Letter
Dear Mr. Anderson:
In its public meeting of 18 May conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed changes to the previously approved final site design for the new park and community center at the historic McMillan Sand Filtration Site at North Capitol and Channing Streets, NW, including a new proposed location for the reinstallation of the historic McMillan Fountain.
The Commission approved the revised final design with the following comments. The Commission members noted that the previously approved fountain location presented a more integrated design with the Olmsted Walk and the historic configuration of the monumental stairways at the corners of the site; however, they acknowledged the need to protect the existing heritage American elm tree at the corner of First and Channing Streets, NW. Therefore, they supported moving the fountain slightly northward and away from the corner, while requesting several adjustments in order to better refine the fountain’s setting as it relates to the larger site: removal of the two proposed sidewalks connecting the new flanking plazas to the Olmsted Walk on the west, and reconsideration of the appropriate number and spacing of new elm trees proposed to the east of the relocated fountain.
The Commission’s approval includes the changes proposed to meet the D.C. Government’s stormwater management requirements, to widen the sidewalk along North Capitol Street, and to separate the exercise stations from the Olmsted Walk. Please coordinate the resolution of the comments and the documentation of the revised final design with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Keith A. Anderson
Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 317
Washington, DC 20004
cc: Elliot Rhodeside, Rhodeside & Harwell
Tom Jester, Quinn Evans Architects