Evening star., 1938-09-30
FIXING Of SITE
PAVES WAY FOR
. MEMORIAL BIDS
Commissions on Planning
and Fine Arts Agree on
Precise Location.
SLIGHT MODIFICATION
OF PLANS APPROVED
Less Formal Landscaping Given
0. Especial Jefferson Unit
Must Pass on Decisions.

FO6Slplllty tnat bids will be invited
early IN October for construction of
the foundation of the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorial was seen today as a re-
suit Of unanimous action of the Ma
tonal Capital Park and Planning
Commission and Commission of Fine
Arts In joint session yesterday evening
liking the location of the memorial
on the south shore of the Tidal Basin.
The decision Of the two commissions
10 place the memorial on the north
south axis OF the White House with
Its feet in the water" is subject to
fnal approval by the Thomas Jeffer-
son Memorial Commission. This &C.
ton, however, was expected within a
leW days. clearing the way for imme-
dlate construction, it was said.
Plans for construction of a founda.
ton resting upon bedrock from 80 to
30 feet below ground level have been
virtually completed, making it pos
slole Tor the National Park Service.
designated as the constructing agency,
TO call for foundation bids at once,
s5o0,ooe Fund to Start Work.
Congress has appropriated $500 900
Tor starting work upon the memorial.
with q cost limit of $4,000 900. The
Initial appropriation is expected to
pay for the foundation work,
Under the act of Congress authoriz-
ing the memorial, modified pantheon
oeslgn, consisting of a circular COL
onnade supporting a domed roof. has
oeen decided upon for the memorial.
This structure will be equal in cubic
volume to the Lincoln Memorial, but
PROBABLY will appear smaller because
OF lts circular form, it was explained.
1t also will be lower than the Lincoln
Memorial, with floor level 80 feet
above mean low water level in the
Ildal Basin, as compared with 50 feet
Tor the Lincoln Memorial.
The Jefferson Memorial is to be sur.
rounded by a broad stone stairway
which will lead down into the waters
OF the Tidal Basin in front of the
main entrance, which will face directly
north toward the White House. In
the center of the rotunda will stand
the heroic statue of Jefferson. looking
northward across the Tidal Basin to-
ward the White House.
More Cherry Trees in Prospect
The location Of the memorial as de-
cided on will involve the moving of q
lew OF the Japanese cherry trees hut
eventually. as a result of the land.
scaping plan. there will be more of
the cherry trees in the vicinity of the
memorial than at present, it was an
nounced. Some modification of the
soutn shore line Of the Tidal Basin
also Will be involved, entailine
oreoelng away on one side of the me-
moral and corresponding filling on
the other so the structure will face
squarely upon the water.
A slight relocation of a portion n,
the approach road from Fourteenth
street to Highway Bridge also will be
involved. The roadway at this point
Is 70 be divided. with a resulting i'm.
provement in traffic flow, in the onin-
Ion OF the engineers.
The modified plans for the memo.
mai approved last night were presented
by Otto r. Eggers, chief architect of
tne John Russell Pope Co., who took
over the Jefferson Memorial plan fol-
lowing the death of Mr.. Pope August
%, 1887.
Inc landscaping plans for the area
surrounding the memorial are de-
scrlbed as much more informal than
tnose involved in the original nlan
which called for placing the memorial
within the Tidal Basin itself involv-
ing complete remaking of the basin
and destruction OF many of the Japa.
nese cherry trees. It was this p,an
"nlcn evoked a storm of criticism
"hlcn delayed the construction of the
memorial and led to last NIGHTS nlan
placing the structure some distance
70 tne south, just outside the Tidal
Basin area.
Thomas S. Settle, secretary N tn.
PARK and Planning Commission, an
nounced that the members of the two
commissions had agreed unanimously
upon the features of the new pIan
whlcn came within their jurisdiction
Inc modified pantheon DESIGN has
oeen specified by Congress. as had tn.
location on the north.south axis of
tne White House. These features uere
not passed upon by the two commits.
sions last night.
Fix Location Axis.
Ahe TWO commissions, however, acted
upon the exact location of the memo
nal on the axis line and upon tb.
ianoscaplng and highway treatment
OF the general area.
Inc site, as approved, places tho
memorial west of the public tennis
courts Just about on the point" ere.
aoeo oy the change in the direction of
tne TIDAL Basin shoreline from almost
east west to nearly north-south.
The final plans call for a setting
OF great beauty for the new memorial
Mr.. Settle pointed out. Like the Lin.
coin Memorial, which faces the Re-.
nectlng Pool on the axis of the Mall
tne Jefferson Memorial will face the
waters OF the Tidal Basin on.the White
House axis. 1t will be reflected in the
i1oal Basin and hanked on either side
oy the unbroken rows Of the famous
cherry trees.
Mr. Eggers denied assertions ~
critics OF the memorial, made during
tne controversy,of last year, that To-
cstlon OF the structure in the Tidal
Basin area would result in costs greatly
exceeding the 100000 limit fixed
oy Congress. The plans. he said, have
been drawn 20 keep within that limit
ana ne said he was confident thev
would do so. He pointed out that +hs
modified plan involves far less work
on the memorial surroundings than
the original plan. The design of the
memorial itself has been changed very
little, except that 1t is to be placed on
a. lower base, at the request of the
Park and Planning Commission, re-
sulting IN q less extensive terracins
and stairway system around the
structure.