Arcade

Formerly the site of the Chautauqua Hotel and Administration Building, the Art Deco Arcade was built in stages starting in 1940 to house games, such as a shooting gallery, skeeball, and other attractions. The main level of the Arcade Building now provides space for several longstanding resident arts organizations, including Adventure Theatre and the Puppet Col., as well as the park's photography, rfused glass, and music programs.

• A long row of storefronts.

Bridge over Minnehaha Creek

• The bridge is approximately 160 feet long with wooden railings. The bridge crosses over a creek through the woods then turns 90 degrees to the right to continue along the path.

Bumper Car Pavilion

The Bumper Car Pavilion was originally called the Skooter when it came to the park in 1923. In 1995, the National Park Service organized a major volunteer effort that included constructing a foundation wall, replacing floorboards, and stabilizing the structure. The Bumper Car Pavilion is now a populuar venue for dances, concerts, private rentals, classes, and special events.

• A broad rectangular building with white columns at the perimeter and a decorative fence. Above the former entrance, the roof curves upward in a wave shape to reveal a mural of two people riding bumper cars on a field of radiating colored lines of green, yellow, orange, red and brown.

Candy Corner

The Candy Corner sold sweets - cotton candy, candied apples, lollipops, and ice cream - during the amusement park era. Rebuilt in 2007, this space has been used for classroom space and children's art programs.

• A small, cheerful red hut with block letters on top of the gabled room "Candy Corner."

Caretaker's Cottage

The stone Caretaker's Cottage dates from the Chautauqua era and was originally a two-story structure. Today, the remaining first level of the building houses the park's resident glassblowing studio.

• The Caretaker's Cottage is situated at the end of a gravel path. A small stone-sided building with double doors reveals a glassblower's studio inside.

Chautauqua Tower

The stone tower, once an entrance gate and bell tower, is the only remaining intact building from the Chautauqua era. During the amusement park era, it housed the park superintendent and security offices for the park. Renovated in 2008, the tower now houses two artist studios.

• A stone turret with three floors and a pointy, shingled roof. The main entrance to the park is immediately to the left of the tower when facing west.

Clara Barton Home and Red Cross Headquarters

Clara Barton dedicated her life and energies to help others in times of need - both home and abroad, in peacetime as well as during military emergencies. Glen Echo was her home the last 15 years of her life and the structure illustrates her dedication and concern for those less fortunate than herself.

• A three-story house with stone facades on either side and a peaked facade in the center. The ramp to access the front porch is to the left of the entrance via a front porch with white columns.

Comfort Station (Former NPS ranger station)

• A rectangular, two-story building with a door on the ground level. Restrooms are located on the upper level at the rear of the building, accessed by looping around the building.

Crystal Pool

The Crystal Pool opened in 1931. It was an Olympic-sized pool that accommodated up to 3,000 swimmers. In addition, it featured a quarter-acre sandy beach. The pool was filled in after the amusement park closed.

• The facade of the crystal pool features two tall red and white doors flanked by a pair of flagpoles. Above the door, a neon sign says in block letters, "Crystal Pool." A curving stone wall topped with a chain link fence curves back from the doorway.

Cuddle Up

The Cuddle Up was a teacup ride that arrived in 1946 and remained popular until the park closed in 1968. Today, the pavilion is used for art classes and camp programs. The stage is ideal for performances.

• A covered red and white striped pavilion with a small stage. The title "Cuddle Up" appears in block neon letters above the former ticket booth, along the curving contours of the flat, oval oval roofline.

Dentzel Carousel

nstalled at Glen Echo Park in 1921, the carousel was made by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1960, it was the site of a sit-in protest against segregation. The carousel features a menagerie of animals who gallop to the music of a Wurlitzer band organ.

• A brightly colored peach, salmon, and mint-colored, 12-sided carousel structure houses a carousel with horses and other animals. Inside, the circular carousel platform hold three concentric circles of 52 animals, mostly horses but also rabbits, tigers, and chariots. A ticket booth is to the right of a waiting area separated by cordons.

Glen Echo Aquarium

Discovery Creek Children's Museum, a Living Classrooms program, offers children's programs that continue the Chautauqua ideal of teaching about the natural world. The museum is located in a building that once housed the electric supply for the amusement park.

