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Glen Echo Park (Maryland)
Encyclopedia
Glen Echo Park, also known as Glen Echo Amusement Park and Glen Echo Park Historic District, is a public park and national historic district
in Glen Echo
, Montgomery County, Maryland
. It is managed by the National Park Service
as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway
. It began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua
Assembly and operated as an amusement park
until 1968. As of 2007, the park hosts an arts education program and is also known for its antique carousel
, its Spanish Ballroom
, its historic electric street car
and its annual Washington Folk Festival
.
The park is near to several notable sites such as the Clara Barton House
and the C&O canal. Glen Echo used to be a trolley park
accessible by the street car system; the park was designed to be the last stop on the cars so people could go there after work. The original park had several attractions, including bumper cars, shooting galleries, and an expansive rollercoaster. The park also had a large pool, the Crystal Pool, the remains of which can still be seen today, and a shooting gallery, which was stopped in WWII because of ammunition shortages.
site, a precursor of sorts to the arts facility Glen Echo has become today. It flourished until a misprint in the paper claimed that the mosquitoes in the area had malaria. In the early 20th century it was turned into an amusement park, which operated until the late 1960s. Like many public facilities in and around the Washington area, Glen Echo was restricted to whites for 63 out of 70 years of its history. However, on June 30, 1960 a group of college students (primarily from Howard University
) staged a sit-in
protest on the carousel and five African American students were subsequently arrested. (The arrests were later appealed to the Supreme Court
and the convictions reversed in Griffin v. Maryland
.) As a result, an eleven-week civil rights campaign began; students and residents of Bannockburn alike came out in force. The park opened the doors to all races in the 1961 season. Glen Echo, like most small suburban amusement parks, closed in 1968. Today, the park is served by a bus coming from the Bethesda Metro station.
Since 1971, the park has been under the watch of the National Park Service
. Various renovations, backed by government funds and individual donations, have taken place throughout the park, most notably the Spanish Ballroom, the Arcade building that now hosts art classes, and the art deco
style opening gates. The park's carousel and large children's theater remain an attraction for all ages in Bethesda
and Glen Echo. Every Friday and Sunday night of the year, the park hosts a contra dance
either inside the Spanish Ballroom or in the open-air Bumper Car Pavilion. The two venues host other dances (salsa, waltz, tango, slow blues, or swing) at the same time and also on other weekend and weekday evenings.
In the early 2000s, the park obtained a historic streetcar from Philadelphia. The streetcar is now located at the entrance to the park.
with 38 horses, 2 chariots, 4 rabbits, 4 ostriches, a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, and a prancing deer. The carousel operates from May through September, running from 12 to 6 on weekends and 10-2 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays all season and Fridays in July and August. In its heyday the carousel sported an operating brass ring
game, in which daring riders could reach out and pull a ring out of a holder next to the carousel. Grabbing a brass ring would win the lucky rider a free ride. The brass ring arm is still visible today, although it no longer operates.
The face of the carousel had changed greatly since 1921, with the animals, rounding boards, inner drum panels, and band organ receiving several new coats of park paint over the years. An installation photograph from 1921, as compared to the carousel in 1983, showed an original design of the body and tack on the Indian horse that was very different from the present-day animal. Chipping away at the horse's paint revealed several strata of differently colored and styled paint jobs spanning the past sixty years, with the original 1921 paint at the bottom. Carousel and fairground art specialist Rosa Ragan, who has restored several other carousels in the US, restored the Indian horse by removing the park paint, exposing as much of the original paint as possible, and filling in the gaps in the original paint, a process called inpainting, before covering the horse in a protective varnish. This process, however, exposed the original paint to damage from riders, thus rendering the horse unridable. In order to restore each animal without risking damage to the original paint, Ragan developed a new process of uncovering the original paint job, recording the colors and design, and then covering the original paint with a reversible varnish before giving the animal a white base coat and repainting it in the original colors. However, Ragan did leave a small window of original paint exposed on each animal for riders to find. These glimpses of the original 1921 paint are called "windows to the past" and can be found on the plain side (the inward-facing side) of each animal. Ragan's 20-year restoration of the carousel completely overhauled the animals, the band organ, and the rounding boards and drum panels, returning the carousel to its original beauty and splendor.
The carousel was in a scene in the 1989 comedy Chances Are
starring Robert Downey Jr.
and Cybill Shepherd
.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
in Glen Echo
Glen Echo, Maryland
Glen Echo is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, that was chartered in 1904. The population was 242 at the 2000 census.Glen Echo derives its name from Edward and Edwin Baltzley, who came up with name circa 1888...
, Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
. It is managed by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, known to local motorists simply as the "G.W. Parkway", is a parkway maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. It is located mostly in Northern Virginia, although a short section northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge passes over Columbia Island,...
. It began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
Assembly and operated as an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
until 1968. As of 2007, the park hosts an arts education program and is also known for its antique carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
, its Spanish Ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
, its historic electric street car
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
and its annual Washington Folk Festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
.
