Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-13
Proposed Plan Would Cost
$4,000, 900 for Foundation
Work Alone.
CONGRESS GIVEN DATA
ON GIGANTIC STRUCTURE
Fountain Spouting Stream 200 Feet
in Air Would Be Center of Gran
ite Island $50 Feet Across.

The Tidal Basin has been selected
for the site of the proposed memorial
to Theodore Roosevelt, to be erected
here by the Roosevelt Memorial AS
sociation, it was shown yesterday in
the design submitted to Congress.
1t has a central island, from which
spouts a stream of water 200 feet
high, flanked on the eastern and
western sides by two gigantic colon
nades. with four symbolical ships
heading out from the central island
from which the water leaps into the
air. John Russell Pope of New York
is the successful architect in the com
petition for the memorial.
The site selected is at a place in
the basin which would take as its
center the point where Maryland ave
nue. and Sixteenth street would inter
sect were they continued from their
present terminals. This places IL
about at the point where the old bath
ing beach was located. Congress had
authorized the association to take this
site into consideration in preparing the
designs, and it was finally determined
upon after the examination of other
sites. However, Congress has not au-
thorized the basin for this purpose.
and the submission of the design TO
Congress was one of the requirements
of the authorizing resolution complied
with yesterday.
The selection of this site already has
brought up the discussion of its prac-
ticability. as il would require, in the
estimation of Lieut.. Col. Clarence @.
., ~RS ,.r, ,1rtlA
lie buildings and parks of the Ma
tional Capital, an expenditure of be
tween $4,000, 900 and S4,000,000 10
build the foundation before anything
is spent on the memorial proper. The
entire contour of the Tidal Basin
would have to be changed A part
of it would have to be f4lled in and part
of the present West Potomac Park
dug away to give the same amount
Of surface area in water.
Basin F1ushes Channel.
The basin has a real and practical
function in its present location. 1t
fiushes the waters of Washington
Channel, between the steamboat
wharves and East Potomac Park, and
were it not for this flushing basin, the
waters in Washington Channel, which
are back waters, would become TO
some extent stagnant and unhealthy.
The way the basin works is this:
When the tide rises, the outlet gates
at Fourteenth street are closed and
the inlet gates in West Potomac Park
opened. When the tide reaches to its
crest and starts on the ebb, the inlet
gates are closed. After the tide gets
to the low mark the outlet gates are
opened and the impounded waters al
lowed to flow out through Washington
Channel, thus providing a running
stream for flushing.
ANY lessening Of the amount OF
water. it was pointed out, would lower
the efficiency of this flushing system,
so in considering change of this area
some provision must be made for i'm
pounding sufficient water to perform
this duty. AS only the difference be
tween the low and high tides are
available, the matter which must be
taken into consideration is surface
area.
Plan of 1901 Changed.
The selection Of the Tidal Basin
site presupposes that the park COM
mission plan Of 1901, so far as 1t re-
lates to this area, will be carried into
effect, and that this expense of lay
ing down the foundation and changing
the Tidal Basin would be borne by the
Government, according to HERNIA n
Hagedorn, director of the Roosevelt
Memorial Association. In the 1901
plan provision was made for chang
ing this basin by filling in a part and
digging out in other places, and max
ing a, great vista from the White
House southwark, looking across into
the Virginia hills. The development
in this area has taken another form
however, and Potomac Park has been
turned into a great recreation area
In fact, the resolution authorizing the
consideration Of this site requires that
the association take into account the
requirements of traffic circulation ano
of recreation facilities" To carry Out
the plan of 1901 to form a foundation
for this memorial, it was said, woulo
rob West Potomac Park of some of its
recreational features, because a par'
of it would have to be dug away 'o
nroyide sufficient water area 10 make
! up for that filed in.
Lieut.. Col. Sheriff. said YESTERDAY
| that he did not believe that TINS par,
| of the park commission plan of 1901
would ever be carried into effect, both
| because of the manner OF the preseh'
| development there and the expense
! involved in changing 1t. The chanse
| in present plans, he pointed out, also
would take away the beautltul vie"
which now prevails at this point
Cost Put Up to Z. S.
Col. Sheriff. said that consideration
and study had been made some time
ago as to the expense and pracnca =
bility of changing this section to con
form to the plan of 1901. 1t was esu
mated then that it would require ap-
| proximately S3,5OO,000 for the con
sAuction of an entire 2eW sea~aI a.
thrs section, and to fill ic Il as fouS-
datton. to say nothing of the addi-
tional expense of improving the area
after this were aono In order tc
carry on the work, grea, Etze6rS:
dredges would have to be built In the
] basin, as there is no way to 0oa1
| them in from the river.
The matter will be entirely in the
hands of Congress to decide whether
this part of the program will be car
ried on, and If the site is finally du-
lthorized, some provision may be made
| for the Government to pay for the
! change of the site, as the Roosevelt
Association, according to Mr.. Hage
dorm, has not figured this would be
| involved in the cost of the memorial
| for which the association so far has
appropriated only S1,000,000.
| 1t is not known even at this time
| just what the memorial would cost
when completed, as, according to Mr.
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