Evening star., 1941-01-18
Curb on Ugly
Buildings Near
Urged
Planners Sympathetic
To Pleu to Protect
Semi-PubIic Structures

A plea to protect semi-public
buildings such as churches,
cathedrals and schools from "un-
aesthetic" encroachment by build
ings of inappropriate or ugly"
character erected by private enter
prise was heard yesterday by the
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission.
The plpea was presented by
delegation Of citizens headed by
the Rev. Albert j. Mccartney,
pastor of the Church of the Cove
nant, and accompanied by Senator
Shipstead of Minnesota, to seek an
amendment to the Shipstead-Luce
Act, of which the Minnesota Sen
ator was a sponsor, which would
protect such buildings from being
dwarfed and closed in by high
apartment houses, Office and indus
trial structures or any building Of
an ugly or undesirable char
acter."
4IC olI4lJoOCdu <lCI dI COCllI ca
tends this protection only to public
buildings and parks in certain pre-
'scribad areas of the city. The area
under protection is enlarged from
time to time by the Park and
Planning Commission, which has
authority under the act to amend
a special map delimiting such
protected areas The National
Commission of Fine Arts must pass
on whether proposed buildings af-
fected by the act will pass inspec-
tion where architecture, building
material, height and general ap-
pearance are concerned.
DR.. McCartney'S immediate con-
Germ is what he terms "a raucous
piece OF imitation brick and tin"
which is being erected to house an
eating establishment in the 1900
block of Connecticut avenue NV,
the same IN which the Church of
the Covenant stands.
Cites LOngfellow Building.
The delegation also mentioned
to the commission the new Long
fellow Building, now under con-
struction at Connecticut avenue
and M street NV, which he said
dWarfs and hides from many angles
St. Matthews Cathedral, the seat
of the Catholic archdiocese of Wash
ington, next door. DR.. McCartney's
church is at Eighteenth and N
streets NV, in the same block with
the new Office building.
Thomas S. Settle, planning com.
mission secretary, said after the
meeting that the commission was
entirely sympathetic" to the sug-
gestion of protection under the
Shipstead Act of such quasi-public
buildings and would study ways and
means of effecting such protection.
The commission yesterday ap-
proved s50O,0OO f1ood-control plan
instigated by the United States
engineer Office for the Washington
area for the Anacostia River near
BladenSburg and the much-f1ooded
Peace Cross. The plan would en-
tail construction of dikes both above
and below the Peace Cross on land
now in park ownership. The Dis
trlct engineer in Richmond already
has approved this plan and passed
1t along to the chief of Army en-
glneers for inclusion among Army
rivers and harbors projects.
Dredging Project Turned Down.
The original plan including dredg-
ing of the Anacostia River as far
| as Bladensburg Bridge for use bv
small boats. The District engineer
has turned this down. However,
! the commission yesterday ordered
its staff to confer with the engi-
neers in an effort to achieve this
plan as well at some future date.
The commission approved in
principle plan presented by John
Nolen, Jr., planning director Of the
commission, and Max Wearley OF
the commission staff. for an i'm
provement program for the Alexan-
drla water front. The plan includes
a driveway. or alternate to Wash
1ngton street, parts of which would
be elevated where industrial dock
facilities are encountered.
1t also approved the proposed
amendment to the District coming
laws which would permit COM
munity units of from nine acres
upward to be zoned for limited
commercial uses accessory to the
occupants. The amendment would
permit modified Crystal City"
plan to go into effect on the Dean
Hill tract at Connecticut and Flor
ida avenues.
The commission in addition an
nounced it had purchased another
$4,000 worth of land for the right
of way for the George Washington
Memorial Parkway in Maryland and
Virginia