Evening star., 1924-04-17
The North Window
BY LEILA MECHLIN

We iNtCAfC uPOH a CITY OF |
It's culture, power and dignity is de-
rived from It's outer aspect, its public |
buildings, parks and streets; we must !
remain to visit it's art galleries and |
to meet its people" Thus he empha-
sized the Importance and value of |
civic art, putting it even above the |
art of painting.
But there is less difference than |
many suppose between the art of the |
gallery and the art of the city. The |
city builder who is an artist employs |
dltferent kinds of materials, different |
| mediums, that is all, for he is obliged !
to observe the same principles. The !
average citizen looks for art in
painting, but does not expect to find |
it in a house, public monument or an !
arrangement of grass and trees. And |
II IL is not there in equal measure, it |
is the more unfortunate
Emphasis was laid on this phase |
OF art, especially with reference to !
washington, at the meeting of the |
American Civic Association and the |
committee of One Hundred held here !
! last week. Among the speakers at |
! the dinner which concluded the meet
ing were Frederic 4. Delano, chair |
| man OF the Washington Committee on !
ihe Federal City; J. Horace McFar- |
II
| Association; Secretary Hoover, Judge |
/ John Barton Payne, Senator Ball and |
senator Pepper, all of whom vigo. = !
ouSly stressed the Importance of an |
orderly plan of development, and also |
the necessity of keeping before the |
tDeople of the country the fact that |
WaShin on is oBr Capital City, and !
SO the concern of every citizen rather |
than any one group.
| + i +
Washington was most fortunate in |
| its original plan. Mai. L'Enfant, the |
French engineer who laid out the |
city, in consultation with Washington |
and Jefferson, was not only gifted |
but possessed rare foresight, and the |
| plan that he made has not only proved |
! peculiarly available and satisfactory, |
| but was found equally meritorious
ana adaptable by the leading art ex-
pertS who gave it consideration q |
century after IL was originally drawn |
| The cardinal features Of this plan
| are a grfdiron of streets crossed by |
radial avenues, facilitating traffic and |
an ordlng at the intersections inter
esting vistas; also certain important |
| axtal relations between notable mon
uments-as, for instance, the Capitol |
| the Washington Monument and the
| Lincoln Memorial.
X x
| Undoubtedly many are not aware
| that there exists today this working
| plan for the development of Wash
| ington, which is gradually being put
| into effect. 1t was forgotten com
| pletely during those decades in the
last century when the mansard roof
and Queen Anne front were in vogue
| and the tide of art ebbed low; but
! thanks to Senator Mcmillan, who Sc
/ cured the appointment of the So
! called Burnham Art Commission.
| which was composed of the great Chi
| cago architect, ID. Fl. Burnham; the
| brilliant exponent of the classical in
! architecture, Charles F. McKim; Au-
| gustus Saint-Gaudens, the great
/ American sculptor, and Frederic Law
I OImsted, foremost among American
I landscape architects, the plan was
| recalled and revived. and although it
was never formally authorized by
! Congress, it has been fairly and grad
ually followed in the matter of i'm
! provements during the past twenty
! four years.
| To be sure there are those in Con-
| greSs and out who do not recognize
! yet the value of expert advice in mat
| ters pertaining to art; who have not
| the confidence or the vision to trust to
! the report, once rendered, of such men
! of professional high standing, and who
/ continually need to be persuaded to
! do the right thing. or dissuade from
| doing the wrong thing which at the
moment engages attention. AS the
! Chief Justice once remarked, it was
! necessary for some years TO slip this
/ great plan of Washington on at some
times and in at others, in order to Sc
! cure it's fulfillment. But sufficient
/ has now been done, 1T would seem.
/ to demonstrate to all the value of
orderly development, the Importance
| of looking ahead and of holding to
| nnSitinn ms 10 a nd aa
Some years ago a group of far-see-
| ing public-spirited citizens in Chi
| cago secured plan for the artistic
development of that great City of the
/ Lakes from Daniel H. Burnham-a
| plan so colossal that it seemed a ma
! gician's dream. But the dream has
! come true-and why? Because the
| people of Chicago have made it their
own. 1t has been taught in the pub
4 lie schools; every child is familiar
| with IL. To disregard IL now or to
/ obstruct its development would be
| practically impossible, public senti-
| ment is so strongly in its favor. A
| simila Widespread knowledge of the
! Washington plan is what is essential
| to the safeguarding of the beauty of
| our National Capital.
|
years with amazing speed, and in
| certain sections without regard to
| preservation of beauty. There is ruth
| less destruction going on in many
| quarters not through malicious in
| tent, but through ignorance, with the
| result of incalcu able loss not only to
| the people of Washington today, but
| to the Washington of the future.
| 1t is the opinion of many that few
/ cities in the world compare with ours
| in the beauty of natural environment
| and present development. With the
/ river at our feet and the encircling
hills we have an unequaled oppor-
| tunity. The views of Washington
| from Mcmillan Park and from Cathe-
1 dral Heights equal the famous view of
| Rome: our great avenues may well
| rival the boulevards of Paris. But it
| behooves us all who are lovers of art
! and find joy in the city picture to
| safeguard not only what beauty we
| have, but the potentialities of beauty
! in the future. Surely at no time are
these potentialities brought so strong
| ly home to US as at this season of
| the year when Washington at every
1 turn presents pictorial vistas of sur
passing lovelineSS.
/ *k
In this connection mention should
be made of the excellent service that
has been rendered since its organiza-
ton by the National Commission of
Fine Arts, a body of experts of ma
tional and in many instances inter-
national reputation, who give their
services, without compensation, in
advising the government in matters
pertaining to civic art and so safe
| guard against error. This commits
sion was originally appointed by
President Taft and is under authority
from Congress- Its powers, however