Woodlawn Stone Barn Visitor Center
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Description
This project will convert the historic Woodlawn Stone Barn into a visitor center. The barn is located at Woodlawn Cultural Special Park, a designated County historic site located at the intersection of Norwood and Ednor Roads in Sandy Spring. The visitor center will focus on themes of the Underground Railroad, the Quaker Experience in Montgomery County, and the barn building as a feature of the County’s agricultural landscape. The project has been financed in part with State Funds from the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland, and the Maryland-State Highway Administration which provided funding for Intercounty Connector Stewardship Projects.
Background
The three-story stone bank barn, circa 1832, is a significant feature in the 105-acre environmental setting and shares the park property with the 1815 Manor House, a Montgomery County police facility and the Park Police Kristin M. Pataki Special Operations Training Facility. The building possesses high artistic value and was selected for the elite Historic American Building Survey by the Department of the Interior in the 1930’s. The 1998 Sandy Spring/Ashton Master Plan identifies a Rural Legacy Area south of Route 108 as one of the most historic in Montgomery County and places special emphasis on protection and preservation of rural traditions. The property is within the Montgomery County Quaker and Underground Railroad Heritage Cluster, part of the State Certified Heritage Area.
The approved Montgomery County Heritage Area Management Plan of November 2002 states that the rehabilitation and conversion of the Woodlawn barn into an interpretive center devoted to the Underground Railroad could provide a strong and memorable introduction to this heritage area theme. The 2006 From Artifact to Attraction: A Strategic Plan for Cultural Resources in Parks identifies the adaptive reuse of the Woodlawn Stone Barn to an interpretive center as one of the top 20 priority projects for cultural resources in the park system. A feasibility study and development plan for the design of the visitor center was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board on June 5, 2003 and a short-term structural stabilization and installation of a fire suppression and alarm system was completed in 2006. This project was approved and funded for detailed design and construction by the Montgomery County Council.
The main attraction of the visitor center will be a multi-media audio-visual Interpretive Program in the upper two levels of the barn. Images, sounds, and stories are expected to be projected across interior walls and spaces to create a unique immersion experience for visitors while also enhancing the structural, spatial, and historic integrity of the structure’s upper levels. The lowest building level and barnyard may support the informational visitor center function and be the trailhead for the Underground Railroad Experience Trail, an existing park feature.
Status/Project Update
Miche Booz Architect of Brookeville, Maryland has been awarded the Design Phase contract for the project. Among several sub-consultants on the project team, Howard+Revis Design of Washington, D.C. will be assisting to develop designs for the interpretive program, exhibits, and unique upper-level multi-media audio-visual program. A separate, future construction phase project is estimated to be advertised in 2011 and the visitor center should be open in Spring 2013.
This final design phase of work will complete 100% construction documents according to operational and management criteria of the Department of Parks. During this phase an open house presentation on progress will be held on Saturday, June 26, 2010 during Montgomery County Heritage Days weekend. At that time, the ideas and themes for the interpretive program will also be shared.
- For more information about the 2003 approved project, refer to Item 7 at this link: http://www.montgomeryplanningboard.org/meetings_archive/03_meeting_archive/agenda_060503/agenda_060503.htm
- For more information about cultural resources in the Montgomery County Parks system, refer to the website of the Cultural Resources Stewardship Section in the Park Planning and Stewardship Division: http://www.historyintheparks.org
Calendar
Links to available project information will be posted on each applicable calendar event as it is completed.
DATE/TIME |
DISCUSSION AND MEETING NOTES |
LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| February 2010 | Initiate Design Phase | |
| June 11 - August 15, 2010 | Woodlawn Visitor Center Online Survey Persons who completed the survey before the closing date of August 15, 2010 are eligible to participate in a drawing to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. The winner will be announced in late August. |
|
| June 26 & 27, 2010 Noon - 4:00pm |
Montgomery County Heritage Days - Project Update Click here to view Project Update Presentation Materials. |
Woodlawn Manor Special Park 16501 Norwood Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860 |
| Spring 2011 | Complete Design Phase | |
| Fall 2011 | Initiate Construction Phase | |
| Spring 2013 | Public Opening |
M-NCPPC Staff Contact
Eileen Emmet, Project Manager
Eileen.Emmet@MontgomeryParks.org
301-495-2550
Date of last update: June 11, 2010
Montgomery County Department of Parks