Greenbelt Maryland, Lakes, Woods and the very active remnants of a workers near paradise community. US Socialist History

Greenbelt Maryland is an important historic site just outside the Beltway that best preserves and showcases an experiment in socialist living (the good kind). A tidy and very livable, planned worker community dating to Roosevelt's New Deal, WPA era. The community center and homes are well preserved and cherished by those who live there now. The highlight is the Art Deco meets Bauhaus style movie theater which still shows films.

The authentic coffee shop(s), grocery and other businesses are all interconnected by covered walkways, sparingly built but showcasing vibrant architecture. My favorite feature is the passageways which cross under roads, affording pedestrians a greater sense of safety and ease of movement. Something we should show more of today. Today's modern developments seem to give the important role to the car only.

If you're entering town from the West, be sure to pull off in Buddy Attick Park which has an extensive playground (but lousy parking I have to say). There's a great children's playground as well as a jewel of a small lake, reminiscent of a Minnesota beer commercial (Think Hamms @ 1973). The lake is surrounded by a very walkable sidewalk and trails which, if you wisely choose to circumnavigate, allows one to soak in some great woodland /wetland scenery and wildlife. It also boasts some of the best sunset views around town. A perfect place for a lovers stroll, or parents with the kids.

Construction on the Greenbelt project began with this lake on October 12, 1935. Originally a heavily wooded 23-acre valley cut by a stream, the lake required one year and over two hundred men to complete it. Because the federal government was interested in putting as many unemployed laborers to work as possible, much of the land was cleared by hand. Men hired by the federal government's Resettlement Administration pulled the trees out by their root, cleared the brush, and built a 22-foot dam on the east side of the lake. The dam now forms the eastern link of the path that encircles the lake.

The original plans for the lake included a bathhouse and boathouse. The boathouse was to include a dock with a boat rental and launch, sand beach, and changing facilities for bathers. The federal government never built the boathouse and other structures in the original plans due to budget constraints. In addition, health officials soon discovered that the lake contained bacteria that made the water unsafe for swimming. The lake has been closed to swimmers since July 1938. In former times local residents rented boats on the lake.

The park surrounding the lake is named after Albert "Buddy" Attick who helped to build Greenbelt and then became a lifelong employee of the city, serving as Director of Public Works for 23 years.

Greenbelt geographically lies both within and without the Beltway and is bisected by the Baltimore/Washington Parkway and the Beltway itself. Picture yourself a few miles due North and East of College Park Maryland.

Not only are the two attractions discussed a bit above worth checking out, but one can get even more wild in Greenbelt Regional Park, which is technically part of the National Park system and allows the DC visitor wishing to camp, the closet truly rustic camp site within the Beltway. The park has numerous small and large looping trails which are fairly well marked but in which I have nearly gotten lost jogging at sunset - not fun in the gloaming. I felt like the little girl in the ham suit from to Kill a Mockingbird...Anyway, visit this park in daylight and you'll enjoy comfortable but stimulating topography changes, gurgling streams and a variety of woodland - both pine and deciduous trees thrive on this reclaimed farm land.

Another nearby attraction is a haunted (supposedly) sanatorium/hospital which I've not checked out. OK, I'm a bit like Shaggy from Scooby Doo - I'm like, super chicken Scoobes! Besides, trespassing on the site is not allowed but the overgrown ruins are visible from the road. A NASA education is nearby too (haven't been).

Coming soon - a travel to the end of the road - The Old National Road, from DC to Brownsville PA - roadside and history heaven.....

Montpelier Laurel MD Stately Plantation Home

Montpelier is the best known home of the Snowden Family who were economic drivers of the Laurel Maryland economy for almost two centuries. The home has been a favorite destination for my friends and family for many years because it offers so much, from the perfectly proportioned Georgian style built in 1783, to ample grounds and a functioning arts center, located in a barn on the grounds that hosts local artists and their creations.

When I talk friends or colleagues from the Laurel area most have never heard of this many faceted attraction. The home is still filled with Snowden family treasures, hidden stairways, art and period furniture. The best approach to the site is via the Baltimore Washington Parkway.

Governor's Bridge - Haunted Maryland

I have long had a fixation on old bridges, from early childhood it's been an near obsession. Maybe I'm genetically disposed to this - my great grandfather Joseph Downs was a prominent bridge builder/contractor in Ohio. Luckily my four year old son shares this obsession. Throw in a compelling ghost story surrounding this span and we were off on one our father son road trips last weekend.

I had first read about and seen photos of this once important span which linked Annapolis to Washington DC as it crosses the Pautuxent River just north of Bowie Maryland. This was an important crossing point from the 18th Century and in 1912 a single-span steel Pratt truss bridge was erected to connect Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties. This is one of two surviving early truss bridges in Prince George's County.

The stories are many, from the "goat boy" sightings, the severed hand that was left after a terrible accident to the most prominent one that details a story of a young unmarried teen-aged girl that became pregnant. Afraid to tell her parents, the girl took her newborn baby and dropped it over the side of the bridge. Realizing what she had done, the girl jumped from the bridge and fell to her own death. According to many eyewitnesses, one can see the woman standing in the middle of the bridge, frightening drivers. According to folklore or fakelore, this is a story that is oft repeated all over the country. The flip side of this is an audible baby crying.

As luck would have it we found the bridge right around dusk (much to my son's delight). The bridge is a lonely location, deep in the woods and it is a single lane span. The only audible sound was the cacophony of bullfrogs and peals of laughter from my son who insisted on going over the bridge about 4 times.

