Evening star., 1935-04-01
Shifting Garfield Statue Also
Considered for Union
Development. 80 -.
PROGRAM IS DRAWN
! FOR HEAD OF MALL
Rounding of Capitol Grounds
Sought in Suggested Changes.
Road Work to Begin.

Plans for moving Peace Monument
from First street and Pennsylvania
avenue and shifting the statue OF
President Garfield at First street and
Maryland avenue southwest to other
locations are being considered in the
development of Union Square at the
head of the Mall.
This was revealed today by c. Mar
shall Finnan. superintendent of the
National Capital Parks, who declared
that this program is being studied by
Frederick Law Olmsted, Brookline
Mass. landscape architect, who has
been retained by Secretary Ickes as
special consultant on the Union Square
lob. Olmsted has served both as a
member of the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission and OF the
Fine Arts Commission, and served with
the park commission Of 1901 that mod
ernized the L'Enfant plan for the Ma
tional Capital.
Finnan made it clear that the
Olmsted study has not received the
approval of the National Capital
Parks Office, the Fine Arts Commis-
sion, the Planning Commission or the
Committee for the Enlargement OF
the Capitol Grounds, headed by Vice
President Garner. The park chief
said the moving of the Peace Monu-
ment and the Garfield statue will
await the completion Of present work,
for which there are funds in hand
Olmsted's study would move the Peace
Monument and Garfield statue SO
that the Capitol grounds at those
points could be rounded, and the
inches formed by the statues elm
mated. No definite location for the
two monuments has been decided on
Naval Monument"
The Peace Monument, which is also
known as the Naval Monument, is
the work of Frank Simmons and was
erected by the Navy Department in
1877, and transferred to park juris-
diction in March, 1904. Congress by
act of July 81, 1876, appropriated
$4,000 for completing the statue OF
peace and providing for the selec-
ton of site for it. 1t was paid
for mainly by subscriptions of Navy
D6LSQl2el-
The. Garfield statue, which shows
the Chief Executive standing, is the
work Of j. @. A. Ward. The monu-
ment was unveiled May IL, 1887.
Congress appropriated $500 for the
statue by act of March IL, 1882, and
by oct Of July Z, 1884, it appropriated
$4,000 for the pedestal. The Society
Of the Army OF the Cumberland sub
scribed $25,000
A call for bids went out today from
Finnan for furnishing and transplant-
ing trees located in Union Square.
The National Capital Parks Office
also is preparing to plant shortly some
$50 elm trees in the Mall.
Roads to Be Built.
The Bureau of Public Roads of the
Department of Agriculture Is arrang-
ing to call for bids shortly for the
construction of outer roads in the
Mall east of the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition.
The Government expects to start
shortly the demolition Of the old
cafeteria and electric light plant in
the center of the vista between the
Capitol and the Washington Monu-
ment. Connections now have been
made with the central heating plant
to heat the buildings in that area
Electrical connections will be- made
soon, enabling the buildings to be de-
molished, Finnan said.
A reminder of old Washington came
with the park superintendent's an
nouncement that bids will be asked
soon to lower the sewer that carries
the waters of Tiber Creek. This is to
be dropped three feet, as it is now too
near the surface of Union Square to
grow trees and other plant life on
top. The Tiber Greek sewer runs in a
southwesterly direction from Pennsyl-
vania avenue through the north side
of Union Square diagonaly to Third
street.
As another index that the work is
moving along, Finnan said new drive
ways soon will be constructed in
Union Square, carrying eastward the
two inner roads that now stop at
Third street. The new construction
will provide for their ending in the
line of Second street, emerging with
a drive around the Grant Memorial
an elliptical roadway that will carry
trafic to the House and Senate sides
Of the Capitol.
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