The Ammendale Normal Institute is a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

historic location in Beltsville,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Bought in 1880, it was a school and

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

operated by the

Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic Church, Catholic Laity, lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in Kingdom of Franc ...

. The Ammendale area is named after the previous owner,

Daniel Ammen Daniel Ammen (May 15, 1820 – July 11, 1898) was a United States Navy, U.S. naval officer during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, as well as a prolific author. His last assignment in the Navy was Chief of the Bureau of Navig ...

. Construction of the main building began in 1883 and was completed in 1884 with Thomas C. Kennedy as the leading architect.

Religious use

Also known as "Christian Brothers" and "Ammen Institute," the building had seen several uses over its lifetime. Though it last served as a sort of "retirement home" for aging or retired Brothers; in recent history, it was also used as an active monastery.

Peter Boyle Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. He is known for his character actor roles in film and television and received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. ...

is a notable alumnus of what has been described as the monastery's 'boot-camp'. The main building suffered a devastating fire in April, 1998. Its ruins stood until late 2006 when what was left of the building was demolished. Ammendale was one of many historical buildings in the region with valuable real estate that was developed after a fire set to the structure, including Troy Hill (1990),

Avondale Mill __NOTOC__ The Avondale Mill was a large gable-front stone structure, three stories in height, and 10 bays long by three wide. It was located on the bank of the Patuxent River in the city of Laurel, Prince George's County, Maryland. It was constr ...

(1991), St. Mary's College (1997),

Henryton State Hospital Henryton State Hospital is a now-demolished hospital complex in Marriottsville, Maryland, Marriottsville, in southern Carroll County, Maryland, just across the Howard County, Maryland, Howard County line. The complex was located within Patapsco Va ...

(2007), (2011) In 2014, NAI Michael placed 8 acres containing the foundation of the Normal Institute and the remaining historic brick barn up for sale. The nearby St. Joseph's Catholic Chapel is a recognized historic site. There is also a parish cemetery and one for the Brothers.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Chapel

St. Joseph's Catholic Chapel, built in 1880, on 20 acres of land for a novitiate plus five acres for the church donated by Admiral Daniel Ammen, from whom the Ammendale name is derived. It is a front-gabled brick chapel with ornate Queen Anne detail. Jigsawn vergeboards adorn the eaves of the principal

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

front, the gothic-arch windows are filled with stained glass, and the interior walls and ceilings are sheathed with pressed tin in a pattern of

fleurs-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...

, palmettes, and a rich, multicourse

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. A large cemetery adjoins the chapel.

Gallery

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Prince George's County, Maryland Beltsville, Maryland Schools in Prince George's County, Maryland Religious buildings and structures completed in 1880 National Register of Historic Places in Prince George's County, Maryland Burned buildings and structures in the United States Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Victorian architecture in Maryland 1880 establishments in Maryland