Greenbelt, Maryland: Eleanor Roosevelt Tree in Utopia
The First Lady stood on this spot and surveyed Greenbelt, a 1930s utopian suburb-of-the-future. A tree was planted to mark the spot, protected behind a decorative fence and plaque. It died; a unsatisfying sapling carries on its legacy.
- Address:
- Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, MD
- Directions:
- On the north side of Crescent Rd about a quarter-mile west of Green Hill Rd. On the north side of the walking path; difficult to see when there's lots of foliage.
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This must be tree 3.0.
[Kurt Deion / kurtshistoricsites.com, 03/29/2024]
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Greenbelt was the first of many proposed "New Towns" during the Great Depression. It was imagined to be an "ideal community," according to the optimistic plaque mounted on the fence surrounding the tree, a kind of subdivision with lots of bicycle paths. Eleanor herself stood on the tree spot and surveyed the site, according to the plaque. The idea eventually died, as did the tree; a spindly replacement was planted in 2002; now it, too, appears to have moved on.