Evening star., 1937-02-14

lHtS u tHS tHUu uHQ t0St OJ q
series OF articles, In Which The
Star presents surrey OF Govern
ntent space requirements, present
and prospective.
BY WILLIAM A. MILLEN.
On the walls Of the of1ice Of Clay J.
Guthridge. head of the division Of
Government space control, National
Park Service, Interior Department,
hangs q large map, giving in graphic
detail the status Of Government-owned
and rented buildings in Washington.
Those owned are in red. while the
rented ones are shown in blue. In
view Of President Roosevelts naming
of a special commission to study space
needs for and 10 years here, un-
der the chairmanship of Secretary
Ickes, that map L likely to show much
more red shortly. with . vanishing Of
the blue.
But the picture Is by no means clear
at this time. There are many ques-
tions that need answering. What, for
instance, will President Roosevelt
really do about the General Account.
ing once? What will be the outcome
Of the Government reorganization pro-
gram? Will new departments be ere
ated? Uncle Sans future building
program hinges in . large measure on
the outcome Of these deliberations.
Should President Roosevelt set up
O department of public works and Q
department Of public welfare, new
buildings would be required for these
groups. They might be constructed
in the Southwest, south Of the Mall or
along Pennsylvania avenue, between
the White House and Rock Greek.
After the supervising architects ONCE
Of the Treasury Department, the Fine
Arts Commission and the National
Capital Park and Planning Commits
sion, If they survive reorganization.
have had their say, the pouring Of
concrete and the swinging Of steel
beams would signalize the erection Of
yet another new group here.
Documents Building Needed.
The new War Department, the So
cial Security Board Building, the Navy
Department, Naval Museum - this
seems to be the lineup ct present.
But there is another building that is
urgently needed here and has received
little public attention. That b the
construction of q building to store
documents Of the Government. The
gilt-edsed papers have found Q resting
place in the Archives Building. But
room must be found for the other
papers.
There are innumerable documents
that have become Uncle Sans hertz
age from the wars he has fought.
There are countless photographs Of
the World War alone, for which there
is . daily demand, and space must
be found for them. There are Gov
ernment officials who believe that the
Government departments should not
be cluttered up with these secondary
papers" and that q special building
should be erected forthwith for their
accommodation.
1t is surprising the amount of pub
lie building that Is now going on in
Washington. The Procurement Divi-
sion Of the Treasury Department. Is
constructing the Bureau Of Engraving
and Printing Annex, on lower Four
teenth street. A new building for the
Bureau Of Agricultural Economies Of
the Department Of Agriculture Is now
being erected, also in Southwest. A
warehouse for the Government Print
ing Once Is under way Ut North Capt..
tol and g place, and soon . new annex
to the @. p. o. will be constructed At
the southwest corner Of North Capt.
tol and H streets.
Apex Building Under Way.
The Apex Building. ut the tip Of
the Triangle, Is now under way and
Is scheduled to be the home Of the
Federal Trade, Commission. Several
buildings have been constructed re-
Gently at the National Geological Park
OF the Smithsonian Institution.
Under the supervision Of David
Lynn, architect of the Capitol. the
Annex to the Library Of Congress Is
being completed, just eastward OF that
structure. 49,. -.
The Interior Department. at Eight
for occupancy. This new home OF
Secretary Ickes, the space-control
generalissimo, is rated to cost $13,-
000, 900, about half Of that projected
for the new War Department.
The Federal Reserve Board Build
ing is nearing completion at Twen-
tieth street and Constitution avenue.
But all this building activity Is only
a part Of what Ii required, II the
Ickes committee listens to demands
Of the ot1icials, who want space and
plenty of It. ~. -.
Coast Guard Asks Structure.
For long time the Coast Guard
has been asking for . new building.
The District OF Columbia National
Guard for many years has been urg-
ing q new home this Is pro-
grammed g part Of the, stadium-audi-
torium development at the end Of
East Capitol street. The Headquar-
ters Company Of the Washington Pro-
vional Brigade. "The Presidents Own
wants It's pefmanont quartefS.c ~ HaS
been located for many years in. the
.war-built shack at the south Of Ickss'
new Interior Department; will shortly
be shifted to the Mayfair, 2t15 cssreet.
to remain there only long enough for
the War Department plans to Be COM
pleted and have the contractors send
in their steam shovels and .fazing
equipment A future home is protected
in the vicinity Of the Naval Hospital
for the Headquarters Company.
The Treasury Department wants to
extend the Cass Gilbert plan and
build north Of its annex to take in
the Belasco Theater and the Cosmos
Club. Plans have long been dis.
cussed for remodeling the old State.
War and Navy Building, 70 that it
will conform to the architecture Of