Druid Hill Park

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Druid Hill Park

Cherry blossoms along Druid Hill Reservoir.

Address

2600 Madison Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21217 

Phone

410-396-6106

Area

Neighborhood

Web Page

http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/recnparks/popups/parks/druid hill park.htm

Type of Makom

Parks Type

Park

Semi-useful stuff

Mikomos rating

0.00

(0 votes)

Description

Druid Hill Park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ranks with Central Park in New York, begun in 1859, and Fairmount Park in Philadelphia as the oldest landscaped public parks in the United States. Druid Hill Park is a 745-acre (3.01 km2) urban park.The land was originally part of "Auchentorlie", the estate of George Buchanan, one of the seven commissioners responsible for the establishment of Baltimore City; Buchanan's country estate included 579 of the 745-acre (3.01 km2) that comprise Druid Hill Park today. Renamed "Druid Hill" by Nicholas Rogers, who married Eleanor Buchanan, it was purchased in 1860 by the city of Baltimore from Lloyd Rogers with the revenue derived from a one-cent park tax on the nickel horsecar fares. Druid Hill Park was inaugurated by Baltimore Mayor Thomas Swann on October 19, 1860. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The park was designed by Howard Daniels, Baltimore Park Commissioners' landscape designer, and John H. B. Latrobe, who designed the gateways to the park and the alterations made to the early-19th century Nicholas Rogers mansion that already stood in the site. George A. Frederick, the very young Baltimore architect who won the commission for Baltimore City Hall in 1860, provided designs for architectural features in the park. Among Frederick's playful structures for Druid Hill in Moorish and Chinese styles is the Chinese Station erected in 1864 which were stops on a narrow-gauge railroad that once wound through the park. The "Mansion House" now functions as the main administration building of The Maryland Zoo.

Like Central Park, Druid Hill was at the northern edges of urban development at the time of its establishment. The northern end of the park has never been designed as parkland, and stretches of it are fenced off. The southern end of the park was a popular destination for city dwellers for a number of decades. The park features a number of waterways, most notably Druid Hill Lake, which began construction in 1863 and remains one of the largest earthen dammed lakes in the country. With the advent of automobiles, the park's many winding roadways became popular with car dealers who took potential buyers there to teach them to drive.

Today many of the fountains and other landscape details are only remnants.

Druid Hill Park is bounded by the Jones Falls Expressway (I-83) to the east, Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road to the west, wikipedia:Druid Park Lake Drive to the south, and wikipedia:Druid Park Drive to the north.

Features

Today, the park is home to a number of attractions. These include:

• The Maryland Zoo
• The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore, with its historic Palm House and Orchid Room, built in 1888.
• An 18-hole disc golf course
• The Baltimore Model Safety City (where school children learn how to be safe pedestrians by walking in a miniaturized model of downtown Baltimore)[1]

Tips

• Not in the best area.