COLUMBIA HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-FIFTH CONGRESS THIRD SESSION ON S. 3873 A BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAY 6, 1938 Printed for the use of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds འཎྜའ ་ wift, Doc. 5-77-38 AUDITORIUM IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1938 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND Grounds, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m. in the committee room, Senate Office Building, Senator Tom Connally (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Connally, Maloney, Truman, Chavez, Andrews, and Hale. The CHAIRMAN. This hearing is on S. 3873, a bill which I introduced on April 20, providing for the appointment of a commission and erection and construction of an auditorium. We will put in the record the report of the advisory committee. The auditorium commission was created, and it in turn referred the matter to an advisory staff, and that staff prepared this tentative report, the complete report to be filed later with Congress, and based on that, I introduced this bill. (The report referred to is as follows:) CAPITAL AUDITORIUM COMMISSION DRAFT OF TENTATIVE REPORT To the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. In accordance with the provisions of S. 974 entitled "A bill to create the Capital Auditorium Commission," we have investigated the feasibility of constructing an auditorium in the city of Washington. During this investigation, consideration was given to various sites, types, and cost of construction, the uses to which the auditorium might be devoted, the experience of municipalities in the operation of auditoria, and other details necessary for the presentation of a comprehensive report. After careful study and deliberation it is recommended that there should be constructed in the city of Washington a national multiple-use auditorium to accommodate both Federal and non-Federal activities. The recommendation for the use of the auditorium for non-Federal activities is based on the fact that Washington has a definite and immediate need for an auditorium which will accommodate national non-Governmental conventions, both commercial and noncommercial in character. It is also believed that the Federal requirements for a large auditorium are definitely limited and that the utilization of the auditorium by non-Governmental activities when not needed for Federal purposes will constitute a source of revenue to pay for the maintenance and operations. The nongovernmental uses, which it is believed will not affect the national character of the auditorium if carefully controlled, should include gatherings and mass meetings of patriotic, civic, fraternal, religious, and political organizations, commercial conventions, which annually convene here numbering approximately 190 and having a total attendance of 105,000 people, symphony orchestras, grand operas, and certain sports, such as ice carnivals, which would not detract from the national character of the auditorium. It is recommended that sports be included only as a secondary feature and not at all if they compete or conflict in any way with the more important functions of a national character. There are certain types of sports, however, which apparently could be conducted in the auditorium without impairing the operation and efficiency of the structure or detracting from its dignity. Investigations |