Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-03
Fine Arts Commission Plans
Great Municipal Area
for District.
OFFICIALS WILL HEAR
SCHEME SEPTEMBER is
Land From Third to Seventh
Streets, Between Courthouse and
Avenue, Would Pc Used.

Three new buildings devoted to
municipal activities of the District of
Columbia will form the major archi-
tectural features of the District civic
center under plans forming in the
minds of members of the Commission
Of Fine Arts. to be laid before the Dis
trict Commissioners at a meeting at
the District Building September 16.
With the plan for a great civic center
in Chicago constantly in mind, heroic
scheme involving nearly a score of
city squares in the Illinois city. mem
bers of the fine arts body believe
Washington should provide for future
municipal growth in the Capital by
enlarging the present plan for the
proposed civic center and at the same
time provide for housing the existing
municipal enterprises which are sched-
uled to go from the triangle when the
Federal building program gets we'll
under way.
1t may be many years before the
present District Building will have to
be removed from the triangle to
make way for Federal buildings. But
even now it has been outgrown by the
constantly increasing needs of the
District government, and both the
Commissioners and members of the
Fine Arts Commission believe now is
the time to begin planning a civic
center to take care of the enlarged
demands of the municipal govern
nent.
Area May Be Too Small.
Plans for the civic center prepared
in the Office of the municipal architect
call for a comparatively small area
from John Marshall place to Sixth
street in an east and west direction,
and from Pennsylvania avenue nearly
to Indiana avenue in a north ana
south direction to be included in the
area to be given over to the civic
center. Fine Arts Commission officials
believe this area may be found to be
too small to permit of the massive
treatment demanded of a civic center
for the National Capital, and may
even not fit with the physical needs OF
the District a score of years hence.
when the enlarged activities Of the
municipal government make 1t plain
that larger municipal administrative
headquarters will be needed.
The plan taking form under Fine
Arts Commission auspices would take
in the entire area from Third street
to Seventh street. and from Pennsyl-
vania avenue to Indiana and Louis
lana avenues, creating a great civic
center stretching for four blocks along
the three avenues, fronting on the
present District Municipal Court
Building and including in its scope at
least three new buildings to house
municipal activities. There are a
new administrative building for the
District government, a new Police
I'd n hnQHnfI4r-
ters building. In addition, structure
to house the Office of recorder or
deeds may be constructed, under the
plans in mind.
Moore Is Leading Factor.
These plans in their enlarged form
are virtually certain to be drought
before the. joint meeting on Septenl-
Der Is. Charles Moore, chairman or
the Commission of Fine Arts, was a
leading factor in the compilation or
plans for the Chicago civic center and
is represented as feeling that Wash
ington, on a more modest scale EFT
ting the size of the city, should at
tack the civic center problem on a
scale which will not only provide for
present needs, but will make room
available for expansion.
Although no appropriation is avail
able. the new Police Court building
site has been decided upon. to front
on judiciary Square, near the present
Municipal Court building. Early con-
struction of this building may be held
up to fit in with the proposed civic
center plans.
All the buildings to form the civic
center group, under the plans to be
laid down in mid-September, will front
on a great square. from whose center
avenues will radiate out to fit into
the highway scheme of the city. In
asmuch as the United States Capitol
is in the geographic center of the
city, that site is not available for a
civic center site, and municipal off,
cials, as well as officers of the fine
arts body, are disposed to make the
new civic center fit as closely to the
present judicial. center as possible,
bringing the courts and the admins
trative headquarters of the District
Government into one central location.