Glen Echo is an unusual place. It began when twin brothers Edwin and Edward Baltzley took the substantial fortune that they had amassed by inventing a reversible egg beater and invested it in real estate by purchasing over 500 acres of land. They planned to create a new town, a "suburb" for Washington, D.C. They named their new town "Glen Echo on the Potomac." It's basically the exact same way that Takoma Park came into being a year earlier (1890), the only difference is that Takoma Park (where I live) was on the railroad line, and Glen Echo was not. Therefore it took up to three-and-half hours to go from DC to there by horse drawn carriage.
Today you can drive there from the heart of DC in 20 minutes or so, it took me about as long to whip around the beltway from Takoma Park. The parking lot is on the opposite side of Minihaha Creek Gorge and so there is also a short walk across a bridge that straddles the gorge.
And if it is Father's Day, and you are the world's most amazing dad of all time, there is also the possibility of hiking down to the creek to explore it's wonders up close!
Once across the creek you enter what is Glen Echo Park today. A vastly different place from it's original iteration. In oder to attract people to Glen Echo, the Baltzley twins created the park as an American Chautauqua. The idea being to entice the gentry to their speculative investment called Glen Echo. That was in the last decade of the 19th century. An economic down turn ruined the brothers and the Chautauqua was replaced by an amusement park. It's history is played out through the variety of buildings that tell an eclectic tale of invention and reinvention over the years.
No doubt the most recent of these are a series of permanent Yurta's that house pottery artists and this shop. They are your first introduction to the myriad of artistic enterprises that occupy the various spaces today: Pottery, Painting, Photography, Glass Blowing, Puppetry, Theater, the Washington Choral Society, and Dance are the ones I best recall.
Inside you can browse the works of the resident artists.
And, of course, you can buy. Visa is welcome! These are by Ray Mihm. The mushroom will become a new "whimsy" in one of my container gardens.
The Denzel Carousel is both found at the center of the park and is the "center" of the park's activity. Installed in 1921...
...it's simply gorgeous! (It also appears a scene of the 1989 film "Chance Are" with Robert Downy, Jr. and Cybill Shepherd.)
Probably the largest structure in the park today is this extensive Art Deco complex of galleries and theaters.
More pottery on display at the Popcorn Gallery.
The glass gallery was very interesting, too.
Once the very popular bumper car gazebo, today this huge pavilion was being set up to accommodate a wedding reception. Very cool.
If you live in D.C., you've probably heard of the vibrant folk dance scene that is centered at the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo. Opened in 1933, this space has hosted more stars than I could begin to list. Today there are regular blues, contra and swing dances with live music open to the public.
And now to the reason for my visit in the first place!
The Yellow Barn Gallery is the principle location for the painters in residence. It's also the only remaining structure from the original Chautauqua complex. Why anyone would build such massive and amazing buildings and then tear them down is beyond the pay grade of my imagination. The structure also houses the gallery where the exhibit: "Life: Wild, Still & Sweet, featuring works by Jennifer Barlow, Malathi Jayawickrama, and Susan Shalowitz" was awaiting my visit.
The other work I wanted to buy was by Jennifer Kahn Barlow, but not in a season of belt tightening...
This trio of paintings by Susan Shalowitz from a trip she made to Patagonia immediately caught my attention. I asked her if she was aware of the paintings of Rockwell Kent and she wasn't...oh youthful ignorance... Wait!? Trio? Ooops, they are a duo because....
I bought the middle one!
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