12 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. gestions. I think that is very simple, and, Mr. Olmsted, I think that we should have a preliminary plan, which should then be submitted to the different committees, so that we would all work in harmony. Senator GALLINGER. Yes; and I know that I express the sentiments of the committee when I say to these gentlemen that we deeply appreciate the interest that they have in this matter as manifested by their presence here to-day. Without you gentlemen we are helpless. We feel a very great interest in this matter and of course desire to proceed along sensible lines in order that we may accomplish something. We do not want any undue enthusiasm or theory. Mr. PosT. If a plan is adopted for the general scheme of improvement of the District of Columbia, is it not possible that that could be made thoroughly operative by consolidating the duty of carrying such a scheme into effect in one committee instead of putting it in the hands of five or six? The CHAIRMAN. I do not know whether we could do that; but if this arrangement as suggested should be adopted, we could put the matter into the hands of a commission which would take charge of that, and which would have all of these matters under their control, just as the commission has in Boston. Senator GALLINGER. Yes. I think there would be no difficulty, Mr. Post, in carrying out your suggestion in some form or another. Mr. POST. It is impossible with three or four different heads. Senator GALLINGER. Yes, utterly. Mr. PEABODY. In reply to the suggestion of Senator Gallinger, I desire to say on behalf of the gentlemen present that we are greatly obliged to the committee for affording us the opportunity to come before you. The CHAIRMAN. The committee appreciates your coming here very much indeed, and the wisdom of the invitation is demonstrated by the fact that you have "hit the nail on the head," as the expression is. You seem to have agreed upon a plan which meets our approval, and you have relieved us of some difficulty. I suggested in the first place that we felt some little difficulty as to how far we could go, but the plan that has been proposed relieves us of that. We can certainly go that far. Mr. DAY. There is one matter, Mr. Chairman, in this connection which I think has not been made clear, and that is as to the approbation of the committee of the third member of the proposed commission. It is of very great importance that the three members of the commission, or committee, whichever you may term it, should work in perfect harmony, and I believe that it is the feeling of our committee that such harmony can be secured best by allowing Mr. Olmsted and Mr. Burnham, if they are appointed, to select, subject to your approval, the third member. The CHAIRMAN. Yes; I think that would be proper. The meeting will now be adjourned. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. PARK IMPROVEMENT PAPERS, NO. 6. NOTES ON THE.PARKS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. APRIL 1, 1901.-Printed for the use of the committee. SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington, D. C., March 27, 1901. GENTLEMEN: Complying with your request, I have prepared notes on the proposed development of the park system of the District of Columbia, as follows: The city of Washington is bounded approximately on the east by the Anacostia River, on the north by Florida avenue, on the west by Rock Creek, and on the south by the Potomac River. Within this territory are 302 reservations, comprising 407 acres. The most important of these reservations is the series beginning with the Capitol grounds, extending through the Mall to the White Lot or Washington Monument grounds, and thence northward to the grounds of the Executive Mansion, including also Lafayette Park, opposite the President's House. The Capitol grounds are under the charge of the officer known as the Architect of the Capitol, and are governed by laws relating exclusively to them. The grounds were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted,' and may be regarded not only as finished in themselves, but also as imposing certain restrictions on the development of the Mall. BOTANICAL GARDENS. The reservation directly west of the Capitol grounds is occupied by the Botanical Gardens, which are under the general control of the Joint Committee on the Library. The immediate control is in the hands of a superintendent, who is practically independent. The 1The act approved March 21, 1874, appropriates $3,000 for a topographical survey of the Capitol grounds and the employment of Frederick Law Olmstead, of New York, in furnishing plans for laying out the grounds; the act of June 21, 1874, appropriates $20,000 for sewers and street lights for the Capitol grounds; the act of June 23, 1874, appropriates $200,000 for the improvement of the Capitol grounds according to the Olmsted plans; the acts of March 3, 1875, and April 21, 1876, appropriate, respectively, $200,000 and $20,000 for carrying out and completing said plans. Up to and including 1876, the total amount expended on the Capitol grounds was $1,634,258.51. 2 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. grounds are inclosed by a wall surmounted by a high iron fence, and they interrupt the driveway between the Mall and the Capitol grounds. The trees and shrubs within the grounds are said to be of great value; the greenhouses are used for propagating purposes, and there is an imposing fountain, after a design by Bartholdi and made of imitation bronze, The grounds are open during the day to pedestrians. The gardens have no organic connection with any department; their connection with Congress is of the slightest, and their usefulness is problematical.1 THE MALL. That portion of the park space which extends from Third to Sixth street was originally bounded on the north by Pennsylvania avenue and on the south by Maryland avenue; but is now bounded on the north by Missouri avenue and on the south by Maine avenue, and reservations A and B on the north and B and C on the south are now held by private parties. While really an extension of the Mall, the space is technically known as the Henry and Seaton parks. If it shall be thought best to extend the Mall to Pennsylvania avenue, the purchase of the two reservations, A and B, on the north should have early consideration. The estimated value of the ground in reservation A is $393,812; the value of improvements, $318,320; total, $712,132. The estimated value of the land in reservation B is $618,625; improvements, $343,620; total, $962,245.* 1In 1850 Congress appropriated $5,000 for the removal of the public greenhouse "to some suitable site on the public grounds," and for the erection of "such other greenhouse as may be deemed necessary by the Joint Committee on the Library." In 1855 an appropriation of $1,500 was made for the erection of a suitable house "for the plants recently brought from Japan for the United States." Subsequently the grounds were sewered, improved, and fenced. Appropriations were made from time to time for maintenance and improvement. 