The Washington herald., 1910-04-16
Big ARMORY LIKELY
New Structure for District
Would Cost 100000.
SUBMITTED BY COMMISSION
site of the Old Pennsylvania Rail-
road station Favored, and the Idea
of Building Home for National
Guard of Light COIOred Granite
Meets with Approval.

The recommendation OF the commits
sion appointed TO consider the question
OF a new armory for the National Guard
Of the District was submitted to Con-
gress yesterday.
They include plans for a modern and
beautiful structure TO cost approximate
Is. S2.000000. to be located on the site Of
the OLD Pennsylvania Railroad Station. at
Sixth and streets northwest
In this location the commission believes
the armory would be central. convenient
TO numerous car lines, and that il could
be made TO conform INTELLECTUALLY to the
other government buildings in the Mall.
The building line would conform with
the line OF the new National Museum
Building. This site is only tentatively
selected. and the plans submitted were
designed for that particular location, al
though they could be changed in the
event Congress makes another choice.
The possibility OF the use Of the build
ing By the War Department for United
States troops. the National Guard Of the
District being a Federal organization,
was borne in mind by the commission.
Plans Are Ably Drawn.
The exterior plans were prepared for
the commission by Tracy. swartwout. &
Litchheld. Of New York. and the interior
arrangements were prepared by MAJ.
Francis B. Wheaton, Of the National
Guard, after consultation with various
officers Of the guard. The armory would
be large enough 20 accommodate two full
regiments OF infantry, one troop Of cav
airy, four companies Of coast artillery,
one battery. one company Of engineers.
one signal corps. one hospital corps and
brigade staff.
In the center the plans call for vast
drill hall, 24S by $50 feet in area, the
walls masking its roof and rising in
simplicity above the remaining mass Of
the building. Surrounding this, on all
four sides. are the offices of the brigade
and regimental staff. company rooms.
lockers for the men. &c. Surrounding
this is a giant colonnade Of the Greek
Doric type.
An entirely new departure from what
has become the typical style of armOry
architecture in the United States Is made
by the architects The battlemented and
turreted type. in imitation Of the me-
dieval castle, is abandoned. Instead the
inspiration is taken from the historic
Greek and Roman traditions, developed
in accordance with modern needs. The
classic. adapted to army needs. has there
fore been evolved This not only repre-
sents the ideas of the New York archi-
tects, but the choice OF the classic type
was made necessary by the proposed 10
cation of the armory. on the Mall, in
close proximity to the National Museum
and the new Department OF Agriculture
building The fact that Congress eventu-
ally will erect in the neighborhood other
public buildings makes it essential that
the architecture of the armory should
be Of a style to conform to the best
ideals as evolved in washingtons pub
lie building sconstruction.
Material a Leading Question.
The architects state that light col
ored granite would seem to be the ideal
material or else a white or light gray
marble
The size and number of the columns"
say the architects. would preclude the
use of monpliths for the colonnade, and
they would preferably be built up in
small sections. somewhat as were the
Greek Sdoric columns at Poestun. The
vast size and simplicity of the architec-
ture Of the building would lend them
selves well TO construction entirely of con-
crete. We have submitted an estimate
based on the use of a granite composite