Entertainment for the Animals at the National Zoo

A five member band and a dancer entertain the polar bears in the 1920s. 

Since the National Zoo’s inception in 1889, many Woodley Park residents, including those at the nearby Kennedy-Warren apartment building, have awoken to the sounds of lions growling, wolves howling, and other animal noises from their four-legged neighbors.  Designed by the famed architectural landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmstead, who was also responsible for the design of Central Park and the U.S. Capitol Grounds, the National Zoo has evolved from a showcase of the world’s exotic species to a conservation organization, public education pioneer, as well as a scientific research organization.   Of course, adorable pandas, monkeys, and tigers are still the main attraction.

Charles Trevey bakes huge loaves of bread for the bears in August of 1922

Created by an 1889 Act of Congress for "the advancement of science and the instruction and recreation of the people," the National Zoo became part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1890.  In addition to the main 163-acre urban park in the Rock Creek Valley, the Zoo also has a 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia.  The Zoo's spacious and picturesque area marked a significant departure from the 19th century philosophy of creating zoos in small areas.  Due to its origin prior to the creation of New York's Zoological Park and Munich's Hellabrun Zoo, the National Zoo may have been the first zoo to be located in such a spacious park-like setting.

A little ice is provided tot he penguins by bird keeper Holmes Vourous in 1954

Plans for the Zoo were drawn by three individuals — Samuel Langley, third secretary of the Smithsonian; William Temple Hornaday, a conservationist and head of the Smithsonian's vertebrate division; and Frederick Law Olmstead, a leading landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York.   Historians at the zoo, however, indicate that the first recorded live animal gift to the nation occurred in 1785, when Charles III of Spain sent a “royal jackass” to George Washington while he resided at Mount Vernon.  

Watch those fingers - Director William Mann (left) and Wm Mileham in January 1951

The Zoo has been at the forefront in striving to expand the public's knowledge of the wildlife and the environment through public education programs aimed at teachers and school children, with images of Victorian school children common in the collection of zoo images at the Library of Congress.  The first animals at the facility were literally captured in the wild and brought back to Washington.  The zoo also strove in the early years of its existence to create a refuge for buffaloes and other animals that were quickly disappearing from the North America landscape.  The present monkey house, the New Mammal House, and the lion house are the only two original Zoo buildings that remain today.

A Chimpanzee enjoys a refreshing bottle of milk in May of 1926

Despite Washington's long, humid summers, polar bears seem unaffected by the heat at the National Zoo.  Past polar bears have resided at the Zoo for more than 25 years without showing ill affects of the heat.  This wacky photograph shows staff members swimming in their pool in 1973.    The chimpanzees are known to be one of the easiest species for the Zoo to exhibit due to their pleasant demeanor and friendly attitude toward spectators and keepers.  Others were no so easily contained: Kechil, a ten-year-old elephant that had been caught in Sumatran, was known in 1932 as the "bad boy" of the park, able to throw “with good aim rocks which have been tossed into his enclosure, and has been known to hit visitors on the head,” according to a 1936 book on the zoo. 

The first director of the zoo, Wm Blackburne, who served for more than 40 years, with a gorilla named N'Gi

 

A Newsworthy House History in Woodley Park: Literally.

What are the chances of have four nationally known journalists own the same house at some point in their careers?  Rare, indeed - but one house in the Woodley Park neighborhood has that unique distinction.  We supplied the scoop to Urban Turf DC, who recently revealed their identity on the Urban Turf Blog.  Past owners of 3124 Woodley Road, NW have included NY Times writer James Reston, Tom Brokaw, Charlie Rose, and Tim Russert.   

For those of you that want the complete story, details from the house history we wrote for the late Tim Russert are below.  He gave the "house history" to his wife, columnist Maureen Orth as a birthday gift several years ago.  Let's hope whoever owns the house today is a news fan!     

