Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-11-25
New Parking Building
Praised by Hazen
As Ideal in D. {.
Cuts Green and White
Ribbons at Medical
Center Structure

air Medical Center Parking Build
ing, at 1916 I street NV, with brief
ceremonies today, Commissioner
Melvin c. HaZen characterized the
structure as the answer to the
parking problem in the District OF
Columbia"
The new building. Of reinforced
concrete, is to be used for an auto
mobile show today Saturday and
Sunday, and will open for business
on Monday morning.
This parking center will open the
way for breaking ground shortly for
the new Doctors Hospital across
the street, as the hospital site has
been used for parking lot. A few
details still remain to be ironed
out, it was said, before the hos
pital can be begun.
Commissioner Hazen cut two rib
bons of green and white, which are
the colors of the medical profession
and Of the new hospital to open the
parking center. In shipping the
shears, he also remarked with a
smile that these were the colors
under which his horse has won
many victories. He inspected the
building in company with officials
OF the owning corporation. and
afterward congratulated them upon
their work as pioneer" in help
ing to solve the parking problem.
Street Congestion Stressed.
This is one of the worst congested
streets we have in the city," he said.
More of these buildings throughout
the city would relieve congestion in
the streets and help to solve the
parking problem"
Asked if the municipal government
would construct similar buildings,
the Commissioner emphatically de-
clared that the city government
should not go into this business.
Such projects, he said, should be
under private control
DR.. Charles Stanley White, presi-
dent of the Columbia Operating
Corp, which owns the parking CEN
ter, explained that the structure was
erected to provide parking space for
all persons connected with the Wash
ington Medical Building, the Column
bia Medical Building, and the pro-
spective Doctors Hospital, which is
to be erected between the two medi-
cal buildings. He also is the presi-
dent of the companies owning and
operating the medical building.
DR.. White explained that the park
ing center would be open also to the
general public, which makes it differ
ent from another similar structure
operated by big department store
elsewhere in the city for its custom
ers only. This public use of the struc-
ture was what appealed to Commits
sioner HAGEN.
Hazen's Car Is First.
The first car to use the parking
center was that of Commissioner
Hazen, carrying the District tag
number l. The car entered the
building through an entrance where
the Commissioner had cut the two
ribbons and departed by another
door, where it snapped two similar
ribbons on the way out. Capt.
Arthur Miller Of No. police pre-
cinct was present for the ceremony.
In addition to DR.. White, other
officers of the Columbia Operating
Corp. at the ceremony today in
cluded DR.. Edgar P. Copeland and
DR.. Edward L. Morrison, vice presi-
dents; DR.. Oscar B. Hunter, secre-
tary; DR.. Charles w. Hyde, treas
urer; DR.. r. K. Thompson, chairman
of the Executive Committee for the
parking center, and DR.. Allen c.
Chenery, chairman of the Executive
Committee on Buildings and the
Doctors Hospital.
The building was designed by
Francisco & Jacobus of New York,
engineers and architects, to har-
monte with the general architec-
tural appearance of the new hos
pital to be erected opposite it on
the south side of I street. The
parking building was constructed by
Lee Paschall, contractor, in about
two months. 1t Is equipped with
wide ramps for owners to drive
their own cars from floor to floor
and with q public address system
to carry messages or announce
ments throughout the structure. It
has q basement and three other |
floors.