Dulles International Airport made the list of 10 Buildings That Changed America at the 38:40 mark of this video (click here.) (I often wondered how and why Dulles’ airport code IAD came to be and it is semi-explained in the following (click here.)
But for all of its architectural wonder, Dulles remains one of my least favorite airports. Lest you think I am just being overly critical here, I’m not alone in this assessment as several surveys and polls rated Dulles near the bottom of airports ranked (click here.) The pretty-girl with-a-bad-personality description comes to mind when I think about having to deal with Dulles. A pain to get to, bad layout, long distance to the gates and in general just a lousy experience. (I’d continue the pretty girl analogy but you get my gist – lots of hassles and no happy endings to be had at Dulles.)
The T-V show about buildings that changed America however, did make me think about what a St. Mary’s County list would look like if I were to compile one.
The first one to pop in my mind of course would be the State House at St. Mary’s City. Simple but kind of cool building the way it is laid out and of course it’s significant because it was the first State House. And you always remember your first right?
Having said that though, I always liked Calvert Hall too just because it looks like what you would think a college is supposed to look like.
NAS Pax has a couple of nice old places that are noteworthy but I am partial to the two newer, more modern looking Engineering Centers, the Becker Lab and of course the building I once managed the Moffett Building. These 4 are very well designed facilities and it’s a shame that only the folks who work on Base get to see and visit them.
Churches are always included on these types of lists. However, my personal list has one that you would probably not have expected – Immaculate Heart of Mary in Lexington Park, the church in the round. When it was built, it marked a significant departure from the stodgy old type of church that is everywhere here in the County. You can’t throw a rock and not hit an old church it seems. Immaculate Heart was cool because it was so different.
Rounding out my personal choices of 10 significant buildings in the County would be Pt. Lookout Hotel, Dukes Bar, and Tall Timbers Tavern. These three may or may not have changed the County much but I always liked them. Point Lookout I mention for sentimental reasons. Dukes because I like it better than the Courthouse Building – ugh. And TTT because it’s just a neat old place. Try making your own list.
To assist you in compiling your list, you can check out this National Historic Register listing of 32 properties in St. Mary’s (click here.) (Cecil’s Store and not Buzzy’s made it onto the list? Someone’s got some explaining to do!)
Notice that I omitted Sotterly from my list and that’s because Sotterly is just too boring. Beautiful view though, and a really nice staircase but otherwise it is just a plain old boring assed building. Also, notice that Lexington Park downtown is not represented in my list. That’s because I couldn’t think of any building there that impressed me with the possible exception of King’s Shop-a-rama out in the Square maybe.
Mention of TTT always makes me think of this song and Bartman. Those of you who know, know why.