Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-07-07
P STREET BRIDGE
|. OPENING PLANNED
ABOUT AUGUST Is
Citizens Plan Celebration.
Suggest Robert Fulton"
as Name.

Civic groups in the vicinity Of the
new P street bridge across Rock Creek
are planning a monster celebration.
around August Is, when it Is ex-
pected to be completed. They have
asked the District Commissioners to
name it The Robert Fulton Bridge"
memorializing the noted steamboat
inventor, who used to reside on the
banks of Rock Greek at Kalorama.
This developed yesterday, when
John Hadley Doyle, member Of the
Executive Committee OF the George
town Citizens Association and chair
man OF a special committee formed
by interested civic groups, revealed
that plans are in the making for a
worthy celebration, inaugurating the
new bridge Cooperating in the en-
terprise are the Dupont Citizens As
ISOLATION, the Progressive CitizenS
Association of Georgetown and tn"
Georgetown Citizens Association.
Many Meetings Held.
Spokesman from these groups hsvH
held a number Of meetings on the
chairman, B. Agee Bowles as secre-
tary and James J. Sullivan as treas
urer. A number of conferences have
been held at the District Building
with Commissioner Melvin c. Hazen,
who expressed a desire TO cooperate
with the civic associations to make
the opening of the new bridge some
| thing worth while"
Commissioner Hazen suggested. at
{ one Of these conferences, Doyle said,
| that the civic associations should
! collaborate in suggesting a suitable
name for the new structure. After
much elaboration, he said, the as
sociations arrived at the name THE
Robert Fulton Bridge"
The Joint Committee had recalled 70
them that Robert Fulton was e citizen
Of Washington and resided at Kalo-
rama on the banks of Rock Creek,
where he first put in practice the use
Of steam as a mode for propelllns
boats on rivers. In addition to dealing
with the United States Doyle said.
Fulton presented his plans to Great
Britain and France.
Steamboat History Recalled.
Fultons granddaughter Miss
Alice Crazy Sutcliffe. in her book
, Robert Fulton and the Clermont
saws the first model of the Clermont
vas tried out on Rock Creek: Doyle
recalls. These statements are verl-
fed from the files Of the Congress
sional Library. he says.
Serving on the Special Committee,
representatives Of the various civic
groups are: From the Dupont Citizens
Association. Col. Robert L. Longstreet,
Col. Edward Goring Bliss and w. H.
Houghton; from the Progressive Citi-
zens' Association, Mrs. Charles P.
Wagner. James j. Sullivan. Miss Ele-
more Legerson, Mrs. Leon Arnold, Mrs.
Elizabeth T. Sullivan; from the
Georgetown Citizens Association, B.
H. Meyer, Rear Admiral Spencer 6.
Wood, Harry L. Selby, Bowles ana
Doyle
Weather Controls Opening.
The headquarters of the special
committee are in the Hamilton Bank
Building, Wisconsin avenue and NJ
street. in Bowles' Office. 1t Is expected
! that the bridge will be opened about
August IS, If weather and other condi-
/ tions permit construction work to be
completed by that date. as well as the
street improvement. The street car
tracks have just been removed from
P street, west of Dupont Circle, and
the thoroughfare is now torn up.
! Doyle and his associates are hopeful
+ that the conditions will permit gala
/ dedication Of the new P street bridge,
( some six weeks hence.
/ Doyle disclosed in letter to the
city editor of The Star that an article
some years ago by John Clagett Proc
tor in this newspaper. calling atten-
ton to Robert Fulton's life on Rock
Creek. with his models for steam for
propelling boats, was a controlling
| factor in the committees decision to
ask that the new bridge be named in
honor of the inventor.