Glover Park (August 22, 2019)
Today we headed into Glover Park, named after Charles Carroll Glover (1846-1936).
According to the description on the back of this call box, Glover is considered the father of Rock Creek Park, the massive park that extends up through the middle of the District. A wealthy banker and philanthropist, Glover also gave the District 77 acres, which, with an additional 28 acres donated by Anne Archbold, has become Glover Archibold Park.
We walked by this fully-loaded Capital Bikeshare stand. Starting in 2008, Capital Bikeshare now has over 4,300 bikes and 500 bike stations. The big red bikes have become a common feature in the District and surrounding areas, having (so far) successfully fended off challenges from other transport share options, such as scooters and electric bikes.
We walked by Stoddert Elementary which serves Glover Park’s residents. It is named after Benjamin Stoddert, who was the first U.S. Secretary of the Navy. The school has, approximately, 435 students from pre-K through 5th grade. It is a very diverse school with students representing more than 36 different countries and languages. The school is most widely known for the Stoddert soccer league that originated at the school but now has over 5,000 players throughout the District. We spent many happy hours watching our own two sons playing on Saturdays. Go Striking Lightning!
This is the smallest house we have seen so far on the walks.
Back on Wisconsin Avenue we passed by the Russian Embassy.
Built at the height of the Cold War, the embassy was designed by celebrated Soviet architect, Michael Posokhin. The embassy sits in a large compound that includes a school, kindergarten, sports grounds and an apartment building. In the late 1980s, the FBI and NSA built a tunnel under the compound for espionage purposes. However, it was never exploited due to FBI agent and Soviet spy, Robert Hanssen, disclosing information about the operation to the KGB. Hanssen is now serving 15 consecutive life sentences at a supermax prison in Colorado.
Across Wisconsin Avenue from the Embassy is the Kimpton Glover Park Hotel. It has a large mural on its side facing the Avenue that, apparently, depicts Rock Creek Park.
Walking The District 