Evening star., 1919-04-20
EXPOSITION
Site Suggested on South Side of
River Between Highway Bridge
and Arlington.

To the Editor Of The Star:
For years this subject has been dis
cussed and several plans for material
ization have been suggested. 1t was
a. favorite topic of my husband. Mr.
Louis P. Shoemaker had a bill in
troduced in Congress in 1897 to re-
serve space in Rock Creek Park for
permanent state buildings. for ex-
hibits of their commerce. art and
| literature" Before this time Mr.
! Fitzpatrick, an architect, proposed a
large single building. to be erected
i somewhere in the Smithsonian
grounds. for permanent state exhibits
Again, another proposition called for
| a 250-foot wide boulevard to encircle
! Washington. with spaces alongside.
containing altogether some seven or
eight hundred acres, for permanent
state buildings.
| Mr.. Lindsay =. Perkins has published
several articles calling for large
tracts of land in Maryland or else
where. containing from one to two
| thousands acres, to be purchased by a
| stock company and rented in per
petuity not only to states but to for
! eign countries thus making, as he
says. Washington not only a greater
Washington but a world Washington"
Mr.. Perkins suggested that in this
1 ihtSi hdtioHdi uoiildlH du aInI6t1c neld
! a speedway, an opera house and a
bank be included.
Again. objections were made bv
New Workers that the enterprises was
much II too big for Washington and
New York city.
| Now that the world war is over
and commercial relationships for set
| ting the world Alright are the talk of
the day, it would seem to be the
DSychOlORlc21 time for mo To- lizi,,
a great clearing house project for the
worlds trade, with spaces ample for
the most pretentious of displays L
| have devoted the last week inspect
! ing possible locations for this great
! business scheme and in my opinion
the ideal locality lies on the water
'front.' between the Virginia end OF
Long Bridge and the Arlington estate.
| From 500 to 500 acres or more are
herea bouts. practically an open coun-
| try of comparative low value. The
government should own more of it
| by condemnation and without loss to
our burdened Treasury. in that spaces
| reserved for states and foreign coun-
| tries could be leased indefinitely, the
| ing their own buildings and main
| tanning their own landscape features
at their own expense. a third OF the
acreage would have to be reserved
| for r0adways.
Here we have domain of ideal
surroundings. Washington. itself.
practically alongside, as well as the
athletic fields, the speedway and
bathing beach of Potomac Park. the
beautiful Arlington estate, with its
auditorium, railways leading into
Washington, with a possible station
on the domain itself, and none the
least a water front repeating the
Seine features of Paris.
Extensive work is now being done
reclaiming and building embellishments
for more perfect water fronts, at the
same time narrowing and deepening
the channel for large vessels. Wash
ington has been repeatedly threat
ened with the use of this frontage for
manufacturing purposes. Fancy that
in comparison.
A committee is now being formed to
study other localities and aid in any
way to bring about practical results,
MRS. JOHN B. HENDERSON.