Having constructed new schools and residences nearby, the sisters sold the Mansion and its remaining 30 acres to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 1977 for use as its temporary headquarters. Read on to trace the history of the Mansion at Strathmore, from its turn-of-the-century roots as a grand summer estate to its transformation into a spirited arts center. The public-private partnership between Strathmore Hall Foundation, Inc. assumes the day-to-day management and artistic programming of the Music Center and Mansion. Hundreds of donors stepped forward to help build, equip and sustain the operation of the Music Center. A six-story, 64-foot (20 m) high glass wall in the Lockheed Martin Lobby features 402 panes of glass, and opens to the outdoor Trawick Terrace that overlooks the Strathmore campus.
- The concert hall was designed in the traditional “shoebox” form of many international concert halls.
- In March 2015, Strathmore opened an additional performance and event space – AMP by Strathmore within Pike & Rose, the new mixed-use development located about one mile north of the Music Center on Rockville Pike.
- Strathmore, which began as a turn-of-the-century mansion featuring small chamber performances and art exhibitions in 1983, developed its plans for the Music Center over 20 years ago.
- It was used as a summer home until 1914 when it was remodeled by architect Charles Keene, and became the permanent abode for the Corby family.
Ownership and usage of the land is not well-known until 1823 when a toll road was built to connect Georgetown and Frederick. One of the road’s tollgates was near the intersection now known as Strathmore Avenue. As shown on an 1879 map, local landowner Frank Ball operated a stagecoach station and blacksmith shop on his farm at this location. The Mansion at Strathmore is home to intimate artistic programs presented by Strathmore. Strathmore is dedicated to creating a vibrant arts community that welcomes everyone.
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In 2016, Strathmore formalized it’s commitment to ensuring access to the arts with the Bloom initiative. Through an expansive partnership with Montgomery County’s schools, and an investment in free public arts programs throughout the community, Bloom helps Strathmore reach over 23,000 neighbors annually. The southern parts of Strathmore once attempted to incorporate as the Incorporated Village of Strathmore – but the proposal was voted down in a referendum vote. Because of the outcome of the referendum, all of Strathmore remains part of the unincorporated Manhasset CDP to this day.
INTIMATE CHAMBER CONCERTS
Our website works best with the latest version of the browsers below, unfortunately your browser is not supported. Located on the Bou Family Terrace, “Tetra Con Brio,” a monumental sculpture of cast bronze, steel, and polished concrete, stands 12 feet (3.7 m) tall and weighs 4,500 pounds. In 1998, the Montgomery County Council and the Maryland State Legislature approved matching capital support ($48 million each) for the Music Center at Strathmore. After the design team was selected in 2001, work began under the direction of the county. The Music Center at Strathmore and the Strathmore Mansion are located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda, Maryland, just off of the Capital Beltway and adjacent to the Grosvenor/Strathmore stop on the Washington, DC Metro’s Red Line.
Dedicated to the Arts
The Education Center provides rehearsal space and practice rooms for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, CityDance Ensemble, and the Levine School of Music. The concert hall opened in 2005 and was built on the 11-acre site of the Strathmore Mansion, a 19th-century home which had been owned by Montgomery County since 1981. For more than two decades, the Mansion at Strathmore has provided intimate artistic programs with its 100-seat Dorothy M. And Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, the Gudelsky Gallery Suite exhibition spaces, the outdoor Gudelsky Concert Pavilion, and outdoor Sculpture Gardens. In March 2015, Strathmore opened an additional performance and event space – AMP by Strathmore within Pike & Rose, the new mixed-use development located about one mile north of the Music Center on Rockville Pike. The property features a 250-seat music venue offering live performances including jazz, rock, folk, indie, and more.
Take the stairs or elevators to the 4th level and walk across the sky bridge to the Concert Hall. Land records show that in 1943, two parcels of the original Corby estate—including the Mansion—were conveyed to the sisters directing St. Mary’s Academy.
The house was renamed Strathmore Hall, after the newly established nonprofit, and the Mansion with its surrounding grounds were developed as Montgomery County’s first center for the arts. After extensive restoration, the Mansion at Strathmore opened its doors to the public on June 24, 1983. The Music Center at Strathmore features an undulating roof that outlines the sloping form of the concert hall.
Sculptures
Strathmore, which began as a turn-of-the-century mansion featuring small chamber performances and art exhibitions in 1983, developed its plans for the Music Center over 20 years ago. In 1985, Strathmore’s Board of Directors and President and CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl began discussions about the need for a larger educational and performance space. In 1996, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of former president John Gidwitz, expressed interest in creating a second home in Montgomery County, and joined Strathmore as a founding partner of the Music Center at Strathmore. The Education Center, located at the opposite end of the building, features four expansive rehearsal spaces, including a dance studio with a sprung floor and two rehearsal rooms with 40-foot (12 m) high ceilings. This wing of the building also features a children’s music classroom, a small two-story rehearsal room and nine solo and small group practice spaces.
The concert hall was designed in the traditional “shoebox” form of many international concert halls. Review Review Harbor House Above the stage, a mechanized canopy of 43 individually controlled acrylic panels can be adjusted to fine-tune sound for clarity and reverberation. Tunable sound-absorbing curtains behind the bronze grilling and banners in the ceiling can be deployed out of sight to dampen or enliven the sound. The venue presents over 150 performances a year and over 75 arts and music education classes each week. Today, the organization’s hallmark is the Music Center at Strathmore, with a 1,976-seat concert hall and education complex that debuted in 2005. In 1996, the Mansion closed for a $3.2 million renovation that created the Gudelsky Gallery Suite, and a 4-story addition that houses the Lockheed Martin Conference Room, an expanded Shop at Strathmore, and new administrative offices.
