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The outdoor classroom, with playing fields to the right. Photo © Prakash Patel
In July 2012, an archeological survey of the schoolyard (then
mostly used as church parking) was conducted by the African
American Civil War Museum using ground-penetrating radar
and magnetometry. This mostly revealed more recent remnants,
such as the imprint of 12th Street, NW, which once ran through
the site, and the original Garrison School building (1889, with
multiple later expansions), which was demolished after the
current one was constructed in 1964. But it also identified areas
where objects from Camp Barker—lost utensils, chips of pottery,
and so forth—are likely to be found.
The recent modernization did not include funding for
an archeological dig. The areas of significance fall under the
playfields, which, per DCPS standards, have synthetic turf. One of the portals memorializing Camp Barker, Photo © Tom Holdsworth
Normal installation for synthetic turf, noted the landscape by After Architecture.
architects, requires fairly deep excavation, replacing the
underlying soil with layers of rock and engineered media. To Services, continuing through DCPS’s SIT process, to DC’s public
avoid excavation, a structural geogrid was used instead. This art program, and the District Department of Transportation’s
cost considerably more but saved the archeological treasures for Urban Lumber Mill, which milled trees from the site to become
future investigation. stools in the outdoor classroom—an innovative reuse strategy.
“The story of this school is really the story of tenacious What was once a blight is now a LEED-Gold neighborhood
community activism,” stated architect Orlansky. “From 2013 center and landmark. The school itself is completely revitalized,
through the project’s completion in 2018, they pushed and and the facilities for outdoor recreation are heavily used by both
pushed and pushed. They were integral to the planning, and the school and the community. During the pandemic, the fields
they refused to let go of the vision; they insisted on getting what have hosted an array of cross-fit, yoga, pilates, and other exercise
they felt their community deserves.” The citizens group, noted classes, as well as individuals jogging along the perimeter or
Fitch, was much larger than he typically sees for school or park doing calisthenics. Neighbors drink their coffee while sitting on
advocacy groups, with scores of active participants. Equally the mosaic-covered boulders. But the school children will return
important, they and the design team were savvy, tapping into someday, and the memorialization of history and
diverse resources starting with the WAF’s Community Design re-incorporation of nature are permanent.

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