Evening star., 1954-10-03
Fine Arfs Group
May Urge Island
Site for New Span
CONTINUED From First Pageo

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stroy the most beautiful civic
landscape in America"
DR.. Hudnut's letter proposed
that II an additional structure
Is absolutely essential to carry
river traffic In that area, q tunnel
should be built. He told re-
porter the Federal Government
should pay for 1t.
Asked by The Star If any other
surface location would be less
Objectionable, DR.. Hudnut dis
closed that the commission has
discussed at length the two
span bridge across the upper part
of Roosevelt Island"
Only Real Answer.
He maintained the only "real
answer" is a tunnel. But DR..
Hudnut said such an island cross
ing as he described would not
do nearly the damage" that the
approved bridge would to esthetic
values of the Lincoln Memorial
and the monumental parks and
structures that surround it.
At a Senate hearing July Is.
commission officials bitterly at
tackled a bridge site similar to
the Constitution avenue site Con-
gress later approved. So DR..
Hudnut's letter was not a sur
prise. But the alternative under
study was.
In a check of other members:
George Biddle, an artist. of
Croton- Hudson. N. Y. told
The Star by telephone he
thought it would be tragic" If
the new proposal is not explored
fully.
Leans To Island Plan.
Elbert Peets, Washington city
planner and noted authority on
civic art, said he leaned strongly
to the new island crossing as a
practical alternative to "the ideal
solution-a tunnel"
Felix De Weldon. Washington
sculptor whose works include the
Two Jima Memorial being erected
near the Potomac in Arlington.
said a crossing of the northern
part of Roosevelt Island would
be IAN ideal solution-it wouldn't
damage anything"
Commission Chairman David
e. Finley. reached in Denver.
refused to discuss the bridge
situation. The commissions
sixth active member, DR.. Pietro
Belluschi, of the Massachusetts,
Institute Of Technology, was
hospitalized in Cambridge and
could not be questioned.
Mr.. De Weldon. reached at
Newport. r. l., said he under
stands DR.. Hudnut plans to get
In touch with the Theodore
Roosevelt Association-custodian
of the island wilderness memo
rial-about the new proposal.
Out to Convince Officials.
Mr.. De Weldon said he hoped
association officials could be con-
vinced of two things. One is that
the Constitution avenue bridge
ON which detailed planning is
going ahead-would cause the
island great damage by blocking
it off from the monumental
Lincoln Memorial area. The
other is that the new proposal
for crossing the island would not
hurt it at all.
Mr.. Biddle said he has sug-
gested the island roadway might
be depressed to make it unob-
strusive even to island visitors.
Others said a divided roadway
could be built to hold down road
width. Mr.. De Weldon said the
road actually would help by Civ
inr excellent access to the islend
The commission has not acted
formally on the proposal. De-
spite strong opposition to the
Constitution avenue bridge and
a desire to find an alternative,
there really isn't too much the
commission can do.
Act Gives Little Power.
The act authorizing the new
bridge gives the commission little
power. It instructs District Of
ficials to submit plans to the
commission "for advice with re-
spect to the architectural fea-
lures" It says that upon fail
ure of the commission to report
its advice within 80 days i. the
requirements of this subsection
shall be deemed to have been
met"
I'VE can't act until we have
plans submitted, Mr.. De Weldon
explained. But we can try to
persuade people to submit plans
to us in a specific way"
That presumably Is just what
commission members have been
doing in closed-door sessions
with city highway and Federal
planning officials who are work.
ing on details of the approved
bridge.
The only previous time Roose-
welt Island has bowed to a bridge
crossing was under the stress
Of war emergency. But, during
World War II. officials noted.
O temporary bridge existed that
was strikingly similar to the
new idea under study.
Pontoons Reached Island.
Then, Army Engineers built
q pontoon bridge from the foot
Of Wisconsin avenue to : the
northern part of the island. Traf-
fic crossed on the island surface,
and reached Virginia via another
temporary span.
Neither is the tunnel idea new.
Gilmore D. Clarke, former Fine
Arts Commission chairman, pro-
posed 1t as a substitute to the
e Street Bridge in a 1852 study
for the National Capital Parks.
Generally. tunnel proposals have
been pushed aside because Of
cost estimates, running as high