| Page 2 of 2 < |
Silver Spring Group Has Plan For Birchmere
The Iguanas perform at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria.
(By Rich Lipski -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"It's the cart before the horse," Lee said. "We don't have a project at this time, and to have the amenity come first is quite complicated."
Still, he believes there is an enormous audience waiting to be tapped. Silver Spring has come a long way.
He points out the Silver Spring Jazz Festival last September. Wynton Marsalis and a host of other musicians performed for audiences in and around Fenton Street and Ellsworth Avenue, the heart of Silver Spring, and thousands came.
"It was just unreal," Lee said of the event. "I honestly felt like I had my firstborn. It was well managed; everything went smoothly."
David Edgerley, director of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp., also would like to see the Birchmere in Silver Spring, but with construction and land prices rising sharply, he said a lot of details must be worked out. In recent years, the Round House Theatre and AFI Silver Theatre opened in downtown Silver Spring with some public funding.
Oelze worries that there might be "arts fatigue" in Montgomery County with the recent investment in other arts venues. But a Birchmere in Silver Spring would be a "home run," he said. And with a new county administration, interest in the project could be renewed.
"We've had some indication that some potential new administration [would] like to see the thing get back on the burner.
"It's all in the county's lap right now," Oelze said.
Mobile
Email