The Magic Garden at Glen Echo

Note: for the Flower Bloom, please head over to https://givebutter.com/glenechopark-flowerbloom Thanks!!

For my 50th birthday, I am partnering with my friends to raise money for a treasure in the National Park Service: Beeler Fountain in Glen Echo National Park. 

Originally built as a Chautauqua in 1891, the park has a storied history, including turns as an amusement park, host to legendary music acts in its ballroom, and home to a civil rights sit-in on its carousel in 1960.  Nothing else like it exists within the NPS system.

The funds from this effort will be earmarked toward the grounds surrounding the stone fountain in the very back corner of the park. Built in 1959 and listed as having "no historic value" by the NPS, it's a beautiful stone structure that's been pretty much left to ruin since the amusement park's closing in 1968. I started caring for the fountain during the pandemic, and have named* it Beeler Fountain in memory of my friend and longtime NPS and USGS employee, Stephanie Beeler.

We'll be funding the grounds surrounding Beeler Fountain: repairing the fountain's base, replanting the area with native trees and flowers, and uncovering a secret fountain that's been buried in the thicket for decades.

Thus far, after initially digging out the fountain in the early summer, we’ve planted it with perennial salvia and daisies, and have planted upward of 200 bulbs for the spring for Stef.

We hope you'll join us on our mission, and we hope you'll come enjoy the park with us!

Thanks so much!
BdM

*while you can't officially name things in national parks, it doesn't have a name, so...now it does. Be sure to give it a tag when you visit!

P.S. Thank you to $1,550 in direct donations made on behalf of Beeler Fountain to the park!