Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-29
FEDERAL BUILDING
PLANS SANCTIONED
| BY FINE ARTS BODY
Department of Commerce
and Internal Revenue Prof.
\ e'ts Are Approved
SITES WILL BE CLEARED
FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK
Assistant Secretary Dewey Says
Whole Housing Program Is
to Be Rushed.

Plans for the Department of Com.
merce and Bureau of Internal Revenue
Buildings, the first to be erected in
the Government housing program
here, have been formally approved
by the Fine Arts Commission, it was
announced today by Assistant Secre.
tary Of Treasury Dewey.
Mr.. Dewey. who Is in charge of the
public buildings projects for Washing
ton, received this morning from
Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine
Arts Commission, a formal report an
nouncing the action taken by his com.
mission yesterday in New York City.
While the designs must also be ap'
proved by the Public Buildings Com
mission, Mr.. Dewey said today that
the Treasury would now proceed with
the business of clearing off the sites
soon and giving out contracts 1cr
what he called trough excavations"
Bids Opened Today.
The developments today pushed for
ward the great Federal housing pro-
gram closer to actual constructor
than II has vet been at any time, anu
offlcials are hopeful that steady prog
ress may be made. A..
bids for razing buildings on the
Department of Commerce site are 10
be opened this afternoon at O'CLOCK
at the Treasury.
Contracts for this work probably
will be let within a few days ana
everything but the House or Deten-
ton and the temporary building
known as Annex No. 2, housing IN
come tax unit employees. will be torn
down to make way for the Commerce
building.
The old Annex No. 2 itself will be In
line for demolition, it was learned to-
dav. as soon as construction work Is
finished on the Liberty Loan Building,
adjacent to the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing.
Employes are to be moved from
Annex No. to the Liberty Loan
Building and probably elsewhere as
soon as the two new stories on top Oh
the Liberty Loan Building are com.
pleted. The old Income Tax Building,
which for years has been criticized as
an unsafe place for the millions OF
dollars Of income tax records stored
there, can then be demolished.
Contract for completing the fourth
and fifth stories of the Liberty Loan
Building were let today to the firm
of Skinner & Garrett Of this city in
the amount Of $1S3,597. The bid was
the lowest received by the Treasury.
Commerce Building Longest.
The site for the Department of Com.
merce belongs entirely to the Govern
ment and appears to be in condition
probably to admit the steam shovels
before the site for the Internal
Revenue Building, where there are
several indefinite factors still pending.
On the Commerce site, bounded by
Fourteenth and Fifteenth, b and +
streets, there will be plenty of room
to start excavating when the build.
ings, with the exception of the House
of Detention, and the Treasury annex
are torn down. The Commerce Build.
ing is to be the longest in the National
Capital, even exceeding the length OF
the Capitol Building itself, and it is
likely that even the rough excavation
will take considerable time. The Treas.
ury is eager to get started as soon as
possible.
The Internal Revenue site. south OF
the Post Office Department, Is now
three .fourths occupied. The farmers
market sheds run east and west across
the south half of the site and it ap.
pears to be problematical as to just
when these sheds will be moved. or
where they will be moved to when
they are torn down. 1t seems. to be
the tentative plan to get them out OF
the way about the first of the year.
Meantime the whole market question
is about to be reopened. Center Mar
ket may have to be eliminated soon to
make way for the Department of JUS.
tice.
The northwest square in the site.
bounded by Tenth and Eleventh. Little
B and c streets, is under condemna.
ton proceedings. commissioners hav-
ing reported to the court a figure of
sS15 900 as fair price for government
acquisition. The court has given both
the Treasury and the property owners
until October IA to appeal, If they de-
sire, from the award Of the commits
sioners.
The Public Buildings Commission,
which is next to get the completed
plans for the two buildings, has al.
ready approved, not only the general
plan of the triangle development, but
the explicit sites and the preliminary
designs for the buildings.