A dramatic but small new park is now open in northern College Park.
As a so-called “pocket park,” Hollywood Gateway Park is designed to make maximal use of its smaller size by adding greenery and space for residents to meet up.
Based on the theme of wind and weather, the centerpiece of the $1 million park at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Edgewood Road is a two-story pavilion overlooking the park that makes extensive use of long rods of bamboo and provides seating for residents waiting for a bus, having lunch al fresco, or reading. On a breezy day, visitors can hear the bamboo chiming in the wind.
The City of College Park together with landscape architect Floura Teeter, partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make Hollywood Gateway Park a place that educates the public about the climate and how weather works.
To compensate for the site’s slope, designers cut a rounded concrete walkway into the side of the park, added a long slide for kids and added native plants to stabilize the soil. Most of the park is far below the level of Route 1, reducing noise.
The park also features a green roof, a stone rill to channel rainwater and a rain garden to reduce runoff to the nearby street.
The land was previously the site of a single-family home that was demolished after the city acquired the land.
Is this park located near Cherry Hill Road?
Yes. On the east side of Baltimore Avenue, just to the north of Cherry Hill Road.
Do you have any idea what is going to become of Applebees at 7242 Baltimore Avenue College Park Maryland?
I just wanted to know because I used to work there when it was the old .99 cent duscount theatre. Had some good times at that spot in C.P. from 79 to 91.
That building and the adjacent parking lot were to be part of phase 2 of the adjacent Southern Gateway project currently under construction. But that is probably at least 5 years away. In the near term it would probably remain vacant unless some other restaurant was willing to reopen it and accept a 10 year lease.