Acorn Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acorn Urban Park |
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| Acorn Park | |
Acorn Park in 2008
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location |
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| Area | 0.12470618-acre (0.050-hectare) |
| Established | 1942 |
| Etymology | Acorn–shaped gazebo |
| Owned by | Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M–NCPPC) |
| Administered by | Montgomery Parks |
| Open | Sunrise to sunset |
| Public transit access |
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- For Arthur D. Little's office park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, see Cambridge Discovery Park.
Acorn Park is a small, special park in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. It's about 0.1247-acre (0.050-hectare) in size. This park is famous for its unique acorn-shaped building, called a gazebo, and a cool artificial cave, known as a grotto.
Acorn Park is super important because it's believed to be the exact spot where a special "mica-flecked spring" was found in 1840. This sparkling spring inspired a man named Francis Preston Blair to name his large estate "Silver Spring." The park is located where East-West Highway and Newell Street meet.
History of Acorn Park
The history of Acorn Park goes back a long way! It's a place with many stories.
How the Park Started
The neat acorn-shaped gazebo you see in the park was built way back in 1842. A person named Benjamin C. King was responsible for its construction. Later, in 1894, Samuel Phillips Lee, who was Francis Blair's son-in-law, had the stone grotto built. This grotto was placed right where the famous spring was located. It even had a statue of a Greek nymph at first!
Park Ownership and Updates
The land for the park was bought by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in 1942. This group helps manage parks and planning in the area. The park was then updated and officially opened again in 1955. In 1997, a small extra piece of land was added. This made the park the size it is today, which is about 0.1247-acre (0.05 ha).
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