Capt. John E. Wood of Washington and Walter Wood of Elizabeth City will sail Monday for a stay of several months in European countries. The latter will leave Elizabeth City Friday to visit his brother, Stuart Wood, at West Point for a day or two.
Capt. Wood has won considerable recognition for his work toward making the National Capital a city beautiful. His trip abroad will afford him study, which with his practical knowledge of the city will further fit him for his work.
One Washington newspaper had the following to say the other day in regard to Capt. Wood’s work in Washington:
“Capt. John E. Wood, one of the assistant engineer Commissioners, probably will terminate his active services as a local official on July 1.
“He has been granted a 2-month leave of absence, and the belief prevailed today that at the end of that time he will be given a new assignment in the Engineer Corps of the Army.
“Under a new rule in the Army all officers must serve one year in every five on active military duty, and in the fall of this year Capt. Wood will have completed four years as assistant engineer Commissioner. He came here in the fall of 1920.
“During his brief period of service here Capt. Wood has become one of the most enthusiastic advocates of a more beautiful National Capital.
“He has interested himself in a number of long-standing schemes for improvement of the city, including the driveway to connect the chain of old civil war forts, the reconstruction of the Washington channel river front and similar projects.
“He also served as chairman of the committee that recently completed a systematic plan for the betterment of the street lighting of the city within a five-year period.
“Capt. Wood has visualized with charts and drawings other plans for the physical improvement of District institutions, such as the Occoquan workhouse farm, the grounds around the jail and Gallinger Hospital.
“He also has prepared charts outlining the anticipated needs of the sewer and water departments for the next five years.”
Following is another clipping from a Washington newspaper of recent date concerning Capt. Wood’s activities for a city beautiful:
“The first step in a boulevard plan to link up the old civil war forts that skirt the National Capital was taken yesterday, when a group of engineer department officials drove over the territory and mapped out a proposed route.
“Public spirited citizens have been working for many years for legislation to acquire the fort sites and to make the necessary changes in the street system to create a continuous drive around them.
“The plan of Captain John E. Wood, assistant engineer Commissioner, is to make a fort drive a reality immediately by designating a certain route to be followed and by having the Engineer Department put the paving along that route in good condition as rapidly as possible out of regular appropriations.
Legislation Need
“Legislation still would be needed to purchase those of the forts not already in Government possession, and some street changes would later be necessary to create a continuous wide boulevard. But Capt. Wood believes a fort drive can be mapped off immediately using existing thoroughfares, putting them in good condition and improving the illumination along them.
“If a fort drive is created immediately on this plan, Captain Wood recommends that it be dotted with ornamental markers to guide the local motorist or the tourist over it. Thus, a new sightseeing attraction would be brought into existence.
“Each of the old forts have interesting history connected with them, well known to the old Washingtonians but still unknown to many of the present generation. They are the points from which the Union troops defended the Capital during the Civil war.
“The tentative fort drive marked off by Captain Wood yesterday covers 39 miles, nearly all of which is already in good condition for motoring. here and there a stretch of roadway was encountered that needs resurfacing.
From Water Street
“The route taken yesterday began and ended on Water street near the municipal fish market, and covered the following areas: From water street to Washington barracks, to the Navy yard, to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, to the National Guard rifle range in Congress Heights, past all the forts in the southeast, through Alabama avenue, Benning road, Bladensburg road, South Dakota avenue, Harewood road, Blair road, Kennedy street, Concord avenue, Longfellow street, Georgia avenue, Military road, through Rock Creek Park, Rittenhouse street, Chevy Chase Circle, Western Avenue, 41st street, Belt road, Wisconsin avenue, Nebraska avenue, 46th street, Foxall road, Reservoir street, R street, 28th street, across Q street bridge, 22nd street, New Hampshire avenue, Washington Circle, to Potomac Park to Water street.
“On Saturday afternoon Engineer Commissioner Bell will drive over the route. Captain Wood was accompanied yesterday by W.B. Hadley, electrical engineer; L.R. Grabill, superintendent of suburban roads, and J.S. Garland, superintendent of water department.”
Capt. Wood is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.Q.A. Wood of Elizabeth City.
From the front page of the Elizabeth City Daily Advance, May 7, 1924
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