Evening star., 1928-12-31
URGES u. S. PURCHASE AREA
FOR PARK DEVELOPMENT
Commission Makes Study of Cateways
to Capital City With View to
Improving Portals.

streets which have never been built
and which exist only on map and
only parts of which are in public own
erShip yet. when a better and cheaper
way of giving the same traffic con-
nection can be found, seems so mani
fest as to require no argument. De-
velopment of those highways which
bear the heaviest traffic also was un-
dertaken by the commission.
The population density also was
studied by the commission during the
year, and plans were made looking to
its dispersion. Comment was made
that regulation affecting the density.
such as is contained in the New York
zoning ordinance, may have to be re-
sorted to here.
Its consistent opposition before the
Zoning Commission of increase in
heights in buildings in limited areas
was followed during the year. It was
pointed out that among the important
reasons for resisting these proposed
waivers of building heights is to have
the Capitol dominate in the Federal
city. Such would not prevail if great
heights were allowed in the private
buildings.
Park Additions Planned.
The commission laid down plan
during the year for additions to the
park system, outlining them in two
phases: First, neighborhood recreation
centers, as to which the ultimate aim
should be to provide local recreational
facilities reasonably adequate in extent
and character and reasonably accessible
to every residential neighborhood in
the District of Columbia; and second
other park facilities within the Dis
trict of Columbia, of more than local
service, each more or less unique, and
such as are appropriate to the Capital
of the United States.
Increase of the area included In
Rock Greek Park, to include all the
steep slopes of the main valley, as
well as lateral valleys, such as Piney
Branch and Broad Branch, so far as
they are conspicuously visible from the
main valley or are needed as parkway
entrances to it, were recommended by
the commission
Considerable land was acquired bv
the commission during the year, which
again found itself hampered by the
limitation of Congress that it could
not pay more than Is per cent more
than the assessed value of land.
The land purchases include:
Two parcels of land in Potomac
Heights, to be used as a part of the
proposed parkway along the Potomac
PallSadeS above Georgetown; land for
School and neighborhood playground
north of the Reservoir School: pur-
chases of land in Foundry Branch to
permit continuance of a parkway from
Massachusetts, avenue to the Potomac
River In Georgetown, in continuation
OF the park lands donated by Mrs.
Anne Archbold and c. C. Glover: ad-
dltlonal land acquired for the George
town playground; additional land for
the Chevy Chase playground, making
a total of IA acres in this project; pur-
chase of additional parcels of land for
Plney Branch parkway; Fort Stevens,
where Lincoln stood during the attack
on Washington during the Civil War;
playground lands at Fourteenth and
Kalnia streets; the site of Fort Slocum,
another Civil War fort; additions to
the lexington Recreation Center; Tur-
key Thicket playground, in Brookland;
Fort Bunker Hill, in Brookland; land
for the Burroughs Recreation Center, at
South Dakota avenue and Otis street
northeast; purchases for the Langdon-
Woodbridge park; Fort Mahan, in Ben
ming; continuation of the acquisition of
lands between Fort Dupont and the
Anacostia River; additions to Fort
Stanton lands for the development of
Shepherd parkway, south of st. Eliza
beth's Hospital.
Building Control Sought.
The commission developed proposed
legislation during the year and submit
ted it to Congress which would give the
Government control of the exterior ap-
pearance of buildings fronting on Gov
ernment reservations; proposed
change in the condemnation machinery,
designed to speed up methods said to
cause serious delays, and measure de-
signed to remove the 125 per cent re-
striction on land purchases.