Evening star., 1932-12-22
Lowering go Feet Necessary
for Landscaping, Says
Fine Arts Board.
SUNKEN GARDEN SEEN
AS MENACE TO SHAFT
Commission Takes Stand After
Study of Objections to Carrying
Out Plan of 1901.
The foundation of Washington Mon

The foundation of Washington Mon
ument should be carried down approx
mately 60 feet to bed rock to insure
stability and then any sunken gardens
desired could be created around the
shaft, in the opinion of the Fine Arts
Commission.
This, it was learned today, is the
Commissions view after studying OBJ
jeCtionS raised to carrying out the pro-
gram for the plan of 1901, on the
ground it might endanger the stability
of the Shaft. Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant,
"a, director Of Public Buildings and Pub
lie Parks and vice chairman and ex-
Park and Planning Commission, may
be asked to recommend to Congress
that nothing be done to improve the
area adjacent to the Washington Mon
ument, until its foundations are forth
fed.
Unable to Get Report.
The Fine Arts Commission, it was
said. has not been able to secure the
engineering report in detail, compiled
by a special Advisory Committee that
has examined the problem. for Col
Grant. This committee includes Will
liam A. Delano, New York architect
and member of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission; Fred
erick Law OlmSted. until recently a
member of that commission and a
prominent landscape architect of Brook
line, Mass. who worked on the 1901
plan; James Vipond Davies and Lazarus
White, prominent New York engineers,
who are experts on foundations: Col
Grant; Mai. D. H. Gillette, engineer
of the Planning Commission and John
L. Nagle, designing engineer.
At cost of nearly 100000, authorized
by Congress. COL Grant supervised drill
ing operations so that the engineers
might determine where bed rock is to
be found beneath the base Of the WASH
ington Monument. Contrary to popu-
lar belief, the Monument does not rest
On solid rock, but is constructed on a
bed of gravel and sand and blue clay
Data laid before the engineers as a
result Of the drilling operations indi-
cate there is a dirt fill of some 40 feet
beneath the visible ground around the
base of the shaft. which is 555 feet
in height. From northeast to southwest
it appears that at the base of the monu-
| IIlSilt there IS d great peO Oh SdIlO dIlC
gravel, tapering from 20 feet to 40 feet
as cne travels west. The bed OF blue
clay runs oppositely, the narrow enc
of some 25 feet being at the westerly
end. while eaSterly it is 40 feet in thick
ness.
The theory of the Engineering Ad-
visory Committee is that If any great
weight is added to or taken from the
base of the Washington Monument the
555-foot memorial to the Father of Hi;
Country would be in danger of toppline
over or the whole thing might slide
into the Tidal Basin.
Underpinning Resorted To.
The Fine Arts Commission says the
foundations should be carried down tc
bed rock to obviate this. and then any,
thing can be done around the shaft
without. disturbing it. The origina.
foundations were found to be INSULT
cient, so, under the supervision Of Army
Engineers, underpinning was resorted
to. The capstone was set on December
6, 1884, and this marked the compile
ton of the gigantic task of construct
ing an appropriate monument in honor
of Washington. The foundations an6
shaft of the monument cost s1,187,710
and of this, 100000 were raised by
free-will offerings by the Washington
National Monument Society. The mon.
ument was dedicated February 81, 1885
The depth of the foundation IS nov
36 feet 10 inches, and covers an area
of 16.oo2 square feet. The engineer:
say the weight of the foundations il
36.912 tons and that the weight of the
stone in the shaft and pyramidion Il
63,933 tons, while the weight OF the
monument totals 81,120 tons. The
maximum pressure on the underlying
soil is placed at 9 tons per square foot
while the pressure near the outer edges
Of the foundation is set at tons pei
square foot.