Evening star., 1927-04-03
NEW PARK TO GET
BUCHANAN STATUE
Meridian Hill Tract to Be
Made Into FairyIand
After July |.

Out of the waste of gravel and dirt
that now mars the lower end of
Meridian Hill Park, near w street,
will begin to rise, after July /, an
artistic arrangement of gardens and
statues of national heroes that has
no counterpart in Washington. On
July 1, when an appropriation Of ap
proximately 100000 becomes avail
able, engineers of the National Cap
ital Park and CLAIMING Commission
will begin construction of a veritable
fairy garden, in its center a gigantic
rejecting pood, on its east side mon
umental statue to President James
Buchanan, and on its western side
formal garden.
The statue of President Buchanan
now nearing completion in Baltimore,
is the outstanding feature Of the low
er garden conception. Other features
still lack official approval, although
included in the plans of the archi
tects as integral parts of the lower
garden development are a series of
small cascades, rising from a point
near the present Jeanne dare statue
and tumbling in an Overwhelming
stream into the central rejecting pool.
approximately opposite the home OF
Mrs. James B. Henderson.
In and around the monuments and
walks with which the lower gardens
are to be covered. will be built an
Italian garden, modelled much after
that on the Pontine Hill in Rome.
The whole design, whose composition
in general has been approved by the
National Commission of Fine Arts, but
lacks approval in certain details, is
the work of Horace w. Peaslee, Wash
ington architect, developed from the
xN,1{ {erS@n Arfexx ~
with the collaboration of the firm Of
Vitals, Brinckerhoff & Geiffert, land
scape architects.
Funds I'm 1928 Bill.
One hundred thousand dollars is
carried in the 1928 District appro-
priation bill for the general work un-
der general expenses for public parks.
A sum not to exceed sos, 900 is to be
spent for Improvement of Meridian
Hill Park and construction Of retain
ing walls on Fifteenth. Sixteenth and
w streets. This also will cover
grading. A sum not to exceed $1,000
is to be spent for professional sery-
ment empoy, while an additional
$12 500 will become available for erec-
ton of minor walls and structures.
The whole conception is one Of beauty
and carries out the purpose of Con-
gress expressed many years ago for
creating in the park area a series Of
gardens to match those Of other
ca pitfalls.
The entire matter will receive the
attention Of the Commission of Fine
Arts at its two-day meeting, April IA
and Is. The commission now feels
that the approved plan should be car
{nI f.75f haf ad
should be made of the design for the
lower garden.
Romance surrounds the provision
for placing the statue of President
Buchanan in Meridian Hill Park The
subject of acrimonious debate i'm the
Senate by two Senators now dead.
considerable opposition TO erection Of
statue to President Buchanan de-
veloped a decade ago. For many
months the Buchanan statue was the
center of heated controversy, which
also partook of partisanship in the
upper House of Congress. The fight
to prevent it's construction in Meridian
| Hill Park was led by the late Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts,
backed by the late Senator Philander
G Knox of Pennsylvania. The latter
| finally withdrew his opposition after
months of argument. and a joint reso.
| luton permitting erection Of the Blu
chanan statue in the park was passed
| in June, 1918.
| Woman Gives Statue.
| The statue and the surrounding
stone architecture is the gift of an in
! dividual--Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnson
| of Baltimore, a nephew of President
Buchanan. Mrs Johnson died in Bal
/ timore in 1908. leaving two bequests
touching on President Buchanan ir
her will. Calderon Carlisle and H
Francis Riggs of Washington and
Lawrason Riggs of Baltimore Were
named executors of the viii. Under
the terms of one of the bequests they
put up a memorial to Buchanan al
his birthplace. Stony Batter. west oi
| Mercersburg, Pa, and instituted steps
looking toward erection of the Blu
chanan statue in Washington under
the second bequest. Mrs. Johnson:
| will also directed the executors to Sc
cure from Congress a site and permits
sion TO erect in Washington a statue
to Mrs. Johnson's distinguished uncle
The matter was taken up with tht
| Commission of Fine Arts shortly aftel
It's creation in 1910. and almost imme
diafely opposition to the erection of {
Buchanan statue developed Senator
John Walter Smith of Maryland Wig
orously backed the enabling act. an'
after prolonged opposition from Sena
/ tors Lodge and Knox. the bill wa
passed The Senators from Massachu
setts and Pennsylvania claimed tina
! President Buchanan had laid himsel
open TO the charge of traitor. an,
that it was not fitting TO commemc
rate his memory by erection of
statue TO him in Washington. A
soon as the enabling act was passe
LaWra son Riggs got in communicable
with the Fine Arts Commission. an
submitted a design forxhe statue "a