Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc.

03/09/2021

FoCCC's contractor, Planted Earth Landscaping, Inc. begins its work to amend the soil, prune the carpet roses and azaleas, and ready the beds for new plantings. The weather cooperated and the beds are already improving. Thanks so much, Garden Club of Chevy Chase.

03/02/2021

Feb 23, 2021
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced their bill today to remove the name of Francis G. Newlands, a late U.S. senator from Nevada who held racist views, from Chevy Chase Circle. The name appears on the fountain and a plaque in the circle. The circle lies partly in the District of Columbia and partly in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, which Raskin represents, and is managed by the National Park Service.
“Statues dedicated to Confederates and segregationists belong in museums, not on our streets where they can be misconstrued to mean current support of their racist ideologies,” Norton said. “The plaque and fountain dedicated to Newlands tell no story. They are meant only to honor a segregationist who argued that voting rights won for African Americans as a result of the Civil War should be repealed. Newlands belongs in the dustbin of history, not preserved on a traffic circle that symbolizes the unity between the nation’s capital and the state of Maryland.”
“Newlands worked to institutionalize his beliefs in white supremacy and did what he could to increase the racism that continues to plague our country and our people,” Raskin said.
“Newlands called for the repeal of the 15th Amendment, which invalidated race discrimination in voting rights; advocated racist and anti-immigrant policies; and backed efforts to deprive African Americans, Jews, and other minorities of basic human rights. Let’s leave Newlands’ disturbing legacy to his family and others who want to continue to honor him. But the people of Maryland and Washington can move on. We should stop rewarding racist ideology and politics with a public memorial on public property. It is time to write a new story for the new century.”

03/02/2021

August 25, 2020
Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc. Board of Directors' Statement regarding the Newlands Fountain on Chevy Chase Circle.

The Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc. (FoCCC) is a local, non-profit organization whose mission is to renew, beautify, maintain, and protect Chevy Chase Circle. In furtherance of this mission, FoCCC works with the National Park Service to cultivate and enhance the beauty and integrity of Chevy Chase, including its fountain. FoCCC believes that the Circle should be a place that is welcoming to all.
The Fountain was named for Senator Francis G. Newlands, a land developer and white supremacist, who held views incompatible with FoCCC's beliefs in a diverse and inclusive community, based on equality and respect. FoCCC stands with the residents of the Chevy Chase communities in the District of Columbia and Maryland an with others in supporting the removal of the name of Francis G. Newlands and the stone memorial dedication to him for the fountain and the plaque honoring him near the fountain. Further, FoCCC also supports community efforts to change the fountain's name.

11/10/2019

Exciting News!!!

Dear Neighbor,

Friends of Chevy Chase Circle has BIG NEWS!

The National Park Service has hired a design team that is now busily planning the rehabilitation of the fountain.

They are planning in order to access the ancient plumbing system underneath the fountain; planning so they can add a new water circulation system and a pump with a sensor that can detect and use rain water; planning for repointing and repair of the stonework, and for a new plastic liner for the basin. And if the Commission for Fine Arts says we may, finally, add lights to the fountain too. And that is all underway now!!

Soon, we will have the blueprints for a new, almost 100-year-old, fountain! But only with your help can we take it from the planning stage to the building stage.

Friends of Chevy Chase Circle is working to make that happen! In 2020, we will launch a Capital Campaign so that we will have the funds to:
Support the rehab of the fountain,
Fix the broken flagstones that surround the fountain,
Reset the large building stones that make up the promenade,
Enhance the landscaping so that it provides low-maintenance, all-season interest and
Build an endowment fund that can provide maintenance and enhancements into the future.

Why support the Friends of Chevy Chase Circle?
In just five short years, FoCCC…. a fully volunteer and community-based nonprofit….has a long list of accomplishments, none of which would have happened without your donations.
The Circle has new benches, new trees and lovely new “mulch rings” for every tree in the circle.
The traffic “triangles” north and south of the circle have been landscaped and are maintained by contractors whom FoCCC hires, supervises and pays, all through community funding.
FoCCC purchases the tulips each Fall that you enjoy each Spring.
We have hired a lighting designer and have developed a plan for lighting the base and the interior of the fountain.
We have begun the multi-stepped task of bringing the lighting plan to the community and the Commission for Fine Arts for approval.
What is our objective?
In years past, we came to you with a newsletter that we would mail to a wide swatch of homeowners living in proximity to Chevy Chase Circle. But this year, we are saving all our nickels and dimes so we can help make dreams come true. Newsletters are all good, but they cost money. So do Capital Campaigns.

We know that by the end of 2020, through the good work of the National Park Service, we will have a set of rehab plans for the fountain. Our objective is to make sure that we have the money in hand to see this project though. A set of plans is not good enough.

If we are so lucky to receive 100% of the funds from the Federal coffers, then our donated funds can go directly to the capital projects that are not in the rehab plans, specifically: repair of the flagstone, the promenade, new landscaping and the creation of an endowment fund for the future upkeep of the Circle.

What you can do?
Tell your neighbors about the initiatives on the Circle. Tell them the Circle is a National Park Service property, but only through community support can our neighborhood landmark be maintained at a world-class standard to be enjoyed for generations to come.

If you are so inclined, give now to our fledgling capital campaign so we can launch an all-out effort in the next twelve months to raise the needed funds and to make sure that we have the money for repairing the fountain and maintaining the Circle.

Please go to our website at www.FriendsofChevyChaseCircle.org for more information and how you might donate. Or, your check, made out to FoCCC, may be sent to :
Friends of Chevy Chase Circle
P.O.Box 15523
Chevy Chase, MD 20825

Thank you.
Ruth Robbins
Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, President


BOARD MEMBERS
Officers: Gerri Carr, Valerie Grace, Vinita Vaskov
Members: Scott Allan, Lisa Blonder, Dan Bradfield, Maryanne Kane, Jim McCarthy, Ted Pochter, Helene Sacks, Nancy Slade, Nancy Wilson, Barbara Price (Ex Officio)

Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc. is a local volunteer organization working with the National Park Service to renew, beautify, maintain and protect Chevy Chase Circle, a historic landmark and a gateway to the Nation’s Capital.

05/07/2018

A big thank you to the outstanding National Park Service crew for the Circle's beautiful new benches.

05/07/2018

Many thanks to an awesome National Park Service crew who spent weekends rebuilding the Circle's lovely park benches. They looked wonderful. The Friends of Chevy Chase Circle, Inc. was Rock Creek Park's private partner for the Centennial Challenge Grant award that the park received. Your generous donations made the rehabilitation possible. Thanks so much for your continuing support.

11/09/2017

Thanks to all who worked hard to plant allium bulbs on Chevy Chase Circle’s splitter islands. Look forward to the next circle of color they will provide next spring.
Special kudos to Ruth Robbins and Beth Lyle-
Durham.

08/02/2017

FOCCC President, Ruth Robbins, and Board members Gerri Carr and Dan Bradfield met with the District of Columbia Department of Transportation officials on Monday, July 31, to discuss safety issues at Chevy Chase Circle.

06/03/2017

At the beginning of the Circle's history.

Past Chevy Chase resident, Minnie E. Brooke, created and sold this postcard providing a glimpse into the past. This is what the Chevy Chase Circle used to look like.