Evening star., 1936-04-02
c. v. TO SPEED
BUILDING PLANS
Order by D. c. Heads to
Make Buildings Fireproof
Brings Action.


government to make structural
changes to make many of their old
buildings fireproof, trustees of George
Washington University at meeting
yesterday afternoon authorized "ac-
celeration" of their building program,
particularly with reference to addi-
tional class rooms.
The trustees directed its Buildings
and Land Committee to take the neces-
sary steps to meet the recommended
tions of the Board Of Commissioners
of the District with respect to minor
changes in such of the buildings in
volved as are permanent university
buildings"
In an official statement after the
meeting, the board said: During the
past 10 years the board of trustees OF
the university has devoted its atten-
ton primarily to the elevation OF
academic standards in all departments
of the university and to the enlarge
ment of its faculties
Old Houses Simply Expedient.
beginning with the erection this
year of the new Biological Sciences
Building, opened in the Fall, and the
Hattie M. Strong Residence Hall for
Women, now under construction, the
university inaugurated its long-range
plan of new buildings to take the place
of the old houses which were acquired
with purchases of additional land and
which have been used as temporary
expedient. The adoption of the new
fire regulations for the District of Co
lumbia will simply accelerate the uni
versity's building program with refer
ence to additional class rooms. Com
mittees are being formed looking to
that end"
A report to the board from the su-
perintendent of buildings and lands
with reference to development of the
university properties during the Pc
riod since 1928 indicated four new
buildings erected:
l. Hattie M. Strong Residence Hall
for Women. now under construction
at the southwest corner of Twenty
first and G streets, which will be COM
pleted in the Fall, to house 110 woman
students.
2. The Biological Sciences Building,
north side of G street near the cor
ner of Twenty-first street, opened last
Fall. This building, four-story, fire.
proof structure containing 100000
cubic feet, provides modern class room
and laboratory facilities for the de-
partments of biology, botany, zoology.
and theoretical physics; biological
sciences library and ten class rooms;
Offices of the registrar, the dean of
the Junior College and the dean of
Columbian College, and, on the
ground floor, the student club. A
greenhouse for the growing of botany
specimens is on the roof.
Medical Research Building.
8. The Medical Research Building.
erected in 1892. This flreproof
building provided space for the CEN
tral laboratory of the university hos
pital, 8 teaching laboratories, 6 re-
search laboratories, IL Offices and ami
NAL rooms.
4. Mechanical Laboratory Building,
erected in 1880, at the southeast cor
ner of Twenty-first and H streets.
This building provided drafting rooms
and laboratories for civil and mechani-
cal engineering.
During the period since 1928 the
university has purchased 81 buildings
in the G street area, of which have
been torn down to make way for new
buildings or to increase the area OF
the university yard. The others, as
well as buildings in use by the univer-
sity prior to 1929, have been recon-
ditioned, under the building regula-
tions in force at the time the work was
done upon them. Thus, in 1880, the
Medical School Building, occupied by
the university since 1902, was COM
pletely reconditioned. New equipment
was installed for the departments of
biochemistry, pharmacology, physiol-
ogy, pathology and anatomy. The en-
tire building was rewired to conform
to newly adopted electrical code and
additional fire safeguards were in
stalled In the form of fire doors and
improved fire escapes. This work was
done upon the initiative of the uni
versity and was not recommended or |
required.
Corcoran Hall Changes.
193334, the first floor of Corcoran |
Hall, built by the university in 1924,
was remodeled and q library for the
physical sciences was established there.
In January, 1886, extensive repairs
and alterations were carried out in the
chemistry department on the third
and fourth floors of Corcoran Hall.
In 1886 the law library in
Stockton Hall, erected by the univer-
sity in 1885, was reconditioned and
two new Offices were constructed.
The property at 2131 G street, ac-
quired In January Of this year, has
been reconditioned to meet the needs
OF the Division of Fine Arts. Adequate |
studio and drafting rooms were pro-
vided, as well as additional library IA
cilities. The building formerly occu-
pied by Fine Arts, at 2101 G street,
has been completely reconditioned for
the controllers department.
During the past five years all build
ings occupied by the university have
been renovated inside and out, the