Evening star., 1932-03-28
PARK LOSS HEAVY
AS RAINS DAMAGE
TREES AND ROADS
Rock Creek Is SWeIIed to
Nine Feet Above Nor
NAL Level.
BENCHES ARE CARRIED
INTO POTOMAC RIVER
Two Months of Repair Work Is
Estimated and Appropriations
Will Suffer.

Torrential rains of yesterday and last
night caused considerable damage to
trees in the parks, flooded Rock Creek
to about nine feet above normal and
swept number of benches out of Rock
Greek Park down into the Potomac
River.
The road in the Rock Greek and Po-
tomac Parkway underneath the arch at
Massachusetts, avenue was lifted by the
flood waters bodily off its foundation,
and the water spurted through in spots
in the highway. The new Lyons Mill
Bridge, forming the bridal path above
@ street was badly damaged.
Frank T. GartSide, chief of the Park
Division of the Office of Public Build
ingS and Public Parks, today described
the recent blizzard, accompanied by a
snowstorm, and the two recent rain
storms as the most destructive in latter
years. 1t will take at least two months
to repair the damage by these three
storms, he said, as they represent loss
of one-siXth of the years work, and
there is large amount of Improvement
1900 Trees Lost.
In the three storms, he asserted, 200
trees have been lost and much work
will be necessary to take up the stumpS
and haul them away. A large number
of evergreens have been blown over and
will have to be Strengthened. The
storms have caused a complete stoppage
of the drainage systems in the parks.
One freak of last nights storm was
the sliding down of a tree across a
vertical embankment of some 40 feet,
landing the tree upright in roadway
above the @ Street Bridge. A large
number of earthen embankments have
been washed out by the heavy rains.
This morning, Mr.. Gartside said,
Rock Creek has Subsided considerably
but is still about feet above normal.
Bench Is Salvaged.
Workmen of the Office of Public
Buildings and Public Parks this morn
ing salvaged a park bench that was
being swept down into the Potomac
River past the Titanic Memorial, at
the foot of New Hampshire avenue, after
it had been washed down through Rock
Greek. Just how many benches nave
been lost, the officials have not yet
been able to determine.
The emergency work necessitated by
the three storms will cut the appro-
priations for park maintenance by about
10 per cent, First Lieut. F. B. Butler,
and Public Parks, asserted today.
With fair weather in prospect for to-
night and tomorrow, Weather Bureau
officials disclosed today. the rainfall
from early Saturday night until .
O'Clock this morning amounted to 2.26
inches, or nearly equal to the average
total for the entire month Of March
over a period of years.
There was a trace OF snow this
morning.
Much of the week end precipitation
came last night The total for the IL
hour period beginning at O'Clock last
night was 184 inches. The total of
586 so far this month has been exceed
ed only seven times since 1871. The
average rainfall for March is 2.56
inches.
The record for March was estab-
lished in 1891 with total of 8.84
inches.
The forecast:
Fair tonight and Tuesday Lowest
temperature tonight about "a degrees.
Rising temperature Tuesday"
School Again Flooded.
The hoodooed Hugh M Browne Junior
High School also was flooded again last
night.
School officers including DR.. Frank
w, bduOu, OtOPAlSll L.
Kramer and Garnet C. Wilkinson, first
assistant superintendents, visited the
school this morning and found evidences
of a new 6-inch flood of mud and water
in the schools basement.
They found also that District repair
shop Workmen were tearing up the cor
ridor floor because it had been burst
upward for virtually its complete length
from the pressure Of the rising water.
The corridor floor will have to be re-
laid.
Although a brand-new building, COM
pleted in February, the Browne Junior
High School has never been occupied
One disaster after another has pre-
vented occupation of the structure by
its waiting 693 pupils and the neces-
sary teaching and administrative staff
which was appointed as of February l..
First the buildings acceptance from
the contractor by the Commissioners
was delayed when the cafeteria floor
broke away from the main wall. A sec
ton of the floor subsequently was torn
up for subterranean examinations Of
the foundations. Then the 10-mch
water main leading into the school
burst, sending tons of water at high
pressure into the basement of the build
ing to a depth Of four feet. Since that
food only one Of a series of electrical
motors has been found to be in work.
ing order. Others still are being eX-
aDipad with hone Of reclamation