Glen Echo Park Carousel

We have not been to Glen Echo Park for quite a while. Many years ago we went there to see Clara Barton’s house and a few times after that to walk the grounds and the park. Since my foot has not been feeling well lately and walking our normal two miles a day has stopped, we thought we would drive over and spend a little bit of time there and see how far I could tolerate walking. One of the big draws is the one hundred plus year old carousel that was refurbished and still in operation. Since it was still the summer months a lot of kids activities were also in full swing. We rode the carousel once and this time we just listened to the music - that my husband hates - and watched as the eager customers boarded and departed from the variety of animals that spin. The sound of the carousel brings back a lot of memories. The carousel on the National mall has been removed and it is being renovated and may return in 2025? One of my goals was to ride it before we moved away from Capitol Hill. That never happened. Now I wonder if it ever will? 

Glen Echo Park and Clara Barton

As the summer heat was blazing, we tended to walk under the tree shade in the neighborhood park. Then we thought we should expand our options and ventured out to Roosevelt Island, Dyke Marsh, and Gravelly Point. Last week we headed to Glen Echo Park. We went there many years ago to visit Clara Barton’s house and Red Cross headquarters and there was a restaurant we sort of liked that we visited a few times. Clara’s house was obviously closed now, but there was also a park nearby. Our recollection was that there was a reasonably long walking path and it would be a great diversion for the week. It indeed was a beautiful day, but the walking path was short and we ended up in the park that was filled with things that looked more like the 1950’s - or earlier. There were a lot of small shops housed in “urks,” a ship made out of wood in the treetops, a ballroom, playground, and an old carousel that was being restored. We found ourselves walking in the parking lot just to get a few more steps in. Clara’s house looked a bit run down compared to the last time we saw it. The paint was chipping off and it was quite unkempt. The only interesting item was a small house across the street that had a miniature version of it sitting on top of the fence in front of it. The guard dog there was not happy to see us. I can’t say we would go back again any time soon. It’s funny how things never quite look like we remember them. How the times have changed.