Evening star., 1937-02-28
JEFFERSON SITE
BORING CONTINUED
Second Hole to Test Founda.
tion of Proposed Memor-
iaI to Be Made.

Tomorrow drillers of the United
States engineer Office will begin the
boring Of the second hole at the foun-
dations for the Thomas Jefferson
Memorial. on the south shore Of the
Tidal Basin. Upon reaching 109 feet
from the surface Of the ground, but
101 feet below average low water, the
drillers suspended work on the first
hole, convinced they had reached bed
rock. This opinion is also shared by
National Park Service engineers. but
they want at least three holes bored
before making definite conclusions.
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is
foreseen as the nucleus of vast devel-
opment in that region Of Potomac
Park by those who adhere to the plan
Of 1901 for the growth Of the city. A
growth, similar to Lafayette Square.
just north of the White House, is en-
visioned south of the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorial, to balance" the scheme
north of the Mall.
But now the engineers and archi-
tects are concentrating upon the bor-
ing operation, for the information
thus obtained will enable them to base
their plans scientifically. The first
hole was drilled due south of the
memorial proper, the second hole will
be drilled due east, still on the shore
of the Tidal Basin, and the position
of the later holes to be drilled will be
predicated upon the results to be OBJ
tanned this week.
To Drill Holes in Basin.
The rock encountered at the first
hole apparently runs from the 86-foot
level down to 100 feet from the sur
face Of the ground, but the engineers
have no assurance that similar condi-
tions will be met at the second or the
other holes. For this reason, they
explain, a number Of holes will be
drilled, not only on the shores Of the
velopment will take place. but out in
the water, where part Of the founda-
tions will rest.
A number of problems are in the
offing-the selection of a sculptor for
the statue of Thomas Jefferson that
will be one of the features of the
memorial; the type of stone and land
scaping to be used, the highway con-
nections and the grades at which they
will be built and the buildings that
will be erected in the neighborhood OF
the memorial proper. But the officials
are saying little about this phase OF
the work. They are concentrating on
obtaining the necessary $500, 900
from Congress with which to start
active construction. Boring operations
will take about a month.
Lafayette Square, in front OF the
White House, is not yet completed
development, in the opinion Of the
Fine Arts Commission. Where the
Belasco Theater and the Cosmos Club
now stand the Government proposes
to build additional Government build
ings. and on the west side OF the
square additional Government build
ings are to be erected, under present
plans.
The Fine Arts Commission is favor
able to the construction of a state
building there, suitable for en- rtain-
ing distinguished foreign visitors who
are official guests Of the United States.
This is the procedure followed in some
foreign countries-a special building
for such purposes.
Expansion South Of Memorial.
To balance" this development at
the White House, similar expan-
sion Is contemplated, under the plan
of 1901, south Of the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorial, which will be directly
south of the Executive Mansion. Just
what form this will take, however, has
not yet been worked out.
The Fine Arts Commission and the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission, which are scheduled to
meet jointly on March 20. will dis
cuss the whole problem. Creation of
the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, OH
cials explain, brings into focus a host
Of related problems, including the ex-
tension southwark of Fifteenth and
Seventeenth streets. Engineers, road
builders, architects, landscape archi-
tects and others will bring their COM
bined efforts to bear on the various
problems presented and out Of it all.
say the boosters or the Thomas JEFF
fersor Memorial, . development that
will be pleasing and . logical Sc
quence Of the plan Of 1901 for the