Filene Center, Wolf Trap National Park, Virginia - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

In the United States, several national parks exist largely due to the efforts of a single individual, but none more so than Wolf Trap Farm (now simply called Wolf Trap). Its establishment in the late 1960s is inextricably associated with Catherine Shouse, daughter of A. Lincoln Filene of Filene’s Department Store fame. Mrs. Shouse donated the land which is now the park and provided funding for the main attraction: the Filene Center for the Performing Arts (named for her parents). Moreover, she served on the board of the Wolf Trap Foundation until her death in 1994.

If you’re wondering what the performing arts have to do with the National Park Service, you’re not alone. Catherine Shouse was quite politically connected: She had served in various federal agencies and was married to Jouett Shouse, a former U.S. Congressman and chairman of the Democratic National Convention. Mrs. Shouse wanted the land she sought to donate preserved as rural park land to be enjoyed by the general public. She explored several avenues with federal and local government and decided that a national park was the best defense against encroaching suburban development.

Catherine Shouse was also infatuated with the performing arts and wanted an outdoor venue constructed on the property similar to Tanglewood in Massachusetts. Not thrilled with any of the National Park Service’s proposals, she worked closely with the architects in the design of the Filene Center, the main performing venue at Wolf Trap, and chose its final location within the park. Although there are some trails and interpretive centers on the property, the focus of Wolf Trap has always been the performing arts and that is administered by the Wolf Trap Foundation, not the National Park Service.

The stamp was part of a set of five designs issued in 1972 to commemorate 100 years of U.S. national parks. (Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872.) In addition to featuring Yellowstone, the stamp set attempted to display the breadth and diversity of the National Park System and included the newest (and most unusual) national park: Wolf Trap Farm.

Technically, the building that’s shown on the stamp no longer exists. It burnt to the ground in 1982. (Ironically, during original construction of the venue, a fire prevention system was omitted due to cost-cutting measures.) Several folks at the NPS thought that the fire offered an opportunity to rebuild the venue with a different design at a better location, away from the noise of the Dulles airport highway. But Ms. Shouse would have none of it. She insisted that the Filene Center be rebuilt with the exact same design and in the exact same location and helped raise the funds to do it. (There were a few small changes though, like a slightly taller and wider tower over the stage.) So, thanks to Catherine Shouse’s obstinacy, this philatelic photograph waymark can still be visited.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 26-Jun-1972 Denomination: 6c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/21/2022 dminimax visited it