A gem of a September in Queens Chillum shopping center. PAGE 3
New year, new school programs by Rosanna Landis Weaver
No matter how often we celebrate the countdown on December 31, for many of us the start of the school year is embedded deep in our souls as the time of new beginnings and awkward transitions. This year September brings a number of changes in Hyattsville, including two new schools and new programs at existing schools that offer educational opportunities for students from toddlers to teens.
A GLIMPSE INSIDE A HIDDEN WORLD
ACCESS DENIED
ART POPS UP IN VACANT STORE
Without an agreement between the City of Hyattsville and the University of Maryland, residents can’t ride the shuttle that comes through the neighborhood. PAGE 2
The Masonic Lodge on Gallatin Street houses a part of Hyattsville history. PAGE 4
Hyattsville Life&Times
Vol. 10 No. 9
Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper
September 2013
NEW SCHOOLS Chelsea School
On September 11, the ribbon was cut and the celebratory potluck held at Chelsea School’s new location on Belcrest Center Drive, but the 70 students in grades 5 through 12 with “language-based learning differences” had already begun school on September 3. The school’s new home — on the top floor of the building that houses LA Fitness — represents a big change from the five-acre property in Silver Spring that had been its home for 24 years. (The campus formerly housed the Academy of the Holy Names, an all-girl Catholic high school.) Director Kate Fedalen said the move was in part because the
NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID EASTON MD PERMIT NO. 43
SCHOOLS continued on page 12
UP IN THE
Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781
by Susie Currie
Plans are underway to demolish the midcentury Hyattsville branch library and replace it with a $14.3 million state-of-the-art facility that may — or may not — include the iconic flying saucer stationed outside the main entrance. Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) officials are working with the Calverton-based architecture firm Grimm + Parker, which specializes in library
SUSIE CURRIE Is the Hyattsville library saucer a relic of the Cold War or an essential part of the new library?
New library planned for Hyattsville, but fate of saucer sculpture unclear
design, on plans for the building. Design work will be completed next year, with construction expected to begin in 2015. In August, about 65 people gathered at the library for a glimpse of its future. Architect Melanie Hennigan presented a slideshow of Grimm + Parker’s recent library projects, featuring glass walls, soaring ceilings, banks of computers, laptop workstations, interactive children’s areas, even cafes and fireplaces. When several people at the meeting asked whether the saucer would remain, Hennigan
was noncommittal. “It’s a challenge,” she said. “It’s definitely too big to be used inside. It’s a monolithic piece, not something that you can pick up and move easily. It would be very expensive to do that.” Public support for keeping it at 6530 Adelphi Road, where it has been since the library opened in 1964, has been unwavering. Within days after the meeting, the saucer had its own email address (hyattsvillesaucer@ outlook.com), Facebook page (Save Our LIBRARY continued on page 13
Included: The September 11, 2013 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter — See Center Section