Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-22
ROWS OF STACKS
ALONG SPEEDWAY
fYES0RE. .I0.c|IY
Discarded Army Barracks
Now House "Scrapped'''
Furniture.

Shacktown- on the-Potomac," that
aggregation of dilapidated. implanted
frame buildings in East Potomac Park
along the Speedway. once Army bar
racks. has become an eyesore to the
capital
When the shippers OF sightseeing
buses pilot their tourist-f1lled We
hicles through East Potomac Park
tney attempt to distract the attention
OF the visitors from 'Shacktown," and
eagerly point out the glories of the
Potomac and the beauty of the new
Lncoln Memorial. 49,.
Housed in these weather beaten
buildings, which apparently have
never had q coat Of paint since they
were erected during the war, are
millions of dollars worth of office
furniture. typewriters. waste baskets.
motor trucks, touring cars and motor
cycles Many of the "scrapped" ar
ticles, particularly the motor cars
are in various stages of decay.
Graveyard" OF "Dead" Equipment.
"Shacktown" is truly the grave
yard" Of all the. dead" office equip
ment Of the various government de-.
partments. When government tlivi-
sion or section goes out of business.
or when the powers that be, decree
that the office furniture their en-
ployes are using is out of date, along
comes feet of motor trucks. the
and deposited in the departmental
graveyard"
stan photographer paid a visit to
"Shacktown." AS they entered the
confines of the village" they noticed
kept in immaculate condition when
the buildings were used as a bar
racks during the war, were filled
with large holes, in which lay several
inches of water. The heavy rains had
caused the weeds to spring up and
Near the entrance to the village"
is a one-story shack. Many of the
windows are broken; some have been
patched up with boards nailed across
the frames.
Motor Cars DisinteEratinE. "
Inside the building were a number
of motor cars, all In the process OF
disintegration. Several of the We
hicles were trucks, others touring
cars. while a few motor cycles were
How long have these cars been in
this buflding?" the reporter asked, a
workman. who was in the vicinity,
about two years" he replied.
"Hasn't there been any effort made
to sell or use them?"
II don't know. boss. You'll have to
ask someone else All I know is
they're pretty rusty and they're all
falling to pieces.
Stackes and stacks Of desks, chairs,
Ming cabinets and other office equip
ment are piled promiscuously In the
buildings, every one of which is oc-
cupied. Broken windows allow the
elements free rein to vent their fury
ON the stored articles.
One of,icial t told LIZ reporter that
furniture stored in the forty-eight
buildings which comprise 'Shack-
town" Typewriters and other office
to the value of more
than SIC. 200. are stored there. he said.
The Treasury Department has full
charge of the storage of these goods.
Pile Of Junk" Located. =
Facing the Speedway. and back of
the building used as an, Office, is a
pile of junk-broken tables; filing
cabinets and parts of automobile ma
!chinery. several feet high and extend-
ing for almost city block.
On the other side Of the junk pile
are the remnants of Department of
Agriculture delivery trnck. The ma
|chinery has been thrown. higglety-
|pigglety in the body of the vehicle.
No trace Of axles or truck remains.
rests not q stones throw away.
Down the road from the junk pile
II q building which has been partly
damaged by. fire. Hundreds of ONCE
chairs and other furnishings may
be seen extending from the damaged
building.
Several hundred yards from the