Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24
FOUNTAINS DOUBLE
FOR WAD|NC POOLS
Children Find Relief From
Heat in Small Parks De-
spite Lack of Facilities.

With only a few widely scattered
swimming and wading pools avail
able on city Fairgrounds to give thou
sands OF children in Washington a re-
freshing dip on these Midsummer
days, the youngsters are being per-
nitted TO splash in many of the park
fountains again this year.
Although Lieut.. Col. L. S. Grant.
Sd. director of public buildings and
parks. does not believe it would be
proper to have park fountains develop
into permanent wadinS places, he is
disposed TO allow The carefree Riddles
to paddle in some Of these park basins
as an expedient until the District of
Columbia is adequately provided with
regular bathing facilities.
Fountains Again i'm Use.
And the way the boys and girls who
are fortunate enough to live near one
OF these small parks flock around the
fountains on warm days to paddle
and play under the cool spray empha
sizes once more the advisabilitY of
pushing forward in Congress toward
adequate bathing facilities for both
young and old.
During the World War and for sew
eral years thereafter. while Washing
ton was waiting for the enlargement
of its water supply system. il was
necessary to conserve filtered water
in every way. and the fountains stood
dry. Since the Summer Of 1925, how
ever it has been found possible TO
turn on a considerable number of
them, restoring one of the attractive
features OF the park system of the
Capital.
This season cool sprays are spark
ling from IS fountains all over the
city ard IN approximately half of
them gleeful. barefoot children are
being allowed TO take advantage OF
the shallow basins as wading pools.
Sprinkler Pipes May Follow.
The District Government has not
put in use thus far this Summer the
score Of sprinkler pipes that were set
up on the streets last year TO give
children a shower on hot days. AL
though they may be set up later if
the temperature scars, a definite de-
cision has not been reached.
These sprinklers, pieces Of perfo
rated pipe mounted on wooden frames
and attached TO fire plugs, also were
in the nature Of an expedient pending
the establishment of adequate bathing
facilities. officials found it difficult
last year to place the Sprinklers where
they would not give rise to COM
plants.
Mrs. Susie Root Rhodes, supervisor
of Fairgrounds, believes the best way
TO use the sprinklers would be TO in
stall them inside the Fairgrounds. If
that could be done. she pointed out,
1t would eliminate the objections that
arise when the showers az erected on
the streets and at the same time
would keep the children under the
watchful eye of a playground super
visor. The supervisors, Mrs. Rhodes
said, could see to it that a child did
not remain under the spray too long
and would remind the youngsters to go
home for dry clothes as soon as they
finished playing under the sprinkler.
Difficulties Are Encountered.
There is some question, however, az
to whether the water outlets on the
Fairgrounds would give sufficient
pressure to operate the sprinklers
satisfactorily. 1t also would be neces-
sary to build small platforms in the
Fairgrounds beneath the sprinkler.
Setting up Of the sprinklerS on the
dirt surfaces of the Fairgrounds would
make the yards muddy and interfere
With 20 regular municipal play
grounds and AZ school yards running
as Summer play centers, the depart
ment has only five wading pools and
three swimming pools. OF this num-
Der two Of the swimming pools and
four Of the wading basins are on
white grounds, with one swimming
and one wading pool on the colored
grounds. These numbers do not in
clude the municipal pool on the Monu-
n1ent Grounds.
Mrs. Rhodes believes there should
he either a swimming or wading pool
on every playground. The few the
Fairgrounds Department has been
able to obtain appropriations for are
used to capacity by the children who
live near enough to make use Of them.
Work to Start Soon.
The National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission has a detailed plan
for the building up OF chain of bath
ing centers, the first two of which
have been appropriated for and will be
started before the present Summer
ends.
Specifications for the first two pools
are being prepared now and bids
probably will be sought within a few
weeks. It will not be possible to build
them in time for use this Summer, but
they will be in full readiness for serv-
ice early next year. OF the first two
bathing centers the one for the white
population will be on the grounds of
the new Mckinley High School, near
Second and r streets northeast, and
one for Colored near a new colored
junior high school, at Twenty-fourth
and n streets northwest.
The Park Commission b1S picl,ad
out seven other sites for additional
bathing centers, on the theory that
these facilities should be accessible
TO all parts Of the city, but the legis-
lation thus far enacted has authorized
only two pools, the money for which
is now available. 1t is virtually Ger.
tain, therefore, that the next Con.
gress will be asked to turn it's at.
tention again to the question Of pro-
vlding Washington with adequate,
safe and supervised bathing facilities
q problem that has occupied public
attention continuously since the large
Tidal Basin Beach was dismantled
several Summers ago.
May Need New Law.
Tho Office of Public Buildings and
Parks believes it will need another
authorizing law before additional
poolS IN InS proposed cndln can De
provided for. 1t is understood to be
the intention OF officials Of that Office
TO leave it to the appropriations COM
mittees Of the Senate and House to
determine how many more bathing
pool centers should be provided for
in the next annual supply bill.
Col. Grant is proceeding carefully
with the designing and planning Of
the first two pools. on which con-
struction soon will be started, because
* Congress approves the Park Com
mission program for a chain Of such
water .recreational centers these plans
will serve as a standard for future
pools. The pools are being designed