 

Owner George Henry Dawson applied for and was granted an Application for Permit to Build #254 for the construction of 3124 Woodley Road, N.W., on July 12, 1915.  The permit was for a single family dwelling to be constructed of brick and stone.  Dawson had paid a filing fee of $7.75 at the time of the application.  His wife, Josephine Dawson, had purchased lot #16 four years earlier, in May of 1911.

According to inspector notes, construction began on 3124 Woodley Road on July 20, 1915, and was completed by November 23 of that same year.  The house had been designed by the architectural firm of MacNeil and MacNeil, based in New York City.  Robert L. Macneil (left) was a partner with his brother in the firm, and was born on December 10, 1889 in Norfolk, Virginia to a father who he later recalled was a painter from Canada.  He attended secondary school at Chifflet’s Atelier Préparatoire in Paris, France, where he went on to learn the trade of architecture. 

 

Owners James B. and Sally Reston

             Ellen Littlepage Hart only owned 3124 Woodley Road for six weeks, as she sold it to James B. Reston on April 19, 1951.  They would be the sixth owners of the property since its construction in 1915, and would continue to reside there until 1975.  At the time, Reston was diplomatic correspondent and columnist for the New York Times Washington Office.   

            Just one year after purchasing 3124 Woodley Road, in 1952, James Barrett Reston (right) would make world headlines when questions he had submitted to Russian Premier Joseph Stalin were answered via Russian Ambassador Georgi N. Z. Zarubin.  His picture accompanied a notice in the New York Times, illustrated at left, appeared above a caption that indicated the questions revealed that Stalin was favoring meeting with U.S. President elect Eisenhower and trying a new approach toward ending the Korean War. 

            James B. Reston was born in Clydebank, Scotland, on November 3, 1909.  He came to the United States in 1920, and became a naturalized citizen in 1927.  He received his B.A. in 1932 from the University of Illinois.  Shortly thereafter, he married Sarah “Sally” Jane Fulton, a journalist, on December 24, 1935.

            His distinguished career at the New York Times began in 1934 as a sports writer in the New York office, a position he held until 1937, when he reported sports from London, England for the following two years.  From 1939 to 1945, he reported news from the London office, before accepting a position as diplomatic correspondent in the Washington, D.C. office.  Shortly thereafter, in 1953, Reston became the Washington Bureau Chief, a position he held until 1964. 

            Reston became the associate editor in Washington for four years, between 1964 and 1968, and executive editor in New York City, for 1968 and 1969.  He returned to Washington later that year to become vice president until 1973, when he became a director of the company.  In 1971, he was one of the first American reporters allowed into China, and was subsequently remembered because of his attack of appendicitis required him to report from his hospital bed at the Anti-Imperialist Hospital in Peking. 

            His obituary in the December 7, 1995 edition of the New York Times makes reference to this point in his career, and his residence in Washington by stating “During these years the Reston’s lived in a pleasant red brick house on Woodley Road in leafy northwest Washington and spent weekends at their log cabin in Fiery Run, Va.”    

            His obituary in the New York Times December 7, 1995 edition also offers some insight on the journalist himself, and reads:

“Writing his column three times a week, Mr. Reston was a procrastinator, often filing right on deadline, to the dismay of nighttime editors at The Times.  A two-finger typist, he regularly wore out typewriters because he banged so hard on the keys, and his desk was a litter of papers, many which bore tiny black marks where a stream of smoldering matches had landed in the course of a never-ending pipe-lighting ritual.” 

            Among his numerous awards, Reston earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 and again in 1957, both for national reporting.  His first Pulitzer was in recognition of his reporting on the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington in 1944, which laid the groundwork for the United Nations.  He authored four books during his career; Prelude to Victory, 1942, Sketches in the Sand, 1967, Artillery of the Press, in 1967, and an autobiography entitled Deadline, in 1991.            

            Sally and James Reston had three children; Richard, James, Jr., and Thomas. 

James B. Reston retired from The New York Times in 1989, and died in December of 1995 at the age of 86.         

