Historical Markers in Forest Hills, District of Columbia
Washington and Vicinity
Washington(2607) ► ADJACENT TO WASHINGTON Montgomery County, Maryland(752) ► Prince George's County, Maryland(644) ► Alexandria, Virginia(378) ► Arlington County, Virginia(461) ► Fairfax County, Virginia(712) ►
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[Top plaque:]
"Music of the Spheres"
Artist: Martha Jackson Jarvis
Commissioned by Fannie Mae
Dedicated July 10, 2003
[Center plaque:]
Fannie Mae: Van Ness Sculpture Project
Martha Jackson-Jarvis
The . . . — — Map (db m114358) HM
In 1983, Hillwood commissioned architects to create a structure to house part of Marjorie Post's collection of American Indian objects that she had acquired to decorate Camp Topridge, her retreat in Upstate New York, and would later donate to the . . . — — Map (db m178210) HM
This structure was one of several buildings erected during 1955-57, just after Marjorie Post bought the estate. The west end was originally built as a living quarters for Post's butler, who was head of the household staff, which numbered about . . . — — Map (db m178224) HM
When Marjorie Post purchased Hillwood in 1955, the buildings at the left and center were the stable and carriage house, with a livestock area in front. Post renovated these structures for use as a storage facility for the gardeners and a garage for . . . — — Map (db m178209) HM
Marjorie Post added a chauffeur's house and garage when she renovated the estate during 1955-57. The upper level served as living quarters for the head chauffeur and his wife. The garage, with two bay doors, is located underneath the residence. . . . — — Map (db m178203) HM
Beginning in 1892, streetcars ran from Chevy Chase Circle to downtown Washington, leading to development along Connecticut Avenue. In 1906, twelve houses were built on Tilden Street in a new neighborhood known then as "Fernwood Heights," now . . . — — Map (db m111656) HM
Forest Hills has two major cultural institutions in the neighborhood, the Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens, and the Levine School of Music.
Built in 1926, the Hillwood Museum houses the remarkable collections of Marjorie Merriweather Post in . . . — — Map (db m114360) HM
The cutting garden functions as it did during Marjorie Post's residency at Hillwood. The plantings include snapdragons, chrysanthemums, and other classics of 1950s and 1960s floral design, along with modern varieties of cut flowers introduced since . . . — — Map (db m178222) HM
Marjorie Post built this adaptation of a Russian country house, called an izba or dacha, in 1969. Russian-style carvings surround the doors and windows of the California redwood-clad masonry structure. Other details, such as the bright . . . — — Map (db m178211) HM
This structure was built in 1968 to protect the camellia collection in winter. Every fall, the garden staff transferred around fifty camellias from the gardens and maintained them here until spring, when they were replanted. The skylights could . . . — — Map (db m178208) HM
Limestone poodles, spaniels, and hounds bearing flower baskets greet visitors at the entrances to the secluded wooded area ahead. Marjorie Post created the dog cemetery, planted with fragrant sweet box, as a memorial to the pets she loved throughout . . . — — Map (db m178220) HM
The first atomic clock, developed near this site by Harold Lyons at the National Bureau of Standards, revolutionized timekeeping by using transitions of the ammonia molecule as its source of frequency. Far more accurate than previous clocks, atomic . . . — — Map (db m111606) HM
Artist: Rebecca Osten
The Call Boxes in Forest Hills are located at Albemarle and 30th Street, Albemarle and Linnean, Connecticut and Tilden, Connecticut and Windom, Ellicott and 30th Place, Tilden and Linnean and the 2900 block of Upton . . . — — Map (db m114357)
Fanciful touches lend a whimsical air to this intimate, formal garden inspired by those designed in France in the 1700s. Ivy-covered walls enclose the garden, and beds of closely trimmed boxwood and gravel paths section the space. Sculptures . . . — — Map (db m178216) HM
In 1957, a group of Marjorie Post's friend created an English-style walk for her new home as a tribute to her kindness and generosity. The informal path leads from the rose garden to open onto a flagstone circle that in Post's day overlooked a vista . . . — — Map (db m178218) HM