• From the east side of the trail, climb three steps and continue ahead and slightly right to the museum. An beamed arch over the path dangles a sign that reads "Glen Echo Park Aquarium" and a whimsical pirate ship treehouse stands behind a wooden fence.

Glen Echo Park / Clara Barton NHS Parking Lot

Glen Echo Park Historic Entrance

Glen Echo Park began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly "to promote liberal and practical education." By 1911, it transformed into DC's premier amusement park until it closed in 1968. Since 1971, the National Park Service has owned and operated the site and today, with the help of the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, offers year-round cultural and recreational activities.

• Two tall pillars resembling airplane wings rise above the viewer supporting a massive neon sign in block letters "GLEN ECHO PARK."

Hall of Mirrors

Built in 1964, the Hall of Mirrors is now used for dance and movement classes.

• A square cinder block building that was formerly a garage with large garage doors on the front that has been converted to a dance studio inside.

Information Panel: A Heroine's Home

Beyond the trees stands a Victorian house as unique as its owner. This house was built for Clara Barton in 1891 by Edward and Edwin Baltzley as part of the National Chautauqua at Glen Echo.

• An angled information panel with photographs of Clara Barton wearing Victorian dress standing next to a horse, seated at a dining table with many other people, and seen from across the house in the parlor with guests. Behind the panel, the wooded ground rises sharply uphill, the vegetation obscuring a large Victorian house behind.

Information Panel: A Life of Service

Clara barton lived a life that transcended the limitations placed by society. She built a career of humanitarian service in a society that did not grant her full rights because of her gender.

• An information panel with photos of Clara Barton, a white woman with her hair pinned close to her head, wearing Victorian-style dress. Beyond the panel to the left, the Clara Barton Home stands, a three-story building with peaked turrets on the front corners of the house.

Information Panel: Glen Echo Park: Protest Years

On June 30, 1960, local university students and citizens began a sit-in confrontation and picket line to challenge the long-standing segregation policies at the park. Their efforts succeeded in 1961 when the park's private owner, Rekab, Inc., finally opened its doors to all races.

• An angled information panel with weathered wood borders shows images of a black protestor sitting on the carousel being confronted by a security guard, protestors stand in a line holding anti-segregation signs, and Gwendolyn Britt holds a protest sign.

Information Panel: The Clara Barton Trail

Did you know a heroine lived right here in Glen Echo, Maryland? Fearless, selfless, and determined, Clara Barton dedicated her life to helping others. Known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" during the Civil War and founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton broke away from the traditional roles set for women.

• An angled information panel with an image of Clara Barton's Victorian house with a cow in the front yard, and an inset photo of Ms. Barton in Victorian dress, seated by an ornamental desk clock. Thick woods are immediately behind the sign. To the left, the sidewalk leads to a wooden foodbridge over Minnehaha Creek. To the right, the sidewalk leads to a side trail to an overlook. Continuing down the walk and around to the right will lead you to the Clara Barton House itself at the far side of the parking lot.

Information panel: Minnehaha Creek

This deep ravine and rocky creek are typical of streams in the Potomac River Valley. Today Minnehaha Creek flows freely through Glen Echo Park. Changes made to the creek in the past 100 years mirror the history of Glen Echo Park.

• A weathered information panel shows historic black and white photos of the stream through the woods, footbridges, and aerial photos of the area. Behind the railing, the stream bank descends sharply through the woods to a stream below, then rises sharply on the far bank.

North Arcade / Glen Echo Park Visitor Center

• A rounded building caps the end of a long arcade of other stalls with the words "POP CORN" in neon lettering above the windows.

Spanish Ballroom

In 1933, the mission-style Spanish Ballroom was built over the 7,500 square-foot floor of the previous Crystal Ballroom. Many big name bands - Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Lawrence Welk, Bill Haley and the Comets, and others - played to capacity crowds of up to 1,800 dancers. It is still one of the premier ballrooms on the East Coast.

• An ochre-colored building with Spanish mission-styled architecture.

Yurt Village

The yurt village in Glen Echo Park is studio space for local artisans and artists.

• The paved path curves through a village of yurts, round structures with low, cone-shaped roofs, through the woods.

• Ride the Historic Dentzel Carousel
• The Dentzel Carousel is operated by our partner, the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture.

Walking Tour

Take a 0.7-mile stroll through historic Glen Echo Park and discover artists and artisans working away in buildings that used to house amusement park and Chautauqua experiences.