Evening star., 1925-07-12

FeaSlbll1ty and practlcaDlllLy OF 10
eating the proposed memorial to the
late Theodore Roosevelt at IA point In
the Tidal Basin where lines drawn as
a continuance of Sixteenth street and
Maryland avenue would intersect Is
being studied by sculptors, architects
and landscape architects. who Will par
ticipate in the competition to obtain
a design for 1t. 1t has not been den-
niteIy decided that this site will be
the final one selected, according to Nj.
B. Medary, jr., of the firm OF Iaht'
zinger, Borie & Medary of Philadel-
phia. adviser to the Roosevelt Me-
ng the project.
The extreme cost of preparing the
;ite for the memorial may. II was SAID,
lecide those in charge of the protect
o look for another side, and. in fact,
he high Hill at the head of sixteenth
treet, the extension TO be opened TINS
'ummer. has been suggested to the
commission, II is learned, but it is not
elieved that it viii be used.
Mr. Medary informed the CORE
.pondent of The Star that the fact
hat the proposed site was being
studied did not mean that 1t would
,e finally selected In fact, he called
lttention to the resolution passed by
'ongress, which merely gave author
" 10 study the site.
Fourteen Groups Compete.
The final selection of a site for this
memorial will not be made, Mr.. Me
ary said. until the competitors have
ubmitted their designs for the pro-
osed project and their reports have
cen made as a result of the study OF
he site authorized by Congress. 1t
nay be a colossal memorial or 1t may
,e a very simple and modest affair,
lie said There are IA groups which
lave indicated their intention TO par
icipate in the competition, each
group made up of a sculptor, archi-
ect and landscape architect. The
lrawings and designs will have to be
submitted by October l and the award
made soon after, as the approved de-
ign of the momrial and the plan for
he site must be submitted to Con
.ress before January l of next year.
The Roosevelt Memorial Association
las appropriated s1,000.0o0 for a
memorial to the Rough Rider
PRESIDENT, but this does not mean.
Mr.. Medary said, that this Is the limit
# the amount that will be spent on
he project, and this is not and cannot
'e determined until the designs and
,ians are received from the Il groups.
The site in the Tidal Basin was
entatively selected, according to Mr..
Nedary. because the park plan of
901 called for rebuilding of this Sec
ion of Potomac Park, and provided
or the extension of the park into the
Tidal Basin. But this plan has not
,een carried out. At that time the
Lincoln Memorial had not been
damned. the rejecting pool had not
Deen designed, and the Ericsson
memorial, now in course of construc-
lion, had not been taken into consid-
grafton. Then the Arlington Memoir
al Bridge project and the subsequent
treatment of the approaches to the
bridge and the boulevard along B
street had not been planned.
Plan Expensive.
With these changes from the orig
inal plan already made. it Is not GER
tain now that the park plan of 1901,
so far as it relates to this particular
section, will ever be carried into effect.
Ii will be a most costly project to
erect the Roosevelt memorial on the
site which now is being studied, as
it will call for an entire revamping of
the Tidal Basin. Army engineers
estimated that the cost of dredging
and filling, raZing the old seawall
around the basin and constructing a
new one will cost in the neighborhood
of So, 500 900. Even before any work
is done on the memorial itself this
money will have to be provided, and
the expense of the memorial is to be
borne entirely by the Roosevelt Me-
mortal Association.
There is some question as to
whether this changing of the Tidal
Basin will permit it to serve the pur-
pose for which 1T was built; that is. to
flush out Washington Channel, that
part of the water between the steam
boat wharves and East Potomac Park.
AS the tide comes in the gates on the
river side are opened to impound the
expan nding water, and closed on the
tip of the flood. After the tide re-
cedes the Fourteenth street gates are
opened and the impounded waters al
lowed to rush out in the channel and
flush 1t out, thus carrying out all debris
and freshening the water. which 9th.
erwise would be nothing but back
water.
However, after the design and plan
of one of the group of competitors
is accepted by the Roosevelt Memorial
Association it will be for Congress to
have final word as to whether the
memorial snail De located on the site
which the association was authorized
to have studied, as the law states
that mo authority to proceed with
the execution of such plan or with
the erection of the memorial shall be
deemed to be conferred upon the
Roosevelt Memorial Association unless
or until the plan and design shall
first have been approved by Congress.
Ericsson Memorial Being Built.
While this memorial site is being
studied and the designs and plans be,
ing worked out, work is progressing
on two other memorials, both in West
Potomac Park. These are the Ericsson
memorial and the Titanic memorial.
The memorial to John Ericsson Is
being erected south of the Lincoln
Memorial and on a line drawn north
and a line through the center of tn s
memorial Ericsson was the inventor
of the revolving turret on the Monitor,