Evening star., 1938-04-06
Memorial
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development of Washington and woulc
like to have 4 building that woulc
keep the axis open, or partly open
and give the impression of the mag.
nificence Of the river beyond"
The memorial is projected on the
axis of the White House. The Fine
Arts Commission, as Maj Clarke ex-
pressed 1t, is a non-partisan body
with 4 guiding hand in the program
for developing the plan OF Washing
ton. He considers the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorials action in disregarding
the Fine Arts Commissions advice As
unprecedented"
Maj. Clarke declined to comment
on the alleged costliness OF the
foundation for the memorial, pleading
that that is An engineering problem
with which his organization has no
concern. Asked about the advisable
ity Of holding 4 competition to secure
An adequate design for the memorial,
Maj. Clarke would only say:
Competitions in the past have re-
suited in some Of the best buildings
in Washington" The method Of Sc
curing an architect and sculptor, he
added, Is not the Job Of the Fine Arts
Commission.
Original Design Disapproved.
Both the Fine Arts Commission and
the National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission disapproved the
original design for the memorial, cre-
ated by Mr.. Pope, Maj. Clarke recalled
today. Both commissions, however,
agreed on the site south Of the Tidal
Basin IS suitable for q memorial.>
In his correspondent with Chair
man Boylan. Maj Clarke wrote that
the act creating the Memorial Com
mission states, in part, that it may
avail itself OF the assistance and ad-
vice OF the Commission Of Fine Arts
and the Commission Of Fine Arts
shall, upon request, render such as
sistance and advice"
On February of this year the
commission wrote to Chairman Bov-
Ian. saying that "it heartily approves
the site on the south cross axis of
the Mall. opposite the White House
from the south shore of the Tidal
Basin, but 1t has consistently opposed
the erection of a building on this site
IN the form of a Roman pantheon"
Site Is Flat.
Maj. Clarke declared: 1.-THE Com
mission Of Fine Arts has given most
thoughtful consideration to this mat
ter and after many prolonged discus
sions has concluded unanimously that
1t Is inadvisable to place q structure
Of this type and design on the south
cross-axis of the Mall.
THE site on the south cross-axis of
the Mall is fiat; beyond lie the broad
expanses Of the Potomac. This site,
which the Commission Of Fine Arts
has previously approved, calls for a
low, broad architectural mass, the
central axis open or partly open, with
. notal central figure or other sculp-
tural composition dominating the sur
rounding structure designed to partly
inclose an area which will become the
shrine dedicated to the writer OF the
Declaration Of Independence. =
The site is the last one of Importance
in the central composition of the Ma
tional Capital. The memorial erected
there should, We believe. not only be
suitable to the characteristics Of 4
great American, but as well suitable to
the site itself, thus to form an integral.
harmonized unit in the most distin-
guished city plan in the world"
Letter to Boylan.
In letter to Representative Boylan
under date of March 26, the commits
sion said that never, at any time, has it
considered Mr.. Pope's Pantheon de-
sign suitable for the site on the Tidal
Basin; 1t has always expressed prefer