Evening star., 1937-06-24

Luplow, War Department district en-
gineer for the Washington area, ex-
poets to ask Maj. Gen. Edward M.
Markham, chief Of Army engineers.
for some s285 900 to cover the first
years work in improving the Wash
ington Channel waterfront-an OBJ
ject long desired by civic interests.
The entire program will cost 81 $50 900
and is to be accomplished over eight
years, giving Washington up-to-date
yacht basins and steamboat piers
The Senate yesterday passed the
$l28,000, 900 river and harbor appro-
priation measure, which was COM
bined with the War Department mill
tary appropriation bill In the House,
the military phases of the War
Department were embodied in a sepa-
rate measure and in that form it also
approved harbor improvement items.
From this Sl2s,00O,00n fund, which
Secretary Woodring and Gen. r.ark-
ham later will apportion to worthy
projects all over the Nation. local
interests hope to obtain the money
with which to make a start on the
long-delayed Washington Channel
waterfront improvement.
Adopted by Congress as an approved
project, the program here has run
the gamut Of official bodies, up to the
point of actually obtaining funds for
its launching. The Fine Arts Com
mission has approved the architectural
features of the plan and the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission has adopted it as one
Of its priority items for the better
ment of the city.
Final Plans for Project.
Maj. Luplow and his associates have
long been busy on final plans for the
project. c. A. Chaney, senior struc-
tural engineer, has been in charge
OF the details. H. P. Bills has been
working on architectural phases
The engineers have evolved several
ingenious devices for making the Ma
tional Capital model yacht center.
Hitherto, yachtsmen have Stunned
Washington as there Is now no ade-
quate facility for handling craft here.
At present, they have to moor out
in the Washington Channel and the
wharves are considered so dirty that
many owners of the shining white
ships are loath to tie up their spotless
craft alongside the wornout piers.
But the Army engineers say that
given funds to 90 ahead now-they
will change all that. Under the first
years anticipated fund of $685., 900,
the engineers expect to construct the
east half Of No. l yacht basin, from
the west end Of the fish market, half
way to Fourteenth street southwest,
as well as the east half of No. 2 yacht
basin. from where Tenth street hits
Water street to the vicinity of G and
H street southwest-about the west
end OF Occuquan Wharf to the edge
OF the site Of the Powell Transporter
ton Co. Building.
In addition, one building is to be
constructed in the center of No, l
unit and this structure will be known
as a yacht service building. The
structure will be q 90-foot front and
about 100 feet deep and contain a
show room for sales. A vertical hoist
will be used, instead of the old-time
marine railways, to bring the craft
in need Of repair to the shops. The
craft will slide into place on a cradle
and this will be elevated to the dock
level and to the shop floor, where
tracks, built in the floor, will enable
the ship to be handled easily.
Flood Lighting Planned.
The Army engineers are considering
furnishing electrical power line out
lets to every craft, under the new
set-up. Flood-lighting equipment will
be furnished on the docks and there
will be water outlet to every craft,
as we'll. Gasoline and Diesel oil will
be pumped to the head Of the dock
at q central point in each OF the pro-
posed four yacht basins.
The yacht basins will ru1. ulti-
mately from the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Bridge, at Fourteenth and Water
streets southwest, to the location OF
the Norfolk & Washington %. pier
The new commercial piers will start
in at Eighth and K and Water streets
southwest and run downstream to
west of o street southwest.
The Colonial style of architecture
will be employed In the development
Of the buildings. Into this scheme
will fit the existing Norfolk g. WASH
ington Steamboat Co. oflice building,
on the east side OF Water street; the
Capital Yacht Club building and the
municipal fish market. These build
ings will not be disturbed. The engi-
neers are proposing to demolish the
existing ramshackle buildings.
Maj. Luplow explained that only
parts Of the yacht basins are planned
for construction In the coming year.
70 ~ to tneouveuienoe persons now