Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-11-14
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Is Being K Moved
For Building
Construction to Stort
On Pom American
Union Annex at Site

Navy workmen today began NOV
ing the statue of the historic Two
Jtma fag-rasing from its site across
Constitution avenue from the Navy
Department to make way for the
long planned Pan American Union
annex.
Marine Corps officials said the
statue will be placed on a perma-
nent site at the Marine base at
Quantico, Va.
Soundings of the site in the 1900
block of Constitution avenue were
taken today to pave the way for
early construction of the Pan Ameri-
can annex.
Approval Given in 1916.
Approval Of the controversial site
for the annex was granted in Feb
ruary, 1916, by the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
climaxing q bitter 12-year fight for
the location by the late DR.. L. S.
Rowe, who was director general Of
the union.
The approval was given soon after
the resignation of Harold L. 1ckes
as Secretary of the. Interior. Mr.
Ickes had fought the proposal Wig
orously on grounds that the annex
would ruin the viewsof the Interior
Department as seen from Constitu-
ton avenue.
Latest estimates of cost OF the
structure reach $500, 900, union Of
fetal said.
The estimate about Is years ago,
when the building first was planned,
amounted only to 100000. This was
raised to $650,000, when it was de-
cided to build the annex with a
marble exterior, and that amount
was donated to the union by the
Carnegie Corp.
Building to Start in 3 Months.
Inflated building costs, officials
said, have raised the estimates to
sl,500,0O0. Spokesman for the union
said it has not been decided yet how
the remaining s850,00 will be raised.
Construction, however, will start
with three months.
The temporary Two lima statue, a
favorite of tourists since 1t was
erected two years ago, was cast by
Felix de Weldon, Washington
sculptor, while he was serving in
the Navy. The statue was unveiled
November 10. 1945, on the 10th
anniversary of the Marine Corps.
At the ceremony War Savings
Bond campaign also was launched.
Mr.. de Weldon said the statue.
cast of stone, cement and sand be-
cause no bronze was available dur
ing the war, has begun to show
signs of severe deterioration because
of the weather. Heavy coats OF
paint to give the appearance OF
bronze also hid much of the detail
of the work, he said.
Will Go to Quantico.
He plans to 60 to Quantico next
Tuesday, he added, to begin work
removing the paint and covering
the statue with coating OF bronze.
It then will be placed on stone
0aSe ana TeHldlll DIS d uiOLiOi loA az
the base. The Navy Department,
he said, has plans that are still in
the formative stage to later cast
the entire statue in bronze if ap-
preparations can be authorized for
the work.
There Is possibility. however,
that Washington will get back a
larger, and much more impressive
memorial to the bitter Two Jima
campaign, Mr.. de Weldon said.
Construction of the new monu-
ment, the sculptor said, will be
sponsored by the Marine Corps
League. A preliminary model has
been finished, he said, but pre-
dicted two years Of work is neces-
sary before construction can begin
Congress has authorized purchase
of private land for the proposed
memorial, but site has not yet
been chosen, he said.
The temporary Two Jima land
mark on Constitution avenue was
cast in only two weeks, Mr.. de
Weldon said, during his of1-duty