Evening star., 1919-12-28

To Be DEPRIVED
OF PLAY SPACES
Proposed Sale of Privately
Owned Recreation Grounds
Prompts Appeal to Congress.
Washington soon may lose four or
five of it's Fairgrounds which are To-
Gated on private property and loaned
to the District by the owners.
News that several of these loaned
grounds are to be sold or built upon
has brought forcefully to the atten-
ton of Mrs. Susie Root Rhodes, su-
perintenGent Of Fairgrounds. the fact
that desirable sites for recreational
centers in the thickly populated sec
tions are rapidly being filled up with
buildings.
The probability OF losing some Of
these loaned spaces has caused Mrs.
Rhodes and others interested in the
welfare of the children to realize that
unless Congress can be induced TO
purchase new playground sites IN sew
eral parts of the city a few years
from now there may be no desirable
pieces of land available.
With the cooperation Of the civic
bodies of the city, Mrs. Rhodes hopes
to convince Congress Of the need for
the boys and girls of the National
Capital could play in safety.
~ Sites Enumerated.
which; the city soon may have TO give
up are: The Gallinger, f street between
21st and 22d streets northwest; Park
View, Warder street and Otis place
northwest; = LOGAN, dand G streets
northwest, Nnd Hose Park, 27th near
Il The fairgrounds department also
has learned that part of the tract on
Park road near 14th street, known as
the Columbia Heights playground, is
to be built upon. While the building
will not take up all of the grounds.
Mrs. Rhodes pointed out that there
are practically no other suitable vacant
if Congress does not buy the remain
ing unused part of the Park road lot
before that also is built up there will
be no recreation place in Columbia
Heights.
Play Spaces Limited.
Discussion of the situation with
Mrs. Rhodes yesterday brought out
the fact, not generally known. that
while Washington has $4,000 children
in the public schools. as well as hun
dreds more in private schools. the city
has only twenty-five Fairgrounds.
And Of that number. ten are on pri-
vate property, which the District is
permitted to use until the owners de-
eide to sell or build.
OF the remaining twelve only seven
are owned or controlled by the Dis
trict, the five others being loaned by
other government agencies
washington has gone ahead and
developed as big city," said Mrs
Rhodes, without making adequate
provision for recreation for the chill
dren."
last fiscal year 100000 visits were
made by children to the twenty-five
Fairgrounds now in operation.
The daily average attendance on the
Fairgrounds since July has been 15,-
900 A comparison of this attendance
with the juvenile population of the city
better illustrates, in the opinion of play
ground workers, the need for more and
larger recreational grounds.
Grounds offered for Sale.
The Gallinger playground on F
street between 21st and 22d streets, is
for sale. and may have to be abandon
ed as a playground at any time. 1t
has a daily average attendance of $50
children. Mrs. Rhodes is not advocat
ing purchase of this site. but believes
Congress should buy a piece of ground
in that vicinity.
The Park View ground, near the
school of the same name, also is in
danger of being lost. Mrs. Rhodes said
the owner is willing to hold it for
limited time to give Congress an oppor-
tunity to consider it's purchase for the
District. This playground has a daily
average attendance of 1.400. Every
child in the Park View School able to
write has signed a petition asking that
the playground be kept, if possible
There is $500 worth of equipment on
this ground.
School, at Sd and G streets northeast,
is for colored children. 1t has a daily
average attendance of 1000. 1t also
is for sale. AS there is no ground
around the school, Mrs. Rhodes re-
CARDS this also as a necessary pur-
chase. There is $1,000 worth of equip
ment on this ground.
The Rose Park. also colored CEN
ter, in. Georgetown, is for sale.
Patterson Tract Desired.
Purchase of the Patterson tract on
Florida avenue northeast, now Camp
Meigs, is regarded by Mrs Rhodes as
of equal importance with the above
mentioned projects.
Although the Rosedale. at 18th and
Kramer streets northeast, is a well
out to be. used by, the hundreds of
children living in the densely popu-
lated northeast section. At present
these children have only two small
play spaces, made available by the
courtesy of private owners. One is
the Terminal grounds at I'd and C
streets northeast, and the other the
Mades, between Sth and 9th. L and
Florida avenue. Neither is large
enough to be equipped as an up-to-
date recreation field.
The Paterson tract has in its center
a costly swimming pool, which was
built for the soldiers during the war.
If purchased for the District by Con-
gress, Mrs. Rhodes said, it not only
would provide ample space for the
boys and girls of the northeast. but
also would give Business and McKin-
ley high schools the athletic field they
so badly need. The boys of both