2 Senate Document No. 211, Fifty-sixth Congress. first session, gives the approximate value of the squares on the south side of Pennsylvania avenue from the Botanic Garden to Fifteenth street, as follows: Tabulated report of the board of assistant assessors, giving an approximate value, etc., to the squares on the south side of Pennsylvania avenue from Fifteenth street to the Botanic Garden. By the act of March 2, 1833, the commissioner of public buildings and grounds was authorized to cause all the open ground belonging to the United States, which 3 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Fourth street, a much-used thoroughfare, bisects the space between the Botanical Gardens and Sixth street, and must be considered in the treatment of the space between the Capitol grounds and the Pennsylvania Railroad occupation. The act of February 12, 1901, provides that the Pennsylvania Railroad Company may use virtually the entire square of the Mall between Sixth and Seventh streets, and on this space may build a station and appurtenances to cost not less than $1,500,000 and an elevated roadbed. It is provided that a street shall be carried underneath this roadbed, on arches with an aggregate opening of not less than 200 feet.1 The location of the station in the rear of square 461 must be much less satisfactory than a location on Pennsylvania avenue. The value of the square, with improvements, however, is about $1,000,000. in the original plan of the city was reserved for public walks, lying between Maryland and Pennsylvania avenues to be inclosed with a wooden fence and to lay down the same, according to such plan as the President of the United States may approve, in grass and intersect it by suitable paths and roads for intercourse and recreation. It was provided, however, that "there shall be not more than three streets or roads across the same to connect the streets on the north and south sides of said public grounds." In 1848 the sum of $3,628 was appropriated for the improvement of the Public Mall from Seventh street westward to the Potomac River, and subsequent appropriations increased the amount to $67,600.83, which sum represents the expenditures on the Mall prior to 1858. 1SEC. 3. That in order to accommodate the increasing passenger, mail, express, and other traffic in the city of Washington the said Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company shall have and be possessed of the right, which is hereby granted and con- * ferred, to occupy and use, on the conditions hereinafter mentioned, that portion of the Mall lying between B street southwest and B street northwest as the southerly line of said B street northwest is hereinafter defined, and between the west line of Sixth street and a line drawn parallel therewith and three hundred and forty feet west thereof, and to erect and maintain thereon a station building and appurtenances, train sheds, and tracks and sidings in connection therewith suitable and adequate for the convenient accommodation of said traffic; and the said Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company shall, in connection with its occupation and use of the portion of the Mall hereby granted, locate, construct, and maintain beneath its tracks and structures on the line of West Capitol street, as shown on the city maps, a substantial arch or arches not less than two hundred feet in width, as a public passageway for vehicular and pedestrian traffic (as shall be approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia), which shall be so constructed as to afford roadways and sidewalks; and the said company shall also pave the said passageways at the time of their construction to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, but thereafter the maintenance of the pavement and roadways shall devolve upon the said District of Columbia. The station building to be erected on the Mall shall cost not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars, inclusive of the car sheds, which shall be of ornamental or monumental character, and shall be designed, so far as practicable, so as not to impair the appearance of the Mall; the plans thereof to be approved by the Secretary of War: Provided, That upon the lands on the Mall hereby granted to the use of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company no freight depot, warehouse, or other structure, except such as is necessary to its use as the site of a passenger station, shall be erected; a. that no tracks, except such as are necessary to the service of such passenger stat shall be laid or operated on said land.-Act of February 12, 1901. 4 PARK SYSTEM OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. The Mall from Sixth street to Fifteenth street is occupied by buildings as follows: (1) The Fish Commission. This building is to be torn down to make way for the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks and a new structure is to be built. A suitable building for the Fish Commission would cost about $250,000. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company pays $40,000 for the old building, which amount, less the cost of destruction of the old building, would be available for a new structure. The location of the new building is to be settled. The law seems to contemplate a location on what is left of the Mall space between Sixth and Seventh streets, but there is not room for a proper building there, because there should be at least 70 feet between a building occupied by clerks and the elevated structure, and this would reduce the available depth to about 40 feet. A new location and an appropriation should be had for this building.1 (2) The Army Medical Museum. The rear of this building, on B street south, and the side, on Seventh street, have been completed. The front, facing north, on the Mall, is yet to be constructed. The characteristics of the architecture, however, have been fixed by those portions of the structure already built, and little of dignity or beauty seems possible. (3) The National Museum. This is a wide-spreading building, for the most part of one story. It is of cheap construction and of cheap appearance. A new building, to cost several million dollars, seems to be in prospect, for not one-half of the collections of the Museum are now displayed. The old buildings will doubtless be retained even if a new structure shall be built, for the reason that the Government needs buildings. (4) The Smithsonian Institution. (5) The Agricultural Department building. Plans are in preparation for a new building to occupy the present site." Coming to the Monument grounds, we find the Bureau of Engraving 1SEC. 5. That the United States Fish Commission building and appurtenances, now located on that part of the Mall hereby granted to said Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company, shall be removed therefrom and rebuilt on the said Mall west of the portion thereof so granted to said railroad company, under the directions of and according to plans approved by the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army; and the cost of such removal and rebuilding shall be defrayed by the said Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company to an amount not exceeding forty thousand dollars: Provided, That the expense of such removal and rebuilding in excess of forty thousand dollars shall be paid by the United States.—Act of February 12, 1901. "To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to have prepared, under his direction, plans for a fireproof administrative building, to be erected on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture, in the city of Washington, said plans, and such recommendations thereon as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem necessary, to be transmitted to Congress at its next regular session, five thousand dollars, to be immediately available.-Agricultural appropriation act of March 2, 1901. |