Washington Archi-
teetural Club last night at Rauschers
About thirty-fve Of the members of the
club and twenty invited guests assem-
bled around the board in the banquet
hall to partake Of the banquet and hear
the speeches which followed. Among the
members were many Of the most promi-
nent architects OF the city, and among
the guests were men like Thomas Nelson
Page, DR.. Wiley. Harvey S. Corbett, Of
New York. and Theodore Pietseh. Of Bal
timore, who have won national celebrity
in various fields Of endeavor.
The keynote OF the evening was How
to make Washington beautiful" and
while the remarks, gibes. and good humor
sometimes wandered far from the sub
ject, the theme was kept prominently in
view, and many suggestions were made
worthy Of a place in the thought of the
men who are striving to make the Capital
the show city of the continent. as we'll as
the representative city Of the American
republic.
President Wood TOastmaster.
Waddy B. Wood, president Of the club.
acted as toastmaster, and kept the mem
bers and guests in good humor by his
timely reminders that they were wander
ing more or less from the subject OF the
evening.
Those who spoke were Harvey W. Cor
bett Theodore W. Pietsch, Paul Cret.
Thomas Nelson Page. Allen D. Albert
Cuno II. Rudolph. DR.. Harvey w. Wiley
J. c. HOrnblower. l. A. Simon. F. B.
Wheaton. and II. T. Pratt.
While the dinner was in progress. a
string band under the lead of Frantan-
tuonO played excellent selections from
operas and various selections from classi-
cal music which more than once re-
ceived the enthusiastic encores of the
diners
Pleads for Best in Architecture.
Thomas Nelson Page spoke at some
length upon the triumphs Of art In the
world. and made a strong plea for the
working out Of the highest ideals Of
architecture In Washington. which he
thought to be in a sense the city destined
10 become the great world Capital He
thought the architoeta OF Washington
were face TO face with a great oppor-
tunity and his only anxiety was that
they should prove equal to the task set
before them in working out the highest
Ideals Of art, not only in buildings Of a
public nature. but In the homes Of the
nd IN. Of s-a
vidualism in art. which would make the
work of the architect lasting and not the
work OF a day
Mr.. Page said the architect would have
10 choose between that which was strictly
commercial aud that which would be en-
during, and in the accomplishment OF the
task It would be necessary for the archi-
tect 10 60 outside OF his Office and his
plans and educate the public up to a bet
ter standard of art than the economic
ideas of the present would suggest
Mr.. Page spoke Of the architecture OF
Egypt as being faulty In its flatness and
plainness. Greece. he said, had a great
ideal, but was not enabled TO work out
the full fruition Of beauty. because the
world was not ripe for the endurance Of
the republican notions OF government
which lay behind the national inspiration
to architecture So it had been in other
ages, and he conceived of America as the
land where the true beauty OF architec-
ture could be evolved and perpetuated.
Grape Nuts and Ventilation.
DR.. Wiley set the tables in a roar over
his pleasantries about pure food. grape
nuts, and various matters pertaining TO
ventilation and sanitation. he struck a
serious strain by denouncing the multiple
cation of jammed-up houses on sixteen
foot lots whose only beauty could be
around the front door, and urged upon
the architects of Washington a campaign
of education which should not end until
the people demanded through their legis-
lators that no more block houses should
be built, and that some heed should be
paid to beauty as we'll as cheapness and
haste to occupy the land with endless
rows OF houses that were not sanitary.
not beautiful, and would be condemned in
future years as the homes of short-sight-
ed and semi-barbarous people.
Plan TO Beautify Avenue.
The evening was one full Of suggestion.
Among these was a hint offered by ]. C.
Hornblower that the architects Of the
country. as well as those in Washington.
should enter into a friendly competition
by way of submitting suggestions to the
next inaugural committee designed for the
treatment Of Pennsylvania avenue, some
part of which could be made permanent,
to be added TO in successive inaugurals.
until the historic thoroughfare should in
time be filed with artistic arches and
works OF art, that would add materially
to the beauty and grandure Of the city.
The guests Of the dinner were:
Dr. Harvey " Wiley, Thomas Nelson Page Psnl
Cret. Philadelphia; Harvey W Corbert New York
Theodore W. Pietsch. Baltimore; B. B. Long. Allen
ID. Albert. W II. Landvoight Cuno Rudolph
Charles Langley and j G. Baker
Among the members present were:
E NJ. Sunderland. R. A. Tissington J. V. Van
deTbilt Frank Upman. r. L Watmough, W B.
Wood, L. ]. Weissnb0n, julius Wenig F. B.
Wheaton. John Wherell e. c. Wilkinson. w. W
Youngs. S. ]. Berman, T. H. Brooke Bedford
Brown. W. / Dening, z. ". Dom, jr., B. c.
Flournoy, A. l. Harris. J. G. HombloWer, NJ d.
Morrill,, H. S. McAllizer. ". B. Olmsted c. F.
Parker. r. n, Powers. r. 7. Pratt. F. b. Pyle
Frederick Reed, L, A. Simon, c. o. Stevens, George
W. Stone Frank p Reside. Frank Santmyer. h.
r. DueT, and 5. 3. simmons