Riverdale Park Station to Add Symbolic Streetcar

Illustration by Cafritz Enterprises

The streetcar is back in a big way along the Route 1 corridor — this time, as a symbol.

The last streetcar on the line from Washington to Branchville ran on Sept. 7, 1958, and for decades afterward it was a largely forgotten piece of local history.

But in recent years, the streetcar has made a comeback, as cities from Seattle to D.C. have used them to redevelop neglected areas of town and they’ve been glamorized as part of a turn-of-the-century bungalow aesthetic.

On the Route 1 corridor, that’s coincided with a push to revitalize local communities and build on the area’s rich history, making the streetcar a convenient symbol.

There’s the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail, home to a day-long celebration between Hyattsville, Riverdale Park and College Park; marked by new trail markers; and soon-to-be featured in an “ale trail” linking local breweries.

There’s Hyattsville’s Streetcar 82 Brewing Co., named for the streetcar line that ran through the area, and Mount Rainier’s soon-to-open Pennyroyal Station, which will feature paintings of streetcars when it opens.

But the biggest reminder will come when Riverdale Park Station finishes building long-planned apartment complexes on site.

Developers’ plans submitted to the county include adding a refurbished freestanding streetcar near the existing playground that would provide 450 square feet of space for a cafe or retail store.

As with a refurbished plane on the property, the streetcar will “recall the use of such cars many years ago” and “provide an interesting and attractive amenity at an appropriate scale in this location,” developers wrote in their application to the county.

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1 Response to Riverdale Park Station to Add Symbolic Streetcar

  1. Pingback: Gangster Vegan Organics Restaurant Coming to Riverdale Park

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