Placing Making Project Part 2

The Washington Quad is a public commons area located in the South Hill resident community in South Campus College Park. The Washington Quad is surrounded by Prince George’s Hall, Harford Hall, Frederick Hall, Washington Hall, Howard Hall and Baltimore Hall. Washington Quad is largely a grassy common space with a lot of trees and open space. There are two gazebos that provide shade on hot, sunny days and a volleyball court for impromptu sport. The Washington Quad is currently in above-average to good condition. The Washington Quad is typically kept clean and the grass is always green, winter aside. The Washington Quad is often filled with students from the surrounding dorms along with students passing through to get to and from class.

The Washington Quad is an important common area for not only the immediately surrounding dorms, but also for the whole south campus community. What makes the Washington Quad unique and important is that it is one of the only secured open spaces on campus. The common area is surrounded by dorms which constructs an enclosed area that is largely blocked off to the rest of the campus. I often pass through this space on my way both to and from class because it is always more fun to walk through a populated space than a desolate place. I used to visit the Washington Quad nearly every day as a Sophomore when I had a lot of friends who lived there at the time. It was always a great time after class to go and sit out in the sun and play catch with a baseball. This place is especially special to me because of the nostalgia factor of my underclassmen years.

The Washington Quad is a component of the University of Maryland-College Park Community. According to the 2016 Student Profile, the University of Maryland community consists of 28,472 undergraduate students, 39.5% of which live in university-owned housing such as the halls surrounding Washington Quad. Further demographics implies that 50.3% of the undergraduate population is white whereas the minority population comprises of 43.4% of the undergraduate population.  The dormitories surrounding the Washington Quad typically house Sophomores through Seniors. Aside from the dormitories in the South Hill Community, there are Leonardtown Community, North Hill Community (still within the South Campus residents) and Cambridge Community, Denton Community, Ellicott Community within the North Campus residents. Aside from on-campus dorms, the 39.5% of undergraduate students living on campus also includes those students living on Fraternity Row, as that is considered on-campus housing. The University of Maryland community also includes housing that is not on campus. There are several apartment complexes such as Terrapin Row, The View, The Varsity, The Enclave, The University Club, Knox Towers, and The Domain who house mainly students. Along with these apartments are houses located behind the town of College Park that is a common residential area amongst both students and families in College Park. In addition to car and parking access, students in the University of Maryland community are serviced by UMD trains that run frequently all-around campus. 

While the University of Maryland may not have many important natural features, I believe that the architecture that makes up this campus is an important feature that makes the campus unique and aesthetic. The hybrid east-coast brick with Greek-inspired architecture makes the campus very picturesque and pleasing to the rest of the community. 

The top three businesses in the area that students frequent very often are RJ Bentleys, Chipotle, and the Bagel Place. The most common industries students from the area intend to work in are: Business, Computer Science, Engineering and Government & Politics. This community is known for its work ethic, school spirit and its proximity to our countries capital, Washington, D.C.

The University of Maryland community has been around since the beginning days of the University in 1856.  As I noted above, the architecture of the University reflects the communities history taking inspiration from classic east-coast brick based buildings and Greek pillars. The buildings on campus are very much inspired by architecture in D.C. (which was inspired by Greek architecture). The resident halls surrounding Washington Quad are amongst some of the oldest dormitories on campus, which makes them pretty historic relative to the rest of the University. The oldest dorm, Baltimore Hall, was built in 1921, whereas the most recent dorm, Frederick Hall, was built in 1948. I do not believe these halls have been renovated or restored over the past decade or two.

The University of Maryland severely lacks a pedestrian bridge connecting one side of Baltimore Avenue to the other. Almost every semester there is an incident with a student walking into the street and getting hit by a car, a pedestrian bridge would heavily alleviate this problem. Specific to the area around Washington Quad, some of the amenities could use some upkeep. The grills on the Washington Quad, albeit functional, are desperate for a cleaning. There is also some discoloring near the gazebos which would greatly improve the places’ aesthetics.

The University of Maryland community has undergone several development and redevelopment projects since I’ve been in undergrad. Recent developments and s include The Hotel, The Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center and Terrapin Row. A major redevelopment project that the University of Maryland has been working on is the rebuilding of the Cole Field House. According to the UMD Master Plan, Phase 1 renovations – projects that are planned to be completed or start construction from January 2011 to December 2020 – include notable renovations on the Van Munching Building, Ludwig Field, and Prince Frederick Hall.

The UMD Master Plan proposed a building network of academic and residential buildings, a corridor of sorts. The East-West Pedestrian Corridor intends to link Washington Quad and Mayer Mall. I believe that this will provide Washington Quad with a lot more traffic, as it will be on one end of a pedestrian circuit.

I believe that the Washington Quad would benefit greatly from a statue or a memorial fountain, something that visitors can come and read the history about. Historic monuments and fountains draw attention and are often places people frequent to hang out, i.e. the fountain on the Mall. I also think that the Washington Quad would benefit from new grills and renovated, or at least repainted, gazebos.

The Washington Quad encompasses several characteristics that we have discussed in class that adds to its characterization of a good place. One thing we talked about was that it is human nature to want to feel safe and secure in public areas. People are inherently more comfortable, and thus more social, when there is some sort of security. The Washington Quad does a great job of making the residents and pedestrians secure. There is no automotive traffic within the Washington Quad which not only reduces the noise pollution in the Washington Quad but also encourages pedestrian thru traffic. Additionally, the Washington Quad is surrounded on all ends by residents’ halls it is cut off from the rest of the campus and thus provides seclusion and privacy to those hanging out in the area. The Washington Quad, for the most part, is also well kept. The grass gets cut and maintained frequently, the shrubs and bushes surrounding the perimeter get trimmed – it overall looks presentable a majority of the time. Due to the fact the grass is maintained, along with the benches, there is ample seating available for residents to take a load off and relax. The combination of security and seclusion makes the Washington Quad a very popular thru-traffic destination, which ultimately inspires social interaction amongst the residents living there and the people passing through.