Evening star., 1926-09-15
FINE ARTS GROUP
PLANStAND STUDY
Rehabilitation of Avenue to
Mall Triangle to Be Dis
CuSSed Tomorrow.
By WILL r. KENNEDY

Acquisition now of all the privately
owned property in the triangle be
tween Pennsylvania avenue. the Mall
and Fifteenth street, under the pun
lic-building program. has cen recon-
mended to the Public Buildings Com
mission by the Commission of Fine
Arts and will be discussed as special
emergency business when the Zine
Arts Commission meets tomorrow.
Encouraged by the very definite and
positive statements Of President
Coolidge regarding preservation Of
the integrity of the Mall from the en-
croachment OF public buildings and
the Presidents avowed interest in
cleaning up the unsightly condition
within this triangle south of the Ma
tons main street, the Fine Arts Com
mission is hopeful of prompt action
toward lining the south side of Penn
sylvania avenue with imposing Fed
eral buildings. which would probably
Immediately be followed by q build
ing program on the north side
financed by private capital.
Besides considering the proposal To
place the new and monumental Sl0,-
600 900 building for the Department
of Commerce upon the squares he
tween Seventh and Tehth streets.
PENNSYLVANIA avenue and the Mall.
the Fine Arts Commission will have
before it also a suggestion. which
some members of tbe, commission
favor. of placing the Commerce Build
Ing on the squares between Pennsyl-
Nania avenue and r street, Four
teenth and Fifteenth streets, facing
the latter and the Ellipse. south of
the White House. This is the stretch
along Fifteenth street acquired by
t..s Government some years ago as
prospective sites for department build
ings for Justice, Commerce and LABOR.
it has been the more recent. intention
of the Public Buildings Commission
10 place the new Justice Building at
the Avenue end of this area and the
Labor Building at the B street end.
If the Fifteenth street site is decided
upon for Commerce and q trafhc out
let is needed at & street, the commls-
sion would favor underground exit,
as at the Louvre in Paris.
Future District Building Planned.
The Fine Arts Commission will dis
cuss it's own plan for some day locat-
ing the District Government, or Mu-
nicipal Building, on the present site
Of Center Market. giving it a com
manding central location, with Nlntn
street extended through the Mall,
forming a cross axis parkway be-
tween Seventh and Ninth streets.
. The new Department OF Commerce
Building may not be as large as sec
retarv Hoover has advocated, II the
Fine Arts Commissions wishes are
carried out, it was learned today.
They urge that IL must be a struc-
ture of the first rank in the class or
Office buildings, but argue that the
various scientific bureaus, which need
room for expansion and technical APP
paratuS and laboratories, should be
scattered throughout the District OF
Columbia.
Secretary Hoover has insisted that
he wants all the activities Of his de-
partment, which now occupy more
than 80 buildings, to be concentrated
for more efficient administration un-
der one roof, with the exception or
the Bureau of Standards group on
Connecticut avenue.
The Fine Arts Commission after
conferences with the Public Build
ings Commission feels that it has sue
ceeded in having the Patent Office
continue in its present historic build
ing between Seventh and Ninth. f
and G. streets This will prevent a
contemplated strengthening of and
q streets and the extension of Eighth
street, which is cut off by the Patent
Office. The Fine Arts Commission
argues that the interior of the Patent
Office can be reconstructed to make
it more advantageous for the special
character work performed there, and
that provision for future extension
can be made along Eighth street to
the north, with a connecting tunnel
Island Aquarium Proposed.
The Fine Arts Commission would
place the Bureau of Fisheries, an
other scientific bureau of the Depart
ment of Commerce. on one of the is
lands in Anacostia Park. where, in
stead of the small aquarium planned
by Secretary Hoover in the court of
the new Commerce Building, a. great
aquarium could be established, repre-
senting the fisheries OF the entire
United States, which is a great in
dustry. the magnitude OF which is now
little appreciated by the people gen
orally.
The Coast and Geodetic Survey and
the Bureau of Mines are other Scien-
tific bureaus of the Department OF
. Commerce which the Fine Arts Com