Gaithersburg City Hall was once the home of Edward P. Schwartz. In 1913 Mr. Schwartz planted a peony garden on this land that stretched from the railroad station to Hutton Street. At the time it was the largest peony collection in the world. The City purchased the estate in 1958 and renovated the house for municipal offices and the peony garden was later moved to Seneca Creek State Park.
| Name | Date | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Hartley | 5/23/09 | I lived in G'burg for about 9 years and in the early 60's I remember a summer day program for children at the "Civic Center". Arts and crafts, music and sports (mostly baseball and tennis) were offered by the City. |
| Nancy Zanner Correll | 7/29/09 | I also remember calling it the Civic Center when I was growing up in the '60s. This is where every one of my elementary school classes went for several picnics, cookouts, and softball games each year. I took tennis lessons here, and my Girl Scout troop met here and also in the basement of St. Martin's Church. Before the makeover and the recent additions to this old house, there was an old water fountain on the side of the house in the back, which got continual use when a school class came to visit. There was also a tired old bathroom back there. |
| Janet Miller Holt | 9/11/09 | My Father built our home on Hutton St. on a lot from the Peony Garden...we used to sleigh ride down the driveway of the Schwartz house. |
| Mitch Gardner | 5/9/10 | I remember in the early sixty's the summer program was run By a Mr. Robertson Always wore a baseball cap. Wonderful man |
| Joe Brodt | 5/17/10 | The summer program at the "Civic Center" was priceless. Mr. Robertson, Doug Root,and my sister Sue, practically ran the program. There were satellite programs at Lee Street, and Deer Park where we would go for league type kickball games. It was pure Americana at its best. And if I remember correctly...it was free and lasted from the day school was out until Labor Day. I went from 1964 until at least 1970. |
| Laura Miller | 9/25/10 | I went through elementary school at St. Martins. We would walk from school to the City Hall for our Brownie meetings. |
| Paul Lefebure | 4/21/11 | This former flower farm was my childhood home during the 1950s. My parents raised eight children on this wonderful horticultural estate. Beside the many peonies, there were a great variety of mature trees, perennial flower gardens and flowering shrubs. I still have some of those peony plants today. There were lots of extended summer baseball games that were played out in the fields, until we dropped our mitts and bats to chase the lightning bugs as they appeared at twilight. As kids we all walked to school across the street to St Martin's then to GHS. My father enjoyed plants, and for many of those years we grew strawberries and corn for additional income. Me, I would scour around 'uptown' for discarded pop bottles ...good for 2 cents each at the candy counter at Walker's grocery. In 1960 we moved from the center of town.. a fair distance of over a block away to 9 Hutton Street. I guess you could say we were enjoying old g-burg back then...the locals were definitely of the persuasion of the 'old south' but the town was changing... from rural agriculture to a modern suburban perspective. As I remember, it was always populated by many wonderful and interesting families. Happy to see that the old place is thriving as the town and community center. |
| Danny Brodt | 10/8/11 | Paul is correct and I used to pick strawberries at their house for 10c a qt. |
| Andy Lutz | 4/11/12 | My Uncle, Ernie Lee lived in the house as a boy with his mom and sisters. I think that was in the late forties or early fifties. |
| Donnie Hottinger | 2/22/14 | When I was a teenager in the 60's, the civic center was also a teen center for teenagers. |
| Cal Davies | 3/5/14 | Wasn't this the Duval home at one time? As I recall they drove a custom Cadillac station wagon. Paul--I remember your fine (if undersized) linebacking for GHS. I gambled my bottle money in the gumball machine at Hershey's store going for the 5 cent striped ball. Hit it a few times, too! Then went shopping. |
| Robin Talbott Swope | 8/30/15 | Loved going there in the summer to watch movies as a teenager |
| Reba M | 9/29/15 | Da-yum. How did they transplant those Peonies? It's very difficult to kill those things! |
| Jean MacCracken Muth | 12/17/16 | My first summer job was at City Hall. It helped get me through college. I worked in the licensing and inspections department a lot. Basically floated where I was needed. I remember working with Sanford W. Dailey, Ada Brecht, David Beitz, Larry Gue, Norma Foster, Janet Scuderi, Richard Blohm and Tom Robertson, Bob Kitzmiller. Worked there for four years. |
| Daniel M. Sung | 9/8/17 | This would have been the town hall at the time as Gaithersburg did not become a city until 1968. |