Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-19
WISCONSIN AVENUE
ENTRANCE TO CITY
TO Be CONSIDERED
Park and Planning Group to
Discuss Project at No.
vember Meeting.
CHANGES IN BUILDINGS
NEAR CAPITOL TAKEN UP
Owners May Be Asked to Alter
Structures to Fit Sur
roundings.


mental entrance to the Capital at Wis
consin avenue and the District line will
be taken up at the November meeting
of the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission, it was made known
today. with the statement of Capt. E.
NJ Chisholm, jr., the commissions en-
gineer, that he believed this is one of
the most important projects with which
the group must concern itself.
The commission was in recess today
after a joint meeting yesterday with
the Fine Arts Commission, at winch
action was taken looking toward the
solution OF harmonizing the business de-
yelopment on the north side OF Penn
svlvania avenue with the public build
ings going up on the opposite side by
possibly seeking to interest those who
may put up these business buildings.
In this connection, 1t considered asking
the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey TO
DESIGN its building near the Capitol to
/ harmonic with the surrounding build
ingS.
/ In connection with the Wisconsin
avenue entrance, Capt. Chisolm said
today that he proposes to invite irving
G. Root, engineer of the Maryland-Na-
tional Capital Park and Planning Com
/ mission, to appear on Tuesday before
the W PACoSA1
! 1aia EiegS on the problem.
Distribution Necessary.
distribution of the heavy volume of
trafic coming into Washington at that
point is necessary" Capt. Chisolm
asserted while this may be accom-
plished by putting in a circle on Con-
cord at Wisconsin avenue and the Dis
trict Line, to distribute the various lines
of traffic that will converge at that
point, definite plans remain to be
worked OUT
Western avenue, which runs into Wis
consin avenue at the District line, Is
now being paved and its relation to the
flow of traffic will have to be con-
Sidered by the commission.
The project of having monumental
entrances to Washington has engaged
the attention of the commission for
some time and active plans are now
afoot to have such development at
Sixteenth street and the District line.
Postpone Name Action.
Another matter the commission de-
cided to put over until November
was the simplification of park names In
washington and the avoiding OF dupli-
cations In the interim, each member
of the commission will be given copy
of a report on this subject submitted
DIV NdDb. anu ~ LIZ WAtAA,
landscape architect of the commission.
This report was somewhat modified by
the park committee of the ONCE of
Public Buildings and Public Parks,
which committee is headed by @. E.
Clark, head of the surveying and draft
ing section of the engineering division
of the office.
Progress was reported on dwellings,
IN alleys in washington.
w. T. Partridge, consulting architect
TO the park commission, presented
series of sketches to the joint meet
ing yesterday showing the relation
of the proposed District municipal
center to surrounding buildings, beauti-
ned to match the Governments i'm
posing structures on the south side OF
the Avenue. Capt. z. N. Chisolm, jr.,
the park commissions engineer, ex-
planned that at present the Govern
ment does not own the land between
Second and Third streets, on the north
side of the famous thoroughfare.
FavOrs Supervision.
The American Institute of Architects.
at its convention here, went on record
as favoring control over building OPP
erations on the north side of Penn
sylvania avenue, opposite the triangle
expansion, to bring harmony into the
plan. The Chicago chapter of the in
Stitute some time ago laid before the
park commission sketches showing a
proposed scheme of treatment for the
erection of private structures.
The aid of Henry Ford, as well as
the Standard Oil Co., may likewise be
sought, as both these firms now operate
buildings, representative of their in
tereStS, on the north side of Pennsyl-
Vania avenue, in the vicinity OF the pro-
posed municipal center.
Parking and transportation problems
in the triangle, when some 10000 peo-
pie are placed in the new Government
buildings there, came up for general
discussion, but nothing definite was
( recommended at this time, the two
commissions preferring to give further
thought to the whole situation. Capt
Chisolm said that he did not think
that the street car tracks would be
: taken of Pennsylvania avenue. He de-
clared that additional street car con-
nections would likely be necessary
around the new buildings some Of
which are now under construction.
Consider Memorial Site.
The spotlight of attention was thrown
upon the proposed memorial to oscar
Straus, former Secretary of Commerce,
and while there was nothing tangible
recommended, the bodies were advised
that hackers of the project feel that
the site of Polls Theater, on Pennsyl-
Vania avenue between Fourteenth and
Fifteenth streets, is one of the de-
sirable locations for the memorial A
park is to be constructed at that point
The proposed bridge across the Wash
ington Channel, southeast of the rail-
road bridge near the Bureau of En-
craving and Printing, to relieve traffic
congestion by giving another outlet from
Potomac Park, again bobbed up for
discussion. Commission members agreed
to give further study to this problem.
It was pointed out that this bridge
would not interfere with navigation.
Plans for cascade on the Capitol
grounds, outlined by L'Enfant, were re-
called for their historical value by Mr.
Partridge, but a spokesman for the
park commission said that this is not
now being seriously considered.
The route of the Mount Vernon High
way, now about to be constructed, was
explained to the joint body by members
of the staff of the park commission
Attention was given to the proposed
parkway study connecting the Shepherd
Parkway with Fort Washington.