Evening star., 1945-06-10

- W GllC OlOIli1iCI, GliC SlCdb ClldilSeS
that have occurred along downtown F
street during his lifetime seem almost
unbelievable, how striking, indeed,
these must seem to those who scan the
histories of the city and read of the
earlier days when this wonderful thor
oughfare was not much more than Just
an ordinary wagon road, and which
was IN use even before Pennsylvania
avenue was in existence. However,
since the venerable native delights in
dreaming of the past condition of
things so no doubt will the younger
generation and the newcomers to our
city take pleasure in making compari-
sons with the old Washington and the
new-the Washington of George WASH
1ngtons time. of Andrew Jacksons
time, of Lincolns time and of our own
time.
Views OF old Washington do not go
back so very far-that is, Photographic
views-tor photographers we look
upon it today-is not very old inven-
ton. Indeed, it is quite probable that
s. F. B. Morse made the first daguer-
reotype pictures in New York in Sep
tember. 1889, and none were made in
this city earlier than 1842 or 1843. Even
these were Of a more or less expert
mental character However, photography
advanced rapidly from that time on,
which accounts for an excellent view of
F street, which was taken about 1857.
OF course. the writer was not born
early enough for him to remember the
city as it then looked, but he does con-
fess that he recalls F street when it
was largely a residential thoroughfare,
with very few business houses, and with
a pump at almost every intersection.
City's Early Boundary
r street from Ninth to Fifteenth
street was one of the first sections to be
built up after the "Ten-mile Square"
was selected as the Nations Capital
and for a number of years afterward it
marked the boundary of the city, the
area to the north consisting mainly of
farms and forests.
Passing east along F street from Fiji
teenth street, at least as far as Elev-
enth street, the observer can easily see
the decided slope of the land toward
Pennsylvania avenue and farther on to
where once ran Tiber Creek, later con-
verted into the Washington Canal,
while the Avenue, especially the nearer
the Capitol is approached, was low and
generally marshy ground, which ac-
counts for the piling for all large struc-
lures in this area.
This Was Marshland
Indeed, not only was there marshy
ground to the south of F street, but
much wet ground to the north as well.
An early writer IN describing this area,
tells us that:
"The Presidents Home and Offices
were situated on grounds between F and
G and Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets
on what was termed F street ridge
The rain and snow falling on this ridge
divided and part ran off to the north
and part to the south. That to the
north flowed into what is now called G
street and that which ran from the
ridge to the south flowed into what was
then the Avenue, below the Presidents
House. Consequently, there was no out
let at that time from Twentieth street
in an easterly direction, to Eleventh
street, by which the water produced by
rain and snow could run off into Tiber
Creek, so that large body OF water as
far up as I street, flowed to G street
until 1t found an outlet to Eleventh
street. This caused it at times to have
the appearance of small creek"
1t so happened that the plan of the
city placed F street along the brow of
this hill, which early became known as
F street ridge, and quite naturally, due
to its situation and its nearness to the
White House-the cornerstone of which
was laid on october l3, 1792-but not bv
President Washington, as has been re-
Gently stated.
Here on this ridge nature helped out
In providing good stretch along which
to open road for the stages and mail
coaches and 1t is believed that r street
was quite early the route taken from the
Capitol to Georgetown.
But even this road was not always in