Evening star., 1925-11-28
Acquisition at Once of 81
Acres on Highest Point in
City Will Be Urged.
PART OF LAND NOW USED
FOR DISTRICT RESERVOIR
Favorable Action by Congress Ex.
pected-Tract Commands CO.
Mile View.
BY WILL L. KENNEDY.

BY WILL 7. KENNEDY.
Acquisition and development Of a
tract Of So acres, the site Of the old
Fort Reno. the highest land in the
District, and now partially occupied
by reservoir, which lies between
Fessenden street on the north. Chesa-
peake street on the south, Belt road
on the west and Nebraska avenue
and Reno road on the east, will be rec
commended to Congress by the District
Commissioners and will be one of the
/ new improvements for the National
Capital to be most seriously considered
| by the House District committee.
Favorable action by Congress is ex-
pected upon this project, which will
he supported by Chairman Zihlman
and other active mepbers OF the
House committee. 1t is believed that
the part of this tract not now owned
by the Government can be purchased
(, for 81 900 900. From this property is
! q commanding view for so miles or
more, with Mount Sugarloaf discern
able.
Just east of this tract along Con-
nectiCut avenue is a big residential
real estate development, which makes
school, playground and park facilities
urgent.
Second only to the Importance OF
taking this land for it's elevation.
scenic vantage and historic assoCia-
tion is the necessity OF changing the
existing street plan of the Reno sub
division to conform with the general
! highway plan of the District.
Features of Project.
Among the features of an ideal
! community layout which are planned
! within this tract when it has been ac-
! quired for the District are:
! /. 4 considerable enlargement of
! the existing reservoir. already au-
! thorized and for which funds are
! available. in connection with the new
] conduit from Great Falls.
! >. a new junior high school, fac
/ ing Thirty-eighth street between
! Davenport and Ellicott streets.
! 8. Within the school reservation"
between Davenport and Fessenden
! streets. and Thirtyninth street, Reno
road and Nebraska avenue il is pro-
posed to have an athletic field with
bleachers and four tennis courts in
the corner facing Reno road; eight ten
mis- courts fronting on Thirty-eighth
street. between Ellicott and Fessenden
streets and an ornamental approach
to the school.
l. With the rezoning of 0he Ten
leytown police precinct. making it
I one Of the new full precincts, it is
! thought that a good location for a
/ new police precinct house would be
, found on this tract, bringing the
police protection closer to the center
of population.
Six Public Tennis Courts.
5. In the corner formed by
Nebraska avenue and Chesapeake
street. there would be located six
public tennis courts along Chesapeake
street and northeast Of them a
fountain.
6. A large public park would be
created about the enlarged reservoir
with an observation tower on the line
of Thirty-ninth street as it now ex-
lists.
Z. In the corner formed by Belt
road and Chesapeake street there
would be base ball diamond. with
the outfield sufficiently large so that
in the Fall season it would be used as
a public foot bali field. A clubhouse
IS planned a the corner of Belt road
and Thirty-ninth street.
s. Preservation and restoration of
the historic Fort Reno.
Purchase Essential Now.
Those who are urging this project
empha size that civic spirit and fore
sightedness in providing for future
needs make it imperative that this
acreage should be acquired now.
The project was favorably reported
by the city planning board, which
is advisory to the National Capital
Parks Commission, and approved by
the National Capital Parks Commits
sion as a development that should
come within the scope of perma nent
improvements to be paid for out of
The accumulated District surplus. The
National Capital Parks Commission
urged the District Commissioners to
make this recommendation to Con-
gress.
The City Planning Board which
carefully considered this big develop
ment, is working out a compre-
hensive program for Capital develop
ment 1t is composed of Maj. Cary
Brown. chairman; Maj Raymond A.
Wheeler, assistant TO the Engineer
Commissioner of the District; Melvin
c. Hazen, District surveyor; James
c. Langdon, formerly in charge of
drafting maps for the old Mcmillan
Park Commission in it's famous re-
port of 1902 and now employed by
| the National Capital Parks Commits
sion; Fred G.. Coldren, formerly chair
man of the parks committee OF the
Washington Board of Trade and now a
member of the National Capital Parks
Commission; Frederick a. Delano, Il
member of the Beard of Regents of
the Smithsonian Institution and of
the Washington National Monument
Society, Columbia Institution for the
Deaf and other important Govern
ment Boards, and Arno B. Cam
merer assistant director of the Ma
, tional Parks Service.
Subdivision Made i'm 1869.
In support of the bill that has been,
, drafted for the purchase or condem-
nation of property in the Reno Sub
division il is pointed out that this
. subdivision was made in 1859 and
recorded in Book Gov. Shepherd of
the surveyors Office Of the District.
with streets % and 80 feet wide, and
with very small lots. During the
years since this subdivision was start
ed improvements have been made,
mostly of cheap character, the
, streets being too narrow to permit Of
standard improvements.
This subdivision is out of harmony
with the highway plan, which was
: adopted some years later, and will
| he Of tb> l.;