Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1929-10-10
WASHINGTON HOLDS
TO OLD ART IDEALS
Bizarre Design Avoided in
Nations Building.

Wasbington.-Wh New York arch
fleets are favoring Babylonian, cubic /
and Egyptian pyramidal effects for
buildings that climb ever higher Into |
the skies, planners Of the nations
capital are abiding strictly by the old
ideals of Roman domes and Greek |
columns and leaning toward long horl-
zontal lines.
With a S50,Oo0,O00 public building
program now well launched and varl-
Gus projects now visible in model or
under construction, it is apparent that
the fine arts commission and the
responsible architects have not been
swayed by the trend elsewhere toward
bizarre and novel forms.
Agitation for increase in the Wash. |
ington height Limitation has not been
needed, so the capital will not soon
be listed among the cities that boast
"sky line" The official planning,
according to authoritative spokesman,
is strictly in conformance with the
plan for the federal city originally
prepared by the French engineer
Pierre Charles L'Enfant, under the
direction of President washington.
The L'Enfant plan embraced ideas
in city design derived from the French
royal city of Versailles, planned for
Louis XIV by his architects in asso-
citation with LIE Notre, greatest Of
landscape architects. The original
plan was REDEEMED by congressional
authority with some changes in 1901,
| but in its major features accords with
architectural and landscape principles
established In the earliest days Of the
| American republic.
Fine Arts Commission.
In 1910 congress created the com.
mission of fine arts, to be consulted
concerning questions of art involved
in congressional appropriations. This
body, consisting of distinguished
architects and artists, has thrown
the weight of its influence toward
classical styles, so that the capital
has tended to develop along monu-
mental lines.
Congress and civic enthusiasts here
are now exerting their efforts to
promote building and highway con-.
struction and general Identification
to the maximum possible point for
the bicentenary of the birth of George
Washington, which occurs February %,
1882. By that time the permanent
housing of all major governmental
institutions will be under way or
definitely envisaged, and the long
dreamed-of unified scheme of parks
and boulevards will have taken long
forward steps.
At the present time so-called
"fifty-milion-dollar building pro-
gram" is in progress. That amount
has been authorized by congress, but
only S10,000,000 is actually approprl-
ated annually. Buildings under con-
struction are those of the Department
of Agriculture, near completion; the
Department of Commerce, the bureau
of internal revenue, and'ran addition
to the government printing office.
buliuluSS pIauueu, Dut HUI YET uh-
der construction, include new homes
for the Department Of Labor, the In
terstate Commerce commission and the
Department of Justice. There will
also be an Independent offices build
ing, and a national archives building
for the storage of public documents.
Arlington Memorial Bridge.
There now approaches completion
across the Potomac river the second
great bridge of monumental type, the
Arlington memorial bridge, to connect
the Lincoln memorial with the Ar
llngton estate. This building Is in
tended to symbolic the union OF
North and South, and will be ready
, for use in 1890. An earlier monu-
8 mental bridge, the Francis Scott Key
bridge, commentaries the author OF
the national anthem, "The Star
Spangled Banner" and Its George
town terminus was near his former
n home.
: The completion of the Arlington
: memorial bridge, at cost OF $l4,-
100000, will mark the greatest single
, physical Improvement In Washington
during recent years, and will facilI-
q tate further development of boule-
ward and parking plans.