Thoughts and photos from various places in the world.
On 10/8, I wrote about our trip to the C&O Canal Park here on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, and I posted the photos we took there. I forgot to post the video we made as well. The quality isn’t fantastic, I used our digital camera, not a camcorder, but it’ll give you another dimension of the place. So, without further ado, here it is:
A little more than a week ago, I wrote about the National Seminary at Forest Glen, here in the DC suburbs, and also posted some photos I took there this summer. I promised I’d post the rest of the photos, which I took in the summer of 2005, and I held true to that promise.
I can safely say I have no more photos to post from the site, since it’s being redeveloped as I write this, and will soon look different. The old buildings will stand no more, but will be replaced by their modern counterparts, which will supposedly look and feel the same. We’ll see how that turns out… So, you may call these photos “limited edition”. I can’t get you any more. Enjoy them, and visit the site sometime next year if you’re able. You may or may not recognize the spots in the photos, depending on how extensive the redevelopment will be.
To help you understand the layout of the site, I’ve posted a map of the grounds below. I also invite you to visit the National Seminary website (which may or may not be up for long — that’s where I got the map). The site has photos of bygone times, showing you how the grounds and buildings looked when they were actually in use. It’s very interesting stuff, and my advice is to spend one of these chilly autumn evenings curled up with your laptop on the sofa, reading through it.
Just posted photos taken this summer at the National Seminary at Forest Glen, a historic site located in the suburbs of DC.
The history of the place is a pretty interesting read. After being bought in the 1730’s as a much larger property, parts of it were sold off, and finally, what is now known as National Seminary was sold to John and Vesta Cassedy in 1894. They set out to transform it into a girls’ finishing school. In 1916, the school was sold to Dr. James E. Ament after Vesta Cassedy died. John Cassedy then married a recent graduate of the school and lost interest in running it. In 1937, during the Great Depression, with the school’s student population foundering, it was sold to Roy Tasco Davis, who set out to transform it into National Park College, a place where academics and practical skills. He didn’t have much time to do this, because the property caught the eye of an Army general, who invoked the War Powers Act, condemned the property, annexed it to Walter Reed Hospital, and used it as a place where wounded soldiers could recover.
When the Army tired of the property, they let it go to ruin. They wanted to completely tear down the buildings, but local residents objected and managed to get the site designated as a historical landmark in the 1970s. Finally, a deal was made in 2005 to get the entire site redeveloped, the old buildings restored or rebuilt, and luxury condominiums built there. From what I understand, a development company bought the property, under the solemn promise to stick to the historical character and look of the site as they rebuild there. The site is now under construction, and many of the old buildings, too dilapidated to stand up, will be torn down and reconstructed.
Ligia and I visited it this summer (2006) and last summer (2005), and photographed the various buildings. It was also a great place to eat raspberries and mulberries. I still need to post the photos taken last summer, but I’ll do it soon.
(Added 10/19/06: here they are!)
Back at the start of September, Ligia and I visited the C&O Canal Park, on the Maryland side. It was a rainy day, so we didn’t stay for long, but I did manage to take quite a few photos. I thought I’d share them with you. Enjoy!
Here’s Part 2.
A few weeks ago, Ligia and I visited White’s Ferry and Edwards Ferry, both on the Potomac River here in Maryland. We’d been to White’s Ferry before and knew what to expect, but hadn’t yet been to Edwards Ferry, which is hidden away and harder to get to. Both are very close to the C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) canal, but while White’s Ferry only has a decrepit, rusty bridge as a reminder of the Canal (no water, mind you), Edwards Ferry still has the gatekepeer’s house, intact, a bit of water, and part of the lockgate. It’s also a more intimate, historically preserved location than White’s Ferry.
Just in case you’re wondering, Edwards Ferry has no ferry anymore (White’s Ferry does), but it does have a public launch ramp for boats, which is still actively used. We hiked around both locations, and also along the C&O Canal tow path, and took photos.
Raoul Pop 