Evening star., 1939-11-19
Improvements
In Play Areas
To Begin Soon
Program Involving
$400, 900 Of w. P. A.,
6. c. G. Work Listed

100000 OF w. P. A.,
G. c. c. Work Listed
A city-wide program of school
ground and playground improve
ment involving more than s400, 900
worth Of Civilian Conservation
Corps and Works Progress Admin
istration work is about to get un-
der way. 1t was revealed yesterday.
Because adequate funds have not
been appropriated for the improve
ment of grounds after they have
been purchased by the District or
the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, recreation
park and school officials have been
forced to resort to cooperative
relief project whereby a start can
be made on some of the grounds
sadly in need of improvement un-
less they are to remain recreation
space on paper only. This will be
the first major cooperative effort
of this nature on record.
A w. P. A. project for approx
mately S275 900 has been approved,
it was learned, in which is COM
bined work to be done on recrea-
ton units and school grounds.
Sponsors of the project are the Dis
trict Recreation Board and the Dis
trict Commissioners. Work is to
start December l.
At the same time the Office Of
National Capital Parks has agreed
to throw into the balance sl65 900
worth of C. c. c. work. Although
the C. c. c. boys will not work with
the w. P. A. the two programs are
to be dovetailed so that each will
be doing the work for which they
are best fitted.
Program Reduced.
Between them the C. c. c. and w.
P. A. are to do grading, seeding.
sodding, planting, fencing, installa-
ton of steps, walks and walls; put
up fences. surface court areas and
tennis courts and put in water sup
ply and drainage facilities.
Park, recreation and school Off
cials have agreed, it was revealed
authoritatively, that the only wav
such improvement of this nature
can be effected on city-wide scale
is by a pooling of resources, and
this, in effect, is what has been
done in working out the impend-
ing program.
The program as it now stands,
however, is only third the size
of one which officials attempted to
work during last summer The
larger program which involved ap-
proximately 1900, 900 worth of SIM
liar work on larger number of
areas, broke down when the w. p. A.
refused to approve it on the ground
there was insufficient money for
materials. In this larger project
also, c. c. c. boys were to be used
as part of the sponsors contribu-
tion. Now, however. the program
represents two separate, but thor
oughly co-ordinated. projects.
One Deficiency.
The only drawback to the pro-
gram as it now stands is that in
sufficient technical personnel exist
either in the municipal architects
office or in the branch of plans and
design of the National Park Service
to turn out detailed work plans for
the task. This condition, it is hoped
by officials concerned. may soon be
alleviated by an additional white
collar" w. P. A. project.
Revelation that such a program,
after many ups and downs since last
July. is now about to go into effect
is significant because it reflects the
spirit of cooperation which was
pledged between the Recreation De-
partment and the Office of the Ma
tional Capital Parks and the Board
of Education at the time Of re-
organization of the Community
Center Department and the District
Playground Department last July.
Squads of C. c. C. boys from three
of the five camps under the juris-
diction of the Office of National
Capital Parks already have been
doing intensive work on two of the
major units in the recreation system.
These are the Chevy Chase Recrea-
ton Center and Taft Recreation
Center. Additional work has awaited
final approval of the complementary
w. P. A. program which goes into
effect December /.
Now, 1t was learned, the program
can proceed full steam ahead.
No Field Houses.
No building of field houses or
other expensively constructed facili-
ties, however, will be possible under
a relief project of this sort, it was
pointed out. Appropriation of more
adequate improvement funds by
Congress is needed before any build
ing of this sort can be done, they
said.
However. it was pointed out, CO.
operation Of this sort eventually can
put the grounds into shape to re-
ceive buildings if and when Con-
gress ever sees fit to provide the
necessary money.
1t was not learned just which
areas the program is to cover, but
several which head the list were
revealed
In general, areas on which work
is already under way, notably Taft
and Chevy Chase, are to be fin.
ished. In addition to this. imme-
diate attention is to be given How
ard Playground, Banneker Recrea-
ton Center, Southeast Recreation
Center and Petworth Playground.