Evening star., 1941-07-23
Finds City Spoiled
By Alleged Progress
Writer Complains About
Changes in Washington
During Recent Post

Changes in Washington
During Recent Post
To the Editor Of The Star:
For some time-in fact ever since the
widening of Thirteenth street.-The de-
struction of trees in our National Capt.
tai has impressed. me as being-well, 1t
is terrible.
When I returned to Washington four
years ago after an absence Of 10 years.
was so disappointed that tears came to
my eyes-when I discovered that the
double row of beautiful trees which used
to be in the grounds of the Agriculture
Department was gone had looked
forward to seeing them again all the
time I was away.
Next came Thomas Circle. Massa-
chusetts avenue now Scott Circle, and,
of course, "he who runs may read" the
march of destruction all along the line,
Dupont, Washington Circle.
The parks of the Potomac have been
the poor mans refuge from the heat
of this climate, but now even that
refuge is closed to him because of parked
cars all along the highways-through
the parks near the river around the
peninsula almost to Hains Point-and
even many of the winding roads are
closed to parking by per-
NIT only"
The latest mutilation of our landmarks
is taking place and contemplated in the
vicinity of the Smithsonian Museum,
written up in Sundays issue of The Star.
That article has given me courage to
write to you and express my hope that
you will start movement-awaken the
people to a complete realization of what
is happening.
In spite of the inability of people to
find places to live here in the District
of Columbia, perfectly good houses-the
homes of Old residents-and grand age
old trees are being destroyed, in order
to make wider highways to serve as all
day parking space for cars. Any one who
gives the matter any thought knows how
quickly pavement deteriorates when cars
are parked on 1t constantly. Pretty
costly parking space, 1 should say.
Washington was planned by men with
vision. They realized that in this
climate, trees and space are essential to
the comfort and health of the residents.
And that was before heat holding con-
crete sent up waves of nauseating dis
comfort-before the days of concrete
Not all of us have air-conditioned ofices
and houses and cars-nor do We all
have retreats in comfortable mansions
on grassy. shaded estates. where We may
retire when the notion strikes us, to
avoid the discomforts of everyday ex-
istence in work-a-day world
But aside from that. Washington is
we'll on the way to ruin. It's unique
beauty already has been spoiled in many
places through the loss of countless
beautiful old trees and grassy places,
to say nothing of the friendly houses
which gave the atmosphere of solidarity
an atmosphere which is so sadly lack
ing in the rest of the world today No
doubt Washington wasn't cosmopolitan
but it had the advantages of q city,
with none of the disadvantages Now
it has most of the worst features of every
overgrown metropolis, with none OF the
advantages if any.
Newcomers to the city, who never
knew Washington but who longed to
see it because of the nice things they
had heard about it, find our National
Capital disappointment. Parked cars,
inconvenience caused by lack of vision
ton to dictate-Im so tired of seeing
automobile tops wherever I look-shin-
ing, flashing like mirrors from CLEANS
of sunlight-and no place to get away
from them
Thirteenth street was widened wears
ago for the purpose of giving wider space
for moving traffic. Has it helped? Cars
park double much of the time-the lanes
of moving traffic are no greater than
they were in the days before the NJ o. P.
March of Progress.
The airport, which was planned on a
much smaller scale than it turned out
to be, makes the river not much wider
than canal. The Mount Vernon
boulevard, built at great expense in or
der to make memorial parkway near
the water, is no more The bird sane
tuary which increased the interest of a
| trip to Alexandria is ruined.
I could 60 on and on and on. mem
tioning the Jefferson Memorial and the
loss of public recreation grounds:
/ schools worked for, over a period Of
years, only to have their usefulness
| jeopardized before the mortar dries, by
this so-called NJ o. P. which is leaving
scars like those of a minor war.
Some day We may settle back to
normalcy and wish all Of these things
hadn't been permitted, but it will be
too late. Trees do not grow in a night.
Neighborhoods-the great American in
stitution of home-life which has devel-
oped for centuries and which Is some
thing no other land has-are not a mat
| ter of months
Too many of those in authority have
never known what being in an American
| neighborhood means. They have never
sat on the front steps of their home
and talked across the lot to their next
door neighbors. They do not know, I'm
sure, the value of that sort of fraterniza-
-