Greenbelt, Maryland
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Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New Deal Greenbelt Towns, the others being
Greenhills, Ohio Greenhills is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,615 at the 2010 census. A planned community, it was established by the United States government during the Great Depression. Most of the village is a National ...
, and Greendale, Wisconsin. Greenbelt was planned and built by the Federal government. The cooperative community was conceived in 1935 by Undersecretary of
Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
Rexford Guy Tugwell, whose perceived collectivist ideology attracted opposition to the Greenbelt Towns project throughout its short duration. The project came into legal existence on April 8, 1935, when
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. Under the authority granted to him by this legislation, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
issued an
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
, on May 1, 1935, establishing the United States Resettlement Administration (RA/RRA). First called ''Maryland Special Project No. 1'', the project was officially named Greenbelt when the Division of Suburban Resettlement of the Resettlement Administration began construction, on January 13, 1936, about eight miles north of Washington. The complete Greenbelt plans were reviewed at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
by President Roosevelt and First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
on April 30, 1936. The first tenants, after selection in a stringent application process, moved in to the town on September 30, 1937. The construction consisted of structures built in the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
, Streamline Moderne, and Bauhaus architectural styles. Greenbelt is credited as a historic milestone in urban development because it was the initial model for the privately constructed suburban Washington, D.C.,
planned cities A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
of Reston, Virginia, and Columbia, Maryland. The original federally built core of the city, known locally as ''Old Greenbelt'', was recognized as the Greenbelt Historic District by the
Maryland Historical Trust The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education, of Maryland's historical and cultural ...
, and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
as a National Historic Landmark District. Greenbelt's population, which includes residents of privately built dwellings dating from after the end of the federal government's ownership of the city, was recorded as at the
2010 U.S. Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
and 24,921 at the 2020 census.


Geography

Greenbelt is located at . According to
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
data, as of January 1, 2018, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Greenbelt's ZIP Codes are 20770, 20771, and 20768. The ZIP Code 20770 contains all residential and business addresses that correspond to actual physical locations inside the geographic boundaries of the City of Greenbelt. The 20768 ZIP Code is assigned exclusively to post-office box (P.O. Box) addresses, while 20771 is the designated ZIP Code for Goddard Space Flight Center, situated on federal government owned land that is contiguous with a portion of Greenbelt's eastern border.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's Goddard Space Flight Center, located directly adjacent to Greenbelt's eastern boundary, utilizes a Greenbelt postal address (Greenbelt, MD 20768), as well. It is partially within the former
Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States * Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Godda ...
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
.CENSUS 2000 BLOCK MAP: GODDARD CDP
." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 1, 2018. 1990 Census map of Prince George's County
index map
has Goddard CDP o
Page 9
.
Greenbelt Park, a unit of the
National Park System The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, is located within the City of Greenbelt's boundaries, at its southernmost portion.


Transportation


Roads and highways

Two major highways pass through and have interchanges in Greenbelt: the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) and the National Park Service's owned and maintained portion of the
Baltimore–Washington Parkway The Baltimore–Washington Parkway (also referred to as the B–W Parkway) is a highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running southwest from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The road begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 50 (US 50 ...
( unsigned MD 295). The Greenbelt portion of the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (B–W Parkway) is part of the parkway's 19-mile section which was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1991. Additionally, Greenbelt Road is part of state highway MD 193, which connects several suburban communities in both Prince George's and Montgomery counties. Kenilworth Avenue (MD 201) traverses Greenbelt in a north–south direction, running parallel to the B–W Parkway, providing an alternate travel route into Washington, D.C., from Greenbelt. The southernmost Maryland portion of Kenilworth Avenue forms a major interchange with both the B–W Parkway and
US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
near the Maryland–D.C. line, and continues into Washington, as the Kenilworth Avenue Freeway (DC 295).


