The Washington times., 1910-09-12
Conversion of Plague Spot
TO Park Awaits Action
of Congress.
ESTIMATES MADE
FOR PURCHASE
Stun Section Near Capitol Has
Attained Nationwide
NOtOTiety.

II Congress. through the Committee
on Appropriations and the Committee
OF the District Of Columbia. viii be good
10 the Board OF Commissioners at the
coming session, Willow Tree alley,
which Is perhaps the best advertised
alley street in the United States viii
be wiped out and the site converted into
q public park or pastime plot- And
the cost VIII be mighty low
From figures which have been pre-
pared. covering the project. It is est
mated that the cost Of acquiring the
necessary ground In the famous old
alley viii not exceed $4,000
The entire area within the alley,
necessary for the carrying out Of the
Pastime plot project. is 102, s34-16 square
feet Of this area the District already
owns S3.ST4-40 square feet, leaving a
balance TO be acquired Of 6S,55I-76 square
feet
This viii take out the entire heart Of
the alley, leaving the outer tier Of lots,
with their buildings, facing on Third.
Four-and-a-haIf, 3 and streets,
southwest. as they are, with hollow
square occupying the interior OF the
block
Sxty-eight Buildings.
structures in the alley, of which about
eight are stables or. barns, the others
being dwellings All Of these viii have
10 be condemned for purchase by the
District, and then torn down As the
majority Of these structures are OF
brick. their WTeCkinE VIII be rather eX-
pensive, but the whole work OF tearing
out the buildings. removing debris, and
converting the spot into a pastine plot,
after purchasing the necessary ground,
can. II IS thought, be kept within the
$4,000, and il is believed that che work
can be carried TO completion within less
than year after the money becomes
available
Willow Tree Alley has been pictured
and described IN magazines and other
publications almost without number as
the worst example of alley, street or in
side court in Washington. Lying as il
does within the shadow Of the Capitol,
Il has been visited by hundreds Of civic
Identification advocates from all over
the United States; IL has been snap
shotted' by hundreds OF kodaks, and its
elimination has been urged, both by
Westinghouse and persons from other
cities, for years
As exclusively stated in The Times
recently. however, the present plan for
acquiring the land and buildings within
the alley is the first complete scheme
ever formulated for Kidding the city OF
this notorious SUM
Many Arrests Recorded
Police officials state that conditions in
Willow Tree Alley are now far better
than they were q few years ago In
SPITE Of this fact, however. arrests in
the alley, for the last two years. have
averaged about one One-Cuarts= a dav.
IS shown by the bIotters Of the
police station in that precinct Lar
Cenyr drunkenness. assault and battery,
felonious assault, general disorderlT con-
duct and even a few cases Of murder,
have had their origin there II viii be
remembered that the NOTORIOUS Dorsey
FOuIrZ was Al one time a Willow Tree
Alley resident
Sanitary conditions in the alley have
always been bad. though much improved
OF recent years Many cases Of scarlet
fever. diDhtEeria, etc, have been traced
to the fact that vashinEs, carried from
other parts of the city 10 houses in the
alley. were laundered in homes where
the disease existed. being returned from
those homes 10 spread ContaEiOn IN
parts OF the city where no cases OF
the various diseases existed
The installation OF modern plumbing
in practically all Of the houses the
paving OF the alley, and the installation
Of an efficient sewer system, have done
much 10 rob the alley Of its oId-tiue
seminaJOr, but even today conditions in
many Of the houses are such as to
cause the observer 10 wonder why there
are not more cases Of malignant fevers-
and why some serious epidemic does
not start with the alley as the Origi-
mating and distributing center.
Origin Not Known
Just how the place received the
name Il bears is not known even 10
the oldest inhabitant Of the southwest
section There may, at some remote
period in the city's history, have been
q willow tree there, but II so II has
lonS since disappeared. leaving not
even the Wondering remains of q
stump TO mark the place where x
stood Other courts and alley streets
in the same part Of the city, such as
Crab Tree court. Pear Tree court and
the like. seem 10 have been named as
Willow Tree alley waS-juSt because
somebody wanted 10 name them So
II was the original. intention Of the
board OF sanitary commissioners TO
include LinEers court northwest in
this years scheme Of elimination Of
alley streets, and hereafter to include
two courts or alley streets in each
years work The task Of preparing
the plats, estimates, etc, has been so
difficult that II has practically been
decided TO confne attention this year
wholly TO the Willow Tree alley prof
ect. and to allow the other courts and
alleys TO wait until next year for the
attention they so sadly need
With the elimination Of Willow
Tree alley, however, IL is felt that an
excellent start viii have been made.
and the Commissioners are extremely
aSNious that the work shall be started
a. early next year as possible
Mall May Be Extende--
The Commissioners are hopeful also.
that the project for extending the
Mall may make more rapid progress
within The next year or So Lying di-
rectly north Of Willow Tree aIev are
four Stun districts. all within a radius
OF two blocks, that the Commissioners
hope TO see eliminated These are