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Photo, Print, Drawing National Park Seminary, Japanese Pagoda, 2805 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, MD Walter Reed Medical Center Annex, Building No. 108

View 19 images in sequence.
[ Photos from Survey HABS MD-1109-J  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HABS MD-1109-J  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS MD-1109-J  ]

About this Item

Title

  • National Park Seminary, Japanese Pagoda, 2805 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, MD

Other Title

  • Walter Reed Medical Center Annex, Building No. 108

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Chi Psi Epsilon sorority
  • Price, Virginia B, transmitter
  • Ott, Cynthia, historian
  • Boucher, Jack E, photographer
  • Price, Virginia B, transmitter
  • Lavoie, Catherine C, project manager

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  pagodas
  • -  sorority houses
  • -  officers' quarters
  • -  fraternities & sororities
  • -  women
  • -  education
  • -  adaptive reuse
  • -  domestic life
  • -  military medicine
  • -  tea rooms
  • -  shoji
  • -  Maryland -- Montgomery County -- Silver Spring

Latitude / Longitude

  • 39.011741,-77.057609

Notes

  • -  Significance: The Japanese pagoda is one of the landmark campus buildings. Even before its upturned eaves were removed, the Japanese bungalow looked austere compared to this ostentatious structure next door. Instead of simply incorporating Japanese detailing on an American house design, the pagoda resembles a Japanese temple. It is one of the most flamboyant and ornamental of any of the campus structures. The building was one of eight clubhouses built on campus. It was the sorority house for Chi Psi Epsilon. The pagoda was not a rare form of garden and suburban architecture. The building type appeared in many estate gardens and in many suburban neighborhoods. Only one other girls school was located that had a Japanese-inspired building on campus, however, Traces of a Japanese design are barely legible in the Ransom Everglades School's meeting house, located in Coconut Grove, Florida. It is not nearly as provocative as the pagoda at NPS. Since the eighteenth century, wealthy English and American estate owners have erected Asian-inspired houses and follies on their grounds. Asian designs became popular with Americans after trade with China was established in the eighteenth century. The reopening of trade with Japan in the 1850s after years of isolation, the publication of Edward Morse's "Japanese Houses and Their Surroundings" in 1885, and the exhibition of Japanese houses at World Fairs, all contributed to the popularity of Japanese goods and designs around the turn of the twentieth century. Exotic forms, in this case, Asian, were intended to reflect the owner's sophistication and refinement. Many wealthy Americans had Japanese rooms in their houses and less affluent ones purchased Japanese wares. Because of its size and ostentatious design, the pagoda looks more like a garden folly than a dwelling house. A wide assortment of exotic Japanese buildings were designed as enticing eye-catchers in many country estate gardens. Some were placed within picturesque English-style landscapes and others were a part of a larger Japanese garden design. Japanese architects were responsible for many works, but pattern books were also available for American builders' use. The NPS pagoda was probably a result of the latter. Because the pagoda is closely situated between several eclectic buildings instead of in a natural garden setting, it is slightly out of context for a garden folly and somewhat more like an amusement park attraction.
  • -  Survey number: HABS MD-1109-J
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1907 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1919-1923 Subsequent Work

Medium

  • Photo(s): 17
  • Color Transparencies: 2
  • Data Page(s): 5
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 2

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS MD,16-SILSPR,2J-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • md1513

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS MD,16-SILSPR,2J-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Chi Psi Epsilon Sorority, Cynthia Ott, and Catherine C Lavoie, Boucher, Jack E, photographer. National Park Seminary, Japanese Pagoda,Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, MD. Montgomery County Maryland Silver Spring, 1933. translateds by Price, Virginia Bmitter, and Price, Virginia Bmitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/md1513/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Chi Psi Epsilon Sorority, Ott, C. & Lavoie, C. C., Boucher, J. E., photographer. (1933) National Park Seminary, Japanese Pagoda,Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, MD. Montgomery County Maryland Silver Spring, 1933. Price, V. B. & Price, V. B., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/md1513/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Boucher, Jack E. National Park Seminary, Japanese Pagoda,Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, MD. trans by Price, Virginia Bmitter, and Price, Virginia Bmitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/md1513/>.