Owners

 Thomas J. “Tom” and Meredith Brokaw

James B. and Sally Reston sold 3124 Woodley Road to news anchor Tom Brokaw and his wife Meredith on November 28, 1975, for the consideration of $150,ooo.  They resided at the address from the time of purchase until some time late in 1976, when they moved to New York City. 

            Brokaw was born in Webster, South Dakota, on February 6, 1940.  Later, in 1962, he married the former Meredith Lynn Auld, on August 17, 1962.  Tom Brokaw began his journalism career following graduation from the University of South Dakota in 1962 at KMTV, Omaha, Nebraska.  By 1965, he became the late night news anchor on WSB-TV in Atlanta.  Currently the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw” he began his career at NBC in 1966, where he reported from KNBC in Los Angeles until 1973.  He has anchored the NBC Nightly News since 1983.

            Like several owners before them, the Brokaw’s continued to own 3124 Woodley Road and rent it to several tenants throughout their ownership from 1975 to 1985.  The Haines City Directory lists Frank B. Moore as an occupant in 1980.  From 1981 to 1983, the house was occupied by Richard Rymland, Billy Amy Sind and Catherine Wyler. 

            In 1983, the Brokaw’s rented the house to M. Buie and Marjorie Seawell.  He had been born on July 8, 1937 in Lumberton, North Carolina, and had obtained degrees from Davidson College in 1959, Union Seminary in 1961, and Denver University in 1975.  At certain points in his career, Seawell served as chief legal aid to Governor Dick Lamm, and served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Gary Hart.

 Owner Charles “Charlie” Rose

            The Brokaw’s sold 3124 Woodley Road to Charlie Rose on January 31, 1984.  The former CBS News anchor is currently anchor and executive editor of Charlie Rose, a nightly interview program which airs on 222 PBS affiliates nationwide.  It made its nationwide debut on January 4, 1993.

            Rose graduated from Duke University with an A.B. in history and a J.D. from the School of Law.  He was born in Henderson, North Carolina on January 5, 1942.  Rose entered television journalism full-time in 1974, as managing editor of the PBS series “Bill Moyers' International Report.”   The following year, Rose became executive producer for the PBS conversation and documentary series “Bill Moyers' Journal.”  In 1976, Rose was named correspondent of the new PBS series “USA: People and Politics,” a weekly political magazine.

            Later in 1976, Rose moved to NBC as a correspondent, based in Washington D.C. From then until 1981, Rose hosted a number of interview programs, including a co-host position with AM/Chicago on WLS-TV, and host of “The Charlie Rose Show” at KXAS-TV in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  In 1981, Rose moved "The Charlie Rose Show" to Washington, D.C., where he also anchored a weekly interview show for WRC-TV. 

            During his ownership of 3124 Woodley Road, Rose anchored CBS's “Nightwatch,” the network's late-night interview series, from 1984 to 1990.  He sold 3124 Woodley Road in 1993, and divides his time between his home in New York and his farm near Oxford, North Carolina. 

Owners Tim Russert and Maureen Orth

            Tim Russert and Maureen Orth purchased 3124 Woodley Road from Charlie Rose on September 9, 1993, and continue to own it today.  Together, they are the ninth owners of the home first constructed in 1915 by George H. Dawson.  

            Tim Russert is the moderator of “Meet the Press” and political analyst for “NBC Nightly News” and “Today.” He hosts “The Tim Russert Show,” a weekly CNBC program.  Russert also serves as Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief of NBC News and as a contributing anchor for MSNBC Cable.

            The late Russert was married to Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine.  They met at a New York State Democratic party reception during the 1980 Democratic National Convention.  Currently, they lived at the distinguished residence along with their son, Luke.   

Copyright Paul K. Williams      

The original Calvert Street Bridge was moving - quite literally.

Many pedestrians and motorists alike that traverse the Calvert Street bridge today likely are unaware that the 1935 built bridge replaced an earlier, iron truss bridge that had been completed in 1891.  The large span bridge towered over the deep Rock Creek Park.  Amazingly, in order to build the current bridge beginning in 1934, the entire iron truss bridge was moved out of the way – by a team of horses, no less.   

