Evening star., 1933-10-20
AVENUE IMPROVING
|PLANS LAID BEFORE
COMMISSION
Scheme of Soterios NichoI-
son Brought Out by
| Senator King.
IU. S. TO GOVERN BUILDING
| TYPES ON NORTH SIDE
Whole Mall Development Studied
at Session Initiating Two
Day Meeting.

Plans brought forward by Soterios
Nicholson. local attorney, for improve
ment of the north side of Pennsyl-
vania avenue. opposite the public
buildings development, were laid before
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission today by Chairman
King of the Senate District Committee,
an ex-oficio member of the commits
sion.
Henry v. Hubbard, Harvard profess
sor and landscape architect member
Of the commission, was delegated to
study these plans and report later on
them. Under the Shipstead-Luce act
the Government is given control of the
types of buildings to be erected in the
vicinity Of public buildings and parks.
ment Is going forward, the Govern
ment will have a say in what types OF
buildings will be erected in the future
along the north side of Pennsylvania
avenue between the Capitol and the
Treasury.
Study Mall Development.
The commission during the morning
session, which initiated two-day meet
ing, studied anew the whole Mall de-
velopment, for which the Public Works
1
Charles w. Eliot, I'd, the commissions
former director of planning and now
secretary of the newly established Ma
tional Planning Board, appeared in
person before the commission and gave
it historical sketch of the Mall prof.
ect He made it clear that what the
commission is proposing to do under the
Public Works Administration is prac-
tically the same thing that the French
engineer, Mai. Charles Pierre LEnfant.
the designer of Washington, advocated
more than a century ago. Mr.. Eliot
said that at different times in the city's
history Iarious parcels of the Mall were
turned over to different agencies and
it has been a matter of years to secure
again this land for its original purpose.
The temporary Government office
buildings erected on the Mall during
the World War, are still represented
there. but the 100000 ALLEGATION will
permit work to go forward, regardless
, of this, Thomas S. Settle, the commits
sion's secretary, said today.
A specific act of Congress in 1929
directs the director Of public buildings
| and public parks, whose authority now
| vests in Arno B. Cammerer, director of
the Office of National Parks, Build
! ings and Reservations Interior Depart
ment, after the commission has given
| approval to the plans. Indications to-
day were that the final draft would
be given commission sanction.
| Detailed features of the program
| were submitted to the commission by
John Nolen, jr., its city planner.
To Consider Union Square.
Mr.. Settle said more detailed study
| Of Union Square, at the east end of
/ the Mall, in the shadow Of the Capitol,
will be undertaken. Assisting in an
advisory capacity on this project will
be Frederick Law Olmsted, former COM
mission member and prominent land
scape architect of Brookline, Mass,
whose father designed the west ter
races of the Capitol. The son was
| on the commission of 1901, which mod
ernized the LEnfant plan for the CEN
trail development
During its two-day session, the COM
mission will investigate the problem of
an improved airport here, elimination
OF alley dwellings and other slum con-
ditions and the development of plans
for Rock Creek and Sligo Valley Parks
In nearby Maryland 1t Is expected
that Assistant Secretary Of Commerce
Mitchell will confer tomorrow morning
with the commission relative to the air.
port situation here. The commission
Is insisting that with the closing of
Military road, which separates the
washington and Hoover Airport, q suit
able substitute must be furnished as
an adequate approach to Highway
Bridge.
Frederic A. Delano, the commissions
chairman, presided at today's meeting.