Greenbelt Museum

Join us on Sunday, May 26, 2013, 11am for the first ever Greenbelt Museum Roosevelt Ride! Throw on some vintage clothes, grab your picnic basket and come for a day of biking and picnicing in historic Greenbelt. Riders are invited to gather on the front lawn of the Greenbelt Community Center (15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770) at 11am. Take a leisurely bike ride through the historic Greenbelt community — built in 1937 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a project of the New Deal — and return to the lawn of the Greenbelt Community Center to eat and socialize. The Greenbelt Museum’s historic house is right across the street and we’ll be offering free tours for bike ride participants beginning at 1pm. Bring your own food (sorry, no alcohol allowed), buy some Tea Pops, sample some lemonade or grab something delicious from the Greenbelt Farmer’s Market. This event is free! And don’t worry if you don’t have a bike or don’t want to do the ride – you are welcome to join us for the picnicking! Organized by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum and sponsored by Maryland Milestones/ATHA, Inc., Tea Pops, and the Greenbelt Farmer’s Market. Questions? Give us a call at 301-507-6582 or email museum@greenbeltmd.gov.

Greenbelt Theatre in 1942. Photo by Marjory Collins. Library of Congress

UPDATE:  We are thrilled to announce that thanks to the tremendous effort of the Greenbelt community (folks both near and far!), Greenbelt was awarded a preservation grant for $75,000 to aid in the renovation of the historic Greenbelt Theater! 

Partners in Preservation, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has chosen the Greenbelt Theatre and 23 other historic places in and around DC to compete to win up to $100,000 in grant funding. The old-fashioned, single screen theatre that has been at the heart of Greenbelt’s commercial core for 75 years is in danger of becoming a thing of the past. Renovation and installation of digital projection equipment will ensure the continued viability of this treasure.

Go to www.partnersinpreservation.com, login with Facebook or create a log-in account, then vote!  The Theatre gets extra poins when you tweet or post on Instragram with the hash tag #greenbelttheatre and #preserveDMV. Even if Greenbelt isn’t in first place, preservation funds will be divided up among participants, and community involvement counts!

Greenbelt Community Center (formerly Center School)

The Greenbelt Museum’s historic house will be closed on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience and we will resume normal Sunday hours, 1-5pm, on April 7.

We have so much in store for 2013!  Lectures, events, activities, and more! First we’d like to thank everyone who filled out our survey. We are so grateful for the candid feedback and plan to incorporate many of the suggestions that were offered. Many of you expressed that you wish you had more notice of our activities, so we hope to make that a priority this year. And speaking of activities – mark your calendars now for the second FOGM lecture Tuesday, April 16. The evening will start at 7pm with our annual FOGM meeting for members and will be followed by a lecture at 7:30pm entitled, Ecological Benefits of our Greenbelt Forest Preserve, by Elliot Campbell, Ph.D. We are delighted to be collaborating with the Greenbelt Forest Preserve which is celebrating its 10th year. Stay tuned for details for an exciting bicycling event at the end of May!

In June, we’ll partner with GAVA/GATE and the Recreation Department to screen the GAVA/GATE 75th Animation film as part of the Artful Afternoon on June 2. July’s lecture will feature Stephen Oetken, who’ll talk about the amazing Parkbelt homes. Did you know that in addition to town planning, Greenbelt’s planners experimented with prefabricated housing? Come learn more about these iconic modern homes. Then in late summer, get ready for the second Retro Town Fair at the Labor Day Festival. The event, planned and executed by Sheila Maffay-Tuthill, our Education Coordinator, was so popular that we’ve been asked to do it again!  Start growing those tomatoes and practice baking those pies!

There are many ways to stay in touch with us. Did you know that we’re on Facebook? Click here . And Twitter? Follow @GreenbeltMuseum. And Pinterest? Click here. Check us out!

Vintage Valentines at the Greenbelt Museum

Bring your sweetheart by to see the period Valentine’s Day decorations currently on display at the Greenbelt Museum. In addition to candy boxes and roses, this year we’ve added Valentine’s on loan from one of Greenbelt’s pioneer families. Lee Sheilds kindly lent us Valentine’s received by his father in the 1920s-1930s. The Museum house is open from 1-5pm on Sundays. It is located at 10B Crescent Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770. See you there soon!

Surveyor at Greenbelt, Maryland. Carl Mydans, Library of Congress

The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum is planning to do some strategic planning in January, so we need your input! What do you love about the Greenbelt Museum? Are you a member of the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum? What would make you want to join? The Museum is a partnership between the City of Greenbelt which owns the Museum and the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum which largely operates the Museum. Exhibits, programs, lectures, and tours are all supported by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum, a 501(c)-3 nonprofit which relies on donations from members, grants and other gifts, so your thoughts on where we should be headed are very important. We would love to hear from you!  Please take a moment to fill out this short survey and there’s room for (optional) comments at the end of each question. Feel free to give us your contact information, or leave blank if you prefer. Thanks in advance for your participation. Take Our Survey!

We love the holidays here at the Greenbelt Museum, so we hope you’ll find time to visit the Museum’s historic house this season. We’ll decorate the the 836 square foot house soon after Thanksgiving and transform the 1937 dwelling from humble abode to sparkling winter wonderland with period decorations including vintage Christmas tree ornaments, cards, toys, a holiday table setting, a menorah and so much more. This year we are so pleased to have the toy collection of Martha Yoho on display. Many thanks to her daughter, Karen Yoho, for lending it. The toys are from the 1930s-1950s and are beautifully preserved.

