Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06
GLOVER PARKWAY
INTEGRITY SOUGHT
Move to Prevent Cutting Up
Tract by Streets Is to Be
Made This Week.
BY WILLIAM J. WHEATLEY.


| within the Glover Parkway. George
| town. and the so-called Hill property.
the latter adjoining Fort Dupont. from
the Jurisdiction of the District to the
office OF public buildings and public
! parks, will be sought this week. for
the purpose OF insurinG that at some
future date these parks will not I've
cut by streets into reservations of one
square or less each. The proposition
| will be put sQuarely up to the Com
missioners in order to settle for all
time the dual authority over some OF
! the park areas.
The Glover Parkway. so-called, was
ceded by Charles G. Glover, for park
purposes and while IL is generally be-
| lieved by the public to be one tract, 1t
| was disclosed at the Office or public
buildings and public parks that it is
| a series Of nine separate and distinct
| reservations, varying in size from one
| square down to less than half a block.
| 1t Ia true that It is an unimproved
area, and outwarxily appears az q
| great single tract, but there are pro
| jected streets in the area laid down
! In the highway plan for the city.
These streets are held by the Dis.
| trict, and there is nothing to prevent
| any Board of Commissioners from
! opening them, as they were dedicated
! by the owner for this purpose. The
| question TO be put up to the Commits
| sioners Is that of returning the land
! to the present owners of the property,
which in this case is the Federal Gov
| eminent.
Situation Is Explained.
This condition. it is explained. was
| brought about in the following man.
| ner. When the offer was made 10
cede the property as a parkway, the
matter was put up to the District
| Commissioners, and in the District
| surveyors office a plat was made Of
the tract. In making the plat the sur
veyors drew off the lines taken up by
| the streets, and this plat was made
part Of the official record in the trans
/ fer, so that all Of the ground not taken
up with streets in the area coded was
given as a parkway, and the reSerya-
! lions appear on the plat books as Off
cially numbered reservations only.
1t should be explained, of course.
| that Mr.. Glover intended to give it
as a parkway, and the condition was
| brought about by the dual exercise
of authority during the period of the
| transfer-that is. the District govern
| ment and the Federal Government,
| The streets now on the highway
| plan which would run through the
| property are Cathedral avenue, from
| Forty second street westward for
about 600 feet; New Mexico avenue,
from Forty-second street, northwest
| erly for a distance of about 800 feet;
| Arizona avenue. all the way through
| the tract from Massachusetts avenue
to Reservoir road, for approximately
| the distance of one mile, Wyoming
avenue, Calvert and Edmunds streets
lr feat do hnr So
also provided in the plat one public
alley 20 feet in width.
| 1t was pointed out that If the Dis
| trict Commissioners ceded this street
! land back TO the owners, then 1t will
| be one solid tract, and 1t may then
be improved with winding roads and
| otherwise treated as a parkway, and
would prevent the opening of the
streets through a demand from any
source at some later date, IL 1t were
sought.
Hill Property Similar.
| Much the same situation applies
| to the Hill property recently pur-
/ chased in the eastern section of the
| city. adjacent to Fort Dupont, and
| which eventually will form parkway
connecting that old Civil War outpost
with Anacostia Park. 1t is through
| this area that it is proposed to ex-
| tend a section of the proposed fort
drive, destined to connect up all the
| Civil War posts in and around Wash
| ington in one continuous roadway.
When this land was purchased,
however, 1t had already been subdiv-
! ided into lots by the owners, and the
| Federal Government in making the
purchase bought distinct lots compos,
| ing the entire area, aggregating with
| in its outside boundaries 33 acres of
! land. The streets here had been dedi-
Gated and they include g street, run
| ming through the entire tract; Gorma
| place, one square. and Thirty-fourth,
| Thirty-f1fth and Thirty.sixth streets
for a distance of two squares as well
as Cathell place, for one square, and
several PUBLIC alleys.
These streets are not opened but
are merely part of the highway
plan, and it was pointed out the only
| way to insure their closing is to trans
| fer the land TO the agency which CON
| trolls the greater part of the tract In
| this area are nine acres given over
| to streets, and the remaining "a acres
are in squares originally subdivided
| into lots.
Have Authority to Act.
! The Norment tract in Georgetown
also has certain streets included in it
which are on the highway plan, but
| this matter will be left until decision
/ is reached on the Glover and Hill
properties, which will be sufficient to
| bring the matter to a head. There
appears to be no doubt of the author
| ty of the Commissioners to transfer
| this land, as it was pointed out in the
| legal department of the National Cap
ital Park and Planning Commission
that lands are constantly being coded
back and forth between the two gov
ernments to meet certain purposes
| and conditions, and it Is believed that
a transfer OF the streets in the park
areas mentioned will not only work
| to the best interests of the people, but
| will provide for treatment and i'm
provement as parks without fear that
| In the future some effort may be made
to force the opening of the highways
within them as now laid down on the
plat books.
Officials are not unmindful of the
consistent refusal of the District Gov
| eminent in the past to cede to the
| Federal Government certain roadWays
in Rock Creek Park. 1t is not gem
orally known that some OF the roads
running through this big parkway are
controlled by the District. while others
are controlled by the Federal Govern
ment, which also controls the park.
One official of the parks office when
asked what roads in the park were
| controlled by the District, suggested
that they might be easily determined
by driving through the park.
They could be ascertained, he said,
by comparing their surfaces with the
condition of many Washington streets
The parks office is willing to take over
and maintain these roadways. Mill.
| farN rnad one of the rnnSt 1ICnd