Evening star., 1925-07-26
z MILES OF DRIVES
Now OPEN IN PARKS
Rock Creek and Zoo Offer
Rare Attractions for D. c.
Motorists.

Known as the City of Magnificent
( Distances" and of handsome public
buildings, Washington is deserving of
. equal fame as the center of the most
: attractive park system In point Of
. natural beauty no city in the country
. has within its confines a park to com
. pare with Rock Creek or the Zoo
. logical Park.
Covering approximately 1900 acres
: and adjoining the National Capitals
. most exclusive residential sections,
these two parks constitute a natural
playground for the thousands OF
: WashingtOnianS who daily seek the
shade of their abundant foliage. Here
is a network of roads, winding back
and forth and paralleling the tortuous
path of the famous little creek.
Roads Are Mapped.
The Stars motor tours guide has
mapped out the new and old roads in
these parks for those who would spend
q pleasant afternoon traversing their
% miles of maCadam roadway. Al
/. though apart as to jurisdiction, the
. Rock Creek and Geological Parks are
to the motorist as one The same
rustic scenery is found in both, and
from the entrance OF the Geological
Park to the far end of Rock Creek the
: driveways are continuous
Rock Creek Park, under the super
vision of the office of United States
public buildings and grounds, COM
prises slightly more than l,600 acres,
with II miles of maCadam road and
219 miles of gravel. Approximately ?
miles of roadway, connecting with
. the park roads at the various en-
frances, are maintained by the District
of Columbia.
It is the purpose of the Government
to retain as far as possible the natural
beauty of the park, and here the mo-
torist may enjoy the poetic influence
of the babbling brook, the inspiration
of the hilltops-rising to approximately
400 feet at Fort De Russey-the gentle
slopes and the cool reCesseS of the
shaded valleys. Within Rock Greek
Park there are seven bridges, no two
of which are alike in construction or
design, and each of that rustic char
acter that lends variety and charm TO
an afternoons drive. In addition,
there are two fords, and two bridges
and two fords in Geological Park.
New Drives Opened.
y Two new roads of excellent mac
adam have been constructed recently,
one leading into the park from Six
teenth street, opposite Walter Reed
e Hospital, and the other connecting
Beach drive with Daniel road. Two to
g three miles of additional new road will
+ be constructed within a year. A new
: bridge also viii be CONSTRUCTED near
: the Joaquin Miller cabin TO care for
Z traffic when the ford near that point is
+ impossible
+ Washington's Geological Park is sec
ond to none in the country in point of
: natural beauty. 1t contains a collec-
Z ton of 100 animals, exceeded only
: by the Bronx Park in New York and
the Philadelphia Geological Park.
3 This is one of the few parks of its
> kind where automobiles may drive up
: to within a few feet of the animal
. houses. There are ten animal build
: ings, the monkey house having been
: erected in recent years at a cost of
100000.
Has Historic Relics.
Besides their rich store Of scenic
beauty, the Rock Creek and Zoolog-
ical Parks contain many other points
of interest for the motorist. There
are numerous free picnic grounds, play
: spaces and a golf course. Old Pierce
{ Mill dates back a century and a quar-
{ ter and Fort De Russey is a relic of
the Civil War days. The Joaquin
Miller cabin formerly was the home
3 of the poet of the Sierras.
I Many plans to improve the drive
ways and to link up Washington's
park system are under contemplation.
1t has been proposed to extend a road
through the park from Sixteenth
street at a point opposite Chevy Chase
Circle, thus giving a new and pictur-
esque drive from the latter point to
upper Sixteenth street.