The sounds of drilling and hammering greeted me on a cold, windy, sunny afternoon in February as I left my car at Glen Echo Park. I followed the noises to the pavilion that formerly housed a bumper car ride installed for the summer of 1923 in the once famous Glen Echo Amusement Park. Today the park hosts a wealth of creative and expressive opportunities such as classes for individual students of various art forms, traditional music and dance events from diverse cultures and eras, and performances by both puppets and drama students to introduce young children to the cultural arts. I remembered the park bustling with crowds of eight thousand attending the seven stages of performances at the annual FSGW Folk Festival. This park continues to transform itself through its volunteer community as it provides what no other public park attempts to give to the general public.
Through the ingenuity and foresight of Park Ranger Stan Fowler and his gang of hard working volunteers, the bumper car pavilion, recently fallen into a state of dangerous disrepair, is evolving into a colorful venue for performances, dances, picnics, exhibits, classes and craft shows. On that Saturday, I watched as three men struggled and strained to place a newly built column into position to replace one destroyed by rot and termites. This was the second new column to be put in place to hold up the roof. Sixteen columns were removed and rebuilt, while scaffolding donated by a friend of the park from Miller and Long Construction Co. holds up the roof. One member of the three-man team slowly raised the roof an inch or two by elongating the scaffolding. The other two steadied the heavy column and gradually wedged it into place.
This is only one step in a process that began in 1996 with the exploration of early twentieth-century timber construction practices as well as engineering studies initiated by Ranger Fowler. Before the new column was placed, armies of volunteers excavated under the floor to make room for new footers and foundations and to provide space for future electrical and ventilation systems. Prior to that came roof stabilization and leveling, and removal of rotted columns, joists, and floorboards previously unprotected from the weather. The volunteer workers have carefully investigated the original structure, labeled and saved any removed portions for future archeological and historic research as advised by the National Park Service archeologists.
If you visit Glen Echo, crashing cars scooting across a metal floor are easy to visualize, as you gaze at the one story, shingled-styled structure with convex roof over head and broad gabled ends. This building was typical of early amusement park structures and the nearby Dentzel Carousel has similar shingles, curved rooflines and bright colors. The ride, called the “Skooter,” featured 25 two-passenger cars operated over a steel floor by electricity. It was the second of its kind to be installed in the United States.
The Amusement Park closed in 1968 due, in part, to the surrounding neighborhood's dissatisfaction with the integration that was occurring in the park. The National Park Service, hoping to preserve the palisades along the Potomac River, took over the park in 1971 through a land exchange with the former owners. The older buildings began to deteriorate and the Bumper Car Pavilion lost its original glamour. The Park Service removed a 1930's era facade revealing the original facade in the late 1970s. It replaced the roof, restored the shingles and latticework to match the original and repainted a mural. Then structural repairs included a new concrete footer on the South end, trusses stabilized and wire ropes added for lateral bracing. Plywood added to the East side wall openings created a backdrop for performers. Gutters and downspouts were added. The new footer and a new asphalt apron supposed to keep water away from the wooden columns and under-floor actually sealed it in. Moisture damage was first seen in 1986 and a 1992 recommendation to dry out the under-floor to prevent the columns from rotting was not followed. Failure to keep the elements directed away from the building resulted in moisture, mold and termite damage. The rot was so severe that all the supporting columns are being replaced.
Wood from trees 200 to 250 years old is one of the features that make the building worth saving. Ranger Fowler has counted tree rings from the lumber removed and has also determined that the old southern pine it was constructed with remains a valuable resource. Such pine is too scarce and too expensive for modern buildings. The rich scent of the wood's resin lingers today in tiny wood chips removed to make space for the new column.
Meanwhile the park had begun to provide badly needed facilities for cultural recreation in former amusement park buildings and the Spanish Ballroom. Sports fields, housing for the elderly and many other potential park uses did not develop. Ranger Fowler's rehabilitation of the Bumper Car Pavilion will preserve as many of the original architectural elements as is possible while providing an exciting space for creative arts. It will encourage participation by every ethnic and racial component of our diverse community.
A little know fact about this project is that in spite of estimates ranging from $300,000 to $450,000 in 1987 and recommendations to tear down the Pavilion because it was a hazard, the current work on the building has been accomplished with less than 2000 hours of volunteer time by about 300 individuals and less than $3000 in costs. An engineering analysis done at reduced cost by the University of Maryland agricultural engineering department in 1996, confirmed the structural soundness of the trusses but indicated that the support columns must be replaced. Also in 1996, Southern Pine Inspection Agency determined that the old wood in floor and trusses was still reliable.
Love of this park and the invaluable enrichment it provides motivated young mothers, Boy Scouts, AmeriCorps members, dancers and many others to spend tedious hours removing the packed clay soil from under the building, or prying off the old metal floor. A man convicted of a misdemeanor spent his community service hours painting new parts. Besides Ranger Fowler, two board members of the Glen Echo Park Foundation, Peter Somerville and Neil Zimmerman, have labored endlessly this winter to get the new columns ready to insert under the roof. Steve Satterfield and Lee Hampton cut hundreds of small pieces of wood for replacement railings. Peter Galloway and Joy Borg hold the award for working the most hours as excavators.
There is much left to accomplish: Install all the columns, outriggers and railings. Inspect and repair the sub-floor and level the floor. Electrical and ventilation systems are needed and the eaves, including delicate latticework, must be restored. Roof repair is last on the list and probably will be done by outside contractors working for Montgomery County Government as part of a plan for overall Park rehabilitation.
Park supporters wishing to volunteer are encouraged to come out this April to assemble and install the columns and railings. Over the next month, Fowler, Somerville and Zimmerman hope to put the Southwest corner together as a model for the rest of the building and to determine the most efficient way to proceed. People are needed to work weekly so that a steady crew of knowledgeable laborers will not need instruction every time they work. Contributions of food and beverages on Saturdays would add to the community spirit. In this age of “government won't do it all,” the Bumper Car Pavilion has become a monument to volunteer industry, motivation and persistence.
As I watched the raising of the column and pondered the accomplishments of the past three years, I looked forward to the day when I would enjoy dancing in the pavilion on a balmy summer night. I left promising to contribute my labor and hoping to encourage others to hasten the day when we will enjoy this colorful community resource.