Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-08-21
BY WILLIAM PARTRIDGE.

BY WILLIAM PARTRIDGE,
Consulting Architect. National Capital Park
and Planning Commission.
A monumental avenue leading to
the front Of so important a building
as the National Capitol demands
most careful study of both the charac-
ter and the dimensions Of such an
approach. The design once estab-
lished cannot be changed, so in order
to avoid experimental efforts one
naturally turns to existing examples
not with the idea Of copying but
rather in the spirit of the original
architect Of the plan, LEnfant.
At an early stage L'Enfant wrote
Thomas Jefferson requesting from him
those plans Of Europeon cities he had
collected in his travels. stating -
P. 1881 stating II would repro
Il would reprobate the Idea of Initial
ing and that contrary of Having this
Intention the contemplate ton of
what exists Of well improved situation
may serve to suggest q variety
Of new ideas and is necessary to re-
quire and strengthen the judgment
particularly when having to unite the
useful with the commodious and
agreeable"
The outstanding example Of Euro
pean streets most familiar to Amer
leans is the Avenue de les Champs
Elyees. in Paris. This historical
street has q width Of $50 feet between
buildings. (Our widest avenue is but
$50 feeD. The central roadway is
81 feet wide and bordered on either
side with single row of trees. There
is no grass. the spaces between the
roadway and the buildings are paved
with gravel, broken by two lines of
sidewalk. The buildings on either
side have uniform cornice height Of
66 feet with . roof sloping back. A
certain variety is gained In the treat
ment Of the gables and dormers.
individual Structures.
Along East Capitol street 1t Is pro-
posed that our bordering buildings
should not be rows but individual
structures, each with its own setting,
80 a rigid symmetrical treatment is not
desired even if possible There is to be
expected marked individuality in the
design of each structure such as has
occurred in the planning Of those
buildings now lining Constitution ave-
nue. west Of Seventeenth street. It is
felt there should be no restriction in
the design save as to the maximum
height and to the percentage of occu-
pancy Of each plat.
The unique character of the archi-
lecture of the Folger Library forms .
precedent for certain freedom In
design not warranted in the more
strictly Federal structures.
It will be recalled that in the articles
on this subject previously published in
The Star we learned that LEnfant pro-
posed to line East Capitol street from
the present Lincoln Park to the Capt.
toll with sidewalks under arcades into
which shops would open. This indi-
Gates that here. at least, he proposed
continuous row of buildings-pre.
sumably OF the same cornice height.
This idea was quite contrary, ~
were many others of his, to those Of
Mr.. Jefferson, who suggested that
liberty should be accorded house own.
ers to set their buildings back at will
from the building line in order to
avoid the disgusting monotony for
which Philadelphia had been 50 much
criticized.
Reciprocity Of Sites.
Although we may set aside the de.
tails Of L'Enfant's plan, discarding his
arcaded treatment Of the bordering
buildings in favor Of individual struc-
lures, we adhere to and indeed empha-
size his major principle Of "reci-
procity of sites" and propose to open
up the present forest aisle of elms 80
as to obtain a vista Of the principal
building to which this street is .
formal approach, the Capitol. One
has only to compare the view down
present East Capitol street with the
vista Of the dome down Maryland ave-
nue. from Stanton Park.
Thus the conditions Of our problem
gradually take shape. Every vista Of
the Capitol IS Of major importance
and this particular one can only be
obtained by the removal or setting
back OF the existing mature trees. This
phase Of the problem will be discussed
later.
AS it is proposed to erect monu.
mental buildings on each square, they