Evening star., 1944-10-19
; Fairgrounds
In kid-CityA Area
Being Acquired
Progress Reported
To Park Commission
In lond Purchases

oubotnieAdl " iOeA COO lS UclIlg IIlduc
In completing acquisition of land in
the congested midcity section for
three long-sought Fairgrounds, Nor
man c. Brown, purchasing officer,
reported to the National Park and
Planning Commission today. They
are in areas lacking adequate rec
reational facilities for young chill
dren.
The Planning Commission voted
to turn the land over to the Dis
trict Commissioners as it is being
acquired and also approved assign
ment to the Commissioners of seven
other playground sites purchased in
the last few years. Two of them, the
Rose Park and Langston play
grounds, are already being operated.
The others will be used for postwar
development.
The midcity Fairgrounds and their
locations are as follows:
The Jamaica, on Church street
between Sixteenth and Seventeenth
streets NV; the Seaton, in the
vicinity of Second and H streets
NV. and the Cardoza, for colored,
Tenth and r streets NV.
$75o.000 Appropriation.
These properties are being ac-
quired under a $75O,0O0 appropria-
ton made available on July /. Di-
rector Milo Christensen of the Dis
trict Recreation Board said the
Seaton playground will be developed
as soon as school land Is acquired.
OF the seven Fairgrounds assigned
to the District Commissioners three
are for colored children. One in
cludes an addition to the Rose Park
playground at Twenty sixth and P
streets NV. An addition for the
Langston Recreation Center pro-
vides for tennis court area across
from the Browne Junior High School
IN the northeast section. A new
playground site for colored is located
/ nthe Watts Branch parkway res
ervation.
An addition to the Fort Reno
recreation center in the vicinity OF
Wilson High School was approved
among the playground sites for
white children.
Other newly acquired Fairgrounds
are the Kalorama Park at Columbia
road and Kalorama street NV; the
Ridge Playground as a part of the
Fort Dupont reservation extending
from Ridge road to Burns street
Sc, and the Kimball Playground
also situated in the Fort Dupont
reservation at the Kimball School.
There were two other playground
sites on the postwar program on
which the Planning Commission will
make assignment later. They are an
addition to the Anacostia Recrea-
ton Center and the proposed Bald
Eagle playground, designed as a
part OF Bald Eagle Hill reservation.
In addition to the down town play
grounds, Mr.. Brown has a number of
other projects on which to report. In
cluded are public land sites for so
mobile housing units that are to be
set up in various colored neighbor-
hoods. Another matter involves
transfers affecting a change in one
highway access to the Suitland
Parkway from Alabama avenue Sc.
Two-Day Program.
The Planning Commission has
compiled rather heavy program
for its two-day sessions. Postwar
development of airports in the Met
ropolitan Area Of Washington will
be under study, as well as flood
control measures in the Anacostia
and urban redevelopment.
This afternoon the commission
will consider a request from the
Army district engineers Office for
public hearings on proposed navi-
cation and flood-control improve
ments in the Anacostia River in
Maryland. The commission also is
to be advised by Army engineers
when hearings are to be held on
Potomac River navigation problems
connected with the District Com
missioners' plan for two new bridges
replacing the Highway Bridge.
The Anacostia study is followuu
OF an engineering survey made sew
eral years ago and referred back
from the Rivers and Harbors Board
for further reconsideration. This
was done at the request of local in
terests and the Planning Commits
sion.
Some slight revisions in plans for
access roads to the proposed WASH
lngton and Baltimore parkway will
be submitted tomorrow from the
Public Roads Administration. The
proposed route from the District to
Fort George G. Meade was an
nOunced last month.