Mother and daughter cut flowers in their cottage style garden in Greenbelt, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., September 1938, by Marion Post Wolcott, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Greenbelt was one of three* “Greenbelt Towns” created by the New Deal federal government in the late 1930s. The built-from-scratch communities were designed to provide the best of both city and country living.
In addition to affordable housing, they incorporated commercial, medical, educational, and social facilities — all within park-like landscaping.
. . .Greenbelt was an experiment in both the physical and social planning that preceded its construction. Homes were grouped in superblocks, with a system of interior walkways permitting residents to go from home to town center without crossing a major street. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic were carefully separated. The two curving major streets were laid out upon and below a crescent-shaped natural ridge. Shops, school, ball fields, and community buildings were grouped in the center of this crescent.
. . .The first families were chosen not only to meet [low] income criteria, but also to demonstrate willingness to participate in community organizations.
[They] arrived on October 1, 1937, [and] found no established patterns or institutions of community life. Almost all were under 30 years of age. All considered themselves pioneers in a new way of life. A mix of blue and white collar workers, they reflected the religious composition of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.—Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish; but because of the racial bias controlling public policy at that time, all were white.†
. . .In 1952, when Congress voted to sell off the greenbelt towns, citizens in Greenbelt formed a housing cooperative (Greenbelt Veterans Housing Corporation, later Greenbelt Homes, Inc.)
— “The History of Greenbelt, Maryland“
“Old Greenbelt” has been well preserved over the years and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997. The photo above shows some of its rowhouses with gardens in 2005. It was taken by James W. Rosenthal for an Historic American Buildings Survey (via Library of Congress).
More Library of Congress photos of Greenbelt are here (1938) and here (2005).
*Along with Greendale, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, and Greenhills, Ohio, near Cincinnati.
†The Census found that 41% of residents were African-American in 2000.
enclos*ure 
[…] (Not very) Wordless Wednesday: rain Life in gardens: the dooryard bloom’d → August 14, 2014 · 4:30 am ↓ Jump to […]
Had no idea the history of Greenbelt. Only knew it as a metro stop.
I’ve never been there either. When we get back to D.C., I need to take a day and visit.
Atlanta has something quite similar. Era, style, layout. Not far from Emory Univ.
Have no idea how they are surviving. Total tear down mentality in this city.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
I see some of that here as the city grows — with small, charming things, like the little drinks stand down the street that came down because it was on the edge of a shopping mall site. I wish I’d photographed it while I had the chance.
The three greenbelt towns all seem to remain desirable places to live. The ideals that built them resonate with younger generations.
[…] towns* built by the federal government in the late 1930s. The other two were Greenhills, Ohio, and Greenbelt, […]
[…] Towns” built between 1935 and 1938 by the U.S. Resettlement Administration. (The other two are Greenbelt, Maryland, and Greendale, Wisconsin.) There are more Library of Congress photos of Greenhills […]