Evening star., 1946-01-24
D. {. Acquires
Play Area for
Sousa School
Planners Transfer
Lond, Clearing Way
For Construction
BY RUDOLPH KAUFMAN, II.


The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission today trans
ferred to the District 21s acres of
Fort Du Pont Park so that the
proposed John Philip Sousa Junior
High School may be located at
Thirty-seventh street and Ely place
Sc.
In so doing, however, the COM
mission said it still felt it was a
mistake not to locate the school on
Ridge road Sc, at the northeast
corner of the park. The commission
previously had recommended trans
fer of Is acres of park land there
for the school.
The transfer clears the way for
construction of the school on a
seven acre tract on the north side
of Ely place at Thirty street
and conversion of the two and one
half acres into playground space.
Twin Oaks Purchase Studied.
In response to pleas of the Cleve-
land Park Community Committee,
the commission today took under
study purchase of the entire Twin
Oaks estate, 1925 Woodley road NV.
Cleveland Park residents want the
commission to buy all 18 acres of the
tract rather than 10-acre portion,
on the ground the entire area is re-
quired for badly needed community
play space.
The Community Committee made
the request last week in a letter
signed by Mrs. Cazenove Lee, 3542
Newark street.
No money for this purchase is
available or asked in the 1947 budget,
Thomas S. Settle, commission secre-
tary, said today. 1t is future prof.
ect, he added.
Property Purchase Approved.
Purchase of a filling station on
the west side of Champlain street
NV, between Florida avenue and
Kalorama road, was approved today
by the commission.
The purchase is being made to
connect the playground of the Nor
gan School with Happy Hollow play
ground on Eighteenth street, near
by. Although under 10000 square
feet in size, this lot has been sought
for a number of years as the key
to combining the two play areas.
Another purchase approved today
Is small strip of land on property
owned by Thomas P. Armatt, to per-
NIT road connections with the new
Klingle road bridge, now under con-
structlon. The strip will connect
Porter street and Klingle road with
park roadWays.
Tourist Camp to Be Considered.
This afternoon the commission
was ITO consider the controversial
question of building a new tourist
camp in East Potomac Park.
Milo F. Christensen, District su-
perintendent of recreation; Wayne
Sumner, recreation secretary of the
Council of Social Agencies, and
Charles H. Cunningham, chairman
of the Federal Recreation Commit
tee, were to testify against the plan.
That part of the park now occu-
pied by the present camp was, until
recently, scheduled to become a
recreation area for Government
empt2yes. Plans approved in 1941
called for creation of softball dia-
monds, horseshoe courts, locker IA
cilities, and floodlights and other
features and location of new camp
on land now occupied by the Pen
tagon and Arlington Farms.
The District Recreation Board
wants to have the new camp built
along the Potomac River south of
National Airport and it was expected
Mr.. Christensen would recommend
today that this be done.
To Discuss Television Towers.
Other matters scheduled to be
discussed by the commission this
afternoon were the future improve
ment of Anacostia Park, proposals
of the District Engineer to improve
the river channel as far as Bladens- !
burg and plan to provide an ac-
cess road to the Hot Shoppe at the
Rosslyn end of Key Bridge.
Tomorrow the commission will
discuss further the television towers
proposed for Washington, plans to
Streamline Fourth street NV.
where it crosses the grounds of How
ard University, and the views pre-
sented on the citys transportation
problems by Town Meeting of the
Air" speakers at the Washington
Board of Trades District Night"
meeting last Friday.
Tomorrow afternoon w. E. Rey-
nolds, public buildings commissioner,
will present master plan for fu-
ture buildings at Washington Ma
tional Airport.