In Hillwood's greenhouse, Marjorie Post maintained a collection of more than two thousand orchids and other plants and flowers for displays and arrangements in the mansion. Rebuilt in 1996, the current greenhouse complex looks much like the . . . — — Map (db m178207) HM
Step down into this secluded garden featuring a miniature mountain landscape. Paths follow the rushing stream as it cascades through rocky terrain to fill a peaceful pond below. The garden showcases a mix of Japanese and American gardening . . . — — Map (db m178212) HM
The mansion's portico, or porch, offers a panoramic view across the Lunar Lawn to the Washington Monument in the distance. Marjorie Post hosted garden parties here, welcoming friends, veterans, students, leaders in politics and the arts, and . . . — — Map (db m178214) HM
The Georgian-style mansion was built for Washington social figures Helen and Henry Parsons Erwin in 1926. In 1955, Marjorie Post purchased the estate, at the time known as Arbremont, and renamed it Hillwood. From 1955 to 1957, Post renovated and . . . — — Map (db m178204) HM
Marjorie Post designed Hillwood with the pleasure of her guests in mind. The diplomats, politicians, students, military veterans, public figures, and family members who arrived at Hillwood's stately gates followed the winding drive to the lushly . . . — — Map (db m178205) HM
In the 1820s, Isaac Peirce built the mill that exists today on land he purchased in 1794. In 1892, Rock Creek Park was established and the Federal Government acquired the mill.
Artist: Mary Belcher — — Map (db m114361) HM
The last of several grain mills operating on Rock Creek during an era when most American mills derived their power from small streams. Located near an Indian site. The land was conveyed to Isaac Pierce by the Revolution patriot William Deakins in . . . — — Map (db m166590) HM
Marjorie Post enjoyed an active lifestyle. She loved ballroom and square dancing, garden walks, and golf. Post installed this putting green so friends and family could join her in practicing the game. The green's closely clipped bentgrass turf is . . . — — Map (db m178221) HM
Rock Creek Park was created by Congress in 1890 through the lobbying efforts of local philanthropist Charles C. Glover. Its original 1,754 acres taken mainly by eminent domain constitutes the largest urban park in America - twice the size of New . . . — — Map (db m120161) HM
Climbing roses and wisteria drape the pergola in this garden in spring to provide shade and pleasant fragrances. Beginning in spring and continuing into summer, floribunda roses delight with their brilliant colors. Marjorie Post, who died in 1973, . . . — — Map (db m178217) HM
A descendant of the original tree whose fruit gave inspirational impetus to Isaac Newton's theory of gravitational forces was nurtured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and transplanted here on the grounds of the National Bureau of Standards . . . — — Map (db m124922) HM
In 1901, the National Bureau of Standards began developing a large complex of 89 buildings on 70 acres west of Connecticut Avenue near this site. The NBS was devoted to testing new materials and establishing industry standards. The NBS physicists . . . — — Map (db m114354) HM
Here the Nacotchtank Indians quarried soapstone and carved vessels. Archaeologist William Henry Holmes studied prehistoric workshops in this valley and other parts of the Rock Creek Watershed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Artist: Mary . . . — — Map (db m111605) HM
This Stone Lion dated 1700 was on the terrace of Old Somerset House in London, England, which was originally built in 1700 and torn down in 1909. — — Map (db m178215) HM
The plaque on the reverse side is a replica of that which was dedicated September 9, 1967 Goshen Scout Camps, Virginia
Lake Merriweather
For her abiding interest, her great support and her constant inspiration to scouting, this lake has . . . — — Map (db m178213) HM
In 1955, Marjorie Post built a home for the head gardener on this house. He supervised a staff of about fifteen that maintained Hillwood's extensive gardens and grounds. The gardener's house was razed in 1996 to make way for the visitor center, the . . . — — Map (db m178206) HM
Marjorie Post encouraged her guests to enjoy all of Hillwood, indoors and out. Visitors today can walk two short woodland paths, both of which begin here. The path veering left passes the remain of a large, uprooted tulip poplar. The path veering . . . — — Map (db m178219) HM