College Park has Changed!

[Mark75H]

There is almost zero parking on that fvcking campus. My daughter is a Junior there and any sporting event is a freaking nightmare. So many buildings and no way for people to park there, it's insane.

Another way to squeeze the middle class out of higher education

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

This is the College Park I remember...

 

[cww]

Very different. One of my two jobs while attending UMCP was on campus between classes, spent many a lunch break ( food wasn’t too bad) and evenings at Starlight for a few pitchers. Some hilarious crap went on there with a few buddies. Vous is there but as a new name, Bentley’s is still there, Town Hall is still there. The Cellar and Sante FE are gone. Tattoo shop up near the beltway ramp lasted a long time but is gone now. Can’t believe they are running a line right through campus! They have managed to keep the pavement on Rt1 a POS.

 

[dblas]

Worked at Litton / Amecom ( defense contractor ) back in the 80's, now long gone. Is the College Park Airport still there? Known to be the place where the first bomb was dropped out of an airplane. Is the 94th Aero Squadron still there?? ( very cool WW I era style restaurant )

Airport is still there, and still the longest continuously operating airport in the world.

94th Aero is long gone, tore down and now a maintenance yard for MNCPPC.
A lot of the old building from the Litton/"Toy Store" days are still there, but are now auto repair shops. Some still have the scifs still in them with the doors propped/blocked open.

 

[dblas]

Miss some Famished Fanny's.

I live three houses in from where Famished Fannie's used to be.

 

[dblas]

Wasn't there a Toddle House location somewhere around College Park back then?

Still here, now called College Park Diner.

 

[eruby]

Worked at Litton / Amecom ( defense contractor ) back in the 80's, now long gone.

Do you/did you know a guy named Walt M., Paul P., or Larry R.?

They worked there, and I worked with Walt at the Capital Centre, where he tended bar.

I live three houses in from where Famished Fannie's used to be.

The Village Pump approves

The Electric Head weeps

 

[ezracer]

Do you/did you know a guy named Walt M., Paul P., or Larry R.?

They worked there, and I worked with Walt at the Capital Centre, where he tended bar.



The Village Pump approves

The Electric Head weeps

No those names don't ring a bell in my old brain. I worked in the Mechanical Engineering Machine Shop. Litton did a lot of black box / ECM type research / manufacturing in those days.

One of our projects was to build a VERY large mock-up of a EF-111 Raven ECM plane. Litton had 2 60ft. towers about 2 miles apart . On one tower were ECM emitters. The other tower had a mock-up of an aircraft on top of it. We actually built 2 aircraft. An EF-111 and an EA-6B Growler. Unfortunately in 1990, the U.S. Defense industry kind of went belly up.


EF-111 and EA-6B below

 

[P-12 Norm]

Some things never change... half of the college is still under construction, so that's a familiar comfort to fall back upon.

But man has it changed. The M traffic circle at Campus and Regents is gone. Campus drive is destroyed while they build the Purple Line. New buildings EVERYWHERE. Nowhere to park. I don't miss it. Blows my mind how much we are spending on infrastructure when the future is obviously online schools...

It is all about spending patronage money. Developers and contrators got onto the government teat during Spendening's admin...and all the construction on-campus accelerated.

 

[P-12 Norm]

I remember snowball fights in front of the 'Vous closing down Route 1, drunken 1am runs for cheap burgers, . . .

The city hit a bleak bottom and has bounced back quite a bit to now just be more city. House prices within walking/cycling distance of Metro are insane. On the upside, the high prices and urbanization have driven out a lot of the people who caused problems.

I used to fly my C-140 in from Frederick in 76-77, tie down (no fee), run across the railroad tracks, and walk up the hill to classes. "Want to go up after this?" was a hell of a great way to get dates!!!

94th Aero Squadron closed probably 10-15 years ago and even the building is gone.

The airport still exists, has a little traffic, and probably less than two dozen airplanes. However, somebody I know based there says it's a true burden to (A) be permitted to operate there (extensive background security investigation), (B) have his airplane there and (C) coordination with secret ATC numbers to fly in and out. The airport largely remains because it's symbolic and the MD State helicopters use it as an emergency airport for traffic accidents and such.

I wonder if the CIA still uses it? They used to have a (not so) secret location nearby.

 

[jef955]

This is the College Park I remember...

My father was in the National Guard when all that protester crap was going on there, he always called it the "Battle of route 1" but I think there was a little sarcasm there too..

 

[RFBfromDE]

This is the College Park I remember...

Hippies!

 

[K31]

This is the College Park I remember...

Squid Game

 

[dblas]

Do you/did you know a guy named Walt M., Paul P., or Larry R.?

They worked there, and I worked with Walt at the Capital Centre, where he tended bar.



The Village Pump approves

The Electric Head weeps

The Village pump is my go to, they have a new owner that I am working to get to know.

 

[dblas]

I wonder if the CIA still uses it? They used to have a (not so) secret location nearby.

They do not, the "toy factory" was vacated over 20 years ago. The building now belongs to UMD and I believe that have some of their computer science classes labs in it.

CIA and other 3 letter groups still have a presence in a not so well known building north of the Metzerott Rd/University Blvd intersection, back by the School of Veterinary Medicine.

 

[dblas]

It is all about spending patronage money. Developers and contrators got onto the government teat during Spendening's admin...and all the construction on-campus accelerated.

About 15 years ago, UMD started to make the change from a commuter oriented university to a live in oriented university. Over that time, they have removed over 8500 parking spaces and replaced them with classroom buildings. South campus has seen some new student housing, and UMD bought and took over the remaining Knox Boxes that weren't torn down for the off campus student housing high rises. The rest of the high rises along Route 1, are student centric, but I'm not sure how any student can afford the cost of that housing ($1K+/month) unless mommy and daddy are paying the full bill.

 

[RFBfromDE]

CIA and other 3 letter groups still have a presence in a not so well known building north of the Metzerott Rd/University Blvd intersection, back by the School of Veterinary Medicine.

That’s where they hypnotize the goats.

 

[MaxVO2]

That’s where they hypnotize the goats.

****

 

[Michigander08]

University Blvd is very scary on one end (not sure which direction but going north?). You would think you are in Mexico.

 

[Captain Fear Not]

Then you could go to Tippy's.

Forgot all about Tippy's. Those were the good ole days.