Walking around the Chestnut Lodge campus on a recent sunny afternoon, Rockville residents Mary van Balgooy and Dick Stoner say they can still envision the towering brick structure that was once a world-renowned psychiatric hospital five months after it was destroyed by fire.
"I can certainly always picture the lodge even though it's no longer on that front site," said Stoner, vice president of Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd.
The site where Chestnut Lodge once stood is now a patch of green grass that blends in to a large stretch of tree-dotted lawn along West Montgomery Avenue, but van Balgooy, director of Peerless Rockville, said she and others will make sure the renowned landmark is never forgotten.
"I think for us at Peerless, we are the organization that is going to interpret Chestnut Lodge itself and keep its memory alive," she said. "We're the ones that really hold the photographs and peoples' oral histories — the psychiatrists who worked here and even the patients and such. We have all of that information and that is crucial to remembering a site, a place that matters."
As Peerless Rockville continues its mission to preserve the memory of Chestnut Lodge, Stoner and van Balgooy say they are excited about the plans Chestnut Lodge Properties Inc. has for the other historic buildings and structures on the 20-acre parcel.
Destroyed by fire June 7, Chestnut Lodge was one of the most recognizable historic landmarks in the city. It was built in the late 1800s as the luxury Woodlawn Hotel, a vacation spot for wealthy Washingtonians, and remained open for less than 20 years before it was purchased by Dr. Ernest L. Bullard, who turned it into a private sanatorium in 1910.
The property remained a private hospital for many decades and then changed hands a few times until it was bought by Chestnut Lodge Properties, a division of Rockville-based Chase Communities, who had planned to convert the building into luxury condominiums.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia said investigators are still investigating the cause and origin of the fire. Officials have stopped short of calling the incident arson, but said they know the fire was caused by a person or several people.
Moving on
Chestnut Lodge Properties has now shifted its focus to moving forward with other residential projects on the site, said Rob Baker, vice president of the developer. There are six new high-end single-family houses on the property and 30 more will be built when the market allows.
There are no plans yet for the spot on which the sanitarium stood, he said.
The developer's latest project has been refurbishing a house known as Little Lodge, which was once the home of the Bullard family, and an adjacent stable for its newest owner, Rockville professional photographer Clay Blackmore. Both Little Lodge and the stable sit south of the former sanitarium.
Baker said workers have stripped the inside of the house with the exception of a staircase and are replacing the electrical, plumbing, roof and more. The house will maintain most of its original windows, but others will need to be replaced, he said.
Blackmore will live in the house and the stable will be his photography studio and garage. Baker said they hope to have both buildings finished in January or February.
"It'll all be finished soon and it will look beautiful," Baker said.
Blackmore, who bought the buildings in March, said he cannot wait to move in.
"The historic nature of it is fantastic and the trees are just beautiful," he said of the house and the surrounding property.
Baker said Chestnut Lodge Properties is also fixing up an underground ice house next to the house.
Additionally, there is a large former dairy farm on the other southern end of the campus, which could be converted into a four-car garage on the first floor, he said. The second floor and creamery could be used for a variety of purposes, he added.
Baker said it is important to refurbish the buildings on the historic campus because they are rich in history.
"They're part of the story of Rockville and Chestnut Lodge," he said. "They tell a story better sometimes than words ever could."
In the meantime, Peerless Rockville is looking for a new tenant for Frieda's Cottage. The small, white house was originally built in 1936 for internationally renowned psychiatrist Frieda Fromm-Reichmann and received a major makeover from Peerless Rockville earlier this year. Chestnut Lodge Properties gave the land and house to Peerless Rockville for preservation in 2007 along with $100,000 to go towards its restoration.
Stoner said the family that had been renting the cottage since April — the first renters since the renovation — recently moved out because they purchased a home.
He said he has received dozens of calls of interest from "people all over the place."
But whoever become its next residents, they must appreciate the historic value of the home.
"It's such a unique property and just like the last time we're looking for the right person or family or couple to rent it — someone who will treat it well and understand what it means to live in an old house," he said.
