Evening star., 1938-02-27
By Lucy Salamanca.
YHEN the FEDERAL Trade Com
\ ~ mission moves into its new
w w building this Snrinp il will

BY Lucy Salamanca.
W YHEN the Federal Trade Com
M mission moves into its new
v " building this spring, it will
occupy one of the most mag
niflcent of the Whitestone structures
that make up the famous triangle
group" of Federal buildings. More i'm
posing than the others of the group
due to its choice location at the tip
OF the Federal triangle. at the juno
ton of Pennsylvania and Constitution
avenues, in a direct line from the
Capitol, the new Federal Trade Com
mission Building is assured of perma-
nent prominence and continued, un-
interrupted views from its many de-
lightfully situated windows and its in
spring roof promenade.
With the new Mellon Art Gallery di-
rectly across the street on the Con-
stitution avenue side, the beautiful
Archives Building at one side, the
Capitol ahead of it and the entire
clear sweep of the Mall at its door
steps, this latest addition to the Fed
Grad group occupies an enviable posi-
ton on the Washington landscape.
In design it is equally compelling,
with classic semi-circular colonnade
overlooking the east terrace and fac
ing the Capitol, striking a new and
refreshing contrast amidst the solidly
square structures that now flank the
Avenue
II everything goes along as rapidly
as 1t has gone since work on the
structure was started a little over a
year ago, the building will be ready
for occupancy early this spring, even
as early at the latter part of March.
And surely, when the five commits
sioners and their 500 or more en-
ployes move in they will feel they have
come to rest after years of wandering,
Of putting up with draughty and un-
slightly temporary quarters, of being
showed here and there by the shift
ing exigencies of the times
They must feel, too. that they have
come to rest in a particularly delight
full home. and one of which they may
we'll be proud. No more will out-of-
town attorneys and business men be
ushered shamefacedly into such quar-
tiers as the magazine Time once des-
ignated as "sweltering, ramshackle,
stucco- -and-tar-paper headquarters
No longer will they be called upon to
make shift with renovated apartment
buildings. with secretaries ensconced
In remodeled ktchenettes and visitors
waiting in converted dining rooms.
NOV the visitor to the Federal
Trade Commission will be ushered
through gray marble halls into walnut
lined waiting rooms or be heard by
his peers in vaulted chambers whose
ceiling high windows are draped in
soft brocades, looped back to disclose
impressive Avenue vistas or perhaps
g glimpse of the stately Mellon Art
Gallery over the way. Now the visitor
will be whisked aloft in beautifully de-
signed elevators, pass down ivory
tinted corridors to well-lighted Office
suites or the more luxurious quarters of
the commissioners themselves. Now,
in short, the Federal Trade Commits
sion, heretofore quartered like the Ma
tion's stepchild, has at length come
into its own, and after long deferred,
heart-rending delays and disappoint-
ments is about to enjoy for the first
time since its origin IN 1915, adequate
and attractive accommodations for the
conduct of affairs that daily take on
greater Importance in Federal busi-
ness and loom ever more significant
In our national life.
costing approximately $3.5OO 1000,
the new Federal Trade Commission
bulldlng occupies 43,7l5 square feet
OF ground area, its basement seven
stories and attic, containing 567 50O
cuolc 1eet OF space. The imposing
structure is stone faced, with granite
base, and its pitched roofs are colorful
with tile. In design, the building con-
forms to the Federal type of archi-
lecture which fits so well into the
washington picture, but it is further
4 distinguished by the classic feeling of
the whole. apparent in the magnificent
Ionic columns, the cornice designs, the
terrace and approaches, and in count
less other subtle but impressive details
Of design and construction.
In its interior construction the new
building gives promise of being one of
the most convenient and comfortable
settings for the expedition Of Govern
ment business that could well be de-
vised, with wide windows letting in
generous supplies of air and floods of
light. and outdoor promenades invit-
ing to recreational strolls in free mo-
ments. It would be difficult to find any
single window that does not afford an
inspiring stretch Of green trees, boule-
ward or parked expanse, in whatever
direction the eye turns Corridors are
cheerful with ivory-tinted walls, while
individual suites of attorneys and
chiefs are decorated in a soft shade of
gray that has nothing in common with
that depressing shade known as bat
sleship."
Tiled in terrazzo, the corridors
honeycomb the building, opening into
the general offices, the impressive
hearing rooms, the magnificent court
room, the suites of the commissioners,
the library or the cafeteria, as the
case may be.
THERE are three main entrances to
ths building, two opening from
Pennsylvania avenue, ct opposite ends