Shipstead-Luce Act
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The Shipstead-Luce Act (, codified at ), is an American statute which extended the authority of the
United States Commission of Fine Arts The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction wit ...
(CFA) as a statutory
independent agency A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous jurisdiction over some area of human activity in a licensing and regu ...
within the
United States federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
and allowed it to regulate the height, exterior design, and construction of private and semi-public buildings in parts of the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
.


Genesis of the act

At the establishment of the District of Columbia, President
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
granted the government of the District the power to regulate architectural design and urban planning. These powers were suspended by President
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
in 1822.Grant III, Ulysses S. "Planning the Nation's Capital." ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society.'' 1948/1950, p. 48. In 1900, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
created the Senate Park Commission (also known as the "McMillan Commission" for its sponsor,
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
James McMillan James (or Jim or Jimmy) McMillan or MacMillan may refer to: Sportspeople * James McMillan (footballer, born c. 1866) (c. 1866–?), played for Sunderland * James McMillan (footballer, born 1869) (1869–1937), played for Scotland,Everton and St B ...
( R- MI)) to reconcile competing visions for the development of
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and especially the monumental core, including the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
and nearby areas, and the city's parks and parkways. The commission's plan for development of the city, popularly known as the
McMillan Plan The McMillan Plan (formally titled The Report of the Senate Park Commission. The Improvement of the Park System of the District of Columbia) is a comprehensive planning document for the development of the monumental core and the park system of Was ...
, proposed the razing of all residences and other buildings on Lafayette Square and building Neoclassical government office buildings around the park to house executive branch offices. It also proposed clearing large spaces north and south of the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
, realigning some streets, and constructing large museums and public buildings along the Mall's length. The commission also proposed significant expansion of the district's park system, the creation of a system of parkways, and major renovation and beautification of existing parks. Over the next few years, the President and Congress established several new agencies to supervise the design, approval, and construction of new buildings in the District of Columbia to carry out the McMillan Plan: The Commission of Fine Arts in 1910 to review and advise on the design of new structures, the Public Buildings Commission in 1916 to make recommendations regarding the construction of buildings to house federal agencies and offices, and the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission in 1924 to oversee planning for the District. The 1910 legislation establishing the CFA gave the commission the power only to provide advice on the siting of statues, fountains, and monuments. In October 1910, President
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
issued
Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
1259 (October 25, 1910), which required that all new government buildings erected in the District of Columbia be reviewed by the CFA as well. On November 28, 1913, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
issued Executive Order 1862, which expanded the CFA's advisory authority to cover any "new structures...which affect in any important way the appearance of the City, or whenever questions involving matters of art and with which the federal government is concerned..."Kohler, p. 204. Executive Order 3524, issued by President
Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...
on July 28, 1921, further expanded the CFA's review to the design of coins, fountains, insignia, medals, monuments, parks, and statues, whether constructed or issued by the federal government or the government of the District of Columbia. By 1920, little land had been acquired by the federal government to carry out the McMillan plan. In 1924,
Frederic Adrian Delano Frederic Adrian Delano II (September 10, 1863 – March 28, 1953) was an American railroad president who served as the first vice chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1914 to 1916. After his term as vice chairman, Delano continued to serve as a ...
and the
Committee of 100 on the Federal City The Committee of 100 on the Federal City, locally referred to as the Committee of 100, is a private, nonprofit membership organization which promotes responsible land use and planning in Washington, D.C., and advocates adherence to the L'Enfant Pl ...
conducted a survey of the rapidly growing city, which documented powerfully the threat development posed to the McMillan plan. The newly created National Capital Parks and Planning Commission subsequently issued a study in 1928 that outlined a plan of action for implementing the McMillan plan. It quickly became apparent to federal agencies and members of Congress, however, that the federal government had to restore control over architectural design and development in areas adjacent to the sites proposed for parks and buildings in the McMillan plan. Without this regulatory control, unsuitable development would quickly render the National Mall, city parks, and other areas useless for the purposes envisioned by the Senate Park Commission.


Authority granted by the act

In 1930, Congress passed the Shipstead-Luce Act, co-sponsored by Senator
Henrik Shipstead Henrik Shipstead (January 8, 1881June 26, 1960) was Norwegian-American dentist and politician who served in the United States Senate from 1923 to 1947, representing the state of Minnesota. He served first as a member of the Minnesota Farmer-Labor ...
( FL- MN) and Representative
Robert Luce Robert Luce (December 2, 1862 – April 7, 1946) was a United States representative from Massachusetts. Biography Born in Auburn, Maine, Luce attended the public schools of Auburn and Lewiston, Maine, and Somerville, Massachusetts. He gra ...
( R- MA), which amended the 1910 legislation establishing the Commission of Fine Arts. The Shipstead-Luce Act gave the CFA statutory authority not merely to review but also approve plans for the height, appearance, and color and texture of materials for exterior construction of any building, public or private, erected in the District of Columbia. The CFA's authority, however, extended only to structures which fronted on or abutted the grounds of the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
, the grounds of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
,
Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a primarily diagonal street in Washington, D.C. that connects the United States Capitol with the White House and then crosses northwest Washington, D.C. to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown. Traveling through So ...
, NW, extending from the Capitol to the White House,
Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest, Washington, D.C., Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. Created by Act of Congress in 1890, the park comprises 1,754 acres (2.74 mi2, 7.10 km2), generally along Rock Cr ...
, the National Zoological Park, the
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway The Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, informally called the Rock Creek Parkway, is a parkway maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. It runs next to the Potomac River and Rock Creek (Potomac River tri ...
,
West Potomac Park West Potomac Park is a U.S. national park in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monume ...
, and the
National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
and its constituent parks. Included in the "Shipstead-Luce boundary" were structures which abutted any street bordering this area. The Shipstead-Luce Act required the CFA to approve or disapprove any plans submitted to it within 30 days, after which the plan was assumed approved. The Shipstead-Luce Act was amended on July 31, 1939, so that the Shipstead-Luce boundary now included private or semipublic buildings within or abutting Lafayette Square.Kohler, p. 244.


References

{{reflist, 2


Bibliography

*Bednar, Michael J. ''L'Enfant's Legacy: Public Open Spaces in Washington.'' Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. *Cannadine, David. ''Mellon: An American Life.'' Reprint ed. New York: Random House, Inc., 2008. *Davis, Timothy. "Beyond the Mall: The Senate Park Commission's Plans for Washington's Park System." In Sue A. Kohler and Pamela Scott, eds. ''Designing the Nation's Capital: The 1901 Plan for Washington, D.C.'' Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2006. *Gutheim, Frederick Albert and Lee, Antoinette Josephine. Worthy of the Nation: Washington, DC, From L'Enfant to the National Capital Planning Commission. 2d ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. *Kohler, Sue A. ''The Commission of Fine Arts: A Brief History, 1910-1995.'' Washington, D.C.: United States Commission of Fine Arts, 1996. *Luebke, Thomas E., ed. "Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013). *Peterson, Jon A. ''The Birth of City Planning in the United States, 1840–1917.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. * Resnik, Judith and Curtis, Dennis E. ''Representing Justice: Invention, Controversy, and Rights in City-States and Democratic Courtrooms.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.


External links


Text of the Shipstead-Luce Act
courtesy of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts * Text of Executive Order 1259, courtesy of
Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...
* Text of Executive Order 1862, courtesy of
Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...
* Text of Executive Order 3524, courtesy of
Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...
1930 in American law 71st United States Congress