Evening star., 1942-01-14

For Protection
|0fCityP|ar
Architects AssoiI
Temporary Buildings
Morring Copitol

Inc American INSTITUTE OF Arcnl-
tects is taking active part In a cam.
paign to protect the city plan OF
Washington as far as possible from
erection Of badly placed temporary
buildings often allowed to become
permanent, 1t was learned today.
Francis p. Sullivan, a spokesman
said that the institute, many OF
whose members have had . part In
the development of the city plan
has offered its cooperation In q
study to reorganize the National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission along more effective lines
in the belief that this would aid in
protecting the city plan.
At the same time, Mr.. Sullivan
said, q committee of the District
chapter Of the institute has offered
its assistance to the reorganization
study, which. 1t is said, is in the
hands Of the Budget Bureau. Mr.
Sullivan is chairman OF the Dis
trict chapter committee.
Recent developments" he said
have shown the necessity for reor-
ganization of the Park and Planning
Commission"
War Building Site Criticized.
Announcement of the campaign
was made yesterday at a luncheon
of the Architectural League of New
York. at which members deplored
the tendency to, erect temporary
buildings and permit them to be-
come permanent. Criticism was also
leveled at the plan and location OF
the new War Department Building
under construction in Arlington.
Chairman Fredelic A. Delano of
the Park and Planning Commission
said he had not attended the New
York session but observed that the
commission has Oeen trying all
along to protect the city plan.
At the New York meeting it was
said protests have been made
against recent construction projects
in Washington. In the case of the
new War Department Building
Ralph T Walker, former president
vi the Municipal Art Society. now
engaged on defense projects in
Trinidad, declared that the 10000
workers it will house will create a
tremendous problem when tney start
using the Lincoln Memorial and
Fourteenth Street Bridges. already
bearing q heavy traffic load.
Malcolm Kirkpatrick, another
architect at the luncheon, referred
to the court around which the five
sided building is being erected as q
"built-in bull's-eye" in case Of an
air raid.
Scars Left by Wars.
Every war has left its scar on
the city in the form of temporary
buildings, Frederick j. Woodbridge,
president Of the New York league,
told the group.
He said he and other architects
favored removing some of the
agencies. such as the Department
Of Agriculture. to other cities to
make way for the necessary war
expansion.
Lorimer Wilson Rich, designer of
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
at Arlington. said architects were
incensed by the location of the War
Department and were disturbed by
the erection of temporary buildings
without the advice of Fine Arts
Commission and Planning Commits
sion experts.
Originally the new war building
was to have been located in front
of Arlington National Cemetery, but
protests induced the President to
approve q change to another Arling-
ton site on which it had been
planned to erect an Army quarter
master depot.
Agencies Not Consulted.
The original plan had been de-
veloped without consultation with
either the Park and Planning Com
mission or the Bureau of the Budget
and was not in accordance with the
city plan. which called for a new
War Department building in the So
called Northwest rectangle. where
the first unit of the buildings to 60
there is already in operation.
A large model of Washington, to-
gether with maps and charts show
ing the changes made since the first
city plan was drawn by Maj. Pierre
L'Enfant in 1871. has been installed
at the league headquarters in New
York and will be open to the public
during the month.
The members of the Fine Arts
Commission and the Planning Com
mission were guests at luncheon
of the league last Thursday in OBJ
servance of the 150th anniversary
Of L'Enfant's plan.