Evening star., 1925-10-25

influence and prominence. who had
long represented Maryland in Con
gress.
1t is we'll TO remember these men,
for to them is due not only the name
of the city but also the system of
street names. Soon after undertak
ing the duties of their office they
wrote to Maj. L'Enfant that they had
decided to call the new city Wash
ington" and the Federal ten square
miles Territory of Columbia" This
latter was changed to District of Co
lumbia''
At the same time they outlined the
plan of nomenclature for the streets.
that the east and west streets should
be called for letters in alphabetical
order and the north and south streets
for numbers. The idea for this prob
! ably came from Philadelphia, where
numerical streets were laid out at the
first settlement and had proved to be
a great convenience to the population
of the town as we'll as strangers. The
avenues were to be called for the
States. names of the Northern States
being used in the northern sections,
and of the Southern States in the
southern sections of the city.
This plan was adhered to closely.
except that many years lister old Geor-
/
avenue and the name of Georgia
given to Brightwood avenue. Later.
| as the city grew, particularly to the
north, more avenues were laid out,
the State names being used almost in
the order of their admission to the
/ Union. The one exception is Califor-
mia, which was assigned to one of the
first streets laid out above the old
city line.
FOR many years the city of Wash
ington lay below Florida avenue
Outside that boundary line were many
country homes and beautiful estates
Nearly all these homes have disap-
peared, but in many instances their
names have been retained and applied
to locality or street. Probably the
best known of these places was "Kalo-
rama"
| On the tract known as Rock HILL
reaching from Rock Creek to Florida
avenue, house was built in 1850.
After passing through several hands
! it was purchased in 1907 by Joel
Barlow. He had just then returned
from an important mission to Europe
! and needed a suitable residence. With
the assistance of Latrobe. who had
supervised part of the construction
of the Capitol, he remodeled the
| house and laid out the grounds in a
beautiful and artistic manner. AS
| from the house could be seen the full
sweep of the Potomac, with the blue
| Virginia hills in the distance. while in
the foreground stretched broad, tree
covered expanse dotted with the build
ings of the new City of Washington
| the name of Fine View" was selected
However, as the taste of the day was
for the classical. the Greek version of
| "Calorama" was used. Soon the spell
! ing was changed to "Kalorama," in
which form it has survived.
AS the home of Joel Barlow, ia
nous as a poet. philosopher, states
man and philanthropist, Kalorama be.
came the center Of Intellectual activ-
ity in this country. and even after his
death. the place, still in the possession
of his family, was long a Mecca for
the foreign visitor to our shores
During the Civil War it was used as
a hospital. About this time it passed
out of the Barlow family.
AS the city outgrew its earlier
boundaries, it surrounded and finally
obliterated this one-time famous show
place Of Washington and it's memory
is perpetuated only in Kalorama
heights and Kalorama road.
| The land east Of North Capitol
| StTeet anu IlOT III VI llle city DOuDQdTy
Florida avenue, was bought soon after
| 1920 by Joseph J. Gales, jr. Here he
[ built beautiful mansion in 1880, and
named the estate "Eckington" for the
village in England where his parents
had been born and where his early
| childhood was spent. lexington
| England, has now been absorbed by
Shefheld, just as lexington, d. c..
| has been by Washington
Another estate whose name has
been applied to its immediate locality