Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-16
District National Guard

Some little improvement in the armory
facilities for the National Guard of the
District of Columbia is expected from
the ALLEGATION to the local troops of the
National Hotel Building. located on the
northeast corner of Cixth street and
Pennsylvania avenue. Announcement
OF the successful conclusion of negotia-
lions which have been going on for
several weeks was made public at the
brigade headquarters of the Guard last
week, together with the statement that
It Is expected to have the Militia ac-
tivities in the building by March / next.
About all the Guard will get by the
new move will be more space, to relieve
the existing crowded conditions in the
present armory. which was one of the
war-time-built Government hotel build
tngs on the Union Station Plaza. How
ever, there is one large room SO by 80
feet, but this will not be satisfactory
for drill hall. and the troops still will
have to do their marching in the open.
It is hoped to obtain permission from
the director of the ONCE of Public Build
tngs and Public Parks of the National
Capital for the use of public park space
IN the vicinity of Sixth street, in the
Mall.
The hotel building has just been taken
over by the Government, and ultimately
Is to be RACED to form part of the site
for tn proposed new municipal center
Pending a realization of this fact, per-
mission was granted for its use by the
Guard. The local Militia will occupy
the entire building, except for the space
occupied by the stores on the street
level. 1t was pointed out that these are
under lease, and there is no disposition
on the cart OF the Government to dis
possess the tenants. However. there
will be enough room in the building for
the Guard without the use of this
space.
While there has been before Congress
for years legislation proposing the con-
Struction Of q new building here for the
permanent use of the Guard, no no.
ticeable results have been obtained, and
the suggestion is made that it would be
very appropriate to have a new building
for the Guard located in the space now
being acquired for the sites of the pro-
posed new municipal government build
lngs in the area between Third and
Sixth streets, and Pennsylvania, Louisi-
ana and Indiana avenues. The Militia
Is local activity, despite the fact that
II has been called Federal institution
because Of its location In the District
OF Columbia. But it was pointed out
that 1t occupies the same status toward
the City of Washington as the Militias
OF the various States do to them.
There Is bill now pending in Con-
greSs which provides for the acquisition
OF the washington Auditorium for the
National Guard for use as an armory,
but 1t Is doubted whether this measure
Will have any more success than pre-
Vious measures providing for an arm
DRY for the local troops, which for sew
eral decades have been shunted around
from one old building to another where
they might receive their training under
the most unsatisfactory conditions. An
other building suggested for an armory
and which would be ideal, according to
Guard officers, is the Pension Office
Building, now occupied by the general
accounting office, but which is to be
provided for in one Of the proposed
structures in the Avenue triangle
project.
The use of the National Hotel will
make it more easy of access for the
members of the Guard. as it is located
close to all means of transportation,
especially the bus lines running into
the city from Maryland and Virginia.
There will be some work to be done
on the building before the Guard ac-
tually moves in, such as cleaning and
painting, and some alterations. 1t was
said that it will not be possible to
knock cut any of the partitions be-
tween the guest rooms to make larger
as they are Of brick. How
ever, it is believed that it will be pos
sible TO provide archways to make the
rooms communicating, so that q suite
may be assigned to each unit.
The brigade headquarters ofices are
20 be located on the second floor OF
the hotel building, it was said, and
the mezzanne floor will be used for
the establishment of an indoor rife
gallery and assembly rooms for troops
The entire third floor of the structure
will be allotted to the 12lst Regiment
of Engineers. Part of the fourth fiool
also will be given over to the use Of
this unit, and on the latter floor also
will be located the 29th Division
troops, including the headquarters de-
tachments and the military police.
The Guard still will keep the build
ing which it has rented for storage
of the property now in use. because OF
the fact that there is no large storage
space available in the hotel structure
and, further, because of the fact tina
the present storage building has space
for the parking of the large amount o.
motor equipment assigned to the guard
Tn ALLEGATION, Of the hotel building
60 the Guard cannot mean the ending
Of years of efforts looking toward thu
requirement of a permanent building
because of the fact that the plans cal
for the demolition of this building Il