Introduction

Virtual Greenbelt	Virtual Greenbelt is an ongoing project developed by the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Contributors include Dr. Virginia Jenkins, Dr. Jo Paoletti, Jason Schlauch, Dr. Mary Corbin Sies, David Silver, Psyche Williams, Joan Zenzen, and Sandor Vegh. David Silver constructed the initial website and William Winton helped with the design; undergraduate students from many American Studies courses have contributed their projects and insights as well. The site was redesigned, restructured, and enhanced by Sandor Vegh in 1999. The site developers would like to thank Walt Gilbert and Ellen Borkowski for their generous support and guidance, Bryan Dan for his technical assistance, Ann Denkler and Eric Spross, who took the original photographs for Virtual Greenbelt, and, most of all, Katie Scott-Childress, Curator, and Friends of the Greenbelt Museum for providing access to the museum and its collections. The Virtual Greenbelt that you see is the first stage of a two-tiered website. This stage houses the pedagogical platform that the Department of American Studies is using to teach web-based courses that involve students in primary research projects focusing on historic Greenbelt, Maryland. The second stage will provide a virtual Greenbelt Museum. For more information about VG contact: gbelt@umail.umd.edu
The Greenbelt Museum	The Greenbelt Museum is an actual house -- one of the original structures in the planned town built under Roosevelt's Resettlement Administration. There are no display cases. Instead, the house has been restored with furniture and objects of the simple life which characterized the Great Depression and the New Deal. Much of the furniture and artifacts in the collection were bought, used, and have now been donated to the Museum by Greenbelt citizens. Permanent exhibits are of historic and artistic interest. Temporary exhibits focus on specialized aspects of life during that time. For more information on the actual museum please visit the Museum Website maintained by the City of Greenbelt. Additional information on membership, hours, and directions to the museum is also available.
A History of Greenbelt	Greenbelt is one of three "green towns" built during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Administration. Although the primary purpose of these projects was to provide employment during the Great Depression, the green towns were innovative planned communities, designed to provide low-income families with economical housing in a pleasant, healthy surrounding. In 1935, the U.S. Government assembled parcels of overworked farmland for approximately $97 an acre to become the site of a new community to be called Greenbelt. Groundbreaking was in October 1935 and the first residents arrived two years later. Complete town plans were drawn on paper before any construction began. The government created a community of 574 masonry townhouses, 5 prefabricated detached houses, and 306 garden apartments. A school, town center with shops and theater, underpasses, walkways, parks, playgrounds, swimming pool, and a 23 acre lake were also constructed. During World War II, the frame houses were built to provide housing for defense workers. Greenbelt's 992 frame homes were one of 43 such housing projects throughout the country and were known as "defense" homes for quite some time. In 1949, the U.S. Government decided to leave the housing business and sell the green towns, giving preference to the residents and nonprofit veterans' groups. The Greenbelt Veteran Housing Corporation (changed to GHI in 1957) bought the original and defense homes from the Government in late 1952. To celebrate the history of Greenbelt the Virtual Greenbelt Initiative created a slide show for the 50th anniversary of the city.