Clara Barton National Historic Site
The Clara Barton National Historic Site, which includes the Clara Barton House, was established in 1974 to interpret the life of Clara Barton , an American pioneer teacher, nurse, and humanitarian who was the founder of the American Red Cross. The site is located northwest of Washington D.C...
and the C&O canal. Glen Echo used to be a trolley park
Trolley park
In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. These trolley parks were created by the streetcar companies to give people a...
accessible by the street car system; the park was designed to be the last stop on the cars so people could go there after work. The original park had several attractions, including bumper cars, shooting galleries, and an expansive rollercoaster. The park also had a large pool, the Crystal Pool, the remains of which can still be seen today, and a shooting gallery, which was stopped in WWII because of ammunition shortages.
History
The park was originally designed as a ChautauquaChautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
site, a precursor of sorts to the arts facility Glen Echo has become today. It flourished until a misprint in the paper claimed that the mosquitoes in the area had malaria. In the early 20th century it was turned into an amusement park, which operated until the late 1960s. Like many public facilities in and around the Washington area, Glen Echo was restricted to whites for 63 out of 70 years of its history. However, on June 30, 1960 a group of college students (primarily from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
) staged a sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
protest on the carousel and five African American students were subsequently arrested. (The arrests were later appealed to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
and the convictions reversed in Griffin v. Maryland
Griffin v. Maryland
Griffin v. Maryland, 378 U.S. 130 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the convictions of five African Americans who were arrested during a protest of a privately owned amusement park by a park employee who was also a deputy sheriff...
.) As a result, an eleven-week civil rights campaign began; students and residents of Bannockburn alike came out in force. The park opened the doors to all races in the 1961 season. Glen Echo, like most small suburban amusement parks, closed in 1968. Today, the park is served by a bus coming from the Bethesda Metro station.
Since 1971, the park has been under the watch of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. Various renovations, backed by government funds and individual donations, have taken place throughout the park, most notably the Spanish Ballroom, the Arcade building that now hosts art classes, and the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style opening gates. The park's carousel and large children's theater remain an attraction for all ages in Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
and Glen Echo. Every Friday and Sunday night of the year, the park hosts a contra dance
Contra dance
Contra dance refers to several partnered folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines...
either inside the Spanish Ballroom or in the open-air Bumper Car Pavilion. The two venues host other dances (salsa, waltz, tango, slow blues, or swing) at the same time and also on other weekend and weekday evenings.
In the early 2000s, the park obtained a historic streetcar from Philadelphia. The streetcar is now located at the entrance to the park.
The Park Carousel
The last operating park ride, and the highlight of the park today, is a 1921 Dentzel three-row menagerie carouselCarousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
with 38 horses, 2 chariots, 4 rabbits, 4 ostriches, a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, and a prancing deer. The carousel operates from May through September, running from 12 to 6 on weekends and 10-2 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays all season and Fridays in July and August. In its heyday the carousel sported an operating brass ring
Brass ring
A brass ring is a small grabbable ring that a dispenser presents to a carousel rider during the course of a ride. Usually there are a large number of iron rings and one brass one, or just a few. It takes some dexterity to grab a ring from the dispenser as the carousel rotates. The iron rings can be...
game, in which daring riders could reach out and pull a ring out of a holder next to the carousel. Grabbing a brass ring would win the lucky rider a free ride. The brass ring arm is still visible today, although it no longer operates.
The face of the carousel had changed greatly since 1921, with the animals, rounding boards, inner drum panels, and band organ receiving several new coats of park paint over the years. An installation photograph from 1921, as compared to the carousel in 1983, showed an original design of the body and tack on the Indian horse that was very different from the present-day animal. Chipping away at the horse's paint revealed several strata of differently colored and styled paint jobs spanning the past sixty years, with the original 1921 paint at the bottom. Carousel and fairground art specialist Rosa Ragan, who has restored several other carousels in the US, restored the Indian horse by removing the park paint, exposing as much of the original paint as possible, and filling in the gaps in the original paint, a process called inpainting, before covering the horse in a protective varnish. This process, however, exposed the original paint to damage from riders, thus rendering the horse unridable. In order to restore each animal without risking damage to the original paint, Ragan developed a new process of uncovering the original paint job, recording the colors and design, and then covering the original paint with a reversible varnish before giving the animal a white base coat and repainting it in the original colors. However, Ragan did leave a small window of original paint exposed on each animal for riders to find. These glimpses of the original 1921 paint are called "windows to the past" and can be found on the plain side (the inward-facing side) of each animal. Ragan's 20-year restoration of the carousel completely overhauled the animals, the band organ, and the rounding boards and drum panels, returning the carousel to its original beauty and splendor.
The carousel was in a scene in the 1989 comedy Chances Are
Chances Are (film)
Chances Are is a 1989 romantic comedy film written by Perry & Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey, Jr., Ryan O'Neal, and Mary Stuart Masterson. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre.-Plot:...
starring Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the...
and Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
.
Park Images
Pictures of Glen Echo Park are available on Wikimedia Commons page on Glen Echo.External links
- Glen Echo Park official website
- Glen Echo Park, from the National Park Service
- Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
- Town of Glen Echo
- Glen Echo Partnership for Arts and Culture website accessed June 12, 2007
- Maryland Historical Trust