Evening star., 1927-05-10
PENNSYLVANIA AVE.
CHANGE PROPOSED
Moving South Side in Line
With District Building
Virtually Agreed On.

Federal conferees and advisers on
the public buildings program were
virtually agreed today that it would
be feasible to move the south side
of PENNSYLVANIA avenue so as to run
due West in line with the District
of Columbia building into the park
way South of the Treasury Depart
ment.
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Dewey, in charge of the District pub
lie building program for the depart
ment, emphasized that this was the
general feeling of the conferees, but
that it was not an official decision.@.
The city planners, who included
representa- atives from the Treasury,
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission and the Fine Arts
Commission, also took up the plan to
group the buildings on the so-called
big triangle on a big court, tying
all the buildings on the rim together.
The project of the whole Federal
program, however, in it's present state
is SO extensive and SO many interest
ing and valuable proposals have been
brought forward. it was explained
that many more conferences will be
necessary before any final decision
can be reached.
Points of View Harmonized.
The conference was understood to
have been successful in harmoniZing
to some extent the points of view
represented, towards developing an
even greater building program for the
big triangle.
Although the general feeling was
represented as favoring d more eX-
tehsive development of traffic arteries
and plaza at the Treasury end Cf the
Pennsylvania avenue vista from the
Capitol, the exact nature of this new
development will have 10 be worked
out.
Adoption of broader avenue, d.
verted avenue, a plaza or parkway
at this point between the District
Building and the Treasury would dis
place the proposed Department of JUS
tice Building, which had been planned
for the southeast corner of Pennsyl-
vania avenue and Fifteenth street op-
posite the Treasury, on the site of
Polls Theater. If the new program
is carried through site for the De-
partment of Justice would have to be
found elsewhere.
The Treasury is under the neces'
sity, however, of getting decision
on the matter of the building pro-
gram, so that it may go ahead with
actual construction to house Federal
agencies crowded for space.
Commissions Approval Needed.
Should the original plans adopted
by the Public Buildings Commission
before adjournment of Congress be al
tered to accommodate some of the
ideas discussed at today's conference
of the city planners, the new plan
would necessarily have to be ap-
proved by the commission before ac-
tual operations could proceed.
Louis Ayres of the architectural
firm of York & Sawyer, who have the
contract for sketches for the new De
partment of Commerce building at
the west end of the triangle at Fif-
teenth street, is in the city today,
and ready to take up study OF the
new problems presented by the new
considerations introduced. He will
probably remain for several days.
The conference at the Treasury to-
day was largely attended. Among
those representing their various inter-
ests We're Assistant Secretaries Dewey
and Schuneman of the Treasury,
James A. Wetmore, supervising archi-
tect; Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant, Sd, of
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission; Abram Garfield of
Cleveland Fine Arts Commission, Ed
ward II. Bennett of Chicago. consult
ing architectural adviser to Secretary
NJ