Public transportation

Washington Metro's rapid transit rail system serves Washington, D.C., and neighboring communities in Maryland and
Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
, by operating 91 Metro stations, which includes the Greenbelt station, the northern terminus of Metro's Green Line. Commuter rail service to the station is provided by MARC Train's Camden Line, which connects the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
's Washington Union Station with
Camden Station Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Street Station, Camden Yards, and formally as the Transportation Center at Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of South Howard and West Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, and is ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. The Camden Line provides service by utilizing the original 1835 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) track route between Washington and Baltimore, now part of the CSX System. Also available at Greenbelt station was a weekday express Metrobus service, the Greenbelt–BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Express Line (commonly shortened to the Greenbelt–BWI Airport Line), designated route B30, to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), a mode of transportation to and from the airport for airline passengers, in addition to allowing for connections to Baltimore's regional transit services. This service ended in 2020. Metrobus, Prince George's County's ''THE BUS'' (routes 11 and 15X), and the University of Maryland's Shuttle-UM (route 143; University ID required) each have bus routes which serve the city of Greenbelt. Through a city–university partnership between 2017 and 2019, Greenbelt residents were permitted to unlimited travel on Shuttle UM, with the purchase of a $10 annual pass. The City operates limited transportation via the Greenbelt Connection, a 12-passenger wheelchair-accessible van.


Bordering areas

* Beltsville Agricultural Research Center * Berwyn Heights * College Park *
Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States * Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Godda ...
* Lanham * New Carrollton * Glenn Dale


History

Greenbelt was settled on September 30, 1937, as a public
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
community in the New Deal era. The concept was at the same time both eminently practical and idealistically utopian: the federal government would foster an "ideal" self-sufficient cooperative community that would also ease the pressing housing shortage near the nation's capital. Construction of the new town would also create jobs and thus help stimulate the national economic recovery following the Great Depression. Greenbelt, which provided affordable housing for federal government workers, was one of three Greenbelt Towns conceived in 1935, by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's
Brain Trust Brain trust was a term that originally described a group of close advisers to a political candidate or incumbent; these were often academics who were prized for their expertise in particular fields. The term is most associated with the group of ad ...
member Rexford Tugwell, who was serving as the president's Undersecretary of
Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. The project was officially authorized in May 1935. First, on April 8, 1935, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. Then under the authority granted to him from this legislation, President Roosevelt issued an
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
, on May 1, 1935, establishing the United States Resettlement Administration (RA / RRA). Rexford Tugwell agreed to serve as the Administrator of the Resettlement Administration, in addition to his Undersecretary of Agriculture position, without receiving any additional salary. Working alongside Tugwell was Charles W. Yost. The two other Greenbelt Towns are Greendale, Wisconsin (near
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
) and
Greenhills, Ohio Greenhills is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,615 at the 2010 census. A planned community, it was established by the United States government during the Great Depression. Most of the village is a National ...
(near Cincinnati). A fourth town, Roosevelt, New Jersey (originally called Homestead), was planned but was not fully developed on the same large scale as Greenbelt.
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
, wife of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, helped Tugwell lay out the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
town on a site that had formerly consisted largely of tobacco fields. She was also heavily involved in the first cooperative community designed by the federal government in the New Deal Era, Arthurdale, West Virginia, which sought to improve the lives of impoverished laborers by enabling them to create a self-sufficient, and relatively prosperous, cooperative community. Cooperatives in Greenbelt include the '' Greenbelt News Review'', Greenbelt Consumers Coop grocery store, the New Deal Cafe, and the cooperative forming the downtown core of original housing, Greenbelt Homes Incorporated (GHI). The architectural planning of Greenbelt was innovative, as was the social engineering involved in this federal government project. Applicants for residency were interviewed and screened based on income and occupation, and willingness to become involved in community activities. African-Americans were initially excluded, but were later included by the Greenbelt Committee for
Fair Housing Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typical ...
founded in 1963, and came to account for 41% of residents, according to the 2000 census. The same census data also indicates that African-Americans are isolated in certain parts within the town, and the percentage of African-Americans within the historic area is between 0% and 5% on most blocks. Much of the federal government planned and developed portion of the city is located within the Greenbelt Historic District. Greenbelt was the subject of the 1939 documentary film '' The City''.


Demographics


2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''


2010 census

During the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were people, households, and families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was %
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, %
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, % Native American, % Asian, %
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, % from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and % from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino of any race were % of the population. There were households, of which % had children under the age of 18 living with them, % were married couples living together, % had a female householder with no husband present, % had a male householder with no wife present, and % were non-families. % of all households were made up of individuals, and % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was and the average family size was . The median age in the city was years. % of residents were under the age of 18; % were between the ages of 18 and 24; % were from 25 to 44; % were from 45 to 64, and % were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was % male and % female.


