The Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized and empowered to convey to the District of Columbia, free from all encumbrances and without costs to the District of Columbia, all right, title, and interest of the United States of America to that portion of the Naval Observatory grounds, with the improvements thereon, lying outside of Naval Observatory Circle and east of Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, containing fourteen and four hundred and forty-nine one-thousandths acres, more or less, and also that other portion lying outside of the adjoining said Naval Observatory Circle on the south, containing one and seven hundred and six one-thousandths acres, more or less, in consideration of which the Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized and empowered to convey to the United States of America, free from all encumbrances and without cost to the United States of America, all right, title, and interest of the District of Columbia to that portion of the Industrial Home School site, with the improvements thereon, lying within said Naval Observatory Circle, containing approximately six and seventy-six one-hundredths acres; provided, that the said Mayor is further authorized and empowered on behalf of the District of Columbia to utilize or sell, as he sees fit, all of that remaining portion of the said Industrial Home School site with the improvements thereon lying outside of the said Observatory (1,000-foot radius) Circle, and also all of the land and improvements thereon east of Massachusetts Avenue and south of said Naval Observatory Circle, hereunder authorized to be acquired from the United States of America; provided further, that if utilized the land shall be used for school, playground or highway purposes or transferred to the Director of the National Park Service to become part of the park system of the District of Columbia; provided further, that all of the proceeds from the sale of the aforesaid Industrial Home School property and one-half of the proceeds from the sale of any of said lands mentioned as lying east of Massachusetts Avenue and south of said Naval Observatory Circle shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the District of Columbia and made available for the purchase of a site and the erection thereon of suitable buildings for a new Industrial Home School; provided further, that the remaining half of the proceeds from the sale of any of said land lying east of Massachusetts Avenue and south of said Naval Observatory Circle shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Naval Observatory: And provided further, that the said Mayor of the District of Columbia shall be permitted to continue to use all of the Industrial Home School property herein mentioned until such time as it may have acquired another site and constructed suitable buildings thereon in which to house the inmates of said Industrial Home School. The Secretary of the Navy, on behalf of the United States, and the Mayor, on behalf of the District of Columbia, are hereby authorized to execute and deliver all instruments necessary to accomplish the aforesaid purposes.

(Mar. 3, 1927, 44 Stat. 1386, ch. 354, §§ 1, 2.)

1981 Ed., § 32-703.

1973 Ed., § 32-503.

Mayor, council, and other officers, execution of documents by executive secretary, see § 1-301.23.

Office of Public Buildings and Parks abolished: The Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital was abolished and the functions thereof were transferred to the Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations of the Department of the Interior by Executive Order No. 6166, § 3, June 10, 1933. The name of the latter office was changed to “National Park Service” by the Act of March 2, 1934, 48 Stat. 389, ch. 38, § 1. The functions of the Director of the National Park Service relating to public buildings were transferred to the Federal Works Administrator by § 303(b) of Reorganization Plan No. 1, July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2729, 53 Stat. 1427. All functions of the Federal Works Administrator were transferred to the Administrator of General Services by § 103(a) of the Act of June 30, 1949, 63 Stat. 380, ch. 288. The Office of Federal Works Administrator was abolished by § 103(b) of said Act.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.