Chestnut Lodge Burns and Collapses
Jun 7, 2009 13:34 - 18 Comments
Posted by: Cindy Cotte Griffiths
Department: News
Tags: by Cindy Cotte Griffiths, Chestnut Lodge fire, historic preservation
Department: News
Tags: by Cindy Cotte Griffiths, Chestnut Lodge fire, historic preservation
According to local news outlets, a barking dog alerted a neighbor to the blaze at the Chestnut Lodge around 3 AM. Firefighters arrived on the scene but only the shell of this 19th century gem remains. No one was injured.
Around 9:45 this morning, onlookers told me the owner was at the site and he was concerned people would think the fire was deliberately set. Also, he said the building did not have electricity.
Originally built as the Woodlawn Hotel in the 1800’s, the building was used as a psychiatric hospital for 75 years before closing in 2001 due to financial difficulty. In May 2004, the Mayor and Council adopted guidelines for the development of the property which would preserve the historical and architectural features. Morton H. Levine’s plan to build 36 Victorian-style homes on the property and convert the hotel into seven luxury condominiums was approved in 2006. Although some homes have been built, renovations to the building had not started.
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What a sad day in the history of Rockville that this historic landmark is gone.
What a tragedy! I hope that Peerless Rockville can work with City leaders and area residents to preserve some part of the facade as a tribute to its history.
Yes it was old and had somewhat of a storied past from being an luxury Hotel. In 1910 it became Chesnut Lodge Sanatorium that closed around 1997. Historical it is 112 year old brick bulding. Yes the building has some historic signifance to me not because it was mental insistuition but because iit time as the Woodlawn hotel. That being said it’s was a unatractive building with no significant artictual stand outs and any out standing pieces inside were long gone from it uses as an Sanatorium. Overall the building was run down in a state of disrepair before the Sanatorium was closed in April 2001. Since then the “Hotel” bulding has been steady rotting away suffering form water damage vandalism and attack of termites and other insectsverm and rodents. Sorry Cheryl this building date was wrecking ball was predetermined years ago and the fire has just hascented the date.
Perhaps someone can explain how in a building without electricity, but still with its gas line connected, a fire breaks out during one of the wettest weeks in quite a very long time. My guess is “accidental” but certainly not “random” — like the usual “mice chewing on wires.” Maybe some kids in there smoking weed perhaps?
It will probably be cheaper and less technically risky for the developer to build it back as a new building with 7 condos in it than to renovate the old one.
Sorry Old Rockville you are wrong. It was a beautiful building in need of TLC. The current owner of the property has owned it for quite a few years now. Unfortunately, there has been almost no work done to the building and that is reason it was in disrepair. The reason for that was most likely delays due to builder and city council delays and the poor economy. The wrecking ball was not predetermined. Unless you want to make a case for foul play.
Cindy, I was going to submit a picture for the POTD with the caption, “Chestnut Roasted ‘cuz an Open Fire…” several spectators independently came up with the same conspiracy theory, that the developer wasn’t keeping the property secure, and the destruction of it will allow more development to occur at greater profit.
Money screws a lot of things up ,or the lack of it. I was fourteen years old when I first saw that grand old building, I grew up about 2 blocks down the street from it, played in the apple trees that used to grow there. I am now 66 years old and while I do not live in Rockville anymore it has a lot memoirs for me.
Wow, what a shame! I only heard about it as a news tease during watching the Tonys. And this was the best spot for news about it. Thanks, Cindy!
It is TRUELY sad…..
But I can’t help but wonder, was it the best idea for this historically fragile landmark to be transformed into condos. MAybe this is the “universes” way of telling us no.
Now all of “those” that may have been lfet in there can Rest In Peace.
Just a thought…………..
Thanks for all of your thoughts. I hope our fire marshals will find a definitive answer on what started the fire and determine if anyone is responsible.
Herb, great title. Sometimes we don’t realize we should be protecting things which are valuable until they are gone in a “we should have” moment.
Unfortunately the renovations never started with the economic downturn for high-end condos.
Mary (of Peerless Rockville) and Max van Balgooy also blogged about Chestnut Lodge combined with all the other recent historic losses. http://tinyurl.com/r6xtux
city council delays? of what sort?
Rockville Resident Beauty is in the eye of the beholder to me it always reminded me of the “T.V. show the Adams family house” or some other house in a horror movie. I guess the fact that it was a privately run Sanatorium for all thoose years did not hurt either. As far as the disrepair of the building I think you are takeing a shoot gun aproch for whose to blame
The simple fact is Nobody regarless of it ownership wanted or did put any money into that structure. As far blameing the Mayor and council for the poor condtion of the building is faulty logic. The Mayor and Council current and past have been in favor of saveing that building. If we would like to point fingers at people who have thrown any road blocks up it is the ones that want to save the historical buildings the most in the fact that they never can compromise on pratical side matter. As far the economy if they can build and sell the houses they are know I don’t see why they could not have made the condo’s work unlees of course the Historical preservation groups could not come to an agreement with the builder.
As far as things that cause the delapadation of a building the quickest is water leaks, sections of the interior of the building open to the weather and vandalism all three were present with this structure so basicly the building has been dieing a slow and painfull death
Old Rockville, you were the one who mentioned the predetermined wrecking ball.
I was sad to see it go too. Up close and personal it may have been rundown and dilapidated, but for those of us who drove by it was a piece of Rockville history still standing, not yet developed to within an inch of its property lines. Older architecture, dignified bearing, surrounded by green grass and lots of tall trees, it was a welcome contrast to the new houses and apartments that have been going up nonstop since we arrived here many years ago.
At least condos would have maintained the shape and probably the green space. I do not foresee an attractive replacement, sadly.:-( Given what’s been going up in our neighborhood and much of the rest of the City, I foresee an entire development and not much green space to speak of, although I do hope I’m wrong.
‘Old Rockville,’ your comments would be easier to read if you would spell properly punctuate correctly, and use grammar.
None of us are perfect typists, but when I see a comment someone hasn’t taken the time to put together properly, I just skip it. While we all can figure out what “takeing a shoot gun aproch” means, we shouldn’t have to figure it out.
I don’t even disagree, you make a good point. But on here, all we have to go by are your written words.
Hopefully, one day, these ‘blogs will have a spell check and grammar check feature, and we all can look like expert writers.
[...] Central was one of the first sites to cover the Chestnut Lodge fire that occurred on Sunday. I had passed the old building many times on West Montgomery Ave. in [...]
[...] The early-Sunday fire at the historic landmark Chestnut Lodge is one of the largest stories to hit Rockville in some time, and a number of news organizations have been covering it. (Cindy Cotte Griffiths filed a report that was among the first accounts here.) [...]
I worked there for 9 years and my wife for 30 years. The pay was always poor except for the doctors. The Bullards were not generous people. There are many suicide stories that were squelched, including one of the Bullards. There should be plenty of ghosts around for a long time.