2000 census

For the census of 2000, there were people, households, and families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was people per square mile (/km2). There were housing units at an average density of per square mile (/km2). The racial makeup of the city was %
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, %
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, % Native American, % Asian, %
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, % from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and % from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino of any race were % of the population. There were households, out of which % had children under the age of 18 living with them, % were married couples living together, % had a female householder with no husband present, and % were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and % had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was and the average family size was . In the city, the population was spread out, with % under the age of 18, % from 18 to 24, % from 25 to 44, % from 45 to 64, and % who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were males. The median income for a household in the city was $, and the median income for a family was $. Males had a median income of $ versus $ for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $. About % of families and % of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including % of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.


Government

The City of Greenbelt operates under a council-manager government as established by the city charter, the first such arrangement in Maryland. The Council consists of seven members elected by
plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting, also known as plurality-at-large voting, block vote or block voting (BV) is a non- proportional voting system for electing representatives in multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of sea ...
. From their members, the Council selects the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem (who assumes the duties of the Mayor when the Mayor is unavailable). The Council has traditionally chosen the member with the highest vote count to be Mayor and the member with the second-highest vote count as Mayor Pro Tem. Elections are held every two years, in odd-numbered years, in part to diminish the influence of political parties. Political party affiliations are not an official part of the city election process and are seldom part of candidate campaigns. Regular council meetings are held on Mondays, twice per month except during July, August, and December, when meetings are held once per month. The City Council is supported by 14 advisory boards and committees of citizen volunteers. The council appoints a professional city manager responsible for supervising government operations and implementing the policies adopted by the council. The 2021 election selected the current city council: * Mayor: Emmett V. Jordan * Mayor Pro Tem: Kristen L. K. Weaver * Council Members: Colin Byrd, J Davis, Ric Gordon, Silke Pope, and Rodney Roberts The council selects the City Manager: * City Manager: Tim George


2009 election reform

Of the ten incorporated cities in Prince George's County, Greenbelt is one of three with at-large elections for council and mayor (the others are District Heights and New Carrollton). The remaining seven use combinations of districts and at-large voting. On February 28, 2008, the Maryland
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
and Prince George's County NAACP sent a letter to the Greenbelt City Council claiming that Greenbelt's at-large system may violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. According to the letter, the 2000 Census indicated that African-Americans constituted 38% of Greenbelt's voting-age population, Asians 13%, and Latinos 6%. At the time, however, all members of the city council were white. The letter proposed that the city switch to single-winner district-based voting,
cumulative voting Cumulative voting (also accumulation voting, weighted voting or multi-voting) is a multiple-winner method intended to promote more proportional representation than winner-take-all elections such as block voting or first past the post. Cumulativ ...
, or choice voting, and indicated a lawsuit would follow if no reform were implemented. While the city population is racially diverse, only two African Americans had run for Council in the 30 years preceding the 2009 election, one of whom had withdrawn before the election. In June 2008, the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
opened an investigation into the city's election system. In 2008, the city government hosted three public community meetings regarding election reform, in concert with the ACLU, NAACP, and
FairVote FairVote, formerly the Center for Voting and Democracy, is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates electoral reform in the United States. Founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional r ...
. Over 100 residents attended the forums, including one of the unsuccessful African American candidates, Jeanette Gordy, who said, "My concern is that people don't get off their royal behinds. By going to meetings I got what I wanted and found out I had power as a citizen." In 2009, the city implemented several election reforms with the goal of increasing diversity: increasing the city council from five to seven members, adding another precinct in Greenbelt East to shorten voter lines, and amending the city charter to allow early voting. In the election held November 3, 2009, Emmett Jordan, an African American, was chosen by 75% of voters, electing him to the Council as Mayor Pro Tem, the second-highest city official. Voter turnout increased from to voters (a 26% increase in ballots cast) from 2007 to 2009. In the election held November 5, 2013, Emmett Jordan was chosen by 77% of voters, and receiving highest vote count was then elected Mayor by the council.


County government

Prince George's County Police Department The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States, servicing a population of over 900,000 residents and visitors within 498 square miles (1,290&n ...
District 1 Station in
Hyattsville Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper A ...
; District 2 Station in Brock Hall CDP, with a Bowie postal address; and District 6 Station in Beltsville CDP serve the community.


Federal government

* The
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
's National Park Service manages and operates Greenbelt Park. * The United States Postal Service operates the Greenbelt Post Office on Ora Glen Dr.


