BALTIMORE (AP) — Anne Arundel County held a third public workshop Thursday to gather feedback from the network on the future of the former Crownsville hospital.
The facility opened in 1911 as a psychiatric hospital for blacks until it was desegregated in 1963. Patients were subjected to poor living conditions and oblivion. It closed in 2004.
The county acquired the deed from the state of Maryland for the 500-acre assets in 2022.
The assembly to talk about the master plan was held at Rolling Knolls Elementary School from 6 p. m. to 8 p. m.
Some features for open space may include multi-use trails, sports fields, a networking center, and a place for other people to meditate, reflect, and learn.
“It has to be for your use,” Nancy O’Donald said.
In May 2024, Bowie State University President Dr. Amnita Breaux and Anne Arundel County Director Steuart Pittman signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park programming.
Pittman believes the partnership with Bowie State will bring programs, research, internships, fitness and wellness projects to the new hospital park in Crownsville.
“Members of the BSU campus network have had the opportunity to walk this land and explore how to honor the lives of those who lived and are buried here,” Breaux said.
“I see a public park with beautiful trails and places where families can picnic, and then a place where other people can learn about the history of what happened here,” Pittman said on WJZ in May.
The task is now the third phase.
“A very sacred place, spiritual in nature, meditative, but there is also a place on the ground where there can just be activities,” Diane Phillips LaGuerre said.
Phillips LaGuerre said his father, Dr. George McKenzie Phillips, was director of the hospital for a time and helped bring the facility out of disrepair.
“He saw the user first,” Phillips LaGuerre said. It was vital to him that those other people recognize that they want the community, the connections they want, and therefore try to get more people to see, to open their eyes, that those who suffer from intellectual disorders are not as alien as it seems. They’re just like you and me.
The draft master plan, which is currently in progress and expected to be released in early fall, will include recommendations from network members.
You can find out more about the order here.