     

The deep Rock Creek Park posed a serious obstacle for Washington development north of the city.  Travelers headed north had to drive horses and early cars down the steep embankment, cross the shallow water, and climb up the other side.  

A wooden bridge was eventually built in the 1870s over the water on what was then Woodley’s Lane, leading from the Adams Morgan neighborhood to the emerging summer estates in what is today Woodley Park.  The Engineer Commissioner reported no immediate plans for constructing a permanent bridge in 1887, citing the rugged topography as not worth tackling.  

Senator Francis G. Newlands and his business, the Chevy Chase Land Company, had purchased enormous amounts of land from the termination of Connecticut Avenue all the way to Chevy Chase in secret negotiations to keep prices down.  His Rock Creek Railway Company was formed to transport new home buyers to the north of the city, and it required bridges to span Rock Creek. 

Construction commenced on a large iron truss bridge leading from Columbia Road to Connecticut Avenue in Woodley Park that was completed in 1891.  It was built by the Edgemore Bridge Company.  When completed, the ownership of the bridge was turned over to the city government.  

The original bridge was an impressive site.  It was 755 feet long, and cost an estimated $70,000.  The wrought iron used for its construction weighed a total of 1,266 tons.  Beginning in 1917, however, District Commissioners hired local architect George Oakley Totten, Jr., to design a new Calvert Street bridge.  The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) determined that his resulting design was too costly and ornate, and feared that it might overshadow the newly completed Connecticut Avenue Bridge to the west.  

Totten fought for the use of his stone arch design, but the CFA remained unconvinced.  Finally, in 1933, Totten’s design was finally discarded, and the CFA selected Paul Crete as chief designer for a new bridge.  His first design was also rejected, and the CFA finally settled on a masonry design with multiple arches that was eventually built.  

The need for crossing Rock Creek remained during the construction period of the new bridge, however, which was begun in 1934.  The decision was made to move the original iron bridge 80 feet downstream to be used for diverted traffic until the new bridge was completed the following year.     

Engineer John Eichleay Jr. was hired for the job.  His grandfather had founded the company in 1875 expressly to relocate hard-to-move things.  

In the early dawn hours of June 7, 1934, the five 130 foot piers of the bridge were lowered onto a specially made track of horizontal girders, and outfitted with wheels.  At 5 a.m., workers cut the railroad tracks on the bridge above, and a series of block and tackle attached to the bridge with a windlass.  Horses took over, and incredible, in just 7 hours and fifteen minutes, the bridge was at its new position 80 to the west.  

Thousands of onlookers had gathered to watch the unusual feat, and after it was in place, the railroad track was reattached and open for traffic in less than two hours.  Following the completion of the masonry arch in 1935, the original Calvert Street Bridge was dismantled for scrap.    

Copyright Paul K. Williams     

In Woodley Park, a Floating Veranda Never Lies.

Once and awhile when your researching through thousands and thousands of rather boring vintage photographs looking for a building or house, you come across something like the image above that just makes you stop in your tracks.  We included this image in our book Woodley Park in 2003.   

Here we have a lovely publicity photograph taken at the Sheraton (now Marriott) Wardman Park Hotel pool in the 1960s.  It shows Miss Joan Vermett at left, a 20-year-old Miss Washington contestant from Arlington, Virginia (kind of defeats the purpose, eh?), and Miss Ray Heath, a 20-year-old resident of southeast Washington.  Apparently, Miss Heath had a few pounds on Miss Vermett, as the innovative "floating veranda" seems tipped in her direction.  Remember ladies, a floating veranda never lies.

Or, perhaps her cocktail was more full.  In any event, I would have given a thousand dollars to see a video of these two trying to get on and off that thing!   Do you suppose the ladies are still out there somewhere? 

Copyright Paul K. Williams