Evening star., 1944-12-24
1ompkins 10 Receive
Contract 10 Build
New 6. W. Hospital
By HAROLD B. ROGERS.

Realizing that the situation on
the western front may tighten up
critical materials and manpoWer,
officials of the Public Buildings Ad-
miniStration and George Washing
ton University are proceeding with
plans to build the new 400-bed hos
pital in a block at Washington Cir
Gle to ease the shortage of hospital
facilities here.
A conference at the Public Build
ings Administration Friday discussed
tentative plans and some features
of the proposed institution.
Contractor for the entire project
will be the Charles H. TompkinS
Co. Of Washington and New York,
1t was learned from Commissioner
w. E. Reynolds of the Public Build
ings Administration.
Must Vacate January 2.
January has been fixed by Dis
trict Court order as the date for
all property owners to vacate. A
condemnation jury will view the
property before buildings are torn
down. AS soon as the block is
cleared, the Tompkins firm will
raze the old buildings and begin
construction of the hospital
Six stories in height, the hospital
will have the main entrance on
Twenty-third street NV, between
Pennsylvania avenue and I street
The ambulance entrance will be at
Twenty-third and I streets There
will be another back entrance to the
hospital on Twenty street,
and large parking area for doctors
cars along Twenty-third street
Patients rooms and wards will be
located in the center and southern
sections of the building. Along the
Pennsylvania avenue front there will
be dispenSaries on first and second
floors, and operating suites and serv-
ices on the third and fourth floors
Salariums and roof gardens will be
placed on the fourth story on the
Pennsylvania avenue front, as well
as on some other sections.
Consideration is being given to
glass roofs to the solariumS.
The largest ward will have only
four beds.
Facilities for C0Iored.
Facilities will be provided for
colored patients, in line with pre-
dictions made by Government
counsel in the court case where GER
tain property owners, including ST.
Paul's Episcopal Church have con-
tested the right of the Government
to take the property for a hospital.
About 25 of the 80 property owners
in the square already have agreed
on price for sale of their property
and it has been predicted that an
agreement with the church will be
reached soon The condemnation
jury will handle cases involving
price protests.
Many modern features will be in
corporated in the new hospital
The maternity section will have
Segregated nurseries" located so
newborn infants will not have to
be carried far to their mothers.
There will be incubators in an en-
tire section devoted to infants
prematurely born.
A kosher kitchen will be installed
as one of the features.
The nueropsychiatric department |
will be on the top floor.
No Time Limit Set.
No definite time has been set for
completion of the new institution.
The time will depend largely, Mr..
said, on the progress of the
war, and availability of materials.
Plans which were called "tenta-
tive" but are almost complete, had
been prepared by Waldron Faulkner
and Slocum Kingsbury, architects
of this city.
DIR. Cloyd Heck Marvin, president
of George Washington, paid tribute
to Commissioner Reynolds for his
constructive attitude" in deter
mining to give to Washington an
outstanding hospital" The insti-
tuition also is to be a teaching
hospital" he said.
be a teaching hospital" he said
Two experts from the Public
Buildings Administration who are
taking part in planning and super
vising the project are P. L. Helm,
engineer adviser in charge of the
Emergency Operations Unit, and
N. P. Thompson, architect.