Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-01

redevelopment program in
Philadelphia. He drew up a
program for the competition
remarkable for its latitude:
Any form would be accept
able, from pure landscape to
a building. Judge Biddle,
Dean Belluschi and Mr..
Bacon were intent on stimu-
lating the widest variety of
monumental thought. The
extent of their success Is on
record in the book, recently
reviewed in The Star, THE
Architecture of Monuments:
The Franklin Delano Roose-
welt Memorial Competition"
by Thomas H. Creighton
CReinhold). Every manner of
design was submitted, in
Guiding structures, statues
and landscape. Singularly abb
sent from the submissions
were structures in the Greek
or Roman styles so long DOM
inant in Washington.
The STA submissions were
juried by a highly qualified
group. Dean Belluschi served
as chairman. With him were
Joseph Hudnut, professor of
architecture emeritus, Har-
ward; Paul M. Rudolph,
chairman of the Depart
ment Of Architecture, Yale;
Thomas D. Church, a San
Francisco landscape archi-
tect, and Bartlett Hayes, jr.,
director of the Addison Gal
lery of American Art, Phillips
Academy, Andover, Mass.
Before Congress
In September. 1860, the
jury chose six preliminary
winners. The six competitors,
recipients Of $4,000 prizes,
then developed their designs
further. From the six. early
in 1861. the jury announced
the winner, a design created
by the New York firm Of
Peterson and Tilney with
the sculptor, Norman Ho-
herman. The Memorial Com
mission had reserved the
right to bypass the jury's
choice. but, after almost a
full year Of public exposure
and public discussion, the
Commission concurred in the
jury's choice. The design was
diSapproved by the Commits
sion of Fine Arts and is now
before Congress. What Con-
greSs Is considering is not
the erection Of the winning
design, but the authorization
Of the site use for this me-
mortal. Of an appropriation
to cover administrative ex-
penses and of a public fund
raising campaign to build
the monument.
The many steps and the
many different bodies in
volved in the process may,
at first, seem cumbersome,
but these devices, on analysis,
come as close as possible to
a guarantee of excellence.
Essentially, the COMPETE
ton process is the artistic
equivalent of the process
used in most Government
procurement of soliciting bids
through advertisement. Com
petition. like cutting the
cards, keeps the game honest.
Clearly the memorial COM
mission, led by Judge Biddle,
has made every conceivable
effort to obtain the best
possible advice at every step
Of the long, slow process now
in its final stage. The struc-
ture of the commission has
kept representatives of both
houses of Congress and of
the general public in charge
all the way; the wisdom of
the commission has procured
extraordinarily well-qualified
professional assistance. It
is hard to imagine how the
combination could be i'm
proved upon.
Final congressional ap-
proval Of the design, there
fore, will be a tremendous
boost for the cause of reason
in future Government use of
art and architecture. Re-
lection will be a signal for
our public buildings to be-
come. every day in every
way. more mediocre and
more mediocre.
The Design Itself
The second consideration
arguing acceptance of the
winning design is the design
itself and its eminent suit
ability to its site, to the three
existing monuments nearby
and to its purpose of en-
shrining the Nations mem
DRY of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.
The site is largely occupied
at present by temporary
buildings. The most immedi-
ate good effect of congress
sional approval would be
tearing down these eyesores.
There is also some park
landscaping, the most nota-
BILE feature of which, of
course. is part of the cherry
tree plantation which sur
rounds the Tidal Basin. The
winning design would pre-
serve the cherry tree, elm
mate the temporary build
ings and provide a great