Glen Echo Park
Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland is an arts and cultural center. It is managed by the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture in cooperation with Montgomery County, Maryland, and the National Park Service. The site was first developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly and then operated as an amusement park until 1968. In the early 20th century it was turned into an amusement park, which operated until the late 1960s. Like many public facilities in and around the Washington area, Glen Echo was restricted to whites for 63 out of the first 70 years of its history. However, on June 30, 1960, a group of college students (primarily from Howard University) staged a sit-in protest on the carousel. Five African American students were subsequently arrested for trespassing. The arrests were appealed to the Supreme Court four years later, and the convictions were reversed in Griffin v. Maryland on the grounds that the state had unconstitutionally used its police power to help a private business enforce its racial discrimination policy. As a result, an eleven-week civil rights campaign began; students and residents of the nearby Bannockburn community alike came out in force. The park opened the doors to all races in the 1961 season. Today, the park is one of the finest cultural resources in the Washington, D.C. area. It offers hundreds of classes and workshops in the visual and performing arts and is home to thirteen resident artists and arts organizations. The park is well known for its antique Dentzel carousel, its Spanish Ballroom, its many public festivals, including Family Day and the Washington Folk Festival, its children's theaters, and its social dance program. The National Park Service offers park history tours and other programs and maintains a visitors area. (Source: Wikipedia)