Evening star., 1935-02-27
Off on a New Tack.

Off on a New Tack.
Having demonstrated that straight
line Is not always the shortest dis
tance between two points, the Com
missioners are now approaching the
Municipal Center project BY what
might be described as the Great Circle
route.
Senator King, at the Commissioners
request, has introduced bill amend
ing the p. W. A. loan authorizing
legislation of last year to permit the
District to borrow money for erection
of three minor court buildings-one
for the Police Court, one for the
Juvenile Court and one for the
Municipal Court. The estimated cost
of the structures is S2,80O,00O and the
location, specified in the bill, is
Judiciary Square. This would mean
that the new buildings would be placed
to the north of, or behind, the Court
House.
Provided Congress accepts the
measure. the next question relates to
the Public Works Administrations
willingness to lend the District the
necessary funds. The P. w. A. has
notified recent applicants for loans
that it is out Of cash. The P. w. A.,
moreover, expires at the end of this
fiscal year. 1t may be perpetuated
under the same or under some other
name, but that depends on the fate
of the work-relief bill now languish-
ing in the Senate Appropriations Com
nittee, uncertain which way to go.
But possibly as important as the
Commissioners ability to get the
money, once the loan is authorized,
is the tacit permission which would
be given the District by Congress to
utilize Judiciary Square for the lower
courts buildings. The complicating
element here is that the District still
owns about six million dollars worth
of land to the south of Judiciary
Square, between the square and Penn
sylvania avenue The next legislative
step. therefore, would be a measure
authorizing sale of part of this land
to the National Government as the
site for one of its agencies-possibly
the General Accounting Office, now
housed in the old Pension Office.
Should the whole plan as visualized
by the Commissioners materialize,
therefore, the lower courts buildings
would occupy Judiciary Square; some
time later the Districts new Admin
lstration Building would be erected
south Of Judiciary Square, between C
and D, Third and Sixth streets;
National Government agency would
occupy the land fronting on Pennsyl-
vania avenue south of C. And pos
sibly in the even more distant fu-
ture the desirable razing of the Pen
sion Office would make room for other
municipal structures.
Thus the original conception of the
Municipal Center has vanished en-
tirely and brand-new scheme is in
the making, the success of which de-
pends upon any number of contin-
gencies. The change in plans has
been dictated, first, by the failure of
Congress to proceed with its part of
the financing; second, by the belated
realization that the cost of the orig
inal plans far exceeds the Districts
pocketbook. The Commissioners are
to be commended for persistently
seeking to bring about some solution
of the impasse that would permit
construction of the courts buildings,
a need that Congress recognized as
pressing as long as six years ago.
Once start is made on these build
ings. there is hope that other Mu-
nicipal Center units will be provided
in time.