Glover Archbold Park
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Location | Foundry Branch, NW Washington, D.C. |
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Coordinates | 38°55′31.32″N 77°4′55.33″W / 38.9253667°N 77.0820361°WCoordinates: 38°55′31.32″N 77°4′55.33″W / 38.9253667°N 77.0820361°W |
Area | 221 acres (89 ha) |
NRHP Reference # | 06001260 |
Added to NRHP | January 16, 2007 |
Glover Archbold Park is a 183-acre, frequently-used, quasi-natural, stream-valley park in Northwest, Washington, D.C., on the western edge of Georgetown University and the Burleith-Hillandale, Glover Park, Mclean Gardens, and Westchester neighborhoods. It is a welcome change from the general urban landscape and includes Foundry Branch from Van Ness Street, to Canal Road, along the Potomac River. Several temporary streams, some originating from springs, flow into Foundry Branch. This park is one of the "finger parks" of Rock Creek Park, administered by the National Park Service (NPS). It prohibits removal of anything from the natural areas of the park. Also, to help preserve it, the NPS prohibits off-leash dogs, bicycles, and motorized vehicles in the park. Dog walkers, hikers, and joggers are often in the park. The park contains a historical Victory Garden adjacent to W Street, N.W. Nature, Gardens, and Georgetown (2006) includes a chapter on the park.
Glover Archbold Park is named after Charles Carroll Glover and Anne Mills Archbold, who donated its land, in 1924. The Glover family's pronunciation of its name is "glove' er." The National Park Service currently does not hyphenate "Glover Archbold Park." Some people erroneously call the park Glover Archibald Park.
In 1947, Senator Carl Hayden proposed to build a four-lane divided highway called Arizona Avenue through the Glover Archbold Park, from Canal Road in Georgetown to Wisconsin Avenue in Friendship Heights. Hayden's proposed highway was not built; the path is now the Glover Archbold Trail and the Massachusetts-39th Trail. Weaver Street and Weaver Place were renamed Arizona Avenue in 1954 after a suggestion by the American University Park Citizens' Association. In 1963, the conservationist and writer Rachel Carson, accompanied by several members of the Audubon Naturalist Society, visited Glover Archbold Park. Georgetown University students have been studying and learning from the park since at least 1975.