Evening star., 1933-03-05

park about where Sixteenth street would inter-
sect. The wide section between Fifteenth
street and Virginia avenue has even been used
for public dancing and celebration on two diff
ferent Halloween nights.
Several parades observing the Bicentennial Of
the birth of George Washington used part Of
Constitution avenue, by marching westward
along Pennsylvania avenue, turning South on
Fifteenth street to Constitution avenue, where
right turn brought the parade out on the
wide new avenue.
Driving along the length of Constitution
avenue the visitor may glimpse every Govern
ment activity and monument of first impor-
tance including huge new building projects To
the extreme east he can see the rising Su-
preme Court Building beyond the Capitol,
while to the west, from the Arlington Memorial
Bridge. or from the Potomac River end of the
avenue itself. he may view, across the broad
expanse of the river, the majestic new portal
to Arlington National Cemetery. To the north
of Constitution avenue may be seen the stu
pendous development Of the so-called Federal
Triangle" and among other projects the
cleared land where later on will arise the new
buildings for q municipal center, to house
this city's local government. On the south
across the Mall are seen buildings Of the new
Department of Agriculture.
COR lack Of q better name, the monumental
group Of new Federal buildings on the To-
acre tract IS still known by the pitifully in
adequate name as the Triangle" Several sug-
gestions have been put forward to provide q
more dignif1ed name for the whole composition,
but so far no real progress has been made.
Buildings in the Federal triangle already
completed and under construction have been
authorized by Congress to cost a total Of about
$57,800,000, while the additional buildings to
complete the triangle according to the original
plan would bring this total up to more than
ole tnA
$25.000,000 for acquisition of land so that
the grand total cost Of the triangle for land and
buildings mounts up to substantially over
500. 900 O00
The triangle lies between the two famous
avenues. Constitution and Pennsylvania and
Fifteenth street The outstanding features Of
the triangle are two inclosed plazas, located
along its east and west axis, the westerly one
rectangular and the easterly one circular.
The rectangular plaza, known as the great
plaza, will be approximately 600 feet square, and
laid out as formal garden, with lagoon and
conventional arrangement Of trees The great
plaza Will be entirely inclosed ON the north.
east and south sides by q group of contiguous
buildings, and bordered on the west side by
Fourteenth street and the Department Of
Commerce.
The circular plaza, situated directly east Of
the great plaza on Twelfth street, will be $40
feet in diameter, and probably will have .
monumental shaft at its center Its sidewalks
will pass under the arcaded fronts Of the en-
closing buildings.
Architecturally the triangle buildings are all
about seven stories high, and are constructed
of limestone. with tile roofs, after a style
adapted from the ancient accepted orders Of
architecture. Most Of the columnar treatments
accorded buildings In the triangle are of the
Doric or Ionic order. while on the Supreme
Court Building on Capitol Hill some columns
of the Corinthian order are being used. There