Evening star., 1927-05-08
ARCHITECT PLANS
| MUNICIPAL CENTER
Group Between Judiciary
Square and Avenue Urged
for City Activities. e

A suggested scheme for the develop
ment of a municipal center in the sew
eral squares lying between Peunsyl-
vania avenue and Judiciary Square
and Third and Sixth streets, was pre-
pared yesterday by Municipal Arch.
tect Albert l.. Harris. In this area
Mr.. Harris proposes to locate the DIS
tr1ct Building and those municipal ac-
tivities to be forced out of the Penn
sylvania avenue triangle by the public
buildings program.
A sketch of the proposed develop
ment will form one of the principal cx.
hibitS of the District government al
| the Ninteenth annual conference on
city planning which opens tomoErw.
! at Wardman Park Hote:
Has Studied Needs.
| The basis for Mr. Harris scheme
| is an outgrowth of the study he has
made of the District governments
| housing needs as a member of
| special committee appointed by the
| Commissioners to make recommends
tions for the relocation OF the munich
pal activities to be removed from the
| triangle area to make way for the new
| Feleral buildings. Serving with him
on this committee are Tax Assessor
| William p Richards, Auditor Daniel
]. Donovan. Fire Chief George s. Wat
son and Maj. Edwin B. Hesse. super
! intendent of police.
| Mr.. Harris has made no attempt in
| his exhibit sketch to arrange the
/ buildings which he thinks should be
| placed i'm the municipal center, nor To
outline the details of such structures,
| but merely TO show u projected layout
! to cover the four squares in the area
which he confidently believes will be
adequate to meet the District govern
! ments building requirements Tor
many years to come.
| An architectural frontage on both
! Pennsylvania avenue and on Louis
lana and Indiana avenues facing
Judiciary Square and the District Su.
preme Court Building is suggested by
| the municipal architect He would
widen John Marshall place to 360 feet
between building lines. which would
provide grand vista exposing the
courthouse In its architectural beauty
sitting on a hill 80 feet above Penn
| sylvania avenue, C. street through
the area he would make service
thoroughfare for the entire group of
| buildings. The street intersections he
would bridge to form covered con-
nection with the groups of buildings
on either side of the John Marshall
! place boulevard Such bridges. ne
believes, would add materially to the
e3thetic appearance of the buildings
and at the same time would be Of ma
terial utilitarian value.
| The buildings in the municipal cen
| ter. according to Mr. Harris ideas.
| should be monumental in character
though not ornate to any extreme
| They should, in his opinion. harmon
iZe with the courthouse building
which he regards as of immense arch
| itectural value although ii was de-
signed in 1890 by George Hatfield.
Scheme Seriously Considered.
The Commissioners, it is known, are
giving serious consideration To the
| suggested scheme of Mr.. Harris. and
they have directed him to prepare in
detail plan which they could carry
| to Congress at it's next session. ann
perhaps get authorization to carTy'
| it out.
| Maj. l.. K. Atkins, Assistant Engi-
neer Commissioner. is now at work
in conjunction with Tax Assessor
/ Richards, obtaining assessments ON
| the property within the area, with
view to preparing an estimate for
| Congress on the probable cost OF the
squares in which the proposed muni-
| cipal center would be located.
| Just how many buildings II is
| planned to place in the area is a
| detail that has not yet been de-
! termined. Mr.. Harris suggests at
least two buildings for the administra-
! tive offices on the Louisiana and In
diana avenues front overlooking Judi
ciary square with building for the
recorder of deeds, Il central police sta
| tion. "a court building. municipal
garage, welfare center and munic-
ipal lodging house iii the other
| groups.
A suggestion has been made to the
Commissioners that property adjoin-
ing the Police Court building on the
east be acquired for an addition. but
Mr.. Harris believes that the court
should be located in the municip1l
center. The Police, Municipal and
Juvenile Courts, in his opinion, should
be housed in one building.
The detailed plans as to the type
of buildings and their location will be
worked out just as soon as the spe-
cial committee on housing completes
survey to determine how much floor
space is needed To accommodate COM
fortably those activities TO be removed
from the Avenue triangle as we'll as
those now quartered in the District
Building.
uWU1g