Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-24
REMODELED STATE
BUILDING EXPECTED
FOR B|CENTENN|AL
Working Plans to Renovate
Present Structure Are
Given to Treasury.
ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
MAY BE BEGUN IN JUNE
Offices May Be Moved to Edifce
Now Occupied by Com
merce Department.

The remodeled State Department
Building may be sufficiently completed
by 1892 to present very acceptable ap-
pearance to the crowds expected in the
National Capital for the Washington
Bicentennial.
This prospect loomed today as it was
learned that the working plans and
specifications for remodeling the old
State, War and Navy Building have
ury Department by the architect,
Waddy B. Wood Of this city.
Plans Now Being Checked.
These architects plans and specif1ca-
tions now are being Checked" by the
Treasury Department Office Of the SUI
pervising architect and it Is expected
that bids will be asked on the remodel
ing job.
How soon actual construction work
can start depends largely on the moving
out Of the War Department, which oc-
cupieS part Of the structure, and also
on whether the State Department will
remain in the building or be moved
elsewhere while reconstruction Is under
way.
While It is said to be possible 30
carry on the remodeling process with
out removal of people from the Offices
within, there have been tntimations
that Secretary of State StimSon and his
official staff feel that 1t would be bet
ter for them to move to other quarters
during the noise and confusion Of re-
construction.
Moving Of Office Discussed.
There has been some consideration OF
moving the State Department TO the
building which now houses the Depart
ment Of Commerce, at Nineteentn
street and Pennsylvania avenue. But
the time for moving the Department OF
Commerce into its new building, at
Fourteenth and E streets, has not yet
been set. It is now considered likely
the Department of Commerce Will not
move until Fall, while 1t is possible that
reconstruction work on the old state
War and Navy Building will get unoer
way before then.
If bids are advertised soon and suff-
Gent time given bidders to submit their
estimates, and II a contract Is awarded
in regular time without undue delay, II
has been estimated that the earnest
time reconstruction work on the build
ing could start would be next June. But
in case of delay anywhere along the line
The project of remodeling this old
granite structure, however, is known to
be one of the pet projects OF President
Hoover, and 1t is also known that the
Treasury Department and the architect,
Mr.. Wood, have been rushing along the
work on 1t as speedily as has been con-
sistent with good Judgment.
New Plan Resembles Treasury.
The general plans call for changing
the outside of the building so as to
have it correspond in appearance to the
Treasury Department, which TANKS the
White House on the east, as the State,
War and Navy Department TANKS 1t on
the west Both structures are Of granite,
but are now of an entirely different
ing will be very little changed.
How the work will be carried out will
depend to some extent on the nature of
a contract to be awarded by the Treas
ury, but 1t has been indicated that the
corners of the building probably will
come in for first treatment, with the
sides following later Also 1t Is quite
likely that the contractor would work
on one part at time, and at no stage
of the reconstruction would the old
building be in state of remodeling all
around. In other words, 1t Is the gen.
eral plan to tear down nothing until
the new granite stonework Is in here
to replace the old. One part will be
torn down and rebuilt, then another
part, and so on until the job Is finished.
Generally speaking, 1t is expected that
it will take about a year to finish the
job, so that If work starts some time
this Summer or Fall 1t Is likely that
sufficient part of the reconstruction will
be completed by Bicentennial time in
1882 to show the crowds pouring into
Washington how the entire recon-
structed building will appear. The cor
ners and porticos at least will probably
be finished, it Is estimated generally.
This estimate, however, Is based on
progress without delay