Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-10-04
HERITAGE OR PROGRESS?
Parking Lot Site Splits Annapolis
OR PROGRESS?
By BARNARD X. LETTER
Star Stan Writer

oils opens its annual Heritage
Week this week with the I'M
happy prospect that some Of its
priceless heritage may be
purged in the name Of progress.
On the surface the problem
seems simple enough: More
parking spaces are needed If
the downtown business section
is to survive and prosper.
The solution, it would appear,
is equally simple: Pick out the
most advantageous spot, clear
it and turn it into a municipal
parking lot.
But that's not the way it's
working out. Here's what's
happened during the past l6
months:
A citizens committee studied
the problem and recommended,
among other things, expanding
a present municipal parking lot
on South street by razing a few
homes Of no historic signif-
icance along South street to
Cathedral street.
A professional engineering
f1rm, called in when opposition
to the homemade" report was
expressed, charged $4,000 and
recommended expanding the
same lot by razing a number
Of homes on Duke of Glouces-
ter street. believed to have been
built in the early 1905.
Historic Annapolis, Inc. a
non-profit organization pledged
to preserving all things historic
in the city, wants more parking
! space but doesn't want any
homes torn down.
The Chamber of Commerce
just wants some fast action to
relieve the acute parking
problem and attract more
business to downtown stores.
Annapolis Split
And the City Councils
Parking Committee is prepar-
ing another report, based on
the study Of the first two, in ,
which it will recommend how ,
to solve the problem. }
! In short. Annapolis is split :
into factions over the problem !
and each seems to have its own
solution.
| The city'S narrow streets
and limited parking have long
been a problem. But it wasn't
tackled seriously until about
Is months ago when the mayor
appointed a citizens commit
tee to seek a solution.
! The six businessmen devoted |
more than three months to
studying the parking problem
before recommending the To-
cation Of additional off-street
I parking.
Their chief suggestion was
to expand the present South
street parking lot toward Ca
thedral street, which would
require the razing Of several
non-historic homes on South
to Cathedral. This would in
crease the lot from approx
mately IS spaces to 1875.
I'VE tramped all over this
town for more than three
months before we finally made
our report" said F. Marion
! Lazenby, chairman Of the
committee.
When opposition was ex-
pressed to the Lazenby groups
report, the City Councils Park
ing Committee hired a pro-
fessional engineering Arm, VIII
bur Smith & Associates of New
Haven. Conn.,, to- study the
problem.
Reports Similar
The professional engineers
recommended, among other
things, that the South street lot
be expanded by demolishing six
houses on Duke Of Gloucester
street in the heart Of Colonial b
Annapolis. Their plan called ,
also for razing at least four ,
houses on King Charles street,
just around the corner.
One of the homes-No. 200
Duke Of Gloucester streets !
believed to have been built {
about 1910. Others are Of more I
recent vintage. At least two
petitions urging these homes [