Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-11
commercial, be placed in the in
dustrial district.
Reasons for SugEestiOns.


The above recommendations re-
garding the Industrial district are
made for the following reasons:
| la property along the river front
and along steam railroad lines is
| much better adapted for industrial
uses than for either residential or
commercial purposes.
lib. Space must be provided for
concerns belonging in the Industrial
district. now located in prohibited
| concerns may be compelled either to
close or to locate outside of the Dis
trict of Columbia.
&c. The future growth and de.
yclopment of a city of the size of
| Washington must be, to a consider
able degree, industrial. and the plan
| must be broad and comprehensive
enough to provide for the Washing
ton or several decades hence. We are
! fully of the opinion that the in
dustrlal area as contemplated by the
| tentative map of the coming commits
sion is far from being adequate to the
! coming needs of the city A careful
! examination of the territory tenta-
| lively zoned as industrial by the COM
mission indicates that more than so
per cent of it is now occupied by the
| railroads. the steel plant, the navy
yard, the gas plants and similar in
dustries. This shows still more en-
phatically the need for more in
us natural industrial growth.
B-SecOnd Commercial.
! While we realize that our recon-
| mendatlons as to the industrial districts
! include some territory tentatively Zoned
as second commercial. and also with the
knowledge that any business designated
| TOT the second commercial district may
| De located in the industrial district, we
! are OF the decided opinion that, even if
| our recommendations as to the increases
| OF the industrial district are allowed
! the territory Zoned as second CONNER
clal IS still much too inadequate for the
| increasing needs of a city of the size
we expect Washington will be. We do
not desire, however, to name specific
territory to be zoned as second COM
| merclal, but rather to recommend to the
commission the ACCESSIBILITY Of some
what charging this district.
C.-First Commercial.
With regard to the territory to be
| placed in the first commercial district,
we make the following recommended
| tons:
| ia. We recommend that all the ter
rltory bounded on the north by NJ street
| northwest, on the south by B street
northwest, on the east by North Capitol
! street, and on the west by 23rd street
! and New Hampshire avenue northwest.
| be placed in the first commercial district,
except as provided below The
! boundaries above named should include
| both sides of the streets and avenues
mentioned and extend to the alleys
north. south, east and west of the re-
spective boundaries, and be otherwise so
regulated by the commission that the
present building regulations be MAIN
tanned.
"1b. We recommend that such por-
tons of the above described territory
as have been placed in the second COM
mercial district by the coming commits,
sion be not changed. and that 10th
street from the White House north be
retained in the residential district.
practically all the residential prop
erty in the above described area is grad
ually depreciating and becoming less
desirable for residential purposes, and
the loss of the few desirable residential
areas will be offset by the increased
value of the land. and while no hard
ships should be imposed on any one,
the Districts growth should be para
mount.
&c. After a general survey of the
other territory in various parts of the
District of Columbia tentatively placed
in the first commercial district by the
coming commission, we generally recon-
mend the approval of the same.
D.-General.
I'VE believe such boundaries should
be established for the commercial dis,
tricts as will adequately provide for
the expansion of the business dis
trict for all time ocome, and should
be on such a large, uniform, and har-
monious scale that the business area
shall not be given patchwork ap-
pearance.
There are a number of streets (par-
ticularly those which are recognized
as the main arteries of travel out of
and into the District of Columbia)
which are gradually becoming who'll
ly commercial. We cannot agree with
those who would place the present
residential portions of such streets in
the residential district, subject to
change, as they take on the CONNER
cial aspect. On the other hand, we
recommend that such streets be
placed in the first commercial dis
trict. This is equivalent to advising
and warning residential owners and
prospective purchasers of property on
such streets of the eventual use to
! which such property is to be put
Regarding the property between
the G. and o. canal and the Potomac
! river from the Acqueduct bridge to
Chain bridge, if it seems desirable to
reserve that territory for camp sites
and summer cottages we recommend
| that it be placed in the residential
district. but we would not" recon-
| mend that it be changed from the in
I duSIr1dl 10 lHe SeCoHu commercial us
trict.
"The Chamber of Commerce is on
! record as favoring an increase in the
area covered by the high pressure
water system. We would suggest that
| an increase of this area in the prin
cipal business district would get rid
of a considerable number of water
tanks, which now disfigure and rem
der unsightly so many buildings in
this district.
1--WE call attention to the tentative
/ list of businesses excluded from the
first commercial district and recon-
mend that the following be omitted
from such list and the said businesses
be allowed in the first commercial
district:
81. Automobile repair shops.
"2. Bakery employing more than
five (5) persons).
"s. Laundry (employing more than
five 60 persons).
E.-Heisht. Light and Ventilation.
"In connection with the height,
light and ventilation of buildings in
the District of Columbia and the con-
templated limits as tentatively pre-
scrbed by the coming commission, we
call attention to that part of section
2 of th4 coming act which reads as
follows:
"'Provided further, That the per-
MISSILE height of buildings in any
district shall not exceed the maximum
height of building now authorized
upon any street in any part of that
district by the act of Congress ap-
proved June 1. 1910, and amendments
thereto, regulating the height of
buildings in the District of Columbia
TT is evident that Congress, in
wording this portion of the act. did
not impose any absolute restrictions
as to the height of buildings other
than are now prescribed by law, and
left it optional with the coming COM