National Park Seminary Historic District - Silver Spring MD
N 39° 00.697 W 077° 03.452
18S E 321855 N 4320079
The National Park Seminary District is the result of a public-private cooperative effort to save very unique structures that had once seen use as a hotel, prestigious women's college and US Army convalescent home.
Waymark Code: WM9KW8
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2010
Views: 8
The first thing that a passer-by will notice is the odd architecture.
A pagoda? A Swiss chalet? An adobe mission? What is this place?
This is National Park Seminary Historic District. Originally built as a hotel and resort, in 1894 the property was converted to an exclusive women's finishing school, National Park Seminary. Under the supervision of John and Vesta Cassedy, the campus was expanded and landscaped to create a rich educational environment. Unique sorority buildings were added. These are the exotic "international" buildings seen on the present campus.
In 1916, the Seminary was purchased by Dr. James Ament, who developed a business oriented curriculum and renamed it National Park College. The college was still active in 1942 when the outbreak of WWII necessitated the expansion of nearby Walter Reed Hospital. The college campus was taken by the federal government and converted to a soldiers' convalescent home. It remained in that use until the mid-1970's. After that, the buildings fell into disrepair from neglect.
"Save Our Seminary" (SOS) was founded in 1988 as a local organization with the goal of preserving these unique structures. In 2004, the property was transferred to private ownership and the buildings were restored and converted to multi-family residences and private homes. The character of the campus has been preserved and residents enjoy their exotic surroundings. The historic structures are protected by a permanent easement.
Tours of the public areas are conducted by SOS. Check the listed website for more information.
Street address:
Linden Lane south of I-495
Forest Glen
Silver Spring, MD USA
20910
County / Borough / Parish: Montgomery County, Maryland
Year listed: 1972
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924
Historic function: Education / School
Current function: was "Defense, Health Care/ Hospital, Military Facility", now private residences
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.