Greenbelt, Maryland Trivia Quiz

Answer: The New Deal.

Greenbelt, Maryland, was planned during the New Deal. This, of course, was the program created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to pull the United States out of the Great Depression. The intention was two-fold: to provide housing for Federal employees, and to provide jobs during the construction process itself. Construction of the town was completed in 1937. One of the main proponents of the town was Eleonor Roosevelt, the First Lady, and Rexford Guy Tugwell, director of the Resettlement Administration.

Answer: Prince George's.

Greenbelt is located in Prince George's County, approximately 14 miles north-east of Washington, D.C. This made it a convenient location for Federal employees who commuted to Washington for work. Greenbelt was built on former tobacco fields. Tobacco growing was once an important part of the economy of Prince George's county. In fact, the county seat is Upper Marlboro!

Answer: The homes were originally built with solar heating.

The original Greenbelt rowhouses were build in "courts" - or four rows of houses, forming an enclosure. Often this enclosure contained a playground for children. Parking was provided on the outer ring of the court, and underpasses that allowed pedestrians to walk from place to place without crossing busy streets, which made Greenbelt a very safe place for children. Greenbelt Lake is a lovely spot for recreation and community events.

Answer: Although the homes are owned privately, they are managed by a coop.

Greenbelt Homes, Inc., commonly referred to as GHI, is a cooperative which manages the origianl Greenbelt homes, and strives to maintain the original vision of neighborly cooperation, green spaces, and general quality of life. GHI was formed in 1952 when the Federal government decided to sell the homes.

In addition to GHI, there are other cooperatives in Greenbelt including a Coop supermarket, a cafe (called "The New Deal Cafe"), a nursery school and a community newspaper.

Answer: Five frames, depicting the Preamble to the Constituion.

Lenore Thomas, a Maryland sculptor, was hired by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) to sculpt the friezes on the side of the Greenbelt Center School. The phrase "We The People" appears over the door, and each subsequent frame illustrates an additional phrase from the Preamble to the Constitution.

Her style is proleteriat, almost Soviet. In addition to the school scuptures, an sculpture by Lenore Thomas, entitled "Mother and Child", appears in the Greenbelt shopping center.

Answer: It was constructed by its members.

The Greenbelt synagogue, originally called the Jewish Community Center and later Mishkan Torah (Dwelling place of the Torah) was physically constructed by its members. Most of the congregants were white-collar government workers and had no experience in construction work. Luckily, some neighbors with construction experience took pity on them and helped out.

This is the only synagogue in the US constructed by its members.

Answer: Goddard Space Flight Center.

Goddard Space Flight Center was established in 1959 in Greenbelt and was the first of NASA's space flight centers. Over ten thousand scientists are employeed by Goddard, which is named after the famous rocket scientist, Robert Goddard.

Answer: The Greenbelt News Review newspaper was sued for libel.

The Greenbelt News Review is a community newspaper delivered free of charge to Greenbelt residents on a weekly basis. All of its staffers are volunteers. In the late sixties, the newspaper reported on a City Council meeting in which a proposed agreement between local land developer Charles Bresler and the city were discussed. One participant, Marge Bergemann, described the arrangment as "a slight case of blackmail." The developer sued the paper for one million dollars for libel, while the paper claimed First Amendment privleges.

The paper, defended by a lawyer provided by the Washington Post, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which upheld the right of the paper to report on public officials at public meetings.

Answer: False

Several other communities were planned during the New Deal, and two were actually built - Greendale, Wisconsin and Greenhills, Ohio. These communities also retain some of their original features and are proud of their history. Greenbelt is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

Answer: Residents were not permitted to hang laundry out on Sundays.

Since Greenbelt was a social experiment, many people visited to see how it progressed. The town was under a magnifying glass, so to speak. In order to make a good impression on visitors, residents were forbidden to hang out their laundry on Sundays, the favorite day for visitors.

As late as the 'sixties and 'seventies, our Catholic neighbor, Mrs. H., would bring her laundry in on Jewish holidays as a mark of respect!