Evening star., 1937-02-13

xHtS tS LHe SeCOHQ OF q series OF
three articles, in which The Star
presents q surrey OF Government
space requirements, present and
prospective.
BY WILLIAM A. MILLEN.
Uncle Sam is now paying out an
annual rent bill Of $2.750,000 of the
taxpayers money to Washington land
lords.
This expenditure represents a wide
variety Of Government activities in
123 buildings, some of which are but
partly rented. Some 2,850,000 square
feet Of space is being used.
But the $2,750,000 does not repre-
sent the entire bill, for in addition
the Government must spend money to
maintain that part Of the space in
buildings entirely rented by Uncle
Sam. Where he rents but part Of the
building, the owner cares for the
maintaining, adding this on in the
rent bill.
The Federal Government has lit Of
its own buildings here and this repre-
sents 100000 square feet Of space.
In all, the Government occupies a
grand total of 16,050,000 square feet
Of space in Washington.
The Department Of Agriculture Is
the greatest lessee Of all, for it re-
quireS 100000 square feet, and in ad-
dition its Resettlement Administra-
ton uses 275,000 square feet. The
Works Progress Administration re-
quires 225,000 square feet.
Some Buildings Long Occupied.
Some of the buildings in Washing
ton have been rented by the Govern
ment so long that the public looks
upon them as being in United States
ownership. The Reconstruction FL
nance Corp. is located at 1925 H
street. But for many years that prop
erty housed the Department Of Com
merce, and during the secretaryship
of Herbert Hoover he had his Offices
there. The Securities and Exchange
Commission is located at Eighteenth
street and Pennsylvania avenue, but
for a great many years the Interstate
Commerce Commission was located
there.
The Hurley Wright Building. across
the street from the S. E. c., Is another
rented building. The Walker-Johnson
Building, at Eighteenth street and
New York avenue, the official home
of Works Progress Administrator Har-
ry Hopkins, is likewise rented.
The Federal Housing Administra-
&;1,, 90 uarv,,npf o,,opta opd K ctroet
Is another rented structure. There the
Department Of Justice was located for
many years. The present Social Sc
curity Building at 1712 G street is still
another rented structure that has
been tenanted so long by the Govern
ment that it Is regarded as Govern
ment building. The Department OF
Labor was there for many years.
When the Roosevelt administration
came into power. rapid expansion was
required. The Government looked
about for space and yet more space. 1t
rented the Mclean mansion at Twen-
ty-first street and Massachusetts, ave-
nue., as well as the property at l707
I street, the Auditorium at Nineteenth
street and New York avenue was
leased, part of the National Theater
Building was rented aid the Rural
Electrification Administration was
moved into 1000 Massachusetts, avenue.
Demand Not Lessened.
Even though the triangl., bounded
by Pennsylvania and Constitution ave-
nues and Fifteenth street, has been
occupied and new buildings con-
structed in that area, the demand for
Government space was not lessened.
Instead, the Government has grown
in these latter years by leaps and
bounds and the pressure has been so
great that part Of the Social Security
Board, unable to obtain adequate quar-
ters in the National Capital, had to
rent Offices In Baltimore.
The triangle, as it stands today, Is
really not finished. The old Post |
Office Building, at Eleventh street and
Pennsylvania avenue, Is looked on by |
the city planners and architects as an
interloper in the modern buildings |
lining the south side Of Pennsylvania
avenue, from the Treasury to the en-
virons of the Capitol. So, too, Is the
old Southern Railway Building, at |
Thirteenth and E streets. Both of
these buildings are scheduled to be
razed at some future date, when funds
are available for new structures.
Were they to be torn down now, to |
make way for more modern buildings, |
it is difficult to say just where the |
Government units they shelter would |
go to find space here. The fourth |
quarter of the Bureau Of Internal !
Revenue is slated to be constructed |
where the old Post Office Department |
now stands. With the expansion of |
the social security tax in prospect, this |
branch will need additional space.
District Building Debated.
Under plans discussed some time
ago, the District Building is due to
come down. But there is difference |
of opinion on this. Some believe that |
1t fits we'll enough into the triangle |
picture. But there are others who |
maintain that it is architecturally |
out of harmony with the development. |
This problem brings into focus |
again the perennial question Of q new
home for the municipal government. |
Funds for the pure. .ase Of land for |
the municipal center were made |
available by Congress in 1929. The |
razing Of buildings on the site at |
John Marshall place and Pennsyl- |
vania avenue was begun and by 1882
nearly all the east side Of the project |
was cleared. Latterly, while the |
municipal center project has marked
time because of inaction, the ground
has been used as q parking lot for |
automobiles.
A suggestion has recently been put |
forward that this land be utilized for |
the construction Of an auditorium for |
Washington, but nothing tangible .-aj
yet come of this. Congress has been |
considering the Robinson auditorium |
measure, designed to name q COM