And join us for this year’s open house, Deco the Halls! – a celebration of Art Deco & vintage holiday decorations & toys from the Museum’s own collection and from area Deco enthusiasts, Friday, November 30 from 7pm-9pm, immediately following  the lighting of the City of Greenbelt Christmas tree. Come by for a quick tour and don’t forget to peruse the Museum’s gift shop which will be freshly stocked with new merchandise including vintage-themed toys, a 75th Anniversary ornament, Images of America: Greenbelt, and so much more. Be green, shop local!

The Christmas tree at 10B Crescent. Photo by Megan Searing Young

All proceeds from the gift shop go to support the Museum’s programs including exhibits, tours, & more. The Museum house is located at 10B Crescent Road, Greenbelt, Maryland and is open Sundays from 1-5pm.

The long-awaited 75th Anniversary Gala weekend is finally here. The dinner dance gala to be held at 7:30pm at Martins Crosswinds is completely sold out – over 450 are planning to attend!  But if you don’t have tickets, not to worry – there is so much to do in Greenbelt over the weekend! If you’re from one of Greenbelt’s Pioneer Families (“pioneers” are how we refer to Greenbelt’s earliest residents – as they were “pioneers in a new way of living” according to one early resident) – you’ll want to stop in to the Pioneer Family Welcome Room- Room 114 in the Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770 (formerly Center School). The room will be open  Saturday  9am-10pm & Sunday 9am-7pm and a light, casual brunch will be served on Sunday from 11am-1pm.

Visitors and residents alike are invited to:

• Reminisce in the new Greenbelt Museum exhibition, Greenbelt: The First 75 Years, 1937-2012 ,Community Center, Room 110. Bring copies of photos to post!
• Attend the Utopia Film Festival’s screening of three Greenbelt-related films– The City, Home: The Langston Terrace Dwellings, and Greenbelt: A Model Community, the Museum’s 11-minute orientation film
• Visit the Museum’s historic house at 10B Crescent Road, Sunday 1-5pm 
• Join in the fun of the city’s Fall Fest at Schrom Hills Park, Sunday, 2-6pm, 6915 Hanover Parkway, Greenbelt, MD 20770

Labor Day weekend will be action-packed for the Greenbelt Museum as we open a new exhibition entitled, Greenbelt: The First 75 Years 1937-2012, on Friday, August 31, offer walking tours on Saturday, co-sponsor the Retro Town Fair on Sunday, and walk in the parade and welcome visitors to the Museum house on Monday.

Poster for new exhibition designed by Nora Simon

The new exhibition, Greenbelt: The First 75 Years 1937-2012, examines Greenbelt’s history in timeline form and features photographs, ephemera, and artifacts from Greenbelt’s 75 year history.  Through an interactive feature in the exhibition, Greenbelters are invited to share important dates and moments in their own lives – so bring copies of photos to leave at the exhibition, or jot down favorite memories of Greenbelt experiences while you’re there. The exhibit, which will will open at 6pm Friday, August 31, is supported by a grant from the Greenbelt Community Foundation, by the City of Greenbelt, by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum and the 75th Anniversary Committee. The exhibit will be installed in the Museum gallery in the Community Center which is open Monday-Saturday  from 9am-10pm, and Sundays 9am-7pm.

Another way to experience Greenbelt history Labor Day Weekend is by taking a walking tour on Saturday, September 1. The free tours, sponsored by the Greenbelt Museum, and led by tour guides Stephen Oetken and Matt Johnson, will leave from Roosevelt Center at 1oam, 12noon, and 2pm and will terminate at the Greenbelt Museum’s historic house which will be open from 11am-3pm. The tours are free, but will leave promptly at the times listed.

Sunday, September 2, we hope you’ll join us as we put on a Retro Town Fair at  Roosevelt Center. Education and Volunteer Coordinator, Sheila Maffay-Tuthill, wanted to bring back a beloved tradition from Greenbelt’s earliest years. So in conjunction with the 75^th Anniversary Committee, the Greenbelt Museum is organizing a Town Fair much like those the earliest Greenbelters enjoyed starting back in 1939. As many of you already know, Greenbelt “pioneers” were an energetic lot and they were gifted at organizing. The Garden Club asked the City Council for permission to hold a flower show since so many early residents were avid gardeners. The idea was accepted and blossomed into an event similar to a county fair with ribbons awarded for garden grown veggies and plants, pies, needlework and more.  As a 75^th Anniversary Event, we are holding a one-day affair at the Roosevelt Center on September 2, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Categories include flowers and vegetables, canned goods, baked goods and needlework. Start planning your entries now!  Drop off for entries is from 11am to 1pm. To enter, just fill out the Retro Town Fair Registration Form and bring it with your entry (or entries) to Roosevelt Center between 11am and 1pm on Sunday, Sept. 2. Judging will take place from 1pm-3pm, then the fair will be open to public for viewing from 3pm-5pm. All entries must be picked up by 6pm.  See you at the Fair!

On Labor Day Monday, the Greenbelt Museum will march in the Labor Day Parade, then immediately following the parade, the Museum house will be open from 11:30-2pm for quick tours and hand-cranked ice cream. Did you know the Greenbelt Museum is 25 years old this year?!  We are celebrating with a not-to-be-missed event on September 27, 2012 – The Rexford Revue: A Post Prohibition Evening. Stay tuned for more information!