Greenbelt Historic District

The federally planned and constructed inner core of the city was designated as the Greenbelt Historic District by the
Maryland Historical Trust The Maryland Historical Trust is an agency of Maryland Department of Planning and serves as the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. The agency serves to assist in research, conservation, and education, of Maryland's historical and cultural ...
, and subsequently placed on the National Park Service's maintained
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on November 25, 1980. The historic district was elevated to National Historic Landmark District status on February 18, 1997. The district contains Roosevelt Center (originally named simply ''The Center'', and later renamed in honor of President Roosevelt) and many buildings in the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style. Roosevelt Center contains the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket and Pharmacy (the Co-op), which opened in 1984, and the original, historic Old Greenbelt Theatre, while also adding the Greenbelt Arts Center (located underneath the Co-op, in what was previously the city's
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
), and additional new businesses such as the New Deal Cafe, with its name honoring the origins of its location. Both the Co-op and the New Deal Cafe carry on a tradition from the city's inception, as they operate as
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
cooperative membership corporations.


Education

Greenbelt is served by Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS).2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Greenbelt city, MD
." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 1, 2018.
There are three public elementary schools serving sections of Greenbelt: * Greenbelt Elementary School (Greenbelt) * Magnolia Elementary School (unincorporated Prince George's County, Lanham address) * Springhill Lake Elementary School (Greenbelt) All of Greenbelt is served by Greenbelt Middle School (Greenbelt), which includes a Talented and Gifted magnet program. All of Greenbelt is served by Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt), a school which includes a Science and Technology
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nicke ...
program and an AP Capstone program. There is a public magnet school within the City: * Dora Kennedy French Immersion School (Greenbelt), which serves K through 8th grade students. The school uses
language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...
with instruction in the French language. There are no private schools within the City of Greenbelt. There is a Catholic school in nearby Lanham CDP, Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle.


History of schools

The
Lanham Act The Lanham (Trademark) Act (, codified at et seq. () is the primary federal trademark statute of law in the United States. The Act prohibits a number of activities, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising. ...
was used to build North End Elementary School. The original Greenbelt High School building (later used for Greenbelt Junior High, Greenbelt Middle, and currently Dora Kennedy French Immersion School) opened in . Originally, the
Federal Works Agency The Federal Works Agency (FWA) was an independent agency of the federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949. Along wi ...
controlled North End Elementary School, Greenbelt High School, and the Center School. High Point High School, in Beltsville, opened in fall 1954, and began serving students from Greenbelt. The former Greenbelt High School then became Greenbelt Junior High School. The county bought Center School for $, after the federal government renovated it in July 1958. The county also bought Greenbelt Junior High and North End Elementary. Roosevelt High was scheduled to open in fall 1976. The new Greenbelt Middle School opened on August 20, 2012.


Public libraries

Greenbelt is served by the Greenbelt Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System.


Notable people

* Abraham Chasanow *Erin Harpe, lead singer of Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers * Isaiah Prince, offensive lineman for the Ohio State University and the Cincinnati Bengals * Phyllis Richman, restaurant critic for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' from 1976 to 2000 * Dorothy Sucher, author * Steve Rochinski, jazz guitarist, recording artist, composer/arranger, educator, and author — childhood home from 1955 to 1960 * Rosa Salazar, actor


Economy


Top employers

According to Greenbelt's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were: Note that data was taken from only employers who made information available, and the list does not include the US Federal Government (including NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center adjacent to Greenbelt).


Gallery


See also

* Greenbelt Historic District * Old Greenbelt Theatre * Greenbelt Metro and MARC Station * New Deal Café * Greenbelt Arts Center * '' Greenbelt News Review'' *
Greenbelt Homes, Inc. Greenbelt Homes, Incorporated (GHI) is the housing cooperative in Greenbelt, Maryland, comprising the original houses built by the U.S. Federal Government in 1936 during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the New Deal, as w ...
* Greenbelt Police Department


References


Further reading

* ** *
Langley Park-College Park-Greenbelt Approved Master Plan (October 1989) and Adopted Sectional Map Amendment
" Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, May 1990
Read online
* Th
''Greenbelt Cooperator''
(1937–1954), archived digital issues at Chronicling America,
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...


External links

* *
Greenbelt MuseumGreenbelt Arts Center''Greenbelt News Review''
(1964–1993), ongoing digitization b
Greenbelt Archive Project
at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* Greenbelt Oral History Project collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenbelt, Maryland Populated places established in 1937 Cities in Maryland Cities in Prince George's County, Maryland Washington metropolitan area Planned cities in the United States 1937 establishments in Maryland New Urbanism communities New Deal in Maryland