Historic Marker - Greenbelt, Maryland |
The greenbelt towns of the New Deal era are recognized as the most
significant American effort toward building self-sufficient garden
cities. Equally important, the greenbelt program marked the first time
that the federal government became involved in a comprehensive effort to
build total communities. At the time, many urban planners and reformers
believed that the greenbelt program signalled the government's
recognition of the need for a national response to the problems of
urbanization and industrialization.1
Greenbelt, Maryland is about 13 miles from Washington, D.C. Of the 2100 acre site, 217 acres were originally developed. The first building effort encompassed 885 units: 574 group houses (3 to 6 units), 306 apartments, and 5 prefabricated detached houses. |
 Resettlement Administration Brochure
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The Architects for the project were Reginald S. Wadsworth
and Douglas D. Ellington. Hale Walker was the Planner and Harold B.
Bursley,Engineer. The Regional Coordinator was William Richards.
The Greenbelt Program was first administered under the Resettlement Administration. Subsequently, it was placed under the Farm Security Administration (1937), the National Housing Agency (1942), and the Public Housing Administration (1947) until the sale of the towns in the 1950s. |
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| Resettlement Administrator Rexford Tugwell (center, white suit) on an inspection of the Greenbelt project, July 1936 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt visits Greenbelt |
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| Architect's Model | Architect's Model 1936 |
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| Architect's Model | Utopia - painting by Battaglia |
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| Site chosen | |
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| Groundbreaking 1935 | |
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| Aerial view c. 1937 | |
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| Aerial view of Greenbelt, September 1939, showing the clustering of housing within the superblocks. Note the differentiation of street width, according to function, and the internal pathway system. To the left center is the elementary school with the swimming pool behind. The shopping center is in the center of the picture. The pedestrian underpass is visable passing under the major street in front of the commercial center.2 | |
