Evening star., 1934-01-19
DES|CNSF0RPLAzA
ANDAPEXBU|LD|NG
GIVEN APPROVAL
Federal Triangle Features
Accepted at Meeting of
Three Boards.
ROBERT LAUDS LEADERS
OF CAPITAL PROGRAM
Structures in Area Nearing Com
pletion-Post Office May Be
Moved Next Month.

Two features of the Governments
Federal building triangle-the Great
Plaza and the so-called Apex Build
ing"-received favorable action" yes
terday from a joint meeting of the
Treasury Department Board of Archi-
tectural Consultants, the National
Capital Park and Planning Commission
and the National Fine Arts Com
mission.
The meeting was held at the
Treasury Department. which issued a
formal statement after the executive
session.
The Great Plaza. which forms one
of the outstanding features of the
triangle group, between the Depart
ment of Commerce and Post Office De-
partment buildings. "has been receiving
intensive study for many months" the
statement said, land the design as
contemplated received favorable action
by the assembled body"
L. w. Robert, jr., Assistant Secretary
Of the Treasury, was said to have ad-
dressed the meeting, and expressed
his great satisfaction that his Depart
ment has the cooperation of these
groups Of experienced and public
spirited men to assist in solving some
of the fundamental problems for the
development and the Identification of
the National Capital"
Near Completion.
Most of the buildings of the Triangle
group are either under way or COM
pleted," it was explained. land there
remains still the building to complete
the composition at its eastern end,
which is generally referred to as the
Apex Building This contemplated
building. as designed by Messrs Ben %
received favorable action, having en-
bodied the final suggestions of the
Board of Architectural Consultants and
the Fine Arts Commission during the
last few weeks. No argument is needed
to demonstrate the need for this build
ing, as all Of the other buildings, in
cluding the Archives Building, were de-
signed in relation to it as part of one
general architectural composition"
Frederic A. Delano. chairman of the
planning commission, acted as chair
man of the joint meeting, and discus
sions on the various questions which
arose were participated in by Dr.
Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine
Arts Commission; E. H. Bennett OF
Chicago, chairman Of the Treasury
Board of Architectural Consultants;
Arno B. Cammerer, director of Ma
tional Parks, Buildings and Reserva-
tions, Interior Department, and by
various members of the three organiza-
tions represented.
The meeting was called by the
Treasury Department for consideration
of these two important incompleted
features of the Federal triangle. Sew
eral buildings in the triangle are now
rapidly nearing completion, with the
new Post Ofice Department. scheduled
to be occupied next month and the
new Interstate Commerce Commission,
Government Auditorium and Depart
ment of Labor to be opened some time
this Spring. The Department Of Jus
tice probably will be ready early in the
Summer, while the Archives Building,
on the site of old Center Market, Is
slated to be completed by the last OF
this year.
1IlC apex ONCI WlilSii IllCA z
has been some dispute in the past, has
been designed for the eastern point
Of the Federal triangle, between Sixth
and Seventh streets, Constitutional
avenue and Pennsylvania avenue. The
area between this point and the Capt.
tol Grounds Is to be parkway, merging
into Union Square, with its monuments
and proposed landscape architecture.
The Great Plaza, plans for which
received Favorable action" by the
joint meeting yesterday, is in the heart
Of the triangle, and occupies the area
which would be bounded by about
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, c and D
streets. 1t is now occupied by an auto
mobile parking lot and storage space
for building materials. New buildings
now surround three sides of this plaza,
the Department Of Commerce on the
west, the Department of Labor and
Government Auditorium on the south
with its concave-shaped facade, on the
east. On the northern side Of the
great plaza at the present time, be-
tween Thirteenth street and Fourteenth
street, are the District of Columbia
Municipal Building and group of
other structures, including the former
Southern Railway Building, now owned
by the Government, and q smaller at
tached group of nondescript old struc-
lures. Eventual plans for the triangle
provide for replacement of all Of this
with a new structure to harmonic
with the whole unified architectural
composition. Both the District Build
ing and the old Southern Railway
Building are about the same height of
the other structures in the triangle
and conform somewhat to the northern
boundary line for the triangle. The
raw brick" end of the new Post Of
fee Department Is plainly visible on
the Thirteenth street front, where
eventually it Is planned to place an
addition.
In the early future, however, an ad-
dition is planned for construction in
the triangle, on the block bounded by
Tenth, Eleventh, c streets and Penn
sylvania avenue. Tenants in old build
ings there have been notified to move
by February l, and plans are being
drawn for the foundations. This new
building will be an addition to the
Internal Revenue Building and q part
of the unified architectural compo-
sttion.
Two buildings in the triangle are
already occupied, the Department of
Commerce and the Internal Revenue
Building.