Evening star., 1940-02-25
Nearby Areas
Enter Era Of
New Building
Fields and Forests
Give Way to Vast
New Communities
Eighth OF a series OF articles
on plans for the Development OF
Greater Washington during the
merit 10 years.
By Joseph S. Edeerfon.

By Joseph S. Edgerfon.
Sharing in the remarkable growth
OF the National Capital, nearby
Maryland and Virginia counties, par
ticularly Arlington County, which is
claimed to be the fastest growing
county in the United States today
are going into the 1940-5O decade
on the crest of the greatest building
waves in their history.
Throughout the four nearby
counties, open fields and forests are
disappearing before the advance of
private homes and apartment COM
munities on a scale never before
attained in the history of the
Greater Washington area.
OF equal Importance to the future
development of the four counties in
the metropolitan area is a decidedly
interesting trend in the Federal
Governments local housing program
"a trend born of increasing conges-
ton within the District of Columbia
which is leading toward "decen-
tralization" program evidenced by
the establishment of one govern
mental activity after another in
nearby Virginia and Maryland.
So gradually has this trend made
itself manifest, chiefly during the
latter half of the past decade, that
the average Washingtonian is likely
to be surprised when confronted with
q list of the Federal activities which
already have been located outside
the District of Columbia. To gain
the advantage of cheaper building
sites, better nearby housing condi-
tions for employees, and relief
from growing traffic congestion, the
Federal Government has undertaken
a policy of planting Federal COM
munities" in the outlying suburban
areas. The results of such a policy,
continued during coming years, may
be of the utmost Importance to the
whole Greater Washington area, and
undoubtedly will give the present
period place of prominence in the
history Of the planning and growth
of the National Capital.
Late Federal Projects.
Among the Federal activities which
already have found homes in the
outlying suburbs are the new
Naval Medical Center, just beyond
Bethesda, with its neighbors, the
National Institute of Health and the
National Cancer Institute; the David
w. Taylor Naval Testing Basin, at
Carderock: the Agriculture Depart
ment's rapidly growing 10,o00-acre
research center at Beltsville; the
a1 200 900 Navy radio receiving sta
ton at Cheltenham, Md; the Naval
Proving Grounds new research base
at Dahlgren, Va; the Highway
Research Laboratory of the Public
Roads Administration at Gravelly
Point, likely to be moved soon to an
other SUBURBAN location to make
way for the new home of the Civil
Aeronautics Authority; increasing
naval research activities at the Navai
Research Laboratory and at the
Naval Powder Factory, and the
Bureau of Mines laboratory on the
campus of the University of Mary
land, at College Park.
The Civil Aeronautics Authority
has put into operation during the
past year a thoroughly up-to-date
airways radio range and marker
beacon station at Hunters Point, Va.
Earlier it had located the local radio
range station near Abingdon and the
Washington airways weather infor-
nation radio station at Silver Hill,
Md. The Authority itself seems
likely to establish decentralized
headquarters for itself at Gravelly
Point, where tentative arrangements
have been made to take over and
enlarge the highway research labor
. atory buildings. This would force
the Public Roads Administration to
establish new laboratory quarters,
possibly in the northern part of the
District of Columbia or in nearby
Maryland, thus locating still an
other Federal community of fairly
respectable size.
Radio Research Work.
The Bureau of Standards has
established two outlying radio re-
search communities, receiving at
Meadows, Md, and transmitting at
Beltsville.
Justification for extensive con-
struction of housing units in the ad-
joining counties-Montgomery and
Prince Georges, Md, and Arlington
and Fairfax, Va.-is seen by Dr.
Ernest Fisher, economic adviser to
the Federal Housing Administration
In the steadily growing population OF
Greater Washington. The F.. H. A.
has been keeping sharp eye on the
local situation, according to DR.
Fisher, and has observed that the
increase In population in this area
has been constant, with the excep-
ton of two years, for many years
past, so far as can be determined
by the most reliable estimates.
Since 1884, according to studies by
the F. H. A., there has been no per-
ceptible increase in the number OF
housing unit vacancies, except in
1.-The very high-priced apartments
which have vacancies in the neigh
L. d,