This spring and autumn, Preservation Maryland is hosting a series of field trips which are designed to give participants a chance to see historic sites across the state and learn about them from local historians and preservationists. Our next field trip will be held on Saturday, June 1 at the most enchanting site in Montgomery County, National Park Seminary, a part of which is an Endangered Maryland site.
Over its 125-year history, National Park Seminary has been a resort, a finishing school for girls and an army hospital. The grounds are home to a whimsical collection of more than 15 buildings which were constructed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, and today, it is perhaps the only place where you can find Japanese pagoda adjacent to a Swiss chalet around the corner from a Dutch windmill.
Many years of neglect led to the near destruction of National Park Seminary, but the site has experienced yet another rebirth as a unique residential community with apartments, townhouses and single-family homes. National Park Seminary serves as a great example of how creative thinking and innovative partnerships can lead to the preservation and redevelopment of a site that offers residents and visitors an international perspective on building design.
The day will start with a walking tour of National Park Seminary led by volunteers from Save Our Seminary, the nonprofit organization that has worked to save National Park Seminary. After we explore the campus, the group will gather for lunch in the grand ballroom of Ament Hall (1927). Over lunch, we will discuss how the Alexander Company of Madison, WI and EYA of Bethesda, MD redeveloped this campus and what the future holds for buildings such as the Gymnasium (Endangered Maryland 2011) and the Castle.
The field trip will conclude with presentations by Endangered Maryland site nominators on the current status of all 10 Endangered Maryland sites in Montgomery County.
$25 for Preservation Maryland members
$30 for non-members