Great Falls tribune., 1921-06-21

| Il is all enough to make L'Enfant ana
washington send a protest BACK
through Sir Oliver Lodge.
These purely utilitarian structures
| are regarded as temporary. but tne
government moves ponderously Win =
great and prolonged rumbling for every
inch it advances 1t will be years oe-
tore all these emergency buildings are
! discarded. And when they are, wnat
| are the permanent ones to be like!
We can get good idea by turning
10 the admittedly permanent govern
ment building lately erected. Inc IN
terror. Labor. Commerce, Engraving
and Internal Revenue buildings.
Only the Internal Revenue building
across the street from the treasury
is an exception to the tendency 70
ignore architecture and tradition. IL
IS return to the style Of the treasury,
and would be one of the show places !.
of the show places of the district if It
were surrounded by shrubbery ana
grounds instead of being jammed on
| one side BY theater and at the back
by bank.
The New Buildings.
The others are long blocks OF brick
or stone. They are efficient Office
buildings, but as material for souvenir
post cards or a background for tour
lists to have their pictures taken
against, they are distinctly inferior 10
the old be-columned buildings.
The last anybody really heard OF u, art
in connection with government of1lces
was in 1912. Then designs were un-
der consideration for State, Commerce,
Justice and Supreme Court buildings
The drawings were dignified and I'M
posing. with the classic arches, friezes;
statuary, and columns, so long sacred
to the temples Of government activity.
These needed buildings were to be
located south of Pennsylvania avenue
where the government owns large
tracts of land, still presumably resefv
ed for government structures. In tnis
section there is room for number OF
buildings, each with the spacious Out
look. which, to L'Enfant's mind, was
to be the great charm Of Washing
ton. The proposed buildings we're
planned and assigned to definite places
in this spacious parking. And there
their history ended.
The government structures now
south of Pennsylvania avenue, COM
pared with those north of it IN the
business section are ample evidence OF
I'Enfant's wisdom. Nearly all of the
show buildings are south of the av-
enue.
The only trouble with those directly
on Pennsylvania avenue is that they
face backwards. The White House,
war department, and treasury in an
impressive row, all present their back
yards to cameras and visitors alike.
The fronts, far more attractive. face
on parking. and would be scarcely
recognized in a picture, even by Wash
instonians.
This situation is partly due to the
fact that there is no direct thorough
fare at the real front of these build
ngs. as there is at the back The
street on which they face travels
round about way past the White House
gardens, which bulge in exasperatins
curves. Business. even government
business. seeks the quicker back door
route
L'Enfant's plan received one of its
first jolts in this front tdoor versus
back proposition Then PENNSYLVANIA
avenue was knocked one sided at the
treasury department and the view from
the capitol to the White House. sup
posed to be one beautiful mile long
vista, was cut into two pieces Since
then the intentions of congress have
always been good. but extenuating cir
cum stances have too often been plead
as an excuse for sacrificing art If
Washington continues as it is heading
now. it can only be expected to drop
in the list of beautiful capitals to an
unenvia BILE place