Evening star., 1939-05-21
Fifty,Yeors Ago
In the Star

article in The Star of May 18, 1889, for
speedy selection of site
'e'ec .'"9 for the geological park and
LOO for settlement of the mat
. Site ter. The commission con-
sidered the whole question at meet
ing last night They have been over the
whole ground carefully from Massachu-
settes avenue extended to the Military
road, and have considered the relative
merits Of the sites proposed. 1t is nice
question to settle, that of getting as
much land as possible for the money
appropriated, and at the same time Sc
curing a location as near the city as
possible.
"At the meeting last evening they had
number of experts before them and
got their opinion as to the actual value
Of the land. They considered also
number of letters from property owners
along the Rock Greek Valley Each
piece Of property was taken up sepa-
rately and its merits and value carefully
considered, with the aid of the experts
opinion. In this way they determined
upon the value of each piece of property
in Rock Creek Valley from Woodley
road to Military road and were pretty
we'll determined as to what they could
do, though they are not yet ready to
announce any decision.
Both Secretary Noble and Prof.
Langley expressed the opinion to a Star
reporter today that they would be ready
to announce decision before long, and
they were confident of the satisfactory
establishment of park. The site select
ed will, doubtless, be north of Woodley
road, but as close to the city as it is
possible to get enough land for the
amount of money to be expended"
*k *k
The condition of Washington's streets
was frequently a matter of protest half
a century ago, and two
Sidewalk problems that concerned
prohIere the safety of citizens are
thus discussed in an edi-
torial in The Star of May 21, 1889:
While there appears to be some di-
vergence of views as to the propriety of
removing carriage blocks from the side
walks. it is quite safe to say that no
difference of opinion can be entertained
IN regard to the wisdom of requiring
the tops of projecting water and gas pipe
boxes throughout the city to conform to
the level of the pavements. In every
part OF the city, and often several times
IN single square or block, these un-
slightly and dangerous projections may
be found and 1t is no uncommon sight
to see young. as well as old persons,
stumbling over them. Indeed, it has
happened more than once that painful
and serious injuries have been sustained
from this cause. Now that Capt. Sy-
mons has carried his point in regard to
the carriage blocks, let him turn his
attention to the projecting boxes re-
ferred to. We will guarantee that in his
raid on that nuisance he will meet with
no opposition from the public, and we
feel sure that his official superiors will
second any efforts he may make in that
direction.
Another thing to which the District
authorities may properly and advan-
tageously give their attention, is the
cutting away of the lower branches of
most II not all Of the shade trees along
the sidewalks of the city. AS a rule they
hang too low for either beauty or utility.
The shade is thus made so dense as to
frequently destroy or dwarf the other
wise beautiful turf in the reservations
and front yards, and at the same time it
prevents free ventilation and circulation
OF air, thus creating dampness in houses
and often promoting disease. This even
in dry weather. When it rains the un-
der branches hang so low, from the
weight OF water, as to become positive
nuisance to pedestrians. If those respon-
sible in the premises would walk out
occasionally during or just after a hard
shower or a protracted rain, as many
people are obliged to do, they would cer-
tainly realize the force of this objection.
"The District Commissioners can make
quite popular hit by directing the
proper steps to be taken to bring about
reform on these two points-small
matters though they may appear to be-
and the subject Is respectfully submitteA
to their consideration"