Directions - Davidsonville, Maryland 21035

17800 block Governors Bridge Road

Bowie MD 20715

301-627-6074

Soldier's Delight Serpentine Barrens Maryland Natural Environment Areaeauty Spot

Want to see geologic features, ultra rare flora and fauna, and early American industrial know how, then you must make a visit soon!

To be perfectly honest - I'd prefer if nobody heeds my advice and goes to visit this site, my own personal getaway, unless it's one of the day's I'm not visiting! Given my extreme love of this site, that means I'm here fairly often. Not to say I mind exchanging hello's with the great, friendly people who frequent this unique resource area, but I enjoy getting swallowed in it's haunting landscape, especially at dusk when one can relax at the main trail head pull off and watch the stars come out.

I have always preferred natural resource management areas to your cookie cutter local parks, which has to cater to those who just want to transport their living rooms, including noisy children, gastronomical suicide diets and loud music to the "great outdoors". Natural resource management areas are there to preserve some slice of land, however large, because it has some element worth protecting.

In the case of Soldier's Delight, this Natural Environment Area is comprised of 1,900 acres of serpentine barren. The area has over 39 rare, threatened, or endangered plant species as well as rare insects, rocks and minerals. Rare grassland plant species are threatened by invasion of Virginia Pines. Currently, a five year effort of removing 1,000 acres of pines and prescribed burning are underway to return the area to natural serpentine habitat.

Planning your visit -

There are seven miles of marked hiking trails. Equestrians and cyclists are prohibited due to the sensitive nature of the area. The visitor center has meeting rooms, a reference library and exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the area. The visitor center is located at 5100 Deer Park Road in Owings Mills, Maryland. Call in advance to get current visitor center hours and upcoming events.

Soldiers Delight NEA is located in Baltimore CountySoldiers Delight is reached via I-795, to Franklin Blvd. west, right at Church Road, left on Berrymans Lane, then left on Deer Park Road.Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area
5100 Deer Park Road
Owings Mills MD 21117
GPS 39.40944 76.83537Contact Soldiers DelightPhone: (410) 461-5005

Franciscan Monastery - Reflective Gardens and Grounds

I'm an ardent pantheist, tilting towards Agnostic but I've always enjoyed architecture and art of all faiths. One of my collecting hobbies led me to discover a site that serves as a pilgrimage site for many and was once was among DC most sought after attractions. The Monastery of Mount St. Sepulchre was designated a National Historic Site in 1991, and has been a place of worship and pilgrimage for thousands of visitors since the church's dedication in 1899.



I collect old postcards of Washington and one evening as I sorted through cards from the 1920's I noticed many depicting a monastic grounds and gardens that I had to find. Realizing this site was not far from from my home I set a course for the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, the central focal point of Catholicism in Washington that includes the Catholic University of America, the National Shrine, Trinity University and many other sites. The Monastery proved an elusive quarry initially - it's tucked in a maze of residential streets on top of a hill overlooking the Catholic University. Finding it in the spring time was a extra stroke of luck - the gardens were overflowing with so many Tulips I thought I was in a Dutch wholesale flower market.



My favorite activity here is to stroll the Rosary Portico which surrounds the church and has 15 chapels commemorating the lives of Jesus and Mary. Each chapel contains artistic ceramic plaques bearing the Angelic Greeting in nearly 200 ancient and modern languages. The Rosary Portico is reminiscent of the cloister of St. John Lateran in Rome and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls - a portion of which appears in the right hand portion of the below photo.



The façade of the portico is decorated with early Christian symbols from the Catacombs. Attached to the rear of the church is the monastery, built in the monastic style of the late Romanesque.

Venture deeper into the grounds and explore the the replicas of shrines in the Holy Land, as well as a greenhouse.

In 1880, the Reverend Charles Vassani established the Commissariat of the Holy Land in New York with a grand plan to build a “Holy Land in America” and a Holy Sepulchre, which they envisioned crowning a high hill on Staten Island, overlooking the entrance to New York’s harbor - now that would have been easy to find! This plan never was realized but but Fr. Vassani and Fr. Schilling did realize their dream on a wooded hilltop in Brookland in 1897. Once you step through the gates the distractions and worries of the material world slip away and the blood pressure immediately drops - the same effect as a night of drinking - without the hangover.

The Memorial Church of the Holy Sepulchre was designed by the Roman architect Aristide Leonori, and built in 1898-99. The floor plan of the church is the five-fold Crusader Cross of Jerusalem, and it is built in the Byzantine style, after the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople (Istanbul), with some modified Romanesque influences. Every building utilizes the tan colored bricks which somehow fell out a favor as a building material but lends a distinctly Italian flair.

The Monastery is located in the Brookland neigborhood of Washington DC, about 3 miles north of Union Station - The easiest way to find driving directions is to first locate the Catholic University of America.

Via Metro, Exit at the Brookland Station on the Redline - direction Silver Spring and head East uphill after crossing Michigan Ave. and locating Quincy Street - just under a mile walk.

From the Catholic University of America
Washington, District of Columbia 20017

Head northeast on Michigan Ave NE toward Monroe St NE

Turn right at Quincy St NE Destination will be on the left

Sacraments

At the Memorial Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the public is welcome to join in celebrating the Mass daily, and has special services for Christmas, Easter and other holy days.


FRANCISCAN MONASTERY OF THE HOLY LAND
1400 Quincy St., N.E.
Washington, DC 20017